The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Secret Missions #2

by Ryder Windham

The adventures of young Jedi Nuru Kungurama and the newly formed Breakout Squad continue as they take an unexpected and very dangerous detour and find themselves overwhelmed by space pirates. This series is written by acclaimed writer Ryder Windham, who has authored over 50 Star Wars books.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ryder Windham is an American sci-fi author who has written over sixty Star Wars books, including novels, comics, reference books, and so on. He has also written junior novelizations for Indiana Jones movies. Since 1993, he has been working on Star Wars projects either by himself or with other authors. His reference book Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide had been on the New York Times Best Seller list for three weeks in 2005. Although he has written lots of books, accepted interviews, and appeared at several fan-conventions, little is known about his personal life.

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book of a series. I suggest reading the first book of the series before this one. In this one, Nuru and the clones are sent on a diplomatic mission to Chiss territory. This doesn't go exactly to plan.

I liked the first book of the series better than this one. I was wrong in what I wrote in that review. I said that the subsequent books would probably delve into the story. This didn't and I think that is what affected my enjoyment. Instead, we get hints of upcoming plot lines. It was like the author kept on saying this is going to happen but not in this book. For the most part of the story our characters are stuck in a system because of a black hole. This seemed to be more Star Trek than Star Wars to me. The majority of this book was filler and I am not sure what the purpose of this book was. The only thing that saved this book a little was the hinted plot lines that I mentioned earlier in this review. There are some really interesting ones that I do look forward to exploring.

This book was just okay to me. I was expecting a little more. Instead this book was a place holder for upcoming plot lines and this affected my enjoyment. I look forward to these plot lines and I am hoping that in the next book we actually start in on them.

[Kat V · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s not really good or bad but I don’t need to reread it. 2.4 stars. Ending had a nice twist though.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars: Legends: The Clone Wars Secret Missions 02 The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates by Ryder Windham

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

Fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are the main focus? Yes

3.75 Stars

This story builds upon the first book in the series. This group of clones and their Chiss padawan Jedi...heading to the Chiss Ascendancy outside of Wild Space.

It is a fun group of Clones. Just like we have seen in The Clone Wars, they may be clones, but there's a distinction within the group.

Like calling a bald guy, curly. A big guy, tiny. Hilarious.

Also, Nuru is a pretty good character to follow. The interactions that he had with the Chiss representative was hilarious. Also, what we eventually learned at the end of the story...and what it means for the completion of the the arc...will be fun to read.

The parts that Supreme Chancelor Palpatine and Count Dooku are doing with the Republic and the Separatists. Some are playing chess, while most everyone else is playing Checkers.

Good to have Bossk, the Trandoshan Bounty Hunter in this story, too.

Having fun, that's for sure.:

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I CANNOT BELIEVE that it took me so long to finish this book!!! I LOVED the first book, but when I picked up this book, I have to admit I was bored with the beginning. The plot segways from a dramatic rescue of several clone troopers on Kynachi and the formation of several friendships, however the way this book begins is a bit slow. Smooth sailing until they suddenly encounter a black hole caused by a saboteur who has rigged the ship to exit hyperspace right then and then bam, they are smack-dab in the middle of a fight with pirates!

After the pirates are introduced the story picks up again marvelously and the book is lovely again. One of two reasons I am giving this amazing book less than 5 stars, though, is because of the lack of plot in the beginning.

I do admit though that once Lalo Gunn and Chatterbox became a thing, I shipped them HARD the entire series, and it even inspired me to create a line of fanarts for them (I have since completed one and am excited to begin on more!!!), so I thank you, Ryder Windham, for a great ship in your books. And this brings me to my second reason why this book only got 4 stars: we needed more Lalo and Chatterbox action!! I mean, they are holed away in the cockpit for hours...simply doing repairs? I don't think so...;)

[Adam Kiewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

book 2 was so much better than 1. the writing wasnt as watered down and the plot is starting to thicken. right when I thought he showed way too much of his hand, he throws a massive curveball

[Jerome Stillton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, Ich muss sagen, ich war ja schon beim ersten Band ein wenig enttäuscht, aber habe dann gehofft, dass es dann im 2. Band richtig losgeht.
Daraus wurde leider gar nichts.
Der Plot ist vollgestopft mit Logiklöcher und Zufällen, es ist richtig frustrierend. Nichts ergibt Sinn, die Handlung wirkt einfach zusammen gewürfelt. Theoretisch erzählt die Geschichte von jemandem der alle Ereignisse kontrolliert und überall die Finger im Spiel hat. Der alle Figuren als Marionetten missbraucht.
Aber sein Masterplan gibt (zumindest bis jetzt) absolut null Sinn und er manipuliert Dinge, die er gar nicht manipulieren kann. Sein Plan funktioniert nur durch Zufälle. VIELE Zufälle.
Und bis jetzt, hat er auch noch nie davon profitiert.

Ausserdem fühlt sich das GESAMTE Buch wie eine Sidequest aus einem Videospiel an. Wieso genau diese Geschichte erzählt werden musste, in einer Buchreihe die zusammenhängen sollte, erschliesst sich mir nicht…
Es hat nichts mit der Handlung des ersten Teils zu tun, und knüpft nicht gross an den offenen Plotpoints des Vorgängers an. Ausser natürlich das es absolut notwendig für den Master-plan des Antagonisten ist.
Wieso man sich genau für diese Handlung, für den 2. Band entschieden hat, kann ich absolut nicht verstehen. Wieso genau musste man die Piraten und das schwarze Loch einführen?
Und wieso ist Bossk in diesem Buch so dumm?
Bossk war noch nie eine dumme Figur. Wenn dann Intelligent. Ihr glaubt nicht, wie aggressiv mich das gemacht hat haha
Ich bin ja mal gespannt, ob Band 3 den Karren aus dem Dreck ziehen kann.

[Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

First half of the book is filler and by the time it finally gets interesting its over. The best part of this book was interactions between the clones and Gunn. Unlike the previous book, this book doesn't have split chapters. All chapters but the first and last are told through Nuru. Nuru is not strong enough of a character to carry the story even though the author did attempt to flesh him out. I would quit the series here but the author seems to have something planned

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was definitely not exceptional, but I feel the length of the book adds to its enjoyability.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Wars Legends Project #128

Background: The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates was written by Ryder Windham and published in July 2010. In addition to his extensive involvement with dozens of Star Wars publications, Windham also wrote the first book in this series, Breakout Squad (my review).

The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates takes place during the Clone Wars, 21-22 years before the Battle of Yavin. It picks up where Breakout Squad left off. The main characters are the squad introduced in the last book: Jedi Apprentice Nuru Kungurama, clone troopers Breaker, Sharp, Knuckles, and Chatterbox, repurposed droid commando Cleaver, and freighter pilot Lalo Gunn. There are also significant appearances by Cad Bane, Count Dooku, and Bossk. Most of the story takes place somewhere in the Chiss Ascendancy and in other parts of the Unknown Regions.

Summary: Fresh from an unexpected victory on Kynachi, the newly formed Breakout Squad has embarked on their next mission, as diplomatic envoys to the Chiss. Unfortunately, the squad never identified the saboteur who caused them so much trouble on Kynachi, and now it seems bad luck continues to interfere with their every move, luck that's just a little too convenient. Can the squad survive long enough to get to the bottom of this mystery?

Review: This book was a giant cut above the first book in the series, though it's not immediately obvious why. It helped a great deal that the characters were established, so we didn't have to hear the inane introductions that made the first book such a slow starter. In addition, Breakout Squad really didn't give those characters anything interesting to do once they'd been introduced. They're on an authoritarian-controlled planet, planning insurrection . . . that's basically the plot of every other Star Wars YA novel, even the ones that aren't set during the Clone Wars. But this book has a lot more going on: the Chiss, pirates, black holes, infinity gates . . . lots of fun stuff.

Of course, the story is still a bit simplistic, and the dialogue is cheesy, and Windham is still getting cute with the Classic Trilogy quotes . . . but he's also beginning to weave together some interesting mysteries that are left unresolved, and that have me at least curious about what is to come. There is a bit of sophistication to this entry that wasn't even hinted at in the last one, which is certainly a step in the right direction.

C

[Kaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the events of the first book, Padawan Nuru Kungurama heads off on a diplomatic mission in Chiss space. However, despite believing they would be guided to the Chiss homeworld, the Breakout Squad is directed to a station where they are greeted by the noblewoman Veeren. The aristocrat tells her that the Chiss have no intention of allying with the Separatists or the Republic, but instead want to stay out of it. Meanwhile, Cad Bane hands Master Ambase over to Asajj Ventress, who in turn takes the Jedi Master to Dooku himself. Dooku plans to manipulate Master Ambase and convince him that Nuru is responsible for the accident he had on Kynachi, all as part of a conspiracy by the mysterious Second Sith, who "supposedly" intends to manipulate the Padawans against their masters.

Following the events of the first book, Padawan Nuru Kungurama heads off on a diplomatic mission in Chiss space. However, despite believing they would be guided to the Chiss homeworld, the Breakout Squad is directed to a station where they are greeted by the noblewoman Veeren. The aristocrat tells her that the Chiss have no intention of allying with the Separatists or the Republic, but instead want to stay out of it. Meanwhile, Cad Bane hands Master Ambase over to Asajj Ventress, who in turn takes the Jedi Master to Dooku himself. Dooku plans to manipulate Master Ambase and convince him that Nuru is responsible for the accident he had on Kynachi, all as part of a conspiracy by the mysterious Second Sith, who "supposedly" intends to manipulate the Padawans against their masters.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ebenfalls ein spaßiger Kinder/Jugendromand aus der Zeit der Klonkriege. Es bleibt spannend und actionlastig. Die Piraten, das Thema um das Schwarze Loch und geheimnisvolle Ruinen - alles richtig gute Themen für einen Star Wars Roman.
Wie immer ist auch der Augenmerk auf den Klonen toll und das Buch endet wieder mit einem sehr spannenden Cliffhanger, da deutlich wird, das ein Verräter in den eigenen Reihen ist.

Das einzige Problem hier ist Veeren, die Chiss-Botschafterin, die Nuru und sein Breakout-Squad treffen sollen. Als ich gelesen hab, dass es hier eine weibliche Figur und dann noch eine Chiss ist, dachte ich: Nice, das wird ein richtig geiler Charakter - immerhin mochte ich die Thrawn-Bücher damals sehr.

Tja, leider kann jemand offenbar keine guten Frauen schreiben - die ist nämlich zuerst SUPER arrogant, was zu ihrem Job und ihrer Rasse usw. passt. Nur leider ist sie dann, sobald die Piraten sie gefangen nehmen, ULTRA panisch und am rumkreischen, nur um am Ende wieder einen auf "Oh ich bin soviel besser als du, weil ich bin als Chiss aufgewachsen." KOTZ. Ich weiß nicht, ob das nur gespielt war - sie kommt offenbar in den nachfolgenden Bänden auch noch vor.

Aber himmel, dann hätte man sie auch komplett rausstreichen können, weil für die Story war sie irellevant. Und falls es ein "Oh wir brauchen noch einen weiblichen Hauptcharrakter, weil sonst lesen das Mädchen nicht." Gunn ist die Pilotin des Schiffes. Die ist mega geil und stark und nimmt keinen Blatt vor den Mund. Das ist n Rolemodel. Nicht Veeren.

Aber ansonsten ein solides, spaßiges Abenteuer.

[Brian Washington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Wars: Curse of the Black Hole Pirates is good but length stops it from moving past that. We continue the story of Jedi Chiss Nuru and the Breakout Squad.

The story follows Nuru and the Breakout Squad as they return to Coruscant and report that things went wrong. Palpatine then sends them out to “Chiss space,” which had me like, “Say who? What now?”

They hop on their ship and head out, but what greets them isn’t exactly what you’d expect. Without spoiling too much, it doesn’t go quite as planned, and suddenly a bunch of ships show up out of nowhere. The book ends on a pretty dope hyperspace jump with some high stakes already set.

The pacing is tight given the short length, and while it’s brief, when you put it together with the first book, you get a decent-sized chunk of story. It’s an entertaining, but the stories are just so damn short. 3/5

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first book in this series - I can see it as an extended TCW serial. The characters weren't bad and I liked Nuru. But the issues in the first one shone brighter here. The writing is terribly on-the-nose, over-explanatory, and incredibly repetitive. The plot stuff with the hyperspace lanes and pirates and potential traitors wasn't bad, but this was a slow read because of the writing style. I'm still finishing the series, though, don't get me wrong! I can just tell this is for a much lower age range than myself.

2/5 stars.

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a really fun adventure, with a bit of intrigue as well. This one engaged me much more than the first book in the series. I really enjoyed the story, and am interested in Nura's history. Maybe we'll get more of that as we go along. I'm excited to read the next book, but I don't have it yet. But soon, soon I will continue along this story.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story arc of this series has taken an abrupt swerve into silly territory, though I will admit that I always find the Kwa and Infinity Gates very interesting (too bad the book itself isn't great). And I'm not sure why I'm supposed to find it funny that the starship captain keeps harassing one of the clones.

[Todd Bethke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book by accident. I read this not knowing a majority of the characters. Nuru Kungurama, and the Breakout Squad, immediately drew into the characters and the story. I will definitely be checking out, Secret Missions #1, 3 and 4.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was recommended by my 9 year old son, so it was always going to get a five star rating. But had I read it without his recommendation I still would have rated a 5.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading with the kids, whose favorite star wars time frame is the clone wars, so they are loving it

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young adult reading. We venture into Chris’s Ascendancy space, battle pirates, avoid a black hole, discover an old tech hyperspace portal and Dooku captures an old Jedi friend. All within 190 pages.

[Matty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love clones.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gunn is really annoying but I love Nuru and the clones.

[Diyyan :)) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating 5/5

That plot twist at the end OMG unforeseen threw me off had me screaming!!!!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Star Wars the Clone Wars Curse of the Black Hole Pirates by Ryder Windham tells the story of a jedi apprentice Nuru and three clone troopers, Sharp, Knuckles, and Chatterbox. This is part of a series of books. Overall I thought that the book was cool and had to use imaginary thoughts to make the book. The best part of the book was when Nuru had been attacked a couple of times and used her lightsaber. This is a fun book to read for ages 6 and up. I should try to start to read the whole series.

[Jason Loeffler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set-up: Pirates of the Carribbean in outer space, written for young adults. Result: breezy, but fun.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

An OK young readers series, but not even in the same galaxy (far, far away, you might say...) as Jude Watson's earlier young reader series'.

[Maranda Carvell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oliver (7) and I are really enjoying this series. Can't wait to read book #3.

[Kevin McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the book very much, some of the terms of the Star Wars universe I did not know yet, but they made sense in the other books about Star Wars I read after this one.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asher (7yo) read.

[Colleen Mertens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick fun story for younger Star Wars fans. It follows some lesser known characters and has a fun plot that moves quickly. It adds some new characters to the expanded universe.

[Julie]

good