Scan barcode
namikai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
clevermird's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wasn't sure quite where to place this book in my chronological read-through of every single Star Wars Expanded Universe novel. The action takes place over thousands of years, but ultimately I decided that the last event in the broader galaxy that the story references is the Jedi Civil War, so it made sense to read it after Revan. And here we are.
Five thousand years before Luke Skywalker blows up the first Death Star, Yaru Korsin is the Sith captain of a starship transporting fresh-mined lightsaber crystals for the war against the Jedi. An ambush knocks them off course and they crash land on an uncharted planet. At first devistated to find that the planet lacks the resources they need to repair the ship or communications equipement, the Sith soon realize what an opportunity they have and set about fighting among themselves, subjugating the locals, and building an empire all to themselves.
Instead of a traditional narrative, Lost Tribe of the Sith is actually a series of short stories set at various points in the Tribe's history, culminating in a novella that, to my understanding, leads into the events of the Fate of the Jedi novel series that at my current rate I'll get to sometime in my 80s. I wasn't sure how to feel about this choice initially and my ultimate take is rather mixed. I like the idea in that it clearly differentiates the different eras of the story and makes the time jumps less jarring. However, the choice of where to break off into different segments sometimes felt a bit arbetrary, with some stories standing alone and others not and the lengths varying wildly.
As is usual for short story collections (even if this kind of bridges the gap between one and a traditional narrative), some of the segments were much stronger than others. The final novella in particular felt meandering and I found the protagonist very difficult to like. And while the fifth and sixth segments were highly entertaining and do have some useful background information, their relevance to the overall narrative is a bit lacking.
Really, though, this book is quite good. The villain-focused narrative is a rarity in Star Wars literature and I enjoyed many of the darker elements and conniving characters. Keeping the story confined to one planet with unusual resources forces the characters and the story to work with strict limitations that offer interesting scenarios and it's fun to see the history of the Tribe (and their native subjects) develop and evolve over time.
While far from essential reading, even for Star Wars fans, Lost Tribe of the Sith is a fun, somewhat unique slice of lore that I really enjoyed.
Five thousand years before Luke Skywalker blows up the first Death Star, Yaru Korsin is the Sith captain of a starship transporting fresh-mined lightsaber crystals for the war against the Jedi. An ambush knocks them off course and they crash land on an uncharted planet. At first devistated to find that the planet lacks the resources they need to repair the ship or communications equipement, the Sith soon realize what an opportunity they have and set about fighting among themselves, subjugating the locals, and building an empire all to themselves.
Instead of a traditional narrative, Lost Tribe of the Sith is actually a series of short stories set at various points in the Tribe's history, culminating in a novella that, to my understanding, leads into the events of the Fate of the Jedi novel series that at my current rate I'll get to sometime in my 80s. I wasn't sure how to feel about this choice initially and my ultimate take is rather mixed. I like the idea in that it clearly differentiates the different eras of the story and makes the time jumps less jarring. However, the choice of where to break off into different segments sometimes felt a bit arbetrary, with some stories standing alone and others not and the lengths varying wildly.
As is usual for short story collections (even if this kind of bridges the gap between one and a traditional narrative), some of the segments were much stronger than others. The final novella in particular felt meandering and I found the protagonist very difficult to like. And while the fifth and sixth segments were highly entertaining and do have some useful background information, their relevance to the overall narrative is a bit lacking.
Really, though, this book is quite good. The villain-focused narrative is a rarity in Star Wars literature and I enjoyed many of the darker elements and conniving characters. Keeping the story confined to one planet with unusual resources forces the characters and the story to work with strict limitations that offer interesting scenarios and it's fun to see the history of the Tribe (and their native subjects) develop and evolve over time.
While far from essential reading, even for Star Wars fans, Lost Tribe of the Sith is a fun, somewhat unique slice of lore that I really enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
charlieswrittenadventures's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This was so boring. A lot of things happened but I couldn't get myself to care about any of the characters so it was just entirely boring.
hystericalfiction's review against another edition
Too many characters and none of them likeable. I just couldn't get into this.
berenikeasteria's review against another edition
3.0
It’s hard to assess this as one package because it’s actually a collection of loosely collected novellas, but I think John Jackson Miller is on point here. It’s curious – as a writer for the Star Wars universe, Miller sometimes got it horribly wrong – the unmemorable Knight Errant, for example – but when he got it right it was pure gold – the Knights of the Old Republic graphic novels, in which Miller had this amazing knack to create complex, grey characters and gripping, unexpected plots, weaving them all together with a truly deft skill. With The Lost Tribe of the Sith, Miller’s definitely leaning more towards the good stuff. It’s not as good as KOTOR, but it’s a damn sight better than Knight Errant. The characters aren’t quite as compelling, and the plots aren’t quite as complex, and I suspect that’s down to the novella nature of the collection, and the fact that it keeps skipping around in time, only providing us with key glimpses from an overall history. Given more page space, I think the likes of Yaru Korsin and the crew of the Omen, and the other characters, could have been much more compelling and developed over a running series such as Miller had with KOTOR. I can’t find too much more to say about this. It’s an intriguing book, but because nothing gets too much time, and because it’s clearly just setting up a history, it’s not outstanding and there’s not much to talk about.
6 out of 10
6 out of 10
anthonybanthony's review
3.5
Rating: B+
Beginning is a little wonky, as is the very end, but the rest is great.
Beginning is a little wonky, as is the very end, but the rest is great.
hbelle01's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jasperwrites87's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
5.0
Yaru Korsin and his crew on the ship, Omen, crash land on the planet, Kesh. At first, they think it will be no problem to return to their Sith mission in the stars, but quickly they realize that they are stuck on Kesh to stay. These series of stories cover the initial landing to a couple of thousand years later.
I'm not going to mince words: this is the best Star Wars book (or collection of short stories--whatever you want to call it) I've read all year. It has everything I love in a Star Wars book: great characters, interesting stories, a lush world, a setting that actually feels several thousands of years older than the one we see in the Original Trilogy. This book has its hiccups--the stories in the beginning are rather rough around the edges, and a couple of the stories don't seem to mesh with the overall storyline that great--but I haven't had this much fun reading a book since Timothy Zahn's [b:Choices of One|9579882|Choices of One (Star Wars)|Timothy Zahn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320434224s/9579882.jpg|14460325].
I was first introduced to John Jackson Miller via [b:Star Wars: Knight Errant|8323122|Star Wars Knight Errant|John Jackson Miller|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320541726s/8323122.jpg|13172604] and its comic tie-in, [b:Star Wars: Knight Errant, Volume 1: Aflame|11099746|Star Wars Knight Errant, Volume 1 Aflame|John Jackson Miller|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328007521s/11099746.jpg|16021815]. You can read my reviews to get my full opinion of those works, but I felt that, overall, the stories just weren't very interesting and the writing wasn't very compelling. And, to be honest, I wasn't too thrilled about reading The Lost Tribe because of that.
But John Jackson Miller shows he can write with this collection of works. I feel there is more cohesion, overall, in the overarching story in these separate works, compiled into one novel, than there was in "Knight Errant" (with the minor exception of Ori and Jelph, whose stories aren't as critical as the rest--which doesn't mean they are pointless). Each story can stand alone; several stories work as a whole; and all of them together fit nicely in the Tribe's timeline. I can't emphasize enough how much this impressed me.
Roughly, the stories could be separated into three distinct chapters of the Tribe's life: the "Crash", the "Rot", and the "Revival".
"The Crash": Precipice, Skyborn, Paragon, Savior. This follows the crew of the Omen and the Keshiri tribe, and how the Sith establish their rule.
"The Rot": Purgatory and Sentinel. This follows Ori and Jelph and how the Sith rule breaks down completely and groups begin to fight amongst themselves.
"The Revival": Pantheon, Secrets, Pandemonium. This follows a time where the Sith nearly destroy themselves and how they overcome their differences for one goal: domination.
My favorites are Paragon, Savior, Pantheon, and Secrets. I can't make a list for least favorite, because the rest are all equally good. If I were to choose one, it would be "Precipice" because it is a rough story and the setup for the rest of the series.
The characters are absolutely amazing. I loved some of them to pieces (such as Hilts), hated others viscerally (Seelah), and wanted to know more about each one. I think it's great to see so many flawed, realistic characters. Yaru, who likes to pit Seelah against Adari. Adari, who realizes too late the evils of the Sith. Seelah, who wants to purify the race and is on the cusp of wholesale genocide. Ori, not-quite a Sith, not-quite a Jedi. Hilts, a man more interested in history, who wants to keep his people together and learn about the past, even if it puts his life in harm's way. Edell, who enjoys building and creating more than fighting and killing. Quarra, who contemplates committing adultery and struggles to figure out her place. All these characters are vivid and well-written. All these characters engaged me and made me interested in their own story.
A complaint I've had frequently with these pre-prequel Star Wars novels is that they don't feel as if they are thousands of years before "A New Hope". This isn't true with Lost Tribe at all. I think setting back the technology, having the Tribe lose that knowledge as the years past, was excellent. I enjoyed seeing the Tribe through the years, seeing them having to use their wits to get out of scrapes instead of hopping on an airspeeder and whipping out a blaster.
About the only complaint I have in this entire book (collection of short stories--whatever) is that the first few stories are pretty rough writing wise. Scenes jump from one to the next with little to bind them together. Some of the wordplay was confusing, and I had to reread sentences over and over to figure out what was going on. Also, it was a little challenging each time the story jumped in time. It took time to establish relationships with characters, to get a feel for the new surroundings and people and events.
I cannot say enough good things about The Lost Tribe of the Sith. It truly is one of the best Star Wars books in recent history and showcases the true talents of John Jackson Miller. Now that I'm done, I'm more than a little sad to leave these people behind. Hopefully, Miller will get a chance to go back and write more stories about these people. I would welcome the addition to the Star Wars world.
Heartily recommend for Star Wars fans, either new to the franchise or old.
I'm not going to mince words: this is the best Star Wars book (or collection of short stories--whatever you want to call it) I've read all year. It has everything I love in a Star Wars book: great characters, interesting stories, a lush world, a setting that actually feels several thousands of years older than the one we see in the Original Trilogy. This book has its hiccups--the stories in the beginning are rather rough around the edges, and a couple of the stories don't seem to mesh with the overall storyline that great--but I haven't had this much fun reading a book since Timothy Zahn's [b:Choices of One|9579882|Choices of One (Star Wars)|Timothy Zahn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320434224s/9579882.jpg|14460325].
I was first introduced to John Jackson Miller via [b:Star Wars: Knight Errant|8323122|Star Wars Knight Errant|John Jackson Miller|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320541726s/8323122.jpg|13172604] and its comic tie-in, [b:Star Wars: Knight Errant, Volume 1: Aflame|11099746|Star Wars Knight Errant, Volume 1 Aflame|John Jackson Miller|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328007521s/11099746.jpg|16021815]. You can read my reviews to get my full opinion of those works, but I felt that, overall, the stories just weren't very interesting and the writing wasn't very compelling. And, to be honest, I wasn't too thrilled about reading The Lost Tribe because of that.
But John Jackson Miller shows he can write with this collection of works. I feel there is more cohesion, overall, in the overarching story in these separate works, compiled into one novel, than there was in "Knight Errant" (with the minor exception of Ori and Jelph, whose stories aren't as critical as the rest--which doesn't mean they are pointless). Each story can stand alone; several stories work as a whole; and all of them together fit nicely in the Tribe's timeline. I can't emphasize enough how much this impressed me.
Roughly, the stories could be separated into three distinct chapters of the Tribe's life: the "Crash", the "Rot", and the "Revival".
"The Crash": Precipice, Skyborn, Paragon, Savior. This follows the crew of the Omen and the Keshiri tribe, and how the Sith establish their rule.
"The Rot": Purgatory and Sentinel. This follows Ori and Jelph and how the Sith rule breaks down completely and groups begin to fight amongst themselves.
"The Revival": Pantheon, Secrets, Pandemonium. This follows a time where the Sith nearly destroy themselves and how they overcome their differences for one goal: domination.
My favorites are Paragon, Savior, Pantheon, and Secrets. I can't make a list for least favorite, because the rest are all equally good. If I were to choose one, it would be "Precipice" because it is a rough story and the setup for the rest of the series.
The characters are absolutely amazing. I loved some of them to pieces (such as Hilts), hated others viscerally (Seelah), and wanted to know more about each one. I think it's great to see so many flawed, realistic characters. Yaru, who likes to pit Seelah against Adari. Adari, who realizes too late the evils of the Sith. Seelah, who wants to purify the race and is on the cusp of wholesale genocide. Ori, not-quite a Sith, not-quite a Jedi. Hilts, a man more interested in history, who wants to keep his people together and learn about the past, even if it puts his life in harm's way. Edell, who enjoys building and creating more than fighting and killing. Quarra, who contemplates committing adultery and struggles to figure out her place. All these characters are vivid and well-written. All these characters engaged me and made me interested in their own story.
A complaint I've had frequently with these pre-prequel Star Wars novels is that they don't feel as if they are thousands of years before "A New Hope". This isn't true with Lost Tribe at all. I think setting back the technology, having the Tribe lose that knowledge as the years past, was excellent. I enjoyed seeing the Tribe through the years, seeing them having to use their wits to get out of scrapes instead of hopping on an airspeeder and whipping out a blaster.
About the only complaint I have in this entire book (collection of short stories--whatever) is that the first few stories are pretty rough writing wise. Scenes jump from one to the next with little to bind them together. Some of the wordplay was confusing, and I had to reread sentences over and over to figure out what was going on. Also, it was a little challenging each time the story jumped in time. It took time to establish relationships with characters, to get a feel for the new surroundings and people and events.
I cannot say enough good things about The Lost Tribe of the Sith. It truly is one of the best Star Wars books in recent history and showcases the true talents of John Jackson Miller. Now that I'm done, I'm more than a little sad to leave these people behind. Hopefully, Miller will get a chance to go back and write more stories about these people. I would welcome the addition to the Star Wars world.
Heartily recommend for Star Wars fans, either new to the franchise or old.
homowyatt's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Enjoyable of you like Star Wars but takes a moment to get into