In the Empire's Service is one of those parts in the Rogue Squadron series that has healthy doses of action, camaraderie, suspense and a "feel" to it.

The stand alone stories have ended. It's time for Ms Isard to claim the Imperial throne, time for Rogue Squadron to show their flying skills, time for the performance to really kick in. Unlike other issues, this one has a genuine feel to it, where power and politics have some major characters decide the day.

The art is similar to Battleground:Tatooine, which I didn't think much of in that issue's review. Here, where you don't have Tatooine and Ryloth deserts to inhibit your artistry, the lush vista of Brentaal saves the day. Character faces just aren't rendered in enough detail, and at times the features in the frames just look a bit small in size.

That notwithstanding, Fel makes up in dialogue what his rendered art misses. A brilliant but loyal pilot straddled with a fool for a superior that's too-often semi-attired and looks quite like a roman emperor, you feel for him. The Rogue pilots don't miss out on their lines too, and a range of emotions are showed which help to convey the seriousness and delicacy of the mission.

Action is hot and intense, and even though Imperial politics is what allows the Alliance to take more and more of Brentaal, you can bet Fel's going to make them fight for it. This is war, and it reflects well in how the captions were chosen. A level in the N64 Rogue Squadron game was based on the last mission here, so it's fun to view it differently. The Telsij lady you briefly meet---and gasp at---from her sight in Mandatory Retirement is explained here.

Dendo is back, armed with his flashy cape and quick-finger trigger. New Rogues are featured to make up for attrition, and you'll like Koyi Komad's interaction with them. Her character, short as her appearances are, just shines out from the page.

Overall, the sketchy feel of the art had me rating this a star less, but In the Empire's Service is just too good to give any less. It has it all, what you could want, and certainly worthy lightening your purse a few Imperial credits less indeed.

Stackpole takes over writing the series and immediately kicks it into high gear by throwing the Rogues right into the midst of the war. The Republic is beginning its campaign for Coruscant and starts by heading for the Core Worlds. In this case, the first step is Brentaal, the rich and influential Core world.

This arc is unique in that it gives both the Rebels and Imperials almost equal time. The faces of the Empire are many, and this arc shows a depth to it not acheived in anything else thus far. The scheming by Ysanne Isard is great, while you also see the varying faces of the Empire on Brentaal itself. Admiral Lon Isoto and Baron Soontir Fel are both Imperials, yet completely opposite characters. Isoto is an incompetant, vain, corrupt, lazy, and perhaps even slightly insane man, while Fel is a very smart, strong, moral, yet somewhat flawed figure. He is the greatest pilot in the Empire, and serves that Empire not because of who leads it, but because of simple loyalty to its people. As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent to him that perhaps his view on things was flawed, and perhaps he need to rectify it. Along with Grand Admiral Thrawn, he is perhaps the best Imperial character to come out of the comics and novels.

The Rebels are interesting as well, and the Rogues are for the only time in the series at full strength. Balancing the stories of 12 pilots is not easy, but as events transpire some paths are split and some interconnect. Some, like Wedge, Tycho, Janson, Ibtisam, and Nrin, get more time, wheras ones like Dar Keyis and Standro are forced into the backdrop. But that's alright, for reason I won't get into lest I spoil things.

The art by Nadeau perfectly fits the whole 'war movie'-type feel of 'In the Empire's Service.' His technology and cityscapes are, as always, superb, and although his faces may be a little choppy at times, each person has his or her own face, which is very important with such a large cast. And David Nestelle's coloring prowess is once again demonstrated. Never slips, always consistent, always fitting the scene perfectly.

And who can forget the cliff-hanger last line of the series?

Bravo to the creators of 'In the Empire's Service'. They've produced one of the most insightful, well-written examples of 'Star Wars' ever published, and the series' lack of sales is truly shameful. Highly, highly reccomended work.

In The Empire's Service is the sixth Rogue Squadron comic series, and it happens to be one of the, if not the, best. Taking place not long after the comic "Mara Jade: By The Emperor's Hand," this is the first title in the "Rise of Isard" story arc which will link all of the remaining comics in this series, and lead into the novel series. And it is just a great and classic story. No more of those stories where the Empire is thrown in only as a convoluted plot twist, where various rogues and scoundrels uncover secret caches of Imperial ships and weaponry. This is a straight up Alliance vs. Empire story. It's full of good art, good dialogue, a plethora of dogfights, and lots of humor.

In this story, Sate Pestage has basically assumed Palpatine's role at the head of the Empire, and is struggling to hold it while an alliance of various other high ranking Imperials (the "Cabal") is also seeking to gain control of the Empire. Enter Ysanne "Iceheart" Isard, who, while presumably advising both sides as to the best way to defeat the Rebels is actually expertly playing them off against each other. Taking her advice, Pestage vows to hold a wealthy Imperial world, which the rebels promptly start planning to liberate. Thus begins the power struggle between Pestage, the Cabal, and the Rebel Alliance on Brentaal.

As I've said, this comic has an awesome number of dogfights, and it introduces several new Rogues to make up for attrition in the last comic. In addition, it introduces Salm and his wing of Y-wings, as well as Imperial fighter legend Baron Fel and his feared 181st Fighter Group, which is basically the Imperial equivalent of Rogue Squadron. Also, Kapp Dendo and his SpecOps squad show up again. The art is nice and easy to follow, and the pilot chatter is good as always. Unfortunately, Baron Fel is somewhat stiff, starting as just a perfect superpilot, but he does evolve into a more human character by the end of the series. Also, why is Plourr still with the Rogues? Wasn't her return at the end of the previous comic just a very temporary reprieve from her duties on Eiattu?

Just as a note of interest, you'll notice that the main battle in this comic was adapted as one of the levels in the Rogue Squadron 3D game for PC and N64.

Overall, this is an excellent comic, one of the best Rogue Squadron stories out there. Definitely and highly recommended.

Zak Tash and their uncle Hoole need a new ship. They land on Necropolis(city of the dead). Zak finaly meets a friend. But,will everything stay that way? I liked this book because I couldn't put it down to do something else.

If you like action and fun this is a great book to read, I got it mainly because I like Boba Fett and when I read I loved it. It's a great story about Zac and Tash and their Uncle Hoole go to a planet called Necropolis and how they get pretty mixed up with Boba and get into a bit of trouble.

this book was realy great. i liked it because boba fett is in it and he has a big part in the book. i also liked it because it reminded me of event horizin the movie. i hope you read this realy good book.

I love Star Wars. When I first got into the whole Galaxy of Fear book series, I wasn't sure whether or not I would like it. I ordered it(book 4), not knowing what it was even about! But when I finally DID get around to reading it(which was about a month ago) I had a hard time putting it down each time, because it was soooooo interesting! And as I put it in as my review title: The Nightmare Machine is a real page-turner!

The ending of this book was so great that it couldn't get any better. On the last 30 pages, I couldn't stop reading. It even started to scare me. The Galaxy of Fear series is a great series that mixes in suspense with the story. I encourage anyone to read this book. It has a great plot, and is easy to read.

I think this book was a good book. It was exiting and funny. I give it five stars becaus. It was about two people that go to a place called fun world. There is a ride called the nightmare machine. It scans your brain for your worst fear and shows it to but they find a few bugs in it and your fear comes true! If you liked this book you will like the next book.

J.M. Dillard once again, in Star Trek First Contact proves why they go to her for the movie novelizations. This is the perfect accoutrement to the movie. It gives us great incite into what the characters might've been thinking. It also gives us some of the scenes that were left on the cutting room floor. Again, a great book that should definitely be read if you've enjoyed the movie!

'FIRST CONTACT' IS A WONDERFUL STAR TREK NOVEL. IT EXPLORES THE FEDERATION'S GREATEST ENEMY - THE BORG. THE NOVEL VERSION HAS MUCH MORE DETAIL/MATERIAL THAT IS NOT FOUND (BECAUSE, I AM SURE, OF TIME/LENGTH ISSUES) IN THE EQUALLY WONDERFUL MOVIE. (ALTHOUGH, I WISH THAT THEY WOULD HAVE INCLUDED IN THE MOVIE DENISE CROSBY [THE LATE, GREAT LT. TASHA YAR] MAKING A CAMEO, OR EVEN USING FLASHBACK MATERIAL FROM THE TNG EPISODE 'THE NAKED NOW', WHEN DATA IS MENTALLY RE-LIVING TASHA YAR'S SEDUCTION OF HIM WHILE SHE WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE PSI 2000 VIRUS.)

'FIRST CONTACT' IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BUYING THE HARDCOVER EDITION (AS OPPOSED TO THE SOFTCOVER) IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO KEEP THIS NOVEL. THE COLOR, GLOSSY PHOTOS (ESPECIALLY OF THE BORG QUEEN) ADD AN ENTIRE EXTRA DIMENSION TO THE ALREADY-EXCELLENT NOVEL. A MUST HAVE FOR ANY STAR TREK FAN!!!

Star Trek - The Next Generation: First Contact a novel by J.M. Dillard based on the film Star Trek: First Contact story by Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, and Ronald D. Moore is a book that combines one of the Federations greatest threats the Borg with Earth's first warp flight and the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew.

As the relentless Borg work their way toward Earth, the only hope to stop them rests with the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew. Now, the Borg are even more dangerous... stronger and have a devious plan. As the Borg begin to launch their plan of attack against the Federation, a startling confrontation will take them back in time as Earth's first warp space flight is about to take place.

This is a fast paced book and the narrative is spot-on as the character-driven plot makes its way throughout the book. We read about Zefram Cochrane and the Phoenix on the eve of the first warp flight from Earth, the relentless Borg and their Queen as she now wants the U.S.S. Enterprise for herself and of course the "First Contact" with the Vulcans.

What I found to be a most pleasent surprise was that between the book v. movie is that the book gave far more detail. As you read about the characters you get a feel for their emotions and their train of thought. Of course, there are scenes in the book that weren't in the movie, making the book flow much smoother.

The book works on detail and the characters are robust and this makes the story engagingly fascinating... the Borg say, "Resistance is futile," that may have been so, until they came in contact with the Enterprise and her crew. Another wonderful feature in this book is the color pictures of the movie and there is an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film.

This is an excellent book with a lively portrayl of vivid characters.

This book is a treasure to keep forever. On every page, a surprise awaits. However, I only gave it four stars instead of five. When Tash finally enters the "Jedi Library," the ghost roars at her to "GET OUT!". I do not like this line because many books and movies have that very same line. For example in the movie "The Shining," a character uses those very words. In other words, that line was lame. The line should have been in that same tone, I agree, but the actual words were . . . just too simple. Maybe John Whitman should have described the aura in the library a little more. Anyway, other than this part, the story was an excellent, well written piece.

It was a very exciting book because it was a mystery and there were more than one murderers. I thought the character devolopment was very well done. The story was worked out very well and the plot had the a very interesting twist that occurred at the ending.

I can't belive what happined In this book . Uncle hoole and zak soposledly died from a haunted library that tash found . tash is devestasted . Forceflow is not who he is soposed to be . rent this book today.

This was an excellent book from an excellent writer, but it had it's problems. The greatest problem was the characterization. Kirk and Spock at least didn't sound the way they should, and although this was fairly easy to ignore at a story-development standpoint, it annoyed the hell out of me. The plot was interesting, altough a bit predictable at times, but it was nice to see original characters to play out important parts in the story, particularly since the main characters were no else than the same old and predictable Kirk, Spock an McCoy. And as for the Senites, I think much was gained by the use of them, an I think they eventually proved to be one of the main intriques of the story. All in all an entertaining read wich I reckomend.

Star Trek- The Original Series: Sanctuary written by John Vornholt is a Kirk, Spock, and McCoy book as the primary characters in this action-packed, well-written adventure.

The book starts off as the U.S.S. Enterprise is assigned to capture a very dangerous criminal named Auk Rex. As the Enterprise pursues Auk Rex, they are taken to an unexplored section of space, to a planet named Sanctuary. Sanctuary is a world that is known very little about, but what is known is that it is a last refuge for the persecuted, but that sketchy description is about all that is known.

As Auk Rex flees to the surface of the planet, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are in hot pursuit in a shuttlecraft... now the plot thickens. Our heros prepare to leave the planet and find they can Not, no matter what they try. What they find out is they entered a planet size "Roach Motel," you can enter but you can't leave. Everything is provoded for then food, water, shelter, and clothing, but your freedom to leave has been taken away. Later our trio finds out another deadly secret about this mysterious planet called Sanctuary and it has become imperative that they must leave.

This is a fact moving well-written novel that will pique your interest and how will the Federation's finest work their magic and escape. You will engrossed in the story from beginning to end as Kirk, Spock, and McCoy try to leave a planet from which there is no escape.

I really enjoyed "Sanctuary". The idea was excellent - a planet you can never leave from, a place for fugitives to be free. Well, as Kirk, Spock and McCoy find out, even if you didn't mean to go there, you still don't get to leave. And they also find that something incredibly sinister is going on. The writing style was excellent, very descriptive, and the book was action-packed and inventive. I loved the conclusion. Characterization was right on. This book doesn't have all that much happening in space, since the main storyline is occurring on the planet, but that's not a bad thing at all. "Sanctuary" is a great adventure!

In most of the Star Wars books, Luke is a trained Jedi Knight, so it's fun to read about what is essentially a kid ready to leave home, with no idea what the worlds about. Learning about death really catipults him into the realm of adulthood. He goes from being a clueless innocent imagining going on some whirlwind adventure to save a fairy princess. To becoming a young man whoose lost the parents who raised him, a mentor, and a childhood friend. It approaches that age old question, once you get what your looking for, do you really want it. And though we all know it will work out for the best in the end, you can see his emotional journey, history, and lost youth.

I read this book one day when I was grounded and it was so sitting-on-the-edge-of-my-seat, rivetingly good that I didn't want to come out! It is written in journal form about what Luke was thinking and feeling during A New Hope, though this book spans a little before it too. This was especially interesting for me, since Luke has always been my favorite character. Part of why I loved it is that it was not simply yet another retelling of the original story, but breathed new life into it, and made it even more interesting, and considering that I have seen this movie so many times I practicly have it memerized, that is quite a feat. My one complaint of this book was that, though the character of Luke was explored deeply and in ways that few other books have, all the other characters were pretty much left out with the exception of Leia, since Luke was thinking quite a lot about her at this time. But then again, when I write in my journal I usually don't focus on other people either, and since this is supposed to be Luke's journal, that does make sense. In short, this was a wonderfull book that I would reccamend to any Star Wars fan, especially those who love Luke.

This is a GREAT journal that has LOTS of of info you didn't know about Luke Skywalker. You'll really enjoy this book and/or learn something new. I bought a copy a while ago, and I have read this more than 10 times I think. You really get into the book after reading atleast the first chapter. You can also find out more about the friendship with mysterious Biggs. Strap on for one of the best journals.

If Michael Stackpole has written the storyline, you are virtually guaranteed a great Star Wars Tale. He, like Timothy Zahn, and maybe one or two other writers always deliver material that is faithful to the saga, and well written as well. These collections of illustrated stories bound between a single cover are not as widely visible as the more traditional books. However they can be fun, and when they are good, they are extremely good. And just as the other forms of written material that bring the Star Wars Saga to fans, bits and pieces of information are here for the learning as well.

Another fan, Mastage, has already written a good summary of the contents, however there was one other aspect that I enjoyed. At the end of these books the cover art from the installments are generally included. This time they took several pages to document the creation of the cover art for this final volume from start to finish. Not unlike the movies these books that are a branch of the movies and other books, traditional attention and praise is rarely given, as it is deserved. The movies consistently are the biggest box office events of the year when they are introduced, yet other than technical achievement they are ignored.

Ysanne Isard is one of the better female villains that have been created, and if the Emperor even becomes an Empress, she will head the list of candidates. This is not the best of these I have read, as I continue to feel earlier books were more complete. The storylines were more developed, and many of the books were a full 50% longer than the more recent releases.

For fans of Star Wars all the written material are fun, so if you have yet to try one of these, do so, you will enjoy the experience.

Mandatory Retirement concludes the Rogue Squadron comic series, and does so with slick action, camaraderie and polish. For those who have the X-wing: Isard's Revenge book, you'll find the backstories of Admiral Krennel and Ms Isard here.

The art is worthy of The Phantom Affair in quality, and just as fantastic, certainly above other issues of this series. The background detail in frames are not fuzzy or lacking, and some scenes are actually rendered from creative camera-points.

Plenty of characters here, and their interaction is fun and not left to idle. Though the Imperial scenes are short they are adequate. The dialogue is vintage Stackpole; readers of his X-wing books will recognise his style of speech sentence structure. Wedge's face has changed so often per issue you wonder what his cosmetic secret is. It was nice to see all the Rogues having R&R in the beginning, though beware---Wedge and Tycho have bulging muscles without their shirts!

The plot is great and never a dull moment. Baron Fel's lines stand out, but it is Pestage that stands out here. He goes from being a pest to a pestilence on everyone's nerves, particularly when you have to protect someone who's your enemy. There are many links to the X-wing books; Krennel's cryptic comment scoffing at studying an enemy's art when a tactical hologram will tell all you need to know is better explained in Isard's Revenge, where Thrawn booted him out of his forces, is one.

Other nice touches was Wedge's long eulogy, some sharp lines from General Carvin, and more Dendo scenes; the man likes his cape, doesn't he? Though Salm and Dendo have similar faces, apart from the latter's head horns.

Overall, Mandatory Retirement is a great issue and a fitting finale to this series. If you're looking for a comic with good action, dialogue and an actual story, not just a tale, this is the one for you.

Stackpole ends his series with a bang. 'Mandatory Retirement' is indeed second only to 'In the Empire's Service' in the series in my opinion (as I prefer the larger-scale arcs) and is indeed uniquely Star Wars.
The story begin with light scenes of the various Rogues intermixing, socializing, and so forth, building the characters enhanced over the course of the series. Intermixed with these, however, are grim scenes of the events on Coruscant and Cituric. Pestage, intermin Emperor, goes into hiding, and the hunt for him begins. Dinner, dancing, and enjoyment ends for the Rogues and they are suddenly thrown into the mix of things.
One of the high points in this story are the many philosophical conversations about the Empire and the Repulbic and the differences between them. The conversations between Fel and Pestage and the clash between Nrin, Fel, Pestage, and Wedge after one of the Rogues is lost are both some of the best SW I've ever read. One must also take note of the dire contrast between the first and second halves. The Rogues begin by relaxing and enjoying themselves (except for to lonely, rejected Fel) and events transpire that put these same people in a dire, morbid situation where their hope for survival looks bleak. superb writing by Stackpole.
Onto the art. The Nadeau-Crespo team is a success, with and very good mix of people and technology. X-wings, Y-wing, Bantha-class shuttles, and Star Destroyers all look superb, in particular a jaw-dropping two-page battle shot towards the end. Crespo does very good faces and their expressions. One of my favorite parts of the whole arc is the full-page shot of the Rogues and Kapp Dendo's commandoes standing over the cloth-covered body of a fallen Rogue. (Who will remain nameless, of course.) The expressions on each and every face is a virtual window into what each one must be thinking. And once again the coloring by Dave Nestelle is superb, perfectly conveying the feelings of bleakness and hopelessness in some scenes while conveying one of tranquility and enjoyment in others.
In a series like Rogue Squadron, when you have dozen of characters, its hard to balance it out. But Stackpole does it just as well as he has throughout the series. Fel once again is a superb character, while others like Nrin show both their good points and their flaws very well. Pestage starts out as an almost sympathetic character, but as time goes on he becomes more and more loatheful.
Not perfect, but still highly reccomended. It's also one of the few examples in Star Wars where an actualy deep, philosphical reason against the Empire is established. Bravo to Stackpole and crew for a great ending to a great series.

This book is truely entertaining, it covers music, culture, politics, drugs, ect... It was hard to put this book down, I was sucked into it and learned a great deal about the scene in Eroupe. I recommend this book to people who are looking for answers to questions they didn't know they were asking...

Excellent, informative history of the rave scene in England... everything is in here: how influential Ibiza was to the scene, MDMA and its history, smiley faces, baggy pants, all the main players and djs... it brought back a lot of happy memories of my raver days in NYC in the early 90s. A must read for those interested in this scene especially the beginning which shows that it all started in America: Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage, Frankie Knuckles's Warehouse parties, Dr. Shulgin and his MDMA studies... Britian took it to the next level in the 80s beginning with the Summer of Love and raves and was then past back to the US in the early 90s: Frankie Bones and the Storm raves, NASA, and the rest. This book tells you all about it!

Recommended to me by a friend. I have read all the books on our culture, and found this to be the most informative, historical, and unbiased description of the Rave culture. I was also quite suprised that the book dealt more with the actual culture of ravers, and didn't spend so much time on drug talk. Interesting discussion of the role the Alcohol industry played in the criminalization of ecstasy. Gives a lot of food for thought. A definite MUST HAVE.

Hyperspace: The Universe and its Mysteries written by John Gribbin is a very well-written book and has some really beautiful pictures and illustrations.

"Hyperspace" takes the reader a a quest to find some answers as to how the universe and our galaxy was formed. This book is a companion to the TLC video "Hyperspace: Our Final Frontier." This book shows us how astronomers are now able to explore the universe by proxy... by light, radio waves, and x-rays. There is satellite information and revealing photography from the latest generation of astronomical telescopes all are here in the book making for some very interesting reading along with some interesting illustration to make a point.

The book's contents has but four chapters: Across the Universe, The Fate of the Universe, Making Contact, and Other Worlds. As you read the well-written narrative, you will learn about the universe and its wonders. This is an excellent text for understanding and learning about the universe without having an advanced degree.

Do not be fooled by the glossy exterior of this publication. Inside is a serious treatment of the latest theories and scientific discoveries about the cosmology of the universe. This companion book to the 2001 BBC television series Space, which also aired on The Learning Channel, is packed with fascinating information sure to interest teens who enjoy reading about the possibilities of extraterrestrial life and the ultimate fate of the universe. A visual feast, the book is chock full of stunning photographs and eye-catching illustrations. Although some of the material covered is very complex, Gribbin uses wonderful visual comparisons to clarify difficult concepts, comparing, for example, the dying radiation from a black hole to the fading smile of the Cheshire Cat. Throughout the book there are many interesting sidebars, including one that discusses the possibility that there actually might have been a Star of Bethlehem. The book also features starred quotations on some of its pages that help pique the reader's interest in the subject. Finally, each section in the chapter has helpful topic links to other areas of the book containing further information related to that topic. A wonderful follow-up to Carl Sagan's similar classic 1980 work, Cosmos, this beautiful and well-organized book would appeal both to teens with a beginning interest in the subject and those who are serious students of astronomy. The photos alone are worth the price of this highly recommended purchase for school and public libraries.

John Gribbin's Hyperspace accompanies a BBC/TLC special on the subject and packs over 250 color photos into a guide to the latest new theories and discoveries of astronomy. From how astronomers measure distances in space to theories about the origins, composition and nature of the universe, this packs color photos with easily-understood explanations.