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!

Vortex (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Book Six)

Title: Vortex
Author: Troy Denning
Superseries Star Wars
Series: Fate of the Jedi
Preceded By: Allies (Christie Golden)
Succeeded By: Conviction (Aaron Allston)

Ratings

Score: 8/10
Chart Movement: 22 -> 21
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: Definite.

Review

I had no idea where this book was going to start. The last book, Allies, pretty much finished off every storyline except for the Trial of Tahiri Veila. With four more books to go, I began this one a little apprehensively. But that problem is quickly resolved. We found out pretty much straight away that Abeloth has a little trick up her sleeve that means that she could indeed be the main antagonist for the rest of the series, and we also see that the conflict between the Jedi and Admiral Daala is still going strong.

In short, there's plenty to read about in this book. But there was another reason that I was apprehensive. For me, Denning's contributions to the Legacy era books have been going downhill since his spectacular first entry in the legacy of the force series. But fortunately, while not matching the level of writing he had with Tempest, was considerably more engaging than in Abyss. He still used one or two awkward metaphors every now and again, but overall the writing was smooth, enjoyable, and most importantly, easy to read.

Death Star (Star Wars)

Title: Death Star
Author: Michael Reaves & Steve Perry
Superseries: Star Wars
Preceded By: The Force Unleashed II
Succeeded By: A New Hope

Ratings

Score: 8/10
Chart Entry Point: 9

Review

This is unusual for a Star Wars book, or any book really, in that all of the characters are on the bad guys side. This is a book about people who work for the empire, and it gives us a unique insight into "the other side of the story".

For a start, nearly all of the main characters are pretty good guys. One or two do a couple of illegal things, but then so did Han Solo. But apart from Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader, all of the viewpoint characters are likeable. None of them really want to kill anyone either. Even the one who pulled the trigger on the big gun. It does give a new perspective to the Star Wars films. Many of the people on board the Death Star when the Rebels destroyed it were actually Civilians - running the cantinas and shops on the station. Which was designed in order to end all war...

Outbound Flight (Star Wars)

Title: Outbound Flight
Author: Timothy Zahn
Superseries: Star Wars

Ratings

Score: 10/10
Chart Entry Point: 7

Review

Outbound Flight is a mission to explore the galaxies beyond the one Star wars is set in. It's the first book in the Star Wars chronology to include Thrawn - one of the most famous characters in the Extended Universe, and it's for this reason that I chose to read it. And it was a good decision...

NEWS: Star Wars Reviews

Some of you may have noticed that there are quite a few star wars reviews on the site. In fact there is 18 as of a minute ago. There's a very good reason for this. I like them, find them easy to pick up and read, and there are a lot of them (around 160 I think - although I don't own them all. Yet.)

But some people think I post too many Star Wars reviews. Fair enough, some people might not like Star Wars. But I've come up with what I feel to be a fair comprise...

Allies (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Book Five)

Title: Allies
Author: Christie Golden
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Fate of the Jedi
Preceded By: Backlash (by Aaron Allston)
Succeeded By: Vortex (by Troy Denning)

Ratings

Score: 7/10
Chart Movement: Remains at 17
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: Probable

Review

The first thing I can say about this fifth book is that it's a reassuring size. The last one by Golden was a bit thinner than the rest of the series, but this one isn't. As for the story, it's much better than the first three in the series.

As I often do, I'll start by discussing the characters, and in particular with my favourite character - Vestara. Vestara is a Sith apprentice, a bad guy by definition, but I  find that I can't help but like her, can't help but want her plans to succeed. As in the previous book, we don't see an awful lot of scenes from her point of view, but if anything this makes her character more interesting, and the rare chapter that is from her perspective an exciting glimpse into her life.

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.

Abyss (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Book Three)

Title: Abyss
Author: Troy Denning
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Fate of the Jedi
Preceeded By: Omen (Christie Golden)
Succeeded By: Backlash (Aaron Allston)

Ratings

Score: 5/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: I will read the series, but only out of stubbornness. Still, things are looking up.

Review

Finally this series has something beginning to resemble a storyline. I thought it would never happen. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the writing as much as I did with the previous two books, or even Denning's own books in the previous series. So I'm not sure whether to be elated that something is finally happening, or disappointed in the writing. It didn't stop me from reading until I'd finished though.


While I enjoyed the previous books, they didn't really have a driving force behind them. But now we're finally starting to see groups have objectives. And some questions with a bit more substance than "What's Going On?". There are two women and a force presence, who seem to be important, but for what? What's going to happen with the lost tribe of the sith? What's going to happen between Daala and the Jedi now that (Sarcastic Spoiler) something has happened.

Omen (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Book Two)

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

Ratings

Score: 6/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: I will read it.

Review

The first thing that I thought when I picked up 'Omen' was "Wow, This is thin." It's visibly shorter than the other two of the first three books, and of those in Legacy of the Force. But Quality is more important than Quantity and so I started reading (after all, there is another seven books after this one...).

And I have to say. I'm disappointed that there still isn't a plot. Not really. I could summarise it in maybe two or three sentences. There is nothing that really happens. Except for one small plotline, the Lost Tribe of the Sith are involved at this book, and the ending for that hints at a larger plot arc, which hopefully becomes a stronger one throughout the next few books.

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.

Invincible (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Book Nine)

Title: Invincible
Author: Troy Denning
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Legacy of the Force
Preceeded By: Revelation by Karen Traviss


Ratings

Score: 7/10
Overall Series Rating: 9/10

Review

This book had a lot to live up to. The series as a whole has been incredible thus far, and the previous book particularly so. If this book was to even match my expectations it had a lot to do. Quite frankly: it didn't.

This was the book that everything had been centering on. The loose storylines, the tension, the emotion... All of them really suggested that this was going to be something big. But it actually seemed like the author wasn't really that into it anymore. I felt that scenes were cut short, characters were fairly two dimensional - except Jaina and Ben - and that the conclusion happened too fast.

Revelation (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Book Eight)

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

Ratings

Score: 10/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: Never more sure that I would.

Review

This book is the best in the Legacy of the Force series. I waited until having read the final book to add this claim - and it still holds after that. In some ways it's odd, because of the first books by each of the three authors, I liked Traviss' the least. But she has shown that she is undoubtedly a brilliant writer.

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.

Inferno (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Book Six)

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.

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

Title: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
Author: Michael Reaves
Superseries: Star Wars
Preceeded By: Darth Maul Saboteur (eBook Novella by James Luceno - currently available in the back of modern editions of Shadow Hunter)

Ratings

Score: 8/10


Review

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter was the first book that I read in the Star Wars extended universe, and it's probably due to this book that my blog is currently rather full of star wars book reviews. It's not my favourite book in the Star Wars franchise, but it is one that I will always enjoy reading - and have indeed read several times.

Sacrifice (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Book Five)

Title: Sacrifice
Author: Karen Traviss
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Legacy of the Force
Preceeded By: Exile
Succeeded By: Inferno

Ratings

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

Review

I'm having trouble starting this review in any sort of catchy way, so let's assume I have, and i'll get on with it. Basically, this is pretty much the best book of the series so far. The characters are incredible, the plot is generally unpredictable, and Boba Fett is back again.

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:

Knight Errant (Star Wars)

Title: Knight Errant
Author: John Jackson Miller
Superseries: Star Wars

Ratings

Score: 9/10
How likely I am to read the next in the Series: If there is one, I'll read it.

Review

This book is everything that "Cloak of Deception (Review: 3/10)" should have been. It has fast flowing action, great characters, and layer upon layer of political mystery and intrigue. In essence, it contains almost everything I look for in a book.

The one thing that I don't believe it has is a strong plot. I expect that this is because, while it IS a standalone book, it follows the story-arc started in the two Knight Errant comic series (Aflame and Deluge). However this didn't seem to be that much of a problem, since despite not knowing where the book was going, I couldn't put it down.

Cloak of Deception (Star Wars)

Title: Cloak of Deception
Author: James Luceno
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: -


Ratings

Score: 3/10


Review

I knew when I bought this book that it would be a good one. I just knew it. Star Wars books are generally good quality, it's set in my favourite time-period of the Star Wars Universe, and was centered around political story-lines. As regular readers of my reviews know, I like to see politics and intrigue at work in novels. So I was hyped up to read it, and opened it a soon as I got home.

But somehow, something went wrong.

Tempest (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force - Book Three)

Title: Tempest
Author: Troy Denning
Superseries: Star Wars
Series: Legacy of the Force
Preceeded By: Bloodlines (By Karen Traviss)
Succeeded By: Exile (By Aaron Allston)

Ratings

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

Review

When I picked this book up at midnight last night, it was with the intention of reading for ten or twenty minutes before going to bed. Three hours later, I put the finished book down. From the prologue to the end, I found no point in the book where I didn't want to read "just the next few pages..."

As with the previous book, Bloodlines, I started reading with some trepidation that the third (and final) author in the series would not meet the quality that I had found in the first two. I'm happy to be able to say I needn't have worried. Denning is at least as good as Aalston and Traviss, and once more I'm glad that I started reading this series.