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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Fanclub Jacen Solo Fan Club: Forever in the Light

Discussion in 'EU Community' started by -Vergere-, Oct 14, 2001.

  1. Cushing's Admirer

    Cushing's Admirer Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jun 8, 2006
    Is that Allana and her Nexu cub? Does it have a name? (I quit reading at Betrayal so I don't know them).
     
  2. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    It is - and the cub's name is Anji. She's introduced in FOTJ: Omen, and is named in the next book - Abyss.
     
  3. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    I always found Jacen's story fascinating, particularly during the Yuuzhan Vong War and the Second Galactic Civil War. I seem to be in the minority that I bought his story as Darth Caedus. I didn't like what he did, but I've met and read about plenty of people who rationalized their actions like that.
     
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  4. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    The problem with Darth Vader II is, Jacen had no business whatsoever being written into a villain, Denning just had a very flawed interpretation of Traitor.
     
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  5. Revanfan1

    Revanfan1 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2013
    Yeah. On its own, LOTF isn't so bad, but when taken in context with NJO, it's rubbish. Just like how on its own FOTJ is not completely terrible, but if you put it next to NJO and LOFT, it's even worse.
     
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  6. Huttslime

    Huttslime Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 1, 2015
    Maybe I'm in the minority but I thought his change into the darkside was well done, and at least from what I'm reading in the Vong books (I'm about to finish Agents of Chaos Jedi Eclipse/The Swarm Wars pt III), Jacen should've been heavily altered by the war at least from what I've read. Whether or not that translates to the pale imitation of Vader's descent/Denning's at times poor writing seems to be a controversy. He's an intelligent and very powerful and skilled character, and it is sad to see when LoTF did to him at spots, though I absolutely loved the idea of Caedus fighting Luke (and him dying to his weaker/less powerful Jaina) seems a travesty in its own right.
     
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  7. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I imagine Jaina as having just as much "power available" - but having a very different skillset.
     
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  8. Huttslime

    Huttslime Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 1, 2015
    There is a quote from Denning that states that she needed every advantage in order to win, and throughout Invincible she constantly admits being inferior to him in the force.
     
  9. ThePhenakism

    ThePhenakism Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Sep 6, 2013
    I have to say i very much agree that his fall to the dark side was plausible in a sense but i found his death to be unreasonable and just bloody stupid.
     
  10. Huttslime

    Huttslime Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 1, 2015
    I agree it would've been more believable for him to die in a second and final confrontation with his uncle. There was no one really in the NJO who could rival him in skill or power aside from Luke, and it would've just cemented him as one of the most difficult things to do to kill Jacen. Denning's writing left a lot to be desired but when you consider at least the implications of Jacen's actions in killing Mara Jade, isolating his family, and his actions during Mara's funeral and his overall descent; it just makes for great storytelling and closure for if they ever had a second duel. I mean if you consider the fact Luke is fighting a boy who he watched grow, mature in the ways of the force, and one of his best students and he had to kill him- just the thought makes for an easy rival to Anakin's story in the PT.

    They could've done so much with his story but they chose in following the same darn narrative of just another war, and just another Sith vying for political power. He wasn't even that believable as a Sith, he was wayy to nice. But yeah a final fight with Luke would've been a better way than Denning basically out of nowhere implying Jaina could compete with her brother, from all of the boards I post on literally no one believes she is near him as a duelist or in power.
     
  11. ThePhenakism

    ThePhenakism Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Sep 6, 2013
    I can understand how he was a nice sith per say, due to him only doing it because he believed he was saving Allana but i suppose he unconsciously couldn't fully commit himself to be the part. And i found that after his time with the Vong to be/start to be one of the strongest characters so i just in a way find it bizaare that Jaina of all people coincidently gave up on him before that final fight and couldn't stop her light saber or even sense his change before the killing blow.

    But after saying that Jacen Solo was always my most favourite character from the start onwards being the naive, fun loving kid he was and i think that Denning followed the wrong plot line in terms of Jacen Solo dying and not changing himself back to Jacen Solo.
     
  12. ThePhenakism

    ThePhenakism Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Sep 6, 2013
    I can understand how he was a nice sith per say, due to him only doing it because he believed he was saving Allana but i suppose he unconsciously couldn't fully commit himself to be the part. And i found that after his time with the Vong to be/start to be one of the strongest characters so i just in a way find it bizaare that Jaina of all people coincidently gave up on him before that final fight and couldn't stop her light saber or even sense his change before the killing blow.

    But after saying that Jacen Solo was always my most favourite character from the start onwards being the naive, fun loving kid he was and i think that Denning followed the wrong plot line in terms of Jacen Solo dying and not changing himself back to Jacen Solo.
     
  13. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    I think that's what made it so unsatisfying a plot line...he wasn't very good at being 'Sith'. Maybe the whole point was to be the 'bad guy' to give the galaxy someone to rally against and make a better future, as some have suggested, but even THAT wasn't developed particularly well. Uniting by dividing? That doesn't seem like something that the Jacen I read in NJO would do, nor do I believe he 'learned' that on his voyage of self-discovery.
     
  14. Huttslime

    Huttslime Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 1, 2015
    At some point he would've had to have dealt with his scars from the war, the loss of his brother, and acknowledge the divergence of his own personal ethos with that of the Jedi Order. Traitor makes it clear and latter books all of the Jedi from the order notice a massive change in him, and in the Swarm wars even his family knows he possesses an inner darkness. I know Denning couldn't characterize him well enough in the LOTF series, but it would've been more believable if he left the order and at some point came into confrontation with his Uncle. It would've made even less sense for him to stay a Jedi, when he possessed a much broader understanding of the force thanks to his sojourn into different force philosophies/schools of thought, Vergere's teachings, his brutal experiences in the war, and letting the darkside course through him in Traitor.

    Something would give at some point
     
  15. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    Jacen broke during the Yuuzhan Vong War. That's the way I see it. Caedus was who he became after he killed Onimi, he didn't probably deal with his grief over losing Anakin, his visions, his memories of Vergere's training, and his ambitions during his explorations. I liked the LTOF series a lot. I agree with the critiques that some of the books could have been written better, but I don't object to the overall story. The duel between Jaina and Caedus is particularly intense and moving. I cried after reading about Mara's death in 2007.
     
    Iron_lord likes this.
  16. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    The problem is, Jacen didn't break during the Yuuzhan Vong War, that wasn't what Traitor or TUF were about at all.
     
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  17. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Or at least, Stover didn't intend Traitor to be taken that way.
     
  18. Sinrebirth

    Sinrebirth Mod-Emperor of the EUC, Lit, RPF and SWC star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2004
    And authorial intent isn't everything in a multi author pool like Star Wars.

    I oddly enjoyed Jacen's appearances in FotJ. I wish we'd had more, actually.


    Sent from the World
     
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  19. JediJSolo

    JediJSolo Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 11, 2001
    What’s the likelihood that we get to see the sort of Jacen we want in the new movie?

    I understand that’s subjective. Jacen has been portrayed in enough different ways that “the Jacen we want” could easily mean something different for everyone.

    In fact, I’m probably just setting myself up for disappointment by trying to pin down a specific portrayal of the character, when I really should be happy if the character manages to show up in the movies at all.

    Because, as of right now, Jacen Solo doesn’t exist in canon. None of the Solo/Skywalker offspring exist in canon anymore… At least, not yet.

    SW Aftermath comes out in less than 3 weeks, and it’s hard to express how I feel about this new reboot of the post-RotJ SW canon. ‘Anxious’ is probably a good word for it. Excitement, but some anxiety too.

    So maybe I should just skip to my real question…

    What’s up with Jacen and Tenel Ka. Do y’all think they’ll still be a thing?
     
  20. Huttslime

    Huttslime Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 1, 2015
    He kidnapped Allana in LOTF, slaughtered scores of people in catching her, and blackmailed Tenel for more troops iirc. They probably wouldn't be on the best of terms
     
  21. JediJSolo

    JediJSolo Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 11, 2001
    Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but a rather large part of me sees the reboot as a great opportunity to expunge the post-NJO mistakes from Star Wars.

    However, I acknowledge that it's been a full ten years since the Dark Nest Trilogy got started, which is when Jacen's character changed (not the first time, BTW. Remember the radical shift between YJK and NJO). Given that he's been a potential or actual Sith for longer (in real world time) than he was the unlikely hero (somewhere between 4 and 5 years during the publishing time of the NJO)...

    Yeah, the idea that Han and Leia's eldest son turns Sith is far more of a pervasive idea than pretty much anything else about him. So much so, in fact, that plenty of people who've never read any of the books are still aware of Jacen Solo as a Dark Jedi/Sith. Much to my chagrin, because that's not what I like about the character.

    In fact, there are rumors all over the internet about how Kylo Ren is really Jacen Solo. These rumors disturb me. Apart from the fact that no portrayal of Jacen would have him cobble together a half-assed Lightsaber that was so incompetently built that it needed firicken' vents on the side like that. Nor does anything else we've seen about Kylo Ren remind me of Jacen Solo, and yet merely because he's a Dark Jedi in the right time frame, people are assuming that it must be him.

    If you want a Dark Jedi post-RotJ, go with a variant of Kyp Durron. Let Jacen be the bad joke loving philosopher, or maybe the Dr. Dolittle Jedi. But please, if all they can do is make him a Dark Jedi, I'd rather he wasn't in the movies at all.

    Unless they make it awesome... I tried hoping they'd make Dark Jacen awesome when Troy Denning started him down that road ten years ago, and I got burned hard. I just don't trust people to make a Dark Jacen awesome.
     
  22. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012

    You and me both. I think we all will agree that the EU pretty much got painted into a corner with its short-sighted plot development. I'm actually pretty depressed that most people think 'Sith' when they first hear the name 'Jacen'.

    You know, I'm actually hoping Kylo IS Jacen...if for no other reason than I don't think Abrams would let the Solo family just let him destroy himself without trying to 'save' him.

    Like you, I was hoping for an reasoned, awesome, dark Jacen. I kept thinking Jacen would find a way to fix the mess without becoming a megalomaniac. Silly me.
     
  23. Allana_Rey

    Allana_Rey Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I recently just re read Invincible. Forgot how emotional it was.
     
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  24. Revanfan1

    Revanfan1 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2013
    Same. It was definitely Troy's best entry in the series, and he finally actually started writing Caedus as a proper villain. Killing him off IMO was a mistake, but I'm not going to lie, they played off the emotional part very well with that flashback to the NJO when Jaina's wingmate died and Jacen comforted her (however in the actual book, I think it was Anakin who comforted her, but I guess they both could've at different times).
     
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  25. Sinrebirth

    Sinrebirth Mod-Emperor of the EUC, Lit, RPF and SWC star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2004
    I feel like this thread could do with being released from the TFA spoiler ban...

    Anyone interested?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  26. Sinrebirth

    Sinrebirth Mod-Emperor of the EUC, Lit, RPF and SWC star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2004
    I feel like this thread could do with being released from the TFA spoiler ban...

    Anyone interested?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  27. Bardan_Jusik

    Bardan_Jusik Former Manager star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 14, 2009
    That's one heck of a delayed double tap. :p It's my understanding that's its been well over two weeks since the movie was released, so spoilers should be good to go anyway. Or am I mistaken?
     
  28. Allana_Rey

    Allana_Rey Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I thinks its safe.

    For all those Darth Caedus/Jacen Solo fans...how do you feel about Ben Solo/Kylo Ren?

    Sent from my LGL33L using Tapatalk
     
  29. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I don't like Darth Vader II, so why would I like LFL taking one of the worst elements of the post-NJO and using it.