Review by Frank Plowright

Path to Nowhere introduced the crew of the smuggling ship Uhumele, an incredibly mixed bunch seemingly with a recruiting policy permitting no more than a single member of any species. Nosaurian Bomo Greenbark is the newbie, almost by default, having suffered a great loss that leaves him without any other home.

Randy Stradley, writing as Mick Harrison, divulges the backgrounds of some crew members as they undertake a mission to deliver something they’re actively concealing from Greenbark. A parallel plot follows the Jedi padawan guided to safety by Master K’Kruhk. There is a connection.

Parallels supplies a far more imaginative plot than Path to Nowhere simply by virtue of incorporating some surprises. The artefact to be delivered takes seven crew members to transport it, and the number of interested parties expands to three, each aware of their opponents’ dubious tendencies. The way in which Master K’Kruhk and his trainees connect with Uhumele crew is well conceived, and over the course of the story Greenbark proves his worth to his new partners.

Artist Dave Ross is very good. His layouts move the plot forward and deliver the action scenes, while he’s equally at home with the quieter moments. He must have cursed when seeing the complex cast designs bequeathed by Douglas Wheatley, but he never stints on the detail. On the other hand Lui Antonio isn’t as accomplished and splitting the scenes between two artists is a failed experiment.

There is no Dark Times volume three, as the story continues in Vector volume one, and then into Blue Harvest. This volume, its predecessor and Vector can also be found as part of the Star Wars: Dark Times Omnibus volume one.