Unabridged Audiobook
First, let me tell you what The Force Unleashed does right. I usually have trouble following Star Wars books if I'm not familiar with the characters, creatures, vehicles, or locales. Not so with Force Unleashed. This book mercifully introduces the reader to four new characters, none of whom have names that are so bizarre that they become difficult to remember or keep track of. Likewise, I never felt lost when Starkiller would encounter weird creatures from exotic locations, because the book actually does a good job of helping the reader visualize the adventure. Where Force Unleashed goes wrong, however, is that it's difficult to reconcile with the narratives of the films. There's nothing outright contradictory, but I have a problem with all of this happening before Vader ever encounters Luke. Starkiller seems to effortlessly walk back his alignment to the Dark Side, which greatly undermines Luke's struggle from Return of the Jedi. He's also ridiculously powerful, managing to pull a Star Destroyer out of orbit with the Force, and he literally defeats Darth Vader. I also have trouble accepting that the leaders of the Rebel Alliance were not only identified so soon after coming together, and were taken to the Death Star to be first interrogated and then later executed. But at the end of the book, after they escape, the Emperor decides not to do anything about them because they're "too popular". Also, I'm sorry, but I got the impression from the original film that the Death Star was kept a secret from the Rebel Alliance until the plans were discovered in the opening crawl. Now you're telling me that Mon Mothma, Bale Organa, and Bel Iblis were all detained there mere moments after declaring a rebellion? Bullcrap! Marc Thompson is a great narrator, as always, even if his Vader is a little weak.
~~tag-text~~