Yoda: Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart
Count Dooku's Getting Sentimental
My rating: 4/5
Pub Date: Nov. 23, 2004
Legends/Canon: Legends
Timeline: 19 BBY
Welcome back to the Star Wars Book Club! Today we’re going back in time farther than I’ve ever gone before. Back to 2004, where we find Yoda, Count Dooku, two young Padawans, one evil apprentice, and a smattering of battle droids.
[This review is spoiler-free, so read on!]
Alright, alright, I know October is spooky month, and this book isn’t really creepy (unless you count the passively carnivorous plants), but I blame the internet for my problems on this one. The list I looked at for spooky Star Wars books included this book, so I decided to take my chances. My chances failed. But that’s enough stalling. It’s time to actually do what this newsletter promises and talk about the book.
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is a Legends novel set during the Clone Wars. It’s the first novel I’ve read that was Yoda centric, and that turned out to be more of a treat than I was expecting. Yoda is, of course, the wise Master we know and love, but we also get to see that silly side of him that really only makes an appearance in Empire Strikes Back. It never ceases to be funny that he goes around whacking things with his stick, and this book delivered on that little mannerism in the best way.
He jokes with the Padawans and gets in fights with droids, and I found myself loving those little details. They expanded his character nicely for me, which is a big tick in the plus column since this book literally has Yoda’s name in the title and face on the cover.
Here’s my favorite quote about him real quick before we move on:
“Even beneath Yoda’s weariness and his worry she felt the deep springs of joy within him, a thousand fountains of it, inexhaustible, as if he were a crack in the mantle of the world, and the living Force itself bubbled through him.” ~ Jedi Master Maks Leem
Our light side of the force cast of characters also consists of Jedi Masters Maks Leem and Jai Maruk, along with their respective Padawans, Scout (who’s real name is long and hard to spell) and Whie (who’s real name is Whie). It’s hard to talk about these characters without giving spoilers, so it will suffice to say that I quite enjoyed Scout and Whie’s bond. I thought it was really well written. They’re teenagers, and when they fight they certainly act like it. We love to see it.
Our dark side of the force cast of characters consists of none other than Count Dooku himself, along with his power-hungry apprentice Asajj Ventress. This is where the plot of the book finally comes into play. Dooku is hiding out on the Outer Rim planet of Vjun when he starts to get a little too sentimental and ends up contacting Yoda. On the outside, this is simply a request for a meeting of war negotiations (which becomes Yoda’s mission and main plot of the book), but thanks to the use of flashbacks we get some extra insight into the whole thing.
Dooku is such a complex character, and I can’t wait to read more about him (Dooku: Jedi Lost, I’m looking at you) and his past relationship with Yoda. The little snippets we get in this book make me think that he low-key misses Yoda. And why wouldn’t he? Yoda was his Master, aka his parent, and that is a special bond. The book makes some interesting commentary on the fact that baby Jedi are taken from their parents. This is commentary that I don’t feel equipped to tackle here, but I still wanted to briefly mention it because it is an important factor throughout the book.
If Dooku is harboring some deep feelings about the Jedi, his ever so lovely apprentice, Ventress, is certainly not. She, in fact, has a Jedi kill count going, and is oh so proud of that fact.
Ventress is one of my favorite bad guys in Star Wars. She just spreads chaos and destruction and enjoys every moment of it, especially when those moments involve messing with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Said chaos and destruction makes for some riveting action scenes throughout the book, and I especially loved how we got multiple POVs during those action scenes.
Now, since we’ve discussed both the light and the dark side of the force, I feel it’s prudent to include a quote from the book about such things that I enjoyed:
“Though the dark side draws much of its power from such feelings, merely having them is not to have chosen the wrong path. Do you understand? It is the decision to dominate, to crush, to draw your strength from another being’s weakness that signals a turn to the dark side. Dark or light is not a feeling, but a choice.” ~Jedi Master Jai Maruk
That quote is in reference to Whie struggling with anger and resentment, and I love it. I think it succinctly sums up the core of Star Wars, and of life at large. Our actions are everything, whether they be good or bad. Feelings can make thoughts and actions more intense, but ultimately it’s up to each of us to learn how to make good decisions in spite of hard emotions and circumstances.
And on that somewhat philosophical note, I will leave you with my final recommendation. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is a fun read for anyone who enjoys seeing the ever amazing relationship between Yoda and Dooku. It’s also good for anyone who enjoys the more episodic feel of the Clone Wars show. To me, it’s not essential Star Wars reading, and nothing in it really blew me away, but it’s still a fun read for those of us inclined to read lots of Star Wars literature
Thanks for reading and being here at the Star Wars Book Club!
Inquiring minds want to know: Do you like Yoda? Is Ventress the best Star Wars villain? Will Dooku ever get over his traumatic past? (j.k. that last one’s rhetorical)
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Stay tuned for the rest of October because things are going to get creepy. We’ve got Red Harvest and Death Troopers both by Joe Schreiber on the top of the TBR stack, aka Star Wars themed horror. Consider me intruiged.
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