Like pretty much every month this year, there are a great number of interesting and exciting titles released. Nobody has time to read them all, however, so one has to make the hard choices as to what to read. With that in mind, here are my (much-delayed) selections for my most-anticipated six novels published this April.
Book Six in the on-going Fate of the Jedi series
In a stunning turn of events, Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben, joined forces with members of the Sith armada sent to kill them – and turned their combined might against the monstrous being Abeloth, whose power was causing young Jedi Knights to go insane. With Abeloth gone and the Knights sane again, the Sith reverted to form, making a treacherous attempt on Luke’s life.
Luke and Ben have no time for retaliation. A new and even more insidious threat is rising, one that endangers not only the Jedi but the entire Galactic Alliance. Unless the Skywalkers survive to sound the alarm – and to pass along the secrets they have learned about Abeloth and the Sith – the galaxy will suffer as it has never suffered before. But the reinforcements they need remain grounded on Coruscant, where the political battle of wills between the Jedi Council and Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala has reached a boiling point.
Now Luke and Ben must go on the run, taking along the inscrutable and dangerous Sith apprentice, Vestara Khai. With a host of Sith warriors in hot pursuit, the Skywalkers soon find themselves trapped on the moon Pydyr, caught between their former allies and a mob of angry Fallanassi. A new truce may be their only hope. But can a Sith ever be trusted?
With the Jedi’s most famous father-and-son team outnumbered and outgunned, the countdown to galactic disaster has begun – and time is running out.
Vortex throws you straight in at the moment the previous volume, Allies, ended. It’s been a while since I read that novel, so it took a couple pages to remember everything that had gone on leading up to this point, but after that I found myself sinking into the story again and my reading pace picked up considerably. I should say at the outset that I did enjoy reading Vortex a good deal – I’m an unapologetic post-Return of the Jedi Star Wars novel fanboy. However, it was not without its faults...
Vortex has a number of plot-threads that run through the novel – most of which have appeared in at least one of the other Fate of the Jedi novels. However, the structure of the novel can sometimes be frustrating. After a long pair of opening chapters that focussed exclusively on a pirate-ambush of Jaina and Lando, the novel gave us a couple of chapters on the Luke-Ben-Vestara story. After this, however, the novel jumps more frequently, and never really gives us the time to sink into the story – just as we’re getting comfortable in one setting, the perspective changes to another. This was somewhat frustrating.
The political machinations on Coruscant are not the strongest thread of the story, as the pace is rather slow and it’s not entirely clear why certain things are happening or why, in the case of the slave uprising, governmental reactions are so exaggerated. Some questions are answered as the novel comes to its more action-packed and exciting conclusion, but it’s difficult to ignore some of the shaky progressions over the course of the whole series.
Tahiri’s trial for the assassination of Imperial Admiral Pellaeon is still going on, but each time the books visits it, it just feels like it’s treading water (although, her lawyer’s inaction did provide a moment of levity at one point). The trial does picks up, just as every thread does, but it still feels a bit drawn-out. I really like the idea of a Star Wars-based courtroom drama forming a greater portion of a future novel – when the trial was unfolding on the page, it felt quite like a well-written contemporary courtroom drama. I’m not sure how this would actually work, but I think it would have considerable cross-over appeal.
This was rather distressing, actually, as in earlier novels, Han and Leia storylines were frequently the more interesting (for example, Dave Wolverton’s The Courtship of Princess Leia, Roger MacBride Allen’s Corellia Trilogy), with Luke’s threads sometimes becoming a little repetitive. I also think the courtroom element had potential to be explored in greater detail and at greater length. Towards the end of the novel, however, Han, Leia and Jaina Solo stage a prison break for two ‘mad’ Jedi who have been frozen in carbonite by Chief of State Daala. It’s a nice, if over-long, action sequence to wake us up after being a rather slow-going plot-thread.
After many long years of war, the galaxy is mostly at peace, and Chief of State Daala is doing everything in her power to keep it that way – including overreacting. Partly this is due to her understandable fear of the Jedi, an order she still doesn't fully understand, and - as we all know - the fear of the unknown can make even the most rational actor to do something irrational. The development of this story thread has been a bit uneven over the past five novels, and because less of Vortex is from Daala’s perspective, events seem to devolve rather quicker than one might expect.
The ‘Crazy Jedi’ epidemic that marked much of the trouble in the first five novels of the series seems to have been brought to an end, thanks to the apparent demise of Abeloth. Vortex at first feels like a post-action lull, but when Luke and his Sith allies realise they have been duped, they must race across the galaxy to an unexpected destination from Luke’s past, and learn more about Abeloth’s horrific nature. Sith apprentice Vestara’s allegiance and loyalties are frequently tested as she continues to spend time with Luke and Ben, and experiences the considerable contrasts between their working relationship and the one she “enjoys” with her father and Lord Taalon (the Lost Tribe expeditionary fleet’s commander). Despite Vestara’s constant betrayals, and Luke’s recognition of her Sithly ways, she is repeatedly able to take advantage of either Luke’s sympathy for her, or Ben's obvious and growing attraction and affection for her:
“though he remained convinced that forbearance was wasted on Vestara or any of the Lost Tribe Sith – Luke could not help admiring the [Ben]’s compassion and determination to give others a second chance, or even a third.”
The problem is, with this being book six, and the third with Vestara featuring prominently with Ben and Luke, the back-and-forth betrayals and eternally-noted distrust between the Jedi and Sith, was becoming a bit tediously cyclical. Thankfully, some pretty momentous events happen, which sets the series up for a possibly action-packed final three novels. (The final Fate of the Jedi novel, also by Denning, is titled Apocalypse, so one assumes things are going to kick off between the Jedi and growing Sith forces.)
There’s a real surprise with regards to the Jedi leadership on Coruscant (Luke was exiled in the first Fate of the Jedi novel, Outcast). This was a big surprise (I won’t spoil it). Hamner’s evolution as a character has been a bit strange, from the dependable sage and warrior, to a paranoid, not-particularly-adept political operative – it also suggests Luke has seriously bad judgement. His squabbles with the rest of the Jedi Council form a good deal of the novel, and events come to a head towards the end of the novel.
I love that novels in the Star Wars universe are still being released: I’m a huge fan of the original trilogy of movies, and I’ve read almost all of the post-Return of the Jedi novels and quite a few of the graphic novels (thanks to my sister and her former boyfriend for introducing me to them, back in the late 1990s) – revisiting the setting from time to time is like spending time with an old friend for a while. Indeed, while I don’t read much sci-fi, I would happily say that some of my favourite novels in that genre are from this universe (specifically, those written by Kevin J. Anderson and Timothy Zahn).
The novel threatened to be pure filler for the first half; the second half of the novel saw a lot of threads come together with some good action and writing; and the final 150 pages of the novel are packed with action and a couple of stunning revelations and events – it really picks up on all fronts, which was very pleasing as I had been starting to get frustrated (as you can perhaps tell from much of this review).
Overall, this is a good Star Wars novel, by one of the best authors writing in the setting. However, this is book six of nine, and despite some good content and writing, it feels too much like filler, and while reading it I knew there weren’t going to be any proper conclusions. I will certainly be reading the final three volumes in the Fate of the Jedi story, but I am once again left feeling like this novel was a lot of hurry-up-and-wait. Shorter overall story arcs are, I think, advisable.
Die-hard fans will lap this up, and it’s a good and enjoyable addition to the series. It’ll be interesting to see where they take the story next.
Series Chronology: Outcast, Omen, Abyss, Backlash, Allies, Vortex, Conviction (May 2011), Ascension (August 2011), Apocalypse (November 2011)
Third in the latest series released in Mass Market Paperback, June 29th
With the paperback release of Troy Denning’s Fate of the Jedi: Abyss, I thought I’d just post a quick link to my earlier review, rather than post the whole thing again. With a slightly darker feel to it, Abyss is a good addition to the Fate of the Jedi series, with the Lost Tribe of the Sith playing a bigger part in the plot and Vestara (an integral character in both Backlash and Allies) starts to feature more. Here’s the synopsis of the novel:
Luke and Ben Skywalker arrive in the mysterious part of space called The Maw in search of more clues as to what caused Jacen Solo’s downfall into the dark side.
They are not, however, the only ones exploring The Maw: a Sith Master and her apprentice arrive there, too, having followed the delinquent ancient Sith ship found by Ben in The Legacy of the Force – and they’re thrilled to find Luke there, because they are determined to kill him.
But there’s another powerful being hiding in The Maw. It's enormously strong, purely evil, and it has its own plans for Luke Skywalker...
As just a taste of what I thought the first time around, here are a couple of paragraphs from the review with my overall impressions of the novel:
“Denning’s prose are fluid and tightly-written, the plotting is very fast-paced (I read this book very quickly indeed), with a healthy balance between action, occasional wit, and ever-more detail of the Star Wars universe and those who inhabit it. I would have preferred if the plot and series as a whole were more focused on Luke and Ben’s journey, as I believe all three writers for this series have managed to create and maintain an interesting dynamic between father and son hitherto unexplored in much detail. It’s clear that Ben is going to be a major (if not the major) character in the future, so it would make sense to develop him further…”
“Sci-fi action in the classic style we’ve come to love and expect from the Star Wars brand, mixed with a greater attention to the political and philosophical (though without becoming pretentious or Trek-y)…”
So, if you’d like to read the rest of the review, you can find it here.
Part Three of the Fate of the Jedi sequence
The search to understand Jacen’s slide into the Dark Side continues, as Luke and Ben Skywalker journey deep into the Maw – a deadly cluster of black holes, in the centre of which a powerful evil has taken refuge; it is enormously strong and has its own special plans for Luke Skywalker. Father and son are not alone in their quest, however, as a Sith Master and her apprentice (along with a ship-load of Sith warriors) have been tracking “Ship”, a Sith meditation sphere, as well as the Skywalkers, intent on killing the Jedi and recovering the sphere.
Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, the mysterious illness afflicting young Jedi continues to confound Leia, Han and the Jedi medical teams. Leads emerge, perhaps linking the illness to Shelter, the hidden base where young Jedi were protected during the recent galactic civil war (detailed in the events of the Legacy of the Force series), which was located in the Maw. While struggling to find a cure, our heroes (aided by Jagged Fel, the Chief of State of the Imperial Remnant) must also navigate Coruscant politics and the devious maneuvering of Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala, who remains intent on bringing the Jedi Order to heel. On top of this, a particularly unscrupulous and determined journalist has been shadowing Jedi, broadcasting every fault and slip.
Troy Denning is certainly one of the better authors working on the Star Wars series (and we can therefore forgive his tendency to come up with awful ‘futuristic’ swear-words), and Abyss lived up to my expectations in terms of the quality of the writing – in fact, slightly exceeding them. The novel takes a slightly darker turn, as Luke and Ben are confronted with some decidedly twisted, utterly alien and horrific things while in the Maw.
The thread involving the Jedi-sickness is finally linked with Luke and Ben’s journey, which will be of interest to those who thought it was becoming a little repetitive and aimless (after only two books); there are only so many times you can read that another Jedi has been struck demented, with no cure in sight, before it starts to look like a pointless plot device to keep Han and Leia in the story. This plot-thread does remain the weaker part of the series, it must be said (see later, though).
The increased attention given to Vestara and her Sith leaders and comrades is welcome, as we learn more about the Lost Tribe of the Sith and their motivations (introduced in the eBook novella series of the same name, reviewed here and here) – one thing that comes across here is that, if the Sith weren’t so intent on their personal Machiavellian politics, they might get a bit more conquering and subjugating done, instead of expending so much energy on bickering and infighting.
Denning’s prose are fluid and tightly-written, the plotting is very fast-paced (I read this book very quickly indeed), with a healthy balance between action, occasional wit, and ever-more detail of the Star Wars universe and those who inhabit it. I would have preferred if the plot and series as a whole were more focused on Luke and Ben’s journey, as I believe all three writers for this series have managed to create and maintain an interesting dynamic between father and son hitherto unexplored in much detail. It’s clear that Ben is going to be a major (if not the major) character in the future, so it would make sense to develop him further.
I still harbour a few doubts over the wisdom of a nine-book series, rather than taught trilogies – just compare the quality of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, Kevin J. Andersen’s Jedi Academy trilogy, and Roger MacBride Allen’s Corellian Trilogy to some recent novels (the Coruscant Nights trilogy comes to mind), and you’ll see a huge difference. The Fate of the Jedi series, it must be said, is proving far more interesting and intriguing, with more potential than its predecessor – while the Legacy of the Force was still a very good series, with hindsight I can’t avoid the impression that the story was dragged out a longer than necessary: the ending was a foregone conclusion, therefore nine novels seemed excessive. Abyss, however, has done a lot to persuade me that a longer, more-epic series like this can work, as Luke and Ben’s discoveries in the Maw (and a few surprises nearing the end of the novel) have considerable potential to drastically effect the Jedi and the galaxy.
Fate of the Jedi has, therefore, plenty of opportunity and scope to develop in a number of ways. This should make it an exceptional addition to the Star Wars canon, and keep long-time fans satisfied and coming back for more, while also gaining the attention of new or skeptical readers. Abyss does an admirable job of answering some questions while also posing new ones, ensuring interest in the series remains high, with Denning’s writing showing that this expectation is well-deserved.
Sci-fi action in the classic style we’ve come to love and expect from the Star Wars brand, mixed with a greater attention to the political and philosophical (though without becoming pretentious or Trek-y), Abyss is a very enjoyable read. I would certainly recommend it to all fans of the Star Wars franchise, and I think new fans will also get a great deal of enjoyment from reading this series.
Series Chronology: Outcast, Omen, Abyss, Backlash (Feb.2010), Allies (Apr.2010), Vortex (Aug.2010), Conviction (Nov.2010), FotJ #8 (Jan.2011), FotJ #9 (Apr.2011)
And so we come to the end...The final installment in any series always runs the risk of being a massive disappointment. Thankfully, Invincible does not suffer from this malady. This will be a short review through necessity, because any great description of the plot will ruin it for everyone not yet caught up.
Needless to say, Troy Denning has really rolled up his sleeves and got stuck into the gritty nature of civil war (expanded to galactic scope, here) and the tragedies and attrocities that war can compel people to commit.
Invincible is more brutal than pretty much any previous Star Wars novel or movie. The battles between Jaina and Jacen/Caedus are described in amazing, gruesome detail - so much so that you almost feel like you're actually there.
Perhaps the reason Invincible doesn't fall foul of last-installment pitfalls is because it's not, ultimately, a last installment. There will be more novels to come with the characters we all continue to love (next up, chronologically, is Millennium Falcon, out at the end of this year).
Excellent plotting, excellent humour (though not too much), and allegory done very well and deftly, Invincible is one of the best Star Wars novels to come out over the past few years (it certainly blows all of the previous long series out of the water). If you haven't started the Legacy of the Force series yet, get cracking so you can get up to speed and enjoy this cracking final chapter.
Highly recommended.
The galactic civil war continues, as Jacen Solo continues to strengthen his grip on power and increasingly emulates of his grandfather.
Following on from the explosive opening chapter “Betrayal”, the Legacy Of The Force series manages to keep up the pace through these next three superb instalments.
torture at one point, which sets in motion his ultimate fall as well as dangerous potential dealings with Fett.
Finally (for the moment), "Exile" (Aaron Alston) finishes of the first half of the series with pretty much more of the same fast-paced space opera-style adventure. Ben Skywalker is sent on his first solo mission, to the Sith homeworld (where he acquires an evil amulet, a cool sentient ship and a young female companion, who will likely prove pivotal in some moral dilemma in a future instalment of the series). It's interesting to see his growth as a character as he must weigh in his mind what he believes he should do and what he believes Jacen wants him to do. It is becoming apparent that Ben is not as completely devoted to his teacher as in the previous instalments. Han and Leia’s relationship with their son worsens as he pushes not only them, but also his twin sister further away from him. His fall into the Dark Side is very almost complete. They also find themselves in an increasingly precarious position straddling both sides of the imminent galactic civil war.
This is the first mega-series attempted in the Star Wars universe, and the 19-book saga has been pulled off with amazing skill, guided admirably by Shelly Shapiro (Editorial Director, Del Rey Books) Sue Rostini (Managing Editor, LucasFilm) and Lucy Wilson (Director of Publishing Lucasfilm), and written by some of Science Fiction's leading lights. [See comments for full, chronological list of novels & authors.]
s - specifically, Nom Anor, a firebrand sent to sow discord among the newly formed and still-fragile New Republic.
fanboys happy. One death in particular caused so much anger among the die-hard fans that the author responsible (R.A. Salvatore) received numerous deaththreats! (And people thought Trekkies were a difficult bunch!)
introduces us to major characters that effect the whole story arc or at least significant portions of it. Excellently written, too.
place, but the descriptions of the altered world and Luke's adventures on it were so well written it is easy to forgive the somewhat bizarre events that take place.
solved, characters finish their various personal journies (be it Jacen's spiritual journey, or Nom Anor's... well, his life...), and the war between the Yuuzhan Vong and the New Republic (by now renamed the Galactic Alliance, because the New Republic fell apart quite spectacularly) comes to a close. There are a few surprises (look out for Onimi, the Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord's jester/familiar) and a satisfying end to the saga.
