Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: FATE OF THE JEDI: ABYSS (Spoilers)

Welp, this took a long time to get through even though I picked up the book a while back, after seeing several positive reviews for it. While I don't share everyone else's optimism, there were a few portions that I enjoyed so I'll start out with those:

Things that worked well:

Luke and Ben: Like many people have already touched upon, the parts with Luke and son were really the strongest part of the book, and the most fun. There was a good sense of mystery, creepiness, and general suspense interwoven into those sections. these were the parts of the book that for the most part I looked forward to and enjoyed.

The Mind Drinkers: It's a crime that it took three books to actually get what we were promised in the solicits for this series (namely an actual exploration of some of the Force Cults out in the galaxy) but we got a really good one here, with this group of communal solipsists. Never in my life would I ever have thought I'd be using the term communal solipsists in anything other than a joke, but here I am. The Mind Drinkers were interesting (even if flawed) and I enjoyed the back and forth games between Luke and the Mind Drinkers.

Jag and Jaina: I'm glad to see Denning insert a little bit of tension into their relationship, even if it did seem forced at times. It made the relationship seem a lot more natural than it has in previous books. (I'd rather it was just dropped altogether at this point, but I'll take what I can get.)

Raynar Thul: I'm glad to see this character wasn't forgotten. Too often it seems that a triology or series comes to a close and the characters and plot points in it are ignored in later books (Vong I'm so looking at you right now). I was glad to see he wasn't just tossed into a secret warehouse, like the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark (Ok, he was tossed in a Jedi detention center, but you know what I mean).



Things that really didn't do anything for me:

The Sith: This is the second book with these dudes, and I still don't care much for them, though for different reasons than with Omen. In Omen they were dark side lightweights; Diet Sith if you will. While this time around, the Sith are a bit most sinister and dangerous, they came across as rather...impotent. Caffiene-Free Sith, if you will. Untold numbers die to sentient plant life, and still more die rather ignominously while trying to kill Luke and Ben.

These Sith come across as Red Shirts, or worse, like Bond-Villain henchmen. I contrast this with the One Sith from the Legacy comics, who in their very first appearance sack Ossus and kill a Skywalker. Now obviously that's a rather high standard, but the Lost Sith don't even come close. They're scrubs and mooks that we never really get a chance to dread and respect, and they kind of suffer for it.

Vestara: I'm not really sure why I'm supposed to care about this character, aside from the vague indication that she is "special". And by special, I can only guess that this is due to the fact that she is our editorially-selected window into the bumbling affairs of the Lost Sith. She has a special connection to Ship, but we aren't sure why. She is able to see through Abeloth's glamour...but we again aren't sure why. Hopefully this will be explained in later novels, and not just dropped like so many other loose ends.

Abeloth: In a sort of abstract sense, the Cthulhu mythos and Star Wars do have a few things in common: they're both neat ideas that were eventually put to much better practical use by some very talented people. Jokes aside; a Great Old One existing in Star Wars canon just seems...off. It's just the sort of thing that doesn't have a whole lot of precedence in Star Wars (nonsense about Celestials and whatnot aside) which is primarily pulp sci-fi. And while I assume much about Abeloth is being kept shrouded in mystery for a later time, what we are given for a first impression isn't terribly impressive or awe-inspiring.

My initial impression for this plot device (I can't really say characte

 

Average score: 478.78/61 = 7.85

 

Really enjoyed this one, as I am enjoying the whole series--although I must say, and this may shock people, I liked Legacy of the Force better.

All three storylines are really engaging, and I like the way the Sith finally confronted Luke and Ben.

Coolest part had to be the Mind-walkers and the mysterious Force lake thing where they met dead people, including Jacen and Mara. Very Odyssey-like. Didn't one of the authors--was it Denning?--mention he intentionally patterned the tale after The Odyssey?

8.5

 

Average score: 487.28/62 = 7.86

 

7.5/10

 

Some stellar reviews you given for the three books in this series.

 

7/10

Abyss was the best book in the series so far. Even though the other ones were slighter in page length, I read this one much faster. It seemed like more stuff, important stuff that will have an impact later on in the series and perhaps across the EU, happened in Abyss as opposed to the other two books.

Likes:

-Han and Leia. I usually groan when at the obligatory Han and Leia passages. As much as I loved them from the movies, I think they are sometimes shoehorned into the novels, particularly the last two series. It seems like it would make more sense for them to just retire somewhere and quietly raise Allana. But in Abyss I thought the Solos were put to good use and actually given something to do that was central to the main plot instead of a seemingly unimportant/unrelated mission to Kessel (though it is always cool to see Lando again), or taking Allana to the zoo like in Omen.
-Luke and Ben. I like their relationship and how its been handled in all three books. It's a pretty open relationship and I like how Luke is always encouraging Ben to do things and figure things out for himself. One thing that bothers me though is that Luke seems a bit too forgiving of Ben's questionable tactics (ie. how he treated the Tremaines) at times. However, Luke displayed a bit of brutality in how he dealt with the Sith as well.
-Jaina and Jag. I liked their relationship here. It did feel a bit more natural than in the last two books.
-Abeloth. A very different type of villian. Something monstrous. I'm looking forward to seeing where they are going with her, and I can't get an image of Alice Krige as the Borg Queen out of my mind when I read her passages. There's something creepy and sexy about Abeloth, just like the BQ to me. However, I also can't help but start to ask the question that Kirk did in Star Trek 5, "Why does God need a starship?" If Abeloth is so powerful, why does she need a starship to travel? Why is she even using the Sith to capture Luke? Why can't she do it herself?
-Javis Tyrr. He's slimy but fair.
-Lady Rhea and Vestara Khai. I enjoyed the development of their relationship. It helped me understand more the values of a Sith civilization and how that might work.
-Mind Drinkers. A pretty creepy group of Force users. I liked this group more than the Aing-Ti and the Kel-Dor. I felt this group had something more consequential to actually teach Luke and Ben.
-Anakin, Mara, and Jacen. I liked the Lake of Apparitions scenes. It provided some needed closure for Luke, Ben, and Mara, it allowed Anakin to pass the torch to Ben, and it brought back Jacen and added a new layer to his motivations, which finally starts getting at why he turned dark, the reason for the mission into the Unknown Regions in the first place.
-Mandalorians. I like their use here. They were tough, but not super badass like in LOTF. I like that FOTJ is continuing to pick up the thread of a coming confrontation between the Mandos and the Jedi that began in LOTF, even though Traviss isn?t a part of this story. I don?t mind seeing a new Mando/Jedi conflict. I think they would be a logical, non-dark side choice for an antagonist, perhaps in the next round of books. I think Abeloth and the Lost Tribe can handle things well enough for this series.
-The Unit. I?m starting to like some of the new Jedi, like Barv, and Yaqueel. Here?s hoping they develop the Horns and the Unit after FOTJ. Since NJO the Jedi have been missing a new, fresh generation and I think these guys could be the beginnings of that. I just hope they can build more relationships between them and Ben.
-Kenth Hamner. In previous books, he?s been a cipher, a very colorless man. But in this novel, I liked how he is torn between his duty to the Order and trying to keep things cool with the Alliance. And I like how he is claiming the Grand Master title for himself, an indication that he?s getting a little comfortable being top dog. Can?t help it, but I see Andre Braugher when I was reading Hamner?s parts.
-Moff Lercersen. I?m glad they are keeping the Moffs in mind.

 

Average score: 501.78/64 = 7.84

 

I had problems with it, but by far my favorite of the series thus far. By far the greatest single moment in this novel was during the, I'm sorry to say, boring ambush by Mandalorians. But I'm able to get past that by the great moment with Rynar. Very powerful. Words cut deeper then any lightsaber.

A solid 7.0/10.

 

Average score: 508.78/65 = 7.83

 

Average score: 517.98/66 = 7.85