Lit Join Me and Achieve Perfection: A Reread of The Glove of Darth Vader

I've taken to reading Kadann with a soft, Inverness-accented voice. It works nicely with the tea-and-biscuits bit.

Why was this no illustrated?

Tut. Have you forgotten Ackbar's chauffeuring turn so soon?

Awful lot of villainous gleefullness going around this chapter.

"It's too delicious not to!"

Maybe we should consider this a subtle forshadowing of his heritage - Ken can't resist tea, Britons can't resist tea, the Imperials are British, and the Imperial Royal Family are the most Imperial, ergo the most British, ergo the most tea-crazed.

Maybe Muzzer finds it. A year later, not only has he survived, he's whipped an army of giant spiders and tentacle shrubs into shape and is set to carve out his own warlord realm.

I thought they were an autonomous collective.

 

Just wanted to say I have been conversing with Paul Davids and he is really excited for the interview I'm doing with him. He wants to really delve deep into the creation and thought-process that went into these books. He will even address the slamming they got by some fans.

 

I'm excited to hear from him, honestly, I'd love to hear some of what went on in that magnificent brain to come up with this series.

 

The end is close, and it seems like we lose all the characters we like before the end. NOO HISSA! A tragedy of the highest level. May he and Trioculus find each other on the other side.

Well this time he didn't somehow end up being the most competent fighter and get praise from Luke. But I don't know how this is any better.

Big ******* cannon, from a more civilized time.

I think I know what's going on here. Ken wants to know his past but the only way to tell Kadann what he knows when Luke is in the same room is to deliberately drink truth serum.
Why should it matter to him if the Lost City gets destroyed? There are only droids there. Droids who kept him as a prisoner.

And I'm not sure if the High Prophet Jedgar should be considered a great fighter. He defeated Luke but so did a bee.

 

Mushrooms, giant spiders, a big ******* cannon, Luke's glorious incompetence...I swear, this is better than fanfiction.

RIP Hissa, may you and Trioculus be together in eternity.

 

Too bad Ken didn't eat the biscuits.
I feel that if Kadann had asked Chip for all this information in return for introducing Ken to Hissa's planned predicament, then he probably would have succeeded.
As for Hissa, farewell, sweet prince. May a flock of winged (dark) angels carry you to a darker place.

 

Thanks, and my apologies. Normally I try not to indulge myself too much on the swears, but in this case...

It is a funny image. I've made my peace with Luke being worthless dead weight in this series, so I can laugh at it.

It will unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately be quite some time until I get to Crucible. Then again, reading it totally out of context might make it even more wacky.

Brilliant.

I'm looking forward to it. I'll discuss some of my feelings towards the series as a whole once I wrap it up very soon, but for now I'll say that, though I can sometimes come off as malicious, I really do love this series, and greatly enjoy the time I spend reading it. Make sure you let him know that his works have brought a certain perverse level of joy to many fans.

Thanks for all the responses. Computer has been screwy again, but I'm going to see if I can get an update in without it shutting down on me.

 

Technically this is a double post, but it's my thread, I do what I want.

Unfortunately, it won't be my thread for much longer. This is the penultimate chapter of the Jedi Prince series. Don't worry, I plan to save the emotional stuff for the grand finale. For now, all I'll say is that I'm surprised at how much I'll miss this.

Chapter 6: Ken's Destiny

This chapter title fills me with such a rotting sense of dread. Here it is, guys. The entire series has been building up to this. Like waiting in a twelve hour line to Hologram Fun World just to get your face smashed in by the goons of some sleazy Hutt.

The temptation for Ken to give into Kadann's demands is "quickly becoming overwhelming", because self control is for kids who don't murder droids and build Han Solo voodoobots from their remains. But wait! Ken isn't an idiot, you see, it's the tea he drank because he's an idiot. Avabush spice tea is a powerful mind intoxicant that causes extreme subservience, because you can find anything in the GFFA except a seatbelt. Because of the tea, "his judgment and his thinking were not as clear as they ordinarily were". Forgive me for snickering.

"You will tell me the location of the Lost City, Ken," Kadann said, staring at the boy
intensely. Ken slowly felt his hatred of Kadann weakening, melting away.

Under normal circumstances, a description of a bearded dwarf (who happens to be the leader of an insane cult with virtually no limit in power) "staring at a boy intensely" would be a clear sign for me to put the book down and slowly back away.

Ken begins to seriously consider the virtues of telling Kadann what he wants to know. After all, he and Luke will be spared, and Kadann had even promised them a vacation to Hoth. He remembered that Luke and Han had had good times on Hoth, so maybe they could hold out there until the Alliance came to pick them up.

And, because we as an audience are well conditioned to have absolutely zero faith in Ken by this point, we give a collective shrug as he sings like a canary.

Kadann relays his newly acquired information to the navigators, and soon the Scardia Voyager sets down on Yavin IV. Ken then is ordered to lead a party, consisting of Kadann, High Badass Prophet Jedgar, Gornash, an unnamed Imperial officer who is an expert at computers, and a group of stormtroopers while Luke is kept prisoner on the ship. As an enticement for Ken not to try any funny business, Kadann has left orders that Luke is to be executed if anything goes wrong.

The Evil Fellowship (you better believe I'm counting Ken) descend the Tubular Transport, and enter into the marbled streets of the Lost City of the Jedi. Kadann enjoys a feeling of villainous satisfaction, realizing that no one in the universe can now stop him as he walks among the domed houses and caretaker droids of the Lost City. The Fellowship come to Ken's house at 12 South Jedi Lane, and out comes Zeebo, Ken's feathery mooka friend, who (for some reason) jumps into Ken's arms in greeting. This seems to trigger some form of recognition in the silver clad dunce, as he slowly begins to comprehend what he has done.

"Put the animal down," Kadann commanded.

Zeebo suddenly leaped from Ken’s arms and attacked Kadann, snapping and biting at him.
Kadann tossed the mooka to the ground and kicked the alien animal. "Ksssshhhhh," Zeebo
moaned, limping away as a stormtrooper followed after him.

"Leave Zeebo alone!" Ken shouted.

But the stormtrooper pulled out a stun-blaster and fired a stun-beam at Ken’s pet. Zeebo
suddenly became motionless.

"What have you done to him? You monsters!" Ken screamed.

Aww, don't go picking on the single most three dimensional character of the series.

Ken begins to struggle, and two stormtroopers have to drag him through North Jedi Lane. They come to the Jedi Library, the dirty stormtrooper boots leaving horrid scratches and marks on the nice library floor (the nerve!). Ken's eyes find Dee-Jay, who is seated in a corner next to a case of Jedi relics (are his hands tied together? I'm gonna picture his hands tied together).

"Ken? What-Why did you lead them here?" Dee-Jay asked, his ruby-red eyes shining as he
stared at the boy he had dutifully raised. "Why have you led the Empire to the most sacred
place of the Jedi Knights?"

"Well, you see, there was this tea, and I was really thirsty, and things just happened kinda fast..."

Ken’s eyes grew moist as he searched for an answer. "I had to, Dee-Jay! They would have
killed Luke if I had refused."

"Silence" Kadann ordered. Then he turned to the tall, ancient droid. "You knew this day
would come, didn’t you, Dee-Jay?" Kadann said. "You’ve studied all of my prophecies."

Dee-Jay nodded. "Yes, I studied them. But I concluded that your prophecies about the Lost
City of the Jedi had almost no probability of coming true."

Kadann spoke in a faraway-sounding, deep and mystical voice:

"When the jedi Knight
Becomes a captive of Scardia,
Then shall the Jedi Prince
Betray the Lost City."

Kadann then turned to the Imperial intelligence agent. "Activate the computer!"

Kadann really needs some underling who shouts his orders to the rest of the underpaid stooges. ACTIVATE THE COMPUTER!

The screen fills with lifetimes worth of information, and Kadann begins to study various Rebel defenses, including defense schematics for DRAPAC (Defense Research And Planetary Assistance Center) located on Mount Yoda on Dagobah. Again, I'm not even going to attempt to question how the Jedi order had such specific information on a facility that did not exist, serving a political institution that did not exist, on a planet that had at that point in time not even been formally discovered, because it would just send me back to my crying corner.

"Your most protected installations shall soon suffer an Imperial assault-an assault more
powerful and effective than any we have launched against you before," Kadann declared. "It
will mean the end of the Rebel Alliance once and for all-in one fiery explosion!" Then
Kadann turned to Ken. "And now," he said, "it is time for you to learn the true secret of
your parentage."



[/URL][/IMG]

"Now you’ll understand, Ken," Dee-Jay explained, "why all of us droids in this Jedi city
believed you should never be told the truth about who you are until you became a grown
man-old enough to accept the truth." Dee-Jay’s ruby eyes grew dimmer as he fell into
silence.



Kadann turned to Ken. "Though you were born with the blood of a Jedi," he explained, "your
hunch that Obi-Wan Kenobi is your father is quite mistaken. You are no relation of Obi-Wan
Kenobi. You are named Ken after your mother." Kadann glanced at the intelligence agent,
narrowing his eyes to mere slits. "Call up the file on Kendalina."

In a moment, Ken saw the face of a beautiful, dark-haired woman on the computer screen.
"Kendalina was a Jedi Princess who was captured by Imperials," Kadann explained. "She was
forced to pledge allegiance to the Empire, and she was assigned to work for many years as
an Imperial nurse on the planet Kessel, deep in the spice mines."

Anyone want to wager a guess on how a "Jedi Princess" would even be possible under the old order? I suppose it could have been a similar deal as Count Dooku, in that he essentially kept his title on hold until he left the order. Hmm, I wonder then, could Ken's mother have been one of the Lost?

Enough musing, we have Exciting Developments to unveil.

Now the screen showed a picture of the building in the spice mines where Kendalina worked:
The Imperial Insane Asylum of Kessel.

"That’s where she met the man who became your father, Ken," Dee-Jay interrupted. "He was
an Imperial prisoner, considered insane because he said he was a pacifist who believed in
disarmament instead of war. He has three eyes. Two at the front of his head. One at the
back."

"This is your father-" Kadann revealed. Suddenly the screen showed a portrait of Triclops!
Ken felt his heart skip several beats as his throat constricted.

"You inherited many of your mother’s features, Ken," Dee-Jay explained. "You have a
natural talent for the Jedi arts and skills, like she did. You have her brown hair and her
eyes. Fortunately, you didn’t inherit your father’s gene for a third eye, and you weren’t
born a mutant like he was. Now you know that you really do have Jedi blood in your
veins-but you are also descended from the royal blood of the Empire!"

Ken’s arms, limp and drained of all strength, dropped to his sides.

"Behold-your grandfather!" Kadann declared.

On the screen Ken saw the image of Emperor Palpatine, sitting on a throne in the Death
Star, the Emperor’s face looking twisted, tortured, and evil.

"It can’t be true!" Ken exclaimed. "Please, no, it isn’t true!"



Losing control of his emotions, Ken struck the old, metal droid, pounding on Dee-Jay’s
chest and screaming out, "No, no . . ."

Dee-Jay calmly gripped Ken’s wrists, saying sternly, "Be still! Why do you think you were
brought to us, Ken? Because your mother wanted you to have a chance to overcome your
grandfather’s ways of darkness and evil. That’s why we were chosen to raise you," Dee-Jay
explained, "so that, under the guidance and teaching of the caretaker droids of the Lost
City, your Jedi heritage could win out over the Dark Side that is also a part of your
heritage."

"I’ve heard enough from that droid," Kadann declared. "Deactivate him!"

"NOOOOO!" Ken screamed.

But the Imperial intelligence agent opened a panel in Dee-Jay’s back and swiftly
deactivated him, leaving the old droid motionless and silent.

Lots of big no's in this chapter.


Miles above, Luke Skywalker gets his **** together.

The effects of the stun blast begin to wear off, and as he regains feeling in the rest of his body, he begins to feel the Force more clearly. A terrible, gnawing sensation in his gut tells him that something is going horribly wrong down below the surface of Yavin. Another terrible, gnawing sensation tells him that Leia is nearby.

The first step to success, Luke realizes, is in getting the stuncuffs off. Focusing on achieving total harmony with the Force, he begins to mentally pick the lock.

CLIIIICK!

Not wasting a minute, Luke proceeds to mind rape his captors.

"You lazy fools," Luke said to the armed guards. "Where is my tea that I asked for half an
hour ago?"

"What tea?" the stormtrooper in charge asked.

"When Kadann asks for tea, he expects tea!" Luke demanded, using the old Jedi mind trick
that his master Obi-Wan Kenobi had taught him. "Do you think the Supreme Prophet of the
Dark Side likes to be kept waiting?"

"Of course not, Kadann," the stormtrooper apologized. He then turned to a companion. "How
come you haven’t brought Kadann his tea?"

It was working! Luke pushed harder, clouding the minds of every guard in the room and
placing them in a state of extreme mental confusion.

"Never mind, I’ll get it myself," Luke said. "Open the door and stay here."

"Yes, Kadann!" the stormtrooper in charge replied.

As Luke exits the cell, he senses something lying in wait three cells down. At first he thinks he may be being led into a trap, but then decides the presence is benevolent, calming, almost attracting him.

He walks into the cell, and finds a display case with a big sign that reads, "LUKE SKYWALKER'S LIGHTSABER". And, in smaller letters, it reads, "THIS IS THE LIGHTSABER THAT CUT OFF THE RIGHT HAND OF DARTH VADER INSIDE THE IMPERIAL DEATH STAR.

Okay, other than the utterly ridiculous sign (why is there a sign at all? Couldn't they at least have gone all out and painted arrows on the floor?), I actually really love this, for reasons I'll outline in the commentary.

Luke reaches out and calls the lightsaber to him, reflecting that this is just what he did on Hoth. It shatters its glass casing (and the pretty sign), and flies to him in something that is curiously described as a "mysterious magnetic attraction that only Jedi can understand" (that might actually explain a lot about Luke's... conservative... use of the Force in this series. Do the Davidses think he can only move his lightsaber?).

Luke ignites the lightsaber, and exits the room, presumably ready to finally kick some Prophet ass.

Fortunately, he won't have to, because as always, others are going to do it for him. Remember that feeling Luke had indicating Leia's presence? Yeah, turns out she's with a Rebel Rescue Squad. Luke see's the Assault Team through the window, led by Mon Mothma (I'm getting this funny image of Mon Mothma in a battle suit, armed to the teeth), along with Han Solo, Chewbacca, Artoo, Threepio, and Leia. An ion shield is in place, protecting them from the Scardia's weapons. They begin to prep a stolen TNT (those badass flamethrower cannons from all the way back in The Lost City of the Jedi- hooray for internal continuity!), and then proceed to blow a giant hole in the golden ship.

Luke joins the brutal assault, cutting down every stormtrooper in his way. The Prophets are quickly overwhelmed (too bad Jedgar isn't here; he'd show these pesky Rebels what's what).

"Luke, that’s the last time we send you out after macaab mushrooms," Han said, when they
were safely outside the ship. "That was supposed to be a quick and easy trip, remember?"

"How did you find me?" Luke asked, giving his sister Leia a hug.

"A rather simple computation," the familiar voice of See-Threepio chimed in, as the golden
droid came over to greet his master. "Artoo and I freed Chewbacca from the tentacle-bush
after you and Ken were captured. Chewbacca then flew us back from that mushroom planet. We
watched as the Imperial command speeder took you to the Scardia Voyager, and we continued
tracking you all the way to Yavin Four, sending the coordinates on your flight movements
back to SPIN!"

"Groooaaawwwwf!" Chewbacca moaned, congratulating himself on his contribution to their
valiant rescue.

"BdoobzOOOp!" Artoo-Detoo added, popping out from behind the captured Imperial TNT. He
spun his dome back and forth, demonstrating his enthusiasm at seeing Luke.

"Excellent work, Chewie-and you droids did a good job too!" Luke exclaimed. "But our work
isn’t finished yet. Kadann has gone down into the Lost City of the Jedi, and he has Ken
hostage!"

This is threatening to make me cry. Like so many grand finales, it's taking us on a brief tour through the series. Chewbacca with his grooooooaaawls. Artoo with his bdoobz000ff0aop!!1!s. Han with his mushy carebear attitude. Leia with her general presence and nothing else. It's a good group.

Luke leads his friends to the TUBULAR TRANSPORT, but the controls don't respond.

"At this rate, we’ll never get down there to rescue Ken," Han Solo said.

"I have an idea!" Luke exclaimed. They hurried back to the captured Imperial TNT. Luke
climbed inside, searching. Finally he came out, holding a long gray canister. He opened
it, revealing a protective outfit that was designed as a heat shield. It even included a
helmet. "Han, the climate of this planet is controlled by steam vents, remember? Those
vents go from down in the Lost City all the way up to the surface. If I can’t get down the
tubular transport, then I’ll slide down a steam vent-wearing this!" Luke held up the
heat-resistant clothing. "I’ll end up in the Lost City, at the Weather and Climate Control
Center," Luke added excitedly.

"Sounds crazy to me," Han said.

"Totally crazy," Princess Leia agreed.

"But it’s our only hope," Luke replied confidently. "We don’t have any other choice!"

Oh, you guys and your witty banter.

With help from Artoo's sensors, they find the jungle's nearest steam vent and remove the grating that covered it. As Luke stares into the dark abyss, he begins to have second thoughts. Skateboarding down Mount Sorrow in Hologram Fun World was one thing, but this could potentially lead to severe discomfort. Luke begins to have cold feet, but then thinks of Ken. That's all the motivation he needs.



Luke then begins what would undoubtedly be a fun scene to watch, as he quite literally skateboards down the inside of a steaming volcano on top of a grate. Also, I think he's playing an electric guitar.

"You have great potential in the Dark Side, Ken," Kadann said to the boy, as Ken stared
sadly at Dee-Jay’s darkened eyes. "I can see that now. The Supreme Prophet of the Dark
Side can never be wrong. But perhaps once .

. . just once . I did make an error. That was when I urged Trioculus to find and destroy
you. I know now that through your blood-the blood of Emperor Palpatine-you will one day
lead the future generations of the Empire!"

"Never!" Ken declared firmly.

"Seize him!" Kadann ordered, gesturing to two stormtroopers who promptly overpowered Ken.
They took Ken out of the Jedi Library and dragged him up the path as he kicked and
struggled.

Well Kadann certainly changed tunes quickly. But this might actually speak of intelligence more than anything. Unlike other villains, he can take no for an answer. He doesn't keep a resistant hero around after they've refused his inevitable offer to join him, secure in the knowledge that they'll eventually see his way. He makes the offer, and if they refuse, well **** them That's evil genius logic I can swallow.

Kadann turns to his intelligence officer and asks if it's possible to remove data files. Yes, it is possible, but to do so would destroy the entire City. Feeble Jedi and their antivirus software. Kadann orders him to just to take the whole damn computer. With that, says Kadann evilly, all the knowledge of the Jedi will belong to him!

Kadann should have just gotten an external hard drive.

The stormtroopers strap the computer to a large antigravity cart, and prepare to send it up the tubular transport. Kadann knows full well, however, that no proper, self respecting villain can leave the fortress of the enemy without uttering an immortal, triumphant, and deliciously evil line.

"Shut this city down," Kadann hissed. "Its final hour has come at last."

That'll do it.

On their way back from the library, the stormtroopers make like a bunch of drunk teenagers and shut everything down, knocking out all the lights and disable all the droids. The last light of the Jedi begins to steadily dim, as one by one the blocks of brilliant lights fade from existence. But they can't snuff all of the lights, as in their path a lightsaber flares to life, its green life illuminating the darkening streets, and the form of Luke Skywalker.

They could have made a really cool analogy here, about the true last light of the Jedi flaring up to take the place of the one that has just been forcefully put out, but they don't. Oh well. Moving on.

"Let the boy go, Kadann," Luke said, brandishing his lightsaber.

"Luke!" Ken screamed.

Kadann took a few steps backward as the blade swung toward him. The stormtroopers who were
holding Ken stepped back too, as Ken struggled to loosen himself from their grasp.
"I said let the boy go!" Luke repeated. "Now!"

Kadann was startled, not understanding how Luke could have possibly reached the Lost City.
The tubular transport had remained at the bottom of the shaft ever since Kadann had
arrived.

Do what he say's, Kadann. He's crazy. He'll cut you.

Just then Luke charged a group of stormtroopers, freeing Ken and taking the boy with him.

As they ran, Ken spotted his stunned pet, Zeebo the mooka. Ken stopped just long enough to
pick Zeebo up and carry him off. Laserfire from portable Imperial laser cannons streaked
past Luke and Ken, as they swiftly slipped away toward the tubular transport.

"Master," Prophet Gornash called out to Kadann, "all that matters is the Jedi computer.
Let’s forget the Rebels for now and take it to the tubular transport, and depart!"

But as the computer was moved, one of the stormtroopers, firing his portable laser cannon
after Ken and Luke, accidentally let loose with a blast that zoomed right toward Kadann.
Kadann moved quickly out of the path of danger. The laserblast struck the master Jedi
computer instead, imploding the data screen and melting the main controls.

"NOOOO!" Kadann shouted.

Meanwhile the stormtroopers continued to shut down the power in the Lost City, which
became darker and darker.

Soon the only light remaining came from streaks of random laserfire, and the glow from
inside the tubular transport as it began traveling toward the surface with Luke, Ken, and
Zeebo safely inside.


Commentary: After six books of general incompetence, Luke finally goes action hero mode. Or something resembling it, at least. Not sure what else you'd call skateboarding down the inside of what is essentially a volcano. And, though it could have been so much better described, there really is a nice image in this great, radiant Jedi city, seeming to completely die as all light is snuffed out, only for Luke's lightsaber to ignite and take its place as it blocks the path of the invaders. There's a message in there that, based on the complete lack of description, I feel went right over the writer's heads. It's one that will become a real problem for Luke over the entire Bantam run (and possibly beyond, I haven't gotten there yet): can Luke give birth to a new age of Jedi knights without the knowledge of the old? Can Luke bring light back to a universe while he himself is grasping in the dark? The answer, as far as I'm concerned, is yes. Luke doesn't need mountains of Jedi lore and knowledge to instruct and guide, because he's the guy who will willingly stand in front of an army of enemies to protect someone he cares about. Unlike the Jedi before him, he's not afraid of the dark, and he's not afraid to fight it. That, more than any amount of arbitrary knowledge, makes him fit to lead a new era of Jedi Knights.

It's that Luke, I think, that's been largely missing from this series until now. I won't say he drops in this chapter, but there are at least shades of him there. I, for one, am enormously glad to see it. I don't like stupid, ineffectual, borderline psychotic Luke (I suspect I'll be in for a real treat when I get to Denning); I like the Luke I just described. It's the personification of hope that Luke embodies, as well as well as the value he places in human life (even Ken's life, as I believe he technically qualifies as human), that makes him my favorite Star Wars character. And of course, a healthy ability to kick ass does help (and I'm not even going to bother defending the hypocritical nature of that statement, because I'd get precisely nowhere).

Another Luke related tidbit that I enjoyed: his psychic attraction to his lightsaber. As established in the fantastic Shatterpoint, Jedi have an intense connection with their lightsaber: in a literal as well as metaphorical way, it is part of themselves. In Shatterpoint, Mace can feel his lightsaber no matter where it is, and even uses this to his advantage. While the concept of a Jedi being connected to his lightsaber is hinted at in the OT, and perhaps the Thrawn trilogy, I think if we're giving due credit, the first place where this is truly established would be the Jedi Prince series. I want you to think about that for a moment. If this is true, then Matthew Stover has not only referenced the Jedi Prince series, but used it as a serious plot point in his novel. World, I thought you couldn't get any crazier.

But regardless of that, I find it surprising that the Davidses, two authors who couldn't appear any less interested in the mystical, metaphysical aspect of the Force, would be the first to introduce this oft-ignored phenomenon. I mean, Luke seems to go through this entire series forgetting he can even use the Force, but in the final book he's described as having an unknowable, yet absolute connection with a piece of metal. It's a strange disconnect, but one I'm glad they added.

This being the penultimate chapter, there's a lot that I could talk about. Kadann's evolution as a villain, which like most things in this series, I find to be a mixed bag. Ken being, well, Ken. Mon Mothma leading a strike team (in Jedi Prince reality, Mon Mothma was a grizzled general in the Clone Wars, and Ackbar was a cab driver. He was also the kind of cab driver that would. not. shut. up.). Zeebo getting a moment of awesome. I could point and laugh about how a chapter called "Ken's Destiny" is much more about Luke, and the parts that do involve Ken just involve him screwing up monumentally. But as this post is long enough, I think I can safely leave it until the next, final time.

You know the drill. Until next time. I'll do my best to ensure the final entry is worthy of the name.

 

Ken's destiny in life IS to screw up and be responsible for the deactivation and destruction of massive numbers of droids.
Between the Cabby Job and noone listening to his stories at the SKY HOUSE party, I can easily see Ackbar as Zoidberg. Why not Ackbar?

 

I have to say, I'm picturing Luke charging wildly, yelling at the top of his lungs and swinging his blade like a maniac and going "YAAAEEEEAAHEEEAAAARRRGGHH!" and when the troopers cower, he just grabs Ken's wrist, says "Let's go!" and runs off, leaving all the stormtroopers alive and embarrassed.

 

Does anyone else think this bit reads like these two have a longstanding acquaintance and enmity? It just sounds like the sort of exchange you might have between Superman and Lex Luthor, Gandalf and Saruman or Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader - an easy familiarity, redolent with subtleties and untold stories, the sense of an old enemy being the closest thing a villain has to a friend.

Luke snarling "Where is my tea?" A perfect mental image.

The Prophets don't waste any time cataloguing their curiosities.

I wonder, does the fact that said hand bore the Glove simply go without saying, or does Kadann simply not care about his Glove prophecy at this point?

Magnificent.

 

hhaha, I forgot they flat-out just ripped off ESB's parentage reveal but since Palpy is dead it basically has all the dramatic impact of a guy holding up a polariod and yelling "BEHOLD THE HORROR!"

 

So sad this is almost over!

 

It's a good thing the Emperor didn't have a tea service prepared for Luke on the Death Star, otherwise the course of galactic history would have gone quite differently.

Wait, so there actually is an Imperial Intelligence guy working with the Prophets here? I wonder if this was the seed of the whole "the Prophets actually work for Imperial Intelligence" retcon.

Although come to think of it, I think the Prophets are supposed to have broken from Isard by this point. Maybe this is an Imperial Intel guy who works for Cronal instead? Although I also don't really know what Cronal was supposed to be up to at this point. I guess this is prior to Shadows of Mindor, so this would be during the time he's churning out the holo-film propaganda, so I guess that fits in with he (fake) Prophet modus operandi.

I wonder if this is part of some early EU concept where the Jedi weren't killed en masse all at once and some of them helped set up the Rebellion? Did this book come out before or after Zahn set down the backstory of the creation of the Rebel Alliance? Although I guess even after that, the Solo trilogy has that Caamasi Jedi working with Bail Organa.

I remember in Rogue Planet, there was a mention of how the Potentium recruited from among the Jedi who came from aristocratic families of Alderaan and Coruscant. I always thought that was a strange thing for the author to say. It certainly implies that there were Jedi who were familiar with their family backgrounds and high-born status. Plus Kendalina being of the Potentium would explain why she would let a vile creation like Ken into the galaxy.

However, I still hold out that if Kendalina's background is ever established, the best fix would be for her to be the daughter of Obi-Wan and Satine.

I have to say that I like this concept, the Empire considering pacifism to be a symptom of insanity. It reminds me of how in the USSR, the belief that one was being persecuted or oppressed was classified as "sluggishly progressing schizophrenia."

Wouldn't this mean the hologram would have had to have been taken from sometime during the events of ROTJ? And then the recorders destroyed when the DS blew up? I guess Trioculus recovered more than just the glove from Mon Calamari...

Remember how that really boring droid-centric episode of The Clone Wars was supposedly inspired by Moebius art? I feel like if any planet's depiction should be inspired by Moebius, it should be a "mushroom planet."

A planet whose climate is controlled by steam vents...Someone should get those steampunk aliens from Dark Empire on the case.

I never realized before, but RDJ has kind of let himself go since he made Iron Man 1...

Why is he skating down a volcano? Shouldn't Obi-Wan have taught him the importance of getting the higher ground in instances such as these? I also bet Ghost Dad is having PTSD flashbacks right now as he watches Luke.

What a badass.

Well, this is maybe off-topic, but granted after the prequels came out the big difference between Luke's order and the PT Jedi were put down to the fact the Emperor somehow made everyone forget everything about the Jedi across the galaxy. And the Del Rey authors have been on a quest to correct that ever since. But at least during the Bantam run itself, was Luke supposed to be operating in the dark (so to speak) about the original Jedi? Across the Bantam run he's continuously finding either records or actual surviving Jedi: the Chu'unthor and Jedi archives in Courtship, all those Holocrons and the Jedi Library and at least three or four old-school Jedi in DE; Tionne and her Jedi songs; Callista and her robo-boyfriend; etc. Not to mention Obi-Wan and Yoda conveniently being established to tell Luke whatever about the old Jedi that a particular story determined he needed to know. It seems that it was always intended, at least from 1991-98, that Luke's new Jedi were basically following on closely from the old Jedi.

 

Now I imagine Luke entering Emperor's throne room on DSII and yelling "You lazy fools. Where's my tea?!!!"

 

Okay, I laughed.

 

You don't know the power of the black tea!

 

Forever will Dianoga tea dominate your destiny.

 

Hey guys, just wanted to let all you Jedi Prince fans know that Part 1 of our interview with Paul Davids is up on iTunes or our website www.scumandvillainyradio.com

Hope you enjoy it!

 

Excellent, Chewbacca. I look forward to listening to it. Would you prefer I leave comments in this thread or your thread?

 

Preferably mine so it doesn't derail this one lol. Either way.

 

Will do. Oh, and I don't know if you've done the full interview yet, but I completely forgot to request you ask him the, erm, "inspiration" behind the creation of Ken (that sounds a lot more polite than "what the hell were you thinking?" ). What were some of the traits he wanted to express to his readers through Ken? What place did he want Ken to occupy in the Star Wars universe? And most of all, where does he think Ken ends up after the series ends?

If you've already done the full interview, oh well, my fault for letting it slip my mind.

 

Yep sorry, we already recorded it all. It just ended up being really long, so we split it up over two shows. The interview was over an hour long, and typically our show is about an hour so we had to slice it in half. I believe he touches on Ken some in the Part 2, though.

EDIT: We also learn his full name, Paul "Optimus Prime" Davids

 

Jedi Princess Kendalina...that sounds very comical. I laughed at the reveal about Grandpa Palpatine.

Luke calling the guards 'lazy fools' made me laugh, too. Luke's tea is SERIOUS BUSINESS.

Luke's Force-connection to his lightsaber is quite a nice touch, and I agree that the volcano-skateboarding scene would be cool to see. Excellent review as always. I'll really miss reading these!