Star Wars Dark Empire I by Tom Veitch (2005, Abridged, Compact Disc)

Star Wars: Dark Empire is a wonderful CD audio drama based on the DArk Horse comic book series by Tom Veitch. At the time that the source material (the comic book it is based upon) came out, it was the first authorized Star Wars comic adaptation that had been allowed in years. Many fans felt that Dark Empire should have been considered "Episode 10" (with the Timothy Zahn "Heir to the Empire" trilogy being 7, 8, & 9, respectively.)

Overall, I give this CD a "Good" rating for the following reasons:

To begin with, it is an audio drama, and as such is easy to listen to. It is not a mere reading of a book. It also stars competent voice actors, and has excellent music and sound effects. I actually found that the first time I listened to this (driving home in the dark) added to the effect of this drama.

By and large, the cast does a very nice job of simulating the cherished voices of our Star Wars heroes. Although for a few seconds, one might think, "Hmm, that isn't *quite* what he/she sounded like in the movie...," they do have the correct inflections, and characterizations, and I did find them to be what I would perceive the older, more war-weary voices of the Rebel Alliance would sound like.

I will confess, I had to avoid the "Excellent" rating only because there are just a few *too* many popular lines from the movie that are clearly put in just to make a fanboy's heart swell. ("Hooray! They said my favorite line! The CD is validated!") Still, that doesn't detract from the overall coolness of this item!

Okay, here is the spoiler, so stop here if you don't want to know what happens.

The Heir to the Empire trilogy has ended. The Empire is in disarray and various Imperial Civil Wars for control of the Emperor's domain have broken out. The Rebel Alliance is taking blatant advantage of this by doing hit-and-run attacks on fleets weakend from fighting each other.

During one battle on Coruscant, Luke discovers a room that is brimming with Dark Side energy. And suddenly a Force storm swoops him up to take him to the planet Biss in the heart of the Imperial territory. This is much to the chagrin of his comrades who came to "rescue" him as he told them he wants to go.

At first, they consent, and Luke is swept away. They have bigger problems right now: giant machines called World Devastators are essentially indestructible hugs boxes that swoop down onto a planet, and destroy everything in their path by sucking it up... only to spit it out as new weapons.

But Leia can't help but wonder what is going on with Luke, and keeps having nightmarish visions of Luke turning to the Dark Side. Turns out, that she is right. Luke has been taken in by the resurrected Emperor Palpatine, and found himself deliberately joining the Dark Side in an attempt to "Destroy the DArk Side from within."

Naturally, things don't go to plan, and as Luke is being swept up, Han and Leia go searching for him. As they search, Hans runs into a few old foes such as Boba Fett (the Sarlacc apparently found him "indigestible"), and Dengar... and his ex-girlfriend.

Okay, enough spoilers! I did say it's good... not perfect, but wonderful enough that you really ought to just buy a copy! It's a delight to listen to more than once (as I can personally attest), and fulfills my nerdy need for more good Star Wars stories (that I *want* to be a part of the continuity) quite nicely!

May the (CD of) the Force be with you! ;)

Excellent storyline.Stays true the whole Star Wars saga.I have the original comics,and audio cassettes.Now I have it on CD.I hope they re due all the Dark Empire series on CD.

I liked the actors instead of the narrator.
There is no substiture for a woman playing a female role.
Narrators do a good enough job, however, Im not into transexuals.
So a good female actor to play the female role, much less confusing for me.
May the force be with you.
and remember, If your not a Star Wars Fan, don't write a review.