Thursday, February 28, 2008
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1 comment:
Here's my thoughts:
1. On the whole, this was one of my least favorite of the LotF novels. I think that Traviss is a good writer, but I really haven't like her books in this series much (Sacrifice was pretty good, but Revelation and Bloodlines are probably my two least favorite). So much of this series--for better or worse--has focused on Jacen, Ben, and the effects of Jacen's actions on the Skywalker and Solo families, that it is kind of offputting to have a third of the books written by someone who just doesn't seem to like Jedi very much.
Her anti-Jedi bias came across much stronger in this book than her others, and on the whole I thought that she got too wrapped up in the Niathal/Jacen political situation (made more cumbersome by including Paelleon and Daala) and--of course--tons of Mando stuff.
2. As I said above, I wasn't big on the Niathal political stuff. Part of the problem with this series (as much as I enjoy it at times, it also has some serious issues) is character continuity, and I'm having a hard time reconcile the Niathal from the other books with the Revelation Niathal. I think Niathal's attitude in Revelation is partly used to show how far down the dark path Jacen has gone, but it still seems kind of sudden and inexplicable in light of the other novels.
3. I'm sure I'm not the only one who still thinks all the Mandolorian stuff is out of place. Honestly, I think Boba Fett's side story would make a great novel or series of its own. And as an anarchist, I would admit that I find Mandolorian society intriguing (since it is more or less stateless, and highly decentralized and mobile). But it just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the story well, and some of the segments have such a pro-Mandolorian and anti-Jedi slant that it makes me cringe.
4. When are we going to see Darth Caedus' awesome dark powers? I really kinda expected more action and especially more Sith action from this novel. Since the series ends next novel (supposedly), I really thought that Revelation would have Caedus perhaps "revealing" the full extent of his powers, or at least doing the type of things that would make it seem like he was a really powerful threat. The scene in which Jaina, Fett, and the Mandos board the Imperial ship and try to take down Tahiri is a microcosm of why I found this book frustrating. What would have been sweet was Cadeus coming in, killing a few Mandos with force powers, and rescuing Tahiri--all of this letting Jaina know what she was up against and what she needed to learn from Fett before taking him on. But instead, a Mandolorian has a free shot on Caedus--to kill--that he chooses not to take and instead shoots Caedus in the kneecap. Nothing happens, and Caedus has to flee with a barely-alive Tahiri. It makes one wonder how Revan and Malak could have possibly won the Mandolorian wars...
5. One thing I do like about Traviss is that she isn't willing to give the Jedi a free moral pass on everything that they do. She doesn't always present this well--too often the Jedis' failings are juxtaposed against overly sympathetic interpretations of people who are hardly moral paragons themselves (Paelleon, Niathal, and Boba Fett come to mind). But it is good that she isn't willing to let Jedi completely off the hook. (There are also some spots in the book where she seems to suggest that most wars were entirely conflicts between Jedi and Sith--I think she is way off base on some of her accustions against the Jedi in some areas, and hopefully I will have to time to comment on them further, the topic deserves its own post).
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