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By Chuck Dixon, Rick Leonardi & Mark Pennington (Titan Books)
ISBN 1-84576-109-X
This slim volume is an intriguing attempt to tell a tale from the viewpoint of an inveterate, rather than misunderstood, villain. Grievous is a cyborg predator and his favoured meat is Jedi Knights. At the time of telling (two years after the Battle of Geonosis, for those of you who follow such things) he is cutting a deadly swath through the ranks of the Galaxy’s defenders. A small group of Padawans (apprentice Jedis) have decided to ignore their teachers’ warnings about succumbing to the Dark Side of the Force and attempt to assassinate the General.
Led by Flynn Kybo, who had just narrowly survived an encounter with the sinister villain, they embark on their mission of necessary evil only to become embroiled in an unwitting rescue of child Padawans (you can call them ‘Younglings’ if you want) that Grievous had kidnapped, with the intention of turning them into bio-mechanical hybrids like him/itself.
Fast-paced and action-packed, this tale falls a little short in its attempt to add flesh to what remains a rather two-dimensional arch-villain, and the themes of honour in war-time and expediency versus right are somewhat lost in the mix, but Leonardi’s art is, as ever, an absolute joy to look at and the story simply rattles along at a fine pace. Here be pure entertainment, accessible and fun, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
© 2005 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.