Cloak of Deception

While this is not the sort of Star Wars book I really like, I can definitely appreciate what it did for making sense of the taxation dispute that happened in The Phantom Menace. The entire blockade of Naboo and it's justification has always befuddled me, so having a book that gets into the background of tax legislation in the Galactic Senate and Palpatine's role in all that is helpful. Not super fun for me, because I've never been all that interested in political thrillers, but still a solid addition to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Seeing how extremely convoluted the plan to make Palpatine chancellor - and eventually emperor - was was a little mind blowing because it almost felt like he was just adding extra layers because he wanted show more to prove to himself how clever he was, and not because it was actually essential to achieve his goals. Which fits with Palpatine's egotism, to be sure. Bit of a headache to puzzle out, though.

I will say, though, that the way Palpatine's thoughts were portrayed in the book was very strange. It was like our third-person omniscient narrator didn't know that Palpatine and Sideous were the same person? I actually had a small crisis wondering if I had somehow misremembered if the audience was supposed to know the connection at the point this book was published or not. But, everyone definitely knew. So the fact that Palpatine is kind of portrayed as a little oblivious at times and not obviously plotting as Sideous as we know very well he is, was disconcerting and a very strange narrative choice. Luceno wouldn't have been giving anything away if he had more explicitly portrayed Palpatine plotting behind the scenes, so it felt weird that he abstained for doing that. show less

This was a great entry into the Star Wars universe. Solid writing that really captures the feel of Star Wars action and scene setting. It's a good lead up to Episode 1 and gives you a bit more back story.

This was a great entry into the Star Wars universe. Solid writing that really captures the feel of Star Wars action and scene setting. It's a good lead up to Episode 1 and gives you a bit more back story.

Took me awhile to actually get into this since it is more of a political story than anything, but it was still a nice read. For those curious about what happened before The Phantom Menace, this is a must read. Younger readers would have a hard time following along since the vocabulary is advance. I give it a 4/5 stars for a dry beginning and a rather abrupt ending, but a very good story line none-the-less.

This is a full-blown political novel in the Star Wars Legend Universe and a prequel to the Phantom Menace movie novelization.

This novel follows 5 storylines. Qui-gon chasing a pirate that disturbs peace in the galaxy. Supreme Chancellor Valorum in the Senate. Senator Palpatine, who manages his politics. Darth Sidious, who manipulates the trade federation and Havoc fighting for the unfairness of his people.

This was a chessboard, and watching how the pieces were moved to create the avalanche towards everything that had been set in motion with devastation that had fallen the Republic.

Yes, it has battle scenes, but that was not the main theme of this. If you find the politics in Star Wars boring . . . skip this novel.

I enjoyed watching show more everything fall into place. Senator Palpatine was one smart individual. He thought everything through. Every little detail is planned. show less

I knew when I bought this book that it would be a good one. I just knew it. Star Wars books are generally good quality, it's set in my favourite time-period of the Star Wars Universe, and was centered around political story-lines. As regular readers of my reviews know, I like to see politics and intrigue at work in novels. So I was hyped up to read it, and opened it a soon as I got home.

But somehow, something went wrong.

It took me three weeks to read the book. Now, books generally take me a day or two to read, (I read Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano in an afternoon - despite it being the type of book I least like to read). So for me three weeks to read a book is a bad thing. While I had been expecting to be unable to put it down, In truth I show more found it difficult to pick up.

The book has a very promising start. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, the heroes of Episode 1, are chasing after some mysterious pirate who attacked the Trade Federation. (This is set pre-films, so the federation aren't bad guys yet). And then it seems to go downhill from there. The action is sparse, or at least not interesting enough to keep me reading, and it seems that we know far too much of what's going on, as we see it from several points of view.

Now there is a twist at the end, which one would hope for, but not a major one, as given that it occurs so close to the first film, we know that, for example, certain characters can't die. Unfortunately, that seems to be all of the protagonists. Since it's likely that anyone reading the Star Wars books has seen the films, we KNOW that there is no danger to the characters. There is no suspense.

I'm not saying that all the star wars books should be about characters we don't know what happens to. Rogue Planet is a particularly good book about Obi-Wan and Anakin. But it needs to be done well. Indeed, it needs to be done better than other books, and has to be more in-line with the films. Which leads us to problem number 3.

The characters seem completely different in this book to the films. In particular Yoda, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, as well as Palpatine. Perhaps the latter can be excused, as he is seen in different circles in the film, but Yoda seems far too contrary to be in keeping with his character, Obi-Wan rather pathetic, and Qui-Gon seems to just like disagreeing for the sake of it.

The only non-original character I thought was done particularly well was Master Adi Gallia, as her friendship with Valorum and Qui-Gon was nicely written and well-placed.

This also brings us nicely to the original characters, which I have to admit, weren't bad. Cohl's team was interesting, and Havac was a fairly clever little devil, despite playing stupid. But for me even Cohl seemed a bit boring after a while, and it seemed almost as if the author had gotten tired of writing about him.

The story did pick up a bit in the last few chapters, which I was grateful for, as I wanted to read the books that had just arrived in the post, but not an awful lot. Enough to let me finish the book in one sitting, but not enough to redeem the book in my eyes.

If you're a collector of star wars books, and see it in a charity shop, I'd give it a go. If you've never read a Star Wars novel before, don't choose this one. It's not representative of the majority. I might read it again one day in the future, and perhaps I'll have a new insight, but today, I wouldn't recommend this except to a huge fan, and I'd warn them not to have high expectations. show less

Luceno provides another fun exploration of the Star Wars universe, filled with loved (and sometimes not so loved) characters and places.

Set shortly before the events of The Phantom Menace, the novel follows Qui-gon Jinn and his padawan Obi-Wan as they investigate a series of events tied to a terrorist organization protesting the actions of the Trade Federation. As Chancellor Velorum works to find a middle ground to bring the Republic together, advice from his trusted advisor Palpatine undermines his efforts. The Jedi are loath to interfere and to follow the paths Qui-gon takes based on his sense of the Force in the present. As Palpatine’s plots converge, he moves the Nebula Force, the Trade Federation, and the Senate like pieces on a show more chessboard. Even the Jedi council proves predictable, though Qui-Gon’s determination and willingness to ignore the High Council as he follows his instincts work to slowly level the playing field. show less