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Author Topic: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
Darth_Monopoly 
Registered: Jun '06
41719_Zekk
Date Posted: 2/28 7:34am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
This is definitely one of the better Star Wars books I have read in a long time. Pellaeon has been one of my favorite Star Wars characters since he was first introduced all those years ago, and his portrayal in this book is perfect. As much as I hated him dying, I have to admit that I couldn't think of a better way. Speaking of his death, I also like the way Tahiri is progressing through the series. I do not like the fact that she is turning evil, but I think she is being written very well. I especially liked the point where she admitted to Caedus that she couldn't live in the past, mainly because I don't like the whole "flow-walking to be with Anakin" aspect of her reasoning to follow Caedus. Her reasoning of preventing a future crisis that could cause a tragedy such as Anakin dying really felt sincere.

I also really enjoyed the parts with Admiral Daala. Her showing up at the battle of Fondor with a "superweapon" really brought me back to 10+ years ago when I would sit in my 2nd grade class and secretly read the Jedi Academy trilogy. The superweapon part made it even almost feel as if KJA was writing the part, and thats a good thing.

As far as the Mandalorians go, I don't have a problem with them. Yes, they take up a big part of the book, but Traviss can write them so well that it doesn't matter. Boba Fett has always been one of my favorite characters, and I really liked him in this book. I especially liked the parts of him remembering how dangerous the thrashes of one who has just been thawed from carbonite can be.

Which leads me to Jaina. After who knows how long, she finally gets to come out into the spotlight. For all those who say that Traviss just wants to make the Mandos look better than the Jedi, Beviin admits when he first fights her that she would be able to defeat her in a week. Her discussion with Mirta at the end was a really nice touch too. I can't wait until Invincible to see how her encounter with Caedus turns out.

And then there's Jusik. He was probably my favorite character in the Republic Commando series, and its nice to see him again. I also like the fact that he is able to teach Jaina some stuff as well. His whole speach about the strill that had to be killed was just perfect.

I could just go on and on about how good this book was. Shevu, Ben, Niathal, and the list just goes on and on with characters who were spot on. There were a few continuity issues, but they didn't really make a difference for me. Plus, the book was pretty long, which is a good change from the previous few.

All in all, a 9.5/10, simply because I don't believe in a perfect score.

 

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Ultima_1 
Registered: May '01
43759_X-Wing & TIE Fighter
Date Posted: 2/28 9:44am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
I'm going with an 8.

It was a fun read, but some things about it just didn't seem right to me.

 

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Legacy of the Force: Endgame
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ARC-77 
Registered: Mar '06
7744_Kyle Katarn
Date Posted: 2/28 10:17am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
I'd say an 8, too. It was a solid read, but a few things were just naggingly annoying. The use of so many random references to Naboo comes to mind. I don't know if this was just me, but it seemed like there were a ridiculous amount of semicolons, almost one every other page. That was just distracting, not really sure why.

 

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Havac 
Title: Lit Mod of War
 Registered: Sep '05
46257_The Dark Knight - Joker
Date Posted: 2/28 10:51am Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
Average score: 134.3/17 = 7.90

 

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dark_jedi666 
Registered: Feb '02
46079_Darth Plagueis
Date Posted: 2/28 12:55pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
THis book is really hard for me to rate. I enjoyed reading the book a lot. I read it quickly in 2 nights. If this was a stand alone novel I would probably rate it at least an 8 maybe an 8.5. But Revelation is the 8th book of the Legacy of the Force series, and the aspects of the novel I did not like all had a major impact on the rest of the series.


The Good:

- Focus on the young characters. I really enjoyed that this novel put the focus on Jaina, Ben, Darth Caedus and Tahiri. While I love the big 3, I feel it is time for them to be put in a supporting character roles. I think it is time to let other heroes shine.

- Ben Skywalker. This is the first novel that I actually started to like Ben. Up and till now he was the whiny, I need to get my own way, I can do what I want teenager. In this novel he grew up. I felt for him as he searched to prove how is mom died. THe scene where he sees his mother's force ghost is the most emotionally powered scene in the book.

- Pellaeon. Even though I do not like how he was killed, which I will get to later. It was great to see that even as a 92 year old, he still was one of the best leader's the galaxy has ever had. Reading his parts where you see his thoughts on Jacen, Niathal and the GA is a fun experience.

The Bad:

- The reveal. Right here is the reason this novel loses points with me. The BIG reveal is a major letdown. I just dont see the emotion that I know would have been there. The Skywalker/Solo clan know that Jacen is evil. But, even they couldnt bring themselves to believe he killed Mara. When they find out that he does from his own lips, I think there should have been more of a reaction shown. Plus, the way the rveal happens sort of feels like a bad episode of CSI: Endor.

- I'm a Sith Lord. How many people does Caedus tell he is a Sith Lord too? The way he comes out and says it is so matter of fact, it borders on silly. Imagine Palpatine sitting in a room with a Imperial Police officer and going "By the way I am a Sith Lord, known as Darth Sidious." It just doesnt seem real. I knew Caedus wanted it to come out, but there has to be a better way than him just admitting it, to minor characters. I wouldn't even mind if he admitted it to Luke, Jaina or his parents, but Shevu and Niathal?

- Tahiri. Can we say DEAD? I cant see how she is going to live past Invincible, because even if they redeem Jacen, I think she is going to die. Plus, when Jacen says she is his new apprentice, she just automatically calls him my lord? It seems to me they just needed to give Caedus an apprentice and she was the easiest one.

- Mandalorians. This has been an issue with all of Ms. Traviss' LOTF books. The Mandalorian plot just doesnt fit. When I read her novels it is almost like reading two separate stories in one. You have the LOTF story, and then her "Republic Commando 5 (Mandalorians) story. This novel is the same way except they let Jaina get trained by Boba Fett. But it just feels like they threw her there to give the Mandalorians a reason to be involved, and to have Jaina feel jealous of the Mandalorians.

I enjoyed reading the book from beginning to end. But the bad parts, really hurt the story in my opinion. I would like to give this a higher rating, but I feel it only deserves a 7/10.

 

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iolo_the_bard 
Registered: Jun '05
Date Posted: 2/28 2:48pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
Rating - 6.9/10

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The wrap-up of the Mando-centric portions of the storyline was handled nicely, and I'm very glad that Traviss left the door open for some real Mando involvement in Invincible, whereas up to this point the only involvement was a box that was shipped across between books. Daala's reintroduction was nice, but I was slightly disbelieving of the super weapons that were explained away as being old ideas from the Maw Installation.

I enjoyed Caedus' depiction in this book. I really believed that he was a Sith Lord on the very edge of madness; still sane, but teetering just a bit. The continued reactions of the crew of the Anakin Solo to the murder of Tebut was very believable. It was nice to see how the every-man of the GA fleet reacted when their golden boy commander revealed himself to be a bit less spotless than they had believed. I also like his revelations of being a Sith. I found it to be a nice contrast to Palpatine. Caedus was open about being a Sith, whereas Palpatine played it off as disfigurements and innate intelligence. Shevu's role as a double agent was wonderful, as was the plot point of him having to ship his new wife off to hiding, but Niathal seemed a bit too eager to please Luke, much more of a yes-fish than I would've imagined her to be.

I enjoyed following Ben as her gathered evidence against Caedus, but I felt that it was a bit overdue. If Ben was going to make a case, it should've been done in Inferno, or at the latest, Fury. Leaving it this long made it feel like it was something that came together a bit too easily. Months-old evidence should not have been as easy to gather and organize.

The return of Gilad Pellaeon was long overdue, but his characterization was very nice. However, I felt his death was handled improperly. He should have gone done in command of his ship, and at least in a combat action, if not a full blaze of glory. Having him shot in his office felt almost like a disgrace to the character.

The major sticking point for me on this book was what seemed to be an abundance of filler, especially toward the beginning of the novel. The first 2/3rds of the book felt stuffed with details of fleet movements and specific details on various plants, animals, and Imperial ceremonies. I enjoyed having lots of vivid descriptions, but there were times when I just wanted to get back to the story and find out what was going on with the main characters.

In short, it was an enjoyable read with a few problems. A good book, and a good step-off point for Invincible.

 
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W1slicer 
Registered: Feb '08
Date Posted: 2/28 3:14pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
Overall Rating: 3.3/10

Comments: Some are are going to look at this negative rating and assume I started out with a negative outlook, in my defense, I'd like to say that I really enjoyed the novel overall, it was highly entertaining. At the same time, I feel that many of the negative points are destructive to the potential of the series as a whole. So far I've been disappointed with many of the turns, and I only hope Mr. Denning redeems the series in the final chapter, but as many have already said, the differing viewpoints of the authors seems to have forced numerous compromises that have brought the series down as a whole. Maybe with luck, it won't turn out as bad as we fear, I'm trying to reserve final judgment until the final book hits shelves and the authors get a final chance to tie up loose ends.

The Good

Overview of the Good:

There are actually a few good points in this latest addition to the series. I was pleasantly surprised having had mixed feelings over Travis' last two books Bloodlines and Sacrifice. I'm going to try and separate my viewpoints into two clear categories though so everything doesn't run together.

Mando Conclusion: Finally a conclusion to the dreaded Boba Fett side stories, in the previous novels, I like many was having trouble seeing a real point towards there inclusion in the series, but I do feel that this is finally tied up and pointed out here in Revelation. My feeling here is that the most relative pieces dealt with a comparison between the tragedies of the Fett and Skywalker-Solo families. There was also some meaningful dialog between Jaina and Mirta that pointed to what would probably be the most accommodating conclusion in the series, redemption. All of this does seem to make all the previous Mando-Fett back story useful.
Value: 6/10

Return of the Empire: Excellent addition to the story and handled relatively well. Might have been better to see the Moffs officially consolidate under Jacen instead of just siding with him for their own personal ends. Daala was a welcome addition as well, but her strength here seems illogical compared with what's known of her history. Some strong plot hints for the return of the Imperials to power with or without Jacen.
Value: 7/10

The Bad

Overview of the Bad:

While this was a decent novel, I have to say the dialog was poorly written, there are numerous inconsistencies and breaks with logic, and Travis once again puts most of the story on the Mandos instead of focusing on the primary story.

Mando Content: Most of the Mando story feels like it should really be in it's own separate series of books, it's only very loosely tied to the primary plot, and we see almost none of the actual lessons Jaina was supposed to be learning in order to prepare her for fighting Jacen, which already seems like a flawed idea. Some of it is entertaining, but there is far too much that breaks with the history of the Mandalorians and especially Boba Fett.
Value: 3/10

Revelations: Characters started calling Jacen a Sith from the start, this all seems really unreasonable since the only reason for this was Jacen's brief association with Luminya which never was presented as fact to the other characters, only as a suspicion. Frankly I found all of this very irritating, and the conversations where Jacen admitted to being a Sith were idiotic going against everything that characterizes a Sith and Jacen in general.
Value: 1/10

Ben's Investigation: Am I the only one that finds the idea of a teenager, and a pretty young one at that, going off on his own, forming complex investigations and opinions a little odd? At a few points, Ben seems to have all the respect and authority that a very experienced adult might have in those same situations. I think Travis is being pretty unrealistic here, she must not know many teenagers. Granted he's been through many experiences most teenagers have not, but his experiences are probably not going to be lifting him to an authority level over most adults who have also had similar experiences.
Value: 2/10

Darth Caedus: As strong as Jacen has been presented, he seems to be missing a number of things that he shouldn't in many of his situations. It seems if Travis has intentionally downplayed his abilities, intelligence, and sanity. It's a huge disappointment for any long time follower of Jacen through the EU.
1/10

 
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iolo_the_bard 
Registered: Jun '05
Date Posted: 2/28 3:21pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
W1slicer posted:
At a few points, Ben seems to have all the respect and authority that a very experienced adult might have in those same situations. I think Travis is being pretty unrealistic here, she must not know many teenagers. Granted he's been through many experiences most teenagers have not, but his experiences are probably not going to be lifting him to an authority level over most adults who have also had similar experiences.


Not to be mean or anything, but Ben is the son of one of the most powerful men in the Galaxy. Having the surname of Skywalker probably makes most customs officials and road-side cops in the GFFA be willing to give a kid a bit more respect and leeway than other people of the same age. Also, Ben was a respected officer in the GAG for quite awhile and despite his rather dishonorable discharge, any supporters of Caedus' regime would probably account him a bit more authority than the average teenager would get.

Just my two cents.

 
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Sniper_Wolf 
Registered: Nov '02
46261_The Dark Knight - Joker
Date Posted: 2/28 5:31pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
Apparently my habit of posting long reviews has caught on. I think some colors need to be awarded. praying

 

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Havac 
Title: Lit Mod of War
 Registered: Sep '05
46257_The Dark Knight - Joker
Date Posted: 2/28 5:49pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
Average score: 151.5/20 = 7.58

 

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"Reality doesn't care if you believe it." - Boba Fett
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King_of_Red_Lions 
Registered: Mar '03
41081_KDY Insignia
Date Posted: 2/28 7:38pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
BaneOfTheSith posted:
Havac posted:
AdmiralNick22 posted:
Gilad Pellaeon. He simply rocked. RIP, old soldier. Ackbar is waiting for you in heaven.

It's a trap!


i can see them playing chess against each other (although i don't really know what serves for chess in SW).

cry i got something in my eye....


dejarik, I think.

 

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The_Loyal_Imperial 
Title: YAHTZEE Host
Forum Feud Winner
 Registered: Nov '07
46201_TFN Turns "10"
Date Posted: 2/29 5:01pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 2/29 5:05pm (1 edits total) Edited By: The_Loyal_Imperial
Just finished the book. I'll say one thing in advance, I found it to be a rollercoaster of moments of pure brilliance and complete and utter mediocrity.

The Good

Caedus - If there's one good thing about Traviss writing LotF, it's her portrayal of Caedus. Only in Bloodlines, Sacrifice, and now Revelation is he portrayed to be an intelligent, cunning, mentally unbalanced and yet still strategically skilled war leader, rather than an insane and bloodthirsty maniac.

Niathal - Niathal's portrayal in the book was quite welcome. She realizes the part she had to play in letting Jacen get where he is, and yet you can still get the feeling that she desperately wants to set things right as best she can. There's rarely a non-Solo/Skywalker character who's both well-developed and interesting, but I'd say she's one of them.

Ben - Ben's investigation of Mara's death finally comes to a close with him finding firm proof of Jacen's hand in it. I think he's progressed rather well from the start of the series, and I've actually developed an interest in how he'll turn out.

Fondor - There is little that can be said for the battle except that it was one of the best-played in recent memory. I can't remember the last time we actually had a real, strategic, non-organic, ship-to-ship fleet battle in a Star Wars book.

The Bad

The Mandalorians - Two good things can be said for the Mandalorians. One, at least with Jaina around they did feel as if they had some sort of connection to the main plot. Two, they seem to have imparted a distinctly Imperial philosophy upon Jaina, which I'm rather pleased with. Apart from that, they spent the book showing off their fighting skills at beating up Jedi, building superpowered starfighters, capturing a Star Destroyer, and generally being portrayed as superior to everyone else. Their letting Caedus live doesn't quite sit well with me either.

The Ugly

The Remnant - Sadly, it seems that the author's grasp of the status and workings of the Remnant is dubious at best and nonexistant at worst. There are numerous self-contradictions in the book, referring to the Remnant as small and later having multiple Grand Moffs and a rather large number of Moffs. The mention of a "first female Moff" with Moff Crowal having existed as far back as the NJO was an annoyance, even if meant to be taken as a joke. Adding to that, the only returning Moff was Sarreti, who's retired.

The man was supposed to be young in the NJO, how is he retired now? Quille was a missed link to the past, he could have been Moff Quillan, but sadly either a different route was chosen or the name was incorrect. There's also the weekly Moff meetings and Pellaeon being the Head of State which are a headache to work out with his being GADF Supreme Commander. The concept that they don't carry out meetings through the holonet when we've seen them attending that way before seemed poorly researched as well.

Naboo - There are more than ten planets in the galaxy, no need to have Naboo-this and Naboo-that. At least six mentions of the world in the book, with only one being truly excusable due to the context. There was even a reference to Mustafar, which now seems to have taken Tatooine's place as the planet of choice when using heat-based metaphors.

Weaponry and Armor - How is it that Daala's fleet comes blazing in with an assortment of one-hit kill weaponry that can't be defended against and the Mandalorians have near-invincible armor for both their own persons and their starfighters? It seems like a rather poor excuse for handing them an easy win to me.

In the end, the book was almost equal parts good and ugly, but the balance tips slightly over to the ugly side. Jacen and Niathal save this book from getting a poor rating, but the lack of knowledge on the Remnant, the Naboo references, and the Mandalorian bits really drag the score down.

7/10

 

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Obilieveinme 
Registered: Feb '05
7264_Obi-Wan Kenobi
Date Posted: 2/29 5:32pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
9.75

The book was majestic, human and heartfelt...It has the force with it. My only slight complaint was too long with the mandos at the end...the very ending was brilliant.

The reveal was great and real.

I'm not the biggest Traviss fan but great job.

 

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Havac 
Title: Lit Mod of War
 Registered: Sep '05
46257_The Dark Knight - Joker
Date Posted: 2/29 8:44pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers)
Average score: 168.25/22 = 7.65

 

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DS_Emp_Viper 
Registered: Sep '01
14359_Darth Sidious
Date Posted: 2/29 9:49pm Subject: RE: The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: REVELATION (Spoilers) - Date Edited: 2/29 10:14pm (1 edits total) Edited By: DS_Emp_Viper
I was reading these reviews the other day(I read the book today) and actually got some of my optimism back and was ready to read Revelation when I received it this morning. I of course thought, no one would rate something 8-10 unless it had some good in it. BIG MISTAKE

Of course I probably should of realized that this was a Star Wars forum, and therefore a considerable bias would be present. So here is a warning to those who liked the book; I will be tearing the book apart for the next couple of paragraphs. Analyzing the terrible writing, befuddled plot, wacky characterizations....and contemplating on where this book leaves the LOTF series. I will not be kind to those of you that gave it a high rating simply because this book is equivalent to The Godfather part 3 in the realm of badness.

The Good(short read):


Pelleon's Death - Originally when I had heard of Pelleon's death in the various spoilers that were released I was quite happy, on a personal level I've never liked his character and found him to be quite a coward. But what did surprise me was how well Traviss managed to write the scene of his death, it was a highlight in an overall dreadful book. The way Pelleon realizes that he will indeed die, the surprise at the pain as he's dieing, and the determination by Tahiri to not let the GA fragment was indeed moving. Add a little treachery from the Moffs and you have a good scene.


Jaina's conversation with Gotab -
This was towards the end of the book and I felt that this conversation has been needed for awhile. Someone's needed to slap the jedi in the face and tell them to stop being so selfish. I see this conversation as really a reality check for Jaina, and for once she gets the message.


The Annoying/Terrible/Bad

I had to create 3 categories of bad simply because there were to many mistakes to categorize under just 1 "horrible" monicker.

The Annoying:

Now I'm not sure if Traviss purposely re-uses words to annoy readers, but she certainly accomplished that with her use "caf" and "stang" and the amazing 8+ references to Naboo(I'm not kidding I actually counted). Now it wasen't just that these terms were used more then once, but they were used by different characters. Apparantly, Traviss thought it best that every character utter "Stang" at some time in the book, and that before they do that they get their cup of "caf". And the Naboo references just baffled me. "Niathial had the impression of an ancient maritime battle on Naboo". WHAT???
And then we have the thousand or so references to Mando'ade which made me sadly remember the people with that icon. Then we have the pounding of the term "bloodfin" into our heads so that we know it's going to be important later. Bloodfin capital ship you say? Oh why could Traviss be foreshadowing that this is where Pelleon will die? No way, I think I got that by the first reference.

And did Traviss just recently pick up a Merck's Manual? Because she suddenly decided to throw around osmosis, aneurysm, cardiac arrest, and the femoral artery. Glad your reading up on the human body!

The Terrible

Characterization - So many characters in this book are "Huh? But didn't you just say/think something completely different?"

Jacen Solo for one either has severe schizophrenia or Traviss isn't sure where she wants to take the character. One moment he is calm and collected and then the next in a fit of rage. His thoughts seem to wander randomly and for some reason he no longer cares about Allana. Oh wait didn't he just spend a whole book capturing her? But now he just forgets her and he's alright? Right...And then we have the fact he's wearing his cloak again...didn't it "betray him?" So much for that pesky continuity. It also seems like Traviss is trying to turn him into a PalpaVader, first she bombards us with references to Vader and then has Niathal say that Jacen is a "political games master". Real creative, lets copy and paste half and half.

And even after all that ridiculousness we have the fact that Jacen isn't even a threat. First he is tricked by Luke's force Illusions and then man handled by a bunch of Mandos. Or to quote the book,

"I enjoyed that," he said, all smiles. "No offense jetti but kneecapping your brother made my day, it surely did. If Mand'alor hadn't been such a spoilsport and made me stop, Id have enjoyed putting that bolt in his --"

Ah I am glad that the supposed "Dark Lord of the Sith" has Fett to restrain his men otherwise Jacen would have been dead already via random Mando.

Another thing that bugged me was Jacen's returning admiration for his brother Anakin, the same Anakin he had previously lamented in the previous installment. What is going on here?

Then we have this incredibly inspiring quote that made me half laugh, but mostly sit in saddened amazement.

"If he had been demonstrably, visably incompetent or insane, it would have been easier to dismiss him" -Niathal

I don't know were you have been Niathal, but all of the above have applied to Jacen since these authors got a'grabben.
But about 2/3 of the way through the book Jacen asks a very important question.

"What happened to my intellect?"

The authors Jacen, the authors.

But even all that is forgivable if they could of crafted a intimidating villain...whoops failed again. Jacen's hundredth loss in a row culminates in him escaping to Coruscant and then randomly telling the Story of Mara and Me to Shevu. There were of course more mistakes in regard to Jacen, but I must be moving on as there's plenty of other bad to get to. The bottom line is this, in order for a book and the subsequent book to be entertaining or enthralling you must have a consistant, intimidating villain to lead the show. What these author's have turned Jacen into however is a schizophrenic, incompetent, and impotent bad guy. They had so much to work with and we get this...saddening.

Now that were through with that, let me point out something that also completely irked me; Sintas. Had they killed her off instead of "carbonating" her we wouldn't of had to waste page after page on utter crap(not that the plot seemed to go anywhere). The only thing bringing her back managed to accomplish was make Boba and Mirta a little bit happy on the inside. Well I'm glad taking a timeout from a galactic war was worth someone who was forgotten a long time ago.

Then we have our favorite Fleet Commander Niathal. Who was so sharp and convincing and even slightly intimidating matching wits with Jacen(not like that was hard). Until...Traviss turned her into a whining coward who calls on everyone for help. "Luke will you please help me now that I've randomly decided that I can't handle this anymore."(not a direct quote).

But singling out Niathal and Jacen is not my intention because certainly other characters were perplexing and didn't continue with the same train of thought from Fury to Revelation... or even page to page.


The Bad

Yes I did a kind of sandwiched the "mehs" on the outside and the meat in the middle.

The entrance of Daala was another point that seemed forced and incredibly random. It seemed like she was brought in to merely let the Imperials side with Jacen and for her to help Niathal. A character as a plot device? No the authors would never do that...*cough*Mara*cough*. But then again they managed to destroy that plot device as well, because according to Jacen now, his "love" is what he sacrificed. The same love he said he gave up pre-sacrifice. Whoops, I guess Mara died for nothing.

And I don't know if Traviss is trying to be amusing with her portrayal of Pelleon or what. He comments repeatedly on Daala's ability to make "fantastic escapes" but doesn't point out that those "escapes" were via catastrophic losses. But this is Pelleon were talking about here, an escape in his mind might be close to a victory. So that one is forgivable.

Now I would like to point out the sudden onset of the word "Sith". It seems that Ben Skywalker is infact a psychic and so are several other characters. Amazing. Luckily we had a couple of paragraphs of CSI:Investigation to calm ourselves before Ben proved what the characters probably should of known, or atleast used their psychic abilities to find out.

Last thing I would like to point out before I get to the big finish is the fact that Jaina really didn't learn anything that will help her against Jacen(or shouldn't have learned, I'm sure Jacen will likely slip on some Bas'kar). When Jaina asks Fett what Jacen's weaknesses are he responds, "Same as your's." Which makes absolutely no sense considering the two people that have fought like the Mandos(ie out of control and random) have ended up dead. Why didn't Traviss just ask to do the last book so a Mando could kill Jacen without even looking at him?

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So in conclusion I found this book to be one of the worst pieces of Star Wars Literature I have ever read. The characterizations are spotty and contorted, the continuity is shot in the face, and the plot goes absolutly no where. This is the eighth book of a nine part series and sides are still switching and no actual progress has been made. We now have one book left with only 299 pages(100+ less than this) to conclude this series and I just don't feel it's possible for everything to be tide up in Invincible. The series so far has been Jacen gets defeated than escapes(repeat 3 times) and I have a feeling the only thing that will change in Invincible is the escape part. But as for this book, because of the terrible writing that accompanied this grotesque plot I will give this book an incredibly low 1/10.

 

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And now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
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