Dark Disciple

"Ventress had become one of the most interesting characters&hellip; we had all this material, we had all these designs&hellip; This is based on scripts we had written with George Lucas&hellip; I'm super excited about this book."

- Dave Filoni

Dark Disciple is a canon novel starring Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, written by Christie Golden for release by Del Rey on July 7, 2015. The novel is part of The Clone Wars Legacy multimedia initiative, since it is based on an eight-part story arc that was scripted for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, comprised of the episodes "Lethal Alliance," "The Mission," "Conspirators," "Dark Disciple," "Saving Vos Part I," "Saving Vos Part II," "Traitor," and "The Path." The scripts were not produced as episodes prior to the show's cancellation. The novel includes a foreword by Katie Lucas, one of the writers for the original episodes, and skews toward adult readers. The book's audio edition is narrated by Marc Thompson.

Publisher's summary
Based on unproduced scripts from the blockbuster TV show Star Wars: The Clone Wars! The only way to bring down the dark side's most dangerous warrior may be for Jedi and Sith to join forces. In the war for control of the galaxy between the armies of the dark side and the Republic, former Jedi Master turned ruthless Sith Lord Count Dooku has grown ever more brutal in his tactics. Despite the powers of the Jedi and the military prowess of their clone army, the sheer number of fatalities is taking a terrible toll. And when Dooku orders the massacre of a flotilla of helpless refugees, the Jedi Council feels it has no choice but to take drastic action: targeting the man responsible for so many war atrocities, Count Dooku himself.

But the ever-elusive Dooku is dangerous prey for even the most skilled hunter. So the Council makes the bold decision to bring both sides of the Force's power to bear&mdash;pairing brash Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos with infamous one-time Sith acolyte Asajj Ventress. Though Jedi distrust for the cunning killer who once served at Dooku's side still runs deep, Ventress's hatred for her former master runs deeper. She's more than willing to lend her copious talents as a bounty hunter&mdash;and assassin&mdash;to Vos's quest.

Together, Ventress and Vos are the best hope for eliminating Dooku&mdash;as long as the emerging feelings between them don't compromise their mission. But Ventress is determined to have her retribution and at last let go of her dark Sith past. Balancing the complicated emotions she feels for Vos with the fury of her warrior's spirit, she resolves to claim victory on all fronts&mdash;a vow that will be mercilessly tested by her deadly enemy. . . and her own doubt.

Plot summary
In a Republic ship fleeing Mahranee, a refugee, Ashu-Nyamal, runs away from her family, as she wants revenge on the Separatists. After evading a clone trooper she reaches the bridge, where she sees Jedi General Chubor pleading to Count Dooku by hologram, to allow the refugees to escape. After revealing that he knows the conversation is being broadcast back to the Jedi Council, Dooku orders the ships destroyed.

Development
"We were particularly interested because [the unproduced episodes] center on Asajj Ventress, who to me is extraordinarily interesting as a character, because she's one of the few who aren't just light or dark, but straddle both. It's an interesting balance to explore: how can you use the dark side but not be completely, truly dark? What's the difference between being an actual Sith and utilizing the dark side of the Force when you need it? How did she become what she became after her training by Dooku? That makes her really, really interesting."

- Shelly Shapiro

The novel was first announced on July 25, 2014 at San Diego Comic-Con, in Del Rey's Star Wars panel that prominently featured the novel A New Dawn. The author was announced as Christie Golden, who adapted scripts that were written in conjunction with Series Producer George Lucas, for what would have been the seventh season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series prior to its cancellation. According to Jennifer Heddle, the novel skewed toward adult audiences, with Pablo Hidalgo noting that the novel could explore the characters in deeper ways than the television series was able to. The first illustration for the novel was developed as conceptual art for the animated series.

On September 25, 2014, StarWars.com launched a new section dedicated to what was termed The Clone Wars Legacy, a multimedia project to release other unproduced The Clone Wars scripts in various mediums. The site revealed the title of Golden's novel as Dark Disciple &mdash;named for one of the adapted episodes &mdash;and also contained a gallery featuring concept art from the episodes. Although the gallery listed the story as being a four-part arc, Del Rey editor Shelly Shapiro later stated that the novel was based on eight episodes in total. Golden reaffirmed the number via Twitter, stating that the eight episodes had comprised a single, lengthy story arc.

The episodes were titled as follows: "Lethal Alliance," "The Mission," "Conspirators," "Dark Disciple," "Saving Vos Part I," "Saving Vos Part II," "Traitor," and "The Path." The episodes were written by Katie Lucas, Head Writer Matt Michnovetz, and Series Supervising Director Dave Filoni. Golden received animatics for the first four episodes and the scripts for all eight of them.

Del Rey editor Erich Schoeneweiss was the first to announce a July 2015 release for the novel. Amazon.com listed the novel's release date as July 7, while the British release date was July 9. StarWars.com unveiled Matt Taylor's cover art for the novel on December 9, 2014. On January 16, 2015, Golden reported that she had finished the novel and passed it on to her editor, and was finishing the second draft as of February 24. In an interview released on March 11, Shelly Shapiro revealed she had just finished working on the novel. The novel included a foreword by Katie Lucas, one of the writers for the original episodes. Golden also wrote a prequel short story entitled "Kindred Spirits," which will be published in Star Wars Insider 159.

Editions

 * ISBN 0345511530; Del Rey, July 7, 2015, 336-page hardcover
 * ASIN B00ZAUXCXW; Random House Audio, July 7, 2015, 11 hour, 12 minute audio edition
 * ISBN 1780893744; Century, July 9, 2015, 320-page hardcover