Book notes: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed by Sean Williams

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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed by Sean Williams

Synopsis:

“‘The Sith always betray one another. . . . I’m sure you’ll learn that soon enough.’

The overthrow of the Republic is complete. The Separatist forces have been smashed, the Jedi Council nearly decimated, and the rest of the Order all but destroyed. Now absolute power rests in the iron fist of Darth Sidious–the cunning Sith lord better known as the former Senator, now Emperor, Palpatine. But more remains to be done. Pockets of resistance in the galaxy must still be defeated and missing Jedi accounted for . . . and dealt with. These crucial tasks fall to the Emperor’s ruthless enforcer, Darth Vader. In turn, the Dark Lord has groomed a lethal apprentice entrusted with a top-secret mission: to comb the galaxy and dispatch the last of his masters’ enemies, thereby punctuating the dark side’s victory with the Jedi’s doom.

Since childhood, Vader’s nameless agent has known only the cold, mercenary creed of the Sith. His past is a void; his present, the carrying out of his deadly orders. But his future beckons like a glistening black jewel with the ultimate promise: to stand beside the only father he has ever known, with the galaxy at their feet. It is a destiny he can realize only by rising to the greatest challenge of his discipleship: destroying Emperor Palpatine.

The apprentice’s journeys will take him across the far reaches of the galaxy, from the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk to the junkyard planet of Raxus Prime. On these missions, the young Sith acolyte will forge an unlikely alliance with a ruined Jedi Master seeking redemption and wrestle with forbidden feelings for his beautiful comrade, Juno Eclipse. And he will be tested as never before–by shattering revelations that strike at the very heart of all he believes and stir within him long-forgotten hopes of reclaiming his name . . . and changing his destiny.” -Audible

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Opening thoughts:

I was excited to pick up this book because I’ve heard about the video game series and have always wanted to play it. From the little that I know about Starkiller’s lore, he seems like one of the most badass characters with the most potential in the Force. He’s also one who seems to be balancing in the middle between the light and dark sides of the force.

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Key notes:

Part One: Imperial

Chapter 1

• A teacher’s job was to let the student forge their own way through the force, intervening only when the student was hopelessly lost and needed to be corrected
  • Even on the wrong paths laid some wisdom
• He was ceremoniously knighted by Darth Vader and called his apprentice officially
• Now he was tasked with killing a surviving Jedi, leaving no witnesses

Chapter 2

• The pilot got orders from Lord Vader to fly Starkiller around wherever he needed to go

Chapter 3

• He successfully bested the old Jedi General Koda in battle but he managed to escape
• Starkiller couldn’t confirm his death but retrieved the Jedi’s lightsaber at the very least 

Chapter 4

• Juno accidentally saw a video feed of Vader and Starkiller speaking of their plot to betray the Emperor

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

• He managed to defeat the Jedi master in his lair of droids and robotic creations
• He got a third and final mission from Vader to kill the Jedi Master Shaak Ti 

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

• He barely managed to defeat the Jedi master by luck, but she also gave him a warning that his potential was wasted on the Sith

Chapter 9

• The Emperor found out about Starkiller and ordered Vader to kill him, which he did

Part Two: Empirical

Chapter 10

• Starkiller floated through the Force in this death state, seeing both past and future from different perspectives and with different people involved

Chapter 11

• Starkiller awoke with an even stronger body and no wounds, six months later
• He was given the mission by Darth Vader to form his own rebel army to distract the Emperor so that they could eventually attack him together.

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

• Starkiller followed his heart and saved Juno from her imprisonment before they escaped on the ship

Chapter 14

• Starkiller told Juno that he only wanted two things: revenge, and to learn all things about the force that Vader couldn’t or wouldn’t teach him

Chapter 15

• Starkiller fought off a whole squadron of Empire troops, and possibly a few of the emperor‘s personal guards to save the general

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

• He ran into Leia who was trying to help the Wookiees

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

• He had a Force vision of the past that showed him the perspective of Darth Vader when he killed Starkiller’s parents and took him away as a boy
• He also had a vision of fighting a Jedi while he was in a semi-artificial body

Chapter 22

• He used his massive power in the force to destroy the Skyhook 

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

• They made it back to the planet Felucia to try and find Senator Bail Organa
• The light and the dark sides of the forces were simply ideals
  • Both exist together, in different proportions in each person, and on a spectrum. It’s not either or, they’re just directions and people can change at any time
• He found the young Jedi apprentice who turned to the dark side and won against them easily
  • He also rescued Senator Organa

Chapter 26

• They sent off Organa in a transport after requesting he help them start a rebel force

Chapter 27

• Juno walked in on Starkiller’s conversation with Vader and discovered he was still working for him
• He was conflicted because he knew his bonds with his new allies were getting stronger

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

• Starkiller achieved the impossible and pulled down a star destroyer, using the force and digging deep within himself
• They discovered that Proxy was hacked, attacked Juno, and prevented them from taking off

Chapter 31

• He defeated the core and rescued Proxy

Part Three: Rebel

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

• They had their first meeting of the rebel alliance, but it was interrupted by an Imperial attack

Chapter 34

• Vader walked in to everyone’s surprise and outed Starkiller as his apprentice

Chapter 35

• He couldn’t beat Darth Vader, but somehow went on the break of death
• He left his body using the force

Chapter 36

• Galen had an intense meditation and found out where they should head next to find Koda

Chapter 37

• Juno flew Galen in as close as possible
• Before he left to infiltrate the Death Star, they shared what she thought was a last kiss

Chapter 38

• He fought Darth Vader and was victorious. Then, he held off Darth Sidious so that his allies could escape
• He embraced the force completely, which gave him enough power to hold the enemies back
• Galen died protecting his friends and fighting the Emperor. But the dark Lord was worried about the hope that he inspired in the rebellion

Epilogue

• A life without hope was worse than no life at all
• Koda admitted to Juno that he knew who they were all along, but amongst all the dark thoughts in Galen’s head, the one bright spot he had hoped would be enough was his love for Juno

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Closing thoughts:

This was such a good book! It is easily one of my favorites of all the Star Wars books I’ve read. I really like Galen, his character growth, and the plot. It really does feel like a video game, but I found myself on the edge of my seat, so to speak, as I listened to the story. I’m glad that I picked up both the first and second books so I could go straight into the next book in the series without waiting.

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One Takeaway / Putting into practice:

My one takeaway is actually the very first note I wrote down as I found it the most profound in the entire book:

• A teacher’s job was to let the student forge their own way through the force, intervening only when the student was hopelessly lost and needed to be corrected. Even on the wrong paths laid some wisdom

I think these are not only the wisest words of the story, but they also perfectly encapsulate Starkiller’s story as he learns the right path by making mistakes along the way.

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Nutshell:

The story of Galen Marek aka Starkiller, and his journey to figure out his purpose as Vader’s apprentice.

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Similar books:

• Star Wars: Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston
• Shatterpoint: Star Wars Legends by Matthew Stover
• Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
• Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno
• Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber
• Star Wars: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn
• Star Wars: Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn
• Star Wars: Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn

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Rating:

4/5

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