Star Wars: Tarkin - James Luceno

The second Star Wars book under the new canon features secondary villain Wilhuff Tarkin, as played by Peter Cushing in the original film and recently digitally (and controversially) resurrected for Rogue One. Grand Moff Tarkin was the model Imperial commander enforcing the fascist Galactic Empire and in the film, came off as a straight-laced and forgettable agent, a standard foil to his more sinister Sith colleague, Darth Vader. He was not as periphery as fan favourite Boba Fett in his contribution to plot, but he was certainly not interesting enough to carry his own backstory. Yet here he is, served up by James Luceno in a tale that managed to meet my expectations by boring me senseless.

With its wonky characterisation and lackluster plot, Tarkin was not well received. We are made privy to Tarkin's childhood and ancestral seat on the rugged outer rim planet of Eriadu, where he is made to undergo intensive survival training against hostile fauna. The situation is uncharacteristic for the pencil-necked military commander and would have been far more befitting for a bounty hunter's origin story. I could not picture the character rummaging through the carcasses of dead beasts. The present day storyline is tedious and uninspired, with some truly awful dialogue, such as the notoriously evil Vader engaging in small talk and polite banalities.

After having his personal flagship the Carrion Spike stolen by a ragtag team of dissidents whilst investigating a mysterious cache of communications devices, Tarkin teams up with Vader to recover his property and send a strong message to other would-be rebels. Luceno must have known that Tarkin alone would not be interesting enough for readers, hence the presence of both Vader and Palpatine. The hijackers are an unimaginative crew of humans and aliens with nothing special about them. Their motivations are badly thought through, with their actions being often difficult to follow. My biggest complaint was a chapter where Tarkin unravels the seemingly impenetrable plot against the Empire by going into a quiet room and simply hitting upon the culprits at random during a brainstorming session. Out of billions of sentient beings in the galaxy, it was too much to swallow.

Rating: 2/5