Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (Star Wars: Clone Wars) |  | Author: Sean Stewart
Publisher: Del Ray
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Seller: goodwill_grand_rapids
Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 259925
Media: Paperback
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1
ISBN: 0345463099
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345463098
ASIN: 0345463099
Publication Date: November 23, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
As the Clone Wars rage, Jedi Master Yoda must once again face one of his greatest adversaries: Count Dooku. . . .
The savage Clone Wars have forced the Republic to the edge of collapse. During the height of the battle, on Jedi Knight escapes the carnage to deliver a message to Yoda on Coruscant. It appears that Dooku wants peace and demands a rendezvous. Chances are slim that the treacherous Count is sincere but, with a million lives at stake, Yoda has no choice.
The meeting will take place on Djun, a planet steeped in evil. The challenge could not be more difficult. Can Yoda win back his once promising pupil from the dark side or will Count Dooku unleash his sinister forces against his former mentor? Either way, Yoda is sure of one thing: This battle will be one of the fiercest heâll ever face.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
 Another winner from Sean Stewart November 26, 2004
Nathan Blumenfeld (Wilmington, DE United States)
70 out of 73 found this review helpful
I'm an unabashed Stover groupie. And while I recognize that he's not the best writer out there, he's certainly my favorite - there's just something about the way he writes that I find incredibly appealing. He writes what I want to read. But as I said, favorite is not necessarily best, and while Stover's Star Wars novels are among the best out there, Sean Stewart's novel is easily the best Clone Wars novel yet and one of the best Star Wars novels ever written.
Anyone who's been reading my reviews will know that one of my complaints about some recent Star Wars novels is that the prose itself is boring, regardless of the actions and characters it is describing. Not so here. Unlike a good number of Star Wars writers, Sean Stewart has style. His language is often nearly poetic (sometimes a little too self-consciously so, but thankfully not often) - as one Amazon reviewer put it, "at once fluid and precise, impressionistic and razor-fine." Which makes it a pleasure to read this book even during the more sedate moments.
Aside from the language itself, Stewart has many other assets. He's got a wonderful grasp of character, showing for the first time in the novels the character dynamics between Ventress and Dooku, between Dooku and Sidious, between Yoda and Dooku, between Yoda and the rest of the Jedi, etc. He gets into Dooku's and Yoda's heads in a powerful way - Dooku becomes a more sympathetic character while remaining true to the bad guy we know he is, and Yoda in particular is handled fantastically. I was truly worried despite my faith in Stewart that he wouldn't be able to do Yoda justice, but my fears were unfounded. Stewart drew as much from the impish, wise Yoda of ESB as from the more somber, obnoxious Yoda of the prequels, to wonderful effect and more than a few laughs (all of them appropriate - no potty humor here). I particularly enjoyed an exchange about how the Jedi Temple should relocate off of Coruscant, to a more living planet. Finally too we get a little more explanation of the concept between lingering "Force spirits," and the exchange between a certain character and Yoda, especially when it comes to that character's estimation of Dooku, is awesome. Oh, and Padmé finally also gets an appearance in a novel, however brief. There are a couple problems, though. Every once in a while, for example, Stewart seems to have a little trouble with Yoda's syntax.
Continuity gurus should mostly be pleased (I think; I don't really count myself among their number anymore, so there could've been mistakes I missed), as Stewart refers appropriately to other Clone Wars events without being heavy-handed, and his GFFA name-dropping rarely seems inappropriate or out of place. Stewart also manages to convey the pathos in the Jedi Temple very well, as it is so emptied in the months since Geonosis, with so many Padawans without masters, masters having lost friends, and so forth. There are a couple problems though. For example, I found it hard to swallow that the Ithorians would have such a heavily fortified moon - which is particularly annoying considering that the fact that it's the Ithorian system is not relevant to the story, and it could as easily have been any other system.
Also in this book you will find some of the best lightsaber fights ever committed to the page. Including one involving my own personal favorite fencing cheat - which works, against all expectations, because that particular fight is between Padawans using lightsabers dialed down to training-settings. Plus some good heroics, a pretty good dogfight, some wonderful musings on loyalty and the light and dark sides of the Force.
Overall, a brilliant Star Wars novel, and one it's hard to believe will be topped anytime soon (though I have high hopes for Stover's adaptation of Revenge of the Sith). I doubt they'll manage to bring Stewart back for more SW novels, but I sincerely hope they will. Despite a very few minor quibbles, this is a tremendous effort.
If you like this book, I also highly recommend Sean Stewart's novel Nobody's Son.
In the end, what we are is: alone. December 12, 2004
José Fernandez (Ashburn, VA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book may or may not be the greatest Star Wars book ever written. It's difficult to make such a judgement, there being such a wide variety of books that bear the label of "Star Wars," and so many of them being so incredibly good. Cloak of Deception, Shatterpoint, The Cestus Deception, The Lando Calrissian Adventures, Return of the Jedi, Tales from Jabba's Palace, Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Traitor, The Unifying Force . . . The list goes on. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is certainly worthy of ranking among these and their fellows as the crown jewels of the Expanded Universe, but, as a Star Wars book, I cannot say if it is any better than the best of those. As a simple novel, however, it surpasses them all.
It would be impossible for me to describe, in the time I have, just what makes this book so good. The prose is a large part of it; Mr. Stewart has a very intriguing writing style. Several passages are simply breathtaking. The characters are astounding, even the minor ones who had no major impact on the plot. The humor is the best and most abundant in recent memory, and manages to be such without detracting from the overall somber tone of the novel. And, most important of all, I think, we finally get inside Dooku's head, learn what makes him tick, and see him as the tragic character he truly is.
Only two elements come to mind which detracted from this novel's magnificence: the references to the Rendili Fleet Crisis, which had not yet occurred as of Dark Rendezvous's placement in the timeline, and the number of ships Obi-Wan had cost Asajj Ventress (he didn't steal a ship from her on Queyta).
The title of this book is perhaps misleading. This is not a book about Yoda. Not solely, at least. It's about Count Dooku and two Padawans as well, in addition to several other characters who make Yoda: Dark Rendezvous the masterpiece it is. Even the Chosen One has a part to play. But most of all, it's a book about family, and acceptance, and coming home at the end of the day to people who love you, and the fact that even those who never come home again will always be waited for.
Excellent Addition to the expaned universe December 6, 2004
J. K. Moser (Flemington, New Jersey USA)
18 out of 23 found this review helpful
It seems that with Episode III coming up in the next year that the expanded universe is exploding with new books. Ironically, its the paperback books that are the better stories as opposed to the hardcover. While I was disappointed with the book about Mace Windu, Yoda's Dark Rendevous is really an excellent story. It presents Yoda as a teacher not as an all knowing master of the force. Stewart also has a way of writing other characters that is both realistic and interesting. The people and aliens he brings into the book seem to be real people. This book could have been just a Yoda versus Dooku and it was not and for that I am grateful. We see much more of the Jedi Temple and much more of the Padawans, and we see that it's not just Anakin Skywalker who is strong in the force. Anakin's dark side does come out a little and he is more closely aligned with the Anakin in the movies than with the disappointing Jedi Trial. I rate this book very highly and is among the best of the Star Wars prequal era books.
The "Grey" side.... June 8, 2005
Jase Webb (Chicago, Illinois United States)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
After seeing Episode 3 last weekend, I found myself wanting more Star Wars so I bought this book...
I started reading it, and finished it the next day. Very rarely in my busy schedule does this ever happen, so it is a testament to just how good this book is.
From my experience, many Star Wars books are either very deep and have little action, or are very shallow filled with tons of action. Thankfully, this book is right smack in the middle. After reading this book I understand the light and dark sides of the force a little better, and I was also very appreciative of some of the more "philosophical" areas of this text as well. Many conversations and insights in this book really "make you think". "Depth" wise, this book shines.
As for "Action" wise, this book was terrific as well. I've read a few books recently that had so much action, it was simply getting boring to read it. Thankfully, the action sequences in this book are spaced nicely at certain intervals, and each scene is represented in a way that leaves little to the imagination. Very well detailed action scenes, such as detailed step by step lightsaber dueling, details of different types of weapons being used, etc.
Philosophy, humor, action, seeing opinions from both "evil" and "good" sides of view, terrific writing style, and even a twist or two earns this book a solid 5 out of 5 stars.
Having read over 300 fantasy and science fiction novels I sometimes have difficulty finding something worth reading that I haven't already read, this book also did another great thing for me.... it introduced me to an author worth reading again, so I will check into other books written by Sean Stewart.
Yoda... Dooku... a link... light side and dark side... April 18, 2005
J. a Locke (United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
YODA, DARK RENDEZVOUS is a valuable read providing a link in the STAR WARS saga of the separation of Dooku and Yoda. Sean Stewart's story timeframe is thirty-plus months after Geonosis, and the continuation of the Clone Wars. This is one story more dedicated (than others) to one of my favorite characters Yoda... 'Mmm'! Yoda's wisdom is expressed by the author: "But other things, inside you there are. The Force is inside you. A true Jedi lives in the Force. Touches the Force. It surrounds him: and it reaches up from inside him to touch that which surrounds. ... Not a pile of permacrete, home is. Not a palace or a hut, ship or shack. Wherever a Jedi is, there must the Force be, too. Wherever we are, is home."
Read and follow Sean Stewart's journey of Grand Master Yoda and Count Dooku of Serenno. The Count is a most-gifted Padawan and prime Jedi Knight in training with Master Yoda. The time has come for Dooku to go out on his own. Yoda tells him, "A candle will I light, for you to find your way home." They are joined as Master and Padawan, yet they end on separate paths, in different parts of the galaxy - respectively, the Jedi Temple and Chateau Malreaux on Vjun. Delight in the tournaments of young apprentices and come to know the places in the Jedi Temple -- the Combat Training Center, the Star Room, the Council Chamber, and the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Join Padawan Whie in finding out his connection to the Chateau Malreaux in which Dooku resides on Vjun (where the presence of the Force is powerfully strong). Enjoy the antics and character of Padawan Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy, her name shortened to 'Scout'. Scout is not strong in the Force, but she has wit, perseverance, determination, and dedication. Meet the 'Gran' beings, a deeply social, community-oriented folk. They have six fingers, are three-eyed with shaggy brows, goat-headed, and their faces are most suited to express worry -- her name is Maks Leem, a Master Knight in the Jedi Temple, and a favorite of the younger acolytes. The evil Asajj Ventress -- the scourge of the Jedi, her mission: to kill Jedi, and she keeps a tally, while begging for Dooku to train her in the 'dark side', but no, he says. Meet Fidelis ('the gentleman's personal gentlething'), and Solis, who are suspicious droids, as well as bad and good heroes.
It is invigorating for avid readers to be introduced to a 'new' writer, i.e., debut or one not read before. This is my first exposure to author Sean Stewart, and it is a pleasant one, prompting me to read more of his writings. Stewart is proficient in language, both technical and descriptive ('xeno-ethnologists', and 'sociolinguistical slovenliness') and maintains excellent dialog technique. The last few chapters are written with a masterly exchange between Yoda and Dooku, philosophically, with tender memories, yet the presence of the light and dark sides, and a physical battle. There are times that it appears to the reader's mind that the author veers off the path of the intended story line, i.e., Yoda and Dooku. But, surprisingly, it is enticement added to the suspense of the final meeting in YODA DARK RENDEZVOUS.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
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