Star Wars: Tarkin (9 out of 10); Written by James Luceno
Grand Moff Tarkin is a character that’s always left me asking a lot of questions. He was able to order Darth Vader around in “A New Hope” and they were quite clearly friends. When he made appearances on “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” I was excited to see Tarkin fleshed out in a forum that was canon and directly from George Lucas.
When Anakin and Tarkin seemed barely acquaintanced and came to an almost begrudging respect for each other, I wondered how their relationship would develop into something that more resembled the relationship they had in the Star Wars films. When Tarkin played the part he did in Ahsoka’s ultimate fate, I was doubly curious.
This book, written by James Luceno (who brought such life and depth to Palpatine and Plagueis in “Darth Plagueis”), bridges many of those gaps that had been plaguing my mind. Set about five years after the purge of the Jedi in “Revenge of the Sith,” Tarkin is stationed on a remote outpost, overseeing some aspects of the construction of a secret Imperial project that anyone with half a brain recognizes as the first dreaded Death Star.
Tarkin is able to brilliantly foil a surprise dissident attack on the outpost he’s stationed at and is immediately summoned to Coruscant to meet with his old friend, Sheev Palpatine. There, Palpatine orders him to get to the bottom of the plot and assigns his new apprentice, Darth Vader, to aid in the investigation.
The investigation, with all of its exciting twists and turns, is intercut with biographical stories from Tarkin’s childhood and the summers he spent, forced to brave the wild savannah of Eriadu. I was concerned when I began reading that these sections would be devoid of excitement, but they read much like Hemingway’s tales of Africa, playing 100% to my own sensibilities. The investigation itself feels much like one of Peter Cushing’s “Sherlock Holmes” pictures with Vader playing the skeptical enforcer version of Watson. Other Hammer Horror films are given their due, and a scene between Count Dooku and Tarkin, harkens back to a time when Cushing and Christopher Lee would spar verbally on film. It put a great smile on my face to see those two reunited again, and in the galaxy far, far away, no less.
Since we’ve been given so little material set during the Dark Times between “Episode III” and “Episode IV,” Luceno is given a free hand to explore some of the smaller details in that transitional period that had nagged at me. What happened to the Jedi Temple in that period? What control does Palpatine exert via bureaucracy since his superstation Did the galaxy know of Anakin Skywalker’s turn to Darth Vader? Or was that kept a secret? How did Tarkin truly feel about Ahsoka after that entire debacle? All of these questions and more are answered in a book I simply didn’t want to put down.
For some “Star Wars” fans, this book might not work. If you’re expecting to read about characters like Ackbar and Daala, they’re not here. This is a fresh take on Tarkin in a post-Clone Wars, post-Expanded Universe “Star Wars.” But for me, not as attached to many of those old details of the Expanded Universe, and given a novel that pays homage to many of my favorite literary and cinematic influences, I couldn’t read it fast enough. Luceno wholly captures the voice of Peter Cushing, who I read alternately in my head as Stephen Stanton’s Tarkin and Peter Cushing’s interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. This is the highest and best distillation of Tarkin stories, old and new, we’ve ever been given.
It’s a quick read, too, brisk in pace. You don’t want to leave it, and when it ended I found myself wanting to delve deeper into Tarkin, which is a character I never paid much attention to before. For me, this book is another home-run in the new canon, and I hope they find a way to bring Luceno back for another crack at “Plagueis,” folding many of its stories into the canon timeline.
On a sidenote: I would also recommend that you watch “The Clone Wars” in its entirety before reading this book, including the four new story episodes released on StarWars.com. Though this book contextualizes everything you need, you’ll get a greater depth if you’re more familiar with the canon.
Overall: it’s a 9 out of 10. Easily. It pushed all of the right buttons of influence for me and showed me something new in “Star Wars” which is not something that always happens.
“Star Wars: Tarkin” comes out November 4, 2014 and is available for pre-order now.