The Force Unleashed II: Star Wars

Thousands of hours of hard work went into the vast multimedia project that was the Force Unleashed. The outcome was an action-packed rampage through the Star Wars universe full of Force lightning, flailing stormtroopers, explosions, and believable characters. If not a great Star Wars novel, the Force Unleashed was a great Star Wars experience when all elements of the project are taken into account: the game, novel, comic, and even the toys. After all that work developing the story, characters, and the look and feel of this particular corner of the Star Wars universe, a sequel makes a lot of sense.

On its own, the novelization of Force Unleashed II isn’t perfect. It’s lacking in some logical connective tissue here and there, the resurrection/cloning of Starkiller is hazy and a bit contrived, and when it’s all said and done the plot boils down to a rebellion love story against the backdrop of Force lightning. But for me, ultimately, the Force Unleashed II works simply because I wanted to return to the characters, story, and feel of the Force Unleashed.

It has its strong points, too. The idea of Proxy’s existential quest for a primary programing is somehow both hilarious and thought-provoking. Starkiller’s existence as both a person, clone, hero, villain, student, outcast, test-subject for Darth Vader, and symbol for the Rebel Alliance is captivating. And once again, even through the pages of a novel that is by nature non-visual, this book really fleshes out the locations of Dac, Malistaire, Kamino, and the Rogue Shadow.

The Force Unleashed II is a good book, an even better experience when taken into account of the larger project that was the Force Unleashed across all platforms, and would be a fantastic story if it had only begat a satisfying conclusion in the form of a third installment. The Force Unleashed III will probably exist for the rest of time in that special place alongside the film adaptations of the Thrawn Trilogy, the HD re-release of the *original* Original Triolgy, and the Clone Wars Season 7. All that being said, long live Starkiller.

This is the most epic book ever!!!!!

Star Wars The Force Unleashed Two is the decent sequel to The Force Unleashed. Like the first, it's based on the video game with the same title. Starkiller returns to again challenge Darth Vader. But what plagues him throughout the book is the question: Am I me or am I only a clone, just a copy? After the events on the Death Star in the first book, Starkiller isn't sure that he didn't just die. What he does know, however, is that he is still in love with Juno Eclipse, who was his pilot in the original story.

This book has a good amount of action and adventure, but it feels a little strained. In my opinion it doesn't flow quite as smoothly as the first. Like all EU novels it ties in with the movies and everything fits together nicely. There is an awesome finale in the last few chapters that makes this book worth reading. Many of the classic Star Wars characters are woven throughout the tale along with Starkiller, Juno, Kota and the other, more recently introduced key players, which gives it a familiar feel.

If your after an action filled adventure without quite so much of a complex plot, this book should be right for you.