Title: Inferno
Author: Troy Denning
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Legacy of the Force
Preceeded By: Sacrifice (by Karen Traviss)
Succeeded By: Fury (by Aaron Allston)
Ratings
Score: 9/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: Definite :-)
Review
I bought this book on amazon. When deciding which version of the book to purchase (I eventually went with paperback) I looked at a couple of the reviews. One or two said that it was the worst in the series. I find myself having to disagree with them. It's not the best, both the previous book in the series (Sacrifice - Karen Traviss) and the previous book written by Denning (Tempest) exceeded it. But It wasn't the worst either. I really enjoyed reading more about Luke, who has been pretty much absent from previous books, and also of Han and Leia, who seem to come and go in previous books.
After the events of the previous book, Darth Caedus seems quite lost without his mentor. In this book we get shown that despite turning darker, he has a long way to go before being another emperor. While he tries to be cold and calculating, he can't quite get it down perfectly. This book shows Jacen, not in a good light, but in a light that is really interesting to read. He's starting to accept his own darkness, and I feel that Denning writes Jacen really well, In that we actually kind of understand where he's coming from. Palpatine was clearly evil. But Jacen is just... misguided.
Of course - that doesn't mean he's not the bad guy. He isn't a nice person. But the way Denning has written, along with the prior works of the three authors, allows us to see him as evil one moment, and lost in another.
There were two minor characters that particularly stood out for me as well. Chief Omas, and Ship. The first Denning writes really well, despite his brief appearance. The second is just a simply incredible character/vehicle. The idea that a ship can be sentient is not a new one in the star wars universe - but this particular one is highly entertaining to read. As is the whole series for that.
There are a couple of problems I had - non major. The biggest is that the character of Tahiri is reintroduced in this book - apparently for no good reason. Maybe she'll be more prominent in the next three books, but I would have liked to see more of a reason for Darth Caedus' manipulations of her. She has a small use, but given that the book started with her - I expected more.
I also didn't like Ben's character very much, meaning the way in which it was written, which is interesting since I liked him so much in Tempest. I kind of understand why he was written the way he was - but it seems too different from his character in the previous books.
Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. it's the last book of the middle section, and where the last book was a large turning point in Jacen's world, this is the consequential large turning point for the rest of the galaxy. As we enter the final books of the series, I'm finding it difficult to stick to my reading/reviewing plan and not just read the rest of the series straight away. As always - I would recommend this series.
More Information
Main Protagonist(s): Mixed
Main Antagonist(s): 1 male, 1 female
Main Relationships: Heterosexual
Genre: Science Fiction
Brief Synopsis:
The galaxy is in turmoil due to spreading and incresingly violent civil war - and the Solo/Walker clan is in shock after the horrifying murder of one of it's most beloved members. Jacen Solo, now a full Sith Lord, has seized control of the Galactic Alliance. Luke Skywalker's judgement is clouded by grief, even as he faces his most momentous decision since becoming Grand Master of the Jedi order: whether to support Jacen's illegitimate government against the forces threatening Coruscant...or to join the Rebel Confederacy and take arms against the Galactic Alliance he helped forge.
-Amazon
ISBN: 978-0099492061
Amazon Link: UK | US
Pages: 336
First Published: 4 )ct 2007
Publisher: Arrow
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