Dark Disciple by Christie Golden
a love letter to Asajj Ventress
My rating: 4.5/5
Pub Date: July 7, 2015
Legends/Canon: Canon
Timeline: 19 BBY
Welcome back to the Star Wars Book Club! Today the book of choice is Dark Disciple by Christie Golden. I was excited going into this one for two reasons: Ventress and a romance centered around Ventress. We’re going to talk about it in a spoiler free fashion. But first, here’s some pertinent background information.
In case you missed it, like I did until just now, the cover of the book tells us that Dark Disciple is “based on unproduced episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” I find that little tidbit fascinating. The other thing I find fascinating is our Jedi of the story, Quinlan Vos, who just goes by Vos. He’s got a big personality. We get to see a little bit of that personality in one episode of Clone Wars, “Hunt for Ziro”, in which Vos is paired up with Obi-Wan on a mission. That mission and the history between Vos and Obi-Wan is important in Dark Disciple, so just keep that in mind. The last bit of background to know going into this book is that Ventress has tried and failed to kill Count Dooku twice already, and is no longer his apprentice. So, now that we know where we’re at with everything, let’s jump into my thoughts. Beware, they are jumbled.
This book left me feeling conflicted. On the one hand, Vos was a great character to get to know, and I loved his dynamic with Ventress. Their romance was believable and worked well for both characters. Ventress learning how to open up for the first time in pretty much ever was so compelling. And then I hit the middle of the book and things, well, happened. The tone shifted and the second half of the book read, to me, almost like a separate book. I can’t really find the words to explain it, especially not without spoilers, so I’ll just say that things got confusing.
But that’s the real kicker, they got confusing on purpose. The plot became a direct correlation with Vos’s character arc. Because Vos himself was confused, those around him didn’t know what to think, which left me unsure what to think either. And that’s frustrating as a reader, not knowing what is true and what is false, but that is a very deliberate writing choice from the author. The fact that I was feeling that way made me respect Christie Golden that much more, but it also didn’t take away the fact that I was frustrated with the plot.
And so the cycle continued until finally the last 10 or so pages were upon me, things were being wrapped up, and suddenly I was crying. This is the first Star Wars book that made me cry, and I think that’s because I had absolutely no idea that it was going to do what it did. The whole time I was reading, I was trying to guess where things were headed, as you do, and it never even crossed my mind that the ending would be what it was.
After all of that vague rambling, can you see how I feel conflicted about what to say? I loved it and disliked it in equal measure, but the things I disliked felt like they were kind of supposed to be disliked, if you know what I mean. Or maybe I’m just crazy and overthinking things.
Another hang up for me is that the main point of the book is that Vos is supposed to team up with Ventress in order to assassinate Count Dooku. Right off the bat, that’s a hard thing to get behind because we already know that Dooku dies at the hand of Anakin in Revenge of the Sith. Knowing that left me with some big question marks as to where the plot of this book could even go, and I think that right there is my biggest qualm with the second half of the book. It veers off into a more classic Clone Wars adventure by throwing Obi-Wan and Anakin in, which I think would fit really well in the tv show as it was originally intended, but it feels harder to get behind in the context of just picking up this book randomly and giving it a read like I did.
So where does that leave me? Drifting somewhere in the reviewer abyss, I daresay. But actually, I think it leaves me reeling in the aftermath of some pretty amazing character arcs for both Vos and Ventress. It would have been great to see these two interacting on screen, and I’m sad that the Clone Wars was canceled before these two got their chance to shine.
As far as my final book rating goes, I’ve convinced myself over the course of writing this that I’m awarding this one a 4.5/5, with the potential to be upgraded to the full 5 star status. This status can be achieved if/when I reread this book. For everyone else, I would recommend this book to fellow Ventress lovers because, despite my jumbled feelings, I think her character growth is superb.
Now entering the Corner of Random:
Ventress with hair. It was made abundantly clear throughout the book that Ventress had grown herself some short blonde hair. I, for one, couldn’t quite get behind that.
Vos learning the ways of the Dark Side from Ventress was so good. I loved the emphasis on how important it was for him to remain balanced, and how he dealt with that throughout the book.
My favorite quote from the book:
"Who would she be without a lightsaber or a false face? Would there be anything left of Asajj Ventress if she were to truly let go of hatred and instead accept what had shone in Vos's eyes - that she was loved for simply being?"
If you made it all the way to the end I’m impressed. A big thanks to you for being here and enjoying Star Wars with me! Feel free to leave any thoughts in the comment section so long as they are spoiler free.
Keep an eye out for the next reading list, coming in the next few days.
Until then, may the Force be with you!
I love Ventress and want to read this book to find out what happens to her. It’s a bummer that her arc ended so abruptly on Clone Wars. I still hope they bring her into Bad Batch or, even better, one of the live action shows. Obi-Wan name-checked Vos in his show. It would be amazing if Ventress appears in the Ahsoka show, for example. Thanks for the review!