Hambly, Barbara
About the Author:
Barbara Hambly grew up in California, USA and currently lives in Los Angeles. She has a masters degree in medieval history, a black belt in Shotokan karate and had her first novel published in 1982.
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
2 out of 5
(2 books)
TOP PICK:
Star Wars: Children Of The Jedi
Star Wars: Children Of The Jedi
The first book of the Callista trilogy. Set eight years after 'Return of the Jedi', the premise for this story is a fairly good one. Luke and two Jedi students discover a long-abandoned Imperial weapon, a forerunner to the Death Star, and are imprisoned aboard it along with a diverse selection of hostile aliens. Meanwhile, Leia and Han locate an old Jedi enclave on Belsavis that is involved in a plot forged by a Dark Jedi and the rich families of the fallen Empire.
So, what's the problem? Well, despite the clever and interesting premise Hambly manages to write a book so dull that even I, a dedicated Star Wars fan, had trouble reading through to the end. The action is poorly written and thin on the ground, the romance between Luke and Callista is decidedly uninspiring and there is no significant character development to speak of. Hambly even manages to make the inclusion of a powerful Dark Jedi a bad thing, as he turns out to be little more than an annoying brat.
Generally speaking, this book is a terrible waste of a good idea and a worse waste of the reader's money. The only real upside is some of the things we learn about the past, both that of the main characters (we get a little about Leia's time in the Imperial Senate and on Alderaan) and the story of Plett's Well and the Eye of Palpatine.
Followed by Kevin J. Anderson's 'Darksaber'.
2 out of 5
Star Wars: Planet Of Twilight
13 ABY. Following on from the excellent 'Darksaber' by Kevin J. Anderson, Hambly once again drags the story of Luke and Callista into mediocrity. Luke's adventures on Nam Chorios are all in all pretty boring and Leia's captivity is ten times more so.
Han and Lando's efforts to contain the Deathseed plague make for fairly interesting reading, however, as does the excellent duel between Leia and Beldorian; a Hutt Jedi.
However, despite these two good elements, the bad or boring parts of the book far outweigh them. Be it Daala's ridiculous change of heart (whether it's more or less ridiculous that everyone just forgives her past crimes because she's in love is for you to decide) or the entirely underwhelming return of Callista, this book fails to deliver the goods on so many levels. I'd have to say it's even worse that Hambly's previous attempt.
Followed by Aaron Allston's 'X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar'.
2 out of 5