The JC Lit Reviews Special: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: BLOODLINES (Spoilers)

Considering Bloodlines has been released, I want to post a review and there's no thread, and I seem to be the only one updating review averages anyway, I'm starting the Bloodlines review thread.

Some rules: rate Bloodlines on a scale of 1 to 10, supplementing your rating with a review, if you want to. However, please do not rate or review the book until after you've read the whole thing. Thanks.

Go ahead and review.



Some previous review threads:

Republic Commando: Hard Contact, by Karen Traviss
Shatterpoint, by Matthew Stover
The Cestus Deception, by Steven Barnes
Medstar I: Battle Surgeons, by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
Medstar II: Jedi Healer, by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
Jedi Trial, by David Sherman and Dan Cragg
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, by Sean Stewart
Labyrinth of Evil, by James Luceno
Revenge of the Sith, by Matthew Stover
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine, by Veronica Whitney-Robinson
Tatooine Ghost, by Troy Denning
Survivor's Quest, by Timothy Zahn
Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream, by Aaron Allston
Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand, by Aaron Allston
Traitor, by Matthew Stover
Destiny's Way, by Walter Jon Williams
Force Heretic I: Remnant, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
Force Heretic II: Refugee, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
Force Heretic III: Reunion, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
The Final Prophecy, by Greg Keyes
The Unifying Force, by James Luceno
Dark Nest I: The Joiner King, by Troy Denning
Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen, by Troy Denning
Dark Nest III: The Swarm War, by Troy Denning

RFEdit: Just putting it in the style of the past review threads...

 

10/10


the book is very powerful and potrays a very orginal take on the ROTS plot,jacen will chill you to the bone.

 

well, im only about 2/3 of the way through, but i have to say, what i have read so far, is outstanding. pluss, the exceprt of tempest in the back is very very sweet

 

9/10. Outstanding novel. The pacing is terrific. The storyline meshes well with Betrayal. And the plot development and character development is second to none. Sadly, I can't give it a 10/10 because it just doesn't have quite enough action for me.

 

Interesting. It would appear that posts become uneditable by the original poster after being edited by a mod, Probably a good idea. Anyway, thanks for the edit, Rogue.

 

Sorry if I edited in the extra stuff too soon.

If there's anything you want me to add, just ask.

 

Because I know that the book will sink lower than it deserves due to bashers, moralists and the like and the fact that the book is better than 9/10th of the EU my official rating is 10.

My unofficial rating would be a 9.3

Far more than Solid the book is gripping from one moment to the next. Real action replaces going through the motions of action and the characterizations are lovely in their reality. Traviss never manages to lose the belief that each character has in themselves and never allows herself to slip into commentary from a disdainful author. This is an especially difficult task given that she shoulders the Lions share of significant developements for Jacen's 'fall'. By layering caution, doublechecking, tests and self doubt sher manages to lay a path to hell that is not only paved with good intentions, but is calculated and envisioned with loving care. People have called Jacens fatal flaw arrogance, but this book realizes that arrogance can only take you to minor evils. Only true righteous devotion to good can create such a straight path through the abyss.

Her prose is not elegant but it is easy to follow and descriptive and since I have no biases towards or against the Mandalorians being largely divorced from them I can say that her devotion to them shines through a little but luckily her overall devotion to remaining in the characters point of view means that it comes out with little taint.

Overall I would rank this book 3rd in path of starwars books, below Shatterpoint and Traitor.

Congratulation are however due to Miss Travis in creating possibly the most well written book that will be honored in Continuity. Stover continues to be a little to willing to accept ambiguity to be allowed through the door by the community. Traviss still has one foot in the door and her construction creates several artificial scenarios that create villific situations that didn't need to be there.

 

9/10

There were a few parts where I found myself a bit bored. However, I thought that the characterizations were spot on, I thought it was interesting to see the GA turn more and more into the Empire, and Jacen has become even more despicable.

 

After springing it from my library, and against all expectations, I have to admit that I rather liked it.

It comes at no surprise, however, that she kills off Ailyn Vel (whom she had stated as not liking long before LOTF was announced), tries to make the Jedi as stupid as possible, that a good deal of the plot was designed to showcase Republic Commando, or that most of her EU mentions are from video games (as I suspect Ryan Kaufman had something to do with this). I also don't like the fact that half the characters/plotlines from Betrayal are dropped.

However, it saddens me to see that her Fandalorians are not only upvoting it to give it a better grade than it deserved, but admit to it. So while I would probably have given it a good score, I'll give it a 1.

 

However, it saddens me to see that her Fandalorians are not only upvoting it to give it a better grade than it deserved, but admit to it. So while I would probably have given it a good score, I'll give it a 1.

Way to take the high ground, man.

 

"I don't ask for it, I just do the best I can with it."
-KT

 

Ignore him. He's just looking for attention again.

 

However, it saddens me to see that her Fandalorians are not only upvoting it to give it a better grade than it deserved, but admit to it. So while I would probably have given it a good score, I'll give it a 1.

Uhh, last I checked prior to this point Pip hasnt came out one way or another for or against Traviss.. or specifically Mandalorians.. so Fandalorian labling may be a bit premature.

Anyways on to the review. I'll go ahead and shock everyone and agree with my favorite punching bag (Jacen) on a few points. Namely, the internment and subsequent roundup of Correllians/Terrorists.. and thier "relocating". However, his callous disreguard for INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, (namely the right to Life, first amoung inalienables) without due process of the Law. I'm all for killing Vel, so long as there was a Legal proceeding preceeding the execution. (assassins rank very low on my sliding scale of justice).. Within the Star Wars rules everything he did was abherrant and bordering on sociopathic. Using real world parallels I can see the necessity of some less than ethical actions (going back to first statement). As it is murder is murder, and murder in the process of attempting to force a confession with torture is something straight out of Nazi Germany or Stalinst Russia.

Anyways, a interesting picture of an control freak who gains power, and subsequent descent into darkness. the best part ofcourse, is like all (rather most) of these type of criminals believe that they are doing the "right thing" or "for the greater good"

I liked seeing Taris agian. as well as Squid bieng sent back to Kamino a piece at a time (mafia flashes <3 mafia) anyways I cant find anything to seriously complain about, other than a certian charcter whois morally repugnant (better said as completely without morals). Anywhow..

10/10

*Note i dont particullary like the Mandalorians, donot like or know thier language (Bad Klingon flashbacks) *

 

No, I was just going to add "Thanks for the edit."




To the review: F.










For Fricking Awesome.

Excellent characterization, good plot, best use of Jaina and Luke in ages, fun Fett plot, lots of big-picture stuff happening (how the heck will they stretch this to nine books?). I liked Betrayal a lot, but this is better, meatier. Minor points off for some continuity kriff-ups that should have been avoided. I always liked Traviss's writing but didn't feel I had enough to go on to rank her that highly, but this has put her in my top five for sure.

9.9/10

 

Average score: 58.9/7 = 8.41

 

I'm going to give this book an 8. I liked it; the Mandalorian stuff wasn't boring, and now I'm a little curious about how their language works and about their culture - these were things I couldn't care less about before. I loved the way Ben was written, and also Jacen - Jacen is turning into a real villain now (IMHO) and that's actually fun to read about. I no longer empathize or really even sympathize with him, but I was pleasantly surprised by how fascinating Dark Jacen is.

On the down side, the new character seemed a bit shoehorned-in and I could smell her background story - well, some of it - a few light-years away. Mirta managed to be an interesting character despite the shortcomings of her creation, but it was very difficult to suspend disbelief for her. Also, Jacen's decision at the end on what he had to do next? Felt forced. It would have made more sense if there was some Hapan involvement in the war that sparked his though process - maybe some Hapan pirates getting involved, or somebody putting a contract out on Tenel Ka. SOMETHING to make Jacen's decision more believable. The other thing I wasn't too crazy about is the constant "clips of the prequel trilogy" that characters get, but this goes back as far as Dark Nest.

So, all in all, a good book, with a few flaws.

 

Average score: 66.9/8 = 8.36

 

Where is the link to the betrayal review thread?

I liked the book a lot. Jacen is a turd. He seems resigned to be a sith, but a little part of him thinks it's wrong. He's way more evil than good at this point.

I'm sure i agree with Mara's characterisation in this book. I think she would normaly be the one to have been werry of JAcen, not Luke. MAra is more pragmatic than Luke, and if you look at the facts jacen is definitely going to the dark side.

I also dislike the way the fark force doppelgangers of Ben and Jacen were forgotten.

I really liked Fett and Ben. Leia and Han were also done pretty, so was Luke.

This book is also a relivent look at some events that have/are/or maybe hapening in our own war on terror.

All in all i really liked the book.

9/10

BTW: Did anyone else get the sense that the millitary version of Jacen was king like a force sensative JAck Bauer?

 

9/10

Mrs. Traviss picks up the ball from Aaron Allston and runs with it quite well. Many themes introduced in Betrayal are expanded here in a way that seems natural and works within the story. The main plot of Jacen is done wonderfully, as it's truly painful to see how far he is really falling. And even the subplot of Boba Fett was wonderfully interesting (and a good hook for me to crave the next two RC books!). Great work all around, I just hope Mr. Denning can make it a 3 for 3 with Tempest (the preview is promising!)

 

Bloodlines is a slickly prosed. I won't dispute that.

That is, however, about all it has going for it.

You can coat a turd with chocolate, but it's still going to taste like poo.

2/10.

 

9.5/10

I really didn't care for Ms. Traviss' previous Star Wars novels so it was a very pleasant surprise that I enjoyed this one. She captured Jacen's descent perfectly and I especially loved how the rift between Ben and Luke felt so real. I think Ben is becoming my favorite character. And Jacen! Wow, is he a piece of work or what!

My only issues are with Boba Fett and the OC other folks don't like. I had expected to skip over Boba's parts because he never intrigued me as a character, but I found him quite readible, if not as good as the Jedi plotline, in this. The girl served a plot point but failed to either interest or annoy me.

I'm curious as to why LOTF will go, the exerpt from Tempest is highly intriguing. So many possibilities for who Jacen will murder along the way in his self-appointed quest to save the galaxy from itself. I wasn't scared for Mara before, but her blindness in this book has me deeply concerned.

 

I'll say 9.4, same as Betrayal. I was genuinely engaged throughout the book, and there were a lot of powerful moments.

Edit: I've taken the liberty of drawing up a box and whisker plot. It's ugly because the 25th percentile and median are the same.

[image=http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m15/LtNOWIS/boxplot1.jpg]

 

I really enjoy these review threads. I haven't read the novel yet, but by the sounds of it, I am in for a great read.

A little request... is it possible to edit the original post to put the average review number after the book title? I'm interested in how the books have been looked upon over time, and which ones are held in the highest regard in descending order.

 

I want to be reading at least marginally objective reviews and nice and long ones, or by Chewie's fleas I'll flood the market with counterfeit McEwok trophies and render your stockpiles worthless.

 

What, Golden Ewox instead of Snoobie Snacks?