Dark Apprentice, Volume II of The Jedi Academy Trilogy

In the sequel to "Jedi Search", Kevin J. Anderson attempts to tell a story that is hopefully a great deal more thought out than that half baked piece of crap that shall not be mentioned again in that review. Alright, well maybe it wasn't that bad, but it was certainly on the cusp between one rebel sign and two - but since I didn't have to gag through it, I graced it with two rebel signs. But enough of that already - let's get on with the review of volume two, in which Anderson does succeed at creating something better the second time around - but not that much better.

At the point that this book takes off, the New Republic is debating the fate of the deadly Sun Crusher. Admiral Daala, a renegade Imperial officer, is conducting guerilla warfare on a number of peaceful planets within the New Republic - including the homeworld of Admiral Ackbar. However the main focus of the story is around the Jedi Academy (hence the name of the trilogy), where things go awry when one of Luke's students dablles with powers of the Dark Side of the Force - via a spirit of an ancient evil master of the Force. What awaits Luke and his students in the future is a power far more destructive than they can possibly imagine.

Basically, the saving grace of this book is found in its dark nature or tone. It gives the story some much needed edginess that the first volume of this trilogy sort of lacked. But once again, Anderson's characters lack depth, they seem overly characturisic. For example, Admiral Daala is still a bumbling idiot, worse than any of the Imperials in any of the classic Star Wars movies - which doesn't help really build any tension in the story. As a sub-antagonist, she sucks - and I'm surprised the feminists haven't gotten up in arms over the portrayal of a woman (albeit an evil one) as completely clueless as a leader.

So my verdict for round two in the Jedi Academy Trilogy is that "Dark Apprentice" is only moderately better than the first one - but still not something to push someone over to get to at the book store.

Sean's Rating