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September 10, 2007
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 Legacy of the Force is blow-away-badass?.
After five thrilling volumes that have tragically divided the Solo/Skywalker Clan, we arrive at the climactic Inferno. The pages of this brief episode still echo vividly in my mind?s eye, with riveting events that enthralled me over a two-day read. I was on the edge of my seat as I turned each page, covering the bottom half of the page to avoid spoilers in my peripheral vision! Simply put, I was blown away ? (and by Troy Denning, of all authors.)
Inferno begins in the harrowing wake of Sacrifice?s events. Jacen Solo has deposed Cal Omas and cemented himself as co-chair to the Chief of State?s office alongside Cha Niathal. Fulfilling his destiny with the sacrifice, the murder, of Mara Jade Skywalker, Jacen Solo has proclaimed himself ?Master of the Sith? and assumed the title of Darth Caedus. With his newfound powers, he has unlocked the secret of precognitive battle awareness, allowing him to sense the ebb and flow of coordinated warfare. With this technique, Caedus can predict and appropriately react to his enemies during full-scale engagements.
Luke Skywalker is lost. With the death of his wife and the vengeance slaying of Lumiya, the Grand Master of the Jedi has completely withdrawn into himself, isolating his connection from everyone in the Force. With Jacen?s actions growing bolder by the minute and Luke inhibited by his grief, the masters of the Jedi council are uncertain about their next move, despite their grave concerns over Solo?s rise to power.
In the wake of these events, Darth Caedus is poised to consolidate the war and fulfill his destiny to bring peace to the galaxy as Master of the Sith. But one thing remains unresolved: the Jedi and their uncertain role in his destiny. They will come to understand and assist his cause, or they will perish. And ultimately, he must face Luke Skywalker; a certainty that he fears as much as he awaits.
Troy Denning has taken me by surprise with a novel that has been the most fun I?ve had reading Star Wars. I couldn?t put the book down. Completely absent of slow parts, the entire story was an emotionally charged, action-packed space opera, revolving around the mounting tension between Jacen and Luke.
Jef said it best when he proclaimed this the The Empire Strikes Back of Legacy of the Force ? and I could not agree more.
I?ve been waiting a long time to see Luke written as a respected and feared master, on par with Yoda and Mace Windu. Needless to say, I got my satisfaction in that regard several times throughout the novel. Luke is the Master.
While not as central to this story as previous ?Legacy? installments, Ben Skywalker continues to develop as a strong character, growing more solemn and mature with each page-turn. I can guarantee that what happens to young Skywalker by the end of this novel will disturb, if not shock the Han?s Hell? out of many fans.
Just when you thought that firing on the Millenium Falcon and killing Mara Jade was terrible enough, Jacen continues to make us hate him (in a cool villain way) with more heinous acts. (Note the plural in 'acts'. Are you getting an Endorian Woody? yet?) I mean, Vader did some terrible, terrible things, and Luke was able to bring him back. But any part of the hero that Caedus once was is gone. I mean gone?
Another praise is seeing Jaina Solo finally have a central part in the story without being a collective-minded, forearm rubbing, bug zombie - which completely ruined my first impression of her. Yes, you heard right ? I haven?t read NJO or Young Jedi Knights. So the only Jaina I?ve seen firsthand has spanned The Joiner King all the way through Inferno, not counting reading her being born in the Thrawn Trilogy.  ? And throughout the course of LotF, she has been given a very minimal involvement in the story. In all fairness, I understand the practicality of having to choose who will get more page time between Jaina and Mara, considering the fact that they come from the same sphere of emotion and Force capability. Since Jaina is no longer an adolescent in the post NJO era, she inadvertently serves the same function in character dynamic as Mara in that the two women are both very spirited lightsaber-wielding viragos. With Mara?s ties to Ben and secretly being scheduled for ?auntricide?, it only makes sense that they gave Mara top billing until her final bow in Sacrifice. Now that she has been taken from us and Jaina was instantly given more presence in the plot, I hope that Inferno has set the stage for the ?Legacy? authors to introduce a major plot arc exploring Jaina?s relationship with her fallen twin as well as Luke?s ambiguous (if not prophetic) reference to her as becoming the Sword of the Jedi.
Denning really amped up his game with Inferno. While I still take issue with his videogame application of force-verbs and force-nouns, his intense and often mature descriptions of battle scenes, lightsaber duels, and surprising sensuality really brought the novel to another level for me. In one of the opening scenes that served as a flow-walking sequence back to a Yuuzhan Vong worldship, I could perfectly envision nutrient vines spiraling up from gestation bins and feel the wind part as razor bugs sliced through the air beside my head.
Inferno was spice in the vein for this fanboy, leaving Aaron Alston with a tough act to follow. Now, bring on the Fury!
Blow-Away-Badass?, Endorian Woody?, and Han?s Hell? are the nerdly stylings of SWAC. Starwarsaddiction.com and any of its associated parties are not responsible for loss of self-esteem if you attempt to use, copy, or in any way replicate the above balderdash. Use at your own risk of sounding like a complete and total rodder.[/i]
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