Rebel Force #6: Uprising

By Alex Wheeler

Published by Scholastic

Adrick's Rating:   2 out of 4

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It was supposed to be a simple mission to the palace of Nyemari. Quick, covert, easy.

But before the Rebels can get off the planet, Luke receives a mysterious—and deadly—message from former Imperial Commander Rezi Soresh. Though Soresh’s assassin, X-7, didn’t manage to kill Luke, Soresh hasn’t given up on vengeance.

Luke must surrender himself, or Soresh is prepared to kill a ship full of innocent travelers. Luke has no choice. To save the hostages, he must follow Soresh’s directions.

Even if they lead straight into a trap.

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Adrick:

    Wheeler brings the Rebel Force series to a swift, exciting end in the final installment, which satisfactorily ties up loose ends from both this series and the Jedi Quest and Last of the Jedi series, bringing about the end of an era of young adult publishing that began in 1999 with the Jedi Apprentice series.

Wheeler strikes fast and hard in this book, pitting the now half-crazed villain of the series, Rezi Soresh, against Luke Skywalker’s newfound mental discipline. The battle between them proves to be more disturbing than one would expect from a young adult series, with a few shocking surprises on the way. But the battle of wills pales in comparison to the epic final battle, which puts an entire star system on the line. Wheeler has clearly pulled out all the stops for the epic finale of Rebel Force.

One thing I have to admire about this book is that unlike the endings of many other recent novels and series, and in spite of Rebel Force’s obvious premature cancellation, Uprising actually ends the series—it eliminates every loose end, answers all questions, and dovetails the storyline back into the films. If only more authors were this willing to just wrap everything up, I’d be a happy reviewer.

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Adrick:

    Well, that was…quick. Wheeler maintains a pretty breakneck pace throughout the novel, and before you know it…it’s over. The storyline is also more than a little reminiscent of Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, but maybe that’s just because I was reading both books at the same time.

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Adrick:

    Don’t press the button, don’t press the button…! He pressed the button.

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