REVIEW: Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith #1 Precipice by John Jackson Miller

Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith #1 Precipice by John Jackson Miller
Publisher: Lucasbooks 26 May 2009
File Size: 142 KB
ASIN: B002B9MGIM
Free download
Copy: Free from Amazon.com


Product Description: "SURVIVAL—NOT SURRENDER For the ruthless Sith Order, failure is not an option. It is an offense punishable by death—and a fate to which Commander Yaru Korsin will not succumb. But on a crucial run to deliver troops and precious crystals to a combat hotspot in the Sith’s war against the Republic, Korsin and the crew of the mining ship Omen are ambushed by a Jedi starfighter. And when the Sith craft crash-lands, torn and crippled, on a desolate alien planet, the hard-bitten captain finds himself at odds with desperate survivors on the brink of mutiny—and his own vengeful half brother, who’s bent on seizing command. No matter the cost, Korsin vows that it will not be his blood and bones left behind on this unknown world. For the way of the Sith leaves little room for compromise—and none for mercy."


I have had this free short story on my Kindle for a long time and finally got around to reading it when I was between books. The story is the precursor to a new series in the Star Wars saga Fate of the Jedi. While a quick blurb is available at the end of the first story, I did not bother to read it.


Precipice starts out with a Sith vessal smuggling goods (crystals) that are badly needed by the Sith in order to continue their war with the Jedi. When a jump goes bad, they find themselves stranded on what appears to be a fragile planet. It quickly turns into a "Alive" situation ala Sith style when resources quickly become depleted. 


The characters are very one dimensional and that may be due to the fact that it is a short story and that it continues in two more installments, which they may build upon what is here in part one. However, I was not all that intrigued with what I read. I will more than likely delete the other two sequels that are in my Kindle as Precipice left a bad taste in my mouth and did little to advance the myth of the Sith.


I would have loved to have seen more of the backstabbing and underhandedness that we would expect a group of Sith to behave. Instead we get a story with a good premise but finds itself failing to deliver.


Precipice is exactly what it appears to be. A backstory that prepares the reader for what is to come in the next Star Wars series. As a free story you are not out anything for reading it but time. Precipice and the three other sequels are free from Amazon and can be read on iPhone, PC, and blackberry.


Plot:  4
Characters:  4
Style: 2


Overall: 3