Earlier this week I finished reading "The Black Fleet Crisis", a trilogy of Star Wars novels by Michael P. Kube-McDowell. Part of the Legends canon, the series consists of the books "Before the War", "Shield of Lies", and "Tyrant's Test".
The story takes place in 9 ABY, or nine years after the Battle of Yavin featured in the original "Star Wars" film. The leader of the isolationist Yevetha visits the center of galactic government in Coruscant, ostensibly to broker a political alliance with Princess Leia and the New Republic, but he has much more sinister plans in mind. Luke Skywalker embarks on a quest with a strange woman who promises that he will learn about the mother he never knew. Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian investigates a mysterious vagabond starship and discovers the secret of its origins.
The books focus heavily on the military aspect of science fiction: the author describes ships, crews, battle maneuvers, and command structures in great detail. Much of the story involves combat and technical analysis as a result. These concepts are presented objectively, almost academically at times, but with a strong undercurrent of the enthusiasm a military buff would have when imagining war machines in space. Kube-McDowell's passion for both machinery and sci-fi shine through in all three novels.
The author's matter-of-fact writing leads to some interesting stylistic choices. The writing is highly visual, in that character's postures and movements are described in precise terms. When Luke sits down in a chair, Kube-McDowell specifies exactly how Luke sits in the chair. When Leia paces her office, every motion of her arms, legs and head is laid out explicitly. In its effort to be as exact as possible, I sometimes found the writing to be a little clunky, but overall it served well.
I was less fond of the pacing of the story. A major event happens in the second book, one that becomes the primary motivator of central plot points in the third book. However, the event is relegated to the very last chapter of the book, and it is not shown explicitly--only the immediate lead-up and aftermath are seen. Key revelations are made quickly if they are not related to military operations--to the point that they often feel rushed, like they were an afterthought. Aside from one or two exceptions, one should not expect much character development from this series.
I also did not particularly enjoy how most of the characters behaved. My knowledge of the Legends EU is limited, particularly in the New Republic era--when I was young, I almost exclusively read books from the Old Republic era. As a result, I can't say whether Luke's, Han's and Leia's characterizations are accurate relative to the events in the universe. However, from what I know of them from the movies, Han and Luke seemed especially subdued. The one main character whose writing I liked the most was Lando.
Overall, I do recommend The Black Fleet Crisis, but only to those who are already big fans of Star Wars. It is not as accessible by casual fans of the franchise as, for example, the Thrawn trilogy. If you enjoy the space-battle side of Star Wars, though, this might be the perfect fit for you.
Information on my copies of the books is listed below.
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[Last updated: 2024-10-06]
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