The Dark Heart of the Sith 2 ”- TrekZone Network

Star Wars 66

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criticism

The new Darth Vader series is entering its second round with this volume. In terms of drawing, you have stayed at the same level as the predecessor and don’t really have to hide. The scenario is usually a little darker, but you can always see enough details, even in the background. And the characters don’t seem too static either and can convey emotions – although you have to add that this may be a bit more difficult with Vader and a droid as the main character on the one hand, but on the other it also runs in the expected path. Only towards the end, when Sabé appears, does the difference become clearer, although they managed not to make her look like Padmé. It looks really grimmer and as a reader you can immediately see that this is not the original.

As for the story, one follows Vader’s further pursuit of Luke or the places of his youth. Connections to the prequel trilogy are always woven in to illustrate Vader’s emotions. It’s well done, but not necessarily new either. So the entry on Tatooine, when Vader simply eliminates a few mercenaries, looks more like standard food and as if you absolutely needed an action scene.

The whole thing gets better when it goes back to Coruscant and Padmé’s rooms. Here you can also see what is happening to the quarters of deceased senators – although one can of course wonder whether this is Vader’s initiative or is a standard procedure. Here it becomes clear again how much the story suffers from the fact that the reader already knows how the whole thing will turn out. We already know how Padmé died and how Kenobi got the twins to safety and, as nice as it may be to watch Vader’s emotions while figuring out these points, it also loses some of its appeal.

Apparently the authors noticed that too, because at the end a little twist is added. Vader encounters Sabé (in a fairly obvious allusion as a cross-reference to the novel “The Queen’s Shadow”). The connection is of course a nice little Easter egg for fans, even if it is immediately clear to those people that this is not Padmé. After initial hesitation, the two have to work together to find out what really happened.

At least at this point, that’s an interesting combination that makes you want to continue. Whether Vader lets Sabé live then, after all, he kills everyone who knows about his past, will probably be one of the great mysteries that the next part will reveal.

Conclusion

The beginning of the volume is a bit weak, as it mainly suffers from the fact that the reader already knows where the whole thing will lead. At least you get a (rare) insight into Vader’s emotional world and at the end, Sabé opens up a new dynamic that makes you want to continue.

(3,5 / 5)
Information: A copy of this edition was given to the author by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of review.

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