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Prime Time: Review
by Toryn Farr |
Vector Prime
by R. A. Salvatore
Vector Prime is far from the best novel I've ever read, but it isn't at the bottom of the pile, either. I'm going to tell you what I liked, in The Light Side, and what I didn't, in The Dark Side. This review is as spoiler-free as I can make it, but of course if you want to tackle the story without any preconceived notions at all then don't go any further until you've read it yourself.
THE LIGHT SIDE
The Villains. This is to me the best feature of the book. Hailing from another galaxy, the scarred and tattooed Yuuzhan Vong warriors are well trained and ruthless, nearly invisible to and immune from the Force, intent on conquering the entire galaxy. Numbering in the thousands, they are guided telepathically by a "war coordinator" into a near unstoppable force. Oddest of all, they find "dead" machines distasteful; thus all their technology is based on living beings, including their flight suits, their respirators, their communications devices, even their starships and bombs. Their leaders are politically adept enough to use the New Republic's own bureaucratic malaise to further their goals. And although they reminded me vaguely of the Ssi-ruuk from The Truce at Bakura, at least we weren't treated to yet another revived former Imperial officer, cloned evil Force user, or massive superweapon.
The Solo Kids. I found this trio to be nearly insufferable in the Young Jedi Knights series. Yet here they are, twins Jacen and Jaina, 16, and Anakin, 15, strong in the Force, courageous, caring, and with their own strengths and weaknesses, disagreements and rivalries, and personalities. Salvatore did a good job at making them seem real. And in fact, it is they who accomplish almost all that gets done in this novel. In short, they kick butt. The kids provide much of the emotional catalyst for the story as well, in Jacen's argument with Anakin about the proper way for a Jedi to exercise his use of the Force, in Leia's jealousy over the closeness of the training bond between Mara and Jaina, and in Han's anger and fear as he learns he must let go of those he loves, and quite possibly lose them, for the greater good.
The Supporting Cast. The scientist, Danni Quee, is a wonderfully rich character, a strong, smart woman whom even the Vong consider "worthy." The bad guys we get to know, such as the politico Nom Anor and the covert operative Yomin Carr are portrayed well and given plausible motivation for their actions. Lando is one-dimensional, as are some of the Jedi we meet including Kyp Durron. But you can't have everything, I suppose.
The Action. I thought the descriptions of battle and of a "game" flying through an asteroid belt were detailed enough to seem realistic yet not so much that my brain switched off. I tend to lose patience with some of the other writers' (read: Stackpole's) minutely detailed descriptions of flight: "He punched the starboard etheric rudder and planed off, then juked into a diving roll ..." ad infinitum. To me, Salvatore achieved a good balance.
The "Spoiler". If you haven't read the novel, I won't spoil it for you, but watch out. News articles and online discussion groups are going at this like a shark on chum, and you may not be able to avoid the spoiler unless you're really careful. Once you've read the book you'll know what I'm talking about, and you'll most likely be wanting to weigh in with your opinion on whether or not this particular plot twist was a "good thing." (That's what EchoStation's message boards are for, but please take care not to spoil the book for others.) The event in question shakes us up, and it serves to shake up the characters as well. Things were getting a little formulaic in the Star Wars Galaxy; this rattles our complacency. To me, that's always a "good thing."
The Ending. I really liked the action sequence here, and the unique solution Anakin comes up with to win the battle, if not the war. (For of course, there are still a few bad guys left, and they are probably even now calling their friends from outside the galaxy to come help....)
THE DARK SIDE
The Writing. Not the worst, but definitely lifeless. Just because a story is plot driven does not mean it can't have all those niceties of literary style like characterization or lyrical prose. I found the book hard to get into, and that's saying a lot for me. I usually devour a Star Wars novel in about two hours, but this one took me days to finish. I have heard the same complaint from some other True Fans as well. And a friend of mine who likes Salvatore's other works read about 50 pages of this one and declined my offer to let him borrow it to finish it. I think the last part of the book makes wading through it worthwhile, but it's hard going.
Emotional Deadness. I was extremely disappointed Salvatore didn't take time to explore the characters' emotions in depth, especially considering the enormity of some of the events in this story. Although many writers overuse internal dialogue to the point of madness (K.W. Jeter comes to mind), in this case I could have used a little more from just about everybody in this story. My main complaint is with the Luke/Mara relationship. In the last novel, Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn, we were treated to a singularly uninspiring and passionless proposal from Luke to Mara. In this novel, some six years later, they have been married for a while, but now Mara is suffering from a debilitating infection that nobody can figure out, and she is using all her Force powers just to keep going. Okay, so do we get even one tender moment between these two? Do they ever discuss Mara's fear that she won't be able to have children because of the disease? Does she ever relax and just let Luke stroke her hair while he pours Force-healing energy into her? Or maybe a nice bubble bath and a backrub, followed by ... never mind. I am a true fan of angst and sexual tension, and Salvatore missed a good chance to give me some of either. (Anyway, if a Calamarian Jedi trainee could effect healing on Mon Mothma down to the cellular level in another novel, why can't all these Jedi get together and cure Mara? Because it's a plot device, silly.)
Underuse of Luke et al. I mentioned earlier that the Solo kids steal most of the action. Unfortunately that means Luke, Mara, Leia, Han, Chewie, and the droids don't get to do much of anything. What makes the Star Wars universe unique and interesting, above all else, is the concept of the Jedi, Luke in particular. Here we have the last living Jedi Master, and he barely even powers up his lightsaber in this story. He spends a lot of time wondering whether or not he should re-establish the Jedi Council to rein in the vigilante tendencies of the Jedi spread thin throughout the galaxy, but he comes to no conclusion, and his dilemma grows ultimately boring. Yeah, he pilots his X-Wing heroically to save the day, but by that time you're wondering if maybe Jaina could best him two-out-of-three in a dogfight.
Stale Characterization. Please! One or two short scenes of Threepio babbling on and on is plenty, thanks. We already know Threepio won't shut up and he's annoying. It's the Jar Jar syndrome -- foregoing actual humor in favor of teeth-grindingly cutesy (and unfunny) antics. And what about Chewie and Han, this time "helped" by Anakin, once again getting all upset with each other while tinkering with the Falcon? Recipe for a Star Wars novel: add a few scenes of Borsk Fey'lya being an ass, stir in a good helping of Leia as a frustrated diplomat again, then for good measure show Lando running a mining operation, and ... I swear, if I had the time, I think I could plug all these trite little scenarios into a database and computer-generate two-thirds of a Star Wars novel while I slept.
Borsk Fey'lya as Chief of State. Why hasn't somebody skinned and dressed this guy already?
Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone but a serious Star Wars fan. Unless you're a die-hard like me, you'll probably be better off waiting for the paperback. You can go here to buy it now at amazon.com.
(Toryn Farr knew everything about Star Wars back in 1977 thanks to Starlog Magazine. She's been trying to keep her know-it-all reputation ever since. During the 90 minutes per day her three-year-old is napping, Toryn attempts to run an internet design business and write fantasy fiction.)