Lit Books LOTF - First Time Read Thread - No spoilers post-Invincible

man, I'm only 100 pages into Revelation....idk what it is but this book does not read/flow well/fast at all....I don't remember her other 2 books being this draggy........

 

Those long interludes on Mandalore didn't bore me when I was 18 and they still interest me now. Though Traviss's tight first-person POV really results in a really bland story. No vivid descriptions, no grand pictures painted by words. Just dull, dry conversations.

 

I just finished my FOTJ reread. Aside from a horrid scene, what i found to be disappointing writing from Christie Golden, and a large focus on Luke’s past love life (moreso than in LOTF), I found the overall subseries’ plot and story better and more interesting than LOTF

 

Spoiler

You know in the whole beyond shadows realm I would much wanted to see Lumiya or Shira Brie given she was one of Luke's old love interests and was of course Jacen's Sith master. It was a massive wasted oppurtunity for her to not be in the beyond shadows. Same with Vergere(though that would have just given Denning more of a chance to ruin her character but still).

There were lots of characters our heroes in FOTJ could have interacted with through the means of accessing the realm of Beyond Shadows. And they only had Jacen, Anakin, and Mara with a few other people.

Spoiler

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then I'm doubly bored, bc I can't stand the Mandalore stuff so far, maybe with Jaina there it'll be better....

 

While it at least ties the Fett subplot back into the larger subplot, I still don't like that Jaina went there to train. She's an experienced Jedi Knight (and war veteran and pilot), I don't really see her as needing more training. Jacen is probably a lot more powerful than her, but not like she's the only Jedi around, even aside from Luke.

Revelation was a pretty boring book. Despite being the eighth book out of nine, I don't remember much of a sense of urgency, but then LotF was always pretty disjointed. At least you're almost at the end point. Though really, it would have been better to just go straight from TUF to the Legacy comics. They're not perfect, but they're still leagues way than LotF (or FotJ) could ever hope to be.

 

Man, is Travis even trying in this book?

On page 107, Niathal asks Jacen how he's gonna get the Moffs/Imperial Remnant to join the GA - he says offer them Bilbringi and Borleas

here's the thing....they've already had the discussion on page 29 where he told her the EXACT SAME THING!!!! so what's the point of her even asking the question and him giving the same answer?

omg, what terrible writing!!! how does this make it past editing??? how does the writer forget it themselves???

EDIT: she even asks who he's sending in both discussions and he says Tahiri both times....

 

how am I ever gonna get through this book....I'm up to page 144.....and like I said earlier, I knew Pellaeon would have the Empire join.....and while I actually do get his reasons that he gives, they are just so at opposite with everything presented up to that point from all his talk to others and even within his own thoughts right until he says he thinks they should take Jacen up on his offer, it just comes out of nowhere and is absolutely just comes off like..wtf in the moment.....

also and this has been a Traviss issue in all books, she writes so disjointedly...scenes just transition out of nowhere with the end of one sentence and the beginning of a new one with no paragraph break or new location heading.....it just doesn't flow to me at all...I'm like, oh, wait how'd u get from last sentence to this one???

 

so Caedus actually takes time to think about if he wants a nameplate on his door that says Darth Caedus.........shoot me now.....shoot me now.....I def. see Palps and Vader taking the time to think about stuff like this, jk

and just more of repeating exact things from earlier in the book.....Jacen's thoughts on how he feels about Niathal this time.....talk about word padding......

 

*hugs*
While the subseries doesn't consist of the worst books in the Legends part of the Saga, it's not the best to slog through. I promise it ends fairly well

 

okay, I knew Daala had to reappear bc I'd already knew she becomes COS (somehow??) but she's totally painted as too "awesome" in this book...she was an out of the loop Imperial back in the day, who tried to fight the NR after being shocked to find out Palps/Tarkin were dead and failed at said fight, and disappeared again for ages....why would Pellaeon be so enthralled with her??? I don't remember her standing out at all before, I seem to remember she was a little crazy and deranged something I certainly don't think Pellaeon would like at this point in time.....

 

Pellaeon and Daala were basically comrades in the last days of the galactic civil war. They bonded(for lack of a better term) over a shared desire to see the empire survive. Daala was the crazy one with dreams of grandeur than that fell apart and Pellaeon was the realist.

Daala realized she wasn't fit to lead the IR and so handed the reigns to Pellaeon(IIRC).

 

exactly, so that's why I personally find it odd that he's so enamored with her at this point...it reads like he is absolutely enthralled with her abilities and her past should not instill that in him...I have plenty of friends that I have bonded with but I know aren't good choices for certain things or that I'm enamored with

EDIT: on a diff note, I know this seems unending but this book just doesn't let up....

p.230......"Shab." Bevin looked angry now......"....Go on. We'll sorta Sintas out. Go."
"Goran, stay with her, will you?"
It was obvious Bevin would rather have gone on the mission. "Okay..."

1) First line is Bevin, Second is Fett, Third is Bevin again
2) Goran is Bevin
3) These 3 lines are in direct succession of each other
4) So Bevin says he'll stay with Sintas. Fett then asks him to stay with Sintas. Then, Bevin indicates he would like to go instead of staying with Sintas.

What the heck????? Brain bleeding!!!!

 

I can feel your pain Sam.

Do keep going, will you? This is bleakly hilarious.

 

haha don't worry I will....it's almost cathartic getting it out

 

I know this will be little comfort, but at least this will be her last main Star Wars book (though there was probably an Imperial Commando book after this, but that was more of her typical stuff, so no point reading that). Not that FotJ is an improvement, even with her absence, but still.

Despite being the eighth book of a nine book series, sure doesn't seem like its near the conclusion, doesn't it? And brace yourself, the Daala stuff gets even worse later on. Of all characters to dig up, they had to bring her back. And meanwhile poor Nelani Dinn might as well have never have existed at this point.

 

agreed, I hated her the first time, absolute crap admiral that screwed everything up she touched.....and poor Nelani, sacrificed at the altar of Jacen Solo going dark in a stupid moment......

 

Revelation really does feel like a book that got pushed out before the editors had a sufficient chance to look at it.

 

Legacy of the Force feels like a series that got pushed out before the editors (and people with good taste) had a sufficient chance to look at it.

Well, there were a few good ideas buried here and there, but I doubt more editing would have helped. I still think of LotF as an exaggeration of the worst parts of the NJO (government corruption, stalling, gore) while downplaying the better parts (wide cast of characters, including some non-Jedi, developed antagonists, relatively better pacing).

And then FotJ's editing was even worse, with typos here and there, as well as even worse ideas.

 

The fundamental premise of LOTF was fine to me-a Sky solo(not even necessarily Jacen) going dark or at least a dark path, a second galactic civil war, philosophy, political intrigues and machinations, fleet battles, etc...

It's just that LOTF badly bungled this potentially very good idea or series of ideas.

 

up to page 300...Pellaeon just got killed.....thoughts on this Battle of Fondor

1) really?? Luke once again doesn't just take out Jacen when he could, and I get the idea of not wanting to, but once again, look at the cost of not doing that......this seems like a recycled concept all the way from NJO for Luke up til now once again.....
2) Jacen's new OP power where he can just make the entire GA military go battle crazy???? well then, there's that, but where did it come from, just outta nowhere??.....I'm with Pellaeon, who can stop that?
3) so that's how Pellaeon goes out, and it's Tahiri who does it just like that....that's just crappy man, just so crappy for an awesome Imperial that was relatable instead of being a typical bad guy....just such a let down of a scene
4) Tahiri, yea she can die ASAP, wow what a way to just ruin a character...no characterization now except "I miss Anakin" and "Jacen's way is the right way" even though it's obvious it isn't, I mean at least with Ben, he hid/justified the more nefarious things, Tahiri knows it all and is still all in

 

I though Pellaeons death would have been great.... had the imperials actually listened to him.

Like his last command goes out over all Remnant frequencies and the IR fleet just starts opening up on Jacens forces. That would have been great. Alas, we can't have nice things.

 

I think the deal with Tahiri is she really didn't have any real direction in her life after Anakin died. She was left a Jedi knight but without her lover(who she would have undoubtedly married if he had lived).

Jacen offered her something she knew was ultimately illusory but she felt she needed the illusion.

 

Tahiri is a strong character, and shouldn't be defined by her relationship to a man. Especially one who died 10 years earlier when they were teenagers.