Dark Disciple: Star Wars

I couldn't put this book down. The dialog kept me snorting randomly. 4 stars because I hated the ending. I'll continue to purchase Star Wars novels, but the approach Disney has taken with "official canon" and "legends" truly is a bad move and an insult to Star Wars EU. This is still a good book, but I hate Disney for screwing the timeline.

First off, this book is what happens when Disney throws out all the good stuff as non-canon, and tries to put too much of their own spin on the Star Wars Universe. I purchased this book because I was stoked for the Vos-Ventress focus since they are two of my favorite Expanded Universe characters. It fell way short of what it could've been.

Second, Dave Filoni really messed up Quinlan Vos from the get-go, making him a Stallone sound-alike with stupid jokes, not the brooding, borderline dark Jedi that Dark Horse originally wrote him to be; this book took the Filoni approach to Vos's character.

Third, Ventress was originally written as way too powerful to go out the way she did in this book...I like the non-canon version of her surviving and roaming the universe as written by Dark Horse, to eventually return at some later point. I can even deal with Filoni's bounty hunter version. She was a strong, but tragic character to begin with and should've been kept that way, not the love-struck, gushy, wanna-be Sith weakling Golden made her out to be.

Fourth, Master Tholme was arguably one of the best Expanded Universe characters created and Golden obviously didn't properly research the character. Dark Horse had him as an spymaster and saboteur who was trained by Anzati assassins with skill sets no other Jedi possessed. Golden basically sacrifices him to a cliché betrayal plot point that fell way short of the due this character should've been given. He survives Order 66...What a joke!

All told, this book would've been fine without the weak, overplayed romance between Ventress and Vos, and the ridiculously chosen demise of Master Tholme, and is exactly why Disney's take on what's canon doesn't count to me...it's my money, so I'll decide for myself what's canon and what's not...no thanks Disney. I just can't believe how many people are saying this book is good...

A fitting conclusion to The Clone Wars animated series. All fans of the show cannot miss this book. It has double agents, angst, and redemption from darkness. Fantastic book packed with tons of action. I heartily recommend this novel to all star wars fans.

This is probably the best Star Wars book I have ever read. This book gives more depth to Asajj Ventress then the entire animated Clone Wars series, and takes inspiration from Quinlan Vos's story in the no longer canon Star Wars Clone Wars comics

As a long time Stat Was fan I was disappointed when he old Universe was throw in the trash and hoped this novel would bring back the mystique of the Universe. I was aware that this novel was based off planned episodes for the cartoon but as I began to read this novel I felt that I was reading a horrible fan fiction that was filled with Mary Sue characters and poor takes on any of the established characters. Christie Goldel has done a superb job in the past but as recent history has shown Disney has no clue when it comes to Star Wars. Do not know why any true fan is accepting this crap but this new direction is nothing short of Sith inspired!

It was a little strange reading the new canon where Ventress was portrayed differently in the Expanded Universe. I'm a little disappointed with the new direction as I've read most of the Expanded Universe books, but it is what is...

Star Wars has long been one of my favorite franchises ever to exist. The unique blend of science-fiction and real-world problems makes it both unbelievable and relatable. Plus, the Clone Troopers look awesome. (I have watched every single episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Netflix at least twice. What?)

My friend purchased this book and recommended it to me, so at length I decided to take the risk and read it. (My friend has an... acquired taste for literature.) It was worth the money, but did not unleash the Force to its full potential.

Jedi Master Quinlan Vos (Clone Wars hero) is sent on a mission to assassinate evil Count Dooku, head of the Separatist Alliance. He is told to seek the help of his former apprentice-turned-rival Asajj Ventress (Clone Wars villain) who is now working as a bounty hunter.

Their adventure is... interesting, shall we say? Quinlan nearly succumbs to the seductive Dark Side many times. But it is all forgotten whenever he makes out with Ventress, the ugliest humanoid in the Star Wars galaxy (except maybe Orn Free Taa and Bib Fortuna).

The book's plot was exciting, but the storyline had one too many twists and turns for my liking. The relationship between Vos and Ventress was like trying to push the same poles of two magnets together - they come so close to each other, then one of them slips away.

In conclusion, the book is not one to be missed. If you want more info to brag to your geeky friends about (Actually, Grand Moff Tarkin was a Republic admiral before he served under the Empire. It's elementary, you Gamorrean Guard!) and to gain knowledge, then read it. But as far as plot and depth go, don't expect another Lord of the Rings.

Sorry, I just needed to ventress out my frustration.
;D

I did not give Dark Disciple five stars because it's a perfect book (far from it actually). I gave it five stars because of how totally and thoroughly I enjoyed it.

The front cover says, "Based on unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars," and you can tell. You can just tell how fun these episodes were going to be if they'd been able to make them, and--having just finished the series myself--I was happy that I had this book to read to delay the goodbye process.

Now, let's talk about things I liked:

- Ventress. She continues to be the star and queen that she is, and I love her so much. Her journey here trying to find her way after rejecting the Sith life is fascinating to read about.
- Dooku. I'm SO GLAD he was in this book as much as he was. So sassy, so impressive, and such a joy to read.
- Obi-Wan. Thank you, Christie Golden, for putting him in as much as you did, and for making him completely exasperated with everything. But I mean, can you have a Ventress-centered book without having Obi-Wan there? At the rate these two flirted all throughout the series? (And you can tell here how much Obi-Wan really likes Ventress. He really does. His respect for her in unreal, and it warms my heart.)
- Knowing that their mission to assassinate Dooku is a doomed one and being ready to see how badly everything is going to turn out.
- Dathomir. Got to see more of it, and I honestly appreciated seeing it with the love and regard that Ventress had for the place and its people.
- All the fight scenes/lightsaber fights. Enough said there.
- Learning more about the Dark Side of the Force. Always a plus.
- How absolutely scary the Jedi Council are. Why are they the good guys again??? Yet, this is under Things I Like, so what does that say about me?

Things I didn't like:

- Really didn't care for Vos. He had his moments certainly, but as a whole, he's definitely not a favorite character. At least, not how this book was having me envision him.
- The romance between Vos and Ventress. I was so ready to love this, but it was not written very well. I probably would've liked it more if their relationship had been more drawn out, but it had to be done quickly given its originally-intended nature as 23-minute episodes. It wasn't even just Vos that was the problem. I thought that Ventress was very out of character here (not that she's incapable of love, because she isn't. It's just the way she fell for him and vice-versa and how she acted afterwards that had me like ???? Who is this, and what have you done with Ventress?)
- The weird "is he or isn't he dark side" thing was very sloppy and confusing.
- That ending. I completely reject it, and it didn't happen. "But, Melody, it's canon!" No, it is not. Get it away from me.

So yeah, I definitely have a love/hate relationship with this book, but the good things outweighed the bad for me, and I had a great time with it. An emotional rollercoaster for sure.

Lord Dooku conquers planet after planet and often massacres innocent civilians. The Jedi Council reluctantly decides that he must be assassinated. Dooku, a Dark Force master, had a female apprentice, Ventress. He discarded her and she has since failed twice to assassinate him. The council decides to ask the charismatic Jedi Master Vos to try to recruit Ventress to help him to kill Dooku, preferably without revealing that he is a Jedi.

The first half of the book involves Vos persuading Ventress the bounty hunter to partner with him. He then persuades her that together they can kill Dooku and she begins training him in the use of the Dark Force. The pace is somewhat slow here and the development of their relationship is predictable.

The second half of the book involves finding and confronting Dooku. The plot becomes exciting and the pace is much faster. And there are several entertaining plot twists.

Have you ever seen a loose thread on a garment and then pulled on it? And then the garment begins to unravel? Now that I read this book and thought about it, I think several of the plot elements are implausible. And Jedi are supposed to have strong mental powers. So why is so much of the plot driven by Jedi making stupid decisions?

Dark Disciple is set in between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and starts as the animated tv show, Clone Wars, ends. Both Asajj Ventress and Quinlain Vos are characters seen in the tv show, though Vos only appears once or twice while Ventress plays a larger role. I was sure how to approach the novel at first because the thought of Ventress actually forming an attachment to someone sounds…odd, but I’m glad I decided to give it a chance because it turned out to be quite a fun read!

The storyline itself is one that brings a lot of surprises, like the Jedi approved assassination attempt of Dooku comes into play. Jedi don’t do assassinations, it sort of goes against who they are as a whole. And I can say that it definitely threw me for a loop at times as characters changed and became better people…and in some cases worse. We get to see sides of characters we didn’t know were there, and I kind of like it. This book not only gives depth to two characters I never thought about being together in any form, but also explores what it means to be Sith, Jedi, and someone who finds a way to walk a line between one or the other.

Asajj Ventress is a former Sith, who after being betrayed by her master turned away from that lifestyle and began forging her own path as a bounty hunter. She’s a no nonsense warrior, who knows her skills and how to use them…and she’s one of my favorite female badasses from the universe. If I had to describe Asajj in four words it would be intelligent, lithe, sexy, and terrifying. I’ve always seen her as a self confident character and it was actually really nice to get inside her head and see what her insecurities were, and how even in her most tender moments (though rare) she never loses who she is and where she’s been. Quinlain Vos is a Jedi with a largely unique sense of personality and humor, and considered somewhat of a renegade when it comes to how he approaches his missions which are largely undercover. He walks a fine line but it’s still a surprise as to how well he meshes with Asajj, it’s a duo I never truly expected…and I liked that their story is not a typical one at all.

Overall I think it’s another excellent addition to the new extended universe, and I really wish they had been renewed for another season of Clone Wars because I would have loved to see how this book would have translated into that format. If you enjoy your sci-fi with plenty of action, lots of character development, twists and turns, and a little bit of romance then this is definitely one to check out!

Absolutely perfect. Dark Disciple is one of the best Star Wars books ever written. I can find nothing about which to complain. It doesn't get any better than this. This is the Star Wars book we've been waiting for, the best written since 2011's Revan.

Putting two unlikely heroes in the Star Wars universe together for a team-up tale isn't always a success. In fact, in the sixth season of Clone Wars, there is a two-episode story featuring Jar-Jar Binks and Mace Windu that is one of the weakest arcs in the existence of the show. But this time the creators hit the nail on the head.

The blending of Filoni's original story and Golden's writing style is, in my opinion, seamless. In a massive, galaxy-spanning, history-altering war like the Clone Wars, it's personal narratives like this that illuminate the tragedy and wonder of the conflict. This story allows the reader to zoom in on a handful of characters, moments, and decisions that really find their home in a novel like this.

Dark Disciple gets it right. It's in my top 10 Star Wars books. This was one I absolutely couldn't put down. Needless to say, I'll be reading it again.

In "Dark Disciple", Christie Golden creates the first excellent character study of the new Disney "Star Wars" canon. The plot, based on unproduced episodes of the "Clone Wars" series, focuses around Jedi Master Quinlan Vos teaming up with former-Sith and Nightsister Asajj Ventress on a Jedi Council sanctioned mission to assassinate Count Dooku. Both characters are fan-favorites and Golden treats them with all the reverence of someone who truly understands them. As the two work together, they develop a connection that threatens Ventress's self-imposed isolation and Vos's Jedi vows.
Golden brings her aptitude for action scenes, previously seen in the Fate of the Jedi series, to "Dark Disciple". Describing a battle between Ventress, Vos, Dooku, and General Grievous, Golden writes,
"Enraged, Vos charged Dooku from behind. The Sith Lord whirled, catching Vos's strike with his own weapon and twisting his wrist to parry. Vos countered with a feint that caused Dooku's chest to be unguarded, and dived for the kill. Dooku twisted out of the lightsaber's path, but for the first time since the fight began, Ventress saw awkwardness." (p. 153)
Golden finds her stride during the character-driven scenes, compelling her audience to follow along with bated breath, as she writes scenes such as the following:
"All at once, warmth flooded through her. It was as if she were being bathed with soft light. It washed away the pain, and the fear, and the anger, leaving only perfect clarity in its wake. Ventress realized that it was the Force, but it had never felt like this. And it was giving her a gift.
Time slowed to a crawl as a sudden, calm sense of knowing permeated her. She saw, all at once, every possible outcome of the turn of this fraction of a second. Every convolution, every manifestation, every repercussion that would echo far into the future. Death, and life, and new chances lay down one path. The restoration of balance. Fear and disaster, an existence that could never be called <i>living</i> but merely crawling about in a shell of flesh that had no spark of joy - that, too, could be the future; burning vengence that only increased the hunger for more." (p. 292)
"Clone Wars" and casual "Star Wars" fans are sure to find something to enjoy in this novel. This fifth book in the new Disney canon sets the bar high, but proves that there's plenty of good yet to come in the "Star Wars" universe.

I came into this novel spoiler-free and was glad for that. Yes, parts of the novel were predictable (more on that in my review), but I relished having a SW novel unfold knowing nothing beyond what I read on the book jacket. However, I have to say that we know from Revenge of the Sith that the Dooku assassination plot will fail. Still, I was interested in where Christie Golden would take the story.

Being spoil-free allowed me to squee at the cameo of certain fan favorites - Boba Fett, Zuckiss, Commander Cody and Rex. Yes, it was shameless pandering to the fans, but I don't care, I'm just glad at their inclusion. Further, their insertion felt organic, and served to move the story along, rather than out and out needless indulgence.

But something that didn't serve the story well was the lie Ventress told Vos regarding his Master Tholme. When the reader is keyed into the fact that Ventress lied to Vos telling him Dooku killed Tholme, rather than admitting she killed his master, you just knew the lie would come back to bite Ventress, and that Dooku would be able to use it to his own advantage. In-universe, Ventress's lie does make sense in the purpose it served, but still, the reader can see the negative and highly predictable consequences a mile away, and thus, it just seemed like lazy writing.

Although they don't quite fit the definition of "filler" the chapters before Vos and Ventress begin their hunt for Dooku [that's when the novel really gets going] could have been shortened. But, they did provide the background to show how Vos was able to gain Ventress's trust and Vos's necessary training in the Dark Side to be prepared (mentally and physically) to battle and kill Dooku. In fact, the chapters involving Vos's dark side training on Dathomir would provide foreshadowing to the rest of the novel. It talks about choices, making hard choices, and the fine balance of mastery of the Dark Side without being consumed by it.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel - its plot, pace and storytelling. However, it's the characters that were a little troubling for me. SPOILER! When Quinlan Vos is rescued and returned to the Jedi after having been Dooku's captive for months, the Jedi were understandably leery at trusting him again too soon after what they knew, or thought they knew of Vos's participation during his capture. Believing reports of him aiding and abetting Dooku and the Separatists, they slowly eased him back into Jedi duties and also their circle of trust. But what's not entirely believable is the great amount of trust they also placed in Asajj Ventress during not just this episode, but also the second attempt to assassinate Dooku. Given their direct dealings with Ventress, it was not entirely logical that the Jedi (albeit not all of them) went from cautious trust to outright trust and even compassion for her. The timeline for their change in feelings just seemed too compressed. It didn't feel natural for me. Rather, it seemed like a plot convenience that the Jedi so quickly turned the other cheek. END SPOILER

Speaking of timeline, this novel was weird in that regard. For the first third, the pace was fairly moderate. But from then on, as needs dictated it, the author would flash forward merely by writing that "time passed" or "months passed". The transition was jarring and clumsy. Something else I didn't care for was the syrupy, treacly relationship between Vos and Ventress after he convinces her he's free of the dark side, and so they can be together in the way they spoke of in their precious time alone on Dathomir. At that point, their romance almost had touches of a Harlequin novel in its cooing, lovey-dovey manner. I just can't picture this of a Jedi (raised in the temple and especially raised to forgo attachment) and a former Sith apprentice slash current hard bitten bounty hunter.

Still, even with its flaws, I liked the novel. It also helps that the Foreword (by Katie Lucas) provided illuminating background on the genesis of the project. It's great to realize that even with the canon reset, the events of the wonderful Clone Wars tv series will still be official SW canon (at least for now).

(an audiobook review)

Ready for a star wars story that will make you feel alive? Ready to feel for a character as if they really exist and are a close friend who has always had tense behavior that you never understood till now? Well this is it. An amazing story for Asajj Ventress, a sith apprentice to Count Dooku from the clone wars series. Way better than I expected. An outstanding character, really fleshed from the animated series. Gripping tale about this evolving woman and her hatred for Count Dooku. Really digs into going dark into the force, deep into hatred, and the struggle for redemption.

The narration is as usual top quality. Marc Thompson nails all of the multiple voices, emotions, and pacing down to a perfectionist art. Add that on top of the sound effects, mood music, along with tempo, and you have something that equates to a movie experience in your mind. Very well done.

Let me start by saying, I was not expecting such a good story. This was written by Christie Golden, the creator of Asajj. She was inspired by the character Buffy, the vampire slayer. Asajj is a sith assassin apprenticed to Darth Tyranus during the clone wars against the republic. She was betrayed by the count and left for dead. Discarded as a failure. After some horrible further acts from him to eradicate her. She struck out in two attempts to kill him. Both failed. Leaving the world as a dark sith, near lord, to become a bounty hunter. Shes is approached to help assassinate the count by the Jedi council. Pretty insane right? Jedi? Since when do they do that? Ha! Exactly!

I have to say that Count Dooku is clearly one of my favorite star wars bad guys. He was apprenticed by Yoga, the Jedi grandmaster. Further trained by Darth Sideous. Hes rich, corrupt, political, has a bit of class about him, and can give less than a damn who he stomps on to complete his goals. His promises of making Asajj a true sith lord with them taking on Lord Sideous a lie and thinking hes seen the last of her, stems to a huge mistake. Which is what this story is about.

The story is rich with lots of familiar characters. A long list containing Mace Windu, Yoda, Obi-wan, Anakin, and decent amount from clone war series. A good compression of the star wars universe and the show that ended.
Overall this adventure is action packed. Filled with lots of tough choices, emotion, anger, conflicts with being a Jedi, following the dark side, and being alive. Filled with passion from those seeking revenge and justice this story hits all of the major areas of a good story. At the end of this, I felt like a great chapter finally ended. Asajj gets her glorious show on the stage and you will walk away feeling good about it. Just like the first time you saw the ending of any star wars movie. I sat feeling complete as if I just survived a great battle anticipating the next one. This surprise tale gets five stars and a high recommendation for any star wars fan or anyone interested in just how deep and adult this universe can get as a story. The last tale of Asajj Ventress, worthy of nothing short of the word epic.

Outstanding. :)

Dark Disciple is a lot of things, but in the end, it’s a painful, rapturous story. Honestly, this book is emotionally charged like no other Star Wars novel that’s been released in the new canon. Part of that is due to the characters. Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos have a lot of history in the old expanded universe. Star Wars: The Clone Wars built onto that history even further, reshaping them, and perhaps even making them better. Yet with Dark Disciple, these two characters come to life like never before. In a way, it cements Quinlan’s history both past and present, an accomplishment that will likely bring joy to longtime Vos fans who aren’t averse to a little rebooting. However, for me, the payoff lied with Ventress. She was one of my favorite characters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and with her getting the spotlight in Dark Disciple, it made it a true joy to read. Painful, but good.

The premise is pretty straightforward. The Jedi Council decides that Count Dooku needs to be eliminated. They choose Jedi Master Quinlan Vos for the mission and further stipulate that he should utilize Asajj Ventress in order to get the job done. The story builds a relationship and trust between the two as they go off on missions together, delve into bounty hunting, and explore the breadth of the Force. Asajj tries to show Vos how she’s found a balance between dark and light that allows her to remain herself without being consumed by the dark side. As the story unfurls, they get mixed up with bounty hunters like Boba Fett, Bossk, Latts Razzi, Embo and Highslinger. They go up against Black Sun and the Pyke Syndicate. Along the way, the Jedi Council keeps an eye on the two, and readers can look forward to seeing some Obi-Wan and Anakin in action in this book. But ultimately, the conflict comes down to Quinlan, Ventress and Dooku. In a web of emotions, ambitions and the dark side, readers are in for a tumultuous ride.

With Quinlan and Asajj at the core of this book, a lot rides on how attached readers are to their backstories. Keep in mind, this book is based off of eight scripts for episodes of The Clone Wars that were never completed due to the show’s cancellation. For fans still clinging on to the old Dark Horse Comics backstories for Ventress and Vos, you might not like this one. As always, The Clone Wars goes it’s own way and tells it’s own story for each of the characters. Quinlan Vos’ story is rewritten, but it also reflects much of the spirit of what it was. His master is still Tholme. He can still read memories and images from objects using the Force. Furthermore, his life is still haunted by the dark side. I found the Vos presented in Dark Disciple to be a very nice bridge between the Vos of old and that of this new creation. As for Ventress, her character arc follows what was laid out in the television show. She’s turned to bounty hunting, has found a peace within herself, and is no longer ruled by the dark side. If you like what they did with Ventress in the tv show, you’ll like the Ventress in this book.

It’s hard to talk about the book too much further without delving into serious spoilers. However, there is some more that needs to be said. First off, Christie Golden does a wonderful job of capturing the characters. Be it Quinlan, Asajj or Yoda and Obi-Wan, all of the characters in this book fall perfectly in line with what The Clone Wars created. As a big fan of The Clone Wars, I really enjoyed this story and how well it worked in telling a chapter of the show in book format. I was rather disappointed with the previous Dark Horse Comics mini-series that tried to tell a Darth Maul arc from The Clone Wars as it just did not work for me at all. Dark Disciple, however, works. It captures the depth of the characters, the resonance of emotion, as well as the excitement and action as they’re thrown into combat. There are lightsaber fights, speeder chases, soul searching and yes, there is a romance angle to this story. Prepare yourselves, cause it’s a good one.

A New Dawn kicked off the new canon as everything else was shoved off into legends, and managed to capture a spark of the joy that is Star Wars Rebels. Tarkin and Heir to the Jedi both dove into specific characters to try and show readers a new side to Tarkin and Luke Skywalker. Lords of the Sith went a different route by going for sheer, all out action with some extreme characters. There was joy to be had in all of them, but Dark Disciple raises the bar. It has character exploration, it has action, and it captures the magic of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It takes all of those great aspects, throws in a thick layering of character investment, and gives fans an emotional experience that will leave them trembling when it’s all said and done. At least that was my experience. With any luck, fans will get the same level of enjoyment as I did. I give Dark Disciple a five out of five.

*I received this book as an eARC from Del Ray via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This has taken the spot as my favorite of the new Star Wars canon novels. The storytelling is excellent. Reading this book, I could hear the voices of the animated characters. There wasn't a moment when I thought a character's actions didn't allign with their already canonical self. Ventress especially has excellent quips.

The material that went into creating this was many unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars tv series. There were certain points where it seemed evident that one arc ended and a new one started. I didn't mind though. There was constant action. I never found myself bored. Since these arcs would have made up a large part of the season, a lot of time passes. This isn't a book that takes place over a few days. Relationships really build and change within this book.

I liked how this book addressed the Dark Side and the way it was handled make me excited for the future of Star Wars. The Dark Side isn't always connected to the Sith. The Force is used in many different ways. The characters in this novel truly embody the idea of grayness.

I loved watching the relationship between Vos and Ventress evolve. There were a lot of great parallels to Anakin and Padme. It is even addressed within the book. The Anakin in this book is the closest to Revenge of the Sith I've seen before. The Jedi Order is also degrading and the effects of the war are evident.

This was an excellent Star Wars novel. It was always moving forward. The story actually progressed. Characters changed. Things happened that truly matter to the overall Star Wars universe. I give this novel a 5/5 and I really hope more stories are told form this time period. I'm sure the focus in the next year will be on post-ROTJ, but I want at least a few Clone Wars era stories.

Dark Disciple is one of the first post-Disney takeover Expanded Universe, wrapping up the stories of Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, two of the strongest characters from the "old" Expanded Universe, who have very different story arcs in the Clone Wars cartoon (the second one, which is canon, as opposed to the original microseries that most people don't even remember anymore, which isn't). Confused yet? Because I have to confess I'm still a bit confused. Though it's not tough to accept that this is the new "official" history of the Star Wars galaxy, it's impossible to not remember the older stories and have to make a conscious effort to keep in mind that they're now essentially a giant "What If...?" story.

This book is based on unproduced plots from the Clone Wars, though it's impossible to know exactly how detailed those were and how much of the story is Golden's work. Either way, the narrative is solid, though one that would be very difficult to summarize without specific spoilers. As one of the few hardcore Star Wars fans who simply could not get interested in the Clone Wars cartoon, I appreciated the summation of events from the series, thorough enough for a novice to easily follow, but not presented in an overly wordy infodump that might turn off those more familiar with the events of the show. Vos and Ventress are both consistent with their portrayal in other novels and comics, and, I'm assuming, from the show as well. Their story here is vaguely similar to the Dark Horse comics (which were rendered non-canon by the Clone Wars even before Disney bought out Lucasfilm), though different enough to not feel like a total retread of what's come before.

Golden's writing style is fluid and easy to read, a good fit with a Star Wars novel. It feels occasionally like there might be just a bit too much story to fit into the one novel, as some of the shifts in characterization feel a little abrupt. But this is most likely the effect of having only one book in which to tell what was probably a much longer-term story over multiple TV episodes. All in all, worth reading for Star Wars fans (all of whom are automatically Quinlan Vos fans, right?).

Is it sad that I am glad that The Clone Wars was cancelled so that Dark Disciple could be a book? I have no idea how Dark Disciple could have been done justice in the format of a TV Show.
When I read the blurb for Dark Disciple, my first thought was “what is the point of this book? Obviously Vos and Ventress fail to kill Count Dooku as Anakin kills him in Revenge Of The Sith”. I now understand why they used this as the main focus, but it does take away from the unpredictability of a book as the ending was known, well part of it at least.
Dark Disciple is set during The Clone Wars, and is based around an arc of unaired episodes. The Jedi Council has decided that Count Dooku has become too much of a threat and that is death would help end The Clone Wars. The Jedi Council decide to send Jedi Master Quinlan Vos to use Asajj Ventress’s hate for her former master to execute him. What follows is honestly just indescribable.
I have fallen in love with Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress. I never thought that it would happen, but it did. Even though I have only seen the first 3 seasons of The Clone Wars, I like to think that I have a rough idea of what has happened before the events of Dark Disciple.
I would recommend Dark Disciple to anyone who likes Star Wars, or any kid who like The Clone Wars or Rebels TV Show. Do not let Aftermath cloud your judgment of the other canon books!

Star Wars novels, at least the ones that I read from the old EU, almost always fell into two categories: excellent or wretched. Very few of these novels ever fell into an area where they were pretty good but not necessarily great or terrible. Dark Disciple, written by Christie Golden and based on The Clone Wars episodes that never came to fruition, falls into that grey category where it could have been a lot better, but it's not a bad read for what it is.

This tale features Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos and centers around their quest to eliminate Count Dooku. While Dooku has always been a target, his actions against a group of refugees sends the Jedi over the edge and they decide that he must be eliminated and end the Clone Wars once and for all.

Fans of the Star Wars comics that pre-date the Clone Wars series will probably enjoy this book. I especially enjoyed the relationship that forms between Vos and Ventress. While I've never been a huge fan of Vos, Ventress has always mesmerized me. Her character develops greatly throughout this book, and I hope that her life is explored even more in other novels.

The pacing is very good and the action is excellent. This book definitely leans toward the adult end of the spectrum, but older fans of the Clone Wars will definitely enjoy this tale as well.

Golden does a good job of exploring the grey areas of the Force. This is key to me since Ventress has always embodied those grey areas better than any other character that has come about in the Star Wars EU over the years.

If you enjoy action and "rogue" characters like Ventress and Vos, you'll enjoy "Dark Disciple."

I will preface this review by saying I really enjoyed the Clone Wars series. I also have read a number of the new canon novels and have a heart felt love for the EU.

I was initially encouraged by the idea that this was developed and written based off of a few unpublished Clone Wars episodes. The series was well made, and the writing was always decent. That said...this novel felt like some of the lazier of the Clone Wars episodes. Where so many writers are able to fill in the space between interactions with innuendo and wonderful description, it almost seemed like Christie was waiting for the CG to do that for her. Gap moments occurred quite often where a more polished writer would have immersed you more into the scene or provided you with more insight than an eyeroll...or a weight shift. Again...with the cartoon...this would have been fine, but here it just feels incomplete. A lot could have been done with Vos and Ventress...in this setting. But it seems like Christie just took the storyboards, transcribed it into text and got the okay to print.

You say to yourself..."honestly...how bad could it really be with these characters"; my thoughts exactly, these characters are fantastic and I was ecstatic that this novel was centered around them. The shame is, Christie did not give you what you were really looking for here. You are left with a "meh...I think that was okay?" Vos and Ventress have nothing but amazing potential to be developed, and there was a little bit of that; in that teenage novel sort of way. There are a few nice little cameo's, and the occasional witty banter, but not enough to really impress or intrigue.

Honestly, I think the real loss here is the end to a storyline that could have possibly continued, but I felt like it was given its 5 minutes of fame and simply ushered away. Perhaps my appreciation for these characters made me a bit bias...but if you do decide to read this...I think you may agree that if allowed to be an actual novel...and in the hands of a more diligent writer, this could have been fantastic. As it is, unfortunately, I would say this was a miss.

Written by George Lucas' daughter Katie Lucas, "Star Wars: Dark Disciple" obviously comes from a legit source of the Star Wars universe. Originally, this story was intended to be a episodic series of the "Clone Wars" animated television show, so much of the writing and the characters involved are ones you will be familiar with if you are a fan of Star Wars and more importantly the Clone Wars animated television show (which compared to the new movies are measurably better entertainment).

Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos and Ventress, a former sith who went the boba fett route in life, team up to assassinate Count Dooku. That's basically the gist of the story without giving anything away. I appreciate these type stories in the Star Wars universe because it takes us outside of the typical Obiwan, Anakin, Yoda story archs and broadens the Tolkienish universe to new heights. Regardless of what you think about the Star Wars universe, it is an amazing collection of imagination and depth.

This story has its ups and downs when it gets sort of draggy in parts. You can tell that there was a story in mind that was supposed to fill an episode or three in a television show that got cancelled and much of what is written had to be lengthened and elaborated upon. The writing done here by Christie Golden and Katie Lucas is genuine and colorful enough though. Having watched the movies and most of the television series to date, the visuals are easily painted and the voices are easily relatable. You can't go wrong with an inside source on the untold stories of the Star Wars Universe.

Once again Golden manages to make two dimensional characters live and breathe. My son is a huge fan of Golden's World of Warcraft books, so much so that he's been nagging me to read them for a couple of years.

Ventress was one of the scariest villains from the Star Wars Clone War series. Traumatized by several early losses and trained to hate all jedi knights, she was one crazy, mixed up assassin. But her training as a sith by the vile Count Dooku turns sour when Darth Sidious orders Dooku to kill her, Dooku, to his credit, seems a bit upset about this. He really did like her and was proud of her talents, but he did what was ordered and when Ventress found out her love and loyalty to him turned to rage and an insatiable need for vengeance.

The Clone Wars show ended without putting a real end to several storylines, the Ventress/Dooku line was one of them. So this book is based on several unaired episodes.

I've always been a fan of opposite pairings and in this case, the former Sith acolyte paired with the Jedi Knight Vos appealed to me, Her expert fighting skills matched with his stellar tracking skills should make for a short journey.

Naturally these two are not all buddy cop from the beginning. He gets in the way of her job and they have a pretty epic fight.

But the story of their attempts to reach Dooku and their growing acceptance and then feelings for each other really stole the show.

Read this book.

I liked the story, although the Ventress story was far better than the Vos one. Christie Golden nailed the characterization of Asajj Ventress. Ventress, one of the best and most complex characters in the SW canon is satisfying, both in detail and emotional resonance. The story of Quinlan Vos was distracting. Vos, a Jedi Master, is too willing to embrace the dark side to complete this mission. I didn't feel that his motivations were adequately explained. If the Jedi are known for one thing, it is understanding and resisting the dark side. No Jedi, and especially a Jedi Master, should be so willing to sell out his principles without serious backstory and justification. Ventress was given pride of place and Vos simply helped drive the story. The Ventress story made the book with reading, regardless of my scruples over Vos. I am glad that I read this book.

I enjoyed "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" when I watched it some years ago, so when I saw this come across my dash, I figured "what the heck?" and selected it. Truth be though, I'm not a Star Wars aficionado so Christie Golden "Star Wars: Dark Disciple" is my first Star Wars book that I am reading.

It was quite enjoyable. A solid 4 star for me in this story about how a former Sith/now bounty hunter Asajj Ventress is brought in by the Jedi to help get close to a Sith Lord. In doing so, she and Jedi, Quinlan Vos, are paired up on the mission and the adventure heats up in more ways than one.

I don't remember all the details of the Clone Wars but I didn't feel it was necessary that I needed to in order to enjoy this story. Pacing was good; characterizations were great; and the action was just the right amount. I like the moral gray that surrounds the mission and the Jedi in particular. To be honest, this book actually makes me want to delve a bit more into other books set in the universe.

But even if I don't go further into the Star Wars universe, I'm glad that I was given the opportunity to read this story.

This is a terrific story that is based on scripts from Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series and then fleshed out by Christie Golden. This is some of the best writing that I've seen, and in my opinion tops all of the other new Star Wars canon books.
This book resolves several "loose ends" from The Clone Wars show, and there are characters and references from it, but you don't have to be familiar with the show to have an incredible and emotionally charged journey. Because of how much fun I had reading the book, I don't want to post any spoiler related info, but I did get to know many of these characters like never before, and I could barley set the book down because of what a fun ride it was. I very highly recommend this book to any Star Wars fan, and especially those who watched the Clone Wars TV show.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As this is my second to last novel of the Clone Wars era, I’ve got to say I’m looking forward to the rise of the empire. Th Clone Wars era is not my favorite, and some of the novels have been average at best. As such, i was surprised by this read. It definitely didn’t go how I expected, and I quite enjoyed Vos and Ventress in this read. Full disclosure, I haven’t seen much of the Clone Wars tv show, so I can’t speak to the characterization of Ventress. Still, interesting read, and I felt like it did a good job of wrapping up the pre-RotS universe

Dark Disciple is a lot of things, but in the end, it’s a painful, rapturous story. Honestly, this book is emotionally charged like no other Star Wars novel that’s been released in the new canon. Part of that is due to the characters. Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos have a lot of history in the old expanded universe. Star Wars: The Clone Wars built onto that history even further, reshaping them, and perhaps even making them better. Yet with Dark Disciple, these two characters come to life like never before. In a way, it cements Quinlan’s history both past and present, an accomplishment that will likely bring joy to longtime Vos fans who aren’t averse to a little rebooting. However, for me, the payoff lied with Ventress. She was one of my favorite characters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and with her getting the spotlight in Dark Disciple, it made it a true joy to read. Painful, but good.

The premise is pretty straightforward. The Jedi Council decides that Count Dooku needs to be eliminated. They choose Jedi Master Quinlan Vos for the mission and further stipulate that he should utilize Asajj Ventress in order to get the job done. The story builds a relationship and trust between the two as they go off on missions together, delve into bounty hunting, and explore the breadth of the Force. Asajj tries to show Vos how she’s found a balance between dark and light that allows her to remain herself without being consumed by the dark side. As the story unfurls, they get mixed up with bounty hunters like Boba Fett, Bossk, Latts Razzi, Embo and Highslinger. They go up against Black Sun and the Pyke Syndicate. Along the way, the Jedi Council keeps an eye on the two, and readers can look forward to seeing some Obi-Wan and Anakin in action in this book. But ultimately, the conflict comes down to Quinlan, Ventress and Dooku. In a web of emotions, ambitions and the dark side, readers are in for a tumultuous ride.

With Quinlan and Asajj at the core of this book, a lot rides on how attached readers are to their backstories. Keep in mind, this book is based off of eight scripts for episodes of The Clone Wars that were never completed due to the show’s cancellation. For fans still clinging on to the old Dark Horse Comics backstories for Ventress and Vos, you might not like this one. As always, The Clone Wars goes it’s own way and tells it’s own story for each of the characters. Quinlan Vos’ story is rewritten, but it also reflects much of the spirit of what it was. His master is still Tholme. He can still read memories and images from objects using the Force. Furthermore, his life is still haunted by the dark side. I found the Vos presented in Dark Disciple to be a very nice bridge between the Vos of old and that of this new creation. As for Ventress, her character arc follows what was laid out in the television show. She’s turned to bounty hunting, has found a peace within herself, and is no longer ruled by the dark side. If you like what they did with Ventress in the tv show, you’ll like the Ventress in this book.

It’s hard to talk about the book too much further without delving into serious spoilers. However, there is some more that needs to be said. First off, Christie Golden does a wonderful job of capturing the characters. Be it Quinlan, Asajj or Yoda and Obi-Wan, all of the characters in this book fall perfectly in line with what The Clone Wars created. As a big fan of The Clone Wars, I really enjoyed this story and how well it worked in telling a chapter of the show in book format. I was rather disappointed with the previous Dark Horse Comics mini-series that tried to tell a Darth Maul arc from The Clone Wars as it just did not work for me at all. Dark Disciple, however, works. It captures the depth of the characters, the resonance of emotion, as well as the excitement and action as they’re thrown into combat. There are lightsaber fights, speeder chases, soul searching and yes, there is a romance angle to this story. Prepare yourselves, cause it’s a good one.

A New Dawn kicked off the new canon as everything else was shoved off into legends, and managed to capture a spark of the joy that is Star Wars Rebels. Tarkin and Heir to the Jedi both dove into specific characters to try and show readers a new side to Tarkin and Luke Skywalker. Lords of the Sith went a different route by going for sheer, all out action with some extreme characters. There was joy to be had in all of them, but Dark Disciple raises the bar. It has character exploration, it has action, and it captures the magic of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It takes all of those great aspects, throws in a thick layering of character investment, and gives fans an emotional experience that will leave them trembling when it’s all said and done. At least that was my experience. With any luck, fans will get the same level of enjoyment as I did. I give Dark Disciple a five out of five.

*I received this book as an eARC from Del Ray via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This has taken the spot as my favorite of the new Star Wars canon novels. The storytelling is excellent. Reading this book, I could hear the voices of the animated characters. There wasn't a moment when I thought a character's actions didn't allign with their already canonical self. Ventress especially has excellent quips.

The material that went into creating this was many unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars tv series. There were certain points where it seemed evident that one arc ended and a new one started. I didn't mind though. There was constant action. I never found myself bored. Since these arcs would have made up a large part of the season, a lot of time passes. This isn't a book that takes place over a few days. Relationships really build and change within this book.

I liked how this book addressed the Dark Side and the way it was handled make me excited for the future of Star Wars. The Dark Side isn't always connected to the Sith. The Force is used in many different ways. The characters in this novel truly embody the idea of grayness.

I loved watching the relationship between Vos and Ventress evolve. There were a lot of great parallels to Anakin and Padme. It is even addressed within the book. The Anakin in this book is the closest to Revenge of the Sith I've seen before. The Jedi Order is also degrading and the effects of the war are evident.

This was an excellent Star Wars novel. It was always moving forward. The story actually progressed. Characters changed. Things happened that truly matter to the overall Star Wars universe. I give this novel a 5/5 and I really hope more stories are told form this time period. I'm sure the focus in the next year will be on post-ROTJ, but I want at least a few Clone Wars era stories.

Dark Disciple is one of the first post-Disney takeover Expanded Universe, wrapping up the stories of Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, two of the strongest characters from the "old" Expanded Universe, who have very different story arcs in the Clone Wars cartoon (the second one, which is canon, as opposed to the original microseries that most people don't even remember anymore, which isn't). Confused yet? Because I have to confess I'm still a bit confused. Though it's not tough to accept that this is the new "official" history of the Star Wars galaxy, it's impossible to not remember the older stories and have to make a conscious effort to keep in mind that they're now essentially a giant "What If...?" story.

This book is based on unproduced plots from the Clone Wars, though it's impossible to know exactly how detailed those were and how much of the story is Golden's work. Either way, the narrative is solid, though one that would be very difficult to summarize without specific spoilers. As one of the few hardcore Star Wars fans who simply could not get interested in the Clone Wars cartoon, I appreciated the summation of events from the series, thorough enough for a novice to easily follow, but not presented in an overly wordy infodump that might turn off those more familiar with the events of the show. Vos and Ventress are both consistent with their portrayal in other novels and comics, and, I'm assuming, from the show as well. Their story here is vaguely similar to the Dark Horse comics (which were rendered non-canon by the Clone Wars even before Disney bought out Lucasfilm), though different enough to not feel like a total retread of what's come before.

Golden's writing style is fluid and easy to read, a good fit with a Star Wars novel. It feels occasionally like there might be just a bit too much story to fit into the one novel, as some of the shifts in characterization feel a little abrupt. But this is most likely the effect of having only one book in which to tell what was probably a much longer-term story over multiple TV episodes. All in all, worth reading for Star Wars fans (all of whom are automatically Quinlan Vos fans, right?).

Is it sad that I am glad that The Clone Wars was cancelled so that Dark Disciple could be a book? I have no idea how Dark Disciple could have been done justice in the format of a TV Show.
When I read the blurb for Dark Disciple, my first thought was “what is the point of this book? Obviously Vos and Ventress fail to kill Count Dooku as Anakin kills him in Revenge Of The Sith”. I now understand why they used this as the main focus, but it does take away from the unpredictability of a book as the ending was known, well part of it at least.
Dark Disciple is set during The Clone Wars, and is based around an arc of unaired episodes. The Jedi Council has decided that Count Dooku has become too much of a threat and that is death would help end The Clone Wars. The Jedi Council decide to send Jedi Master Quinlan Vos to use Asajj Ventress’s hate for her former master to execute him. What follows is honestly just indescribable.
I have fallen in love with Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress. I never thought that it would happen, but it did. Even though I have only seen the first 3 seasons of The Clone Wars, I like to think that I have a rough idea of what has happened before the events of Dark Disciple.
I would recommend Dark Disciple to anyone who likes Star Wars, or any kid who like The Clone Wars or Rebels TV Show. Do not let Aftermath cloud your judgment of the other canon books!

Star Wars novels, at least the ones that I read from the old EU, almost always fell into two categories: excellent or wretched. Very few of these novels ever fell into an area where they were pretty good but not necessarily great or terrible. Dark Disciple, written by Christie Golden and based on The Clone Wars episodes that never came to fruition, falls into that grey category where it could have been a lot better, but it's not a bad read for what it is.

This tale features Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos and centers around their quest to eliminate Count Dooku. While Dooku has always been a target, his actions against a group of refugees sends the Jedi over the edge and they decide that he must be eliminated and end the Clone Wars once and for all.

Fans of the Star Wars comics that pre-date the Clone Wars series will probably enjoy this book. I especially enjoyed the relationship that forms between Vos and Ventress. While I've never been a huge fan of Vos, Ventress has always mesmerized me. Her character develops greatly throughout this book, and I hope that her life is explored even more in other novels.

The pacing is very good and the action is excellent. This book definitely leans toward the adult end of the spectrum, but older fans of the Clone Wars will definitely enjoy this tale as well.

Golden does a good job of exploring the grey areas of the Force. This is key to me since Ventress has always embodied those grey areas better than any other character that has come about in the Star Wars EU over the years.

If you enjoy action and "rogue" characters like Ventress and Vos, you'll enjoy "Dark Disciple."

I will preface this review by saying I really enjoyed the Clone Wars series. I also have read a number of the new canon novels and have a heart felt love for the EU.

I was initially encouraged by the idea that this was developed and written based off of a few unpublished Clone Wars episodes. The series was well made, and the writing was always decent. That said...this novel felt like some of the lazier of the Clone Wars episodes. Where so many writers are able to fill in the space between interactions with innuendo and wonderful description, it almost seemed like Christie was waiting for the CG to do that for her. Gap moments occurred quite often where a more polished writer would have immersed you more into the scene or provided you with more insight than an eyeroll...or a weight shift. Again...with the cartoon...this would have been fine, but here it just feels incomplete. A lot could have been done with Vos and Ventress...in this setting. But it seems like Christie just took the storyboards, transcribed it into text and got the okay to print.

You say to yourself..."honestly...how bad could it really be with these characters"; my thoughts exactly, these characters are fantastic and I was ecstatic that this novel was centered around them. The shame is, Christie did not give you what you were really looking for here. You are left with a "meh...I think that was okay?" Vos and Ventress have nothing but amazing potential to be developed, and there was a little bit of that; in that teenage novel sort of way. There are a few nice little cameo's, and the occasional witty banter, but not enough to really impress or intrigue.

Honestly, I think the real loss here is the end to a storyline that could have possibly continued, but I felt like it was given its 5 minutes of fame and simply ushered away. Perhaps my appreciation for these characters made me a bit bias...but if you do decide to read this...I think you may agree that if allowed to be an actual novel...and in the hands of a more diligent writer, this could have been fantastic. As it is, unfortunately, I would say this was a miss.

Beginning late last year it was announced that all previous Star Wars Novels were NOT to be considered cannon considering the Disney takeover so essentially they could have a blank canvas to re-tell stories aside from the movies and TV series. I'm not sure how many recent books have been part of this new cannon, but it is very few with many more on the way.

Dark Disciple follows the tale of a Jedi named Quinlan Vos who is given the task by the Council to befriend ex-Sith Lord and current Bounty Hunter Asajj Ventress for the purpose of assassinating Sith Lord Count Dooku. This novel take place after Star Wars Episode II and just prior to the beginning of Episode III so Anakin is still a Jedi and has not yet turned In to Vader.
The tale tracks Vos the Jedi as he builds a relationship both professional and personal with Ventress as the first third of the book is them coming together through Bounties they are trying to complete where guest appearances by both Bossk and Boba Fett are made.

Where things get complex is when Vos begins to have feelings for Ventress because of course Jedi are not supposed to show any attachment. Is Vos turning to the Dark Side? Does he really love Ventress, or is he becoming a Sith? What should the Jedi Council do about this?

It's a compelling and fast-paced book that gives further insight in to the Jedi council and Dooku, but really is a study in the relationship between Vos and Ventress. It's a solid and well-written book, but indeed it is a Sci-Fi love story. As a huge Star Wars fan I would recommend it as a good read, but it's not one where you will geek out with cool new Star Wars facts or interesting tidbits on core characters such as Yoda or Obi-Wan. An excellent and solid outing.

Written by George Lucas' daughter Katie Lucas, "Star Wars: Dark Disciple" obviously comes from a legit source of the Star Wars universe. Originally, this story was intended to be a episodic series of the "Clone Wars" animated television show, so much of the writing and the characters involved are ones you will be familiar with if you are a fan of Star Wars and more importantly the Clone Wars animated television show (which compared to the new movies are measurably better entertainment).

Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos and Ventress, a former sith who went the boba fett route in life, team up to assassinate Count Dooku. That's basically the gist of the story without giving anything away. I appreciate these type stories in the Star Wars universe because it takes us outside of the typical Obiwan, Anakin, Yoda story archs and broadens the Tolkienish universe to new heights. Regardless of what you think about the Star Wars universe, it is an amazing collection of imagination and depth.

This story has its ups and downs when it gets sort of draggy in parts. You can tell that there was a story in mind that was supposed to fill an episode or three in a television show that got cancelled and much of what is written had to be lengthened and elaborated upon. The writing done here by Christie Golden and Katie Lucas is genuine and colorful enough though. Having watched the movies and most of the television series to date, the visuals are easily painted and the voices are easily relatable. You can't go wrong with an inside source on the untold stories of the Star Wars Universe.

Once again Golden manages to make two dimensional characters live and breathe. My son is a huge fan of Golden's World of Warcraft books, so much so that he's been nagging me to read them for a couple of years.

Ventress was one of the scariest villains from the Star Wars Clone War series. Traumatized by several early losses and trained to hate all jedi knights, she was one crazy, mixed up assassin. But her training as a sith by the vile Count Dooku turns sour when Darth Sidious orders Dooku to kill her, Dooku, to his credit, seems a bit upset about this. He really did like her and was proud of her talents, but he did what was ordered and when Ventress found out her love and loyalty to him turned to rage and an insatiable need for vengeance.

The Clone Wars show ended without putting a real end to several storylines, the Ventress/Dooku line was one of them. So this book is based on several unaired episodes.

I've always been a fan of opposite pairings and in this case, the former Sith acolyte paired with the Jedi Knight Vos appealed to me, Her expert fighting skills matched with his stellar tracking skills should make for a short journey.

Naturally these two are not all buddy cop from the beginning. He gets in the way of her job and they have a pretty epic fight.

But the story of their attempts to reach Dooku and their growing acceptance and then feelings for each other really stole the show.

Read this book.

I liked the story, although the Ventress story was far better than the Vos one. Christie Golden nailed the characterization of Asajj Ventress. Ventress, one of the best and most complex characters in the SW canon is satisfying, both in detail and emotional resonance. The story of Quinlan Vos was distracting. Vos, a Jedi Master, is too willing to embrace the dark side to complete this mission. I didn't feel that his motivations were adequately explained. If the Jedi are known for one thing, it is understanding and resisting the dark side. No Jedi, and especially a Jedi Master, should be so willing to sell out his principles without serious backstory and justification. Ventress was given pride of place and Vos simply helped drive the story. The Ventress story made the book with reading, regardless of my scruples over Vos. I am glad that I read this book.

I enjoyed "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" when I watched it some years ago, so when I saw this come across my dash, I figured "what the heck?" and selected it. Truth be though, I'm not a Star Wars aficionado so Christie Golden "Star Wars: Dark Disciple" is my first Star Wars book that I am reading.

It was quite enjoyable. A solid 4 star for me in this story about how a former Sith/now bounty hunter Asajj Ventress is brought in by the Jedi to help get close to a Sith Lord. In doing so, she and Jedi, Quinlan Vos, are paired up on the mission and the adventure heats up in more ways than one.

I don't remember all the details of the Clone Wars but I didn't feel it was necessary that I needed to in order to enjoy this story. Pacing was good; characterizations were great; and the action was just the right amount. I like the moral gray that surrounds the mission and the Jedi in particular. To be honest, this book actually makes me want to delve a bit more into other books set in the universe.

But even if I don't go further into the Star Wars universe, I'm glad that I was given the opportunity to read this story.

This is a terrific story that is based on scripts from Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series and then fleshed out by Christie Golden. This is some of the best writing that I've seen, and in my opinion tops all of the other new Star Wars canon books.
This book resolves several "loose ends" from The Clone Wars show, and there are characters and references from it, but you don't have to be familiar with the show to have an incredible and emotionally charged journey. Because of how much fun I had reading the book, I don't want to post any spoiler related info, but I did get to know many of these characters like never before, and I could barley set the book down because of what a fun ride it was. I very highly recommend this book to any Star Wars fan, and especially those who watched the Clone Wars TV show.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As this is my second to last novel of the Clone Wars era, I’ve got to say I’m looking forward to the rise of the empire. Th Clone Wars era is not my favorite, and some of the novels have been average at best. As such, i was surprised by this read. It definitely didn’t go how I expected, and I quite enjoyed Vos and Ventress in this read. Full disclosure, I haven’t seen much of the Clone Wars tv show, so I can’t speak to the characterization of Ventress. Still, interesting read, and I felt like it did a good job of wrapping up the pre-RotS universe

I am giving this one 4 out of 5, but honestly, if it was anything other than what it is (a Clone Wars episode), I probably would have rated it a 3. My main problems with the story are that there are some moments where things will just sort of happen or jump around and also some extremely cliche moments. That being said, the tv show had a lot of these moments too, so it legitimately feels like an episode of the show for most of the book.

I had a hard time getting into the story at first, but it picked up after a few chapters. I didn't much care for the treatment of Mace Windu's character. It felt a bit off for me, but I thought she did a good job with the rest of the characters. I particularly liked the interactions with Obi-Wan and Anakin.

Overall, I think that if you enjoyed the Clone Wars tv show, you should enjoy reading this book. Also, this is not the old expanded universe so don't go into it expecting the Quinlan Vos of old. I think several people were complaining about that, but it really isn't fair to the author because she didn't have any control over that.

Recommended for fans of the tv series.

I was a little nervous after deciding to get into the expanded universe of Star Wars. Previously, before being bought by Disney, I wanted to, but there was just SO much out there, I wasn't sure where to start or if I would understand any of it.

Then came this book.

I watched a little of the Clone Wars cartoon series as a kid, and eventually finished it later when it became available on Netflix as an adult. Needless to say, after that I was invested in the characters of Asajj, Obi-Wan, Quinlan, and so on.

I started reading this book, anxious about what would happen, the story starts out with typical prequel style, Count Dooku has become a major threat and the Jedi council convenes on how to fix it. They eventually decide Quinlan Vos, a Jedi who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and break a few rules, is the man for the job. He eventually has to make an unlikely alliance with Dooku's former apprentice, Asajj Ventress, and from there on this book takes off!

I don't want to spoil anymore than that, I think this is one of the greatest fiction books I've read in a while. People who aren't fans of the Clone Wars era may not enjoy this book as much as I did. But, if you have even remotely any interest in any of the characters from that part of Star Wars history, you'll enjoy this book! Try it out, and you just might end up like myself, wanting to read everything else that is out now.!

It's important to know that this book was adapted from some unfinished episodes of The Clone Wars TV series, and the writing truly reflects that. The concept for the story is good, with Jedi Master Quinlan Vos teaming with former Sith Asajj Ventress to take out Count Dooku. While the story idea is good, it has three flaws that I found it hard to get over: Firstly, we already know that Dooku makes it to the end of the Clone Wars; secondly, I found it hard to believe that all of the Jedi Master's would agree to an assassination, third, I doubt the Jedi Council would send someone to flirt so closely with the Dark Side. Despite this, it was interesting to watch the story progress. The author does a great job at getting you invested early on with back and forth quips between Ventress and Vos. It is more toward the middle and end that things feel like they are dragging a bit, and that the story feels like it could have benefited from being a bit shorter.
All in all the story is interesting and worth a read if you miss the Clone Wars series as I do. Hopefully we will get to see more of these unfinished stories in the future.

The Jedi make the surprising decision to assassinate Count Dooku, and assign Jedi Voss to manipulate former Sith apprentice Ventress into helping him. All goes according to plan, at first – as Voss easily charms Ventress and they become partners. But their partnership becomes more than professional, and Voss’ loyalties are put to the test. Voss and Ventress are incredibly complex and vivid characters. I’d love to see more of them going forward.

Dark Disciple is a fast-paced, action-packed adventure that’s very hard to put down. Star Wars novels are always entertaining, and this is no exception. This latest installment is packed with intrigue, suspense, drama, mysticism, romance, and humor. I’ve enjoyed Golden’s numerous Star Trek novels and now feel like I need to go back and read all of her previous contributions to Star Wars as well. Fans shouldn’t miss this exciting read.

My 11 year old son read this, since he's become a big star wars fan after we had a marathon session of all six movies in anticipation of the new one coming out this year. He was familiar with the characters from the "Clone Wars" series, so he was initially excited about this story. The basic plot is that the jedi council is attempting to assassinate count Dooku and one jedi was sent to kill count Dooku. One problem that my son had with the storyline was that he knew, from the movies, that count Dooku had to survive, so he didn't feel that there was much suspense. He did think it was interesting how they tried to make characters out of people that you just saw in the movies, though.

I've never watched Clone Wars so this was my first entry into this era besides Episodes II and III. The book started off really strong with a Jedi and an ex-Sith teaming up as bounty hunters. About halfway through the book the story morphs into something completely else and takes a downturn. It feels like about 3 books of material were crammed into the last half of this book. There are several places where the story gets swept along so that the author can move onto something else. Asajj Ventress gets turned from this strong, kickass woman to a shell of herself who meekly does whatever her man wants. Ugh!

There's also a prequel short story entitled "Kindred Spirits" featuring Asajj Ventress at the end of the ebook.

If you enjoyed the Clone Wars animated series you are going to really enjoy this book. The characters are well fleshed out. My only point of frustration is that the whole book revolves around the plot to assassinate Count Dooku. This obviosuly fails because he needs to be present in Episode 3 so, for me, the moments of suspense where the book attempts to portray the characters as about to defeat him fall flat as we already know he is going to survive. Frustrating, yes, but there is still a lot in this book to enjoy. The interaction between Quinlon Voss and Assage Ventriss is enjoyable and its great to see these characters get a full story all to their own.

The adventures of Ventress and Vos would have made excellent television. The structure of the novel follows an episodic format, and the mini-climaxes along the way make for fun and engaging reading.

Dark Disciple portrays a Jedi council willing to betray its own principles for a perceived greater good. It shows the corrupting influence of that way of thinking, particularly for Q. Vos.

However, the final act of the novel blazes a very messy trail to what ultimately feels like a clean, saccharine conclusion. I won't say more than that, but the final pages turn this tale of seduction and hypocrisy into an all-too-straightforward morality play about good and evil.

All told, it's a good Star Wars book, but it stops short of being a great one.

I received a prepublication copy of this book (July 7, 2015) through NetGalley with the understanding that I would publish are review on my blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google + pages along with NetGalley, the store and Goodreads.

I requested this book as I have read a number of the Star Wars novels including several by Christie Golden.
This is a well written, fast paced, hard to put down book. It takes place prior to Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader and is still connected to Obi Wan Kenobi. The main story revolves around another Jedi who is tasked by the Jedi Council with a very un-Jedi like mission concerning Count Dooku that involves him with another individual who escaped from the Dark Side.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Star Wars series.

This book isn't perfect, but it should be a treat to Star Wars fans. The novel stars Quinlan Vos, a jedi master, and the Asajj Ventress, a sith assassin. This duo is given a mission to assassinate Count Dooku, leading to elaborate training scenes, intrigue, action, and romance.

Vos and Ventress are a good pairing. A comic book favorite and a cartoon favorite, they match well because Vos is awfully grey for a jedi, and Ventress is awfully grey for a sith, allowing them to meet somewhere in the middle. I was interested in their characters and happy to read the book.

I gave this four stars for what it is - a Star Wars book with lots of inside baseball. If you're looking for more Star Wars to tide you over, and particularly if you're a fan of Vos or Ventress, you'll probably enjoy it.

I have been trying to read all the books for the new cannon. I haven't had enough time to watch all of the Clone Wars, Rebels, or comics. I was not familiar with Vos and knew very little about Asajj. I listened to the audio version and throughly enjoyed it. I like the interaction between the characters and how their relationship grew. I also enjoyed the fact that other well-known Star Wars characters we're also in the story. I highly recommend this book and Order and the audio version.

Dark Disciple is one of my favorite new cannon novels. In particular I found Ventress's relationship with the dark side fascinating. The concept that the dark side of the force is like a drug that more often than not will take over its user and break them. Quinlan Vos is a good lense through which we view both sides of the force in probably the most neutral capacity in the history of Star Wars. I did find the ending a little lackluster, and disappointing however. Along with the fact that the appearances by Anakin and Obi-Wan make Anakin's eventual turn mildly annoying, he really should have known better by the time of Revenge of the Sith.

I really enjoyed most of this book being that I have been a fan of ventress since clone wars. I highly recommend to fans of Clone Wars.
Warning minor spoilers for Star Wars: Dark Disciple.

Pros
-It delves into the character of Ventess and voss two characters I have always found interesting.
-It makes call backs to episodes of the Clone Wars.
-It adds some more information to the Night sister.

Cons
The only real problem I had with the book was the way the romance of Voss and Ventess was written I would picture them like Luke and Mara before they got married but to me the relationship felt more sappy like romeo and juliet but it wasn't even the sappy part it was what I felt the over use of it because for a solid portion of the book that is all it was and after a while it started to wear on me.

All in all it was a good read that I feel would been even better if it had been an arc in the Clone Wars like it was originally intended.

At long last, fans of the Clone Wars franchise will discover the fate of Ventress in this absolutely compelling novel. Despite several high school romanace scenes, it still will strike a chord with readers. And to those haters, you must be out of your mind or such, because this is just ABSOLUTELY AMAZING May da Force show you how good this is, peace out. (PS, I read this on a different form, but still wanted to post my review on the store cause the other app wouldnt let me review in words, only in ratings.)

It’s amazing what expectations can do to your enjoyment of a book. Take Dark Disciple for example. Based on the cover flap alone it would not be unreasonable to presume that this book would be about some convoluted assassination attempt on one of the most prominent political leaders of the era, Count Dooku, and its equally tortuous reasons for failure because, for everyone who’s seen or read Revenge of the Sith, we all know how this is going to end. Add to that some forced sexual tension between the two leads and you have standard Star Wars novel fare. This book, however, is so much more than that and blew my expectations away. It easily made the other “canon” novels look like the Star Wars Holiday Special in comparison.

Despite what the cover flap describes, this book really isn’t about the assassination of Count Dooku. In fact, for the first third of it I can count on one hand the number of times the assassination is mentioned. In reality this novel is about the often tragic relationship of its two leads Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, who I will refer to as Quinsajj when together. The assassination is merely the means to an end. The chemistry between these two is so astonishingly organic such that Han and Leia’s relationship looks like a middle school crush next to Quinsajj. It got so steamy that I had the urge to take off extra layers of clothing when I read this book (that and because at time of writing this, it’s the summer). Ventress is initially portrayed as a loner, one who tries to distance her from all others due to her dreadful past. Betrayed both by the Jedi Order and her former master Count Dooku both of whom left her for dead, she naturally has trust issues and is unwilling to open up to others. By contrast Vos has lived his entire life always in the presence of others. The Jedi Temple is the only home he ever had and, surrounded by his Jedi brethren, is open to trusting those he deems worthy. Nevertheless even by his fellow Jedi he is considered an eccentric maverick and thus often finds himself working on solo missions. The differing personalities of Quinsajj melded together brilliantly; while they are both inherently outsiders, circumstances demanded that they team up with the trusting, flamboyant Vos complementing the wary, conniving Ventress. For any English majors out there, they were an excellent example of foil characters.

However the great characters don’t stop there: Christie Golden has a fantastic understanding of her other characters as well. Not since Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy have I ever seen so many individuals “in character.” No one conveys this better than Count Dooku. Every moment he was present I could just sense the aura of the late Sir Christopher Lee emanating from the book, flaunting his imperious persona. When Dooku gave his speech at the Separatist celebration in the book it was so masterfully delivered that I wanted to stand up and cheer despite the fact that doing so would be the in-universe equivalent of applauding for Hitler. His actions throughout the book, too, are in character: as the aristocratic yet sinister Count he is, Dooku is more than willing to use cruelty and deception to accomplish his goals. This extends to the characterization of the members of the Jedi council, who despite their dogmatic fear of the Dark Side, are seemingly already on their way towards venturing down it. The book makes it very clear how controversial the decision to partake in cold-blooded assassination is and the distrust that permeates the council towards the individuals involved comes about naturally. In the end, they too are willing to use deception just like Dooku to accomplish their goals.

With all the betrayals and deceptions throughout the novel, Golden is able to masterfully weave in some heavy themes to top it off. Do the ends truly ever justify the means? How much should one compromise one’s beliefs for the greater good? How does war affect even the purest of individuals? This is mainly embodied by the aforementioned Jedi Council. It is their belief that killing Dooku will end the war and they become all too willing to, in my mind, violate the Jedi Code (which by the way is now canon, Woohoo!) “There is no death, there is the Force.” By taking matters into their own hands and causing “death” on their own terms rather than through the natural progression of events, they act against the will of the Force. This just goes to show how war can affect even the purest of individuals. Philosophical discussion aside, perhaps the most poignant theme is the nature of attachment invoked by Quinsajj. Is it worth opening up and trusting those you love at risk of being stabbed in the back later? Quinsajj’s relationship was built on deception to begin with so both must question whether being together is the right course of action.

Ultimately, Dark Disciple has got to be the most beautiful, masterfully written work of art I’ve read in a long time. What starts off as typical McGuffin chasing story turns into something else entirely with complex themes and inspiring characters pushing forward an engaging plot. This all culminates into a heart wrenching ending that just tears at the feels. Some may not like how certain characters end up, but I think that just adds to the beauty of it. If this is any indication of the direction the Star Wars franchise is going, the future is bright indeed.

Quick note: While reading the book I was able to listen to the audiobook and, as usual, Marc Thompson does an amazing job. Every character except one sounds almost exactly as if the actors of the movies and TCW were right in the room with you. The exception of course is Asajj Ventress who in the beginning comes off not like the lethal seductress she should be and more like a constipated Trandoshan (lizard alien). He does get better as the book progresses and I eventually got used to his voice but for the life of him his Asajj voice could never sound like a girl to me. Other than that, brilliant work Mr. Thompson. I’d also like to lend a quick shoutout to Katie Lucas who wrote the original scripts to the TCW episodes this book was adapted from. Nice work! In my opinion you’re a much better writer than your father, George.

ALTERNATE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Revenge of the Sith and Shatterpoint both by Matthew Stover. The movie novelization of the classic movie follows a similar story of a pair of individuals, Anakin and Obi-Wan, who share a similar bond to Quinsajj and the trust and betrayals that follow it – the only difference is that they are connected by brotherly love. If for a second you think to yourself “Saw the movie, don’t need to read the book”, I will find you and slap you across the face. You haven’t experienced RotS until you’ve read how Stover tells it. Shatterpoint on the other hand shares thematic elements with Dark Disciple and explores the heavy themes of what war can to individuals and whether the ends ever truly justify the means.

You’re still here? I guess I have a bit of a confession to make: I’m a huge Asajj Ventress fan. She was my favorite character in the entire TCW TV series and I found her character arc the best the show had to offer (sorry Ahsoka but you suffer too much from Mary Sueism for my tastes.) I hope that didn’t just invalidate everything I said up to now.

Five stars might be a little high, but honestly I really loved this book. I read the entire thing in a single sitting and relished every second I spent with it. I loved the characterization of Asajj Ventress across the entire Clone Wars series, so I loved seeing her get a lot of attention here. She was the same character I grew to love, but it really understood her pain as someone who was betrayed and left behind by her Master. I loved seeing the book acknowledge her time as a bounty hunter and I thought this was a good send-off if we never hear from her again. Quinlan Vos was also expertly crafted here, taking advantage of the character we knew from the now-Legends canon character from Republic and giving him a great twist.

My only problem with this book was how it really stinks of a TV show. Some chapters were unnecessary in the book, but were clearly filter to make this two four-episode arcs. Some scenes that were probably longer in the show barely register in the book and end before you realize they did. This book would be perfect had it not been forced to the constraints of the episodes.

This is a book that can be enjoyed by any Star Wars fan, but will have a special place in the heart of any Clone Wars fan. My kids wanted this book, as they miss the animated series Clone Wars and this features several of the characters from this series. This is an action packed romance that pits two characters that to my knowledge did not share space in a single episode of the Clone Wars, but do seem natural together in an unexpected pairing. This is a fast read, with many plot twists that Clone Wars fans will love and will make them miss the series even more.

Perhaps with all the revised interest in Star Wars with the new movie coming out, this series will be revived?

The back cover of the book's EUCantina review says it best, "Reading Dark Disciple really feels like you're watching some of the best episodes of The Clone Wars." This is certainly true, as the book is written based on un-aired episodes that were intended to be released, however the show was cut short. This book is nothing short of excellent. I read it cover-to-cover in the many long lines at Star Wars Celebration Orlando and simply couldn't put it down. Without giving away any spoilers, this book has a pantheon of awesome and well-known Star Wars characters, from Asajj Ventress to Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, and Mace Windu. Quinlan Vos, the main protagonist, was featured in a couple Clone Wars episodes and follows one of his high priority missions, one highly debated by the Jedi Council. On a more personal note, and I think this is a neat additional feature, I had the privilege to meet Christie Golden at SWCO, and it was an absolute pleasure. Knowing that the author is so friendly, passionate, and fan-oriented only enhanced my experience with Dark Disciple. I am looking forward to her upcoming book Inferno Squad!

Dark Disciples, a novel based on unproduced scripts for the Clone Wars series, is an exciting and terrific read. I had never read any Star Wars bok or anything by Christie Golden, but I'm glad I tried it out. The book deals with the unlikely partnership between and a Jedi,Vos, and a Sith,Ventress, in an attempt to kill the evil Count Dooku, Ventress' former master. The partnership leads to romance; some fans may not like this but I thought it made the book more compelling.

I took off one star because I would have preferred a different ending (I'd explain in more detail but don't want to give the ending away).

I am an avid audiobook reader. This is my first Star Wars book I have ever undertook, and I hope all of the others follow this one. I will often read books simply because of who narrates it and the editing that goes into it. This book delicately and beautifully includes a soundtrack and sound effects. While that may seem distracting in other books it adds in a wonderful way to the story here and constantly reminds me that I am in a Star Wars universe.

The book itself carries its own weight as well. Knowing that it came from the clone wars series I was very easily able to picture what every scene look like. Even if I had not seen the series I would easily be able to picture what was going on.

Okay... I'm a STAR WARS fan. Ask anyone. Really... ANYONE! I've read several of the pre The Force Awakens novels (do NOT get me started) and enjoyed those that linked new, creative, and downright AWESOME stories to the movies of my childhood! The animated adventures from The Clone Wars and now Rebels are fantastic stories as well. This book does a fantastic job of adding some extra "oomph" to The Clone Wars story line. Reads great. Lots of details. Very descriptive. I really liked it, and I'll be on the look out for sure of any "links" between The Clone Wars adventures and some new ones that I can read about!

I won't say that I LOVED it, because it was not a page turner to me - it had interesting characters and a few twists and turns along the way - the biggest issue with prequel style books is that you know which major characters will survive, and the new characters that you have never heard of will probably not live, or they will disappear, so the guessing game is at a minimum - however, the writing and the story telling were enjoyable and I give this four stars for that.

First of all, I am hugely biased because I've been a long time fan of Christie Golden's work. She's written a ton of awesome Warcraft and Star Trek novels.

Dark Disciple is very engaging. The main characters are pleasurable to travel with. As was mentioned previously, this occurs during the Clone Wars timeline. Even if you aren't a huge Star Wars fan, this is a delightful book to read. It's entertaining, fast-paced, and has very good dialogue for a genre title. Golden is a Star Wars writing vet, and her knowledge shines through. She adds dimension to her characters that not all SW writers have been able to do.

There are numerous reviews for this book already, but simply put, this was a phenomenal novel, and I believe it largely had to do with the storyline already existing for The Clone Wars. No slight to Christie Golden by any means: she managed to flesh out both Vos and Ventress in ways that only she could. As I read the story, I was unable to help myself visualize everything through the lens of the Clone Wars animation, and I say that in the best way possible. Some of it was predictable, sure, especially if you were even slightly familiar with Vos's backstory in the Legends storyline. However, I actually felt myself moved by the ethical dilemmas faced by all; something that the Clone Wars has been consistently great at doing; the prequels movies, not so much.

Highly recommended. I was able to read it in a sitting and a half, and I'm excited for my son to get older so I can share it with him, as well.

For fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, this is a must read novel. Action packed, emotional, a great addition to the Star Wars story.

Adapted from eight unfilmed scripts for The Clone Wars season seven, this novel probably far outshines what the episodes themselves would have been. While we loose the visual spectacle of the episodes, the emotional depth and adult themes which are allowed to be presented in novel form make this the perfect story to have been adapted. I found myself, as I was reading, trying to figure out when the episode breaks would have taken place for the first half of the book. After that I gave up and assumed that the story was changed enough from the screenplay to make it too difficult to figure out.

While I'm greatly enjoying the new canon novel/comic/tv show inter-connectivity, the mention of Level 1313 several times in the story made me mourn the loss of some of what was sure to to come if Lucasfilm hadn't been bought by Disney and so many planned stories had been abandoned. The move toward inter-connectivity that Lucasfilm was already planning on would have been very interesting as well.

Dark Disciple picks up where the final tidbits of The Clone Wars left off, with Ventress a bounty hunter and the Clone Wars going very badly for the Republic. Quinlan Vos and Ventress team up to assassinate Count Dooku and sparks fly. This story on it's surface would seem questionable, but I found myself totally buying the Ventress/Vos storyline, and I grew to love Ventress as a character even more than I did by the end of The Clone Wars. Golden does such a great job of capturing Ventress's voice, which I suppose can be chalked up to having the screenplay already given to her, but still give her credit for some great writing. I became so invested in the story that I was almost to the point of wondering if Ventress and Vos would actually succeed in eliminating Count Dooku.

Now on to the spoilers....

This book is also Quinlan Vos's original story arc reimagined in The Clone Wars canon continuity. His battles with falling to the dark side, going under cover to destroy Count Dooku, and his embrace of romantic attachment in defiance of the Jedi Code are great storylines plucked right out of his the original Clone Wars comic continuity, and I loved seeing them again in this tale. I don't think the canon Quinlan Vos is as cool or interesting a character as the original, but we spent much less time getting to know him and his story.

The entire assassination Dooku storyline was just another piece in the long line of horrible mistakes Yoda and Windu make that ends with the destruction of the Jedi Order.

While I loved the first half of the book, I felt the story began to loose me a bit for most of the last half. Once Vos and Ventress return from their assassination attempt, I started to get lost about their individual motivations. While I finally started to understand Vos's motive towards the very end, it was only vaguely explained in the final chapters. With a fuller understanding of what was happening, I think the last half of the book would be better on a reread.

Really big spoilers....

The last three chapters really got me back in to the story. I loved that Ventress's character was wrapped up, as she was one of the handful of dangling threads left by the abrupt end of The Clone Wars. I prefer her death as told in this story to her original fate in the Clone Wars comics. During her funeral, as Vos lowered her into the water and something strange began to happen, I thought for a moment that she would be resurrected. For just a few seconds I was very impressed that Golden had sold her death so well if the intention was to have her and Vos sail off into the sunset.

I really love when I am so excited by a scene and get the feeling that something amazing is about to be revealed. I held by hands in front of the page to prevent my eyes from darting down the paragraphs and being spoiled a few seconds before what I thought might be the big reveal of Ventress's return. As I moved my hand down the page line by line, I realized what was actually happening and was very impressed by the last line of the book. That was some great writing.

End of spoilers...

Not being a huge fan of Ms. Golden's Star Trek novels, I was very impressed by this first of her Star Wars books I have read. I hope to read more from her in the future.

I am sure that since this book was so good it will be a hit. Hopefully that will give Lucasfilm reason to publish more unused The Clone Wars storylines. I would love to see that Boba Fett/ Cad Bane teamup as a novel. And we simply must see the final story of Ahsoka and Rex in what would have been the series finale. Plus, where is Darth Maul!!!???!!!

I give Dark Disciple a 9 out of 10 stars! Keep up the good work Del Rey!

We both remember seeing the very first Star Wars film at the movies when it came out and have made a point of seeing every release since...while we're not the type of people who collect action figures, we enjoy the entire saga enough to be quite curious about something like this...it's a no-brainer 'must have' for pretty much any sci-fi buff and especially those who have followed Star Wars for 30+ years. Other reviews have done a great job presenting the basic overview without spoilers so I won't add to that other than to say, it's a fun, well written addition!

First you should know that while I like Star Wars, I am not a die hard fan. With that said, I loved Dark Disciple! The book grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go. The characters are engaging and the story is well developed and quickly became a book I did not want to put down! I don't think it should be a problem for someone who is not familiar with the Clone Wars, so, this really is good for anyone. I have bit had a book like this in quite some time and I am ready for the next one! There is plenty of action and drama here to keep me engaged.

Some spoilers below:

First, I'll preface with the obligatory: I'm a huge fan of Star Wars! That being said, up until recently, my love extended only to the feature films and the Clone Wars series. The sheer volume of books in the EU intimidated me enough that I simply stayed away. For some Star Wars fans, like myself, the new, official Disney-approved, Canon is a great jumping-on point. I've quickly devoured A New Dawn, Lords of the Sith, and now Dark Disciple, and I've enjoyed every minute of every book! John Jackson Miller's work is so astonishing that I actually went and read one of the LEGENDS books, Star Wars: Kenobi. It might not be canon, but I see no reason why I can't consider it so in my own mind. It's an isolated tale of Kenobi's first year-or so-on Tatooine. Great work all around! So, to the review:

Hats off to Ms. Golden for writing a book that is equal parts romance, thriller, and science fiction. Sometimes it can be hard to invest in stories where the outcome is known. Ex: The plot of this book hinges upon Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos murdering Count Dooku. We've all seen Episode III. It ain't gonna happen. But, the journey, my young Padawans is just as interesting as the destination.

Asajj Ventress was always a stand-out character to me on Clone Wars: The Series. She's the rare character in a series that you hate at the beginning and root for in the end. And even when you hated her, you kind of liked her. She's lithe, witty, and her velvety voice is like dessert to the ears. Her character arc in the show is one of the most well-developed, intriguing of all of the characters. This tradition continues in this novel, which is based on un-aired episodes of the show. Here, you find a Ventress who has turned from the Dark Side, but who is still lost in the universe. Without giving too much away, Asajj Ventress remains the stand-out character in the novel as well. We see her become vulnerable, scorned, and ultimately in control of her own destiny.

Quinlan Vos was an under-utilized character in the show. Perhaps this is why he was chosen as the male lead in this romantic drama. His masculine bravado and ability to ingratiate himself into almost any company plays well off of Ventress, whose confident femininity is both powerful and abrupt. Throughout the book, much of the tension hinges upon figuring out just what side of the Force Quinlan is playing for. The Light/Dark/Light/Dark can feel like flipping a switch to the reader just when he's starting to adjust to the light, but it's all to the effect of better dramatic narrative.

Overall, Golden's book is a fine examination of Ventress's character, and presumably a quality adaptation of what would have been a very compelling arc. If anything, the book is able to dive deeper into some emotions in the book (there weren't a lot of intimate scenes on Clone Wars; nor was there talk of lovers). The romance itself can be a little "Twilighty" at times, but its sweetness may be just a nice balance to the darkness within the characters.

Now, if only an Asajj/Obi-Wan script were floating around, that would make an interesting sequel! But alas...SPOILER HUGE SPOILER...perhaps Obi-Wan still aches for his dear Satine. Plus, he wouldn't go that far with our favorite assassin anyway. Or would he?

--NB

If I had read this when I was 17 and first got into the expanded universe of Star Wars I might have been able to love it. Two of my favorite characters from the SW universe making up an unlikely team and then having a romance? I can dig it. But not only was the writing very plodding and dull, it had the crappiest ending I've read in a Star Wars book.

This is the third book in the new canon that I've read and found lacking. It's one redeeming quality is that it did feel very accurate to the tone of the films. The Jedi Council dialogs were written very well, I could hear the voices of the actors who played each speaking the lines. I know not every Star Wars fiction reader is also a reader of romance novels so that plot might have surprised and disappointed but if you're familiar with the tenets of the romance genre and were hoping for a Star Wars romance don't waste your time. This does not follow the formula and you will loathe the ending.

Ultimately, I think those who will enjoy it are fans of the Clone Wars cartoon. If you love Asajj Ventress you may want to skip this one, I won't spoil anything but I have a feeling you'll hate the ending of this book as much as I did. I feel sorry for anyone who shelled out cash for a hardcover.

Notes: ARC received via NetGalley.

Full disclosure: my 10 y/o, Star Wars-loving son read this over summer break. We're both Star Wars fans and are especially fond of the (now cancelled) Clone Wars cartoon. This book features characters from that series (which, I'm told, is now the new "canon" for Star Wars, excluding all the "Expanded Universe" books and comics from the last 20 years or so), including wannabe Sith, Asajj Ventress. As it appears aimed at younger to young adult readers, I charged him with reading it. My son said he gives it five stars.

Star Wars Dark Disciple

A good book to explore more about the Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress characters.

Two intriguing characters specially to see how they will interact between them. Another point to take is the fact that this is from not broadcasted episodes of the Clone Wars, I could see at moments why this is considered a "more adult" version of the episodes but also it would had been great if the episodes were made, however at moments I couldn't grasp the idea of them being in a relationship (not to spoil for the ones that haven't read it but really!! walks in the park??!!)

At moments the beginning reminded me of the Darth Bane saga, and I also had to remember that this is part of the new canon and had to unlearn the Vos story arcs from the comics.

A good read, can't wait to see if they will be used some more in the near future

Taylor Casey
Prof. Lois Birky
English 110
July 14, 2015
Star Wars: Dark Disciple is an exquisite addition to the new Star Wars canon and stands alone as a solo story. The book itself is written from unproduced scripts from the Clone Wars TV show, which was canceled prematurely after Disney bought Lucas films. The story has been vetted through a group that has the job of making sure that none of the films, TV shows, books, and comics don’t contradict each other. This allows the franchise to keep a coherent story using different mediums to appeal to a larger audience. What I originally thought was going to be a subpar book meant only to cash in on the Star Wars brand name turned out to be one of my favorite Star Wars novels I have read so far.
It takes place during the waning years of the Clone Wars which is a war between the Republic and Separatists. The Jedi Order being forced to consider tactics that are against their beliefs, due to Count Dooku’s war crimes. The Jedi decide to use the maverick Jedi Quinlan Vos to assassinate Count Dooku which is a tactic that until the point of the war the Jedi have never considered due to their beliefs, which have been strained to the ongoing war. In order to better understand his target Quinlan decides to seek out the aid of Dooku’s former apprentice Asajj Ventress. Asajj was a loyal follower of Dooku until after many failures to complete a missions assigned to her he decides to have her killed. After managing to escape and multiple failed assassination attempts which cost the lives of many of her allies she has settled into a life of bounty hunting. Her solitary lifestyle is turned on its head by Quinlan who decides that the best way to approach her is to gain her trust as a fellow bounty hunter. This begins a relationship that begins with animosity and ends with romance.
Instead of using main characters in the series like Obi-Wan or Anakin the author decided to use lesser known characters Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress, and develops them in a way that makes them seem just as important as the main characters of the series. With the developing relationship between the two characters you see them grow as individual characters and as a couple. This break from the use of main characters is refreshing due to their overuse in the franchise so far. In a franchise that spans hundreds of years across an entire galaxy more than a select few characters should have their stories told. This story of war, love, betrayal, and schemes stands by itself as a solo book but adds to the franchise as a whole. Which a difficult accomplishment on the part of the author Christie Golden who has a long history in the Sci-Fi genre in books from Star Trek to World of Warcraft.
The stories main characters are both flawed in many ways which makes them relatable to the reader. Quinlan Vos is a Jedi who likes to bend the rules of the Jedi Order but when his feelings for Asajj surface he begins to question the validity of the rules he must follow. While Asajj who has isolated herself because she doesn’t want to get her again by being betrayed or by losing any more people she cares about is unsure whether to let Quinlan get close to her, or to push him away. The two both keep secrets from one another Quinlan being a Jedi and Asajj being responsible for the death of Quinan’s master which causes conflict in the latter half of the book. This realistic view that relationships can be rocky and strenuous is secrets are kept from the person you are with is handled well by the author.
I’m reluctant to talk much more about Dark Disciple because I don’t want to spoil the novel. I’ll simply say that this is easily the most meaningful of the new canon novels in terms of character development and its impact on the overall saga. Indeed, Christie Golden has set a high standard for characterization in the new Star Wars novel line. I enjoyed learning about - caring about - Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress. I was also fascinated to see how the story incorporated elements of Quinlan and Asajj's stories from the Republic comics - almost as if adapting the comic to a new medium. If you cared about either of these characters - or just like reading about strong characters, I highly recommend Dark Disciple. All in all this book is a good read it is entertaining and well written two things that can be hard to find in books based off large franchises such as Star Wars. The only let down is that some of the months the two main characters of this book spend together are skipped as to streamline the book. While on one hand it would have been nice to know what happened during these months it could have very well dragged down the story by losing the interest of the reader. With a well-planned plotline and exquisite character building for two background characters of the franchise this book has earned a place on my bookshelf.

I guess it isn't much of a spoiler to discuss that the plot involves Vos and Ventress trying to assassinate Count Dooku. Nor much of a spoiler in that they don't succeed. Rather than end with the attempt on his life, that actually happens in the middle. The first part of the book deals with setting up the mission and the relationship of Vos and Ventress and is actually pretty strong. The second half involving the fallout of the mission and the effect it has on all involved is uneven and not as satisfying.

I haven't read a Star Wars book in quite some time, last one I remember reading was the Darth Bane series. I'm gonna keep this review short, since I feel most reviewers probably already covered everything.

You really come to love the main two characters, Vos and Ventress. This book is very character driven, I never felt bored reading this, in fact, I finished it faster than any other book I've read in quite some time. I wasn't expecting it to be so emotional, but wow, it hits hard, man. I loved it all the way through!

( I will say I've never really read the EU Quinlan Vos stories)

Although there were some plot developments that required a crazy amount of luck (or the power of the force if you don't believe in amazing coincidences), it was an enjoyable read. The story was well-written and moved along at a good pace. It's nice to have a story that focuses on a somewhat minor but recurring character within the Star Wars universe because there is a lot more freedom to develop that character since there is not so much material that is already set in stone about them.

Christie Golden is a fantastic author, and overall I have always enjoyed her books. As far as Star Wars goes, I'm a huge fan but not overly enthusiastic about Clone Wars / new canon. I was hoping that the pairing of Golden with unpublished Clone Wars material would make for a nice entry point for old school/book fans such as myself. The story was very good, but would be much more loved by a fan of Clone Wars. Very fast paced, well written and tons of action. Enjoyable!

This is by far one of the best stories from the Star Wars Universe Clone Wars time period. It's very insightful into the conditions & events that lead to the near annihilation of the Jedi Order in the saga. A must read for fans of the greatest stories ever told about "a long time ago in a galaxy far far away "

As someone who loved the character of Ventress from the "Clone Wars" I was happy to get my hands on this novel. Fans from the Expanded Universe will probably be disappointed with the arc Quinlan Vos takes, just a fair warning. Personally, I was satisfied with how they ended Ventress' story, but I have to admit the ending felt a little choppy (we do have to remember that this was adapted from scripts that were never used in the Clone Wars), but it's far better than the start to the "Star Wars: Aftermath" trilogy.

I wanted to like this, I really did.

(To be fair, the combat scenes and certain areas within the plot were good.)

At first I was pumped for this because Quinlan is one of my favorite characters. I also liked Ventress, but I found the characterization to be really off. (Especially Ventress)

SPOILERS:

Quinlan falls to the dark side but Asajj's Love for him pulls him out? Extremely Lame

I was hoping this wouldn't happen but unfortunately I saw this coming after reading a few chapters.

This read like a Twilight Book for Tweens than an actual Star Wars Book

2 out of 5 stars.

Even in darkness or longing. There are choices to be made.... How many can you yourself endure? Lies, deceit, truth unspoken.... Before you have to begin to realise that you have forsaken all you believed real before the truth of all comes before you. Who is right..who is wrong. Your conscience or soul? Sometimes love above all else in many different ways will answer the questions?

I listened to this book on Audible and absolutely loved it. Great narration and a fantastic story. You can definitely pick up on it's roots as an unaired episode of The Clone Wars. This is definitely the most "Star Warsy" book I have read in the new canon. All of the main characters are force sensitive and it takes place right in the thick of the Clone Wars.

I'm a sucker for Star Wars content, and I was very pleased to get my hands on Christie Golden's newest offering: the story of Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, taken from the cut-down-in-it's-prime 6th season of the animated Clone Wars series. The story has been wonderfully adapted by Christie and I think I enjoyed it more as a novel than I would have in animated form. The ability to get inside the characters thoughts brought a lot to the table during this story.

I very much enjoyed this, and recommend it to anybody who enjoys Star Wars.

It's a strange mix, but is fully readable with some level of typical Star Wars excitement (light sabers, conspiracies, hidden threats, super-powered folks...). The romance is a pretty simple-minded one, two strong flawed characters and a few pages of rough edges, and then, bliss, and love eternal. It's really the Twilight model of romance, but probably not completely out of place in this series.

I didn't read the book, I actually got the audible version of the book. I really enjoyed listening to the book. I enjoyed how it mixed in some clone war references. This added to the scenes with Fett. I really liked Vos from his single episode in the Clone Wars. He had no issues using the force and this book makes me wonder what happen to him after order 66 while answering what happen to others.

I’ve been a fan of the Star Wars Expanded Universe books for years, but I never got into the comics or Star Wars: The Clone Wars. So I didn’t have a lot of knowledge on Asajj Ventress or Quinlan Vos that I had to ignore, now that the EU is considered “Legends.” After finishing DARK DISCIPLE, I did go to Wookiepedia and read about both characters; if you are a huge fan of either, be prepared. There’s some definite changes.

DARK DISCIPLE was a mixed bag for me. I think Golden does a good job of developing Ventress and Vos and growing the relationship between them. The author also explores the consequences of the Jedi sending Vos on a mission to assassinate Count Dooku — is preserving one life worth the millions he’s killed? Lastly, I liked that Ventress shows Vos how there’s more than one aspect to the Dark Side.

But by the middle and especially the end, DARK DISCIPLE started slowing down for me. The characters flip flop allegiances without a lot of explanation, and the book drags. Ventress faded into the background, which I didn’t like. She’s the kind of character — morally ambiguous, flawed, powerful — that I want to see more of. I feel like Vos got way more page time, which I didn’t enjoy, since some of the important stuff that happened with him we didn’t get to see. I hate being told about important events — I want to read them for myself!

I really did not like the ending. I can’t say why, because that would be a huge spoiler, but it verged into a bad trope. I’m not sure if the ending was decided by the author, or written in the unproduced scripts the book is based on.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is, in a word, beautiful. Christie Golden brings us a wonderful adaptation of eight scripts by Katie Lucas, Matt Michnovetz, and Dave Filoni. The book is centered on the characters of Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress, two popular characters from the Dark Horse comics. Golden brings these characters to life, excellently adapting their Dark Horse storylines into the new canon. With appearances from Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and cameos from Boba Fett and Master Tholme, this book offers a full and rich experience, though at times heart-breaking, that any Star Wars fan will enjoy.

If you like Quinlan Vos, read this book. If you like Asajj Ventress, read this book. If you like The Clone Wars, read this book.

If you like Star Wars and Clone Wars, this is a read that you will not want to pass up. Mind-blowing and perfectly told, this novel will make you want to write Disney and DEMAND that it be put to screen. Loved it.

I loved reading this book!
I didn't really like the ending but looking back i should've seen it coming!
The chemistry between Ventress and Vos is actually believable and entertaining
id reccomened this to any star wars fan even if they didn't like the clone wars series

The first half was great, but the second half dragged. The book felt a lot longer than it was. Overall it was good. Way too much "cheek touching" and "not unsympathetic" for my taste. Some of Quinlan's behavior especially toward Ventress seemed to go against his established attitudes. He seemes more like a lost puppy than a Jedi Master.

The stunning depth of character and raw emotion capture by this author is nothing short of remarkable. I loved lords of the sith and lost stars but this book took me through a gamut of emotions that made me relate to the characters and question my own morality and decision making. 5 stars

This books starts the way you think, but by the end you're in complete shock. Just a absolute shame that this didn't get animated. Definitely would've been the darkest episode of The Clone Wars series.

Fairly good, though certainly not high quality science fiction. Though of no interest to anyone not thoroughly immersed in Star Wars (including anyone who hasn't watched all of The Clone Wars), this does nicely close one storyline.

It's a shame that these episodes were never finished, the concept art for some of the scenes in the book were quite nice. A good tale to finish Ventress' story arc and bring Vos back in. Puts more pieces of the puzzle together.

Christie must have had a tough job transitioning from the Star Wars the Clone Wars show to a book and yet still have some creativeness. Well done!

Loved to get the final story on Asaaj Ventress. Things were really starting to get good in the Clone Wars show. This was a great opportunity to further explore one of my favorite Star Wars characters.

This was my first experience with the audible format. Most impressive. I was just expecting a book on tape. This was true story telling.

Note: this review was written based on a Digital Review Copy (DRC) uncorrected galley proof provided by NetGalley (https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book/65783 )

When Disney abruptly and unwisely canceled The Clone Wars animated TV series following their purchase of Lucasfilm, it was inevitable that there would be a number of unfinished stories in various stages of development. Animation has one of the longest lead cycles of any creative endeavor, and things that are seeing release today are the product of years of development.

The Clone Wars was wildly popular, with a dedicated creative team with no expectation that the series was coming to an end, so the unceremonious pulling of the plug meant not only that many things didn't get wrapped up, but that some storylines that had already been completed had not seen the light of day and now had no venue to see release.

A few of the nearly completed episodes were haphazardly sewn together into an inaccurately named set called The Lost Missions, that wasn't really lost nor a series of missions, and this was kinda, sorta, Season Six. It was a Netflix exclusive until it was put on disc a little while later, and while the circumstances surrounding the whole affair give the impression of a slapdash scraping of the bottom of the barrel, the episodes are nothing of the sort. The Lost Missions are a bittersweet ending for the series, since they aren't an ending at all, but display all the quality of the rest of the series and make you even more dismayed that it was shuttered.

A few other episodes have been portioned out as animatics and such, but we've likely seen the last of the animated series itself. Fortunately, there is still the less expensive to produce medium of novels in which these stories may still escape.

At least there was until the equally ill-advised decision to scrap the entirety of the long-running Expanded Universe (EU), designating nearly forty years of novels, comics and other stories as "Legends", and keeping only the past couple of things in play.

Ok, I told myself I wasn't going to do this here but I need to spend a minute on this EU Legends thing. The choice to throw out all of the material that was created before you arrived is so unbelievably disrespectful to the authors and fans of said work that it could only come from a massive multi-national company like Disney. Or could it? After all, George Lucas himself was completely indifferent to the things he didn't personally create. Sure, he'd dip into it once in a while, when he saw something interesting he wanted to grab and use for his own purposes, but that is your right with licensed properties.

Years ago I wrote an unpublished piece to TheForceCast (the podcast of theforce.net) railing against Lucasfilm's cavalier attitude concerning the works they had licensed. (Sidebar: the near continuous dumping on the EU is why I finally stopped listening to the show.) If you’re really interested, here’s the bit: http://www.nowverybad.com/odds-and-ends/

I found it insulting that they considered these stories good enough for me to spend my money on, but not good enough for them to actually take seriously or feel any obligation to acknowledge when coming up with new stories for The Clone Wars show. (Which spawned, wait for it, more licensed stories; none of which count anymore, either. Explain that one...) So this one can't really be laid at Disney's door. Lucas, after all, is the one who came up with new storylines for Episodes 7-9 as part of selling his company. (Want a bit of amusing irony? The creative team behind the new films isn't following his stories...)

I understand the dilemma the new creative team behind the next set of films faces. I really do. You want to forge a new future for the franchise, but oops, you already have the next several decades of the Star Wars timeline filled in by authorized tales. I'm not unsympathetic, but it was your decision to make 7, 8 and 9; not mine. It's not as though they couldn't have used the broad strokes of the Expanded Universe and created adaptations of fan-loved stories. In fact, it would have been heaps easier. Marvel Studios will NEVER run out of their own stories to adapt and they're doing pretty well over there. They have yet to actually write a truly original screenplay for any of their pictures so far; they are all adaptations. By my estimation, Marvel may not even need to write an original comic story ever again and they will still have enough material to make movies for, oh, say, 50 years.

Sorry for the long interlude on the EU thing. I really didn’t intend to go into it here, but it’s really difficult to discuss the new wave of Star Wars stories without dealing with this. In fact, what are they planning on calling these “new EU” stories? If the non-movie stuff before was called the Expanded Universe and now is classified “Legends”, what should we call non-movie “canon” stuff that’s being produced now? NU-EU?

So, back to the book itself…
Dark Disciple is based on a story by Katie Lucas, Head Writer Matt Michnovetz, and Series Supervising Director Dave Filoni that would have been an extended arc of eight episodes on Season Seven of The Clone Wars. Lucas has memorably written previously for the show and particularly for the character of Asajj Ventress, notably with the Savage Oppress arc of Season Four.

In Dark Disciple, the Jedi Council, appalled at the most recent atrocity of Count Dooku, this time the near complete genocide of a race of aliens, takes the uncharacteristic and unprecedented step of sanctioning the assassination of the Separatist leader. The instrument they choose to perform this most un-Jedi act is Master Quinlan Vos, who has previously flirted with the Dark Side and worked undercover for Dooku (or has he? I don’t think those stories count anymore…)

Since Vos stands little chance of getting close to the public face of the Confederacy of Independent Systems (the Separatists (?), Master Obi-Wan Kenobi suggests enlisting the assistance of former Dooku apprentice Asajj Ventress. Of course, Ventress is hardly a friend of the Jedi, even if she did briefly ally with Kenobi against the sort-of Sith brothers Darth Maul and Savage Oppress - enemy of my enemy and all that – so Vos will have to be clever in tricking Ventress to help him, posing as a fellow bounty hunter. Oh yeah, Ventress is a bounty hunter now, finding it the best option for survival after her revenge attempt against Dooku for trying to kill her failed and he massacred her family, the Nightsisters.

You know, as I try to summarize the plot of Dark Disciple, I’m kind of making the point of the EU-bashers for them – that the Expanded Universe got too convoluted and detailed to follow and created a huge barrier to entry. Which would all be fair, except that everything I just summed up happened on the tv show. That’s a tv show for kids that ran for only five seasons, with Ventress’s story making up only a fraction of those episodes. Sure, I intentionally wrote some of the previous history above with an eye to satire - making the whole thing sound sort of like a comic book / soap opera. Because make no mistake, any long-running franchise has to face and cop to the completely valid criticisms of being over-complicated and not noob-friendly.

The fact is, I’m not sure you can completely avoid excluding new fans from any series any more than you can keep basketball discriminating against short people (stolen from 1980’s Doonesbury strip by Garry Trudeau). Let’s face it, these Expanded stories, whatever they want to call them, are aimed at existing fans – it’s like selling coffee mugs at a café – you are cultivating your audience from an existing group that has already shown an interest in your product. Sure, you want to increase your base, which is why that’s not the only place you sell your mugs, but you have to know where your main customer lives, so to speak.

Asajj Ventress is one of the most interesting characters to come from the Expanded Universe and The Clone Wars (she was an EU character first, of course - created for stories that now don’t count…). A former Jedi Padawan who came to hate the Jedi for what she perceived to be their failing of her master; a former slave who transformed herself into a skilled warrior and dark-side adept, pledging her allegiance to a fallen Jedi turned Sith Lord who responded with no such allegiance; an orphan whose surrogate families have been repeatedly destroyed.

Quinlan Vos, too, is a product of the EU and one of its most popular characters. A Jedi who has walked the narrow path between the dark and the light; particularly adept at undercover work but divided by his split roles; a Kiffar with an ability to gain information about objects by a mere touch who always been forced to remain untouched by attachment.

The narrative works very well, pairing these two multi-faceted characters on a mission of dubious morality. One of the things the TV show struggled most with was the tonality and seriousness of the stories. Star Wars is theoretically supposed to be family-friendly entertainment, but, well, it does have the word “war” in the title. Sometimes these things get dark. Throughout all of the material, canon and otherwise, creators (even the notorious GL) have searched for the right amount of gravity and import, the whole dark/light balance. The Dark Horse Comics telling of the Clone Wars tended to deal more plainly with the adult-oriented war stories, but the TV show itself occasionally featured murder, terrorism, torture, suicide bombing and slavery. These episodes would sometimes follow a light-hearted escapade with Jar-Jar or the droids.

Here in Dark Disciple, author Christie Golden is able to indulge in a story that fully explores the nature of the Dark Side, treachery, secrecy and the lengths to which you will go to achieve your goals.

The story may be a touch on the long side, but not by much and not because it wasn’t interesting. Golden writes Star Wars very well and brings the tale to life with good beats and a strong story. I really enjoyed the consistent characterization and the integrity of the story along its predecessors. I can’t imagine that this would have been any better as a fully realized TV story. Highly recommended for fans of the Wars...

Overall story was decent, as Ventress was one of my favorite charcters. However, the ending was a bit cliche, but not enough to nerd rage over. Good read for those wanting to know more about Ventress after the clone war series ended.

This is a book that is based off scripts from the clone wars series, and it's quite good. Well written, At its core it is a love story, but I even suprised myself on how entertained by this novel, definitely top 5 in new canon.

The book was good and I liked both main characters and their complex personalities, I just have a problem with the logic of a few things in the plot.. namely how they leave hugely important actions to few or junior personnel that doesn't make sense. I don't want to put spoilers here, so I can't go into detail but there were more than one situation in which that happened.

Other than Tarkin and Lords of the Sith, it's hard to find a good Star Wars book that's both artistic and accurate. In Dark Disciple, you get both these things in detail. It was definitely worth the 12 dollars to read this Republic era novel! The last page brought tears to my eyes… you are lucky to have stumbled upon this story.

I've never read a Star Wars novel, but this was an amazing first exposure. Really expanded the universe for me and cemented both Quinlan Vos and Ventress as favorite characters. It's a really intimate character story at it's heart, and one of the better tales from a galaxy far far away.

I strongly urge any Quinlan Vos fans to stay away from this book. In Golden's right, she was able to write a new character into the book considering it his previous story arc being thrown into the legends bin. But if she was going to write a completely new character, why not choose any random other Jedi? Why not a new one? Although I guess the story is somewhat interesting. But that's the only reason why I'm giving this book one of the stars it doesn't deserve.

I'm okay with the reworking of the legends but this is just disrespectful to previous authors and fans, the fact that she put in characters from Quin's previous story arc, only to do them zero justice in the new canon. Christie Golden in an interview said she never... NEVER read any of his comics, so why would she put them in here to do absolutely nothing but disappoint die hard fans? Quinlan himself is so poorly, and awkwardly written, almost as cringe worthy as Anakin in AOTC during the love scene.

For Ventress fans, it's interesting to find out her fate and that's one of the only characters in this book that is given a true representation. That's why I'm giving this book the other star. In all reality this would've been a two episode Clone Wars show, and I'd prefer that better since that show was in the hands of true fans. But Golden clearly never even watched that, she didn't even give Quinlan's character representation in his clone wars appearance. He was funny and interesting in those appearances, here he is awkward and boring. Although this book would've worked a lot better not mentioning Quinlan or any of his previous story arc characters.

She should have just written new characters because she was given too much freedom as an author to write about him, where as Dave Filoni would have known where to stop and realized that he's written a entirely new character.

I would honestly not recommend this book to anyone, not even to the Ventress fans because with this book out now, you can find her fate in a quick wikipedia canon search. This was the first time I've ever put down a Star Wars book in udder disappointment, and I've read some pretty bad SW's books... Don't waste your money when you can save yourself a few bucks by doing a Wikipedia Asajj Ventress canon search which is basically the entire reasoning of this book being written.

Probably the worst Star Wars story I've read through in a very very long time, and I've certainly been through my fair share of Star Wars novels and comics.

The idea is simple, if you are going to say that a large chunk of the established Star Wars Universe no longer happened or happened slightly different, then at least have the dignity to preserve the character of the characters you use, and also have the creativity to write stories that are on par if not better than the ones they are replacing.
This particular story falls short in both respects which is really as shame because what has happened here is that two of my favourite characters from Dark Horse Comics (who the franchise should have been handed to) have now officially have been robbed of everything that I ever liked about them. Though this comes as no surprise as this story was built from an unaired for the Clone Wars TV series and as we all know, the TV series is created for toddlers and is no more true to the established Star Wars universe than the prequels; on top of that the show took a crap all over the material that Karen Travis had developed in the Republic Commando Series.

Oh and just wait till you read what Count Dooku's pet name for Quinlin becomes.... seriously, it forced me to try to find Google images of the author then everything became clear... sigh.... So this is the crop from which Kathleen Kennedy is picking her female writers. Can we have Karen Travis back PLEASE?!??!

Also, the Jedi are bumbling fools through out this story, plus they are hard core about capital punishment. On top of that, remember the love scene in the Clone Wars that everyone loves so much? This book plays out like a really freaking long version of that scene, minus the fart jokes.

Just don't read it and read those Journey to the Force Awakens books for young kids trilogy instead, they of all the new books I read, felt more true to the spirit of the franchise than anything, well those and the majority of the comics, though the pacing is all off in the comics for sure, and seriously, how many lost Jedi Temples does Luke find in such a short period of time?

Ok I started out loving this book but 3/4 of the way through it became montonious!! I love quinlan vos he is one of my favorite jedi ... While this book does him justice it lags a lot... The story becomes reptative ... At one point I remember thinking... " oh this again?" I felt this book started out as an awesome lightsaber wielding story with intrigue... But finished feeling like twilight or what I imagine twilight would be like... It was a descent written book but that ending dynamic hurt it for me

This was to be A Clone Wars Episode prior to it's cancellation. One of the more worthy titles for the new canon. I'm not happy about the ending, but for anyone who is a Asaj Ventress fan who wants to know where her story was going, it's a must read. For the Quinlan Vas fans out there, I doubt we will get another story, whether it be novel, game, movie or TV, that will focus so heavily on this character, so pick it up.

I haven't read a Star Wars book in quite some time, last one I remember reading was the Darth Bane series. I'm gonna keep this review short, since I feel most reviewers probably already covered everything.

You really come to love the main two characters, Vos and Ventress. This book is very character driven, I never felt bored reading this, in fact, I finished it faster than any other book I've read in quite some time. I wasn't expecting it to be so emotional, but wow, it hits hard, man. I loved it all the way through!

( I will say I've never really read the EU Quinlan Vos stories)

I couldn't put this book down. The dialog kept me snorting randomly. 4 stars because I hated the ending. I'll continue to purchase Star Wars novels, but the approach Disney has taken with "official canon" and "legends" truly is a bad move and an insult to Star Wars EU. This is still a good book, but I hate Disney for screwing the timeline.

Overall, the story is enjoyable and the language is very descriptive, particularly when describing the various planets and species of the Star Wars universe. Although I feel like the plot pacing had issues at times though. There were times when I really wanted more elaboration and other times when the chapters seemed to drag on a bit.

I am the first to admit that I am a Quinlan Vos fanboy. I own and love all of the comics that he is in and even have a replica Quinlan Vos lightsaber. So I was excited to learn that he was to feature heavily in a novel adapted from unproduced Clone Wars scripts. I enjoyed the Clone Wars show, especially that later seasons that featured more adult themed stories. I liked the progression of Ventress in the Clone Wars and the development of her character. I thought I would enjoy seeing these two characters working alongside each other. I was wrong. Without giving away too much detail this novel is just a badly done rehash of all of Quinlan Vos' comic book storylines. I know and understand that the comics and other EU material have been deemed non-canon. Honestly, that doesn't bother me. However, if you are going to tell new stories about these characters then at least make them NEW stories. Due to the time constraints of the novel, Vos' character changes seem to take place much too quickly. He isn't given time to develop naturally. The romance between the two seems much too forced and clichéd. The redemption arc that takes place for Ventress is about the only worthwhile thing in the whole book. It would have made sense for it to be the focus of its own story and not use Vos as the love interest. As is, it seems forced into this story just to capitalize on the fame of the Quinlan Vos character. I would not recommend this book to anyone, let alone fans of Vos or Ventress.

It's good. There's enough of the comfortable characters in this book to keep it moving. And an important part of the Jedi Academy trilogy to show us what Luke goes through during his journey through life.

My disdain for this book knows no bounds but before I go into why I don't like this book I'll go over first what I like. Also, I would like to say I don't think the author is entirely at fault. I believe she was told what to write ultimately. I mean cancelled episodes from 'The Clone Wars' did inspire this book after all. (I'm so glad they weren't made into episodes).
**SPOILER ALERT**
What I liked about the book:
At times Asajj was so out character I wanted to scream, but there were parts she was beautifully in character. Like her feelings of grief and abandonment! The author did put a lot of care into Asajj's character when it came to the nightsisters.
Secondly, her relationship to Obi-Wan is somewhat acknowledged. Throughout the comics, the books and the show there is was always been a hint they were attracted to each other. I mean Obi-wan himself admits finding her gorgeous and stands up for her in front of the Jedi Council multiple times in the book.
Thirdly, even though I HATE how Asajj dies. Her funeral couldn't have been more perfect. Well done.

What I didn't like (this section is going to be very long):

1. Quinlan Vos:
Vos is already an established character in the Star Wars universe but nothing in this book reflected that. It was like his whole character history was erased. The book didn't even mention his former padawan Aayla Secura ONCE. He did work for Dooku as a double agent in the comics and I suppose that's what the book was hinting to when Vos turned to the 'darkside.' But it got very stupid when he kept turning back and forth. Deception is one thing but that went on way too long.

2. The Romance:
I have never read a more boring and unconvincing love story in my life.
I'm not against romance but I am against making a female character fall in love just because why not! I mean I can confidently say a reason a lot of people like Asajj is because she's a kickass independent woman. The romance between Vos and Ventress just really confused me. They had no prior history whatsoever in any media.
There is NO WAY Asajj would trust someone that fast. Did the Star Wars forget she has abandonment issues?
And let's get something straight: Asajj and Obi-wan did have a thing for each other. The sass, the flirting and, not to mention the multiple times Obi-wan tried to convince Asajj to come to the light side. It was like this book erased everything between them!
But nope. She fell in love with some random guy she hadn’t even met before the book started and then died.

3. The Jedi:
Jedi can definitely come off as cold and unfeeling since they aren't supposed to display emotions but wow this book made them out to be stone-cold killers with no feelings whatsoever. Yes, killing Dooku would end the war but the council decided to kill Vos too just went too far.

4. Asajj did not just help Dooku escape. I’m going to forget that ever happened, since it makes 0 sense. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

5. The unresolved relationship between Ahsoka & Asajj:
At the end of season 5 of 'The Clone Wars', there were clear attempts to draw parallels between the fates of both Ahsoka Tano and Asajj. The betrayal, the isolation, the abandonment, the disillusionment they both had with the orders they once served. Her arc could’ve mixed with Ahsoka’s arc after she left the order. They could’ve bonded over that and maybe there could have even been a subplot where they realize the Jedi and Sith were both corrupted by dogma. They could have learned to draw worth and validation from within.They could’ve grown closer and learned how to accept the past and move into the future together. She could’ve helped Ahsoka found the Rebellion and then it would’ve given more context to the idea introduced in Return of the Jedi that no one is beyond forgiveness. If a Sith assassin could return to the light and go on to fight the Empire, then why couldn’t Vader be brought back from the darkness. BUT NO ASAJJ FALLS IN LOVE WITH A RANDOM GUY AND DIES TO FURTHER HIS STORYLINE.

6. If you haven't figured it out I'm very angry about Asajj dying in this book. I'm just so SICK of the theme in Star Wars where female characters die to further a man's storyline. SHMI, PADME, SATINE...oh I'm sure the list can go on. Maybe once or twice okay but this is honestly getting ridiculous.

The thing that makes me so mad about this book is that it blatantly ignored established characters, storylines and history. It was like the creators of this book (again I'm not solely blaming the author) didn't even read or have knowledge about the past comics, books or even turned on the TV to watch 'The Clone Wars.' Did someone not do background checks on these characters? I'm assuming they just read wiki articles about past events and just winged it while writing this book.
Ugh so many things could have been continued from the show or books but no instead we got a story about Ventress falling in love...BLAH.

Wow, was this terrible. There was a brief part about 1/3 in when I thought this was going to be a good book, but, no, it was awful. Putrid. Dismal, and, frankly, disrespectful to the featured characters populating the Star Wars universe. Everyone in this book is an idiot. Everyone. They do stupid things to serve a nonsensical plot.

And it's downright anti-woman. I blame George Lucas's progeny Katie Lucas for this, rather than the author, since, per the afterword, Katie wrote the scripts the novelization is based on. She took the most powerful evil force user (excepting possibly Mara Jade) that had ever been introduced and turned her into a simpering weakling because she found true love. Katie claimed that she wanted to give Asajj Ventress a redemption. Instead she took a former dark apprentice turned menacing bounty hunter and eviscerated her.

If Katie has inherited something from her father, it's the ability to take something cool and turn it into poodoo.

Avoid at all costs. Burn copies if you should see them freely available.

Wow, what a ride. What a wonderfully, complex individual Asajj Ventress turns out to be. Despite the difficulties she's experienced, she remains a Force to be dealt with and an honorable, multi-faceted woman. With the Jedi Council making an ill fated decision, it encompasses Ventress and a sunny Jedi named Quinlon Cos with possibilities, neither could imagine. They are well suited, his open honesty contrasting with her guarded nature. A wonderful love story with tragic consequences. Possesed of the rare gift of balance of the Force, able to use both sides without turning back into a Sith, Ventress finds redemption in Vos, while he falls to the Dark side. Christie Golden has crafted a thrilling adventure, touching love story and a cautionary tale of war's consequences on good people. One of the finest Star Wars books I've ever read, I took my time to savor all the juicy details. I loved the story of the Nightsisters and the lesson for the Jedi to remain true to their ideals, less they go down the path of darkness. I'd really hoped they could've had a happy ending. Bittersweet and beautiful.

Minimal Spoilers: I love the Star Wars movies, but for me, The Clone Wars represents the pinnacle of Star Wars storytelling (Rebels has been great too!) The character arc of Asajj Ventress was one of the best in the history of Star Wars. This book, Dark Disciple, continues that arc while adding a fleshed out arc to Quinlan Vos. The result is a story that has elements we simply have not seen in any Star Wars movie or animated series, and that, most of all, is what makes it arguably the best Star Wars story of all.

Without giving away too much plot, let me say this... There are plenty of exciting lightsaber battles, some of which take place in the most spectacular of locations that just scream to be animated (or shot live if that were possible!) All of your favorite characters play prominent roles. While Ventress and Vos dominate the story, Anakin and Obi Wan certainly figure into this story as well. Yoda, Mace Windu, and even a couple of new jedi pop up from time to time. It was also nice seeing Boba Fett and his gang appear too, though I would love to have heard how Boba acquired his trademark armor, which is now in his possession.

The heart of this story, however, is the relationship between Ventress and Vos, and their journey through the light and the dark. It's unlike any journey we have ever been taken on, because at its heart is a story about love and sacrifice. These themes have been hinted at in other Star Wars stories, but never so fully fleshed out. It isn't just one scene, or one moment, but rather layered logically throughout the book. The consequences of these themes could not have a greater impact than what we see in this story. I dare say, it's the most emotional story I've seen yet from Star Wars, and that includes anything with Ahsoka, which admittedly, is hard to beat.

Major credit goes to both Katie Lucas for crafting this story (originally scripted as a 2-part, 8 piece Clone Wars story arc) and to Christine Golden who absolutely nails the Star Wars storytelling prose. You will vividly see the Clone Wars playing out in your head as you quickly turn from page to page. Christine pulls no punches in writing what can only be described as one of the most mature Star Wars tales. The themes and even language is not geared toward kids, then again, neither was the Clone Wars for the most part. Katie has a deep affection for these two characters as well, which in some ways, probably remind her of herself. The result is a story you won't soon forget, and characters who place in Star Wars lore is firmly established as among the most important.

It's a damn shame we never saw these stories animated (a few minutes of unfinished animation exists.) I suspect we would have ranked these episodes among the very best, if not number one over all. Yeah, it's that good. Now go put your laser sword down and pick up this book... and if you can pick it up without using your hands... may the force be with you.

This book follows the stories created in the Clone Wars animated TV show and takes a story idea that was supposed to be part of the show and turns it into a full length novel. Count Dooku has become more vicious in his attacks, targeting refugees and children. The Jedi Council realizes they need to remove him from his leadership role with the separatists, but assassination goes against everything the Jedi believe in. But they also remember there is one person in the galaxy that despises Dooku more than the Jedi, his former apprentice Asajj Ventress. So they send a jedi, Quinlan Vos to try an get her to assist in the attack. Vos is an unusual jedi in most of his work is done undercover, so he has more contacts in the criminal underworlds than any other jedi. Also he has a special ability other jedi do not, Psycometry, the ability to read objects and see and experience the past of that objects. This also means he experiences the emotions of those who used the objects which puts him closer to the Dark Side than any other Jedi Master.

The character of Ventress was created solely for the Clone Wars TV series and Vos comes from the comic book series and having two characters whose fate we do not know does make this book a better read. We know Obi-won and Yoda and never in any real danger in novels because we know their eventual fate from the movies. But here we can see a character go thru some real evolution as Ventress has throughout the Clone Wars show.

The book does give us another look at level 1313 of Corsucant, the most criminally corrupt area of the planet, the return of the young Boba Fett and some very nice twists and turns leaving the reader wondering who is using who and just how fine the line is between the Light and the Dark sides of the Force.

Overall a great addition the Star Wars universe and a great read, and I would say a must read if you were a fan of the Clone Wars animated series.

I am the first to admit that I am a Quinlan Vos fanboy. I own and love all of the comics that he is in and even have a replica Quinlan Vos lightsaber. So I was excited to learn that he was to feature heavily in a novel adapted from unproduced Clone Wars scripts. I enjoyed the Clone Wars show, especially that later seasons that featured more adult themed stories. I liked the progression of Ventress in the Clone Wars and the development of her character. I thought I would enjoy seeing these two characters working alongside each other. I was wrong. Without giving away too much detail this novel is just a badly done rehash of all of Quinlan Vos' comic book storylines. I know and understand that the comics and other EU material have been deemed non-canon. Honestly, that doesn't bother me. However, if you are going to tell new stories about these characters then at least make them NEW stories. Due to the time constraints of the novel, Vos' character changes seem to take place much too quickly. He isn't given time to develop naturally. The romance between the two seems much too forced and clichéd. The redemption arc that takes place for Ventress is about the only worthwhile thing in the whole book. It would have made sense for it to be the focus of its own story and not use Vos as the love interest. As is, it seems forced into this story just to capitalize on the fame of the Quinlan Vos character. I would not recommend this book to anyone, let alone fans of Vos or Ventress.

It's good. There's enough of the comfortable characters in this book to keep it moving. And an important part of the Jedi Academy trilogy to show us what Luke goes through during his journey through life.

My disdain for this book knows no bounds but before I go into why I don't like this book I'll go over first what I like. Also, I would like to say I don't think the author is entirely at fault. I believe she was told what to write ultimately. I mean cancelled episodes from 'The Clone Wars' did inspire this book after all. (I'm so glad they weren't made into episodes).
**SPOILER ALERT**
What I liked about the book:
At times Asajj was so out character I wanted to scream, but there were parts she was beautifully in character. Like her feelings of grief and abandonment! The author did put a lot of care into Asajj's character when it came to the nightsisters.
Secondly, her relationship to Obi-Wan is somewhat acknowledged. Throughout the comics, the books and the show there is was always been a hint they were attracted to each other. I mean Obi-wan himself admits finding her gorgeous and stands up for her in front of the Jedi Council multiple times in the book.
Thirdly, even though I HATE how Asajj dies. Her funeral couldn't have been more perfect. Well done.

What I didn't like (this section is going to be very long):

1. Quinlan Vos:
Vos is already an established character in the Star Wars universe but nothing in this book reflected that. It was like his whole character history was erased. The book didn't even mention his former padawan Aayla Secura ONCE. He did work for Dooku as a double agent in the comics and I suppose that's what the book was hinting to when Vos turned to the 'darkside.' But it got very stupid when he kept turning back and forth. Deception is one thing but that went on way too long.

2. The Romance:
I have never read a more boring and unconvincing love story in my life.
I'm not against romance but I am against making a female character fall in love just because why not! I mean I can confidently say a reason a lot of people like Asajj is because she's a kickass independent woman. The romance between Vos and Ventress just really confused me. They had no prior history whatsoever in any media.
There is NO WAY Asajj would trust someone that fast. Did the Star Wars forget she has abandonment issues?
And let's get something straight: Asajj and Obi-wan did have a thing for each other. The sass, the flirting and, not to mention the multiple times Obi-wan tried to convince Asajj to come to the light side. It was like this book erased everything between them!
But nope. She fell in love with some random guy she hadn’t even met before the book started and then died.

3. The Jedi:
Jedi can definitely come off as cold and unfeeling since they aren't supposed to display emotions but wow this book made them out to be stone-cold killers with no feelings whatsoever. Yes, killing Dooku would end the war but the council decided to kill Vos too just went too far.

4. Asajj did not just help Dooku escape. I’m going to forget that ever happened, since it makes 0 sense. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

5. The unresolved relationship between Ahsoka & Asajj:
At the end of season 5 of 'The Clone Wars', there were clear attempts to draw parallels between the fates of both Ahsoka Tano and Asajj. The betrayal, the isolation, the abandonment, the disillusionment they both had with the orders they once served. Her arc could’ve mixed with Ahsoka’s arc after she left the order. They could’ve bonded over that and maybe there could have even been a subplot where they realize the Jedi and Sith were both corrupted by dogma. They could have learned to draw worth and validation from within.They could’ve grown closer and learned how to accept the past and move into the future together. She could’ve helped Ahsoka found the Rebellion and then it would’ve given more context to the idea introduced in Return of the Jedi that no one is beyond forgiveness. If a Sith assassin could return to the light and go on to fight the Empire, then why couldn’t Vader be brought back from the darkness. BUT NO ASAJJ FALLS IN LOVE WITH A RANDOM GUY AND DIES TO FURTHER HIS STORYLINE.

6. If you haven't figured it out I'm very angry about Asajj dying in this book. I'm just so SICK of the theme in Star Wars where female characters die to further a man's storyline. SHMI, PADME, SATINE...oh I'm sure the list can go on. Maybe once or twice okay but this is honestly getting ridiculous.

The thing that makes me so mad about this book is that it blatantly ignored established characters, storylines and history. It was like the creators of this book (again I'm not solely blaming the author) didn't even read or have knowledge about the past comics, books or even turned on the TV to watch 'The Clone Wars.' Did someone not do background checks on these characters? I'm assuming they just read wiki articles about past events and just winged it while writing this book.
Ugh so many things could have been continued from the show or books but no instead we got a story about Ventress falling in love...BLAH.

Wow, was this terrible. There was a brief part about 1/3 in when I thought this was going to be a good book, but, no, it was awful. Putrid. Dismal, and, frankly, disrespectful to the featured characters populating the Star Wars universe. Everyone in this book is an idiot. Everyone. They do stupid things to serve a nonsensical plot.

And it's downright anti-woman. I blame George Lucas's progeny Katie Lucas for this, rather than the author, since, per the afterword, Katie wrote the scripts the novelization is based on. She took the most powerful evil force user (excepting possibly Mara Jade) that had ever been introduced and turned her into a simpering weakling because she found true love. Katie claimed that she wanted to give Asajj Ventress a redemption. Instead she took a former dark apprentice turned menacing bounty hunter and eviscerated her.

If Katie has inherited something from her father, it's the ability to take something cool and turn it into poodoo.

Avoid at all costs. Burn copies if you should see them freely available.