Hey guys, Hope your August is as warm and balmy as mine is! (I like it that way.) And I also hope you enjoyed reading Tarkin, those that are still reading along. First a note about our August book, Rise of the Empire. Basically it is Tarkin and A New Dawn rolled into one book with a couple short stories in there too. I'd suggest letting it be a light reading month and just do the short stories. Obviously we just did Tarkin and New Dawn is next. So skip that in the book and just focus on the other stories.
As far as Tarkin goes, I live James Luceno's writing. I think he's great, but this book left me wanting something different. I think one of the strongest things about Tarkin in Episode IV: A New Hope is his intimidation factor. He was always such a scary character, but in a different way than Vader was scary. Tarkin is a product of the Empire. A product of xenophobia and dictatorial leadership. There was something mysterious about him and yet I never wanted to know more. The part that I was most intrigued by was always his relationship with Vader. How could someone with such limited power, when compared with Vader, have a lease on him? Why would Vader listen to Tarkin like he does?
What I liked about this book was the way it fleshed out Vader and Tarkin's relationship. Not only as members of the Emperor's "entourage" but also their relationship as Tarkin and Anakin. I never really thought about people wondering who Vader was beneath that mask and ever further, wondering whatever happened to Anakin.
That's the kind of thing that really interests me about Vader. Because when most of us first met him when watching Episode IV, he was who he was. Scary, bad mamma jamma. And backstory was the furthest thing from our minds. But given what we know and who Anakin was and how beloved he was by Ahsoka and Padme and Obi-Wan the tragedy grows deeper when we stop to consider who is still under that mask, no matter how twisted he became.
So as far as Wilhuff Tarkin's story goes, I wasn't taken away by it, but I appreciate what this book brings to Vader's table and the relationship that they have with one another. I wish that Hux and Kylo could find a dynamic like theirs in the future Star Wars Universe, but i just don't think Tarkin and Vader can be beat as far as Imperial baddies go.
Hope your August is as warm and balmy as mine is! (I like it that way.)
And I also hope you enjoyed reading Tarkin, those that are still reading along. First a note about our August book, Rise of the Empire. Basically it is Tarkin and A New Dawn rolled into one book with a couple short stories in there too. I'd suggest letting it be a light reading month and just do the short stories. Obviously we just did Tarkin and New Dawn is next. So skip that in the book and just focus on the other stories.
As far as Tarkin goes, I live James Luceno's writing. I think he's great, but this book left me wanting something different. I think one of the strongest things about Tarkin in Episode IV: A New Hope is his intimidation factor. He was always such a scary character, but in a different way than Vader was scary.
Tarkin is a product of the Empire. A product of xenophobia and dictatorial leadership. There was something mysterious about him and yet I never wanted to know more.
The part that I was most intrigued by was always his relationship with Vader. How could someone with such limited power, when compared with Vader, have a lease on him? Why would Vader listen to Tarkin like he does?
What I liked about this book was the way it fleshed out Vader and Tarkin's relationship. Not only as members of the Emperor's "entourage" but also their relationship as Tarkin and Anakin. I never really thought about people wondering who Vader was beneath that mask and ever further, wondering whatever happened to Anakin.
That's the kind of thing that really interests me about Vader. Because when most of us first met him when watching Episode IV, he was who he was. Scary, bad mamma jamma. And backstory was the furthest thing from our minds. But given what we know and who Anakin was and how beloved he was by Ahsoka and Padme and Obi-Wan the tragedy grows deeper when we stop to consider who is still under that mask, no matter how twisted he became.
So as far as Wilhuff Tarkin's story goes, I wasn't taken away by it, but I appreciate what this book brings to Vader's table and the relationship that they have with one another. I wish that Hux and Kylo could find a dynamic like theirs in the future Star Wars Universe, but i just don't think Tarkin and Vader can be beat as far as Imperial baddies go.
Happy reading!