Backlash (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Book Four)

Title: Backlash
Author: Aaron Allston
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Fate of the Jedi
Preceded By: Abyss
Succeeded By: Allies

Ratings

Score: 8/10
Chart Movement: 19 -> 17
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: Definite

Review

Finally! Something happens! The first three books of this series were really quite slow, but in this we finally see it going somewhere. This time, while still plenty of political manoeuvring, we get too see some action.

This book follows quite nicely from the previous one - where the Sith Apprentice Vestara escapes from Luke and Ben Skywalker on Sinkhole Station. It actually starts with a Vestara viewpoint scene of her leaving. It's one of the few of these in the book - I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see more from her point of view, as she was with a more major character for most of the book. But she is a good character nonetheless, and brings some interesting aspects to the story.


As previously, Allston wrote Ben and Luke well, and similar to the other books in the series, Allana still felt like she was considerably older than eight. Still, that is consistent with the rest of the series I guess. But the characters in this series are consistently done well, so it's the story that is reallty important. And it's actually a good one.

When I said we get to see some action, it's on the planet of the nightsisters. I was almost hoping they wouldn't be in it, as all events on Dathomir seems to involve them. But they were there, and they were done well. But what I liked most were the two normal tribes, and how they lived and fought. Its not often that primitive races are featured in these books, and I really enjoyed reading about them.

Now the plot I really didn't like was Allana's little quest. Now Han and Leia are in charge of protecting her - first in line to the throne of several systems, and they leave her pretty much alone on a forsaken planet. OK, there are two Jedi hidden around the place, but they still let everything happen. She could have died - because she was bored and wanting to do something exciting - including vandalism and almost theft/murder. I just think that it was irresponsible of Han and Leia to let her do that, and That storyline annoyed me quite a bit.

The politics however, was quite a bit better in this one. Mainly because it was a side-story I think. While I disagree with Daala's political manoeuvrings, they made for a better story in this book, and were a lot faster, action based scenes. There was also the politics Dathomir, essentially male vs female, which were quite amusing as well.

And finally, it ends in a cliffhanger that I thought was a good one. I'm not going to say what, but it really gives the impression there will be something happening in the next book.

Simply put, this is the best book in the series so far, and I'm actually excited about the next book. I enjoyed this better than most in The Legacy of the Force, and hope that it marks a turning point of the series.

More Information

Main Protagonist(s): Mixed
Main Antagonist(s): Different groups... but all female.
Main Relationships: Heterosexual
Genre: Sci-fi
Brief Synopsis:

Repercussions from the dark side’s fatal seduction of Jacen Solo and the mysterious plague of madness afflicting young Jedi continue to wreak havoc galaxy-wide. Having narrowly escaped the deranged Force worshippers known as the Mind Walkers and a deadly Sith hit squad, Luke and Ben Skywalker are in pursuit of the now Masterless Sith apprentice. It is a chase that leads to the forbidding planet Dathomir, where an enclave of powerful dark side Force-wielders will give Vestara the edge she needs to escape—and where the Skywalkers will be forced into combat for their quarry and their lives.

Meanwhile, Han and Leia have completed their own desperate mission, shuttling madness-stricken Jedi from Coruscant to safe haven in the Transitory Mists and beyond the grasp of Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala. But the bold maneuver has intensified Daala’s fury, and she is determined to shatter Jedi Order resistance once and for all.
   
Yet no greater threat exists than that which still waits in the depths of the distant Maw Cluster: A being of pure, ravenous dark-side energy named Abeloth calls out across the stars to Jedi and Sith alike. For some it may be the ultimate source of answers crucial to their survival. For others it could be the ultimate weapon of conquest. But for all, it is a game-changing—and life-altering—encounter of untold magnitude and a tactical gambit with unimaginable consequences.

-Amazon 

ISBN: 978-0099542742
Amazon Link: UK | US
Pages: 384
Published: LucasBooks (March 9, 2010)
Publisher: Arrow (10 Mar 2011)