Reviews

Star Wars: Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn

brynn_chieffo's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lemmi_schmoeker's review against another edition

4.0

As Zahn has proved before, he really understands the Star Wars universe: the characters, the kinds of characters, the settings, the awesome power of the Force – and the playfulness of it all.

If you like the original, “middle” Star Wars trilogy at all, this is fun from the first page to the last. Unfortunately, it ends with a cliff-hanger for the second part of the tale (Vision of the Future), and that one is not half the fun. So you can either enjoy this book and not care about what happens next, or you can read both parts and have the second one bore all originality out of the first.

katie_reader_rose's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

kliaw's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Let’s be honest, we’re all here for 2 things: 
Luke and Mara together
Luke doing crazy force powers

Neither of these things are in the book very much. The rest, while interesting, is very hard to get engaged in. 

Towards the end, it’s clear why- this is half a book. Not just a book that lends itself to a sequel, but rather a story chopped in half. I’ll have to read the second one to find out anything interesting, but I’m not sure the book has earned that…

They don’t say the title, but they easily could have. 

mickb's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

storydude's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

alwroteabook's review against another edition

5.0

In a fit of whimsy, I hereby announce I will give everyone five stars, but the reviews may not reflect it.

A solid addition to the extended Thrawn series. There's a lot going on with the Empire making a last-ditch attempt to take down the Republic. The story is good - it's hard to go wrong with Timothy Zahn - the new stuff generally segues well into the SW universe and the narration was great. If this was your first Star Wars novel, I'd recommend some other Zahn stuff first. If you're already a fan, then this will definitely whet your whistle.

kolar's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

silver0187's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

tmarso's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious

4.5

Good setup. Really wish the kids would be involved instead of conveniently off somewhere.