Dark Force Rising Review

Dark Force Rising (Thrawn Trilogy #2)
by Timothy Zahn

Review By: Neil Richard

Rating: 4 out of 5



Thrawn is back in the saddle and continuing to wreak havoc for the New Republic. He continues to plan within his plans, making me wonder if the Emperor gave him some extra-special attention.

Adding to the intrigue is the Katana Fleet, a long lost fleet of ships that both the Empire (what’s left of it) and the New Republic (in its budding infancy) desperately need to battle the other. Thrawn schemes and plans well enough to bring things to a head at the end of the book. He’s trying his hand at getting what’s left of the fleet while Karrde, Leia, Han, Luke, and Mara are all trying to steal (or claim) the same ships.

The space battles weren’t as exciting as they could have been, but there was some boarding party action and lightsaber fights. Along the way, Luke is taken in by C’baoth, and eventually realizes he’s not the nicest guy. Leia goes to the home world of the Noghri and earns their respect by showing them the Empire has betrayed them for years before the Rebellion even began. And, the part I enjoyed the most, was the revelation that Thrawn is in possession of some cloning equipment and has already rolled out some clone troops. Sounds oddly like the Clone Wars all over again.

In the end, another good showing by Zahn. Not as strong as the first book, but good enough to keep you occupied and entertained. And wanting more.

Available in Word and PDF.

Neil@tk42one.com
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