Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Allies [Hardcover]

fotj:allies is a story with a great deal of potential that is unfortunately undone with very sloppy execution. other reviewers have had some impolite things to say about the author, but i'm not going to go that far, as i'm sure the editorial process is just as much as fault. i venture into spoiler territory a bit, so consider yourself warned.

even if you're not a hardcore fan, the book can be difficult to read at times. there are jumps from one character's perspective to another's that are rather jarring, and characters behave inconsistently, sometimes from one page to the next. too many chapters begin with recaps of what happened a few pages before, as if you hadn't just read it for yourself, or needed help understanding. and then some events seem to happen completely out of sequence- for example, at one point the skywalkers are waiting for a rendez-vous with lando. luke decides to speed up the timetable (because "things have changed," he explains, though at no point is the book clear on what's supposed to have changed), and arranges for lando to meet him on the way. 14 pages later, lando arrives at the site of the initially-planned meeting, and is absolutely shocked that luke is no longer there. what? later on, vestara is asking dyon questions about ship that dyon clearly comprehends, even though it isn't until a few paragraphs later that she explains to him what ship is.

if you are a hardcore fan, it gets even worse. there's far too much character deconstruction in this book. where ben is steady and mature beyond his years coming into this story, here he's a hapless hormonal sap. where vestara had been ambitious, cunning, and ruthless (ship's favorite among the entire tribe), here she's an ineffective, shallow, hormonal sap. where jaina had been tempered through the tragedy of having to kill her brother, here she announces herself almost proudly on multiple occasions as 'sword of the jedi', as if violence is something she suddenly thinks should be embraced. and the one big question that is never answered ties into the most significant deconstruction of all, that of the sith. why exactly is there any kind of alliance at all? that simple question is never answered. it's almost like the jedi and sith are reduced here to political parties simply as a plot device to get ben and vestara into the same room. why would the sith want to confront or destroy a powerful dark-side user in the first place? the book never explains. why would the sith think they need the skywalkers - or anyone else in the galaxy - to help them do it? the book never explains. why would a tribe of thousands, bred for thousands of years to be certain of their superiority, ever think that they would need the help of two good guys to take on a fellow bad guy, for whatever unexplained reason it is that they're choosing to take on a fellow bad guy? sorry, don't know.

i spoke of potential, and the book starts with a great deal. since they were introduced, it was clear that these sith were different than others that had been written. their origins predated both the bane-era self-destructive infighting and the post-bane highlander mentality with one always succeeding the one before. their introduction earlier in the series made explicit their inherent ruthless and merciless capacity. the eventual confrontation between the skywalkers and these sith could have been something really spectacular. instead, the lost tribe here is just another posturing and largely toothless foe. even more potential is lost with the constant return to politics, by far the most boring element of the star wars universe. think back to episode 4, when the extent of the politics is tarkin announcing to the room that the emperor has disbanded the senate. now think back to episode 1, with all that exciting footage of the senate in session. there's far too much episode 1 in this book, and the entire series for that matter.

there were a few years where star wars books had grown predictable. the bad guy or the superweapon du jour, followed by the happy ending. they've become predictable again on a larger scale, with entire sequences of books devoted to dark side macguffins and the republic being transformed from within.

I am a Star Wars geek and lay claim to reading every book of the Star Wars series from Pre-Episode I through the Clone Wars to ROTJ and then read the disappointing Legacy series. I told myself that I would not continue to read these 9 book series because, quite frankly, the Legacy series would have made a fine trilogy. It introduced too many characters that had only minor roles in the story telling and much like reading Tolkien, you start forgetting who individuals were and whether or not you missed something. I actually started jotting down notes when new characters were added to the series. Those characters were either killed off or had shortened arcs.

But I caved. I started reading Omen and I hoped that the FotJ series would be better. Maybe they learned from their mistakes. After this book, it is clear they haven't.

First and foremost, I hate hate hate having three authors writing through the book. It almost made sense in the Legacy series where Travis and her love of all things Mando were evident. I am glad she took the reins in these books, as they made little real sense to the overall story, they were the most detailed and put you in the tribe.

I don't know what to think of Golden. I have the feeling she has no more clue about the Star Wars Universe as I do about prehistoric classical music. I noticed several typos (at least 4) where once she referred to a ship and had no idea what she was saying. If you are going to have someone play in the universe, please make sure they have a comfort within it. She seems to use the universe as a clunky tool for her prose.

Now, I know we can't always focus on the main characters, but the introduction of certain characters falls into the same 1)they are going to die or 2) I guarantee you that there will be little if no further exposition of the characters later in the series. Of course I cannot be certain I am right as the other books aren't penned yet, but that's my fear after the Legacy series. There just is not the continuity where there would be if there was only one author. And continuity is the key to writing epic stories.

I don't want to spoil anything, but the plot twists come in big flashing lights that say "plot twist ahead." As soon as you realize what is going on, you feel a bit angry because in Golden's books they are just too damn obvious.

So, you probably are going to read this book if you like Star Wars and the Star Wars EU. You know you aren't getting War and Peace and you are comfortable with a fair amount of pulp. Well, this is pulp.

I am sure Golden is a good writer, but she isn't the best writer for the series. I feel the same way about Drew Karpashyn and his Darth Bane series seems to be pretty popular. So read this, you will finish it and go "meh." And once the series is over, you will say to yourself "man, they could have done this in like three books, not nine."

I'm completely lukewarm about this book. I enjoyed the touching scenes featuring the Solos and Allana and even that nexu cub. The anti-slavery message was delivered through a neat new character, but the book lacked a distinctly Star Wars feel. The whole subplot with the journalist could have been put in any science fiction book in nearly any pre-made universe and done all right.

The writing style bothered me. Let me just recount one sentence for you. Please, try to read this allowed in one breath:
page 63 So it was that in the shaded marketplace, with artificially moist, cool air blowing about them and a few musicians standing about playing strangely complicated-looking instruments with cases looking sadly empty of credcoins, he, Vestara, and Dyon found themselves looking at a pretty impressive amount of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and meats.

Still alive? Did you breathe while reading aloud?

The book bleeds passive verbs all over the place. The majority of sentences are ungainly at best. I daresay some people may even like the style, but it struck me at a painful angle. Also,I like Jaina Solo and found this portrayal of her particularly painful to take at times.

The plot's okay, though I agree with those who say the great end battle is shoddy at best. I know this is a inner book of a series, but it just felt like a lot of subplots were left unresolved. Here's to the hope that loose ends will be tied in future books.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 41 reviews  3.2 out of 5 stars