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colinmcev 's review for:
Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel
by James Luceno
I enjoyed Catalyst, though I can see why some might consider it dull or slowly-paced. Given that the book is essentially setting the scene for the Rogue One movie, it is fairly light on action and heavy on exposition, dialogue, and internal ruminations from the characters. Even in instances where there is action, in fact, like some of the battles between resistance fighters and Imperials later in the book, much of it takes place outside of the actual narrative, and we are simply told what happens later. But James Luceno is a fairly solid writer, one of the better ones by Star Wars novel standards, and the book kept my interest in part because he does a good job of developing the characters of Orson Krennic and Galen & Lyra Erso.
The dynamic between Krennic and Galen in particular is an interesting one, and the fact that Krennic is able believably go toe-to-toe with Tarkin in terms of political maneuverings is impressive itself. Their rivalry was enjoyable to see develop. While Galen himself is an interesting as the eccentric, brilliant scientist whose altruistic research is being twisted for military purposes, some of the scenes involving his research into kyber crystals tended to become too technical and did drag at time. Nevertheless, the juxtaposition of the science behind the crystals and the alchemy-like nature of the Force was an interesting theme. And ultimately, it was interesting to see this new canon's take on the construction and development of the Death Star, with various scientists working on various components, with little or no knowledge about what the others were doing, or even what the project actually was.
Overall, I certainly wouldn't rate this among my favorite Star Wars novels by any stretch, but it made for an interesting back story leading up to the Rogue One film, and has made me that much more excited to see the movie.
The dynamic between Krennic and Galen in particular is an interesting one, and the fact that Krennic is able believably go toe-to-toe with Tarkin in terms of political maneuverings is impressive itself. Their rivalry was enjoyable to see develop. While Galen himself is an interesting as the eccentric, brilliant scientist whose altruistic research is being twisted for military purposes, some of the scenes involving his research into kyber crystals tended to become too technical and did drag at time. Nevertheless, the juxtaposition of the science behind the crystals and the alchemy-like nature of the Force was an interesting theme. And ultimately, it was interesting to see this new canon's take on the construction and development of the Death Star, with various scientists working on various components, with little or no knowledge about what the others were doing, or even what the project actually was.
Overall, I certainly wouldn't rate this among my favorite Star Wars novels by any stretch, but it made for an interesting back story leading up to the Rogue One film, and has made me that much more excited to see the movie.