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

Average score: 325.15/39 = 8.34

 

I'd give this book a 7.5/10, mainly because I felt I'd get more out of it after reading more SW books. After trying the DNT, this series also seems to be very continuity-havy - and I started this series because it seemed a good place to start w/out having to read umpteen books beforehand.

Leia actually mentioned the term "moral relativism" in the DNT. When did moreal relativism/situational ethics conquer the SW universe? Is Legacy of the Force an attempt to steer back to an actual system of good/bad, or at the very least right/wrong?

 

Do all of you seriously like this book that much? Or do you just believe in liberally sloshing points around?

I apologize for not yet posting a detailed review. I haven't had much time for SW lately.

 

I can say that I really liked the book and that it deserved the 9 that I gave it. I stand by everything I wrote.

 

000-
What is the point of lying on here? I wouldn't spend time writing a false review that was as long as the one I wrote. There were good things and bad, but by far the good things outweighed the bad. Although I'm huge fan of Jacen becoming a sith so this book was certainly something I've been waiting for.

 

Average score: 332.65/40 = 8.32

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that anyone was lying (there'd be absolutely no point to that, obviously), and I'm not even referring to this book in particular. I've just noticed a tendency for reviewers to give books 9 points on a regular basis unless they really, really disliked it. Call it ratings inflation, or whatever. I'd think scores of 8 or above would be reserved only for the very best Star Wars lit has to offer, with scores of 6 plus still being very good books albeit with flaws.

 

I tend to rate on an A/B/C/D/F scale, and I tend to like most SW books, meaning that most of my reviews end up in the 8-9 range. Then again, I usually look back and think I rated too high, but that's what you get for rating in the immediate afterglow of a book you enjoyed.

 

You think this is bad, you should see IMDB. Individual reviews have disproportionate numbers of 0s and 10s: every movie is the worst ever or best ever.

I look at it as a linear scale. 1 has no redeeming value, 10 is perfect. 5 is perfectly mediocre; I wouldn't recommend it, and I wouldn't actively warn anyone away, though if someone specifically asked, I'd say "don't bother" and give a few reasons why I felt that way. At 7 I'd feel comfortable saying "go ahead and read it", and at 9 I'd actively recommend it.

I haven't given a numerical rating yet, as I haven't fully weighed the pros and cons out. I quite liked it overall, but some continuity errors, especially in characterization (see: Ben and Luke's relationship), knock it down.

 

I'm going to have say this book is a 10/10...I loved it. I am really enjoying this storyline, because it has something that was missing (IMO) from the Vong storyline - and that is soul. The Vong story had moments of course, but I find I'm more involved with this storyline that I have been with anything else that's come out of SW for a long time.

I'm reading this and I actually feel for the charecters, instead of just thinking of them as words on a page. I feel sadness for what's happening and what's to come. I feel horrified at how easily Jacen is slipping. I worry for Ben.

SPOILER ALERT!!!



I think Jacen believes he is going to kill his daughter and gf in order to pass his final test, but I'm wondering if he'll end up killing someone else - either Jaina or his father.


And I hope Karen writes more Boba, I loved her take on him.

 

Solid 8.5 out of 10.

I loved Boba Fett in this book, and if anyone can make me care about this character, they are already off to a good start. You can tell that Karen is good at getting inside her characters head, as it was done marvelously in this book, even the characters like Jacen and Luke that I wanted to smack around a bit. She made Jacen deliciously psychopathic and there were a couple of times where I could honestly see why he'd think like that, even if it wrong. Even in his delusional state. She gave him the perfect God complex that seems to be a commentary on a lot of our own politicians.

Loved the rapport between Boba and Mirta Gev and cried for the first time ever in a SW book at the end when they recover Ailyn's body, and I've read them all. (Star by Star and ROTS was the closest before this)

She meshed the Jacen of Traitor well with the Jacen of Bloodlines and it's easy to see that it's the same character, the one I consider to be the real Jacen: Arrogant, Pompous, Entitled, Presumptious, Delusional, Egotistical... a general all around ****.

The only problem I had was Luke and Mara, but don't necessarily see it as mis-characterization. Luke isn't totally inactive like he was in the NJO, you can see where he's biding his time and is willing to do what he must, even if it pisses Mara off and makes Ben hate him. Ben is progressing like a normal teenager in his attitude and characterization. And I can see the parental conflict being realistic, but a touch on the "necessary for dramatic inclusion" side. I think Ben is a more real and indentifiable character than any of the Solo children ever came close to being. Anakin Jr. was close and Ben reminds me of him, but Ben is more real. No Super Duper pilot/Jedi/bratty powers from him.

All in all, a very exceptional SW book. One I'd put in the top ten.

 

Average score: 351.15/42 = 8.36

 

Maybe its just me, but I really dislike the writing style. The characters of Luke, Mara, and Han all feel like someone has hit them in the head a few times too many for them to be this dense. I feel the whole Fett aspect of the book was overdone and a waste of space. The politics are interesting, but walking down the street and not being recognized? That snapped me right out of the book. Jacen continues to be Anakin Skywalker 2.0, but not as original or interesting. Sorry for the short review, at work. Overall 3.0 out of 10.

 

Alright, I just have to get this off my chest.

Did I like "Betrayal"? Yeah, I did. But everyone here really treats it like it was some amazing beginning of the Legacy series, and I found it rather dull. Sure, I liked it. It was a lot better than, say, "The Crystal Star." But I found "Outbound Flight" a much more enjoyable read. That being said, I still had high hopes for this. I felt the biggest problem in the first book was that there was a lot of setup to explain, and it felt rushed.

Traviss takes that, and turns it into something beautiful.

I don't know if it was the return of Boba Fett that made the story so enjoyable, or if it was just Jacen's continued slippery slope. But I really, honestly loved the book. It's one of my favorites now. I'm a big fan of the RC books, and it doesn't play out like any of them (although I loved the line, "Terrorism had returned to Coruscant." Nice throwback to "Triple Zero"). It comes across as a fresh read, and she kept the quotes in the beginning of the chapters (one of my favorite things she does). Really, this book is what it took to breathe some life into the Legacy series. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

10/10

 

Average score: 364.15/44 = 8.28

 

Finally got this one completely read, so I'll chip in now with my review.

This was probably the best characterization of Fett since "The Last One Standing" (the numerous references to that story didn't hurt, either). His search for his daughter and lamentation over the loss of his family were very well written and, despite being only recently introduced, really rang true to the character.

This is also the first time I've been interested in Jacen Solo since Traitor. It's scary to see how powerful he's become, and I for one am looking forward to the day when he feels he has finally surpassed Luke. He has the potential to become a great villain, and hopefully the rest of the series won't drop the ball on that.

Oh, and Thrackan's finally dead.

Though Bloodlines is definitely better than Triple Zero, I can't say it's up to par with Traviss's first book, Hard Contact, even though I found Bloodlines to be a more entertaining read. One point off for continuity errors (Boba's age at Geonosis, Han never having seen Fett without his helmet before, Fett thinking to himself how he'd never considered his vendetta against Han Solo to be personal), two for the gratuitous prequel references. Flow-walking back to TPM and ROTS = , though it managed to be more tolerable than the horrendous "revelation" of Artoo's holograms in Dark Nest. Boba thinking about how much he missed Jango every other paragraph started to grate, as well. Two or three references to his father would have been all right since this is Fett's first major role since AOTC, but, c'mon, it's been 60 years; Boba's grown up.

Final score: 7/10.

 

QFT

Also, with reviews I tend to give the benefit of the doubt and start at 10/10 and work up points for bad things, instead of starting at 0/10 and adding points for good things.

 

Average score: 371.15/45 = 8.25

 

My review...

Ah, well. Another series started well, but doesn't quite hit the spot. Another miss for DR. Not that Bloodlines is a bad book; just the opposite; but here's the thing... I started the NJO reading Stackpole's duology, and only later did I get VP and catch up (in fact that duology was what got me back into SW lit). I expected the series to have a much stronger flow than it did. Now, with LotF, we have the promise that the errors of the past have been dealt with - and then we have one problem. As a separate book, Bloodlines is a masterpiece. As part two of the ongoing LotF saga, it really doesn't work. The clash of styles between Allston and Traviss is notable within twenty pages. In Allston's writing, LotF had promised to be, above all, fun. This one was just your standard DR SW book; dark and gloomy and angst-ridden. It was a well-written piece of it, but it showed that LotF doesn't quite live up to the promise of Betrayal. Some of the layers of complexity I'd expected aren't being capitalised on as much as they could have been. Still, those are my problems with the series two books in. Now, it's time for my review.

THE GOOD
The supreme good is, of course, Luke Skywalker. Ah, how wonderful it is to have a Jedi Grand Master no longer weak and ineffectual, but capable of perceiving the truth better than even Mara. I absolutely loved Luke in this book. He's on the right track, he just doesn't quite want to believe it yet. The sad fact is that his hands are going to be tied by the Jedi Council, but at least this is vintage Luke. I know some Luke fans will be furious over Jacen's attitude towards Luke, which I'll go back to in a minute, and also over Ben's (who I'll cover in a minute too).

Jacen. Yes, you heard me, Jacen is a 'good'. I hated him. His portrayal was entirely consistent with the Jacen of the previous book, and some of his decisions - putting Ben in danger not least of all - were abominable. While making me understand his bizarre internal logic, Allston portrayed brilliantly a man of utter ruthlessness, who sees anything and everything as a means to an end. Oh, is he falling! His views of Luke are exactly what they would have to be in order for him to fall (I wonder who Niathal is connected to...). I was pleased that his torture/ murder of a prisoner rebounded back on him, although I don't 'buy' Mandalorian importance as much as to see it as a threat of the scale the characters did, and I was delighted at his interaction with the various characters. The growing power and influence of the Sith is staggering, although it's made abundantly clear that Lumiya already has such influence anyway.

Mara. Hold on, Mara's a good? Isn't she out-of-character? No. The logic of Mara's position is perfect. Yes, she is normally much more critical; but this is Jacen, the guy who brought her son back into Mara's Force-world. He is her son's mentor. And, let's face it, Mara's blind spot has always been Ben. I felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall every time Luke and Mara talked about the subject, which was exactly how it was meant to be.

Kyp. In just a brief cameo scene, Kyp showed himself truly in-character; simply put, he does not - cannot - believe what Luke says. His experience of 'rogue Jedi' makes him totally underestimate what he's dealing with here. In that one instant when he recommended Jacen for the Jedi Council, Kyp showed himself to be absolutely in-character. In that moment, the long and weary history of feuds between him and Luke was on full display. It was excellent, and it was highly noteworthy.

The entire plot was well-conceived, and written in a very sophisticated manner and style. The twists were good, and, as a non-American, the reflection of U.S. politics was generally well-handled (although one line - "war on terrorism" - stood out as going a little too far and making the analogies too obvious; can these people please do 'subtle'?) Some of the Jacen and Ben scenes actually left me genuinely angry and seriously disliking Jace

 

Average score: 377.65/46 = 8.21

 

If there is one thing that Jacen is doing right its Ben. He is teaching him lessons that Jedi don't learn to thier peril about the cruel nature of reality. I think their relationship is wonderfully done. Ben especially realizing that seeing Jacen torture someone to death really isn't objectively all that different than all the times he has watched him kill. Its a uncompromising piece of reality that most people like to gloss over.

 

Thats a really good point. Is torturing someone worth it if it can save the lives of many other people (in this case Jacen's family)? It be not be moral or Jedi-like, but is it a necessary reality?

 

Watch out! Thats thought crime here on the Jedi Council boards! Four Colors double plus good!

 

It is a crime.. at least as determined by both the Geneva Convetions, as well as Civil Rights {specifically the Miranda Warnings, specifically the Right to remain Silent, and the right to an attorney} (technically the entire deal was illegal since Ailyn requested a lawyer, and the police would have to lay off until she could make a coherrant statement).. it sickens me that anyone could still condone the use of torture in the modern age since even Cesarre Beccaria (On Crimes and Punishment) in the 16th Century points out the flaws of using torture to extract information... namely that people will confess to about anything or lie to stop the pain..

 

I'm not condoning torture, I'm just saying if you can save thousands of lives by torturing a prisoner, is it worth it? Jacen obviously went too far in Bloodlines, but how can you throw out a blanket condemnation against coerced interrogation? How do we know it never works or if its never worth it? There really isn't a clear cut answer.