Star Wars: it’s a simple tale of Good versus Evil, isn’t it?
Well, yes. At its basic level, it’s a space opera about the Rebel Alliance defeating the might of the Imperial forces, as told in the original trilogy of movies.
However, as in all examples of warfare, the situation is more complex, more nuanced, more of a grey area. And so it is with this novel. Death Star is the story of the building of the Death Star, from its origins to its demise as told in Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV).
For those familiar with the Star Wars tale, we have a number of key figures: Grand Moff Tarquin, the administrator and commander of the planet-sized battle station, who is working for Emperor Palpatine, as well as Darth Vader, Palpatine’s second-in-command and henchman, who has a complex past as having once been Anakin Skywalker, father of Luke. There’s also an appearance from Princess Leia Organa, held captive on the station, as well as uncredited appearances from most of the other main cast of the first film.
Here the story delves a little deeper into those tropes. As a result, we have what may be a well-known part of the Star Wars story but seen as alternative version. In addition to the background of how the Death Star was built, we have the story you may recognise but as seen through new characters.
On the Imperial side we have Villian Dance, a TIE fighter pilot, Uli Divini, a doctor reluctantly working for the Empire, Tenn Graneet, an Imperial gunner being trained to use the Death Star’s planet-busting weapon, Atour Riten, a military librarian on the Death Star, and Sergeant Nova Stihl, an Imperial stormtrooper.
In addition to this we have a number of non-combatants. There’s Memeh Roothes and Rodo, the owner and doorman of a new cantina on the Death Star. Teela Kaarz is a prisoner whose freedom is reliant upon her architectural skills, which are used in the construction of the Death Star. Celot Ratua Dil is a smuggler initially incarcerated on a prison planet who finds himself hidden away on the battle station.
All of these disparate elements run as different plot lines in the first half of the book. Consequently, the first part of the book shows us the variety of people and places in the Star Wars universe, before focusing on events on the Death Star in the last half of the book. The last quarter of the book gives us the story of Episode IV, often with direct quotes of the dialogue from the movie, integrated with events around these new characters. We may know how the story ends, but this is one where the additional details give a fuller picture. It’s never going to be a wildly original story, but it is eminently readable.
Summing up, I was surprised by the details given here. The various characters allow us to see parts of the Star Wars universe away from the usual and show us (if we didn’t know already!) that it is a big place with a lengthy history. It is an accessible read and a quick read but one with more depth than I was expecting.
More importantly, Death Star shows us that the universe is not a simple case of ‘good versus evil’. Instead, it tells us that not all of those killed in battle are evil, nor are they guilty of any crime other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As well as ‘the bad guys’, many of those working on the battle station are just doing a job or conscripted into work. working on the Death Star at the time of its demise.
The new characters show us more overtly that not everyone in the Empire is bad, but often a person just trying to get on with life and survive in difficult circumstances. You may therefore find yourself rooting for those who you may have previously regarded as part of ‘the evil enemy’.
Is Death Star an essential read? No, but it is a good one, that fills in some of the details behind the movies and gives the Star Wars universe more depth. I think that fans will love it, and like me, be surprised at the details it shows us.
© 2025 Mark Yon
Hardback | Lucasbooks
STAR WARS: DEATH STAR by Michael Reeves and Steve Perry
Part of the Star Wars Legends series
October 2007 | 353 pages
ISBN: 978-034 5477 422
