Lit Sword of the Jedi by Christie Golden

The true tragedy of LOTF is that Caedus did not do it. IT WOULD HAVE FIT HIS UNIFORM.

 

The sad thing is that he has one too many arms in that picture. It's not depressing enough!

 

Lose one of the arms and put dead Isolder in the picture and we're almost there.

 

I think Jacen's haircut is more depressing than him missing an arm.

 

Jacen just looks bored in that picture.

 

"Always in motion is the future."

That can work for worse as well as for better.

 

Didn't Jacen already throw Isolder in the fire? But yes, have the artists ever read the book, or did they just look at the cover of Invincible?

Yeah. That's nasty. Kid looked much better in the NJO. Also brings up the point, did the artists forget about Jacen's appearance on the cover of TUF? One of my favorite depictions of him.

 

If I recall correctly from NJO and the other series, the authors couldn't figure out a set haircut and beard for him, it changed from book to book.

 

Well except for the cover of TUF (above) his haircut was almost always shoulder-length, like this:



But you're correct: The Beard changes from book to book. (No wait, The Beard is Kyle Katarn's. Jacen's is The Beard.)

 

The only two books of the NJO that I recall Jacen having a beard in are Traitor and Destiny's Way, and that is because Jacen did not have access to a razor while on Yuuzhan'tar, and he had a beard in Destiny's Way because he had not yet reached a razor at the start of the novel. I am pretty sure he shaved at some point in Destiny's Way and remained that way for the rest of the series.

I'd also say that his hairstyle remained consistent on the American covers, of which he was on Traitor and The Unifying Force. The Japanese covers gave him the parted hairstyle, which I am guessing was derived from his YJK days. Oh, plus he was on the cover to Force Heretic III: Reunion viewed from behind, which was suggestive of the swept back hairstyle from TUF's cover, but the art style of the Force Heretic covers is kind of wacky. And then there's of course my avatar from Destiny's Way, which also seems to support the TUF hairstyle IMO, rather than the parted one, but YMMV.

 

Actually, it's either Force Heretic III or TUF, but it says he is only then shaving his beard. But I also think he shaved in Destiny's Way. So he shaved, re-grew his beard through the next three books, and then shaved it again...and by the Dark Nest trilogy the beard was back (but not on the cover; just inside).

 

I investigated, and you are correct. From Traitor to The Unifying Force, Jacen is SPACE JESUS. Or Revan.

"Jacen's brown hair was combed back and fell almost to his shoulders now, but he had recently shaved his beard."

 

The bearded guy was Corran.

And yes, that is Jacen to me and the Jaina from the NJO covers is what I see when I think of Jaina, not homely honkin nose girlfriend of artist. I lothe the model they use now, and I think nepotism stinks. But no artist or author seems to care anymore.

I really do feel vindicated now like that crop dusters on Independence Day. I been saying it, I been saying for ten damn years! Haven't I been saying Miguel? They should have ended with TUF!

 

Funnily enough, it seems even American artists have begun to use the YJK interpretation of post-Traitor Jacen:

 

Yeah, if Jacen isn't missing his arm in the picture toward the top of the page, I certainly don't expect the artists to get his hair right in NJO, but his hair was swept back, not parted, when it is described in the NJO, and as matched by the American covers.

I also doubt that Jacen wore Luke's Dagobah outfit throughout the entirety of the NJO.

 

Shimrra shaved his head really quick.

 

Yeah. Personally in TUF, I though Jacen and Jaina were both wearing combat suits:



Makes sense that when you go into the belly of the beast, to what would be the final battle of the war, you wear something protective.

Bah. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is Luke wearing full Jedi robes including the outer cloak. Personally I think he doesn't need to be wearing a combat suit like Jacen and Jaina, because he's the Grand Master and naturally he'd place his faith in the Force over armor...but still, he should be wearing something flexible like his ROTJ outfit. There's a reason the Jedi in the PT took off the cloaks before lightsaber duels, you know. They inhibit movement. Not something you want when you're fighting all the Slayers and the Supreme Overlord.

 

In the same scene I quoted with Jacen shaving his beard, he's described as wearing a cloak, and later on the Jedi are all wearing hooded cloaks, so I think Jacen was wearing Jedi robes if Luke was during the final battle.

 

But was that not on Zonama Sekot before the battle? They likely stripped off their robes for the fight. Again, it's just my personal head-image that Jacen and Jaina (and Tahiri) were wearing combat suits. But once the battle started it didn't really describe them, so I don't know.

 

So do we know if this book is still a go or has it been cancelled?

 

No idea, hopefully we'll hear something this weekend at San Diego Comic Con where Del Rey has a panel. Leland Chee and Jennifer Heddle will be there. As will JJM and Troy Denning. No sign of Christie Golden; not sure if that means anything...

 

What?? She didn't hate any of the jedi, even as she was backsliding.

 

Oh, I'm pretty sure she did hate Luke. Least it seemed that way to me.