Dark Disciple

WHY: Following from [b:Kindred Spirits 26147458 Kindred Spirits Christie Golden https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1479639588l/26147458.SX50.jpg 46102280] and supplementing my Clone Wars TV show experience, Dark Disciple was one of the parts I was really looking forward to - 8 abridged episodes spanning a massive arc featuring a Jedi and Sith working together.STORY: This opens with a massacre by Dooku, and with the war dragging on the Jedi council make a dark decision against the Jedi code - sending Quinlan Vos, a Jedi, to assassinate the Count with the support of ex-apprentice Asajj Ventress. As he attempts to win her trust, acting as a bounty hunter and going on shared missions, he finds himself falling in love with the changed villain. This was unfortunately the weakest part of the plot for me, as I found it hard to believe how quickly things happened - although this led to two great twists, at the midpoint and conclusion of the book. I also found myself in disbelief at certain actions made during other key confrontations of the story, but from a bigger picture perspective the writers could not kill characters who need to appear later in the saga. On the other hand, the dark side is also explored more deeply here but in a newly-depicted restrained manner which was liked.WRITING: I loved the seamless integration of TV series characters and locations, which made it easy to read and visualise these as a set of actual 22-minute episodes. The writing was minimal in this sense, as the reader should know a lot about these characters and story archetypes before beginning the book. However, I enjoyed how Golden was able to uncover more about Vos and Ventress's individual personalities through their perspectives, with the latter especially becoming one of my favourite characters from the Star Wars saga.WHO: This is really for the die-hard Clone Wars TV show fan who wants to know absolutely everything about the series cut short due to cancellation. It is harder to recommend for even broader Star Wars fans, as it relies a lot upon knowledge of the show and characters established in it. I'm now keen for the Son of Dathomir graphic novel, and plan on reading The High Republic: Light of the Jedi after finishing the Clone Wars, but am unsure of my Star Wars reading media plans beyond that...