Revelation (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 8) by Karen Traviss Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Revelation (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 8)
Book Review: Calm Before The Storm...
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm torn. Because others have already summarized the overall plot, I'm bypassing that and going straight to my thoughts on the book. I enjoyed this book, but still feel like more could have happened. Here's a bit of what I thought:
The Good: For once, I actually enjoyed the Fett storyline. It had a lot to do with the fact that a familiar character, Jaina, was included in it. She's been neglected in so much of the series that it was nice to see her interacting with someone other than Zekk or Jag.
The main (and only) battle scene was done very well. Events you knew had to come sooner or later came to their climax, which was quite engaging to read. Mind you, there aren't a lot of battle scenes or action in much of the book. The title revelation really describes much of the book. Secrets are uncovered-- but not with bloody battles but with evidence and just plain 'I have to get this off my chest' conversations.
The Not So Good: Dialogue was not the best in this book. Lines seemed forced for all the characters. An example is Zekk, seeing Ben is upset , "Whatever is wrong?", Zekk says. Never in my mind did I imagine Zekk forming a question with 'whatever'. All the characters have odd lines such as that, which distracted me from the story.
Han and Leia are no shows throughout most of the book. Jag, Zekk, Tenal Ka, and Allana also have little or no page time.
Overall: If you've been reading the series, I know you'll continue reading regardless of if I write you should, so I won't. If you're new to the series, do not start with this book. You'll be confused and it's not the best representation of the series.
I'm looking forward to Denning's conclusion. Hopefully it will wrap a nice little bow on this storyline and open the universe up to a more happy (less war filled) time.
Book Review: Disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
I don't often take the time to review any of these books, but after finishing Revelation, the seventh installment in the Star Wars:Legacy series, I felt compelled to vent my frustrations. I don't like to utter anything besides a kind word unless it can be helped, but during the course of this book, I found myself shaking my head, rolling my eyes, and generally asking myself, "Are you kidding?", and felt I needed to post something, if only to find out whether anyone agrees with me, or if I'm the only one who's starting to wonder when the Star Wars EU went from interesting space drama cut in the mold of the original films to meaningless adventures featuring 'characters you always wished you could know more about' like Boba Fett and Admiral Daala.
First off, what is the obsession with Boba Fett and the Mandalorians? All of a sudden they are the talk of almost every character in the galaxy; I think Ben even makes a reference to Mando children (in one of the earlier novels) and their culture - which heretofore nobody in the SW galaxy knew anything about. All of a sudden, this fierce fighting culture is being considered by everybody and their nephew to be the definition of strength and technology. Beskar iron - previously unmentioned in any of the SW novels - is more coveted than Tibanna gas. I don't buy it. I also don't buy that a few handful of Jedi wouldn't be able to take all of the Mandalorians at once; but instead, the author paints this as absurd, because Jedi overthink and clearly are no match for the fighting skills of these supreme warriors. Last I checked, a young, fairly inexperienced Jedi named Luke Skywalker beat a seasoned Boba Fett in their brief battle over the Sarlacc.
Which leads me to my next point. Whether the author does so deliberately or not, any mention of Luke's battle against Jacen is completely ignored. Plenty of references are made to Mara's battle against him, but for some reason the fact that Luke beat Jacen to a bloody pulp is casually omitted. I only say this because Troy Denning and Aaron Allston seem to agree on something that Karen Traviss doesn't - like it or not, Luke Skywalker has come the closest to beating Jacen Solo and probably wouldn't need the likes of Boba Fett to serve as a special combat mentor. All of this might be premature since the final book hasn't been released yet, but we'll see what happens. I just don't understand why Luke is the Grand Master of the Jedi in some books, and then treated like a weak-willed shadow in any of the books written by Ms. Traviss.
Additionally, I don't understand why so many words were spent detailing such little events. More time was wasted on Boba Fett and Sintas Vel than on Darth Caedus himself, who continues to be a disappointment as a villain. I can't remember the last time his fearsome GA won a major offensive. His revelation consists of telling a few trusted confidants that he's a Sith Lord, and asking them what they think about it. When will he do something besides justifying his destiny to himself and musing over what it means to be a Sith? And if he is supposed to be so fierce and powerful as everybody is making him out to be, then I don't understand why a few Mando commandos posed any threat to him. I didn't in the least bit care for the fact that Carid, one of the many forgettable Mando's, shot a bolt right into Jacen's knee. Jacen should have crushed the man without a second thought. What kind of an all-powerful villain is this, who can't even handle one armor-wearing mercenary? I just don't buy it. I think Ms. Traviss likes Boba Fett and his comrades too much, and in that regard, believes that they can do the impossible.
Also, and this has been said in one of the earlier reviews but it bears repeating, far too much time was spent following Ben's investigation into a subject that all of the readers knows the answer to. A quicker and more subtle means of discovering the truth of Mara's killer would have been a lot more rewarding than seeing Ben piece everything together and reveal his findings to Luke, Han, and Leia, with only ten pages left in the second to last book. If Jaina is already training to fight Jacen and Luke is supposedly going to avoid going after Jacen out of fear of turning to the Dark Side, then finding out the truth about Mara's death is a moot point so late in the series. Anyway, I could be passing judgment too quickly; like I said, the final installment is still to come. But this book should have been so much more.
This series isn't terrible. I enjoy Allston's work (when he spends less time making every character into a comedian)and I think Troy Denning creates the best and most vivid lightsaber duels out of any of the SW authors to date, but I was hoping that Revelation would bring the galaxy to the threshold of the dark jeopardy that Darth Caedus was supposed to threaten, and instead, our villain is still playing politics, our heroes are near invisible, a ghost resurfaces from the past for no reason other than to make us say, 'Oh yeah, Admiral Daala, I remember her,' and the son of Luke Skywalker gets awarded 100 pages to find out something that we already knew, only to tell people whose reaction we barely get a chance to gauge because Ms. Traviss doesn't want to spend too much time away from Keldabe. I think Troy Denning has his work cut out for him with the final book.
Book Review: Very Enjoyable
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read many varying reviews here for this book, and really for this series in general, and I find that I disagree with most of the nay-sayers about the series and I think it is actually fleshing out quite well. At first I was skeptical because it sounded so much like a rehashing of the original Darth Vader story, but as time goes on it has gotten a lot better.
I liked how the imperials were brought into this one, although I am not happy with the fate of Palleon. I thought that a character as strong as his deserved a lot better story than what he got. And the other imperial from the past that they brought back had me rolling on the floor laughing when she first appeared because I loved her years ago when she first appeared. The way they originally wrote her out of the universe back then always pissed me off because I thought she was worth so much better than that.
The Fett story is good but the piecemeal way it is being written is getting a little old. I realize he is kind of Traviss' baby but the whole not hearing anything about his story for 2 books and then all of a sudden half a book of him comes along is getting kind of old. But his story is interesting and it is cool to see what is going on inside his head once in a while. For years he has always just been this silent enigma in the galaxy. It is nice to see he is a real person once in a while.
Jacen manages to slip through yet another nearly impossible situation and survives to talk about it which makes me wonder how he is finally going to get killed and how believable it will be. After all the near misses he has had through the last 8 books it is going to be interesting to see what finally gets him.
And the final scene in this book with Luke almost brought a tear to my eye. I admit, I am a softy, but it was good.
So I recommend this book. It was a good read and really did finish placing all the pieces on the proverbial chess board for the last book, and it will be interesting to see who lives and who else dies in the grand finale.
Oh, and the Naboo references in this book are almost comical and are waaay too forced. From reading this book you would think that everyone in the galaxy had been to Naboo at least once and that half of the galaxy's culture is based off of that one planet. Give it a rest already.
Book Review: Excellent in every way
Summary: 5 Stars
Finished this book in exactly a week, and with my busy schedule right now, that alone is a testament to how much I didn't want to put it down (took my almost a month to read through book #7: Fury). Karen expounded more upon the relationship of the Mandalorians in the Star Wars universe, but this time, we finally get to see them get tied together with the rest of the Legacy of the Force story arc. Everything is coming together now, and this novel sets the stage for a fantastic ending to this series in the next book. The characters are very well thought out, and feel entirely real. Hard issues are dealt with, and the various characters face battles both in their own decisions, and with their enemies. A fantastic showdown creates ripples that effect every faction in the war that is ongoing in this series. Traviss' style manages to immerse you behind the eyes of several different characters throughout the book and help to fully understand the impact the events have on the individuals. Rarely have I read a book that evokes such high and low emotional responses as this one did for me.
This is just one more feather in the cap of an author that's already proven she can write Star Wars with the best of them.
Book Review: What are yor crying for?!?!?!?
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know why everyone has something to cry about in this book. All you want is action or the story to revolve around one person. Karen did a awesome job at developing a stroy that went with the theme.
Why the story with Sinta's and Boba's daughter. Because it gives you a little more connection with Boba. I like the fact the Vinku and Bardika were in the story. I love all the Republic commando books and was pleased to still here of them in the future universe. If you are a true fan of the Star Wars univers then shut up and stop crying that not every chapter is a saber fight, and actually be enjoyed that the authores are talented enough to expand the story and the universe.
Also because this book has alot more plot and development it just meens the next well be action packed, because the story has allready been laid out.