Refugee: Force Heretic II

Seven months after the events of THE FORCE UNLEASHED, and a year before Star Wars Episode IV, Darth Vader's secret apprentice is back with a vengeance as he goes on a quest to rediscover his identity. The author has woven an intricate web of emotion and suspense that makes listeners feel as if they're in the minds of the characters. Narrator Jonathan Davis continues the familiar pacing and intonations of the principals with his engaging voice, in particular portraying Yoda and Boba Fett as listeners have never heard them before. The ending may be the most surprising and controversial of any Star Wars novel. Davis's narration, along with the customary sound effects and music, makes this an engrossing listening experience. B.C.E. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

[Editor's Note: This is a combined review with FORCE HERETIC II: REFUGEE.]--The New Jedi Order Star Wars novels, of which these books are Numbers 16 and 17, follow the adventures of Han and Leia Solo, and Luke Skywalker and his wife, Mara--as well as their various grown children--two decades after the events of RETURN OF THE JEDI. "Refugee" has Luke Skywalker and his nephew, Jacen Solo, searching for the living planet of Zonama-Sekot, while Han, Leia, and daughter Jaina find conflict on Bakura. In "Reunion," the Jedi Knights, having found the sentient planet, must convince it to join them against the Yuuzhan Vong. Jonathan Davis's excellent reading and the superb engineering and sound effects are wasted on story lines that get bogged down in confusing and irrelevant details. Whether the fault lies with weak writing or sloppy abridgment, listeners are not likely to care whether the Yuuzhan Vong destroy the New Empire. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine