Shield of Lies, Part Two of The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy

Wow!! Kube-McDowell truly cannot write.... Nope, if he had to save his life with his writing he would have been dead by now I'm afraid. Just in case you're wondering ahead of time I'll tell you now so as not to keep you in suspense. "Shield of Lies" Sucks! There, it's said - I truly wish I could have been kinder. In fact I held off writing this review for nearly two months, hoping that somehow I would be able to write a kind word or two about this book, but I really can't - though I do think it was a small step above its' predecessor "Before the Storm".

Now at this point I usually just go over the basic set up of the story, and it really doesn't stray far from what the publisher puts right on the back of the books (or inside cover) to begin with. So here's a note from the publisher:
"As Leia must deal with a new threat to the fragile alliance that binds the New Republic, Lando becomes a prisoner aboard a runaway spacecraft of unknown origin. The ship is following an unstoppable path to its homeworld, destroyed by Imperial forces. Luke continues his quest to learn more about his mother among the Fallanassi, where his every belief about the use of the Force is about to be challenged. And while Leia ponders a diplomatic solution to the aggression of the fierce Yevetha race, Han pilots a spy ship into the heart of Yevethan space and finds himself a hostage on one of the vast fleet of warships under the command of a ruthless leader."
Oooo!!! How exciting! A must read!

Alright, perhaps that's enough of the sarcasm. By now you must've already guessed that I think this book is a load of crap. In fact, I don't even think it should be included in any time line that is ever made of the events in the Star Wars Universe. Yes, it's that bad. But as I said, there are some improvements. One is the fact that McDowell has now divided up this book into the three part story that was being told simultaneaously in the first book. Now we have Lando's side of the story separate from Luke's which is also separate from Leia's. So it's easier to follow what's going on, though the story is most uninteresting from start to finish. It reads slow, which doesn't help matter much, and the settings are unimaginative. Though I must say that my favorite part of the book had to be the part where Luke goes to grab a bite to eat at some theme restraunt which happens to recreate Jabba's Court on Tatooine right down a frozen Han Solo replica on the wall. But after that the exciting part of Luke's story pretty much dies off. And as far as the main antogonists are concerned, well the Yevetha are mostly non existent in this book. McDowell seems to get overly bogged down in things that just don't seem to fit together, though I'm hopin that he somehow ties all of this in together with the third book, when i finally get around to reading it.

Do I recommend this book to anyone?? No. Not even people who want to keep up with the EU, this book really is a waste of time, as was the first one.

So, what have I been doing lately, and when will I start rolling on with the reviews again? Well I've been reading the Hitchhikers Guide books, which have been miles upon mile more interesting than The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy. And it has become a most welcomed break from this crap that I've been reading from Mr. McDowell. But I will soon start on the last of the BFC Trilogy and then it'll be back to more interesting Star Wars lit, like the NJO Series. And that's all I have to say about that.

Sean's Rating