Scan barcode
empiepaps's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
colinmcev's review
3.0
I had heard bad things about Before the Storm and the Black Fleet Crisis series in general, and I went in with low expectations, especially given that I had found some of the other Star Wars novels I had read from this storyline era (I, Jedi, Children of the Jedi, Planet of Twilight) to be severely lacking. While this novel is largely a novel setting the scene for the rest of this trilogy (I mean, it’s called Before the Storm, for crying out loud), I found it enjoyable enough. Despite a few issues with it, I mostly enjoyed the introduction of an interesting new antagonist species, the political machinations and turmoil they create for Princess Leia and the New Republic, and the subplot involving Lando Calrissian investigating a mysterious phantom spacecraft.
Although Before the Storm obviously isn’t the first Star Wars novel to do it, I enjoyed having an entirely new bad guy who had nothing whatsoever to do with the Empire. The Yevethan were a fascinating species with a well-developed back story, an interesting set of customs and beliefs, and a clever scheme to attempt to undermine the New Republic and attain power for themselves. I enjoyed that much of their plotline (at least so far) was focused on politics, not warfare, in their attempts to create tension in the Senate and destroy Leia’s credibility. Michael P. Kube-McDowell focuses a lot on the inner workings of the New Republic military and government (including Alpha Blue, a cool shadowy, CIA-like spy organization), which I enjoyed.But when it did switch to action, like the Yevethan Purge, it was also very effective.
I also found Lando’s investigation of the Teljkon Vagabond to be surprisingly well done. In some novels, I feel like Lando is often thrown in arbitrarily, assigned a random subplot of nominal interest simply as an excuse to include him in the action (as was the case in the Jedi Academy Trilogy, which I otherwise quite enjoyed), and indeed it first seemed like the direction this book was going as well, since Lando literally walked into a New Republic official’s office and said he wanted something to do because he was bored.
But I was pleasantly surprised to find myself quite engaged in Lando’s investigation. The attempts by him, Lobot, C-3PO and R2-D2 to understand and infiltrate a mysterious ship built by a long-extinct species reminded me a bit of the plot of the science-fiction film Arrival. Although obviously different in tone, they had similar themes in that they raised questions about how to interact with and comprehend a species of which literally nothing is known, for which there is no true foundation to build upon. (Plus, I really enjoyed that they found a way to get Lobot back in the mix. I always liked him as a minor background character in The Empire Strikes Back when I was a kid, so the fact that he even made the cover of Before the Storm made me happy.
As for what I didn’t enjoy in this book, I found myself largely uninterested in the storyline of Luke Skywalker seeking his “long lost mother.” I think this subplot might be the reason this series received so much criticism, as it was rendered entirely moot by the prequel films, even before the entire Legends continuity was removed from the official canon. I’m not ruling out that it might get more interesting in future books, but so far it hasn’t grabbed me like Yevethan story did.
I also had some issues with how Princess Leia was portrayed in this book. It was interesting at first to hear her confess to Han Solo about her insecurities about leading the New Republic (how she sometimes feels like an “accident of history” not up to the task), as we’ve always known her as a tenacious and fearless leader up to this point. But I feel they went a little overboard on this as the book progressed. Leia was literally the only top New Republic official who was unsuspicious of the Yevethan, and her blindness to the threat they posed was quite unbelievable, and not in keeping with her usual intelligence. Worse yet, when the crisis grew to its worst point, rather than overcoming her errors and facing the threat, she retreats into herself and refuses to even talk to anybody. This is not the Princess Leia we all know.
That aside, however, I still found Before the Storm quite enjoyable, and look forward to reading the next books in the series.
Although Before the Storm obviously isn’t the first Star Wars novel to do it, I enjoyed having an entirely new bad guy who had nothing whatsoever to do with the Empire. The Yevethan were a fascinating species with a well-developed back story, an interesting set of customs and beliefs, and a clever scheme to attempt to undermine the New Republic and attain power for themselves. I enjoyed that much of their plotline (at least so far) was focused on politics, not warfare, in their attempts to create tension in the Senate and destroy Leia’s credibility. Michael P. Kube-McDowell focuses a lot on the inner workings of the New Republic military and government (including Alpha Blue, a cool shadowy, CIA-like spy organization), which I enjoyed.But when it did switch to action, like the Yevethan Purge, it was also very effective.
I also found Lando’s investigation of the Teljkon Vagabond to be surprisingly well done. In some novels, I feel like Lando is often thrown in arbitrarily, assigned a random subplot of nominal interest simply as an excuse to include him in the action (as was the case in the Jedi Academy Trilogy, which I otherwise quite enjoyed), and indeed it first seemed like the direction this book was going as well, since Lando literally walked into a New Republic official’s office and said he wanted something to do because he was bored.
But I was pleasantly surprised to find myself quite engaged in Lando’s investigation. The attempts by him, Lobot, C-3PO and R2-D2 to understand and infiltrate a mysterious ship built by a long-extinct species reminded me a bit of the plot of the science-fiction film Arrival. Although obviously different in tone, they had similar themes in that they raised questions about how to interact with and comprehend a species of which literally nothing is known, for which there is no true foundation to build upon. (Plus, I really enjoyed that they found a way to get Lobot back in the mix. I always liked him as a minor background character in The Empire Strikes Back when I was a kid, so the fact that he even made the cover of Before the Storm made me happy.
As for what I didn’t enjoy in this book, I found myself largely uninterested in the storyline of Luke Skywalker seeking his “long lost mother.” I think this subplot might be the reason this series received so much criticism, as it was rendered entirely moot by the prequel films, even before the entire Legends continuity was removed from the official canon. I’m not ruling out that it might get more interesting in future books, but so far it hasn’t grabbed me like Yevethan story did.
I also had some issues with how Princess Leia was portrayed in this book. It was interesting at first to hear her confess to Han Solo about her insecurities about leading the New Republic (how she sometimes feels like an “accident of history” not up to the task), as we’ve always known her as a tenacious and fearless leader up to this point. But I feel they went a little overboard on this as the book progressed. Leia was literally the only top New Republic official who was unsuspicious of the Yevethan, and her blindness to the threat they posed was quite unbelievable, and not in keeping with her usual intelligence. Worse yet, when the crisis grew to its worst point, rather than overcoming her errors and facing the threat, she retreats into herself and refuses to even talk to anybody. This is not the Princess Leia we all know.
That aside, however, I still found Before the Storm quite enjoyable, and look forward to reading the next books in the series.
amiry's review
1.0
Worst Star Wars Book EVER. First part of the worst SW book trilogy ever written in the history of the universe. SKIP IT.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review
2.0
I took the whole Black Fleet trilogy to read on our two week holiday. I managed half of the first book in that time. It subsequently took me over a third week to finish. Blimey this has a slow and rambling start. This should have feature just all-new characters because nobody in this book behaves like the characters they are supposed to be. Leia makes every wrong choice going and has no self-esteem at all. Luke decides to quite being a Jedi Master in charge on the burgeoning Jedi Academy and go live as a hermit, but at the first hint of trouble waves his lightsaber around like a deranged idiot. Han... is there, and Lando... is brought in for some reason despite the fact that he has no useful qualifications in this regard.
About two thirds of the war into the book, it does finally, mercifully pick up and becomes much more readable. Such a shame it was a bit naff up to that point.
About two thirds of the war into the book, it does finally, mercifully pick up and becomes much more readable. Such a shame it was a bit naff up to that point.
blacksentai's review
3.0
This book did an excellent job reaffirming to me that outside of Lando and the droids I really am not interested in the main characters of the original trilogy.
I do appreciate the all over the place narrative structure of 90s star wars trilogy books.
I do appreciate the all over the place narrative structure of 90s star wars trilogy books.
thestackscat's review
4.0
I love the random references to archivists, catalogers, and other aspects of the library sciences. Leia is pretty annoying and useless for the majority of this book. I hope the portrayal of her character improves in the rest of the trilogy
tmarso's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Good stuff with only Luke holding it back which is surprising.
janebby's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
traky007's review
2.0
Eh. Not as good as SW books can be (the X-Wing series), but not as horrible as many of them (Courtship of Princess Leia, for instance). The trouble with many of the SW books that feature the movie characters is that I find the characterizations in the book to be extremely inconsistent. Leia in this book is ineffectual, naive, and narrow-minded, pretty much the opposite of her movie character. Luke goes from peaceful hermit determined to take no more action in the world to an impatient jerk while in the company of the book's only other female character, another weak (despite her supposed power) and deceitful woman. Han is barely present except to give updates on the kids and do one minor thing to forward the plot, and old favorite Admiral Akbar seems a bit lame, too. Lando and the book's new characters, however, are interesting, and the plot is intriguing. I assume all the disparate plot elements will come together in the next book, and perhaps will make up for the jarring interpretations of beloved characters.
yoda_bor's review against another edition
3.0
Ce livre est sorti en 1996, c’est à dire avant la deuxième trilogie.
Pas de chance pour lui, tout ce qui passe dans la prélogie contredit toute la partie de Luke, déjà bien faiblarde.
Il faut donc se tourner vers Leïa et Lando pour trouver quelque chose d’intéressant.
Ces deux autres arcs sont bien plus enthousiasmants. Lando est accompagné de R2D2 et C3PO pour aborder un vaisseau. Il a aussi avec lui Lobot, l’administrateur cyborg de la Cité des Nuages. Je ne me souvenais pas du tout de ce personnage mais cette équipe est originale en plus d’être drôle et fonctionne très bien.
Leïa ne me plaît pas beaucoup. Têtue et obstinée, elle refuse d’écouter ceux qui ne cherchent pourtant qu’à l’aider.
Au lieu de menacer de démissionner à chacune de ses interventions, elle ferait de réellement le faire pour que des personnes plus compétentes qu’elle la remplace. Il n’empêche, toute son histoire est très intéressante et montre bien les difficultés à gouverner une Nouvelle République complexe, dans laquelle toutes les susceptibilités doivent être prises en compte.
Premier tome d’une trilogie, c’est un livre qui m’a beaucoup plu tout en me rappelant de bons souvenirs (on m’avait offert ces livres Star Wars à l’occasion d’un week-end mémorable :D ). Malgré quelques passages à vide, j’ai très envie d’en connaître la suite.
Pas de chance pour lui, tout ce qui passe dans la prélogie contredit toute la partie de Luke, déjà bien faiblarde.
Il faut donc se tourner vers Leïa et Lando pour trouver quelque chose d’intéressant.
Ces deux autres arcs sont bien plus enthousiasmants. Lando est accompagné de R2D2 et C3PO pour aborder un vaisseau. Il a aussi avec lui Lobot, l’administrateur cyborg de la Cité des Nuages. Je ne me souvenais pas du tout de ce personnage mais cette équipe est originale en plus d’être drôle et fonctionne très bien.
Leïa ne me plaît pas beaucoup. Têtue et obstinée, elle refuse d’écouter ceux qui ne cherchent pourtant qu’à l’aider.
Au lieu de menacer de démissionner à chacune de ses interventions, elle ferait de réellement le faire pour que des personnes plus compétentes qu’elle la remplace. Il n’empêche, toute son histoire est très intéressante et montre bien les difficultés à gouverner une Nouvelle République complexe, dans laquelle toutes les susceptibilités doivent être prises en compte.
Premier tome d’une trilogie, c’est un livre qui m’a beaucoup plu tout en me rappelant de bons souvenirs (on m’avait offert ces livres Star Wars à l’occasion d’un week-end mémorable :D ). Malgré quelques passages à vide, j’ai très envie d’en connaître la suite.