I just finished this book. I really enjoyed it. I used to read a lot of the old EU books, and so many of them were from the Rebel perspective that it was kind of refreshing to get a different take on things. It was also interesting seeing some of the inner workings of the Empire between the end of the Clone Wars and the Original Trilogy. I also enjoyed seeing what made Tarkin the person he was. It was a good yarn.

The Carrion Spike was a cool ship, and I'm interested to know more about its fate. I know that it survived in some form, as it has appeared in the Poe Dameron comic series, but it's interesting that it did not go back to Tarkin. I realize that he got a promotion with the Executrix/Death Star, but the ship seemed to be very personal to him and it's odd that he didn't want to keep it. From the novel, you would almost think that it was beyond repair, if not for that fact that it shows up later in the comics.

I've seen where some have mentioned it as another Imperial huge ship, but with it being such a unique, experimental vessel it doesn't make a lot of sense to have it on the table. I prefer ship classes, rather than one-offs.

What are your thoughts on the book?

I enjoyed it as well; though Tarkin got some good characterization and that the Vader-Tarkin relationship was built up well.

I personally imagine the Carrion Spike as a Raider-class corvette, whether that's canon or not.

Yeah, I enjoyed the Vader-Tarkin pairing. I really liked that Tarkin had figured out Vader's identity, but didn't really let on that he knew. I could see Carrion Spike as a Raider.

The Carrion Spike is the same class of ship from the Wars episode "Cat and Mouse"

The Carrion Spike is the same class of ship from the Wars episode "Cat and Mouse"

Not exactly. That was the prototype - and is a bit smaller than the Carrion Spike itself.

The Carrion Spike was just under 150m, whereas the Stealth Ship was just under 100m.

I liked the world building and character relationships in Tarkin a lot. The overall plot I found to be a tad boring. Definitely not a bad book though by any means.

I agree that the plot wasn't especially riveting, but I think the whole point of the book was to explore the character of Tarkin and show his relationship with Vader and the Emperor.

My favorite part of the book, though, was about Tarkin's time on the plateau with his uncle and how he outwitted the pirates.

I loved this book. The linking between the trilogies was great. Who else wants to see Imperial V-wings, Arc-170's, and Vader's Eta 2?