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Author	Topic: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
Havac Title: Lit Mod of War Registered: Sep '05	Date Posted: 11/27/06 9:49pm Subject: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 5/27/08 5:55am (2 edits total) Edited By: Master_Keralys
	Troy Denning's first LOTF outing. Some rules: rate Tempest on a scale of 1 to 10, supplementing your rating with a review, if you want to (It's not necessary but is highly encouraged). However, please do not rate or review the book until after you've read the whole thing. Thanks. Go ahead and review. Some previous review threads: Republic Commando: Hard Contact, by Karen Traviss Shatterpoint, by Matthew Stover The Cestus Deception, by Steven Barnes Medstar I: Battle Surgeons, by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry Medstar II: Jedi Healer, by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry Jedi Trial, by David Sherman and Dan Cragg Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, by Sean Stewart Labyrinth of Evil, by James Luceno Revenge of the Sith, by Matthew Stover Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine, by Veronica Whitney-Robinson Tatooine Ghost, by Troy Denning Survivor's Quest, by Timothy Zahn Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream, by Aaron Allston Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand, by Aaron Allston Traitor, by Matthew Stover Destiny's Way, by Walter Jon Williams Force Heretic I: Remnant, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix Force Heretic II: Refugee, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix Force Heretic III: Reunion, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix The Final Prophecy, by Greg Keyes The Unifying Force, by James Luceno Dark Nest I: The Joiner King, by Troy Denning Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen, by Troy Denning Dark Nest III: The Swarm War, by Troy Denning Outbound Flight, by Timothy Zahn Republic Commando: Triple Zero, by Karen Traviss Legacy of the Force: Betrayal, by Aaron Allston Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines, by Karen Traviss Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, by Drew Karpyshyn -----signature----- "Is there a captain's hat involved in this?" "I . . . don't know what department I want. I need . . . pants."
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patchworkz7 Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 11/27/06 11:22pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	7.5/10 Denning falls somewhere between Traviss and Allston in terms of his character viewpoints, and there are a few spots where he runs into some odd viewpoint shifts, but for the most part he maintains an interesting POV that isn't at the level of the tight third of Traviss but not at the remove of Allston. The characters all sound like themselves although Ben seems prickly in a way he wasn't under Allston or Traviss that could be chalked up to him not having as defined a character or plot reasons. The return of certain characters make for an interesting story, and decisions taken by Jacen muddy some waters. As the book opens Jacen and Lumiya are not well tolerating each other, and the reason can be laid at the feet of BLOODLINES' ending where Jacen falls into a spiral of despair that he may have to murder those he loves, namely his lover and/or child. TEMPEST addresses the issue with Jacen basically wrestling with whether such a thing is possible and if he's misunderstood the prophecy and what is expected of him. What I liked about this is that unlike his grandfather he's actually thinking through what falling means, and he's taking a measure of what he can and can not do, and he finally shows a bit of humanity in scenes with his daughter when he is bargining with himself over what he needs to do to gain his Sithhood. In the meantime, we have the return of some characters and the deaths of others. Jaina's lovelife continues to bore. Jag is a heckuva lot more interesting since getting shot down. Alema is...annoying, and I spent most of the book praying for her death. However, the fight between Luke and Lumiya was well done although sure to create some disagreements, and the final battle is nicely done with the exception of some...odd...behavior on Ben Skywalker's part. I'm really not 100% sold on his actions during that battle, but the rest of the story was a solid tale. It doesn't have the intrigue or intensity that BLOODLINES had, but it has action that carries the plot along well enough, and it raises questions about the meta-plot and makes Jacen finally take a sharper look at himself and look at the road he is choosing to go down. Luke and Mara finally take some decisive action in regards to Ben, but it doesn't quite feel right for some reason, although maybe it's because the action comes as a response to Lumiya manipulating the situation. In closing; a solid read that's not quite as deep as BLOODLINES but is a bit stronger an entry than BETRAYAl. -----signature----- Original Fiction & essays "Does God Limp?" in HOUSE UNAUTHORIZED http://www.smartpopbooks.com/allbooks/2007.html#house Now in German and Polish Editions! James A Gilmer
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ConservativeSoldier Registered: Oct '05	Date Posted: 11/27/06 11:53pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 11/27/06 11:55pm (1 edits total) Edited By: ConservativeSoldier
	The plot in Tempest is...amazingly good. It's not the least bit contrived, it's very plausible, and the internecine deceit of both the Galactic Alliance and Corellia, as well as the deadly (literally) politicking of the Hapans, makes for one helluva cool tangled web. Dur Gejjen is only in the first chapter of the novel after making an interesting debut in Bloodlines, but right off the bat you can tell that he's someone not to be trifled with. While not inherently a "bad guy," he's definitely villainous in his plan to draw Hapes into the war effort. Deceiving Han, Leia, and to a lesser extent, Wedge, was pretty impressive. Nearly pulling it off and still saving face...even more so. Aurra Sing's return made sense and for once, I'm glad Del Rey decided to bring back a character from the past. Her role in the novel makes absolute sense. That's one of the things that I have to applaud Del Rey for since they've taken over the license. They've successfully taken the Star Wars Universe and connected the dots on many, many levels. Granted, they've also left several gaping plot holes as well (The Insiders anyone?). But overall, I'm getting the impression with each passing novel, that Del Rey isn't so much "plugging holes," but rather "networking" them in a way that makes resolving them in the future easier instead of more difficult. There aren't any continuity errors that I can think of (aside from Oovo IV, which is easily retconned). The writing is pure Troy Denning; entertaining and fluid. The biggest complaint I have of Tempest is the return of Alema Rar. She was one of my favorite characters in the New Jedi Order series (when she was a "bad" good guy). Unfortunately, she's back from her near-digestion on Tenupe and to be honest, I'm not sure what role she has to play in the remainder of the series. And that's where my gripe lies---in her role. It's not that her being alive isn't plausible and her survival tale, given appropriately by Jagged Fel (another very cool return), is very intriguing. It's just that I hope her character arc doesn't just fizzle away. And of course my biggest kudos goes to Jaina Solo. Man oh man, is she back. Everyone thought that after the Dark Nest Trilogy and her minor roles in both Betrayal and Bloodlines that Jaina Solo was permanently pidegeonholed into irrelevance. Hardly. A decade after defeating the Yuuzhan Vong and four years after the resolution to the Swarm War and Jaina Solo is emerging through the fog. She's had it, arguably, the most difficult of all the Solos--losing her dear younger brother, believing Jacen to have been killed for nearly a year, slipping ever closer toward darkness, suffering failed romances, seemingly destined to a life of despair as the Sword of the Jedi, enmeshed in a hive mind, and suffering the body blow of enduring her twin brother's betrayal of her and the ideals they once shared. And yet...she seems to have found peace with her best friend, Zekk. And to have regained her focus and most importantly of all--her hope. Denning gave us a glimpse of the Sword of the Jedi. And it's becoming more and more clear that that sword isn't relegated to the cockpit of an XJ X-wing. You can definitely sense that the Yuuzhan Vong may finally get their duel after all. And after Tempest, I'm inclined to think that counting Jaina Solo out...is a bad idea. 8.5/10 -----signature----- Aut vincere aut mori! Joe Biden says paying taxes is patriotic. Joe Biden is an idiot. John McCain '08.
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YodaKenobi Title: TFN EU Staff Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 11/28/06 12:39am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	After the horror that was Bloodlines, I was hoping Troy Denning would be able to put the series back on track where Allston started us at. I had very high expectations for this book based on what little I'd heard about it, even though I'm not always a big fan of Denning's writing. I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. In fact, my expectations were actually surpassed What worked: Almost everything. What could have been a boring filler-book was turned into a very exciting page-turner. The characterizations, for the most part, were done well. Jacen has continued to grow into the character we saw born in Traitor, who believes he's the Gardner and it's his job to kill the weeds of the galaxy. Alema was taken into a new and exciting direction (though it makes me sad to see the poor girl this way ), and perhaps even more shocking— Jagged Fel is now cool His appearance in the book was one of my favorite scenes. It was also good to see Jaina Solo back in good form and Allana is adorable. But as usual with Denning's work, Han and Leia are the real standouts, so good you can almost hear Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher reading the lines. Denning also continues his tradition of introducing quirky alien characters that almost steal the show when they appear on a page. Chal Tozr and Gwad Raatu aren't quite as much fun as the Squibs or Juun and Tarfang, but their brief time in the story is fairly memorable. The plot itself seems very well-constructed. Characters are driven by the story without us seeing Denning's hand moving them. I've been critical of some of Denning's books in the past for having significant plot holes, but thankfully this novel seems free of them. The story was so exciting that I really couldn't put it down and read it in one night (and I'm a slow reader). This brings me to Tempest's greatest strength— there isn't a dry spot in the book. Every scene draws you in and is written fluidly, moving the story along, bouncing you from one memorable sequence to another. Alema killing the World Brain, Luke dueling Ben, the assassination attempt on TK and Allana, Tresina Lobi's murder at the hands of Alema and Lumiya, Jaina setting things straight with Zekk, Jacen seeing Tenel Ka and Allana for the first time in the series, Han and Leia running into a new and improved Jag Fel, Luke and Mara investigating Lobi's murder and stumbling on to Lumiya's path, Luke coming to see Jacen about Lumiya and having his nephew ultimately set him up to be killed, Lumiya and Alema having one of the most revealing conversations in the series, Ben rescuing Jaina and Zekk, Jacen and Allana beating Aurra Sing, an uberific duel between Luke/Lumiya and Mara/Alema, Ben slicing Zekk open after trying to arrest Han, and an awesome space battle in which Jacen fires on the Falcon and nearly destroys it— there is no time to breathe! The action in the story is top notch. Fleet battles, Jaina & Zekk fighting Tendrando Arms droids, and of course the many lightsaber duels throughout There is also plenty of humor in this book, which is nice to see after the very dry Bloodlines. Han and C-3PO have some great banter, and Tozr and Raatu provide some much appreciated laughs. Denning's writing has really improved, with prose as good as his work in Tatooine Ghost. I think this is definitely his best book ever. What didn't work: Not much. Unfortunately, Mara was once again characterized as stupid in her first scene. Thankfully she seemed to wise up after that, but the naïveté of what is perhaps the shrewdest character in the EU is more than a little annoying. I also didn't care for the way Luke made his son fight him— it seemed more like bullying, The Skywalkers have actually managed to become worse parents than the Solos. Mara is willing to put her son's life at risk because she doesn't want him to resent her or the Force. That's pretty selfish, and not the reaction of a real parent, IMO. I also found it really strange that Luke and Mara didn't bring up Jacen's murdering the Noghri to him at the end, instead continually accusing him of firing on his parents He killed two very loyal beings in the process, yet no one mentioned it. Beyond that, it's hard to find a place where this book falls short in what it set out to accomplish. I'm a fairly harsh judge and not a Denning fanboy by any means, but if this is any indication of what to expect for the rest of the series, I think we are in for a treat. Troy Denning hasn't just written the best book in the series so far, he's also written one of the best Star Wars novels ever 9.7/10 -----signature----- Supersonic gone and took my soul The Lands of the Dead: http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28522077/p1 Blood Trail: http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28636429/p1 "They weren't very bright, even for Imperials."— Emala
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Jedi_Earnhardt Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 11/28/06 5:51am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 11/28/06 5:59am (4 edits total) Edited By: Jedi_Earnhardt
	I give it a 9.5 Great parts Luke's character is back on track. TD is always great with Han and Leia, they're his bread and butter I think. The duel with Tresina Lobi against Lumiya and Alema was very exciting, I was hoping Lobi would at least get to knock off Alema. Bounty Hunter Jagged Fel, how cool is that. Lumiya hinting at the plan in place should Luke defeat her has got to be Krayt, that little conversation between the Dark Lady and Alema was spine tingling. The body count was suprising for a paperback: The World Brain, Cahkmaim and Meewalh, and Tresina Lobi, all important people. Towards the end it was really nice to see Luke and Jacen swallow their pride and admit they've made mistakes and could have done things different, I ready for them to make ammends already. Allana was very cute in this, everytime she said Yedi it was like AAWWWWWW, I don't care who you are, that's cute right there, if you don't think that's cute you need to get the hell out of here LOL J/K Good parts I really enjoy Jacen's character but he wasn't covered very much. Two times Jacen was ready to unleash on Alema and Aurra Sing but held back. I'm glad Jaina and Zekk worked out their issues, it looks like they will become a great team in the books to come. Ben was a cool little guy too but didn't have much "screen" time. I actually enjoyed Alema's charater very much Not so good parts I think it's clear the Galactic Loyalty Act is a comparison to the US Patriot Act. One thing that's great about America is that people can express their opinions, but in this way it really tears you out of Star Wars. It's like Labyrinth of Evil and Luceno using the "Triad if Evil" and "Living Document" when Palpatine refers to the Republic constitution. There are other ways to express your opinion with blogs or someone can write a political book. SW EU fans are not simple, whether your a conservative or a liberal, I don't think it would sway anyone about how they feel about their politics, so just leave that stuff out. I guess Traviss did this a little too in Bloodlines. These authors are smart, can't they come up with an entirely different political background for this series. Just look what happened to hollywood when they tried to force their opinions on people, I really missed going to the movies the last few years because IMO most of the movies really stunk. I love SW and I don't want people turning away, I want to read SW novels until I go blind, lol then I'll but the audiobooks. -----signature----- The 9 scariest words you'll ever hear -- "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." How's that hope and change working for you?
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Jedi_Matt Registered: Jul '02	Date Posted: 11/28/06 6:28am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	I'll give this book an 8.5 The story was great, in my opinion. I found I had to re-read some action scenes though to find where I was, and there were some continuity issues that kinda irked me (but which i may also be completely wrong about). The overuse of 'Salon' which I don't recall in any previous star wars book got on my nerves, but that's only cos it's unusual so therefore caught the attention more. One question about the Jaina/Zekk escape, why didn't they use the Force to slam the YVH droids into stuff? I loved the book overall though, and Jacen's fall is just infuriating, in a good way -----signature----- Excellence - "'Cause some American-accent informed me Kun is Koon and Yun is Yoon doesn't mean I'm going to Megazord myself into robotic obediance."
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Havac Title: Lit Mod of War Registered: Sep '05	Date Posted: 11/28/06 12:45pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	Average score: 43.7/5 = 8.74 -----signature----- "Is there a captain's hat involved in this?" "I . . . don't know what department I want. I need . . . pants."
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Magnuskn Registered: Jul '02	Date Posted: 11/28/06 2:32pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 11/28/06 2:56pm (2 edits total) Edited By: Magnuskn
	Meh. 4/10 This book is so full of continuity gaffes at the beginning, it isn´t even funny anymore. C´mon, these are three authors who are working on the series, it should be possible to coordinate things better. Ben is so much more disrespectful and resentful of his parents than in the two previous books, and he gulped down a whole package of stupid pills, too. Where is the smart insightful kid from the two earlier books? How did he get replaced by that bundle of idiotic impulse driven actions? Also, early on a good lot of actions people were taking felt forced. It was more akin watching the characters acting so that the plot could go on, than from something I´d attribute to their own motivations. Jacen and Lumiyas relationship also seemed off from the first two books, though that may be only me. And why do I have the feeling that Denning really doesn´t like Jag? ^^ Compared to the first two books, this one had a distinctive lack of humour, pretty much grim stuff from end to end. Just the normal quipping from Han and Leia, some minor stuff from the other characters. On the good side, the plot itself was interesting. Also, some distinctive minor characters ( the two inspectors ), who we´ll probably never see again, though. Just to clarify one thing, if that had been a standalone, it would have gotten 7/10, but as a part of a larger series, the continuity stuff really irks me. Hence the 4/10. And as a last point... the "Anakin Solo"???? WTF?!?!?! Denning really likes to rub it in, doesn´t he? My reaction wasn´t much better than the one from Han, believe me. Magnus -----signature----- Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet Serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force.
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Havac Title: Lit Mod of War Registered: Sep '05	Date Posted: 11/28/06 3:04pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	Average score: 47.7/6 = 7.95 -----signature----- "Is there a captain's hat involved in this?" "I . . . don't know what department I want. I need . . . pants."
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 11/28/06 6:09pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	The Good JAINA!!! Jacen may have kicked her hard with the court martial, but she's sure as heck not out, as Tempest illustrates. JAINA & ZEKK!!! Once Zekk finally let go of his romantic aspirations, we also got the Jaina - Zekk friendship dynamic back, too! Rather than treat him like dirt, Jaina was finally free to show her care and concern for her oldest friend without giving him false hope. It was wonderful! JAINA & HAN!!! For the first time in a looooong time we are shown the true depth of the bond between father and daugher. JAINA & BEN!!! She certainly has no compunctions about telling her little cousin when he's dead wrong and being an idiot! ALLANA!!! She's got all her ancestresses feistiness in spades! The Bad Denning backtracks on Han's disowning of Jacen at the end of Bloodlines. I suppose in the tiny space of time between books that Han's temper could have cooled off and Leia could have worked on him, but, well, it was something I liked. The only thing that would have been better was Leia saying both her sons died at Myrkr. Tenel Ka has her shining moments, but she also falls into waffling and justification traps just like one other budding Sith Lord's lover a generation before. This will not end well, I fear, in later books. I'm now officially confused about why Allana's appearance is being hidden with Denning's description of her. It doesn't seem to me that anyone could point to the little girl and identify Jacen Solo... The Ugly Nasty, nasty hit to the Falcon during the turbolaser assault by the Anakin Solo. One of many, but this one tore straight through the ship's vertical profile and took out both Nogri on board. No time to mourn as our heros are struggling with simple survival, but a great loss of loyal allies none the less. 8/10 -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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Master_Skywalker20 Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 11/28/06 6:11pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	i feel really bad for people like tenel ka, allana, ben and others that really still trust Jacen, as they will probably all end up getting hurt the most. At the end of this book Jacen leaves his family and for the most part is still a pretty good guy (obviously makes a few mistakes, but like Luke said hes falling because hes almost too good of a guy).....when he becomes sith he will have to renounce his past and announce to the galaxy his alligience to the dark side and take a new name??? I wonder how tenel ka and ben take that? Probably not the best. I still love Jacens character right now, but I am scared of what he will become (basically confirmed because of darthwho).....anyway i really liked this book 8.5
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Zebra3 Registered: Aug '04	Date Posted: 11/28/06 7:00pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 11/28/06 7:04pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Zebra3
	7.5 By and large an enjoyable read. I liked Lumiya's portrayal in this book and Allana was kind of cute but I hate it when authors write out words the way people would speak them. Just a few nit-picky things that bugged me. I don't know what Denning was thinking when he was writing Ben's parts but he could have at least pretended like it was the same Ben of the previous two books. In Bloodlines and Betrayal Ben was inquisitive and smart and at the end of Bloodlines he was begining to question Jacen's methods. But by the begining of Tempest he's developed this fanatic Jacen hero-worship thing that I didn't feel followed from his two previous portrayals. He's turned into a big bag of dumb. Han and Jacen pretty much had a parting of the ways at the end of Bloodlines but in Tempest Han basically says he'd never turn his back on his son. I wish the authors would pay better attention to what the others have done. If this keeps up I'm going to get really annoyed with this series really fast. Aurra Sing..... what a random character to bring back after all those years. Not that I'm really complaining. I just found it weird. Tenel Ka, it just felt like her character was kinda off. I felt she kept defending Jacen unnecessarily (and probably improperly) and that bugged me. -----signature----- recipient of the coveted Corellian Ewokstripes with bronze cluster My icon archive -- > http://zebra3icons.bravehost.com/main1.html I'm currently reading Han Solo's Revenge I'm currently playing Tomb Raider Anniversary
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Havac Title: Lit Mod of War Registered: Sep '05	Date Posted: 11/29/06 10:45am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	Average score: 71.7/9 = 7.97 -----signature----- "Is there a captain's hat involved in this?" "I . . . don't know what department I want. I need . . . pants."
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BigDamnHero Registered: Oct '06	Date Posted: 11/29/06 11:51am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers)
	Tempest is my favorite Troy Denning book, though I rank all five of his previous books at about the same quality level which is different then how most people view his books. He does a good job developing both the plot and characters from the previous two books and overall did a really good job with the characterizations. Denning doesn't get into the head of characters as much as other authors tend to and in this book we didn't see things from Jacen's point of view nearly as much as we did in Bloodlines. This is interesting because it presents the two sides of Jacen, the side that Tenal Ka, Ben, and some in the military see, and the side that Luke, Han, and nearly everyone else see. Denning has done a good job of planting Jacen right on the brink, right now he's just a very, very, misguided but still redeemable idealist, but he could easily slip and become a full blown evil warlord with no regard for life. I think Denning writes the big three + Mara better then anyone. First of all he always has been great with Han and Leia and their relationship. But in this book I really liked how he developed them into working the middle not really serving the GA or the Corellians but instead serving their morals. I hope the other authors continue this. Luke and Mara are portrayed better in this book then in either of the first two, both are against Jacen now but not rashly condemning him, its a balance that I think really fits them and is better then Lukes adamant opposition and Mara's complete acceptance that we saw in Bloodlines. It's less black and white and it really works well in this book. Ben and his realtionship with both his father and Jacen is developed better in this book. There is a great scene to open the book of Luke and Ben sparring and Luke really doesn't hold back. I love how the relationship is developing between the two, it feels real to me. Also Denning kept throwing Ben into situations where he was surrounded by people who are vehemently opposed to Jacen and it was nice to see his reactions to them. Sometimes it showed how far he was under Jacens sway and at others it showed that he still had his doubts about his master. It was nicely done. Jaina had a decent sized role again which was nice. They kinda but not really settled the Zekk issue. Yeah he stopped pursuing her but now she seems to be coming around towards him so we'll see what happens. I can't wait for the inevitable Jacen/Jaina fight, I think I'm looking foward to it more then the inevitable Jacen/Luke fihgt. I actually liked Alema in the book her obsession with the Balance is an interesting, though twisted, view of the force. I also like her relationship with Lumiya. The scene in the missile tube was really well done, as well as illuminating. We see that Lumiya really does believe in the Sith cause and isnt just twisting Jacen to get back at Luke. We also learn that there are more Sith or at least someone to ensure the mission succeeds should Lumiya die and on that note I'll say that personally I think she did die, they're just putting out the doubt incase they really need to bring her back in a latter book. Once again Denning was really hit or miss on the action scenes. He still sucks at describing space battles in a way thats either interesting or easy to visualize. However he is good at Lightsaber fights, I really liked the Alema/Lumiya v. Tresina Lobi fight and I actually felt sad at Lobi's death even though we've never really seen her do anything. I also liked Jacen and Zekk's battle out of Villa for some reason. The Alema/Lumiya v. Luke/Mara fight was pretty good. It was tense to see Luke get so badly hurt and even though I knew it was highly unlikely that they'd kill him so early in the series. While I thought he did some interesting things as Ben he didnt characterize him as well as Traviss or Allston. He acted kind of dumb in some situations, nothing that was too out of place but he wasn't the star of the book like he was in both of the previous ones. Partly I think this has do with Dennings style of showing not telling so he didn't get into Ben's head and justify his actions as much as other authors would have. I don't know what to think about Allana and her toddler talk. I thought it was really dumb in the first scene with her but I thought it was oddly touching/disturbing in the scene where she subdued Aurra Sing. Overall I thought the book did a great job continuing series and it was on par with Bloodlines and better then Betrayal. 8.5/10
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Telbithus Registered: Jun '05	Date Posted: 11/29/06 12:19pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 11/29/06 12:25pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Telbithus
	ill give it a 7.5 i dunno i have mixed emotins about the book...though it was well written i stayed up till 6 this morning finishing it in one read. most the characters in the series irk me as it is...jaina/zekk and han/leia i cant stand reading about them han and lei are a couple of rogue politicians with scattered good intentions in everybook for the past 15 books and jaina and zekk are just annoying. mara/luke i have a love hate relationship...i can see where mara is comming from in a lot of ways but she is superbly naive and luke is just a flaming bag of duesch as of late. he is a complete dick formally challenging his son and relatively embarassing him along witht he fact that he is so pious id like to slap him sometimes. though i do like to read about the two because the authors have created a great chemistry between them (i had a great laugh out loud to myself with the comment made about mara not wanting him in the ex-girlfriends room and he replied with "nothing i havnt seen before) i have always like jagged fel he is an official badass and now he has nothing to lose , i hope they develop that story arc more. tenel ka/allana are also an extremely welcomed duo. tenel is so loving and so defensive of jacen its near heartbreaking to realize that she will probably be getting hurt. and allana is just plain and simple cute at the same time EVERYone (readers) knows whos daughter she is...she is jacens kid through and through. just picturing her in my mind walking up the the assassin with a determined look on her face is awesome. i love lumiya she is sinister in her own right and selfless at the same time. i dont know if she is dead or not. its hard to say but i sincerely hope not. (i was also a fan of vergere and her ideals) alema rar pissed me off for a long time ...she is officially redeemed in this book. well written and the tension between her and jacen is palpable near the end of the book. Ben/jacen this is such a great pairing of characters its ridiculous. people have stated that ben is stupid and blindly fanatical about jacen in this book. he has always been defensive of jacen and seeing as how some time haspast between bloodlines and tempest it is simple to see he has had more time with jacen and jacen has taken advantage of that by manipulating ben to become a more reasonable candidate for his apprentice. its clear to see ben has been in a way brainwashed by jacen...though a bit over the top in some places i can understand (i hope im not mistaken) why the author has decided to portray him like this. lastly the one thing that irked me most is i did not see jacen fall more to the dark side at all. at the end of each book so far he has done something relatively sinister and memorable...but in this book it seems he takes a sligth step towards the light in the end. then again he is lying big time abouthis involvement with lumiya which can be seen as a bad thing, especially since no one can sense he is lying. (at the same time he did fire on his own parents which delighted me to tell the truth but that was shortlived when thenext paragraph had ben entering the MF...haha damnit ben wrong place wrong time...denning coulda wiped out all mt least favorite characters in a sing motion!) anyways im done...MR. Denning thank you for the read
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CTFAN Registered: Nov '06	Date Posted: 11/29/06 2:49pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: TEMPEST (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 11/29/06 2:51pm (1 edits total) Edited By: CTFAN
	I give it a 7/10 it would get a 10 but there are to many things wrong with it. Well let's start off with the good Leia and Han Solo I mean it was a perfect rendition of at least how I see them acting. In the last two books though they were good they seem to be doing nothing but reminding themselves of how old they are and living in self pity. I love the part of how Zekk and Jaina FINALLY resolved the issue personally the dude just needed to back off a little anyone could have told him that. The fight witht the robots was good but I don't understand why they just don't rip the circuits from the inside or burn them out or something like that. The robots aren't sentient beings and it's not hard for someone like Jaina whose suppose to be great at mechanics to do that. Jag Fel seemed really awesome and Frankly the Solo's should feel guilty especially Jaina for what they did. Jacen's fall to the dark side is so evident and well done I like the way he does it but I can't see why some are so quick to defend him I mean the stuff he does screams dark side to me and it should to everyone else I think. The fact that he is going dark because of the opposite reasons that his grandfather make it an ironic twist since he is using his grandfather as a model to what not to become. Of course the fact that he was cutting off the persons air supply reminded me of the scene on the star destroyer with Darth Vader doing the same thing. Okay now on to what I really didn't like Ben's perfomance I mean at the end of bloodlines I thought he was coming around to good but everything he did I mean everything just made the kid look stupider and stupider. I mean come on trying to arrest someone while you are outmanned, outgunned, and outskilled while being shot at just seems really stupid to stupid for someone who is suppose to be so smart. The fact that Mara keeps putting family before everything gets me really irritated I mean come on Lady your husband is the grand master and Jacen's uncle so it's not like he wants to admit Jacen is evil but all she has done is defend Jacen over and over and over because he brought her son to accept the force I mean a real parent wouldn't care about that just as long as the kid was happy. The last thing I am going to comment on is the lightsaber fight I can't believe Luke got so injured and won because of he got lucky with a blaster I mean come on he is suppose to be the best of the best yet he gets almost killed by one sith lord.
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