Reviews

Queen's Peril by E.K. Johnston

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katidid321's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative medium-paced

4.0

jessraven's review against another edition

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5.0

Another triumphant edition in Johnston's Padmé saga! Queen's Peril takes everything that was excellent about Queen's Shadow and builds upon it tenfold; the insight into other character's experiences throughout the events of The Phantom Menace, from the handmaidens to Darth Maul, add a layer to this well-known story that was undeniably missing before. Not to mention, Johnston's storytelling is as rich as it is gorgeously descriptive. Can I have all of Amidala's dresses, please?

Beautifully written and profoundly moving, Queen's Peril is by far one of my favourite Star Wars novels to date. As I'm writing this review, I'm still emotional over the poetry of this book's epilogue. This reader is anxiously awaiting the final installment in the trilogy!

megrasmussen's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

sbauer378's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This wasn't bad but I do think it was a bit misrepresented, which dims my enjoyment of it. If you wanted Padmé's POV on Phantom Menace, look elsewhere. The vast majority of this book is really just setting up and explaining the handmaiden decoys, which was interesting but not what I was looking for. You don't get to the Phantom Menace until less than 100 pages to the end and once we are at the movie, we spend way more time with the handmaidens left behind on Naboo and barely at all with Padmé. Frankly, I think this is Sabé's book, not Padmé's.

We also got weird, random POVs from very minor characters or things that didn't really have an impact expect to reference back to the movies. For example, Typho gets a quick page to introduce him when we don't meet him in the movies until Attack of the Clones and even then, he's not really an important person. Two single line POVs from Anakin about how he really likes flying. A couple from Maul about how he hates the Jedi and plans the final fight but then we don't get the final fight. It made the book kind of choppy.

I wish these books explained more about Naboo culture. Does everyone have a severe dropoff in terms of intelligence and capability when they become adults? Why is every child a prodigy but as far as I can tell, none of the adults in charge were ever prodigies. Why do you elect children as your monarch and why do you put so much pressure on your children to be the most famous artist, musician, whatever when none of the adults seem to have any major accomplishments? And finally, my last nitpick but does Saché avoid Yané cause she is attracted to her? Saché is 12, that's nasty.

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition

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2.0

2/5

Loved getting more into Padmes’ role as a Queen and her handmaidens. Thought I wish there was more detail with her handmaidens then the politics.