Review: Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno (contains spoilers)

[chameleon_irony]

My comment is in two parts: as a reader and psychology student, first, and as a fanfiction author, second.

It isn't a large book. It took me 8 hours to read it thoroughly.

Comments

[chameleon_irony]

Plagueis thinks the Force is striking back at the Sith for their experiments with it and he assumes Anakin is its revenge. But we don't see any proof of this, or of the Force having a will of its own. It all seems to be nothing more than Plagueis's paranoid theory.

For all we know, Anakin could be an experiment gone wrong, a success where Plagueis thought he failed:
he had attempted an even more unthinkable act: to bring into being a creation of his own ... the birth of a Forceful being ... But ultimately to no end. (p. 280)
And on the last page, Anakin is referred to as a Forceful being. He is exactly what Plagueis intended, and thought he failed, to create.

Also, note that while Plagueis is surprised and alarmed by Anakin's existence, Palpatine has the opposite reaction: instead of seeing Anakin as a threat, he sees him as a gift, an opportunity. We're given no explanation why, and no clues as to what's behind his cryptic thoughts when Dooku tells him about Anakin: Nine years old ... Conceived by the Force... Is it possible ... (p. 346). Is what possible? Did Sidious attempt some sort of experiment, without his Master's knowledge, nine years prior? It isn't difficult to believe.