Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsAn Average Star Wars Novel.
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2003
After reading two duds in Force Heretic 1&2, I was very excited to begin reading author Troy Denning's latest contribution to the Star Wars universe. All the reviews I read were extremely positive, and Tatooine Ghost seemed as though it would be one of the best SW books to date. And was I overjoyed when I finally put the book down, did I believe I had just finished reading one of the best... to put it bluntly, No.
First let me give you the positives...
Denning does a wonderful job on the dialogue, Han and Leia's speech is, for the most part, right on the mark, "sounding" just like they did in the films. The surrounding cast of characters is also "voiced" expertly; better then some other SW authors. The only stumbling block would have to be C-3PO, who always seemed just a little off (though, no one has really been able to write 3PO dialogue since Zahn), but despite the golden droid, the dialogue is first rate.
The writing is also above average; the entire novel flows extremely well, never really seeming to grow boring, or confusing. In this category, Denning also excels.
But here's the negative: The plot.
The plot is a very simplistic one - which usually I like - but it is also a very uninteresting one. Throughout the novel, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and some other interesting creatures, travel around just about all of the deserts of Tatooine in search of an Alderrian (Leia's home planet) painting which holds the key to a secret communications code, the New Republic has been using since the days of the rebellion. Han and Leia must get a hold of this painting before the Imperials do (a never-named Admiral, which is obviously Grand Admiral Thrawn, also wants painting, but for his art collection rather then New Republic code-cracking). Mean while Leia struggles with her father's past, and the hatred she still feels towards him.
Even though it is stated time and time again how important finding painting is, it never really feels like it's important. I kept thinking that Han and Leia, two of the most important people in the galaxy, shouldn't be running around some backwater planet looking for some code. That should be a job for person of lesser importance. While on the other hand, Leia's personal struggles are extremely enjoyable; but sadly, Denning spends too little time on them, lacing them into the other adventure. It really needed a whole novel to cover her feelings, instead, we get half a novel. I felt the book would have been far better if it was the other way around. The "main" adventure is really just downright boring. If it weren't for the excellent writing, I'd probably fall asleep every time I began to read.
Denning's book isn't really bad, it's actually quite enjoyable, but in the end all it really delivers is a quaint little adventure, that seems just too small for it's so un-quaint characters.