REX, this is a discussion about the novelization, not the game, so please don't lock it.
I've finished the book. It was not nearly as good as I had hoped and read, at parts, like a very detailed videogame walkthrough. It was a very driving plot, however, and the dynamic between Starkiller and Vader, Starkiller and Juno, and (best of all) Starkiller and PROXY are very well written. And it makes the Force look even more badass and the Jedi who wield it.
Starkiller engages in many, many, many duels over the course of the novelization, but he never really fights Sidious. His duel with Vader, though, is a lot more complex than previously identified. He doesn't just waltz into the Death Star, own the guards, crush Vader, and tank Palpatine's lightning.
They duel with lightsabers first and, to quote the novel: "He thought he was ready -- and so the sheer severity of the opening blow took him by surprise. A simple double stroke, up and then down, it contained enough power to jar his wrists and shoulders and very nearly disarm him completely. The collision of their lightsabers was blinding. He staggered backward and found himself at the center of a telekinetic storm. His Master seized on his momentary weakness and hurled missiles at him from all sides, hoping to keep him off guard. For a moment, it worked." Starkiller then fends off the assault and responds with an exchange that Vader "barely" blocks. They both separate and assess the exchange. It also mentions that "Darth Vader fought brilliantly, never employing anything less than a single stroke. All he needed was one slip, one tiny gap in his opponent's defenses."
Starkiller talks a lot during the duel, trying to taunt Vader.
One of his lines is: "Is this how your father treated you?"
Vader: "I have no father." And then "the apprentice fell back under the rain of blows. The sizzling of fabric and faint stink of burning skin told him that at least two of Vader's misses had been horribly near."
The apprentice then saw that the Emperor was enjoying the duel, and realized that he can't beat Vader fighting out of anger. After nearly being throttled to death, the apprentice blasts Vader across the room -- Vader landed on his feat. They fight some more, but now the apprentice has a true clarity of mind and begins to overpower the Dark Lord. After hurling objects at Vader (including a ****ing shield generator), he stands victorious over his battered, semiconscious body.
My god Vader seems so badass in that book from what you posted it seems like Vader was winning the fight until Starkiller gets in the zone seems similar to what happened between Anakin and Dooku in ROTS
Excuse the double post, but I completely forgot about the question concerning Starkiller's confrontation with the Emperor. Well, firstly, it should be said that Starkiller confronts the Emperor after he has reached amazing new stratas of power -- including his control over the Star Destroyer -- and even then, when he witnesses the chamber in the Death Star: "The Emperor was in front of [the Royal Guards, captive Senators, and General Kota], hooded and hunched, but radiating incredible power."
And after he defeats Darth Vader, the Emperor begins to take control of the apprentice's mind: "The Emperor appeared out of the settling smoke, glee on his face. He raised one hand as though to touch the apprentice. The apprentice felt a wave of hypnotic suggestion flow through him. 'Yes! Kill him! He is weak, broken! Kill him and you can take your rightful place at my side!' The apprentice remained frozen, mesmerized by the Emperor's ghastly charisma.
Rahm Kota senses it in the Force and snatches Palpatine's lightsaber from his waist, dismembers the Royal Guard, and launches himself at the Emperor.
"He struck at the Emperor, who stood, apparently unarmed, with one hand still reaching out for the apprentice. But the Emperor was never unarmed. Raising his other hand, he blasted Kota with lightning before the blow ever came close to falling. Sith energy crackled between them and the Jedi Master fell back, caught in the Emperor's deadly grip."
So he owns an accomplished Jedi Master who challenged the Apprentice with one hand and without concentrating. But when Bail Organa yells for the Apprentice to help Kota, he snaps out of the Emperor's trance and hurls a "hail of shattered transparisteel and debris at the Emperor" who backs off of Kota. Palpatine intentionally falls to his knees and gives him the RotJ-speech: "You were destined to destroy me. Strike me down!"
The apprentice doesn't and Kota congratulates him. As Juno Eclipse and her ship come to rescue them, Palpatine attacks Kota saying "Fool! He will never be yours." Starkiller steps between Palpatine and Kota and a whole paragraph is dedicated to how much the Emperor's lightning is owning him with pain.
And he doesn't tank it for minutes. He takes two steps and is right in front of the Emperor, grabs him, and lets the lightning charge into both of them.
When Vader attacks the fleeing Senators, the Apprentice becomes one with the Force and disintegrates the Senators and engulfs Palpatine and Vader in a blast of Force energy that owns the Emperor's observation tower.
Vader and Palpatine both come out unscathed. They survived the Apprentice when he "was more powerful than ever."
That is extremely difficult. He is a beast and legitimately overcomes all of his foes, in the end, with a lightsaber (though he also used the Force against Vader). However, he effed up royally with Shaak Ti and killed her "only on reflex" when she gave a desperate final charge. She came extremely close to overpowering and killing him.
From my perspective of what Gideon has shown us is that Vader was actually winning the saber duel until StarKiller was in the "zone" he also had to use the Force quite a bit throwing a shield generator for instance
You're comparing him at two different time periods. Starkiller kills Shaak Ti fairly early in the novel. They seem to be somewhat even in lightsaber skills, though she seems to have an advantage, forcing him to summon Sith lightning in "desperation" at one point. But he is stronger than she is in the Force. When he fights Vader, he's amazing.
Other tidbits: Kota deflects the apprentice's lightning casually throughout their first duel and Kazdan Paratus is stated to be "far more powerful" than the Apprentice by Darth Vader.
Last edited by Gideon on Aug 19th, 2008 at 11:38 PM
Registered: Oct 2004
Location: On cloud 9 in 7th heaven! I didn't
And odd that Vader (presumably) heard Palpatine telling Starkiller to kill him, yet did nothing. They could have taken Palpatine, it seems, and Vader would be at least free from him.
Aug 19th, 2008 10:06 PM
How much did the book cost!!!
