Book description
There is a great disturbance in the Force. . . . From the sleek ships
of the glimmering Coruscant skyscape to the lush gardens of pastoral
Naboo, dissent is roiling. The Republic is failing, even under the
leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, elected ten years earlier to
save the crumbling government. Separatists threaten war, and the Senate
is hopelessly divided, unable to determine whether to raise an army for
battle or keep the fragile peace. Anakin Skywalker has come of age in a
time of great upheaval. The nineteen-year-old apprentice to Obi-Wan
Kenobi is an enigma to the Jedi Council, and a challenge to his Jedi
Master. Time has not dulled Anakin's ambition, nor has his Jedi training
tamed his independent streak. When an attempt on Senator Padm- Amidala's
life brings them together for the first time in ten years, it is clear
that time also has not dulled Anakin's intense feelings for the
beautiful diplomat. The attack on Senator Amidala just before a crucial
vote thrusts the Republic even closer to the edge of disaster. Masters
Yoda and Mace Windu sense enormous unease. The dark side is growing,
clouding the Jedi's perception of the events. But even as the Republic
falters around them, Anakin and Padm- find a connection so intense that
all else begins to fall away. Anakin will lose himself-and his way-in
emotions a Jedi, sworn to hold allegiance only to the Order, is
forbidden to have. R. A. Salvatore was born in Massachusetts in 1959.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Fitchburg
State College and a Bachelor of Arts in English. His first-published
novel was The Crystal Shard from TSR, Inc. in 1988; he has since
published more than a dozen novels, including four New York Times
bestsellers. He makes his home in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane,
and their three children.
