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arf88's review
3.0
This was a satisfying, if rushed, ending to a series that had a lot of potential. It's a shame the Disney buyout meant an end to this, with so many of the Je'daii going to the dark in place of balance it would have been nice to see the start of the opposite, with some going to the light. But I'm glad the creators were able to end the series properly at least.
zare_i's review
4.0
Final story arc starts with the bang - Rakata arrived in the Tython system and established their foothold, conflict rages for quite some time but it seems that both combatants are evened out for the moment so war and destruction wont be finished any time soon.
While Jedi managed to repel the direct attack on Tython they are aware that sheer size of Rakata's army will defeat them in the end. So they decide to strike at the heart of the invaders, strike force led by Xesh begins the attack and things seem to be going in their favor, but Rakata seem to have few more tricks up their sleeves.
Battle scenes are gorgeous, especially situations where it is visible how new weapons introduced by Xesh take toll on the Jedi. Based on the Dark side of the Force (only one that Rakata utilize) they start to drain the Jedi and cause unbalance that makes them ever more pliable to the Rakata machinations (imagine hundreds of dark blades so like one wielded by Elric of Melninbone used to defeat the very evil that empowers them - great, right :))
I wont go into more details because of spoilers but as in every good action adventure story there are twists and turns, betrayals and redemption at the end. I especially liked the actions of the ancient Kwa and the role of Tython the planet (I like the parallels with W40K and Old Ones from that universe).
Art is gorgeous (as was in volumes #1 and #2). Only thing I did not like is that this was final chapter in the story about Jedi origins. I truly hope somebody picks this up and further develops it.
Highly recommended to fans of action adventure and SWKOTOR-like stories.
While Jedi managed to repel the direct attack on Tython they are aware that sheer size of Rakata's army will defeat them in the end. So they decide to strike at the heart of the invaders, strike force led by Xesh begins the attack and things seem to be going in their favor, but Rakata seem to have few more tricks up their sleeves.
Battle scenes are gorgeous, especially situations where it is visible how new weapons introduced by Xesh take toll on the Jedi. Based on the Dark side of the Force (only one that Rakata utilize) they start to drain the Jedi and cause unbalance that makes them ever more pliable to the Rakata machinations (imagine hundreds of dark blades so like one wielded by Elric of Melninbone used to defeat the very evil that empowers them - great, right :))
I wont go into more details because of spoilers but as in every good action adventure story there are twists and turns, betrayals and redemption at the end. I especially liked the actions of the ancient Kwa and the role of Tython the planet (I like the parallels with W40K and Old Ones from that universe).
Art is gorgeous (as was in volumes #1 and #2). Only thing I did not like is that this was final chapter in the story about Jedi origins. I truly hope somebody picks this up and further develops it.
Highly recommended to fans of action adventure and SWKOTOR-like stories.
jaredkwheeler's review
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #4
Background: Dawn of the Jedi: Force War was released in five issues from November 2013 to March 2014. The trade paperback was released in June 2014. It was written by [a:John Ostrander|18810|John Ostrander|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1263038842p2/18810.jpg] and pencilled by [a:Jan Duursema|20013|Jan Duursema|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg], returning to complete the final arc in the Dawn of the Jedi series they began with [b:Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Vol. 1 - Force Storm|15745903|Star Wars Dawn of the Jedi, Vol. 1 - Force Storm|John Ostrander|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1341962456s/15745903.jpg|21435916] (my review here) and continued with [b:Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Volume 2: Prisoner of Bogan|17372095|Star Wars Dawn of the Jedi, Volume 2 Prisoner of Bogan|John Ostrander|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360778634s/17372095.jpg|24158759] (my review here).
Force War begins about a year after the end of Prisoner of Bogan, over 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. All of the surviving major characters from the previous arcs reappear here (although a few are definitely parked on the sidelines). The story also introduces the Rakatan Flesh Raiders, who will later appear on Tython during the era surrounding The Old Republic series.
Summary: The Rakata have invaded the Tython system, ravaging and enslaving several worlds and growing ever-closer to the Je'daii homeworld itself. The Je'daii army is led by Daegan Lok, returned from his banishment on the moon of Bogan, and Xesh, former Force Hound of the Rakatan Infinite Empire. Armed with Forcesabers, the weapons of their enemies, the Je'daii are in a fight for their lives, even as they dangerously tip the balance of the Force towards the dark side. But none of them understand their enemy's true goal, nor do they suspect the plots he has long-since set in motion to ensure their ultimate defeat.
Review: Finally, it's the pay-off I've been waiting for throughout the previous two volumes! I'm not sure I'd say the epic excitement of the climax improves my opinion of the flaws in the set-up, but those flaws didn't dim my enjoyment of this conclusion, either. Honestly, this arc stands up just fine on its own, but reading the earlier issues does add some valuable weight to the continued development of various character relationships.
Where Force Storm felt like it barely had a story at all, and Prisoner of Bogan felt like a filler to get to the next thing, Force War feels just about right. And we can finally appreciate the tying up of all the loose threads by the end, so that's nice, too. This is the only Dawn of the Jedi entry (novel or comic) that really realizes the potential of the setting and period.
I like that the story drops us right into the middle of the Rakatan invasion rather than picking up right where the last volume ended. There's been enough build-up to this already, and it was a wise decision to dispense with any more. The only nit I have to pick is that Daegan Lok, supposedly a lunatic, and the major villain of the last arc, who was captured and imprisoned at the end of Prisoner of Bogan is . . . suddenly the leader of the Je'daii army? And everything is all cool now, even though he tried to kill a bunch of people including some of the other major characters . . . How did that happen? Oh, well.
There's not really a lot of time to wonder about that, as the plot reels from battle to desperate battle. In-between, we get snatches of the growing relationship between Xesh and the Je'daii Shae Koda, as well as between Xesh and Lok, the closest thing he has to a mentor. The Force Hound's journey is truly the heart of this whole series, and he has grown into a genuinely interesting and worthwhile character with a decent supporting cast. I felt that some of developments with his character in the story's climax were pretty flagrantly recycled from the climax of Prisoner of Bogan, but somehow that didn't lessen their emotional impact.
Aside from Koda, the other two major characters from Force Storm, Sith Je'daii Sek'nos Rath and Twi'lek Seer Tasha Ryo, both have major roles to play, but I was left feeling that they kind of got short shrift in comparison to the others. Tasha in particular is more-or-less side-lined the entire story (just like last time) until the deus ex machina that was inserted so clumsily in the last arc suddenly pops up again.
That said, this was a solid enough conclusion that I would recommend the whole series based on its merits alone. Definitely skip the novel, but be sure to check this out!
B+
Background: Dawn of the Jedi: Force War was released in five issues from November 2013 to March 2014. The trade paperback was released in June 2014. It was written by [a:John Ostrander|18810|John Ostrander|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1263038842p2/18810.jpg] and pencilled by [a:Jan Duursema|20013|Jan Duursema|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg], returning to complete the final arc in the Dawn of the Jedi series they began with [b:Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Vol. 1 - Force Storm|15745903|Star Wars Dawn of the Jedi, Vol. 1 - Force Storm|John Ostrander|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1341962456s/15745903.jpg|21435916] (my review here) and continued with [b:Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Volume 2: Prisoner of Bogan|17372095|Star Wars Dawn of the Jedi, Volume 2 Prisoner of Bogan|John Ostrander|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360778634s/17372095.jpg|24158759] (my review here).
Force War begins about a year after the end of Prisoner of Bogan, over 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. All of the surviving major characters from the previous arcs reappear here (although a few are definitely parked on the sidelines). The story also introduces the Rakatan Flesh Raiders, who will later appear on Tython during the era surrounding The Old Republic series.
Summary: The Rakata have invaded the Tython system, ravaging and enslaving several worlds and growing ever-closer to the Je'daii homeworld itself. The Je'daii army is led by Daegan Lok, returned from his banishment on the moon of Bogan, and Xesh, former Force Hound of the Rakatan Infinite Empire. Armed with Forcesabers, the weapons of their enemies, the Je'daii are in a fight for their lives, even as they dangerously tip the balance of the Force towards the dark side. But none of them understand their enemy's true goal, nor do they suspect the plots he has long-since set in motion to ensure their ultimate defeat.
Review: Finally, it's the pay-off I've been waiting for throughout the previous two volumes! I'm not sure I'd say the epic excitement of the climax improves my opinion of the flaws in the set-up, but those flaws didn't dim my enjoyment of this conclusion, either. Honestly, this arc stands up just fine on its own, but reading the earlier issues does add some valuable weight to the continued development of various character relationships.
Where Force Storm felt like it barely had a story at all, and Prisoner of Bogan felt like a filler to get to the next thing, Force War feels just about right. And we can finally appreciate the tying up of all the loose threads by the end, so that's nice, too. This is the only Dawn of the Jedi entry (novel or comic) that really realizes the potential of the setting and period.
I like that the story drops us right into the middle of the Rakatan invasion rather than picking up right where the last volume ended. There's been enough build-up to this already, and it was a wise decision to dispense with any more. The only nit I have to pick is that Daegan Lok, supposedly a lunatic, and the major villain of the last arc, who was captured and imprisoned at the end of Prisoner of Bogan is . . . suddenly the leader of the Je'daii army? And everything is all cool now, even though he tried to kill a bunch of people including some of the other major characters . . . How did that happen? Oh, well.
There's not really a lot of time to wonder about that, as the plot reels from battle to desperate battle. In-between, we get snatches of the growing relationship between Xesh and the Je'daii Shae Koda, as well as between Xesh and Lok, the closest thing he has to a mentor. The Force Hound's journey is truly the heart of this whole series, and he has grown into a genuinely interesting and worthwhile character with a decent supporting cast. I felt that some of developments with his character in the story's climax were pretty flagrantly recycled from the climax of Prisoner of Bogan, but somehow that didn't lessen their emotional impact.
Aside from Koda, the other two major characters from Force Storm, Sith Je'daii Sek'nos Rath and Twi'lek Seer Tasha Ryo, both have major roles to play, but I was left feeling that they kind of got short shrift in comparison to the others. Tasha in particular is more-or-less side-lined the entire story (just like last time) until the deus ex machina that was inserted so clumsily in the last arc suddenly pops up again.
That said, this was a solid enough conclusion that I would recommend the whole series based on its merits alone. Definitely skip the novel, but be sure to check this out!
B+
fandom4ever's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi – Force War abruptly jumps one year after Prisoner of Bogan for some reason. The Je’daii and systems of Tython are in full-swing war with the Rakatan Infinite Empire. In fact, they’ve already conquered and subjugated many planets. Also, Daegen Lok has been taken off Bogan and put in charge of the Je’daii warriors! It would have been nice to see how this happened after they had once more dumped him on Bogan as a lost cause.
The story is good enough but I had problems with some of the aspects of this book; the biggest being Xesh’s character development. I found him pretty interesting in Book 1 and then his slow possible changes in Book 2 as he realized there was more to the Force then just darkness. But when the head Rakatan does the ‘big reveal’ to him aboard his ship and he totally just goes back to the way he was I couldn’t stop the irritation. ‘Oh no, the Je’daii won’t accept me anymore if they knew the things I used to do! Whelp, better just go back to being a slave.’ What?!
It also felt like a hurried wrap-up. We had physical implications for those Force users that heavily used the Dark side in the last battle but it was never brought up by anyone. I guess it was just supposed to hint at what was to come when the Dark side users split off from the Jedi? It was almost like there should have been more issues to this comic series but with the Disney buy-up and cancellation of the EU that wasn’t going to happen so they had to work with what they had.
Overall, I’m glad I read the series. I got enough good parts of where the Jedi Order first began and some of the Rakatan Infinite Empire, that it left me content. I just wish there could have been more.
The story is good enough but I had problems with some of the aspects of this book; the biggest being Xesh’s character development. I found him pretty interesting in Book 1 and then his slow possible changes in Book 2 as he realized there was more to the Force then just darkness. But when the head Rakatan does the ‘big reveal’ to him aboard his ship and he totally just goes back to the way he was I couldn’t stop the irritation. ‘Oh no, the Je’daii won’t accept me anymore if they knew the things I used to do! Whelp, better just go back to being a slave.’ What?!
It also felt like a hurried wrap-up. We had physical implications for those Force users that heavily used the Dark side in the last battle but it was never brought up by anyone. I guess it was just supposed to hint at what was to come when the Dark side users split off from the Jedi? It was almost like there should have been more issues to this comic series but with the Disney buy-up and cancellation of the EU that wasn’t going to happen so they had to work with what they had.
Overall, I’m glad I read the series. I got enough good parts of where the Jedi Order first began and some of the Rakatan Infinite Empire, that it left me content. I just wish there could have been more.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review
5.0
This is one of the very last non-Disney Star Wars stories to come into existence and certainly goes out with the big bang. Set one year after the events of Prisoner of Bogdan. This was a terrific finale chock-full of exciting action, double-crosses and some very interesting developments. I liked how there was more detail in the back-story, but at no time was it to the detriment to the main story. There were also a couple of really interesting relational developments, particularly between Shae Koda and Xesh and, more surprisingly, between Trill and Sek'nos Rath.
The action was pretty full-on throughout, though the low-casualty-rate of named characters did take a bit of the suspense out of it. Apart from that little niggle, I really enjoyed this story and am saddened that this is it. The story did wrap up the trilogy, but there was certainly scope for more from this era and with these characters.
The action was pretty full-on throughout, though the low-casualty-rate of named characters did take a bit of the suspense out of it. Apart from that little niggle, I really enjoyed this story and am saddened that this is it. The story did wrap up the trilogy, but there was certainly scope for more from this era and with these characters.
bardinhell's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A fitting conclusion to the comics. Sucks that we never got more Dawn of the Jedi comics because of Disney. It’s a neat concept and the characters are pretty cool as well.
raven31's review
4.0
Maybe the fact that I managed to get a brand new copy and it smelled SO DARN GOOD skewed my opinion of it, but I really liked this. Strong characters, God plot. Looking forward to the next one in line.
majincloud's review
5.0
I think this is the last comic made by Dark Horse before the rights were turned over to Disney / Marvel. And while the story is great and is an end to this trilogy, I am sad to see that we will never get the death of the Infinite Empire and the separation of Jedi and Sith. We got to see the first instance of lightsabers. We got to see the building blocks of what the Jedi will become.
Unfortunately its length hinders it a bit.
Unfortunately its length hinders it a bit.