Gabriel

This omnibus collects a LOT and is a really high-quality collection. The comics are in a great order, and most of them are brilliant.

Dawn of the Jedi is an underrated and fascinating read, even if sadly cut short by the Disney sale, with nice art and a solid story and characters.

Tales of the Jedi as a whole is something I have a more controversial opinion on. It is a milestone comic and one of the most important and influential in the entire franchise, but I didn't care much for it, sadly. The art is really nice, and the characters are solid, and even the story is good, I just have a real strong distaste towards Tom Veitch's writing style, and even struggled with most of Kevin J. Anderson's writing.

However, there is one that fucking blew me away.

Tales of the Jedi: Redemption is a sort of epilogue set a decade after the finale of the other Tales of the Jedi comics. The art is gorgeous, the characters are much more mature and interesting than they ever were in the other comics, and the writing is beautiful and profound. It is a rather introspective comic dealing with the events of the other comics on an emotional level, with tiny scales that only really matter to the individual people involved rather than the galaxy as a whole. This makes it far more impactful, as we follow Vima Sunrider, the daughter of Nomi Sunrider, and Ulic Qel-Droma. It's a true deep dive into Ulic, dealing with suicide and grief, and it's such a hard-hitting comic that it genuinely made me emotional after finding the other comics such a slog. It's honestly worth it just for this arc, which is worth this omnibus alone!

I'd strongly recommend this omnibus to any omnibus collectors who are Star Wars fans looking for something a little different to read.

Good first issue.

Fun, easy to read, awesome action, wonderful art, I'm a sucker for Charles Soule.

Absolutely brilliant.

My God, Luceno.

One of the best SW writers by far.

Luceno seems to be the master of writing very slow books that seem boring at first, before turning everything around in the latter part of the book and suddenly making everything seem incredibly well-planned and executed.

Han Solo is characterised possibly the greatest so far, and it's finally time he got his due.

After scarcely appearing in the last two books, it was time for Han to get a focus, and finally properly talk about the grief of Chewbacca. Luceno just did it right. So good.

Various references to Indiana Jones throughout, etc. “fortune and glory”, “it's not the years, it's the parsecs”, clearly Luceno has a deep love for Harrison Ford and the character of Han Solo, and it shows.

His grief is portrayed in a really compelling way that perfectly matches his character. He's closed and difficult, trying to relive old glories and getting himself in sticky situations he knows better than now. He takes it out on his own son, and he disappears from everyone's lives.

The redemption of Han is amazing. His relationship with Anakin is on point here, and I simply adore, and I will gush about how many things came round at the end.

Chewbacca's gift to Anakin being used to save Han's life in the Falcon is absolute poetry, and I simply just love so much how Han is the one to figure everything out and save everyone. The twist with Vergere completely shocked me, but my God, I am glad Mara is cured! Finally!

I loved how Han figured out that Elan and Vergere weren't truthful, asking about the ooglith masquer, and once hearing their response, he immediately knew they were lying. How fucking clever!

This book is all about Han really, so I'm not going to critique it for not doing much with the other characters, unlike the past two novels from Stackpole. I think this focus was well-deserved and about time now.

In all honesty, this novel handled emotion generally the best. I found myself tearing up as Anakin and Han talked at the end, and Luceno just really gets people, how they speak, how they interact, real grief and getting over it.

This novel takes you on a proper emotional journey and it is an extremely satisfying one too. Whilst it also harkens back to a rebellion era Han Solo as he begins to slip back into his old ways, both charming yet sad to see him fall so far, then satisfying to see him pick himself back up.

I love, however, that this is not it for Han. He still has a long way to go before being completely out of the dark, but he's almost there.

The only thing I'm not sure on is where the next book will go with Han and Droma.

But otherwise, this was a stunning novel. Another Luceno to blow me away.

Probably my favourite of the series so far!

Vortex is a properly tense, action packed book with some of the most heartbreaking moments and largest action set pieces, but also has a lot of down time and does quite a lot, reaching just under four hundred pages - around three hundred and sixty - it's the largest book of the series so far and it almost seems to have separate stages where different stories are wrapped up, and it just seems to keep going.

The threat of Abeloth isn't over, the Galactic Alliance gets crazier each day, the Jedi themselves are now losing it (without the influence of Abeloth), and it seems the only stable people in the galaxy are Han, Leia, Luke, and Ben.

This is when things get quite crazy, we're starting to see the true extent of Abeloth's power, we have the Sith truly attempt to kill Luke and Ben finally, the Jedi have deposed Kenth Hamner which leads to a brutal fight between him and Saba.

Shit is going off in this book!

Abeloth is, as usual, mysteriously powerful, but also very not dead.

I was shocked to find out that she was impersonating Dyon, the stuff she can do is insane.

She manages to consistently make the reader uncomfortable in ways only the Yuuzhan Vong have been able to match, she's very violent and evil and mysterious, but I love the ingenuity Luke has in combating her so often.

Madhi, the reporter from the last novel, reports on the Galactic Alliance's use of Mandalorians to stop slave revolts, and it leads to a really tragic scene where she is gunned down by the same Mandalorian employed who killed the apprentice at the Jedi Temple, and the slave she freed continues to report as Jedi Knights turn up and help them.

It's here where the Jedi start to turn against Kenth, they decide that they should start following their hearts, their feelings over the law, and to give up trying to appease Daala, but this means they all participate in a vote of no confidence against Kenth.

I really like Kenth Hamner in this series, I rarely agree with him but I truly sympathise and understand how he feels, and I do worry the Jedi are taking it too far. At the same time, I get why they are doing what they are doing, and Kenth's reaction is far from sane.

Daala attempts to manipulate Jagged Fel into believing Jaina and the Jedi are siding with the Sith, and thankfully, Denning didn't chose to characterise Jag terribly here - another sign that he listens to feedback and doesn't hate Jag - and had him come to Jaina and the Solos before doing anything.

Ultimately, Jag decides to pull out of agreements to join the Galactic Alliance and use the Empire to help the Jedi, which I love and this also leads to Jaina putting the engagement ring back on but refusing to talk about it - just get married, please.

Things get even more hopeless as Luke and the Sith find the Fallanassi, even Akanah who was a lover of Luke, and Abeloth takes her too, ending up in a massive fight as she works with Taalon to try to kill Luke and Ben.

Luke gets incredibly close to death so many times, even Ben too, the fight is brutal and incredibly tense, and I was really surprised when Vestara decided to cut Taalon in half, and it was even more awesome when Luke, even whilst Abeloth continued to kill him, pulled the roof down on them!

Vestara uses the Jade Shadow to fire on the Sith, killing a dozen of them and shooting them into pieces before assisting Luke and Ben reluctantly with escape. She isn't on their side properly yet, but for now, she has no other choice.

Saba Sebatyne and Kenth Hamner engage in an enormous, dramatic fight where Kenth tries to stop the Jedi from leaving to help Luke, and all Saba wants to do is stop him.

However, Kenth is so angry, so mad, that he will not let her stop him without killing him, and as much as I feel sorry for Kenth, after thinking about it I've come to believe this is Kenth's fault. He literally gives Saba no choice and she has to choose between stopping his lightsaber or letting him drop to his death.

It's the type of moment that leaves you with a pang in your heart at how awful things have become, and I feel really sorry for Saba as she has to reluctantly accept the role of Grand Master voted upon her by the other council members, believing she has to be judged for what she has done to Kenth.

The only little negative I have is an awkward one, where the novel ends with Allana discovering the Barabel nest.

So... I actually predicted this, and I'm annoyed I didn't write it down. But as soon as they started going on about them being missing and Saba refusing to explain, I knew it'd be some weird Barabel thing and literally predicted this!

Now, while it's nice, its placement really takes away from the intensity and emotion of the rest of the story, but not in a nice way, in more of a... “uh... okay... weird.” way!

They make up for it however with Valin and Jysella Horn being freed!

Generally, it's an amazing book, the only light issue I have is the pacing that flickers between traumatic and action packed, to lots of little gaps of downtime.

I'm not sure the downtime was always the decision, sometimes it helped move other plots along and sometimes it felt a little forced and seemed to take away from the high stakes stuff elsewhere in the book.

After the last book, it's crazy how this one feels like another “finale” rather than the starter to the next three books, and I'm falling in love with the crazy scope of this series. I'm a big fan of crazy Force stuff, but only very specifically.

I'm not a fan of character being gifted crazy power for the sake of it, but characters like Luke or Jaina earn this stuff through hard work and a lot of character development and complexity, however I feel an entity like Abeloth is different and crazy because of the horror element, she's something different, otherworldly even for the Star Wars galaxy, old, and very, very powerful, but terrifying, uncomfortable.

She's a true horror villain!

So overall, it's a fantastic novel, one of the best of the series, even with a mediocre cover, and I cannot wait for more. I read this book almost all in one day, even reading from the mid-afternoon until nearly 4am!

9/10

A shorter review today.

I had less to say about this novel!

I felt Allston focused a little too much on all my least favourite aspects of the series, while a lot of great stuff is done with Luke, Ben, and Vestara, and their plot on Klatooine is pretty good, and the early stuff about the Galactic Alliance being taken over by the Jedi was good.

But it very quickly gets bogged down by some really boring plots with Allana and stuff that just... I really struggled to get through.

Valin and Jysella are uncured, and we get a decent amount with them throughout the book, only for Valin to have one small fight with Ben and Vestara and be cured off-screen (off the page?) which made that whole plot feel very unnecessary.

If they're still uncured, I'm kinda sick of it, not interested in this plot, just restore them and let Corran and Mirax be happy, thanks. Especially Booster.

I like that Luke describes the Jedi taking over the GA as a “disaster.” It's certainly not the best turn of events, and while I think what they did was necessary and even rewarding to a degree, it's hardly what anyone would like to have happened.

“She had never, ever had control over who or what she was.”

Tahiri's subplot finally gets a big change as it was becoming very same-y, but I was disappointed that the whole trial arc has kinda been thrown out of the window with her being sentenced to death and just escaping when Daala does.

It's another decision I just wish wasn't made really, I was enjoying the courtroom drama and I think I would've preferred her lawyer Eramuth winning her the case or at least getting her a decent sentence for what she's done that's more fair than death.

I also just find it crazy honestly that the Galactic Alliance is still sentencing people to death.

I was glad Luke knew Vestara summoned the Sith to Klatooine, I was getting a little tired of Vestara's betrayals being a surprise to Luke, but when she does surprise him later it is far more well earned and written.

It's nice that Luke is back in control of the Jedi, the Jedi have their first big battle with the Sith and win with zero casualties, but Abeloth is still out there and suggesting an alliance with the Sith.

I'm now wondering if or when the One Sith will get involved, and what'll happen next as always!

Overall, it's a decent book, but I found it really boring and more of a struggle to get through than any other in the series.

I also think Allston focuses way too much on some of the most boring plots, especially what seems to be his little favourite which is easily my least favourite possibly since like Force Heretic, which is the whole Lecersen subplot about the Moffs trying to overtake Fel.

It's just such a boring plot and should've been sorted out many books ago, it's clear Allston wants to make a big deal out of it but none of the other authors are nearly as interested, so not only is it half-baked, it's just a really dull plot to begin with and takes up way too much space.

The political plot with Daala and the Jedi was just reaching its peak, why the hell are we spending so much time with Moff Lecersen? I'm done with them.

I had a lot more negative to say because I'm really annoyed with some decisions being made with this book, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's bad, the action towards the end is really fun, but I'm just getting a little tired of Allston's subplots I don't jive with, even though I love him as an author, his writing isn't always for me.

6/10

Here's a rather obscure one.

Doctor Who does a sci-fi spin on Nuketown, years before Black Ops 3 (and maybe Black Ops 2 as well?)

I don't particularly remember fully why I loved this one so much as a kid, but I strongly recall the plot being very strong, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory being captured perfectly, and the ending being particularly clever - at least to me as a kid!

A good middle entry to the trilogy that gives a great insight into Luke's academy. I love Gantoris, Streen, and Kyp in this book especially. There is a moment with Kyp towards the end that seriously shocked and upset me (in a well-written way!)

I think some context is important for this book.

It mainly retells the events of the ‘Jedi Academy' trilogy from Corran Horn's perspective, Rogue Squadron pilot with Jedi heritage.

But the main goal of the book is, as much as Michael A. Stackpole promises otherwise, to fix some continuity issues and bizarre story choices made during that trilogy by adding new information and showing a different point of view rather than direct retconning.

Corran Horn is an intriguing character, one I never really took a liking to until ‘The New Jedi Order', and one that Stackpole himself said he wouldn't want to be in the same room as, but this deep dive into him is really great because of how flatly it lays out his flaws as a person and failures as a Jedi.

Sure, Corran Horn having to save his wife is a little bit of a poor damsel in distress style story, but I think it is intentionally simplistic to set the course of the much more complex story and deep dive into Corran himself, much more fascinating with him isolated, and his family. But also the added stress of knowing his wife is out there and may be hurt.

Mirax Horn is no damsel. She is more than capable and even partakes in the battle during their escape. So that element is easily forgiven, personally.

The first half of the book follows the story of ‘Jedi Academy', cleaning up some of Luke's flaws in that trilogy as actual character flaws rather than writing ones, and setting up his arc that is satisfied in ‘The Hand of Thrawn', which I too love.

Throughout this section of the book, it is just fantastic, meeting all of Luke's students again, revisiting their early training, the mysterious deaths and dark Force preying on them, and the eventual fight against the possessed Kyp Durron and the ancient Sith Lord, Exar Kun.

I am a rare fan of the ‘Jedi Academy' books, but it is undeniable how much better Stackpole is as an author. This entire section flows so well, and the sound design for the unabridged audiobook is possibly the greatest I've ever heard, with Marc Thompson delighting in giving everybody intricately unique voices. Revisiting this particular storyline in such a breezy fashion was a lot of fun.

Another genius aspect is how it goes about making Kyp's redemption far better. There is conflict between Corran and Luke for Luke's decision to forgive Kyp, but it is also suggested that Exar Kun not only manipulated Kyp, but actually possessed him and used a far more supernatural influence to control him. This would not be possible without the darkness inside Kyp, and he is not totally blameless for his arrogance and eagerness to follow Kun, but there is clearly a deeper control and influence than in the original KJA trilogy, and it makes forgiving him much, much better, while leaving this dark aspect of him ripe for storytelling.

I will admit that after Corran leaves the academy, the book takes a bit of a hit for a while, slowing right down for some nice time with Corran's grandfather, before he attempts to infiltrate the Invidious.

This plotline ends up really fun and interesting, but it is a little bit of a murky slog for a while, one I lost track of for some time and got confused about repeatedly.

As it progresses, it becomes really fun, with Corran haunting criminals and the Imperials in his Jedi disguise and manipulating the Imperials, this whole section really picks up, and it is where Corran meets Elegos A'kla, which made me wish I had read this before his appearance in ‘The New Jedi Order'!

When the Jensaarai come into it, we start to explore some really fascinating prequel era lore BEFORE the prequels were made, which I always find fascinating, and they are a really interesting group as a whole, especially with their current vendetta against the Halcyons.

Luke Skywalker comes back into the later story, which I was really glad about, and it was awesome seeing him and Corran team up against the Jensaarai in their attack, and then when they later bust Mirax out. It's a really fun dynamic now. Corran has settled down and doesn't hold anything against him. The tension was really well handled before, but I really enjoy their dynamic as friends.

Finally, the battle towards the end was fun, and the mercy Luke shows towards the Jensaarai, trying to assist them, and us finally seeing how Corran's Jedi grandfather died, showing the Jensaarai that his family weren't murderers, was really nice but also sad for Corran. You're very attached to him at this point, flaws and all, with how all of his issues and strengths are laid out bare. You get a full sense of Corran Horn in this novel, the ins and outs of him, good and bad. That is brilliant.

I like that Corran doesn't become a full-time Jedi yet, deciding to stay with Rogue Squadron, but also to keep and use his powers for good. This fits his character at this point well, although I love him as a full-time Jedi Master in ‘The New Jedi Order'.

Overall, it's a really great book!

For any fan of the X-Wing series, it'll be a treat, having cameos of most of the characters from the novels by Stackpole, featuring Wedge, and also focusing on Corran, obviously But also a worthy replacement for the ‘Jedi Academy' trilogy for anyone hesitant to read it who is an X-Wing fan.

However, I'd argue it is possible to read this with little knowledge of the series, as I have done, and really enjoy it regardless, and if you know anything about the trilogy this can act as a substitute for, and know you might not enjoy it, this is a much safer bet.

I get why this novel won't be for everyone, not everyone is gonna enjoy reading Corran Horn, and it does often feel a little bit like a fanfiction inserting a new character into an already existing story, and it is definitely taken a bit far when Corran nearly defeats Luke in a duel because of Luke being emotionally unstable at that point - I find this to be a tad too far, keep in mind, faults and all, Luke Skywalker is a Jedi Master who could defeat Darth Vader, however tired and old Vader was. One of his own students, not even under a dark influence, shouldn't be a struggle. And the fact that it is written in the first person alone might be a bit weird for some people, even if it means Marc Thompson reads almost the entire book in his brilliant Corran Horn voice if you listen to the audiobook!

Even though it drags in the middle a little, I think it is paced really well and is a thoroughly enjoyable read!

It does a lot to repair a flawed but fun trilogy of books for me personally, adding a lot more depth and complexity to a rather simplistic storyline, and setting up a lot that Timothy Zahn will play with in ‘The Hand of Thrawn', and Michael A. Stackpole will pick back up in ‘The New Jedi Order'.

I really, really enjoyed it.

I don't have a lot to say about the early stages of this book. So I won't say a lot.

I'll also admit that Han and Leia's story was probably the weakest, and very boring, and that Tahiri's didn't pick up until later, but at least it did.

Sean Williams and Shane Dix seemed to finally be writing what they actually wanted towards the end of the book, and you can tell.

Zonama Sekot is cool. The concept is cool, the description is cool, and I love that story.

I also really liked Jacen in this, there was a moment, very similar to many scenes in Doctor Who, where Jacen said he wouldn't want to make Zonama Sekot fight for them, a really pivotal moment for his morality, and something I can heavily relate to. His pacifism, his ideology of trying to find an alternative to fighting at any cost is something I really love and aspire to.

Droma ended up way more interesting than I expected, but I prefer Leia being Han's co-pilot, as it feels less like Chewie being replaced, but a progression of Han and Leia's marriage, symbolising them getting even closer after Chewie's death, like something good has come out of Anakin and Chewbacca dying, that Han and Leia have an irreplaceable bond now.

Jag LOVES Jaina! I really like this couple and hope we get more and more of them soon.

Pellaeon was just as sick as he was in the last book.

Overall, there are various ongoing stories in this book, and unfortunately, many are a slog to get through. But there's some really good stuff in there too, and the conclusion to the book is really really solid too. It ended up being a very enjoyable read towards the end, but I can't rate it too highly when considering its really mediocre beginnings.

6.5/10

That was a good read.

While it hardly blew me away, this was top-tier comfy Bantam Star Wars - slightly cheesy, great action, fun characters, fun politics, and an overly dramatic, cool arse villain.

I loved the way this book treated the continuity of the Bantam books maturely, and it was a blast to return to this era, which was very warm and fun for me

Sure, this isn't anything majorly special, but I'm shocked many don't enjoy it. It's lots of fun, has some of the best characterisation of any of the original trilogy characters in the Bantam books, and also good writing for some of the popular EU characters like Mara Jade and Talon Karrde.

Kueller was a brilliant villain, a little cheesy and dramatic, as I stated, but solid and lots of fun to read. I loved the drama it added for Luke's character upon discovering who he is, and I really liked the mystery about him before that point.

I found myself skimming much of Han's plot in the middle act, and found a few bits like Artoo and Threepio's plots dreary, but I'm sure X-Wing fans will get a kick out of General Wedge Antilles' space battle and his ingenuity, and much of the bits featuring Lando.

Weaving between dark grittiness and cheesy fun, this book is a blast and a fun, comfy read that feels very much like the original trilogy.

This duology is impressive. Like, really impressive.

Take these two novels as one large book, since that's the way it was intended. The first is around four hundred pages, with the second just reaching seven hundred. It is a behemoth intended as one long story.

I was confused as the first book just cuts off, and felt mostly like a setup - that is why.

The narrative of this story is enormous as it is basically trying to close off and explain every single thread in the New Republic era of Star Wars novels published by Bantam.

And it does a fantastic job.

Luke and Mara's relationship naturally swells into a burning love in this story, and it feels so well-earned. They are forced to work together against a great enemy, closed off from everyone else, and truly connect on a deep level.

They work through their own problems together: Luke's failures as a master; Luke failing Mara; Mara's issues with people; Mara's trauma from the empire. Zahn just does such a good job writing these two.

I adore the plotline with the fake Thrawn. There is an imposter pretending to be Thrawn, the only true final way to unite the Empire again is under Thrawn, and he inspires a new burning fire in the hearts of the imperials, allowing them what seems to be their only chance.

I haven't read the X-Wing novels or I, Jedi yet, but I'm sure the fans of those would be pleased by Corran Horn's plotline in this with Wedge, as they do get a lot of focus!

And their story is interesting as they work with a mysterious woman in an attempt to stop imperial terrorists. The woman, who I still don't know the identity of, is a really fun character as she is very clever and knows way more than she should!

The story with Luke and Mara on Nirauan was fascinating for me, as we started to explore the Chiss people, and Thrawn on a deeper level. This is truly where Thrawn becomes a complex character, even though he isn't truly present in the story!

The reveal that Thrawn has a clone in waiting is insane, and almost creepy.

This book is artistic in a way. The thing I loved was how it ended, as it all began.

The final scene is with Luke and Mara, looking out on a view and drinking hot chocolate. Luke is about to leave, when Mara stops him, saying she'll go with him.

This is beautiful to me, as ‘Heir to the Empire' begins with Luke drinking hot chocolate over the view of Coruscant, and ‘The Last Command' ends with an interaction between Luke and Mara, with Luke leaving, and Mara stopping him to say she's coming with him too! Really clever!

Overall, it is a masterful conclusion to the Bantam era of novels, and a must-read for anyone who enjoyed the Thrawn trilogy.

A great beginning to another trilogy, I really enjoyed this one. Every little running story was great. I'll admit that I wasn't interested in Han and Chewie's story this time around at first, but it really picks up as it goes on and makes up for it in the end. I particularly enjoyed Luke's story in this. The feeling that he has massively matured is apparent throughout every page he is in, and it is great to see him become the Jedi he was supposed to.

Made me chuckle as a kid quite a lot, and definitely stood out. I still remember this one.

Another solid entry into the series, but yet another that fails to match the quality of the dazzling opening, it flickers between entertaining and boring, and sadly drags as if there was a requirement to reach the two hundred page mark!

Allston did a superb job as usual of keeping up the comedy, writing the action very well, and characterising everyone perfectly, even invoking a little bit of original trilogy nostalgia by giving Threepio and Artoo more of a focus again.

Past characters and plot points from older novels are returned to in very satisfying ways, and the political drama with Daala is continued in a very good manner, whenever Jedi get into some action, it's mostly really good, and it's generally just another good entry.

The Dathomir plot with Luke and Ben flickered for me, it started really awesome, and I like that they blended Han and Leia into it, avoiding the dreaded boring Han and Leia subplot, but a consequence of this was instead of just keeping Allana away, she took their place and got her own boring subplot.

Whilst Allana's subplot allowed for some great humour from C3P0 and R2D2, it was largely unentertaining and detracted from the pacing and story rather than adding anything, and was definitely an area I skimmed through to avoid losing my patience with the series.

It started really fun seeing Jedi and Dathomiri witches and men fighting Rancors and Nightsisters, but I'm not kidding, there must've been five or six of these fights, and the middle ones were especially boring, and were described in unnecessary detail.

Luckily, they begin to change a little as Luke and Vestara battle Nightsisters, Luke blocking their lightning while Vestara fights alongside him, and Vestara in general had a good mysterious plot as she tried to deceive Luke, Ben, and the Dathomiri people and their Nightsisters.

I also really liked the Dathomiri people, how they've developed, and one of the women highlights that Luke simply arriving to Dathomir many years ago has led to so much change and growth and development, even if it takes a lot of hardship to get there, was really inspiring and a sign of the influential figure he has been developed into.

One of the best bits of the entire series occurred when Vestara tricked the Nightsisters, and a group of Sith arrived to help her, arrogantly assuming Luke and Ben are no match for them, only for Luke and Ben to win the battle.

It's a really exciting and gripping battle, including a character called Dyon who was a failed Jedi student, where he got to use blasters and his small Force power to really cleverly fight the Sith in ways they're not used to, throwing dirt in one's eye while she is sliced in half by Ben.

I love how cocky they are, but how useless they are against the Grand Master that they keep underestimating, and the fight in general is just really well written and almost makes me consider bumping up my rating of the book purely from how excellent these fight scenes were, but unfortunately, I need to be fair!

This leads to the Dathomiri people and Ben agreeing to build another Jedi school on Dathomir for more progress, and it's just great to see Luke's Jedi expand and become more and more indestructible! The Jedi are truly indomitable.

The Coruscant subplot with Daala and the Jedi reached its peak early on, with a magnificent fight between Mandalorians and Jedi, where the Mandos, hired by Daala, try invade the temple, and without Traviss' bias, leads to some really great fighting.

Raynar Thul, finally returning to these books, gets to properly shine and save an apprentice, fighting a few Mandalorians at once.

As well as this great scene, Jaina fights off a whole group of Mandalorians at once, and beats them all, which is just so badass. This is an amazing female character, one who has struggled and earned her power, and now can embody it and be the kickass character she is, flaws and all.

Niathal made a return, only to kill herself so her family wouldn't be punished for her not seeing that Jacen would turn, and this causes great displeasure to Daala. This was an interesting little part of the Daala side plot that added a bit more depth to Daala, but is doing little for her likability.

“All it takes to do evil is to stand aside while others do it - when a single word from you could have stopped it.” - Luke Skywalker.

Overall, it's a good book, but suffers from feeling a little bloated, and not knowing what to do with some characters, therefore enforcing an uninteresting plot on them, and taking away from the better parts of the book.

I think this series could've been improved by almost completely wiping out some plots, for example, not having a corrupt government, and perhaps having it be a time of peace for the galaxy, and to focus purely on the Jedi, the Sith, and Abeloth, as it seems to be what everyone is most interested in writing.

Not to say the other plots don't have their moments, but they're up and down enough for me to lose interest as time goes on, but I have hope they can be improved as the book goes on, they usually do with these books!

I can only read so many Rancor fights before I get sick of them, so sadly, some of this stuff lowers my rating a little, but I cannot deny that it is still a good book, and I can see why many may love it, but I'm personally more excited for what's to come, and the next looks great!

7/10

I'm not quite sure how Christie Golden has managed it, but when tasked with writing some of the most exciting action of any book I've read so far, not only has she written so exceptionally well, she has also introduced less action-oriented plots, new characters and stories, and managed not at all to detract away from the main plot.

If you cannot tell, this was an impeccable novel, and it may sound crazy to some, but I think this may be one of my all time favourite Star Wars novels, yes, even up there with my favourite of Zahn's work.

The Jedi and Sith allied, a romance budding between Sith Apprentice Vestara Khai, and Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker, the powerful, mysterious threat of Abeloth is to be revealed properly, and here, everything changes!

The Sith propose an alliance with Luke and Ben Skywalker, a mutual goal to stop the mysterious Abeloth. But of course, this doesn't stop the treachery of the Sith. Gavar Khai, Vestara's father, demands she seduce Ben, either to turn him, or use him to the Sith's advantage.

However, what is not helpful to them at all, is that Vestara actually kinda likes Ben. Attracted to each other, the teens try to work out their differences throughout the novel, forming a sort of Romeo and Juliet style romance, and even drawing comparison to Luke's own romance with Mara Jade Skywalker.

Of course, there is a contrast to the famous “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” scene, which, according to my GCSE Literature teacher, actually means, “Why are you Romeo?” as in, why is a Montague? His family being the reason he and Juliet cannot be together, Vestara yearns in bed at one point in the book in her head something along the lines of, “Why couldn't Ben be born Sith?”

It's great as Vestara's manipulation tangles with her actual feelings that are starting to bubble, and Ben manoeuvres around his feelings for Vestara, wanting just to experience love as a teenager for once, and try to ignore her... questionable morals and beliefs.

Love is complex, you don't always fall for the right people, but you fall for them anyway, and love them for who they are, and while I wouldn't go as far as to say they love each other yet, they are starting to feel a true affection for each other, and it is confusing Vestara especially, but Ben is not swayed once he learns about her plan to seduce and turn him. He is, and always will be, a Jedi.

Christie Golden clearly has a few favourite side characters, and I do not blame her whatsoever. Needmo, the seemingly only reliable and honest newshost has lots of great plot in this book, especially Madhi, the journalist, and her focus on slavery.

She has a great little story where she wins a slave and frees him, hiring him as a proper worker, and highlighting the troubles with a society that has “good” slavery. As nicely treated as those “slaves” are, as the freed one puts it, a cage is still a cage.

Dorvan, who works for Daala, is also a particularly good character. While loyal to Daala, he doesn't really agree with her, and is trying his best to sort things out between the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance, even if it doesn't work.

Whilst the Jedi and Sith work their way to Abeloth, there is tension simmering on Coruscant between the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi, as Daala hires Mandalorians to begin a siege on the Jedi Temple.

This whole plot is extremely tense as while no battle occurs, the political drama is especially good here, something I have previously critiqued, and we flicker back and forth between Daala and the Jedi as developments happen.

Mainly, however, Kenth Hamner shines. I love Kenth in this series, he isn't perfect, but the man is trying to live up to Luke Skywalker as Acting-Grand Master of the New Jedi Order, and also has the immense task of trying to sort things out between the increasingly power hungry Chief of State Daala, and the crippled Jedi.

Daala is absolutely going too far. While she raises many points I can sympathise with, as a citizen in this galaxy, I, too, might sometimes worry about giving Jedi too much power when Sith like Caedus emerge from them, but what she allows to happen and justifies is appalling.

Kenth Hamner's assistant, unarmed, innocent, is murdered by a Mandalorian.

This shit fucking shocked me. I couldn't quite believe what was happening, and it was so horrible, I loved seeing how the Masters treated it. Kenth's anger finally bursting was amazing, but I love how, as they said, this didn't scare the Jedi, it only strengthened their resolve.

“I'm staring at the body of a girl who was murdered by the heartless bastard you picked to lead the siege.” - Kenth Hamner.

In the midst of all this, as Luke, Ben, Vestara and the Sith travel to the Maw to find Abeloth's planet, Jaina seeks help from Jag, and, unable to get it, makes the decision that they will always be pulled apart by their duties, always on opposite ends, and ends the engagement.

I was really upset about this, but I get it, and... spoilers... I know it doesn't last!

Another awesome subplot, was the continuation of Tahiri's trial, which was heartbreaking as it was inspiring and hopeful. She gets so close to winning the Jury's favour, and there was a particularly beautiful moment, which I considered to be the most wonderfully written, and most gorgeous scene since The Unifying Force.

Han and Leia visit the incarcerated Tahiri Veila, to tell her of Luke and Ben's meeting with the deceased Anakin Solo, of his words of wisdom, and of his love for her that he still feels after all this time.

I cried reading Anakin's death all the way back in Star By Star, I cried writing about it in my review, I cried writing about it in my video essay, I almost teared up talking about it, and damn it, I cried at this too!

“He was her first and only love, her best friend, and he had been ripped from her far, far too soon.”

Tahiri's lawyer, Eramuth Bwua'tu, was a really sweet and fun character, a really clever lawyer, but also a surprisingly kind and trustworthy Bothan, with odd fashion and a lot of charm, he was a really loveable character, and his relationship with Tahiri throughout the novel is also a highlight.

In the midst of all the craziness at the Temple, there was another beautiful moment as, while the corpse still lay at the Temple, Raynar Thul, in a strange show of respect, decided to eat his lunch in front of the Mandalorians, in the same spot he does each day, clearly ready for them to kill him.

But Dorvan makes sure to be there on time, and eats with Raynar so he can't be shot, and it's an amazingly well written moment as it is so strange, so bizarre, so heartbreaking, but also so inspiring, it's a strange but great form of protest, and it says so much about the complexity of the characters of this series, of Raynar and of Dorvan. I loved it!

“Love was a powerful thing. It had built and shattered empires, shaped the history of billions, and of two.”

Throughout these books, Luke and Ben have felt the presence of Mara on the Jade Shadow, holding Luke in bed, comforting them in their sadness, making them feel not so alone.

As soon as Luke began feeling her in bed, I had my suspicions. But I was still shocked to learn the truth. And disturbed.

Abeloth.

For some strange reason, Abeloth wants Luke Skywalker, she fixates on him, goes after his son, his family, but she wants him.

Retreating from an attempt to consume Dyon on her planet, Luke, about twenty Sith, Vestara and Ben pursue her, into a beautiful sort of arena with towering pillars of stone, where Luke finally gets a good look at her, and he sees...

Callista Ming...

Throughout the novels, Abeloth has appeared to many with thick, curly dark hair, but often with short, blonde hair, both the appearances of Callista in either her first, or second life.

Somehow, when Callista abandoned using the Force, and left Luke, this thing, Abeloth, has taken her, perverted her, and they have become one. Needy, desperate, lonely, she seeks out Luke and attempts to turn him into something like her. Whatever that is...

It's really tragic, and has managed to make me love a character I used to hate, Callista, and turn a story I used to hate into something truly genius and so, so dark and sickening.

There's an unnerving, creepy moment where she turns to Abeloth, her tentacles and horrible teeth all showing, furious that she had waited all that time, and Luke had forsaken her, and wants to hurt him most, lunging at Ben Skywalker.

But her arrogance, her focus on Luke, means she forgets the Sith, the Nightsister spell casted around them, but only momentarily...

This leads to... maybe my favourite, or one of my favourite battles in all of Star Wars!

The EU just keeps on giving ‘em to me...

As the Sith, for a moment, join with Abeloth and turn on Luke, suddenly, as Ben is distracted helping a poisoned Vestara, has to fight twenty Sith, Nightsister magic, and Abeloth. And in an amazing show of power, of how far Luke Skywalker has come, Ben watches, amazed.

“Despite the odds, his father was winning.”

Gavar Khai, Vestara's father, tries to use Ben's anger to turn him, taunting him, but I love this moment, as this instead does the opposite, Ben has heard all this before, from Caedus, and instead it only makes him more resolute in his purpose, as a Jedi Knight.

When Abeloth knocks everyone out with more Force craziness, she escapes to feed on Dyon, but it is a trick. Luke sees right through it, killing her, and saving Dyon.

I was hopeful at first, but in searching for an image for this review, and reading the dramatis personae for the next novel, I'm pretty certain Abeloth still lives, as the entity she was. But Callista is dead, and I felt incredibly sorry for Luke finding out what his old lover had become.

I love how they showed the feelings you have for someone you may no longer be with, but from a relationship that did not end with animosity. Mara is Luke's love, the mother to his son, but he still loves Callista, of course he does, not like he loves Mara, and he could never be with her in that way again, but I love how they captured those feelings.

A relationship lost, that cannot work any longer, but perhaps could've once, a long time ago...

To bring Callista back for such a sick, twisted story is the perfect way of making such a boring character, from such an awful story, into a magnificent character, and making an even more fabulous story. I cannot credit the writing of this enough.

Poor Nek Bwua'tu, and poor Tahiri!

It seems Tahiri is done for, and Nek is killed by people pretending to be mad Jedi, which, as he is a lover of Daala, is only going to make things worse, and Tahiri, whose story inspired so much hope throughout the novel, is utterly hopeless again!

The one light of hope is that the Jedi are cured, and the Sith of Kesh are very different, and are going to work with Luke to uncover the truth about Abeloth, to learn more about her.

I have a light, small hope that these Sith may be able to change, or some at least. Especially since my rather naive google search showed me that Krayt will feature later, and more Abeloth. Damn fucking google searches...

So, overall... I was just terribly shocked at how fabulously written this book was.

Christie Golden managed to make the least entertaining and interesting plots gripping, and made me not skim and actually read every word for plots I might often skip if written by the other two authors of the series.

The action was some of the best in all of Star Wars novels, and she was also treated to writing a remarkably exciting part of the series, capturing all of the excitement and ferocity wonderfully.

I feel like a video essay, rather than an Instagram review, would better serve this book, as I can go on and on about the magnitude of exceptional writing here, and how good the story truly is of this book.

My hopes for the series have risen after the last two books lowered in quality a bit for me, and for someone who rarely gives very high ratings, who, whilst positive, is hesitant to give the higher ratings for most novels, you may be very shocked at how much I really loved this book...

I cannot think of any issues I had with the book, from both of the Bwua'tu characters, Tahiri, the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance, the Sith, Abeloth, and the Skywalkers, even Han and Leia Solo, and even Allana and her pet, Anji, Christie Golden was on peak form, and the book just blew me away with every single page entertaining me so much...

Fuck.

A masterpiece, there... I said it.

A masterpiece to me!

10/10

This was okay. Not something I'm too bothered about.

Another more recent read, and another one that I really liked. Paul Cornell is an exceptional Doctor Who writer and he's so strong here tying everything together in what truly feels like a damn good Doctor Who story and book, utilising the mature rating to far greater depth than most authors of the VNAs do!

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

This was actually a recent read for me, and yeah, I really enjoyed this one. I love the tone of the VNAs when done by someone talented like Terrance Dicks, even if some other authors truly mess it all up!

What an improvement for Justina Ireland. Her and Tessa Gratton work so well together.

Ireland's taste for romance, and especially a gay romance, works to her advantage as alongside Gratton, they craft two pivotal romances in the novel, and both were phenomenal.

The characters of this book were rich, and the story was really entertaining. It was an easy read, and while I took my time with it, it's no reflection on the quality of the story. Which was fantastic.

My only, very small complaint is that I'm sorely missing Elzar, Avar, and the phase one characters right now.

Now here is one I strongly remember having fun with! Great concept, a lot of fun, Jackie Tyler if I recall correctly, too!

A really solid novel, held back by the restrictions of the current canon.

If you've read EU material, this book will feel very familiar. It takes elements, whether or not purposefully, from both the Bantam era of novels, and the later works of Troy Denning, such as Fate of the Jedi.

Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian have excellent chemistry, and their adventure is the height of the book, their every page interesting and entertaining, often with a touch of light comedy reminiscent of the original trilogy.

Kiza, the Sith Eternal, the wraiths and Exegol cultists were honestly awesome, written with a horror tone, they were incredibly creepy and fun villains for Luke to fight, even if the idea is kinda silly and dumb for what happens in The Rise of Skywalker. Kiza, especially, is an awesome character.

Rey's parents feature, and take way too much of the pages up, being focused on far too much for what little entertainment they provide, and following the same structure repeatedly. Escape, rest, escape, rest, escape, rest. They aren't very interesting characters, and Rey is merely a young girl with no personality or really anything slightly or remotely entertaining about her. These sections eventually become a slog and should've been cut down quite a lot.

It's a really great book, clearly held down by the restrictions of the current canon, but Adam Christopher is a superb author and does a sublime job writing a great book even with his story being pulled down by decisions he didn't make and can't do anything to counteract.

Sadly, this is one that kinda didn't do it for me.

Whilst having its moments, again focused too much (for me) on a lot of the starfighter stuff, and we spent an odd amount of time with the Confederation and the Galactic Alliance, rather than with our main heroes or villains.

Alema's story has finally come to an end, but I am none-the-wiser on the Sith here, and feel they could do with a bit more of an explanation. I'm very confused on who they are!

And I struggled with the pacing a little. I must admit this book bored me at points and I ended up skimming lots of sections enough to get through them without missing important details.

It is always nice to see characters like Wedge and Tycho, but beyond starfighter stuff, there wasn't a whole lot going on with them. I'm yet to really become attached to Syal Antilles, so a lot of this stuff just missed for me. I'm not even entirely what happened to Tycho by the end as I lost interest and felt very braindead reading it.

There were some good bits, such as Luke, Saba, and Ben's attack on Jacen, whilst it led to nowhere, and I was very happy to have Allana returned to Tenel Ka, and away from Jacen.

I do feel very sorry for Allana throughout the book, and I actually do care about her and Tenel Ka, and her finding out her father is Jacen is quite a sad moment. I do actually pity Jacen quite a lot in these moments.

Jacen would definitely disappoint Vergere, and maybe even Lumiya, as he is succumbing to his hate, killing an innocent Liutennant, and is also constructing a red lightsaber! Tahiri is under his control pretty much fully now, but we have barely seen her doing anything really.

I liked how much Kyle Katarn was in the book, and he got to fight Jacen which was pretty cool, even if he didn't win, he put up a good fight and nearly died. I'm glad Kyle survived because it would've been a pretty anti-climactic death.

Even though Alema has steadily become more and more annoying, I actually felt sad when she died. She said “remember”, and Jag (who strangled her to death) saw her when she was young and beautiful, which is all she has wanted since becoming deformed. I felt very sorry for her there. Her death is brutal, her arm being blown up by Jag, and then strangled.

It certainly wasn't a bad book, but wasn't one I found very interesting. I'll say it was good, but just not for me really, and I found it a bit of a struggle to get through. By that, I mean I was forcing myself to finish it really.

An awesome cover and some great moments for Ben and Luke, Allston writes characters superbly, but the story just didn't have enough going for me to really enjoy it at all.

A good entry but one that I didn't love.

7/10

Christie Golden slips right into the team alongside Allston and Denning, taking Traviss' place extremely well, and doing a much better job of telling a story in-line with the series rather than detracting from it with a bizarre and contradicting focus on Mandalorians that differs between superb and weirdly forced.

She repeatedly and effortlessly utilises lore from past novels and other Star Wars media expertly, and really fits the team very well, building off of the last book from Allston, and starting new plot threads that begin to bubble for the next book.

Whilst it begins to lose steam a little later on, it quickly catches that fire again and the book is a really enjoyable book, if a bit short of a read.

It's really saddening to have more and more Jedi succumb to the madness and hysteria spreading from Jedi to Jedi, and I'm really just amazed at what it could be. I don't think it's the Sith from Kesh.

The One Sith? Or is it Abeloth?

Not a clue, honestly.

I am on and off with the Galactic Alliance and their political troubles with the Jedi, but at the same time, I have to face the fact that without Omas, it's very realistic with Daala.

Natasi Daala is very power hungry, and wants control over the Jedi. She masterfully utilises politics and the events around her to gain control and power, and force submission, also turning public opinion against the Jedi in a manner that whilst aggravating, is very true to life.

Ben and Luke's journey is superb again, if not better, and their travels are really getting me into a Christmas-sy mood. It has proper Goonies vibes and I love letting them be isolated to develop and grow together, to learn and explore, but also in penance for Luke's failings.

Unlike Luke in The Last Jedi, for example, I love that Luke is in exile but determined to make up for his mistakes and help the Jedi, to come back a better person and serve his sentence. Although you can make various arguments to make Luke in The Last Jedi seem better, him giving up like he does... it's just not something I buy.

I love the tension that grows between Ben and Luke about Jacen and flow-walking, and I love how it is sorted out in the end. I love their relationship as father and son, and it made me feel very sad that Ben wanted to flow-walk to learn why Jacen turned and hopefully prevent it. Only to regret trying when given the chance.

The whole story with Luke, Ben, and Tadar'Ro who taught them was really lovely, I love how after each trip you can truly feel Luke and Ben growing in some way, learning not just about the Force and Jacen, but about themselves.

The Sith on Kesh was an idea I initially thought cheap, but I now think is a really clever way to not just bring back the Sith, but a whole tribe of ancient Sith specifically is what intrigues me. These are the Sith of the Old Republic, they are large in number and have different beliefs and values. I like that a lot, and I am already coming to really like the characters as part of them now.

Generally, this book is another cog in the machine that is Fate of the Jedi, and not in a bad way. Just that it is one of the many moving pieces taking the reader to the next step, the next book. So not really a lot happens outside of the Kesh subplot, and Luke and Ben's journey.

It is an entertaining and quick read, not surpassing the last book, but not any worse either. Almost everything is handled really well, except for the zoo section with Jaina, Han, Leia, and Allana - as well as two other Jedi.

It stunk of forced action, and while it luckily leads to something entertaining and important, another mad Jedi causing tension between the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi, it's not a very entertaining action sequence and left me a skimming for a few pages. Luckily, they recaptured my attention quickly.

So it's another great book in the series, continuing the plots of the last book and progressing them. Now, I imagine, Troy Denning will hopefully take up the reigns for a book that should be a blast to read!

I hope.

8/10

After the last YA book introduced a brilliant cast, Reath Silas, Master Cohmac and Orla, Affie, Leox, and Geode, Ireland makes the questionable decision to ignore most of those characters, and turn Reath and Cohmac into side characters.

Instead, a new character is introduced, and the book focuses more on a ham-fisted romance story, that I'm certain gets more credit than it's due purely because it is an LGBTQ+ relationship. It was sweet at times, but I do not care for these two characters. They were really dull and uninteresting, and I could not believe the focus they got in this novel. A totally misguided sidestep.

Justina Ireland's writing style is quite possibly the most dull I've read since Barbara Hambly's Callista books, but it has the opposite issue. While Hambly's prose was endless and spiralling through long and complex descriptions and other nonsense, Ireland's is annoyingly simple.

This book reads nothing like a YA book. It feels targeted at young teens who read romance fanfiction. Every character seems to have an eye for one another, and the way the main girl, Syl, eyes women is almost creepy. If a man was written like this, people would be very mad, but to me, it is just as strange. Listen, we're attracted to people. We have thoughts we wouldn't openly share with everyone. But it seems to be on her mind 24/7, and I don't always need to see this on the page.