The Star Wars review (Minor Spoilers)

The Star Wars published by Dark Horse.

"May the force of others be with you..."

I am not going to beat around the bush with this review. Stay as far away from this series as possible. Think galaxies far, far away. There is almost no part of The Star Wars that resembles the space opera many of us know and love. Based off the original rough-draft script from George Lucas, The Star Wars should have been left on the cutting room floor.

I like to fancy myself a true lover of science fiction. Whether it be Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek or the novel The Martian by Andy Weir, I love it all. So when I had the chance to see where Star Wars came from, I jumped at the chance. Never before have I been so utterly disappointed. 

While the photo-realistic artwork by Mike Mayhew draws you in, the translated story written by Jonathan Rinzler is a disjointed mess. The story you were introduced in A New Hope and which continued through The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is nowhere to be found here. Yes, the characters Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, C3PO, Han Solo and Princess Leia are here; just not in the way you know them. You are also assaulted with so many new characters that you have trouble keeping track of everyone. Not only can you barely keep their names straight, but no emotional bond is formed. When a man  gives up his life to save two children, it hit the same emotional cord as when my Big Mac doesn't look like the McDonalds commercial; "Meh" and then I move on.

Tiny Star Destroyers, oy.

The book follows Annikin Starkiller, a young man who is pawned off on General Luke Skywalker (who looks to be 60 years of age) by his father Kane. In this version of the iconic story, Obi-wan Kenobi is not a character. That role is filled by Luke when he agrees to take Annikin as his Padawan. From there the two set out to save Princess Leia and her two siblings from Vader and the New Empire. The differences don't end there. The legendary warriors are known as the Jedi-Bendu and follow the way of the Bendu; a religion that is given no background or explanation. As the lead in shows, they also use the phrase "May the force of others be with you." Not a major change, but jarring enough to take me out of the story.

Some other differences include Alderaan not being destroyed, Darth Vader being a General and not Sith; nor does he wear the mask, Han Solo being a green alien, R2D2 actually speaking and no part of the story takes place on Tatooine. These are but a small snippet of things that didn't follow the story I know and love.

Old man Skywalker

After reading the trade paperback I went and watched the original Star Wars trilogy then read the book again. I had to separate my love of Star Wars and ask myself if I would enjoy this just as a sci-fi story. Nope, not at all. The pacing is terrible. Once moment two characters are bickering, the next they are in love. The sense of time is nonexistent. The 180+ pages could have taken place over two days or two weeks and I wouldn't have known any better.

Overall I found myself bored, frustrated and most of all disappointed. I am glad this was not the Star Wars that was presented to the world in 1977. Do yourself a favor and enjoy the movies.

Rating: 2 / 10