Reviews
Really really pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I was skeptical, because the Rise of the Empire/Prequel era is so fraught with missteps and landmines, especially when Anakin is involved. But this was great. A lot of Star Wars books get dry too easily, and this was not the case at all. Very exciting and full of great new characters. Absolutely recommended.
More of a 2.5⭐ but I'm being generous. I really liked this intro to Barriss and especially her loghtsaber dance which sounded amazing. There were a couple of good moments developing Anakin's character and where his head is at pre-AotC. But damn if this book wasn't super ableist. Like they literally said that people with mental illnesses are so addled that Jedi can't detect anything from them? And then had Barriss heal two aliens whose physiology she knew nothing about with no repercussions whatsoever? First the dismissal and then the amazing cure just rubbed me the wrong way. And the fact that Luminara and Barriss were introduced by having Luminara intimidate away attemped rapists? Fucking must you??? I don't know why I ever expected better from the dude who wrote Splinter of the Mind's Eye, though. He was a sexist, racist trash pile then, too. Apparently it was too much to hope that 25 years allowed him some growth.
