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ladylizardxvii's review against another edition
3.0
I'm very curious to know who/where the bigger badder guy is considering we are only halfway through the series?!
ayaktruk's review against another edition
3.0
Oh Ben, yet another crush...silly boy.
Fun stuff. The continuing saga of SW life and the after effects of Jacen/Darth Cadeus.
Fun stuff. The continuing saga of SW life and the after effects of Jacen/Darth Cadeus.
goodverbsonly's review against another edition
4.0
Perhaps NOT the place to start, but it works well enough on it's own. Exciting! Et cetera. Skywalker life is just one unending nightmare after another, but no matter. I'm completely disinterested, on principle, in anything that happens after RotJ, and yet I still liked it.
clarks_dad's review against another edition
1.0
Christie Golden is officially my least favorite Star Wars Expanded Universe author. I can't quite place my finger on it. Maybe it's the flippant narrative that turns me off, or the inescapable feeling that the EU is devolving into a young adult romance with Team Sith on one side and Team Jedi on the other, but it was just about all I could do to get through this one. It saddens me that the EU has come to this. The enemies the SW protagonists face keep getting more and more epic - invading armies from outside the galaxy, whole tribes of Sith, and malevolent galactically powerful entities- and with each new level of power, there seems to be less and less effort put into the basics of storytelling. It's almost as if Golden and crew are trying to overcompensate for a lack of character development by overshadowing it with this huge epic that ends up being rather poorly executed. Almost all of Allies is filled with trendy modern slang and altogether English analogies and idioms that distract from the whole "Galaxy far, far away..." bit. Reading this series makes me miss the Empire. No super powers, no mind control, just sheer cunning and brilliance. Zahn did it right.
Anyway, in this volume, the wandering Luke and Ben team up with the Sith to get to the bottom of the whole crazy Jedi business (dun dun duuuuun), and what a surprise, the Sith are out to betray them. There's a budding romance betwixt the young Ben and Sith apprentice Vestara Khai that oddly resembles the romance between Luke and Mara, but not executed nearly as subtly, tactfully or engagingly. In fact, I find the subplot related to the romance rather dull, unsurprising and leaden, like a series of steps that I already know they have to dance through before they'll ultimately end up together. And, out of left field, there's a strange anti-slavery subplot awkwardly introduced at the midway point in the novel, that, while intriguing and has the possibility to raise some interesting moral, ethical and political questions seems to serve no other purpose than to hasten the political demise of Chief of State Daala, whose slip into full-on dictator in this novel was presented with equal lack of finesse. This whole novel felt like a series of hyperdrive jumps with no taking in the scenery in between, like a plot outline with only the barest connections between the major plot development points with no lead in or discussion in between. The dialogue is just as dismal. Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker can't seem to help but issue childish retorts when dealing with his Sith counterparts, spitting out their titles like he just called them a bad name. The whole thing is rather unsophisticated and demeaning to the characters, universe and themes so painstakingly and brilliantly crafted by previous authors in the EU.
And, being the nerd I am, I'm compelled to finish it, regardless of how bad it is. These characters mean something to me, and I like spending time with them, even in the hands of less capable authors, which is a testament to the literary powers of their predecessors.
Anyway, in this volume, the wandering Luke and Ben team up with the Sith to get to the bottom of the whole crazy Jedi business (dun dun duuuuun), and what a surprise, the Sith are out to betray them. There's a budding romance betwixt the young Ben and Sith apprentice Vestara Khai that oddly resembles the romance between Luke and Mara, but not executed nearly as subtly, tactfully or engagingly. In fact, I find the subplot related to the romance rather dull, unsurprising and leaden, like a series of steps that I already know they have to dance through before they'll ultimately end up together. And, out of left field, there's a strange anti-slavery subplot awkwardly introduced at the midway point in the novel, that, while intriguing and has the possibility to raise some interesting moral, ethical and political questions seems to serve no other purpose than to hasten the political demise of Chief of State Daala, whose slip into full-on dictator in this novel was presented with equal lack of finesse. This whole novel felt like a series of hyperdrive jumps with no taking in the scenery in between, like a plot outline with only the barest connections between the major plot development points with no lead in or discussion in between. The dialogue is just as dismal. Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker can't seem to help but issue childish retorts when dealing with his Sith counterparts, spitting out their titles like he just called them a bad name. The whole thing is rather unsophisticated and demeaning to the characters, universe and themes so painstakingly and brilliantly crafted by previous authors in the EU.
And, being the nerd I am, I'm compelled to finish it, regardless of how bad it is. These characters mean something to me, and I like spending time with them, even in the hands of less capable authors, which is a testament to the literary powers of their predecessors.
divyareadssister's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
The stuff regarding Abeloth is gripping and amazing I find it hard to put the book down. However, the politics of the Galactic Alliance is a boring and unnecessary subplot in this book of the series.
wobblywedge17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sam_n_97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hstapp's review against another edition
3.0
Sith, and ancient evils, and intrigues, oh my.
I enjoyed this book for the most part, The plotline was fun, and exciting I'm enjoying all the elements.
It does suffer from what a lot of Star wars suffers from. A very straight white human focus, and the idea that every encounter between people of opposite genders has to be sexual and/or romantic.
there were some elements I found confusing. I don't know if I missed something but Daala's renewed intensity seems strange, based on her earlier recent attempts to reach an accord. Was that blown due to Lecersen's plotting in a previous book? It seemed sudden and unexplained to me if so.
I enjoyed this book for the most part, The plotline was fun, and exciting I'm enjoying all the elements.
It does suffer from what a lot of Star wars suffers from. A very straight white human focus, and the idea that every encounter between people of opposite genders has to be sexual and/or romantic.
there were some elements I found confusing. I don't know if I missed something but Daala's renewed intensity seems strange, based on her earlier recent attempts to reach an accord. Was that blown due to Lecersen's plotting in a previous book? It seemed sudden and unexplained to me if so.
julia09's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
mandalor's review against another edition
3.5
- Jaina+Jagg disagreement (engagement ring)
- unbelievable portrayal of long-time slavery
- Ben is once again an annoying teenager
- Luke teaching Sith mind walking
- unbelievable portrayal of long-time slavery
- Ben is once again an annoying teenager
- Luke teaching Sith mind walking
Luke: "...grumpy, thickhead, craggy-faced old man" to Han
Luke: "Compassion is for those who deserve it" not likely Luke would say that