Tarkin is a Star Wars canon novel published in 2014 and written by James Luceno. It takes place five years after the events of Revenge of the Sith with flashbacks to before and during the Clone Wars. We see how Tarkin rises to Grand Moff, when a threat to the Empire happens. Tarkin’s ship, The Carrion Spike, is stollen and The Emperor send Darth Vader to help him look for it and destroy the freedom fighters who stole it.

Whilst the book is mostly made up of the inner monologue, that does get boring at times, we learn a lot about Tarkin’s childhood and how he figured out Darth Vader’s real identity. This is where these two start to respect each other. The groundwork to their relationship in A New Hope.

The book also covers the dynamic between the Empire’s big three. The Emperor, Darth Vader and Tarkin, and Luceno also puts a lot of legends concepts back into canon. Mainly for Darth Sideous back story.

I may sound bias, but anything with Darth Vader in it can do no wrong. He is a badass bad guy, and anything written from an Imperial point of view, you always end up rooting for the bad guys. Darth Vader can win you over with just one line. For me it was: “Moff Tarkin sends his regards.”

Whilst the book gets boring at time and only 314 pages, it is a long read. This book is a good backstory to an interesting character. I’d rate this 4 stars out of 5.