Death Star tells the story of that giant battle station, from when it was getting the finishing touches applied to the moment after it became a very pretty light show in Yavin-4’s skies. This story is told from myriad points of view: a smuggler trapped on the prison planet, Despayre (the Death Star was constructed in orbit around this planet), a TIE fighter pilot, a gunner, an architect, a librarian, a doctor, a stormtrooper, a cantina owner and her bouncer, as well as Darth Vader, Admiral Motti, and Grand Moff Tarkin. Read the rest of my review here: http://davebrendon.wordpress.com/2008... (

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Dave-Brendon | May 6, 2009 |

We all know the story behind the original Star Wars - A New Hope. This book lets you in on what was happening to the people and other beings on the Death Star itself before Luke took it out. Not everyone on the Death Star was there voluntarily, nor did they like what Vader did. (

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koalamom | Mar 28, 2009 |

A painless, mostly entertaining read that stitches together the first-released Star Wars movie (once called simply Star Wars but now titled, more cumbersomely, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) and some of the previously published novels (particularly those featuring Admiral Daala, the retconned lover of Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin), Death Star manages to shoehorn in some allusions to the outgoing administration of "Bush 43" a bit less clumsily than George Lucas did with his most recent trilogy of films (particularly in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) as well as fill in enough of the Death Star's back-story as an object and a habitat as to make it seem more than the MacGuffin it served as in Episode IV. If the characters and situations aren't developed as fully as one might wish, well, this is the Star Wars sandbox we're playing in, and one should remember how tight and arbitrary Lucas's control is over any piece of fiction set in it. Reaves and Perry had a thankless task in straddling a purely Saturday matinee/comic book modality with a slightly more adult viewpoint (the architect and political prisoner Teela Kaarz, plucked off of the prison planet of Despayre [and oh, what a Kirbyesque, New Gods-ish name that is...] to work on modifying the non-military interiors of the Death Star, gives herself several justifications for aiding the Empire that "almost" convince her; p. 63), and it is to their credit that they succeeded as much as they did. That said, Death Star is apt to at least faintly disappoint hardcore Star Wars geeks as much as it does the more casual fans, albeit for different reasons. (

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uvula_fr_b4 | Jan 18, 2009 |

What happened on the Death Star while the events shown in the Star Wars movie were taking place? This book takes you into the lives of key characters--some well known from the films, others smaller bit players--and shows life from the perspective of those who were living on the largest weapon ever created in that "galaxy far far away".

This was my first foray into one of the books surrounding the Star Wars film series. It will not be my last.

Of course you can look to find the normal dualism found in the movies, but the storytelling is crisp, to the point, and very effective. I especially like the authors' way of starting out with apparently unrelated characters and events, and bringing them together for a dramatic climactic ending. (

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brazilnut72 | Jan 12, 2009 |

Death Star begins slightly prior to where Star Wars: Return of the Jedi begins, prior to the Death Star plans being stolen, from the Empire's point of view. While the idea of such a story line sounds intreguing, I found the writing very dry. As if I was reading about the event directly from the official report. (

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qarae | Oct 24, 2008 |

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Series (with order)

Star Wars (1|0 ABY)

Canonical Title

Death Star

Original publication date

2007-10-16 [2007]

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

New York Times bestseller (Fiction, 2007)

Epigraph

"That's no moon.It's a space station."

-Obi-Wan Kenobi

Dedication

For Deborah

-MR

For Dianne, as always,

and for the new grandkid, Nate

-SP

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Shapiro, Shelly

Clayton, Keith

Mitchell, Betsy

Blurbers

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

Death Star (novel)

File:Deathstarnovel.jpg

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Book description

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0345477421, Hardcover)

“THAT’S NO MOON.”
–Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Death Star’s name says it all, with bone-chilling accuracy. It is a virtual world unto itself–equipped with uncanny power for a singularly brutal purpose: to obliterate entire planets in the blink of an eye. Its annihilation of the planet Alderaan, at the merciless command of Grand Moff Tarkin, lives in infamy. And its own ultimate destruction, at the hands of Luke Skywalker, is the stuff of legend. But what is the whole story, and who are the players, behind the creation of this world-killing satellite of doom?

The near extermination of the Jedi order cleared the way for Palpatine–power-hungry Senator and Sith Lord–to seize control of the Republic, declare himself Emperor, and usher in a fearsome, totalitarian regime. But even with the dreaded Darth Vader enforcing Palpatine’s sinister will, the threat of rebellion still looms. And the Emperor knows that only abject fear–and the ability to punish dissent with devastating consequences–can ensure his unchallenged control of the galaxy. Enter ambitious and ruthless government official Wilhuff Tarkin, architect of the Emperor’s terrifying dream come true.

From inception to completion, construction of the unprecedented Death Star is awash in the intrigues, hidden agendas, unexpected revelations, and daring gambits of those involved on every level. The brightest minds and boldest egos, the most ambitious and corrupt, the desperate and the devious, all have a stake in the Death Star–and its potential to control the fate of the galaxy.

Soldiers and slaves, loyalists and Rebels, spies and avengers, the innocent and the evil–all their paths and fates will cross and intertwine as the Death Star moves from its maiden voyage to its final showdown. And a shadowy chapter of Star Wars history is stunningly illuminated in a thrilling, unforgettable adventure.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:00 -0400)

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