I’ve always thought of Grand Moff Tarkin was one of the under-appreciated villains of the Star Wars saga. He was a powerful commander close to the Emperor, called Darth Vader an “old friend,” and did not hesitate to destroy the planet Alderaan. And yet, for all his power, he survives no further in the original trilogy than the Rebel assault on the first Death Star, dying when a young, inexperienced pilot named Luke Skywalker blows up the space station. If Vader’s management style was brute force, Tarkin’s was manipulation and fear.
“Fear will keep the local systems in line,” he told his gathered commanders aboard the Death Star on news that the Senate had been disbanded. “Fear of this battle station.”
And so, with fear as his theme, James Luceno’s Tarkin builds a life for Wilhuff Tarkin, creating a character, not from whole cloth, but from the hints and clues George Lucas left in A New Hope as to who Grand Moff Tarkin might be if he had had a more full biography. Born the son of a powerful family, he is raised and trained to build their honor. He shows an aptitude for clever and strategic planning, developed over years of training in the wilds of his home planet. He becomes a loyal soldier of the Republic, an ally of the Jedi, and yet, easily makes the transition to the Empire.
Luceno’s Tarkin is a fun, quick read. Not too deep, but not shallow, either. But then, he doesn’t have much to go on. With what he does have, Luceno carves out a cold, but sympathetic, Grand Moff Tarkin.
Tarkin
Star Wars
science fiction
Del Rey
June 30, 2015
352
He’s the scion of an honorable and revered family. A dedicated soldier and distinguished legislator. Loyal proponent of the Republic and trusted ally of the Jedi Order. Groomed by the ruthless politician and Sith Lord who would be Emperor, Governor Wilhuff Tarkin rises through the Imperial ranks, enforcing his authority ever more mercilessly . . . and zealously pursuing his destiny as the architect of absolute dominion.
Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself, he advises his Emperor. Under Tarkin’s guidance, an ultimate weapon of unparalleled destruction moves ever closer to becoming a terrifying reality. When the so-called Death Star is completed, Tarkin is confident that the galaxy’s lingering pockets of Separatist rebellion will be brought to heel—by intimidation . . . or annihilation.
Until then, however, insurgency remains a genuine threat. Escalating guerrilla attacks by resistance forces and newfound evidence of a growing Separatist conspiracy are an immediate danger the Empire must meet with swift and brutal action. And to bring down a band of elusive freedom fighters, the Emperor turns to his most formidable agents: Darth Vader, the fearsome new Sith enforcer as remorseless as he is mysterious; and Tarkin—whose tactical cunning and cold-blooded efficiency will pave the way for the Empire’s supremacy . . . and its enemies’ extinction.
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