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Categories: Books
Tags: Books, force unleashed, star wars
The Force Unleashed
Written by Sean Williams
Published by Del Rey
Date Published: Aug. 19, 2008
You were weak when I found you. You should never have survived my training.
But Vader’s secret apprentice has survived, even flourished, under his master’s tutelage. Hidden on a secret deck aboard Vader’s flagship, the apprentice has been trained in the dark arts of the Sith. Just as the Emperor is devising his ultimate weapon, so too is Darth Vader.
The Force Unleashed is the novelization of the forthcoming LucasArts game. Set a few years prior to A New Hope, the novel follows the apprentice’s quest to wipe out the last of the Jedi. Of course, being a secret weapon means leaving no survivors which pits him against Imperial Stormtroopers, Rodian gang members, and other fodder. The Emperor must never learn, warns Vader.
The apprentice isn’t alone in his quest. Juno Eclipse is his private pilot and would-be love interest. PROXY, a protocol droid whose primary purpose is to kill the apprentice, is his best friend. And as Vader’s machinations unfold, the apprentice finds himself joined by one of the Jedi he sought to slaughter.
The Force Unleashed is a dark read with characters on the wrong side of the established canon visiting bleak planets, operating under false pretenses and bringing with them the constant threat of violence. It’s an exciting turn for a franchise in desperate need of invigoration.
Based on lead writer Haden Blackman’s storyline, author Sean Williams weaves the demands of video game design into a thrilling novel which stands alone. The Force Unleashed is the best Star Wars novel published in years, convincingly incorporating this hidden years’ tale into the events we know from the movies. Above anything else, Williams returns the original trilogy’s Darth Vader to us – all the brutal efficiency with none of the brooding.