Star Wars: Fury

Fury (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 7)
by Aaron Allston

This is the seventh installment in the Legacy of the Force series. Things are all coming to a head as the Jedi under Luke Skywalker finally decide that they have to move aggressively against Jacen. At this point no one, not even Luke, believes that Jacen could be brought back to the light side. Jacen/Darth Caedus has passed the point of no return by torturing Ben Skywalker and killing Mara Jade Skywalker. However, no one suspects that Jacen/Darth Caedus is the one behind the murder of Mara. Everyone continues to think it is Alema Rar.

As the Jedi begin to search for a new place to move their academy, Jacen/Darth Caedus along with Admiral Niathal are looking for that one battle that would turn the tide and win the war. Ironically, Jacen/Darth Caedus is losing allies from within and without the Galactic Alliance as planets continue to claim their independence or join the Confederation under Corellia.

Jacen/Darth Caedus decides to kidnap his daughter Allana from the Hapes Consortium due to the betrayal of Tenel Ka. When he successfully accomplishes this, Tenel Ka approaches Luke Skywalker and comes clean about their child. The Jedi decide to get Allana back and confront Jacen/Darth Caedus.
Meanwhile Admiral Niathal begins to realize that Jacen has always been acting in his own interest. Jacen continues to overstep his boundaries and make decisions without consulting her. Admiral Niathal decides to wait awhile partly because she feels that the war would come to its climax soon.

The Confederation decides to approach Jacen to sue for peace. Jacen and Admiral Niathal quickly understand that it is a trap even though intelligence demonstrates that the Confederation fleet is in dire straits. Both joint Chiefs of Staff, set up a plan in case the trap is sprung. Jacen/Darth Caedus decides to keep Allana near him. The Jedi learn about the peace “summit” and make their plans. When Jacen/Darth Caedus arrives, the Confederation springs their trap and Jacens calls in his fleet from hyperspace. That is when the Corellians use Centerpoint Station to destroy the Galactic Alliance Fleet. At the same time, Leia, Han, and several others are successful in their attempt to rescue Allana.

Despite the defeat, Jacen/Darth Caedus and Admiral Niathal decide to counter attack the Corellians at Centerpoint Station. This idea was put together to let the Confederation believe that the Galactic Alliance is no where near defeat. Of course, the Jedi learn about this attack and make their move as well. They plan on sending a team to destroy the station from within. Meanwhile, the Corellian Confederation is slowly falling apart as factions begin to upset the balance of power.

To be honest, Fury is overwhelming. So many things happens but it makes sense. In this book, everyone even Admiral Niathal loses faith in Jacen/Darth Caedus. Being the seventh book, things will be moving pretty fast to wrap things up. Unfortunately, when everything is said in done the galaxy will probably return to its former position right after the Yuuzhan Vong war. This explains how the Empire takes over before the time of Cade Skywalker.

In this blog, we have covered the idea of how an Imperial government seems to “govern” a vast galaxy in a much more efficient manner. The lights stay on and folks get to eat. The Republic or the Galactic Alliance just never seems to do it right. As the action unfolds, we see the Galactic Alliance (GA) crumbling. Of course, Jacen and Niathal led the GA to it's breaking point even though both of their intentions were supposedly for the good of the galaxy.

Jacen (which is why I switch back and forth between Jacen and Jacen/Darth Caedus) still has not come out of the closet as a Sith. Ironically, none of the Jedi have admitted to this as well. A few suspect but overall, the feeling is that Jacen is nuts instead of a Sith lord. As a reader, we have the benefit of knowing the plot but Jacen is compared to Darth Vader so many times one would think that someone would say “hey, dude is a Sith.” Is this the same pattern from what happened in Ep III?

Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Exile

written by Aaron Allston
Review by Dan Tres Omi

Omi's Note: There are spoilers in this review...If you want to read the book without any surprises given away, do not read any further. You have been forewarned.

Aaron Allston returns for his second shot at the Legacy of the Force series. Allston, a veteran in the Star Wars EU sagas, is considered to be one of the most consistent heavy hitters. Allson's strength is in his ability to mesh both the non Jedi and Jedi characters of the Star Wars EU. Some Star Wars EU writers can do well in discussing matters that deal with the Force, but fall short when non Jedi characters and situations come in to play. While other writers do the opposite. His mixture of the Force philosophy, military maneuvering, and the political jousting is well balanced.

Jacen Solo continues his foray into the Sith while the Correllian insurrection is backed by the ever deceitful Bothans. Once the Bothans enter the picture, a domino effect is created in which other systems such as Commenor join. Soon the Correllian Confederation is joined. Things begin to get nastier for our heroes. Wedge Antilles and his family have to escape Correllia once Wedge decides to resign his commission after the failed coup attempt on Tenel Ka of the Hapes Consortium in which he had no connection with. After one anticipated assassination attempt, he decides to head off planet. He encounters Han and Leia and together they decide to get to the bottom of it all.

The Solos, the Antilles, and Corran Horn and his family put their heads together to try and figure out who is behind this all. They all agree it is another shadowy Sith figure. To them, all roads lead to Lumiya. The Solos reunite with the Skywalker to see if they had any leads and the hunt is on. Meanwhile Lumiya and Jacen send Ben Skywalker on a mission to see if he is worthy of being a Sith apprentice.

Allston gets it all right. He provides enough space battles, Jedi lightsaber duels, and political intrigue without making it all confusing. It was good to see Corran Horn in action. Lando Calrissian plays another important role. Ben Skywalker figures out how to survive on his own and begins a new legacy outside of the shadow of his father.

One thing that stands out is that when one sits back to think, one realizes that the Skywalker line is really more apt to lean towards the Sith than to the Jedi Order. Ben makes many decisions that are Sith like. During the Dark Empire days, Luke worked for the cloned emperor as his Sith apprentice. Jaina Solo had her brush with the dark side during the Yuuzhan Vong war.

What is enjoyable about the Legacy of the Force series is that the good guys seem to be losing on all fronts. The political situation seems to get worse. The Jedi are again spread thin. There is ideological dissension amongst the Jedi ranks. The Sith are causing trouble. The Galactic Alliance can't seem to hold it together. Allston leaves the reader with many questions.

There are two downsides to the book. One is the fact that Alema Rar lives yet again. How crippled can someone get after several losses in lightsaber duels. After the battle in the last issue, one would think that Lady Lumiya was dead. She is almost there. Her Force powers are just too powerful. She can control and influence people from several parsecs away. Even Palpatine did not have this power. I understand her role in all of this, but I find her to be too powerful.