The New Rebellion

Star Wars: The New Rebellion is the first Kristine Kathryn Rusch novel I've ever read. The "About the Author" page in the back of the book indicates that, at the time the novel was published in 1996, Rusch had received nominations for and won a handful of prestigious awards. Regretfully, then, I must admit that I didn't care for this book very much. There were many fine ideas in the book, but many of the plot threads felt padded, too drawn out. The resolution of the story was anti-climactic after the big build of a mysterious new weapon and a vastly powerful and mysterious foe. The characterizations were flat. And, for me, the biggest downfall was the writing style. It was not bad, but it was not great either. It was just OK. A lot of sentences were clunky, mechanically constructed, and never achieved a sweep and flow that fully engaged me in the tale. As I progressed deeper and deeper into the book, I'll admit, I was anxious to reach the end. Not to learn the resolution of the story, but just to be done with it. This is not a horrible book, there are some fascinating creatures in it, R2-D2 plays a big part and does something very cool, and there are some fun scenes. It's the sort of book and story to which I would normally give a 3-star rating. Perhaps, if the writing had been a bit more elegant, and if the plotting and pace had been a bit tighter, I would have.