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| Crosscurrent |
| BOOK STORY |
| Paul S. Kemp |
| Del Rey [US]; Arrow
Books [UK] |
Story published as:
Paperback Novel (2010)
e-Book (2011) |
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Rating:
If you have read this book, please
rate it:
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Reviews:
1 review [Average review
score: 4 / 5] |
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Synopsis:
An ancient Sith ship hurtles into
the future carrying a lethal cargo that could forever
destroy Luke Skywalker's hopes for peace.
The Civil War is almost over when Jedi Knight Jaden Korr
experiences a Force vision so intense he must act.
Enlisting two salvage jocks and their ship, Jaden sets
out into space. Someone, or something, appears to be in
distress.
But what Jaden and his crew find confounds them. A
five-thousand-year-old dreadnaught, bringing with it a
full force of Sith and one lone Jedi, has inadvertently
catapulted eons from the past into the present. The
ship's weapons may not be cutting-edge, but its cargo, a
special ore that makes those who use the dark side
nearly invincible, is unsurpassed. The ancient Jedi on
board is determined to destroy the Sith. But for Jaden,
even more is at stake: for his vision has led him to
uncover a potentially indestructible threat to
everything the Jedi Order stands for.
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Chronology:
This story occurs approximately 41½ years after the
Battle of Yavin. |
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Related Stories (in
chronological order):
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| Behind the story: |
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![[Paul Kemp]](../images/authors/paul-kemp-sm.jpg)
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An interview
with the author.
Read Star Wars Books interview with
this book's author, Paul Kemp here.
(Interview originally posted 20th January 2010).
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Review
by Jeff
Preston![[External site - opens in a new window/tab]](../images/external_link.png) ,
USA, 2010:
"Crosscurrent is set some 41.5 years after the events of
A New Hope...and some five
thousand years before that. Crosscurrent is told through a
series of flashes from the past and the "present". It's
very much about threads of fate, plots and events of the past coming
to fruition in the future. Now most of the time this way of
storytelling can be jarring. I've put books down and left them on
the shelf because of this. Usually it's hard to keep the flow of
interest going on two simultaneous stories. The author does a
masterful job in tying the two together as well as keeping both
halves of the story exciting. He makes it really work. I do love
being surprised!
"Without spoiling anything I can say that the story (stories)
definitely nail the Star Wars vibe. Sith vs. Jedi showdowns, space
battles, star fighter chases, smarmy cantinas, cryptic force-visions
and how they play out...all really well done. You can certainly see
a difference in the Jedi of ages past versus Jedi of "The New
Order" but you can see similarities too. They are still Jedi. I
think in a lot of ways "The New Order" Jedi have to be a
bit more contemplative: seeing more shades of gray than the Jedi of
old (which I think led to their fall).
"Crosscurrent is a stand-alone novel. You don't need to
read anything else before reading it, which is nice. This is a great
book to give to people that haven't read a Star Wars novel before,
or if they've read them all: I think the story stands up nicely. I
did have to go back and re-read a few bits. Occasionally I got
confused on whether I was reading X's story or Y's story. This is to
be expected, especially when the whole thing is a series of
flashbacks (and flash forwards.) I did get a bit confused on names
too, but I think that is because I'm reading the PDF version and not
a paper book where I can easily flip back to the "Cast of
Characters" page for handy reference.
"The author does a fine job of keeping the reader on their
toes. I wasn't sure where the story would lead or who would die or
not. I think that's a great thing in storytelling (something many
authors don't seem to achieve). I love to be kept guessing as well
as being wrong in my assumptions of where the plot is going. Granted
there were a couple groaner events, but still...a really great
story. One part in-particular wraps nicely around a card game.
Beautifully crafted scene. Very well done. That is one of the best
negotiations I've seen in a long while. There are funny moments and
great dialogue and some full-stop moments that will have you
scratching your head. About halfway through the novel you have an
“Oh Crap” moment and everything starts falling together. At this
point if you weren’t snagged by the author’s hooks, you are now!
"Overall, it's a fun ride with lots of bumps, twists and turns.
Good sci-fi in general, smart Star Wars fiction in particular. Star
Wars has a New Hero: Jaden Korr and Paul S. Kemp."
Rating: 4
/ 5
Review reprinted with kind permission of Team-Preston. |