Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Allies
by admin on Jun.07, 2010, under Star Wars
- ISBN13: 9780345509147
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
What began as a quest for truth has become a struggle for survival for Luke Skywalker and his son, Ben. They have used the secrets of the Mindwalkers to transcend their own bodies and speak with the spirits of the fallen, risking their very lives in the process. They have faced a team of Sith assassins and beaten the odds to destroy them. And now the death squad’s sole survivor, Sith apprentice Vestara Khai, has summoned an entire fleet of Sith frigates to engage the embattled father and son. But the dark warriors come bearing a surprising proposition that will bring Jedi and Sith together in an unprecedented alliance against an evil more ancient and alien than they can imagine.
While the Skywalkers and their Sith allies set off on their joint mission into the treacherous web of black holes that is the Maw, Han and Leia Solo risk arrest and worse to aid the Jedi imprisoned back on Coruscant. Tyrannical Chief of State Natasi Daala has issued orders that will open a permanent schism between her government and the Jedi Order—a schism that could turn all Jedi into renegades and wanted criminals.
But it is in the depths of the Maw that the future of the galaxy will be decided. For there the Skywalkers and their Sith allies will engage a true monster in battle, and Luke will come face-to-face with a staggering truth.
June 7th, 2010 on 1:27 pm
FOTJ Allies is only Golden’s second entry in the Star Wars universe, but you can tell very early on that she’s gotten a handle on the essential characters of the EU. Golden’s Luke is written impeccably well. For the first time, the reader gets a more intimate look at how Mara’s death has personally affected Luke. Sure, we knew he was upset, etc, but the predicaments Luke is placed in here bring the brutality of Mara’s death and the pain of that loss to the fore-front once more. You get to see Luke’s pain without him being completely inept, and I appreciate that. SW authors often either write the All-Powerful-Luke or the Pathetic-Incapable-Luke and it’s nice to see I well balanced mix of all the above here.
The jury is still out Luke and Ben’s “alliance” with the Sith. In Allies you meet several Sith, including Vestara’s father, and while they are not completely pointless or “cardboard,” they lack the vibrancy of Vestara. Vestara is one of the more interesting new additions to the SW universe in a while. She’s happily Sith and makes no bones about, but is by no means a “Mary Sue,” a pointless addition to the fray. Since the writers of the FOTJ series have taken the time to develop her character, I hope they don’t throw her to the wayside too soon.
There are major plot movements in this book; it creates new story lines and ties up a few old one. Or does it? Although the mad Jedi situation seems to be resolved, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Abeloth/the Maw/Sinkhole Station, etc. Finally we seem to have a return to old-school SW mythos. A story that can’t simply end with a death (Jacen/Darth Caedus)or the conclusion of a war (the Yuuzhan Vong war). You can’t solve all the questions that Abeloth, Vestara and the Sith, and Daala’s seige against the Jedi in a neat package and slap a bow on it.
Overall, I recommend this book, but I also recommend checking out all of the FOTJ beforehand, and even some of the earlier SW lit. Nitpickers out there will dislike a gross typo by the author (it’s Kyp DURRON people), and frequent mentions of “the Sword of the Jedi,” but they did not affect my overall enjoyment of the book.
Rating: 5 / 5
June 7th, 2010 on 3:38 pm
This book is filled with typos, incomplete prose corrections, species confusion, and name mispellings that it gives the impression they printed an early proof. But the lack of quality control is just a broader symptom of unprofessionalism on the part of the editors and author.
The author needs to attend writing seminars on her craft before she asks people to pay for her storytelling. This is at best a Harlequin Romance; certainly not Star Wars. Basic writing flaws such as misplaced or overused dialogue beats, point of view shifts and passive voice are pervasive.
Skill aside, the story is flawed. Characters are driven by the plot and not the other way around. Luke is portrayed as sage in one scene and a gullible fool in the next. Han and Leia’s roles have been reduced to insignificant. The epic battle is over before it started.
If you’re a fan of Jaina or like to read about strong female characters, this isn’t the book for you. Women’s roles in the modern myth take a decided step backwards with pervasive sexist portrayals.
Rating: 1 / 5
June 7th, 2010 on 6:32 pm
“Allies” is a busy book. It hops over several story lines at the same time but never gets confusing. There are a lot of characters floating around but story is written so that I never had to take more than a moment to think about who anyone was before I remembered.
I’ll avoid spoilers and simply say that overall it’s a pretty good read. Having to cooperate with Sith puts Luke in a tricky position, even for him. Watching how he handles it is very affirming of just how much he’s grown over the history of Star Wars.
But the real star of the story is Ben. His interplay with Vestara is very entertaining and very real. The way they swing between seeing each other as potential enemies and potential romantic interests is the best part of the book and at times the saddest.
The other subplots such as the trial, the political moves, the family drama and the Jedi going crazy are all well handled and have many great lines and moments.
On the downside the climax is a tad muddled. I’m also a bit unhappy with the conflicting ways the afterlife for Force-users is depicted. It seems to clash with a lot of events in canon. But I’ll wait until the series is finished before I judge that fully.
All in all, “Allies” is a very solid SW novel and if you’re a fan of the EU well worth adding to your collection.
Rating: 4 / 5
June 7th, 2010 on 7:20 pm
[WARNING -- spoilers!]
Golden takes the plot line building from the past four books and dismantles it almost entirely. The book builds up the mystery of the “mad” jedi, pulls you into Tahiri’s trial, teases you with a possible romance between Ben and Vestara, and reminds you of the Old Empire with the siege of the Jedi Temple. Then what happens? It’s all washed-away.
Suddenly this “ancient, powerful being” Abeloth is able to be killed so easily by Luke? Suddenly Tahiri is about to be set free if not for last-minute evidence? Suddenly Bwua’tu is killed by “fake” jedi? Suddenly Ben can’t stand Vestara anymore. Suddenly Jaina leaves Jag (AGAIN), and has a two paragraph fight with Ship that seems pointless. etc, etc.
The book had done such a good job for so long. I couldn’t wait to turn the page. and then with 30-or-so pages to go it’s like someone snapped their fingers and the story went into hyperdrive trying to wrap things up.
I’m especially disappointed in the Abeloth story. There’s no way it should have been that easy if she’s as powerful as we were led to believe for four books. And the “everyone is suddenly cured” story is particularly frustrating. Don’t get me wrong. I like the Sith part, and I like the political intrigue. But the rushed ending ruins everything prior to it….
Rating: 3 / 5
June 7th, 2010 on 9:40 pm
I had a tough time with this one. I felt that the author doesn’t really get what the sw eu is all about. The relationship btw Vestara and Ben was juvenile at best. Her persistence in writing about Allana’s and her pet Nexxu was pre juvenile who cares about these minor characters relationships with their pets. She throws around catch phrases with a nudge, nudge, i.e sword of the jedi,and lines from the original trilogy, it’s like hey guys I get it, when in fact she does not. These passages always felt “forced”. It was like the author was writing a pre-teen novel using the sw universe as a template, will a teen jedi fall for the teen sith? The dialogue btw characters was a joke. Jedi masters being petty about an assistant, bad character references, and why the hell is Lando Calrissian in this? There is also very little action and drama in this one, there is also several story-lines that appear to go nowhere fast, while it’s admirable to bring up the antislavery vibe in this book what does it have to do with the whole point of this story-line, i.e why did Jason Solo go to the dark side. I also felt that the finale was very anti climatic in regards to the resolution of the “mad jedi”. Maybe this book was all a dream that Allana’s nexxu cub was having. Please Ms. Golden go back to the star trek universe,Please.
Rating: 1 / 5