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gabriel2710's review against another edition
4.0
Shorter review today, for Christmas!
Hope it isn’t a bother or disappointment for anyone awaiting this book!
Troy Denning’s writing is very solid here, it feels less like himself to be honest, it seems like for this novel at least that he has listened to many criticisms about his writing and I honestly didn’t notice many of the hallmarks of his prose.
Lady Rhea and Vestara were a really awesome duo for me and I loved their relationship. Them exploring what I am betting is Mortis was really cool, and I loved Vestara seeing Abeloth for who she truly is and not letting herself be fooled by her.
The whole Mind-walking stuff where Luke and Ben leave their bodies was really cool but also extremely creepy, and I love the horror-edge this series has. It reminds me of what I loved with the books with the Vong, but does something different with it.
I really enjoyed when the Sith of like twenty think no two Jedi can be a match for them, and then are almost completely wiped out by Luke and Ben, which has some seriously golden fight scenes seeing Luke fight four sith at once, especially when he fights Lady Rhea and cuts her leg off, then her arm, then decapitates her.
Of course, Luke takes no pleasure in this, and it isn’t an extremely easy battle, but he’s such a damn good Jedi by now - as he should be - that he wipes the floor with them, even using his cut to blood-trail Vestara. Luke’s development across these books is phenomenal.
It feels like Indiana Jones finding the Holy Grail, or the Ark of the Covenant when Luke and Ben talk to the Force ghosts. I seriously feel like we’re learning so much more about the Force and the galaxy, and it was also very emotional.
I loved seeing Anakin again, and his godly quote.
“Evert Jedi Knight has to be his own light, because the light shouldn’t go out when one Jedi dies.”
Mara gets to speak with Luke and Ben once more, and it’s a really lovely moment to see them interact again, having Mara reconcile with her mistakes, and Luke’s happiness to one day join her.
And, of course, Jacen, at peace with his life as a Sith, in damnation, almost believing he deserves it. He’s still quite cruel, and he’s definitely more Caedus than Jacen.
Another thing I like, is the future that Luke saw, Allana in a galaxy at peace with friends and trusted peoples of various species, and the throne Jacen saw someone on… Krayt from Legacy? I haven’t read that yet, so a total guess!
As you can tell, I don’t have a lot to say about the other plots, because they weren’t very interesting.
Again, Leia and Han’s plot was quite mediocre, and the Jedi and Galactic Alliance plot was more of the same, but a bit more excitement and action to it.
The book was generally very entertaining, and the only thing making it worse than the last two was how it drags a little bit in the other plots, but the Luke and Ben plot, as well as the Sith plot, was really good.
And I’m glad to finally be introduced to Abeloth, and I can’t wait for more!
7/10
Hope it isn’t a bother or disappointment for anyone awaiting this book!
Troy Denning’s writing is very solid here, it feels less like himself to be honest, it seems like for this novel at least that he has listened to many criticisms about his writing and I honestly didn’t notice many of the hallmarks of his prose.
Lady Rhea and Vestara were a really awesome duo for me and I loved their relationship. Them exploring what I am betting is Mortis was really cool, and I loved Vestara seeing Abeloth for who she truly is and not letting herself be fooled by her.
The whole Mind-walking stuff where Luke and Ben leave their bodies was really cool but also extremely creepy, and I love the horror-edge this series has. It reminds me of what I loved with the books with the Vong, but does something different with it.
I really enjoyed when the Sith of like twenty think no two Jedi can be a match for them, and then are almost completely wiped out by Luke and Ben, which has some seriously golden fight scenes seeing Luke fight four sith at once, especially when he fights Lady Rhea and cuts her leg off, then her arm, then decapitates her.
Of course, Luke takes no pleasure in this, and it isn’t an extremely easy battle, but he’s such a damn good Jedi by now - as he should be - that he wipes the floor with them, even using his cut to blood-trail Vestara. Luke’s development across these books is phenomenal.
It feels like Indiana Jones finding the Holy Grail, or the Ark of the Covenant when Luke and Ben talk to the Force ghosts. I seriously feel like we’re learning so much more about the Force and the galaxy, and it was also very emotional.
I loved seeing Anakin again, and his godly quote.
“Evert Jedi Knight has to be his own light, because the light shouldn’t go out when one Jedi dies.”
Mara gets to speak with Luke and Ben once more, and it’s a really lovely moment to see them interact again, having Mara reconcile with her mistakes, and Luke’s happiness to one day join her.
And, of course, Jacen, at peace with his life as a Sith, in damnation, almost believing he deserves it. He’s still quite cruel, and he’s definitely more Caedus than Jacen.
Another thing I like, is the future that Luke saw, Allana in a galaxy at peace with friends and trusted peoples of various species, and the throne Jacen saw someone on… Krayt from Legacy? I haven’t read that yet, so a total guess!
As you can tell, I don’t have a lot to say about the other plots, because they weren’t very interesting.
Again, Leia and Han’s plot was quite mediocre, and the Jedi and Galactic Alliance plot was more of the same, but a bit more excitement and action to it.
The book was generally very entertaining, and the only thing making it worse than the last two was how it drags a little bit in the other plots, but the Luke and Ben plot, as well as the Sith plot, was really good.
And I’m glad to finally be introduced to Abeloth, and I can’t wait for more!
7/10
benj_78's review against another edition
3.0
Eh... this one was OK. Kind of like the second book in this series, "Omen". There was nothing bad about this book, per se, I just wasn't enraptured by it. We do get the answer to Luke's question about Jacen Solo, which is great. But it also feels very padded. I can see where the authors decided early on that they wanted to sell nine books but only had three or four books' worth of an interesting story to tell. So they are stuffing each one with loads of side-stories and family drama to meet their quota. For that reason, I think I'm going to skip the other six books and just read their summaries on Wookieepedia. I'm a blasphemous sinner, I know.
However, I am probably going to read "The Lost Tribe of the Sith" short story series later on. That is my biggest question mark about this series. Where did this lost tribe of dozen of Sith come from? And how did they miss out on the entire main storyline?
However, I am probably going to read "The Lost Tribe of the Sith" short story series later on. That is my biggest question mark about this series. Where did this lost tribe of dozen of Sith come from? And how did they miss out on the entire main storyline?
awurdeman's review against another edition
3.0
There are two ways to review a Star Wars book. The first way is to review it as you would any old book; as a piece of literature that wants to tell an independent story. The second way is to review it as a Star Wars book: a novel that tells a piece of the sweeping mythos established by George Lucas and his company. This book isn't a particularly good piece of literature. I don't think it wants to be. The prose is utilitarian and flat. There are many passages that fail to engage the imagination. There are no spots that make you pause, or think, or challenge your outlook on life.
It does tell an exciting story, though. There are Mandalorian supercommandos and Sith strike squads and cosmic Force beings. There are mysteries and communions with the dead and romantic tensions. As a Star Wars book, and with the aid of the enduring visuals of the Star Wars movies, this work of fiction entertained me and made me excited for the next volume in the series. If you're a Star Wars fan, and if you're caught up on the series, I recommend it.
It does tell an exciting story, though. There are Mandalorian supercommandos and Sith strike squads and cosmic Force beings. There are mysteries and communions with the dead and romantic tensions. As a Star Wars book, and with the aid of the enduring visuals of the Star Wars movies, this work of fiction entertained me and made me excited for the next volume in the series. If you're a Star Wars fan, and if you're caught up on the series, I recommend it.
lukezwan's review against another edition
3.0
Very slow beginning. Very fast ending. Interesting themes seem to be glossed over and changing the nature of the Force. Feels very much like a filler book, though still essential to the series.
ithlilian's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy this series for some reason even though there are plenty of things wrong with it. It's not just that it's Star Wars because up until now I have disliked pretty much every Star Wars book I tried to read. It's not the characters because I find them tiresome at times. I think I like it because I want to know what happens when all the loose ends come together. I want to know what's making Jedi crazy and am interested to see if the people turn against the Jedi. The random mysteries that Luke and Ben run into are also pretty nifty. The problem is that this is pretty similar to the last two books. We have Han and Leia making fun of each other and breaking rules, swinging their celebrity around to get things done while juggling their granddaughter. Then we have Luke and Ben on their mission to discover weird crap about the galaxy, I mean to discover what made Jacen evil...because it's not like that could have just happened on it's own, something had to *cause* it...silly Jedi. Then we have the Sith running around after a ship called ship, doing their try not to kill each other thing. They come off as a bit weak and stereotypical in this which is a definite downgrade from the last story, but they are still Sith so I'll keep reading. That's pretty much it. The pages flew by and nothing really happened, 6 more to go woohoo!
gerryds's review against another edition
3.0
Better than the last one, but wow is this series uneven. There's just too many story threads happening at the same time for any of them to really get justice. It took 3 books for 2 of the stories to finally converge, that's way too long.
I'm not sure who mapped out the overarching story, but they did a really poor job of mapping it out for all the different authors.
Once again Luke and Ben the most interesting. Once again Leia and Han the least.
I'll be taking a break from this series. I honestly might even jump right to the last book. Which, is a shame, but these just aren't good enough to warrant the time spent.
I'm not sure who mapped out the overarching story, but they did a really poor job of mapping it out for all the different authors.
Once again Luke and Ben the most interesting. Once again Leia and Han the least.
I'll be taking a break from this series. I honestly might even jump right to the last book. Which, is a shame, but these just aren't good enough to warrant the time spent.
bianca_horkan's review against another edition
4.0
I am so glad we got some good Han & Leia time in this book. It's almost like they've been regulated to the unknown regions during the last series. I've missed their banter and their input into the GFFA...
The time spent with Luke & Ben was more interesting than the previous novel. Learning about Luke's thoughts on Ben's future in the Jedi Order was something I hadn't thought or "seen" coming.
In short, I'd have to agree that this book gets back on track from this crazy, un-Star Wars storytelling.
The time spent with Luke & Ben was more interesting than the previous novel. Learning about Luke's thoughts on Ben's future in the Jedi Order was something I hadn't thought or "seen" coming.
In short, I'd have to agree that this book gets back on track from this crazy, un-Star Wars storytelling.
ladylizardxvii's review against another edition
5.0
A super interesting Star Wars installment that delved a surprising amount into Force/life & death philosophy for an action book. I am very much enjoying this series and looking forward to the next one!
ayaktruk's review against another edition
4.0
Ahh, my local library grabbed this one but not the second in the series. Oh well. Fun and frolic with Luke and his son Ben on their further adventures...
ultimatumman's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed it! Troy Denning just keeps teasing us with little bits of information though.