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

Sure, I'll elaborate

My main issue with Bloodlines was the horrible characterizations. Mara is obviously the worst of the worst. I can only hope Mara being written as the stupidest person in the galaxy stems from mind control by Jacen and is not really how Traviss thinks she is. Even that won't explain the ridiculous "honey" business. And it's not just the EU characters? all three of the "Big 3" were off. I don't even know how this happens Han shooting Thracken after he was already dead? C'mon, that's not Han Solo. Ben is even completely different from the previous book? and yes, I know the realities of war are setting in, and so on, but he still doesn't read right in that context.

Throughout he book, I thought Traviss must not have read the previous Star Wars books to have missed the characterizations so badly, and apparently that's the case. And it's glaringly obvious.

This could have easily been remedied by reading the books

Beyond that, there simply seems to be a lack of imagination in the writing and in the story. Traviss' prose read like a newspaper article. Not once did I say to myself, "that was a really great description," or "that paragraph was beautifully written." I realize Star Wars books aren't necessarily meant to be literary masterpieces, but I do normally find that in the other authors' writing...

The story itself just felt flat. There were exciting events going on, and yet Traviss managed to make them boring. It seemed as though the author was disinterested somehow. This is just my impression, of course.

I was admittedly skeptical about the Mando plotline when I heard about it, though I tried to keep an open mind about it, but in the end, it really does seem incredibly awkward wedged into this story. More so because I just can't stand the characterization of the Mandalorian characters. They're all the same? tough guys (or girls) with hearts of gold It's getting old quick and it's putting me to sleep. Even Boba Fett, who the book devotes so much time to, seems to lack a real personality.

The book pushed the ball forward, just barely. The only part I really enjoyed was Jacen turning more evil and killing Boba's daughter, but that may be more because I've been saying for years that Jacen was a Sith and am just pleased to see it coming true, more than it was done well. Even that felt half-hearted.

A lot of truths get tired.

But when it comes at the expense of the story, we can certainly complain about it, right?

 

So, Mara is stupid, end of conversation, no further explanation given?

Beg to differ.

Again, might have something to do with the fact that the previous book came after Bloodlines.

If by that you mean something more or less like war-journalism, I would agree. I didn't expect breathtaking passages of scenic exposition, and to be honest I would have been disappointed if there were any.

Again, how, exactly?

Must explain why Patchworkz finds it so wearying to explain the truth over and over then.

And when it doesn't, you can't?

 

A lot of truths get tired, you know.

 

Guys, we do have a Bloodlines discussion thread, you know.

 

8.5/10

I finally finished this. Maybe I'll be a half year before I get to Tempest now. I'm behind...

Very good novel - Karen's one of my favorite Sci-Fi authors out there, and she's really done some marvels with this. Some of the things that struck me - Jacen's constant looking back at Vader/Anakin, the paralells between the Alliance and Empire, turning Boba Fett from a fanboy character to a real one, and the intricant use of politics and storyline. Can't wait to read what she's got next.

 

Average score: 570.05/73 = 7.81

 

I don't have time to review in length these days . . . so I'm giving it a 7 for now. It was an okay read. Nothing stellar, nothing droll either. I don't know why Mandie must be italicise every time; that's the second book to do it. Still and all, it was a decent read.

 

Average score: 577.05/74 = 7.80

 

Hey there Lit friends, fiends, and general bored people; your pal Sniper_Wolf is back from absent in the review area. The main reason is I was in EU rehab since I read Betrayal with The Truce at Bakura standing out as the only EU novel I've read since then. Pop in a few issues of Legacy and that was my EU input since in. Well the reviews lately have not been spicey enough, so here I am with my review of Bloodlines. Sadly Stephen Colbert cannot help me out like he did last time, so I will take Traviss' writing style to help stand in for Colbert.

So Bloodlines starts a day after Betrayal, which brings up connotations of another show I enjoy watching. I've been known to mention Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica in my reviews, but now I'm going straight to that fraked up island from Lost. The concept of having an EU series where each book pick up right where the previous novel ended is a brilliant idea. Lost uses it, and the last four episodes of Buffy's sixth season uses it (the highlight of my favourite season). This storytelling technique is extremely hard to screw up. Then I was reminded that unlike Lost or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the writing staff behind Legacy of the Force live on Grub Street.

Simply put, Ray Charles could tell that Bloodlines was turned in before Betrayal was completed. Characters talk about trying to prevent the Corellian Insurrection from blowing into a full blown war even though Betrayal ended with a full scale battle over the occupation of Tralus, which makes the characters look like complete idiots. No mention is made of the assassinated Corellian system prime minister nor the position of Five Worlds Prime Minister. Thrackan simply refered to as the Corellian president and hardly any mention of the other planets in the Corellian system gave off the feeling that it was simply Corellia the planet against the Galactic Alliance, the government of a million worlds. Characterization suffers greatly, but that deserves its own section. Plus Traviss got her boy Fett's age wrong. This unprofessionalism would have been avoided if Traviss actually bothered to read an EU book or if the editors actually edited.

No snide remark or over-the-top extended metaphor can properly sum up the truth: the characterization in Bloodlines is terrible. So in a span of a day Jacen goes from a cold killing machine into the quasi-moralizing he spent all of New Jedi Order doing? Rubbish, pure unmitiled rubbish. Also there were no other people more qualified in the vast Galactic Alliance Intelligence that could have ran the Galactic Alliance Guard better than Jacen? Damn, guess the Jedi are silly putty now with the ability to mold into anything. Maybe the Jedi can replace all the brick streets in my town. Maybe Jacen changes elderly diapers at the local retirement house. No maybe, since according to Traviss that the Jedi can do anything, Jacen can replace the idiot at KFC who forgot to put honey barbecue sauce on my popcorn chicken. Jacen would surely feel at home there. One on hand you have the edible remains of Vergere, on the other hand he can feel like that deeply disturbed chicken farmer turned secret police chief that wanted to start his own round table complete with SS knights (or GAG lackeys in this case)!

Then after that Tenel Ka and Allana pop up out nowhere into Jacen's mind. The Sith in Betrayal cared nothing about them

 

Nice review...

 

Yeah, couldn't agree more. You summed up most everything I've been too lazy to say.

 

Actually, the only thing I'd add is to point out that the characterisation of Pellaeon in DW was complained about a lot at the time, as being out-of-character; so to compare him in Bloodlines to DW may not be the most fair. Other than that, you summed up the book brilliantly!

 

Average score: 579.05/75 = 7.72

 

Best ..... review ...... ever, Sniper_Wolf.

I love the way you organized and introduced your thoughts. I probably would've read every word of it anyway, but it was all broken up and paced well.

And thanks for reading my review.

 

Unlock and bump.

 

Is this book getting online & free or something? What gives?

I don't remember if I reviewed this book but now that I've read Sniper's review, I'd like to give it a low or lower score too. I like the Fett & Mando parts of Bloodlines & would kill, with furious anger & vengeance, to get the whole Mando plotline of LotF in it's own book as long as it's adds a bit more action, Karen gets to write more stuff for it, finally getting to write the 40ABY(?) Mando book that she really wanted to do anyways. So for the rest of Bloodlines, yes the characterizations were way off, there was no obvious editorial control & most of all the the "Jacen turns wannabe Sith cause Lumiya told him to" plotline is so very much uninspired & lame.

3/10

 

Not a spectacular book, but still an enjoyable read. I liked it as much if not more than Betrayal, but I think I'll give it a lower rating because I probably rated that one too high. As a follow up to the first book it does lack continuity, which I'm not looking forward to in the following books since I'm assuming that's the trend in LOTF. While it doesn't seem to follow that standard plot structure as Sniper_Wolf pointed out, it wasn't something that I really noticed and looking back that really makes it feel like the middle of the series, a 400-page build-up to the rest of the story which it really is.

Even so, there are many major events that develop in this one that I mostly enjoyed. Boba's story was interesting and his late life crisis a good progression from his stories leading up to it, though I was surprised to see he's still bounty hunting. At least he's convinced himself Han was nothing to him (I guess he was talking about money when he spoke to Vader). Getting Ben's perspective was nice to read, even though it was lacking of any kind of subtlety, though I've come to expect that with Karen. Still, watching him transform into the young soldier was good and tragic, actually making me reflect on the tragedy of Mandalorian and really any warrior culture in which our definition of children are taught combat so young. It's an interesting reflection on the real world in which nations, historically and today, have armed their children in conflict.

Karen also does a fine job of darkening the storyline, as we go from the adventure of the last book to the escalation of conflict in this one. For whatever reason, the tension and stakes seem to go up here, and it brings and air of hostility and danger different from the marauding threat of the YV in NJO. I liked it.

And Thrackan's finally dead. About time I say, though kind of disappointing it's from a character we're just introduced to. Though maybe that's what Thrackan ultimately deserved, and it's a bit of a shock that of the three in the room, Mirta's the one to take the shot.

The continuity issues are unfortunate, always taking one out of the story. Han has seen Boba's face before even if he didn't realize it at the time as well as Boba's age (unless Mandalorian 13 is equivalent to the standard 10 which makes their coming of age even sadder).

One last thing I enjoyed: Boba's idea that hired killing is "honest" work. Only Fett.

7/10

No, but I just read it so now I'm reviewing it.

 

Average score: 589.05/77 = 7.65