A review by wyrmbergmalcolm
Before the Storm by Michael P. Kube-McDowell

2.0

I took the whole Black Fleet trilogy to read on our two week holiday. I managed half of the first book in that time. It subsequently took me over a third week to finish. Blimey this has a slow and rambling start. This should have feature just all-new characters because nobody in this book behaves like the characters they are supposed to be. Leia makes every wrong choice going and has no self-esteem at all. Luke decides to quite being a Jedi Master in charge on the burgeoning Jedi Academy and go live as a hermit, but at the first hint of trouble waves his lightsaber around like a deranged idiot. Han... is there, and Lando... is brought in for some reason despite the fact that he has no useful qualifications in this regard.
About two thirds of the war into the book, it does finally, mercifully pick up and becomes much more readable. Such a shame it was a bit naff up to that point.