Official Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

That illicited a laugh. Too true!

 

Hmm, didn't notice that.

 

Mild follow-up:

Bloodlines has entered into WEEK FIVE on the NYT Bestseller list, which is really quite impressive, and the PA boys seem to like it well enough, see:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/10/04

Scroll down to the bits on the podcast, and you'll find this posted by Tycho:

"8:15 - "Bloodlines" is a Star Wars novel by Karen Traviss. I don't have enough time in this space to elaborate on the intense loyalty this woman inspires in us. I'll tell you about it later."

There's a few more bits in the actual podcast, but the general theme is that they love it, and given their fanbase I wouldn't be surprised if PA wasn't responsible for a chunk of new sales.

I know Karen has said that her website hits jump drastically everytime Mike and Jerry mention her.

There's no doubt that saleswise the series is off to a good start, and for those who like Traviss and DR it's a good sign for them.

Also, it seems that A PRACTICAL MAN is still the #1 bestseller at Amazon's e-book site and a bestseller at other e-book outlets, so for those who like the e-book format, you can probably expect more of those.

 

Is this the Jedi Temple you're referring to?

 

Is it really any surpise that LotF is doing well in sales? Fans are going to buy the Big Three's newest adventure regardless of quality. They could smear poo on paper and it'd still hit the bestsellar lists.

It's a pity, but sales aren't exactly related to quality.

 

Sue has posted a timeline of the events of Betrayal and Bloodlines.

BETRAYAL BEGINS

Day 1: Jacen and Ben inspect the Dammant Killers company on Adumar.

Day 7: Wedge is kidnapped and taken to Coruscant.

Day 9: Han and Leia meet Aidel Saxan on Corellia. Ben and Jacen disable Centerpoint.

Day 11: Luke meets with Pellaeon to discuss the mess at Corellia.

Day 17: The attack in Toryaz Station. Saxan is killed.

Day 21: Jacen and Ben meet Nelani.

Day 23: Jacen questions Brie and decides to go to her asteroid home.

Day 24: The ghost battles. Jacen kills Nelani. Han and Wedge's successful mission at Tralus.

BLOODLINES begins.

Day 25: Fett captures H'buk.

Day 26: Leia and Han learn that Thrackan has a contract out on Han. Fett's doctor tells him he is dying.

Day 27: The explosion on Coruscant.

Day 28: On Coronet, Gejjen, Leia, and Han meet in a café and discuss deposing Thrackan. Leia kills an assassin on the Falcon. Jacen visits the rebuilt Jedi Temple and walks back in time exploring Anakin Skywalker's emotions. The Correllian Sanctuary has been desecrated. Fett meets Mirta Gev and hires her to take him to Ailyn.

Day 29: Luke senses that Lumiya has returned. Han and Leia return to Coruscant - the Falcon is in bad shape. The water supply in parts of Coruscant is contaminated.

Day 30: Jacen is appointed Colonel and heads the secret police to intern Corellians.

Day 31: Pellaeon resigns as Supreme Commander of the GA Defense Force - Naithal is appointed as his replacement.

Day 32: Han and Leia buy a shuttle and head back to Corellia. Jacen raids Jabi Town.

Day 33: Fett finds Taun We.

Day 34: Omas puts new emergency measures into effect.

Day 36: Ben finds three Corellian agents and a bounty hunter. Jacen arrests Habuur.

Day 39: Omas announces the blockade of Corellia.

Day 42: Senate Building protest.

Day 43: Jacen kills Habuur. Fett meets with Thrackan.

Day 44: Han and Fett meet. Han agrees to get Jacen to release Habuur; Fett agrees to kill Thrackan. Jacen flow-walks back to Anakin Skywalker's era and believes Anakin's downfall was a result of faulty training.

Day 45: Mirta kills Thrackan. Jacen suspends Jaina from duty.

Day 46: Leia learns that Jacen killed Habuur while under interrogation and tells Jacen that Habuur is Fett's daughter. Ben kills two men harboring missile launchers.

Day 48: Jacen delivers Habuur's body. Fett takes Habuur's body and leaves for Mandalore.

Day 49: Jacen thinks he may have to kill Tenel Ka and Allana.

TEMPEST begins on Day 56.

 

One week later, huh?


Hmph. Thrackan was a factor in the series for all of a month and a half. Way to get knocked out early.

 

And yet the Dark Nest trilogy didn't have these kinds of sales.

 

This amused me:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/10/06

Look at what book Tycho is reading.

They also gush some more over the book in the news section and Gabe has some nice fanart posted there (although I'm sure not eveyone will dig the stylized look that Boba has).

It's mildly amusing to see people argue that if the book is doing good it's only because the foolish fans don't know any better than to buy bad books.

There's been plenty of stuff that has come before BLOODLINES that featured the big three and never cracked the NYT list or the Publisher's Weekly list and so on.

At this point sales are FAR outstripping the normal sales on a SW book (although I'm really bummed to see the DARTH BANE book didn't crack the hardcover bestseller list, continuity flaws aside, I was hoping it would show DR that people wanted more KoToR era fiction).

 

Well I just got done reading bloodlines not to long ago..

My response to it was that it was well written and a very good look into the charcter of Jacen Solo... I am intrigued as to whether or not he will come back to the light or if he is going to be killed in darkness... Guess we will all have to wait and see.. I guess if there was one thing that this book did not give enough of was what Boba Fett was up to during the time of the YV war and why he hid throughout the war... All right more to come later but all in all I give bloodlines a 3.5/4.

 

Well, I've nearly finished Betrayal (loved it!), and I'm about to order in Bloodlines (but don't worry, I know what happens....stupid Wookiepedia!), but here's a wild prediction - Jacen will kill Luke, and Vice-versa. You heard it here first.

 

Well, the old Jedi High Council Chamber at the top of the Temple was a circular room, and it had corners.

 

It has "corners". They're not exactly very helpful to hide in. He'd be better off hiding behind Ki-Adi's giant conical head, really.

[image=http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/djreed/Jacen.jpg]

 

They look sufficient to me...

 

Jacen seems to be heading down the Golden Path. Anyone else get a big Leto II vibe from him?

 

There are corners by the doors, aren't there?

 

Ironically, Han's honest statement feeds into Jacens' bizarro justification; "if it hurts me to think about/hear/do then it must be necessary." Part of this bs about the Sith feeling pain to leaven their power.
So even though Han speaks the truth, it re-enforces a Jacen's delusion.

 

Chiming in late here; just wanted to say that I loved BLOODLINES. I thought it was a much stronger (and more interesting) book than BETRAYAL (which I also enjoyed).

All of the Jacen/Ben/GAG fascist crackdown stuff was great; very gritty and shocking as Jacen goes all GITMO on Boba's daughter. All of this stuff has a great deal of relevance with current events and therefore makes it cracking good sci-fi (very BSG).

Oh, and I really enjoyed all the Boba stuff. I know it's a bit of a stretch that everyone's favorite 70 year olde Mandalorian is still leaping and flipping and shooting like he did in days of yore, but, hey, you know, suspension of disbelief is the name of the game with this stuff; and he is the guldurn Mandalore after all. (Besides, he comments more than once that his bones hurt.)

Finally, I'm loving the whole return of the Sith thing; and I'm getting a huge kick out of Jacen's powers; especially the "time walk" power; more and more he is reminding me of Leto II (especially in the latter half of CHILDREN OF DUNE): Abomination! Blessed/cursed with prescience! (Speaking of DUNE, I love that Traviss uses the device of the pre-chapter quote bump!)

All that being said, I felt that the first chapter of TEMPEST wasn't so hot. Still, a chapter does not a book make; we'll see soon, won't we?

 

Yeah-but i personaly thought Leto 2 was a conceded, rationalizing [naughty implication].

That's a bit too close to the naughty bits there.

 

That's not necessarily true.

As for Ailyn Vel though, at exactly what point in the book did Jacen go to the trouble of locking her up in the equivelent of a four-star hotel? I'm afraid I can't quite remember that bit.

 

And Jacen isn't? I'd argue that they're very similar.

I wonder if Jacen's new skin will involve sandtrout???

 

I will presume that we are talking about the literary Leto the 2nd and not the user on these forums.

 

As for Ailyn Vel though, at exactly what point in the book did Jacen go to the trouble of locking her up in the equivelent of a four-star hotel? I'm afraid I can't quite remember that bit.

If you compare a prison camp where people get tortured to a
four-star hotel then you have been staying in the wrong hotels.

 

Ah, but I wasn't comparing a prison camp where people get tortured to a four-star hotel.

 

Of course! I wasn't even aware that the God Emperor visited these hallowed halls!