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A review by jaredkwheeler
Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Vol. 3: Force War by Wes Dzioba, Dan Parsons, David Michael Beck, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema
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+