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odinh's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
thewonderelf's review against another edition
2.0
These books could have been awesome, but the writing is just terrible.
empiepaps's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
colinmcev's review against another edition
3.0
I basically feel about Tyrant’s Test the way I feel about the entire Black Fleet Crisis series: not without flaws, and there are certain aspects of the story I would have handled differently, but overall it was enjoyable enough and there’s more that I liked than there is that I didn’t.
So let me focus first on what I liked. There have essentially been three major subplots throughout this series: Lando Calrissian investigating (and being trapped upon) a mysterious phantom spacecraft, Luke Skywalker travelling with a mysterious woman and trying to learn about his long-lost mother, and Princess Leia trying to grapple with the threat of both the evil Yevethan species, as well as political foes attempting to remove her from power, not to mention the kidnapping of her husband Han Solo.
Throughout the series, Princess Leia’s chapters have been the most interesting to me, while Luke’s subplot has been the least interesting, and indeed, I thought Leia’s story arc wrapped up nicely in Tyrant’s Test. While in the first book of this series I found that author Michael P. Kobe-McDowell had made her character far too uncertain and weak-willed, in this final novel she seems much more like the Leia we all know and love. In the face of moral dilemma over whether to do what she believes is right for the New Republic or to throw that all aside to save her husband’s life, the way she ultimately handles that decision feels truly in character for her, and it is a triumphant moment. (And it was nice to see Mon Mothma reemerge in a chapter to provide her some morale support!)
What surprised me, however, was how much I enjoyed Luke’s storyline in this one as well. For the first two books (and especially the second one), I found myself extremely uninterested, and felt that Kobe-McDowell (as with Leia in the first book) handled Luke’s character and personality entirely incorrectly in the second novel. In Tyrant’s Test, however, he took what had previously seemed to me to be an unnecessary tangent from the main storyline and tied it surprisingly well back into the book’s major conflict with the Yevetha. The Luke B-plot didn’t sustain my interest for most of the series, but it won me back in a big way here.
On the flip side, the Lando subplot, which I have otherwise enjoyed for most of the season, kind of sputtered into its final chapters. The surprise revelation of what exactly this ship is was not a bad one in and of itself, but I was surprised that it ultimately had nothing to do with the main plotline of the series. The Luke story seemed that way for the first two books as well, but it ultimately tied back into it. Lando’s story never did.
As with the other books, I also enjoyed the Yevetha (and especially its leader, Nil Spaar) as an antagonist, but I was disappointed with how the conflict between the Yevetha and New Republic came to an end. After three books of developing this species’ culture and building up to a war between the two, they are ultimately felled in large part due to an unexpected betrayal by a character who had not even appeared in the series until the very end. It felt very unrewarding and a bit like a deus ex machina.
But again, there was enough to enjoy in Tyrant’s Test to let me forgive its shortcomings. We also get Chewbacca back in the fold, after he had gone missing since the first book, and his side quest to recapture Han Solo along with fellow Wookie family members is good fun, not to mention a nice little coming-of-age story for Chewie’s son, Lumpawaroo. And Kobe-McDowell does a good job of developing little minor characters who will never be seen again after this series and making us root for them all the same, like Esege Tuketu and Skids (a pilot and bomber duo who we first saw in the first chapter of the first book, and who play a brief but important role in ths one) and Plat Millar (the sole survivor of a deadly Yevethan raid who becomes a New Republic pilot and is desperate to contribute to strike a blow against them).
So yeah, in the end, Tyrant’s Test and the Black Fleet Crisis may not be the best Star Wars books around, but if you like Star Wars books, you’ll probably like them.
So let me focus first on what I liked. There have essentially been three major subplots throughout this series: Lando Calrissian investigating (and being trapped upon) a mysterious phantom spacecraft, Luke Skywalker travelling with a mysterious woman and trying to learn about his long-lost mother, and Princess Leia trying to grapple with the threat of both the evil Yevethan species, as well as political foes attempting to remove her from power, not to mention the kidnapping of her husband Han Solo.
Throughout the series, Princess Leia’s chapters have been the most interesting to me, while Luke’s subplot has been the least interesting, and indeed, I thought Leia’s story arc wrapped up nicely in Tyrant’s Test. While in the first book of this series I found that author Michael P. Kobe-McDowell had made her character far too uncertain and weak-willed, in this final novel she seems much more like the Leia we all know and love. In the face of moral dilemma over whether to do what she believes is right for the New Republic or to throw that all aside to save her husband’s life, the way she ultimately handles that decision feels truly in character for her, and it is a triumphant moment. (And it was nice to see Mon Mothma reemerge in a chapter to provide her some morale support!)
What surprised me, however, was how much I enjoyed Luke’s storyline in this one as well. For the first two books (and especially the second one), I found myself extremely uninterested, and felt that Kobe-McDowell (as with Leia in the first book) handled Luke’s character and personality entirely incorrectly in the second novel. In Tyrant’s Test, however, he took what had previously seemed to me to be an unnecessary tangent from the main storyline and tied it surprisingly well back into the book’s major conflict with the Yevetha. The Luke B-plot didn’t sustain my interest for most of the series, but it won me back in a big way here.
On the flip side, the Lando subplot, which I have otherwise enjoyed for most of the season, kind of sputtered into its final chapters. The surprise revelation of what exactly this ship is was not a bad one in and of itself, but I was surprised that it ultimately had nothing to do with the main plotline of the series. The Luke story seemed that way for the first two books as well, but it ultimately tied back into it. Lando’s story never did.
As with the other books, I also enjoyed the Yevetha (and especially its leader, Nil Spaar) as an antagonist, but I was disappointed with how the conflict between the Yevetha and New Republic came to an end. After three books of developing this species’ culture and building up to a war between the two, they are ultimately felled in large part due to an unexpected betrayal by a character who had not even appeared in the series until the very end. It felt very unrewarding and a bit like a deus ex machina.
But again, there was enough to enjoy in Tyrant’s Test to let me forgive its shortcomings. We also get Chewbacca back in the fold, after he had gone missing since the first book, and his side quest to recapture Han Solo along with fellow Wookie family members is good fun, not to mention a nice little coming-of-age story for Chewie’s son, Lumpawaroo. And Kobe-McDowell does a good job of developing little minor characters who will never be seen again after this series and making us root for them all the same, like Esege Tuketu and Skids (a pilot and bomber duo who we first saw in the first chapter of the first book, and who play a brief but important role in ths one) and Plat Millar (the sole survivor of a deadly Yevethan raid who becomes a New Republic pilot and is desperate to contribute to strike a blow against them).
So yeah, in the end, Tyrant’s Test and the Black Fleet Crisis may not be the best Star Wars books around, but if you like Star Wars books, you’ll probably like them.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review against another edition
2.0
Having started this conclusion to the trilogy back in February, it took it for me to be sat on a beach with not too many distractions to finally finish it.
The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy is by far the most disappointing series I've read from the Star Wars Expanded Universe and was a real slog to get through.
This final book is a definite improvement over the first two but the character of Akanah is by far the worst from the whole franchise. Absolutely awful and the revelation at the end of this one made her even worse.
Thankfully she's not in this book too much and the other storylines do have a reasonably satisfying conclusion.
The main problem with the series is it is written as a much harder sci-fi than Star Wars should be.
Glad I've finished it, but unlikely to read again.
The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy is by far the most disappointing series I've read from the Star Wars Expanded Universe and was a real slog to get through.
This final book is a definite improvement over the first two but the character of Akanah is by far the worst from the whole franchise. Absolutely awful and the revelation at the end of this one made her even worse.
Thankfully she's not in this book too much and the other storylines do have a reasonably satisfying conclusion.
The main problem with the series is it is written as a much harder sci-fi than Star Wars should be.
Glad I've finished it, but unlikely to read again.
blacksentai's review against another edition
3.0
The only real takeaway from this was the super weird stuff with Lando and Lobot and whatever the hell all that was. It was super weird and I like when star wars stuff is super weird
tmarso's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Liked it for the fun but had room for improvement
ehsjaysaunders's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The plot threads ended up feeling a bit more disjointed and lacking in payoff than I would have liked, but still a fun read.
3.5/5 Needs more Wookiee commandos.
3.5/5 Needs more Wookiee commandos.
blancwene's review against another edition
2.0
For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shakes out to 38 adult novels and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.
This week’s focus: the final book in the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy, Tyrant’s Test by Michael P. Kube-McDowell.
SOME HISTORY:
I mentioned previously that McDowell saw his target audience as older adults. But it’s interesting how darker and edgier the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy is than any previous Bantam releases. In Tyrant's Test alone, we have the first appearance of profanity like "son of a bitch" and "bastard" when Han is talking back to the Yevetha in Chapters 4 and 5. The violence can get pretty graphic (a very descriptive disembowelment in Chapter 4), and Akanah is asked in Chapter 5 whether she's ever had sex in hyperspace. Tyrant’s Test made it to number thirteen on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of December 22, 1996, and was on the NYT list for three weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Wow, I really remembered none of this. The only familiar part was the cover. And yet I know I read this before!
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Chewbacca and his family set out to rescue Han from the Yevetha, while Leia calls upon the Senate to eliminate the threat posed by the Duskhan League--even if it means losing Han. Lando faces off against Imperials in the runaway Qella spaceship, and Luke finally makes some progress on his hunt for the Fallanassi.
THE CHARACTERS:
Lando’s storyline felt even more irrelevant to the greater action, mostly because McDowell relegated his story to “interludes” interspersed between chapters of the main action. Did I still like Lando’s adventure? Did I appreciate the further development of Lobot? Yes to both. I wish, though, that it hadn’t ended with such an obvious deus ex machina. Luke appears, uses a Fallanassi technique to board the Vagabond, talks to the ship with Lobot’s cybernetic headgear, and then uses that same Fallanassi technique to hide the ship as it initiates Qella’s thaw. Lando and Lobot don’t play any role in the conclusion of their arc, and without Luke they might have never been able to disembark. And it’s completely unrelated to the Black Fleet Crisis, which makes you feel like you’ve been subjected to a shaggy dog story.
Luke’s quest for his mother was ultimately a fool’s errand; although filming on Episode I didn’t start until 1997, art development on the film began in January 1995. The casual reader might not have been aware of it, but McDowell presumably was told something. The identity of Luke and Leia’s mother is too important to reveal in a paperback book, so Akanah’s deception doesn’t come as a surprise. He’s better in this book than books 1 or 2, but he’s merely an observer. They find the Fallanassi, Wialu agrees to aid the Fifth Fleet against the Yevetha, yet Luke doesn’t actively fight: he tells A’Baht that his “part in this will not be as a warrior.” In the end, he swoops in to save Lando & co. and agrees to help Leia with the children, but it feels like too little too late. I can’t shake the feeling that his plotline is a demerit against the trilogy as a whole.
I both love and loathe Akanah. I love her boldness; she has the balls to outright lie to Luke Skywalker’s face so that she can drag him along on her journey. I would respect her more if she owned up to it, but there’s too many regretful excuses thrown around for me. Some people lump Akanah in with Luke’s other sad past girlfriends, but I think McDowell makes it pretty clear that they were never intimately involved.
Leia’s plot continued to be the strongest and most interesting. (I would probably have rated these books a lot higher if they were solely focused on her!) It’s a bit repetitive in that she is once again facing the threat of removal from office, but I like how she addressed it so much better than in [b:The New Rebellion|700095|The New Rebellion (Star Wars)|Kristine Kathryn Rusch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327008455l/700095._SY75_.jpg|686406]. Instead of handing over the reins of power and taking off, she stays put. She doesn’t listen to any of the spin doctors, because Nil Spaar wants her to step down. So even though Han’s life is in danger, she doesn’t waver in declaring war against the Duskhan League.
After Chewbacca went home in [b:Before the Storm|138350|Before the Storm (Star Wars Black Fleet Crisis, #1)|Michael P. Kube-McDowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390599000l/138350._SY75_.jpg|2336411], I didn’t expect to see him again, especially after his continued absence in [b:Shield of Lies|264013|Shield of Lies (Star Wars Black Fleet Crisis, #2)|Michael P. Kube-McDowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403175753l/264013._SY75_.jpg|757156]. But McDowell brought him back for an exciting rescue mission, did some worldbuilding on Kashyyyk, and actually let him speak! Lumpawarump also passes his coming-of-age hrrtayyk ceremony, and gets to exchange the awful nickname “Lumpy” for the slightly more palatable “Waroo.” Han, though, continues to play a lesser role in this book. He’s imprisoned by the Yevetha and savagely beaten, and after his rescue is endlessly either in hospital or en route to a better facility.
On the one hand, I’m glad we’re not just fighting the Empire again. The Imperials who retake their ships during the climactic battle don’t even want anything to do with the New Republic! But the Yevetha continue to be irredeemably evil, obsessed with violence and blood and victory at any cost. I half expected the Yevetha to turn on Nil Spaar, but instead he was taken out by their Imperial slave labor. They’re OK villains, I just wish they had been depicted with a little more nuance.
ISSUES:
I guess I was expecting more from the final battle? We have a previous attack on the thrustships and the shipyard (and I have to agree with the second-in-command here, that it makes far more sense to alert General A’baht so that they can come back with more ships), but the main fight is strangely uneventful. The Imperials escape with all the Imperial ships, Wialu’s illusion keeps the Yevetha occupied for a while, but then it’s literally just A’baht having to destroy every single Yevethan ship because they won’t surrender. It ends up being a bit anticlimactic.
McDowell adds a lot of interesting details about the Senate and how the New Republic works, which later authors completely disregard. And while I like Leia’s political career, it’s a little disheartening how much later books dropped Leia the politician in favor of Leia the Jedi. Likewise, he left the fate of the Black Fleet open-ended for someone else to pick up (loads of Imperial ships in the Deep Core), but no one did.
Similarly to [b:The New Rebellion|700095|The New Rebellion (Star Wars)|Kristine Kathryn Rusch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327008455l/700095._SY75_.jpg|686406], I felt like Tyrant’s Test was also lacking resolution. Han is OK, I guess, because Leia mentions that the children and she just visited him. Luke isn’t ready to be a hermit. Lando is alive, which is the best that can be hoped for. In the end, it seemed like an obvious reset to the status quo.
IN CONCLUSION:
In the end, I wish that McDowell had solely focused on Leia, because her plot is powerful and nuanced. Unfortunately, though, you end up having to wade through an irrelevant Lando adventure and a truly skippable Luke arc. (Read for the political subplot, not the Qella wild goose chase or the Fallanassi stuff.)
Next up: the third of the short story collections edited by Kevin J. Anderson, [b:Tales of the Bounty Hunters|131776|Tales of the Bounty Hunters (Star Wars)|Kevin J. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411172275l/131776._SY75_.jpg|2599174].
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/7RL67yr2b0E
McDowell’s FAQs for the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy: https://web.archive.org/web/20080509103715/http://www.sff.net/people/K-Mac/blackfleet.htm
This week’s focus: the final book in the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy, Tyrant’s Test by Michael P. Kube-McDowell.
SOME HISTORY:
I mentioned previously that McDowell saw his target audience as older adults. But it’s interesting how darker and edgier the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy is than any previous Bantam releases. In Tyrant's Test alone, we have the first appearance of profanity like "son of a bitch" and "bastard" when Han is talking back to the Yevetha in Chapters 4 and 5. The violence can get pretty graphic (a very descriptive disembowelment in Chapter 4), and Akanah is asked in Chapter 5 whether she's ever had sex in hyperspace. Tyrant’s Test made it to number thirteen on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of December 22, 1996, and was on the NYT list for three weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Wow, I really remembered none of this. The only familiar part was the cover. And yet I know I read this before!
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Chewbacca and his family set out to rescue Han from the Yevetha, while Leia calls upon the Senate to eliminate the threat posed by the Duskhan League--even if it means losing Han. Lando faces off against Imperials in the runaway Qella spaceship, and Luke finally makes some progress on his hunt for the Fallanassi.
THE CHARACTERS:
Lando’s storyline felt even more irrelevant to the greater action, mostly because McDowell relegated his story to “interludes” interspersed between chapters of the main action. Did I still like Lando’s adventure? Did I appreciate the further development of Lobot? Yes to both. I wish, though, that it hadn’t ended with such an obvious deus ex machina. Luke appears, uses a Fallanassi technique to board the Vagabond, talks to the ship with Lobot’s cybernetic headgear, and then uses that same Fallanassi technique to hide the ship as it initiates Qella’s thaw. Lando and Lobot don’t play any role in the conclusion of their arc, and without Luke they might have never been able to disembark. And it’s completely unrelated to the Black Fleet Crisis, which makes you feel like you’ve been subjected to a shaggy dog story.
Luke’s quest for his mother was ultimately a fool’s errand; although filming on Episode I didn’t start until 1997, art development on the film began in January 1995. The casual reader might not have been aware of it, but McDowell presumably was told something. The identity of Luke and Leia’s mother is too important to reveal in a paperback book, so Akanah’s deception doesn’t come as a surprise. He’s better in this book than books 1 or 2, but he’s merely an observer. They find the Fallanassi, Wialu agrees to aid the Fifth Fleet against the Yevetha, yet Luke doesn’t actively fight: he tells A’Baht that his “part in this will not be as a warrior.” In the end, he swoops in to save Lando & co. and agrees to help Leia with the children, but it feels like too little too late. I can’t shake the feeling that his plotline is a demerit against the trilogy as a whole.
I both love and loathe Akanah. I love her boldness; she has the balls to outright lie to Luke Skywalker’s face so that she can drag him along on her journey. I would respect her more if she owned up to it, but there’s too many regretful excuses thrown around for me. Some people lump Akanah in with Luke’s other sad past girlfriends, but I think McDowell makes it pretty clear that they were never intimately involved.
Leia’s plot continued to be the strongest and most interesting. (I would probably have rated these books a lot higher if they were solely focused on her!) It’s a bit repetitive in that she is once again facing the threat of removal from office, but I like how she addressed it so much better than in [b:The New Rebellion|700095|The New Rebellion (Star Wars)|Kristine Kathryn Rusch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327008455l/700095._SY75_.jpg|686406]. Instead of handing over the reins of power and taking off, she stays put. She doesn’t listen to any of the spin doctors, because Nil Spaar wants her to step down. So even though Han’s life is in danger, she doesn’t waver in declaring war against the Duskhan League.
After Chewbacca went home in [b:Before the Storm|138350|Before the Storm (Star Wars Black Fleet Crisis, #1)|Michael P. Kube-McDowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390599000l/138350._SY75_.jpg|2336411], I didn’t expect to see him again, especially after his continued absence in [b:Shield of Lies|264013|Shield of Lies (Star Wars Black Fleet Crisis, #2)|Michael P. Kube-McDowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403175753l/264013._SY75_.jpg|757156]. But McDowell brought him back for an exciting rescue mission, did some worldbuilding on Kashyyyk, and actually let him speak! Lumpawarump also passes his coming-of-age hrrtayyk ceremony, and gets to exchange the awful nickname “Lumpy” for the slightly more palatable “Waroo.” Han, though, continues to play a lesser role in this book. He’s imprisoned by the Yevetha and savagely beaten, and after his rescue is endlessly either in hospital or en route to a better facility.
On the one hand, I’m glad we’re not just fighting the Empire again. The Imperials who retake their ships during the climactic battle don’t even want anything to do with the New Republic! But the Yevetha continue to be irredeemably evil, obsessed with violence and blood and victory at any cost. I half expected the Yevetha to turn on Nil Spaar, but instead he was taken out by their Imperial slave labor. They’re OK villains, I just wish they had been depicted with a little more nuance.
ISSUES:
I guess I was expecting more from the final battle? We have a previous attack on the thrustships and the shipyard (and I have to agree with the second-in-command here, that it makes far more sense to alert General A’baht so that they can come back with more ships), but the main fight is strangely uneventful. The Imperials escape with all the Imperial ships, Wialu’s illusion keeps the Yevetha occupied for a while, but then it’s literally just A’baht having to destroy every single Yevethan ship because they won’t surrender. It ends up being a bit anticlimactic.
McDowell adds a lot of interesting details about the Senate and how the New Republic works, which later authors completely disregard. And while I like Leia’s political career, it’s a little disheartening how much later books dropped Leia the politician in favor of Leia the Jedi. Likewise, he left the fate of the Black Fleet open-ended for someone else to pick up (loads of Imperial ships in the Deep Core), but no one did.
Similarly to [b:The New Rebellion|700095|The New Rebellion (Star Wars)|Kristine Kathryn Rusch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327008455l/700095._SY75_.jpg|686406], I felt like Tyrant’s Test was also lacking resolution. Han is OK, I guess, because Leia mentions that the children and she just visited him. Luke isn’t ready to be a hermit. Lando is alive, which is the best that can be hoped for. In the end, it seemed like an obvious reset to the status quo.
IN CONCLUSION:
In the end, I wish that McDowell had solely focused on Leia, because her plot is powerful and nuanced. Unfortunately, though, you end up having to wade through an irrelevant Lando adventure and a truly skippable Luke arc. (Read for the political subplot, not the Qella wild goose chase or the Fallanassi stuff.)
Next up: the third of the short story collections edited by Kevin J. Anderson, [b:Tales of the Bounty Hunters|131776|Tales of the Bounty Hunters (Star Wars)|Kevin J. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411172275l/131776._SY75_.jpg|2599174].
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/7RL67yr2b0E
McDowell’s FAQs for the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy: https://web.archive.org/web/20080509103715/http://www.sff.net/people/K-Mac/blackfleet.htm