The Syndicate

This wasn't a good book. The two divergent storylines constantly splitting between flashback and the present weren't very compelling and did not need the back-and-forth. Additionally, Vader is totally invalidated in this story. He possesses none of his presence and is just a pushover. Thrawn, as well, is nothing like his character. Timothy Zahn is capable of better (much better), and this book reads more like off-the-cuff fanfic than anything resembling a coherent and compelling plot.

Another glaring issue with this book is that two separate scenes were repeated wholesale, as though both the author and editors couldn't be bothered fixing it during the editing process and left them in. This was just a messy novel with no redeeming qualities.

This was a quick DNF at only 10%. The descriptions are incredibly and overly verbose, characterizations are stiff, and the narrative is sex obsessed. This is modus operandi for cyberpunk, so it's not surprising, but nevertheless it is disappointing.

I just don't think it's necessary to introduce your home Alexa/Siri as having a "sexy voice." Or to open the story with a recounting of intercourse. Or to focus weirdly on "catadapts," which are just your average depiction of sexualized "catgirls." I don't understand why books of this era and genre all have these tropes; perhaps I am just missing their appeal. Either way, I'm still on the hunt for cyberpunk I enjoy.

This is a far superior book than the second in the series, and a return to what I expect of Zahn and also Thrawn. The beginning is a little iffy and made me worried that it would be more of what the second novel was, but it quickly redeems itself and progressively ramps up in appeal. This book had positive focus on the Chiss Ascendency, presumably in anticipation of the prequel series, and I am now less cautious about reading that.