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

It's the LOTF finale! The moment we've all been waiting for (some for different reasons than others) is here at last! Will Jacen die? Will he be redeemed? Will he be captured by Wes Janson and his fearless tribe of Ewoks? Read and find out!

Some rules: rate Invincible on a scale of 1 to 10, supplementing your rating with a review, if you want to (It's not necessary but is highly encouraged). However, please do not rate or review the book until after you've read the whole thing. Thanks.

Go for it.


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
Outbound Flight, by Timothy Zahn
Republic Commando: Triple Zero, by Karen Traviss
Legacy of the Force: Betrayal, by Aaron Allston
Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines

 

Hmm....

First off, I have to say that I have enjoyed the series thus far, and have been anticipating this book for a long time, and even managed to keep myself spoiler free! (That was tough.) And this book delivered. Pretty much everything I had hoped for, and more, all in a neat little package.

The Good

Pretty much everything.
- I felt the characterization was spot on.
- Jacen's descent into dementia I had seen coming, and Denning delivered.
- Jaina finally got her chance to shine, and shine she did.
- The jokes at the beginning of each chapter was a nice touch. Being the YJK fan I am, it really made what happened in this book much more meaningful.
- Ben has transformed into the Jedi Knight I knew he would become.
- It was nice to see that Tahiri was able to be redeemed. The explanation of flow-walking was helpful too.
- Jaina's realization at the end that "Jacen had won" was excellent too. With what Daala becoming Chief of State and all.
- Jag's "placement" at the head of the Moffs.
- The humor was spot on as well.
- Jaina and Caedus's fights, both of them.
- Luke's subtle manipulations of the Force visions Caedus was having in order to blind him to Jaina was a very good twist, along with his "Force masking".
- Trista and Taryn were very interesting characters.
- Much more that I cannot think of at this time.
- Although it was short, it was action-packed.

The Bad

- It could have been longer.
- I felt an epilogue would have been nice, but the ending was good anyway.
- I would have liked to know more about some characters, like Wedge and Gavin.

Overall, I was very satisfied. 9.9/10

 

This book, set alone and apart from the 9 book arc called Legacy of the Force, is fine. I say fine and not great because of its terribly abrupt ending and Han Solo remarking that Daala won't make such a bad leader. WHA??!!!


Invincible, was not nearly as enthralling to me as Inferno was but it was fine. The thing I love most about this book is Ben Skywalker and his treatment by Denning. For that I give it some points. I do like how things played out with Tahiri and Ben. I also like Ben's wisdom in understanding Jacen better than most of us fan-boys and girls.
Disheartened by Invincible and its very abrupt unapologetic ending, (which I maintain is the saddest EU book of all time) I picked up Solo Command moments later to reassure myself that SW books can be fun. So that's not a great sign but I got right into Solo Command.

Invincible has problems. If it weren't the last book of a 2 year 9 book cycle it wouldn't be so bad. Not at all but...it was. And Invincible gives any Star Wars EU fan a handful of hopelessness. I invested what? $130 bucks or something in LOTF to end bleak, wonderless, and near hopeless. Not even a Luke Skywalker with a soul left to reassure us the readers that this galaxy is a bit safer. Cause it isn't. It's as messed up as ever just like the "real world". I just don't buy SW to remind me of here. And unfortunately for Luke and his Order things aren't going to get better for at least 100 years. If anything, this novel begs the reader to take up reading Legacy Comics. Without Legacy Comics Invincible would have been a more nebulous experience for me.

That being said, I don't dislike this book. I'm surprised and disappointed by the lack of emotional catharsis in this series so it loses points for that. I don't like the idea of waiting until January for my true epilogue. Invincible was no Unifying Force and this series really needed one. So, it's a very good thing Luceno is penning Millennium Falcon.

Still Invincible gets a 7/10 from me. It's been a hard book to rate actually. Had the book been fleshed out a bit more my grade would have been well above 8.

LOTF as a whole gets a 7/10. The writers are better than the books they wrote.

 

Manishere: Han was delirious with grief, or in shock.

 

I sure hope so.

 

People talk about how you can never fully give up hope for redemption. This is the post no one on this board, especially me, has expected. Star by Star, despite some flaws, is the best NJO outing. Tatooine Ghost is a nice little side story. Then came Dark Nest, the only trilogy I have sworn never to reread again. Tempest and Inferno had some nice prose distracted by an illogical plot. However I should have kept my faith in Denning much like Luke kepts his in Vader's. Legacy of the Force is riddled with flaws. The exposition and climax were just bad. The rising and falling actions were meh with an exception each, oddly enough for me the last two Allston novels. Then enter the denouement. Denning finally bring backs the promise he had.

Length
At 299 pages the novel does appear extremely short for a nine book conclusion. Denning, very much to my surprise, cuts the plot down to what needs to be shown. Of importance notice is the point-of-view characters. Denning is very sparse in who is telling the action. Caedus, Ben, Han, and Jaina are the only narrators. Make no mistake Invincible is Jaina's novel. As someone who has considered Jaina my favorite Solo child since way back in the boondocks of like six years ago when I first read Vector Prime I am giddy with joy over Jaina stealing the spotlight.

A novel that is of apt comparision is The Unifying Force, a sprawling 500+ page epic compared to Denning's brevity. Now to give Luceno the benefit of the doubt he had twice as many novels in New Jedi Order. However Luceno is busy using his standard lists while introducing new polt elements into the narrative while bring resolution to the war. Denning instead focuses on wrapping up the remaing plot threads only introducing the Remnant's nanovirus which affects future novels. As someone who has ragged on and on about how much filler there is in LOTF seeing a slimer and leaner volume makes great reading.

Lord Caedus
Denning also did frankly what I considered beyond impossible: Darth Caedus is finally a credible villain. The former Jacen Solo has presence, obession, darkness, and a minute slimer of good left in the void known as his soul. One little act made Caedus finally worthy of Kun, Malak, Vader, and His Imperial Majesity. Vatok is giving Caedus crap with that vaunted character shield armor Karen Traviss is so in love with. Caedus decides to shatterpoint the armor before killing Vatok. Then Caedus uses his blood to track down the hidden Jedi base. It doesn't matter that Caedus learns these skills of screen. What matters is Caedus, out of nowhere, smacks Jaina (and by extenion the reader) with a left hook hidden behind his Sith back. My god where was this cunning and surprise all the way back in book one? "Leave out the part where you suggest I'm insane. I really have no interest in your opinion regarding that."

Excellence's opinion of Denning's dialogue skills
As we have read many many times about our fellow Aussie going on and on about how naturally Denning's characters speak in Tatooine Ghost. For some reason it just clicked in this novel. While a few dumb metaphors and similies are still present the dialogue in Invincible is very smooth for an EU novel. Take Caedus' revelation to Tahiri about the flow walking. Now that's some of the best dialogue I have ever seen in SW, EU or film. I say again why the hell wasn't this back all the way in book one?

Luke Skywalker, realpolitik
Not only does our Grand Master has a spine the Luke in this novel by far is the most pragmatic incarnation of Mark Hamill. Although not physically active in Caedus' down fall Luke is the puppet master in this novel. Using the Mandalorians for distractions, driving Caedus ape **** because of Luke's tampering with visions and the projection over Jaina, not telling Jaina and Leia about how Ben was supposed to be captured, wow this is great. LOTF claimed to show a more ambigious war, Luke finally does it. He knew

 

Overall, I give it a 5.5/10

(Re-posted from Invincible discussion thread)

I was a little disappointed with the book.

It seemed to be for serving no other purpose than hastily ending the series. Jacen is killed, the Empire put under Fel, the Alliance reformed at Luke's direction, and Daala the new Chief of State. As for the Confederation, you get a feeling that they suddenly disbanded without any good explantion.

Let me clarify one point- I am not complaining that Caedus is defeated, the GA restored, or that the Jedi are once again the saviors of the galaxy. I have been wanting those things to happen all along.

However, the way it was handled was, IMO, not well and to rushed.

Not only that, but the sudden amnesia people seem to have. For the love of the Force, when did Daala become a sane, benevolent leader? Han Solo actually tells Jaina not to worry, arguing that Daala may be a good leader for the GA.

Wait, wasn't Han tortured by Daala? Apparently he can forgive and forget with ease.

Like I said- I am thrilled that the Galactic Alliance is rid of Jacen. I am thrilled that the GA and Confederation will be at peace. I am also happy that Luceno is writing the Millenium Falcon novel. It is up to him to sort things out and explain how the galaxy is back at peace again. I have faith that Luceno can do it.

One last thought on Daala. She acts out of character, to be sure. She sounds like any of the sane, level headed GA senators we have heard in the past, other than her veiled hint that the galaxy did not need the Jedi to always sort things out. Which begs the question- why did Denning decide to use Daala? With all the choices out there, it just seems like a poor one. Unless he did it as a huge joke, it doesn't make much sense.

Anyways, I am happy that we can move forward out of LOTF. I am opptomistic about the future of the EU.

But... you do get a sense that LOTF served no other purpose than to kill a few characters and then return to post-NJO galactic norms.

That is the biggest mystery of all.

Troy Denning is still one of my favorite authors. I don't assign all the blame to him, especially considering the fact that a multi-author series is not easy.

--Adm. Nick

 

Average score: 30.9/4 = 7.73

 

I knew when Troy Denning was scheduled to write the final book that the killer of the Solo boys had been unleashed and Jacen would die. Still, for some really dumb reason, I thought just maybe he wouldn't do it. But he did, of course. I realized it was over when Chapter three the introduction did not change; we were reading Jacen's Eulogy - a lot of stupid Jokes from when he was 14 and 15. This was in tremendously bad taste and no it did not serve to help me hate him even though it made me feel the author was giving it a good try to make me do so.

Well before I get to the finer points, I can only hope that the 6 needles in Caedus' face somehow caused his body to undergo some medical miracle and they bring him back because the way he went out was an abomination to Star Wars.

The good:

~Denning finally displayed Jacen with constant power that was equivalent of someone claiming to be a Sith Lord (more on this below).

~Denning took time to undo all of the travesty that the previous book had wrought: the Jedi were uplifted to their proper status in Star Wars as the most powerful force. The Mandos and GAG were put in their place and lo and behold even Mirta and Boba Fatt - er Fett were banned from Mandalore - funny stuff.

~Luke IS ANAKIN SKYWALKER'S SON! Oh my goodness, if nothing else, this was the one brilliant thing the book did, it recovered Luke Skywalker. He is supposed to have all of the Midos of his father, but had seemed entirely too helpless till now. Suddenly he has come into...well...everything...all at once. But hey, better late than never and better a little unrealistic to make up for the sham of his past existence. Lord of shatterpoint lore, meditative disguise, Force projection, Force vision projection and excelled visions. This indeed does seem more like what Anakin Skywalker would have been without the injuries, so kudos for that.

~Han and Leia were actually participating having finally come out of their dazed stupor from the last book.

~Despite Caedus'last split second...um...well dunno what it was...some kind of return to Jacen who loved his daughter more than anything in the world, including his own survival or Sithhood...he didn't become a Force Ghost, so he's hanging with Anakin Solo somewhere and I imagine them having a pretty good time. Yeah if that doesn't make sense, it made as much sense as Jacen's ending so whatever.

~Denning didn't wipe out Jacen's entire line...we have Amelia

THE BAD

~Ben is a Jedi? Did I miss something in the last book? It's altogether possible, but I didn't think I was that ditzy.

~So terribly sad, but although Jacen had the powers that could raise him to Sith status - JACEN WAS NOT A SITH LORD. Sorry. There is no way a Sith would ever say: "Starting today, Darth Caedus was going to rule not through anger or fear or even bribery, but as every true Sith Lord should, thorugh patience and LOVE and pain." NOR "Caedus needed to hold on to that love whatever it cost him, to cling to that love even as it tore his heart apart." (page 42) OKAYYYYYYYYYYYYY . Palpatine, Bane...well geez the whole lot, all rolling in their graves in disgust that the Jedi are referring to this guy as a Sith. LOVE AND NO ANGER????? Luke took a hit on that one, he should have realized. The one good thing is that Lucas' vision was not disturbed; Anakin Skywalker truly did destroy the Sith and even the EU has been unable to ressurect one.

~I cannot even describe how terrible the final battle between Jaina and Jacen was. I cannot believe 7 books were built up leading to THAT. I was disgusted, completely and utterly disgusted. And if the action hadn't already been the worst yet, Caedus going out SCREAMING to Tenal Ka to take Allana way from danger was the icing on the cake. And only then does Jaina freeze and realize - but whoops, her blade was already at his heart, LOL. Horribly written, just like Anakin Solo's death. Really I cannot understand why they let Denning write death scenes, he has no talent in tha

 

xx_Anakin_xx I think you are missing the score

 

OK, after I read a few spoilers I was a little afraid to even open the book - conclusion: If you can avoid it, don't read them. It wasn't at all that bad. I think Invincible is one of the best books in the series.

The good:
Jaina - all I have to say is: Finally! What they did to her in the previous novels was unforgivable and stupid. I know Caedus was supposed to be the main character of the series but that doesn't mean she chouldn't get more space for developing her character. Ben certainly did. In Invincible she finally goes on missions by herself, thinks for herself and isn't acompanied by Jag or Zekk (mostly). She also continues the family tradition by cutting off Caedus' arm. It's Jaina-centric novel, but that's not really surprising. I just hope that in the future novels they don't make her think about what she did every third sentence.

Ben - he's certainly living up to the Skywalker name. Denning can somehow write him as a mature young man but at the same time adds little bits typical for 14 year old boy he is. I'd like to read more about him.

Caedus - in the previous 8 novels he really didn't seem like "one of the most powerful Sith Lords of all time" as is said on the cover. In Invincible he finally does. He displays great Force powers and also confidence in his actions. But he also continues to act crazy and quite delusional. I didn't like him even as Jacen so I have no problem with his death.

Tenel Ka's cousins - this book certainly needed a funny element. They interaction with Ben and Zekk was great.

Connection between Revelation and Invincible - at the beginning of the book, Jaina was still with Mandalorians and helping them. This might seem like a silly thing but with Revelation it looked like Traviss skipped a book. To all beings in the galaxy was somehow revealed that Jacen was a Sith and all we learned was that the Mandalorians were invincible.

C3P-O and R2 - I always like to read about them. They are just on few pages but their presence still makes it more Star Wars like

The Jedi - fighting (especially on the Anakin Solo), training (Luke teaches Jaina - yay), consulting (Saba - ) - per above

The bad:
No ending - or at least a short ending. We don't know what happened to Caedus' body, what did the Jedi do with Tahiri; how Luke, Ben, Tenel Ka and Allana reacted to his death; nothing about Tenel Ka's sudden decision to leave Allana with Leia and Han. Epilouge would be nice.

Zekk missing - there is nothing good coming out of this (except Jaina and Jag getting together again)

Daala as a new Chief of State - we all know it's riddiculous.

After Caedus' death I was hoping to read more about Ben and Jaina. But apparently, the next novel is going to be about Han, Leia and Allana. That's really disappointing - so the're just going to replace Jacen with Allana?

Still, I enjoyed the whole book. It kept me thrilled to the end so I think it deserves 9 out of 10.

 

Average score: 47.3/6 = 7.88

 

THE GOOD
Luke takes a backseat in this book (Finally! It's about freakin' time). Fett+the Mandalorians team up with the Jedi at Nickel One. Jaina vs Jacen (Anakin Solo). The Jedi war council. Fett and Mirta not being allowed on Mandalore because of the Fett assassin nanokillers. Jaina refusing to let go of Jacen's body when Jag tries to rescue her.

THE PRICELESS!
Daala as CoS. Jag ruling the Moffs. Daala insisting that half the new batch off Moffs are female. Taryn Zel coming onto Zekk and his reaction. Ben redeeming Tahiri. The flashbacks. Jaina telling herself that Jacen's not dead, that he'll live forever in her heart.

"Saba, Kyp, and Kyle were standing around the table behind the Moffs, lightsabers in hand but not ignited. The rest of the Masters were busy taking Caedus's command staff into custody." (pg 289, Invincible) I loved that scene.

THE BAD
Zekk's disappearance. Jacen killing Isolder. Tahiri killing Shevu.

THE STUPID
Han and Leia raising Allana. Luke knowing how to use shatterpoint. Han and Leia in denial.

The Ugly
Tahiri using seduction to get information out of Ben.

Overall score 8.5 out of 10 (just because Kyle's in the book )

 

I really don't have a problem with Luke knowing how to use the Shatterpoint. He's a prodigy of the force, and he's not a natural with it as Mace was.


That being said, I loved this book. I read it in one day.

Denning managed to make both Luke and Caedus competent, which I'm highly appreciative of.

I actually miss Jacen Solo. He was one of my favorite characters until LotF. I've been following his character arc since YJK. I was pleased to see a sliver of redemption for him at the end. RIP, Jacen, you poor misguided soul.

Anyways, just a small nag...At the beginning of the book, there is a typo on Jaina's name It said "Jana", for that, I'm deducting .01 points.

9.99/10

 

Well just finished the book and decided to do a review. Let me just say i've been on the line with LOTF loved some books hated others. Also I had high expectations for this book which may be why I have more bad things to say about it then good.

The Good:

Darth Caedus Dark Lord of the Sith - Caedus finally came into his own in this book. Taking out Mandos like nothing, making the Moffs fear and respect him and of coarse breaking Prince Isolder's neck. He also whipped out some sweet force powers including lightning and shatterpoints.

Megador and Dominion - I'm not a big fleet junkie but I have to admit I love me some Super Star Destroyers.

Jaina Sword of the Jedi - It was nice to see Jaina embrace her destiny and realize she was the one to beat Caedus. She also showed some impressive abilities that allowed her to keep up with Caedus in both fights.

Tahiri Alive - Well this one is pretty self-explainatory... i'm glad Tahiri's still alive I figured she'd die.

The Bad:

Redemption in Star Wars: This is where it gets ugly. Jaina and Jacen have had limited interaction through the entire series and not once not ONE time does Jaina even try to turn Jacen from the darkside this entire book. Now I understand why Luke would not want to forgive Jacen but comeon he forgave friggin Darth Vader and unless you count the half a try in Revelation he never tried to redeem him once either not even before he knew Caedus killed Mara. Now this became a problem for me through the series. This is because Luke has known Jacen since he was a born... he was his master and his uncle. He watched him grow up and doesn't even try but OH he goes as far as put his life on the line for Vader a man he never knew as Anakin Skywalker just as a Dark Lord of the Sith. It's pretty sad that Luke can forgive 2 murders of millions maybe billions(Kyp,Vader) but can't forgive his nephew because he happened to kill one person with the last name Skywalker. Which brings me to my next point.

Bad Characterizations - This point has plagued LOTF the whole series. The Jedi in this book should not be able to call themselves such. Now don't get me wrong Caedus should have been taking out but capture should have been Plan A instead they send his sister to assassinate him. If that's not bad enough first she tries killing him with a sniper rifle while he's fighting Mandos and has no idea she's there. Then she sneaks up on him and gives him a lightsaber in the gut for his trouble. This is not the way of the Jedi both instances Jaina attacked without being provoked at all... and to beat all it's her twin brother and she doesn't show one ounce of remorse untill she cuts his arm off or kills him. Then after she kills him Han and Leia walk in and show no emotion what so ever. This was their son for crying out loud. I could go on and on with this point but i'll end it here.

Heres the keys to the Empire Jag - Well Luke spares the Moffs and then pretty much makes Jag Emperor for no real reason at all other then for future plot reasons.

Heroes and Villans??? - In this book I found myself actually rooting for Caedus not only to live but to win. The reason for this is the NJO being overly hypocritical. Luke and his order want Caedus dead no exceptions I mean Luke, Jaina, Kyp, and Kam never had any brushes with the darkside so whats Jacens deal?? During the Jaina-Caedus fight the dialouge made it seem as if Jaina was the one who turned. I'm not sure why Troy did this but I felt way more for Jacen during the book than any one else. I know Caedus did bad things but at least he understood he was doing it for a reason, felt bad for things he had to do or had done and had come to terms with his ends justify the means mentality. The NJO had him murdered then forgave everyone else in the galaxy all the while sitting on their high horse. Oh yeah Daala's a good guy now too.

Plot holes - Tassels anyone???

The end of the Solo line? - Anakin and Jacen are gone Jaina

 

Wow, a bit tired right now after reading through the night, but I'll attempt to write a review anyway.

As many have noted, the book is rather short, especially for the ending of a nine-book arc. Denning does make good use of every page though, and even if some plots from the earlier books have been dropped he manages to bring up the majority of them. I also like how he focuses the entire book on the personal struggles. There is a few massive fleet battles going on, but since they're not central to the plot we don't get unnecessary details from them.

The duels were very well written, and I like that there is more to fighting than the clean and elegant style we see in the (very) PG movies. We get cracking bones, spilling blood and smelling corpses. Adds a nasty realism.

Explanation of Flow-walking? Thank you!

Luke is, as said many times before, probably the one with the most uneven characterization in the EU. In this book Denning gives us one of the best Lukes I've read, he is extremely powerful and does preform as you could expect from a Grand Master, even though is leadership mostly is of the mystic kind.

Some internal plot points seem rather strange, but I guess the might be brought up in later novels. Such as Jainas shatterpoint ability and the Fetts' involuntary exile.

And what about Zekk? So, we shoot down one of Jainas love interests and leave his survival uncertain. Haven't we done this before?

Not-so-subtle nods to Legacy. Well, it's about time, right? But why didn't they name the Moff that talked about the Mission "Rus"?


I think I'll stop there. Great book overall, I give it 7/10, and that could have been higher if it wasn't that it felt a bit rushed in parts due to the small page count.

 

i give a 7/10.

great writing, denning is always one of my faves for star wars. i only gave it that high because i thought he did as good as anyone could have given the story he was working with.

bad premise, bad plot, bad idea for the overall story, but very well done. the fact that i enjoyed reading a story that bad speaks a lot for his writing, so i had to give it a positive, if 5 is neutral.

as for the whole, "tidy quick ending"...i don't really hold that against the book, because if it DIDN'T have a clear resolution, we would have complained too...

 

1 out of 10. The book was horrible, had the worst characterizations ever, Redemption was completely forgotten...just an all around horrible book. Denning is supposed to be a better writer too, but this...makes even the worst fanfiction passable.

 

Average score: 86.29/12 = 7.19

 

The Good:

The fully realized Darth Cadeus, Luke showing everyone that he he not only has a spine but a brain attatched to it as well. The dynamics between Ben and Tahiri I found their scenes some of the best in the LOTF series. Finally jabbing the saber through any possibility that the flow walking might bring Anakin back. The pace of the entire novel and of course seeing Boba and the rest of the bucket heads knocked on their backsides...hard. Getting to see mother and daughter Jedi working together. Han's character up till the Daala remark.

The Bad:
Seeing one of the most complex of the EU characters die, RIP Jacen. The lack of any mention of Wedge & Syal Antilles, Valin Horn or Seha Dorvald. That we mention Ailyn Vel, Mara Jade and Lt. Telbut but not one Jedi seems to care about Nelani Dinn. With as much fleet action occuring a scene or two of that action would have been nice. Why is Gavin Darklighter still fighting for the Alliance? Daala? Seriously Daala!? Why won't this novelty character go away! If I have to see this 'Military genuis' get beaten one more time I'll scream.

I'll say 8.6

 

Average score: 94.89/13 = 7.30

 

I give it an 8.5/10.

I thought it was very well-written and entertaining, Denning did a great job of illustrating how far Jacen had fallen, and the jokes and flashbacks were an excellent touch. It was kind of short, and the ending was definitely rushed, though. Also, since some people brought it up, his handling of the 'shatterpoint' ability really bothered me - not because Luke knew it, but because that's not what shatterpoints are at all. The shatterpoint thing was mostly a metaphor, it's not just some magic Jedi ability that lets them break any substance with just a tap. Seriously, what the heck? "Oh, never have to worry about being taken prisoner again, I can just use shatterpoint on the walls of my cell!" Certain gems have shatterpoints. Situations sometimes have shatterpoints. Hardened steel does not. That part really bothered me, and I pray it doesn't reappear in the EU.

 

This.

6/10

 

10/10

The end of Lord Caedus' reign could not come soon enough.