Conviction (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Book Seven)

Title: Conviction
Author: Aaron Allston
Score: 4/10
Chart Movement: 22 → 21 (Down 1)


Review

This series seems to have it's ups and downs, and if I'm honest this is one of the downs. Not a lot happens, and the stuff that does is either completely new, unrelated, or almost contradictory to the previous books. Because the plot is what I'll be commenting on mainly, there are some quite major spoilers in this review, so if you hate that kind of thing, look away now!

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.

Outcast (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Book One)

Title: Outcast
Author: Aaron Allston
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Fate of the Jedi
Succeeded By: Omen (Christie Golden)

Ratings

Score: 8/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: I already have, actually. Expect a review of that in a week or two.

Review

For this review, the 50th on the blog, I decided to review something that I had bought myself, rather than one that someone had requested me to review. And then I got a little carried away and read the second in the series. But to those waiting for reviews, don't worry - after this I shall be back to reviewing those that have been requested of me. But for now, Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Book One, Outcast:

I approached this book with some trepidation, as I was disappointed with the last book of Legacy of the Force, and was unsure whether I should really be setting out on another nine book journey with the same characters, by two out of the same authors, especially when the one author that was replaced was my favourite of the three. But my desire to read all the Star Wars books overcame my anxiety of being disappointed and I began to read.

Fury (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Book Seven)

Title: Fury
Author: Aaron Allston
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Legacy of the Force
Preceeded By: Inferno by Troy Denning
Succeeded By: Revelation by Karen Traviss

Ratings

Score: 9/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: Definite

Review

When I reviewed the last book Allston wrote in the series, it as the worst so far. As of this book, I'm happy to say it keeps it's position. Allston exceeds his previous book considerably - and I found myself reading "Fury" much more voraciously than I read "Exile". It was an engaging story, filled with excitement and entertainment, AND we finally get to see a little bit more of Jaina - who until now has been mainly sidelined.

Exile (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Book Four)

Title: Exile
Author: Aaron Allston
Super-series: Star Wars
Series: Legacy of the Force
Preceded By: Tempest (By Troy Denning)
Succeeded By: Sacrifice (By Karen Traviss)

Ratings

Score: 8/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: Ordered it already!

Review

There is a rule I've heard in several places. The second in a trilogy is always the worst. Now the glaring exception to this rule is the Original Star Wars trilogy, where the Empire Strikes Back was probably the best, but in general, it seems to be true. This isn't part of a trilogy, but each author writes three books, and I'm hoping the rule applies to that too. Why? Because Allston's second book wasn't as good as I was hoping.

That's not to say it's bad! I've rated it 8/10, which is still a high score. It's just not at quite the same level as the previous three in the series. There are three reasons for this, the first of which is this:

Betrayal (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Book One)

Title: Betrayal
Author: Aaron Allston
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Legacy of the Force (NB: not all by Aaron Allston)
Succeeded By: Bloodlines, by Karen Traviss

Ratings

Score: 10/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: Added to my Christmas list already!

Review

I loved the star wars films. From the first time I saw them they were my three favourite films. Then they made three more! Six fantastic movies (let's pretend Episode III was as good as the others). But then I discovered the Expanded Universe, and that's what really makes star wars. And this book is a perfect example.