Dark Empire I is a book in which a very good story is unable to overcome the failings of bad art and hackneyed dialogue.

In this sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, the Rebel Alliance continues to fight a running battle against the remnants of the Galactic Empire. Han and Leia Solo are doing their best to hold things together while Luke Skywalker confronts a revived Emperor -- his undying consciousness has taken residence in his own mindless clone -- and does battle with the growing temptation of the Dark Side.

There's lots of action and plain, old-fashioned good storytelling by writer Tom Veitch. But there are a few plot stumbles, like when the Emperor takes his greatest enemies into the chamber where all of his clone bodies are stored, and the narrative is distressingly overdramatic. Take for instance the time Leia takes the controls of the Millennium Falcon's gun turrets, and she says: "Luke is right ... I can feel the Force moving through me ... guiding my hands in the terrible tasks of war...." Who talks like that?

But above all else, the art in this book is truly terrible. Perhaps someone hid artist Cam Kennedy's crayons, but he's working with a limited palate; each page is washed in green, or blue, or pink -- like those old watercolor coloring books where little Timmy dumped the tinted water in one big puddle on the page.

There are some really good Star Wars books out there. Dark Empire has a good story, but the writing and art both make it an unpleasant reading experience.