hstapp's review
3.0
A fun and exciting adventure as Boba Fett leaves Tatooine for the first time since he began serving Jabba.
I really like the extra characters in this story, and it's always cool to see a certain someone from the original clone wars cartoons show up, however briefly. There are a few moments that seem a bit awkward, but overall I really enjoyed the book.
I really like the extra characters in this story, and it's always cool to see a certain someone from the original clone wars cartoons show up, however briefly. There are a few moments that seem a bit awkward, but overall I really enjoyed the book.
joshgauthier's review
4.0
Halfway between hero and villain, the challenge of a book like this is to balance the violence of its title character with a middle grade audience. As Boba Fett throws himself into service for Jabba and the conflicts of the Clone War, the universe gets bigger, the conflicts get heated, and Young Boba finds himself facing off against the toughest enemies he's ever met.
verkisto's review
2.0
Well. I suppose I've been spoiled by Jude Watson's take on the Expanded Universe, because the Boba Fett series has been pretty underwhelming. In A New Threat, she takes us to Xagobah (not her creation, but really?), where the native xamsters (again: Really?) are caught between a battle between the Republic and the Separatists. Boba is there to either capture or kill Angkor Wat Wat Tambor for Jabba, and Boba considers this his last apprenticeship assignment. Once this is complete, he'll be a professional, so the stakes are high (for Boba, at least).
Boba continues to make friends, this time finding one through Xaran, a xamster (seriously, was Hand cringing as she wrote this stuff?). Before he leaves, we see his friends in Jabba's palace, and the whole thing just seems sentimental and out of place, for Boba the Bounty Hunter. Even at his age (fourteen or so), he's pushing hard to be considered cold and calculating, and the idea that he's making friends all over the place seems at odds with that characterization.
Hand makes a big deal about how Boba knows that Darth Tyranus and Count Dooku are the same person, and he carries that knowledge around with him like it's his trust fund. We're reminded of this fact several times, but so far this is an unfired gun in the story, because as much as we see it, nothing is done with it. I get the feeling this is going to be relevant in the next book, but I'm not sure how much room there will be to cover it, since A New Threat is only half of the story of Xagobah and Wat Tambor. We finish this book with nothing resolved, with almost nothing having happened in the story anyway.
I may have been too excited about reading this series, but man, has it been disappointing. Luckily, there's only one book left in the series, because if there were any more, I'd be dreading having to keep reading it. I'm in this for the long haul (170 books to go!), for better or worse, but I'm sure hoping for better than this book.
Boba continues to make friends, this time finding one through Xaran, a xamster (seriously, was Hand cringing as she wrote this stuff?). Before he leaves, we see his friends in Jabba's palace, and the whole thing just seems sentimental and out of place, for Boba the Bounty Hunter. Even at his age (fourteen or so), he's pushing hard to be considered cold and calculating, and the idea that he's making friends all over the place seems at odds with that characterization.
Hand makes a big deal about how Boba knows that Darth Tyranus and Count Dooku are the same person, and he carries that knowledge around with him like it's his trust fund. We're reminded of this fact several times, but so far this is an unfired gun in the story, because as much as we see it, nothing is done with it. I get the feeling this is going to be relevant in the next book, but I'm not sure how much room there will be to cover it, since A New Threat is only half of the story of Xagobah and Wat Tambor. We finish this book with nothing resolved, with almost nothing having happened in the story anyway.
I may have been too excited about reading this series, but man, has it been disappointing. Luckily, there's only one book left in the series, because if there were any more, I'd be dreading having to keep reading it. I'm in this for the long haul (170 books to go!), for better or worse, but I'm sure hoping for better than this book.
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