Explanation of Dark Nest Trilogy- For a... Dummy (spoilers welcome)

Don't worry people- I'm the dummy but I hope there's others who don't get the Dark Nest trilogy books at all too. I'm not particularly fond of them either, but unfortunately I need to understand them for beta'ing a fic on them. Thoughts welcome on why Jacen's acting like an idiot, Ben's scared of the Force, Luke's losing his authority and how Denning got this heap of poodoo published in the first place! Surely someone must've said soemthing about the obvious flaws of which there are many... e.g. those stupid flashback moments from R2.

Even if you just want to whine- join in!
D'moon_90 xXx

P.S. Soz for any typos

 

I rather enjoyed the Dark Nest trilogy myself, but I'll indluge you...

Well, Ben is afraid of the force because of the bad vibes he got from it during the Vong war... and Jacen is acting like an idiot because he has a daughter now that he wants to protect, and he actually listened to what Vergere said... and spent years meditating with other "Force cults" learning of their ways... so this hodge-podge of teachings kinda gelled into some psycho notions that he's running with to protect his kid... As for R2's flashbacks, I was pleased with them... Luke had to figure out what happened eventually, and now R2 never having his memory erased is proving useful

 

Jacen is an idiot, no acting included. Ben is scared of the force because people who aren't force users make smarter decisions. Luke is losing his authority because he didn't do anything during most of the NJO. Troy Denning got to write that stuff because he does Han, Luke and Leia well according to most of the fanbase (myself excluded) and nobody seems to care about the other characters anymore because they are written different from book to book most of the time - except for Jacen who is an idiot.

 

None of the "fact" checkers on the book consulted a C-Level Middle School student to grasp the concept of "Species" v. "Genus".

As a result, we are asked to accept the term Killik to encompass every thing from tiny little healer critters up to school bus sized behemoths...under the term "Killik". Whoooooooppppssss... Psssst, to expand...there is no way in hell (Star Warswise or Real Worldwise) that evolution can alter the alleged Oroboro Killik that much in 10,000 to 25,000 years. In short, you have a bunch or insect species...end of story. Of course,it seems that you can be called a Killik if you are from Unknown space. The insect breeds in Known Space are certified Joiners...

Then we have the whole thing of taking a collective being and tacking an "s" on the end (read: Killik(s) ) to suggest the plural. By the way, I almost hit a bunch of deers in my car the other night .

Sloppy and inconsistent Mr. Denning...

 

You can say "cat" and it can be tabby, calico, siamese, lion, or tiger... complaining about the word "Killik" is just being nit-picky. Do you really want to know each and every kind of bug there is? Its a trilogy, and I think the Killik are done for anyway... You don't like it? Write your own darn book.

 

Here's all you need to know:

Jacen = crazy

Luke = easy to manipulate crazy

Ben = well on his way to being crazy if he keeps hanging around Jacen. he's just a kid! Did Denning really need to give him a complex so early in life?

Killiks = Borg

 

That might seem a bit redundant there sport...

 

Have you read the books? Or are you just trying to get others opinions of the series? Just wondering.

 

There is the possibility that some of the apparent mischaracterisation of the main characters may actually be more sneaky and deliberate than it appears at first glance

In particular, one poster (whose post i can't find despite rigourous minutes of search) a while back put up a quote from BFC regarding Akanah's feelings towards mental manipulation ; essentially, it's as bad in Fallanassi eyes as physical violence. Which means, in-universe, that Jacen didn't learn it from her like he claims to Luke and Luke should be well aware of this.

A cynical reader might suggest that Denning didn't research the Fallanassi very well, and while it's possible that this is true, there are other hints that indicate otherwise ; note Luke and Mara's reactions to Jacen 'mind rubbing' first their own son and then Luke himself. Then ponder the fact that Jacen was able to influence Luke. Jacen is the only one they trust with their son's training, yet they easily accept his slightly flawed and fictitious reasoning for altering the boy's memories. Consider the possibility that Jacen has been nudging both of them to trust him, even beyond reason.

Also note that Luke only tells Jacen where to shove the Potentium logic after Jacen has helped him remaster himself. Is it possible that Luke needed to regain his mastery in part because Jacen had been tampering with his mind ? Remember, Luke has been the Master for decades, he was the calmest guy in the galaxy. Suddenly, he's prone to emotional outbursts of anger, fear and self-doubt. Way back at the start of HoT, Luke began to suspect that the Dark Side could still claim him and he wasn't free of those doubts until after a chat with Mara, who essentially claimed that he'd been repressing the implications of his own Dark Side experience. Luke may have become more susceptible to darker impulses because Jacen has been repressing Luke's concerns regarding the Potentium logic and Jacen's beliefs, unsettling him on a deep level, perhaps even the unconscious that Denning highlighted in this trilogy.

Denning is heavily involved in the LotF series. The first book of that series is called Betrayal. In a purely speculative manner, it's possible that the betrayal referred to in that title has already occurred, in the Dark Nest trilogy and Luke may discover exactly what Jacen has been up to. Also note the similarity to the title of a certain NJO book. Jacen may have told Luke that he learned the 'mind rub' from the Fallanassi because they are the one group of Force-users outside of the Sith that Luke gets along the worst with, hence the least likely for him to compare notes with and discover the real truth ; that Jacen learnt it from Vergere !

As for Jaina, i think the whole point (in this trilogy anyway) of portraying her character so unsympathetically is to get the readers a taste of how messed up she really has become. Whilst this has alienated a lot of posters, i think it will make her recovery process in LotF (if she does recover) a lot more interesting if we see it from her POV.

 

I know it's a bit late... but thanks for all your replies. Even the one who asked me if I'd read the books. Yes I have read the books, and no I didn't enjoy them.

End of thread then, May the Force be with you.
Darkmoon_90 xXx

 

Same for me. Looks like TD is the end of EU as we know it.

 

the sad thing is that I think Star By Star was one of the most action packed and well written of the NJO. That, Traitor, Vector Prime and Unifying Force kept me the most riveted to the books since the Thrawn Trilogy, wanting to read more and find out where the heck things were going. I don't see how he went from Great NJO book to mediocre TSW. But I guess the NJO changed everything and everybody...

 

and nobody seems to care about the other characters anymore because they are written different from book to book most of the time - except for Jacen who is an idiot.

Truer words were never typed.