Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: ALLEGIANCE (Spoilers)

I wandered in here after seeing your posts on Resource. I heart you. I totally heart you.

Thank you! I'm going back to read fanfiction

 

See I read it differently. Mara is RUNNING FOR HER LIFE. She loses her saber, leaps under a table, and basically pulls the covers over her head and hopes the demon will go away. Only by committing a desperate act (the lights trick and hanging saber) does she barely escape him. And I honestly think Vader wasn't really even trying to kill her, so much as lashing out in anger like a reflex. Had that been Lieutenant Jon Antilles of the Imperial Navy he'd be a smear on the wall, but Mara is trained at least partially in the Jedi arts and has some of Palpatine's power flowing through her. Enough to survive her encounter with Vader by hiding amd trying to beg/explain herself.

And in the end Mara is wrong about EVERYTHING. She believes the Emperor is good, the Empire is good, and that Disra will be punished. In the long run Ozzel is about the only thing which works out for her since Vader does end up ending his career.

In the most obvious sense it appears Mara is teh uber, and pwns everyone. But really she is startlingly naive, sometimes painfully stupid, and relying on someone else's power to survive.

Do I wish she had been toned down a little? Yes. But I am not so certain that I buy her as a total Mary Sue. Not yet.

 

I'll post my review a little later, but I really liked this. I'll give it a 10/10, because I felt it deserved it.

 

In the words of Pee Wee Herman. It's not like the boy expects like he's gonna get anything in return or anything, but... but then he doesn't *get* anything in return; nothing happens! Nothing happens at all! Zip, zero, zilch, they're ain't nothing, no advancements, no nothing! It just doesn't seem fair.

This is how I felt. Darth Maul had more depth. I think this was rushed. 5.5

 

Average score: 192.95/29 = 6.65

 

Just to let you know that the TF.N main site's official review page for Allegiance is now online. Kidan gives the book 2.9/4, which works out as 7.25/10...

I'll post again when my own review is added, but my own score for the book is 8/10...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

Average score: 208.2/31 = 6.72

 

6

It was a fun little diverting read but certainly not my favorite of Zahn's novels.

What I liked

-- Deserting stormtroopers turn into avenging angels. What more can I say about that other than it was freakin' sweet

-- Leia becomes a waitress. LOL!

-- Pretty good action

-- I thought it was pretty funny how pretty much everyone was coming to the wrong conclusions about everyone else in this book.

What I didn't really like

-- Vader has a temper tantrum out of the blue for no real reason and just as suddenly stops. Ummmmmmmm...... What?

-- Mara. Geez! I think I would have liked her better if I didn't imagine her with a perpetual scowl on her face.

-- It sure was boring in parts.

 

Average score: 214.2/32 = 6.69

 

I thought it was an excellent book. He did all of the characterizations very well. Honestly, I wish the book had been mostly about the stormtroopers and Mara without the big 3 shoehorned in.

I had two complaints, one minor, one major:

Obi Wan was leading Luke by the hand. I thought it was too much. He should have given vague hints and let Luke figure the rest out on his own. Instead it was "push this button. Look in here. Open this. The safe combination is 1234"

He kept calling laser cannons turbolasers and it really distracted me. To me a turbolaser is a capital ship weapon but he called the weapons on freighters and starfighters both turbolasers.

I'll give it an 8.5/10

 

Average score: 222.7/33 = 6.75

 

Dude, he was trying. Luke was just too dense to get it.

 

Average score: 226.7/34 = 6.67

 

Liked the Stormtroopers bit. There needs to be more novels about Vader and the 501st. The last half saved this book from being garbage. It's almost like watching Empire Strikes Back. There were lots of Blah moments. I like Zahn's stuff a lot, but this 8/10.

 

Liked the Stormtroopers bit. There needs to be more novels about Vader and the 501st. I don't know about Mara vs. Vader bid. Vader in mind would have lifted her and crushed her lungs. I didn't like the portrayal of Vader. The last half saved this book from being garbage. It's almost like watching Empire Strikes Back. There were lots of Blah moments. I like Zahn's stuff a lot, but this 8/10.

 

The edit button is often a fun one to use.

 

Average score: 234.7/35 = 6.71

 

A mild disappointment. Zahn made the main characters feel right, but the story was largely an excuse. It was like the non-SW novels that Zahn produces nowadays, it was done well, but lacked ambition. It was nothing special. Pity. I give it 7.1.

 

Average score: 241.8/36 = 6.72

 

Not one of Zahn's best, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Of all the storylines running through it, I think the most interesting was the stormtroopers'. It was nice to get into the heads of some of the Empire's most loyal, and I liked getting to know them, especially LaRone and Marcross. The other three didn't seem to get as much development, so maybe Zahn's saving that for a future project. Or maybe not, we'll see. The idea of the stormtroopers trying to enact the Empire's "pure" ideals is a good one and I think Zahn does a good job with it.

My enjoyment of that storyline was tempered by my lack of feeling the same way about Mara's. It was a bit like watching Episode II, I just kept wanting to leave the Anakin/Amidala plot (or in this case Mara's) and get back to Kenobi and Kamino (in this case everything else). Mara gets some good bits. It's nice to see her a little less bitter and working as the Emperor's naive little tool, though I think I would have been happier if we could see her taking out a Rebel or two. Seeing her actually against our good guys' organization would make her later journey that much more resonant.

As for the Big Three (or four, I guess, seeing as Chewie's alive), their stories were a bit supplementary, but it works as a good bridge between IV and V. It was great seeing Luke's steady progress as well as his continuing contact with Ben. I had forgotten about that until it occurred. Han's reasons and excuses for staying with the Rebellion are hinted at as is his growing attraction to Leia, and that's also good to see. And Vader's being Vader. Can't argue with that.

Cameos and returning characters are always fun as well. Rieekan, Ozzel, Disra, and the 501st all drop by. And I must say that after playing Battlefront II a couple of years ago and gaining a new respect for Vader's Fist, it's nice to see someone bring up their reputation as elite among the Emperor's elite.

Above average score of 6.7/10

 

Average score: 248.5/37 = 6.72

 

Got it in paperback; read it in a day. It's not Zahn's best work, but what is? My main problem with the book was that it felt purposeless, as if Zahn didn't really have anything to say or wasn't really into the story. It was a pretty entertaining story, though the prose wasn't anything special, and the characterization was shallow; I don't feel like Zahn ever really got into even Jade's head. That said, some of the ideas were interesting, and I'd like to see the Hand of Judgment again. I just hope that the next time Zahn gets a book, it's something he's a little more passionate about and a little more free to work with.

7.9/10

 

Average score: 256.4/38 = 6.75

 

Havac, you gave it a pretty high score for some pretty critical issues...