This is the penultimate novel in the Legacy series, and as one would expect from the author, much of the length is devoted to Boba Fett, his newfound family, and Jaina’s training among the Mandalorians. This is one of the more interesting aspects of the book, but it often feels like Traviss would have rather written a stand-alone Fett trilogy and had to shoehorn the ideas into this series. Enjoyment of the novel will depend greatly upon one’s tolerance for the Mandalorians.
Almost as a subplot, Ben puts together his case that Jacen murdered his mother, and the results are fairly interesting. One problem with Star Wars is the black and white depiction of the Sith; I’ve mentioned this on several occasions. In this case, Jacen’s portrayal does not change that, but it does offer the reader more to consider. While the Jedi and the Solos are still depicted as heroes as a default, without much question regarding the rightness of their motives, Jacen is given a chance to explain his side of the story. He’s depicted as a bit unhinged, of course, but one could imagine some readers sympathizing with his point of view.
More could (and should) have been done with this. One of the lessons of the Prequel trilogy was the price of arrogance and uniform thinking. The Jedi had become complacent. Seeing the Sith as nothing but madmen should have been a Jedi weakness. The Legacy series was borne out of the excellent New Jedi Order novel “Traitor”, which introduced Jacen to Sith concepts as a viable philosophy. The Legacy series began that way, as I’ve said, but it’s all too easy to reduce the Sith to the babbling lunatics of the films.
Part of the problem is that the situation, as presented, cannot possibly be resolved satisfactorily within the space of a single concluding novel, because the situation is really the lack of a new balance within the Force. Darth Vader’s role as the “Chosen One” was very specific: destroy the Jedi and Sith together and force (no pun intended) a recasting of tradition. The logical step would have been to find a middle ground between the light and the darkness, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Defeating Jacen may end the latest Sith threat, but it brings the Expanded Universe no closer to the goal set in “Vector Prime”. There is still no New Jedi Order. Luke is still trying to find the path. If Jacen had been given a strong philosophical basis for his actions, Luke might have been forced to produce the same, and the battles fought in the Legacy era would have a greater purpose.
Rating: 7/10
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