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February 27, 2008
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 It's no secret around these parts that Karen Traviss is my ideal Star Wars author: sharp-edged prose, meticulous research, and a love of the license that becomes more apparent with each new volume are the hallmarks of a singular style that set her head and shoulders above every other EU scribe with the possible exception of Matthew Stover.
The latest volume of the Legacy of the Force series, ominously subtitled Revelation, sees Traviss in fine form, and, while the novel is shorter than I would've liked, it does nothing to tarnish the stellar reputation of its author. While the titular revelation is more of an in-character reveal that the reader has known since Traviss' Sacrifice, the emotional gut-punch is no less effective, and it serves to expertly set the stage for the series' concluding volume, as well as provide a tipping point for the series' ensemble cast.
Jaina Solo wings her way toward the backwater world of Mandalore, determined to seek out the legendary Boba Fett and become, for lack of a better word, his apprentice. While it sounds far-fetched at first blush, this particular plot line actually works well enough to form the emotional core of the novel, as Jaina is forced (by the unspeakable actions of her Sith Lord brother) to think so far outside of the conventional Jedi box that seeking the services and training of a man who has repeatedly hunted her family seems to be the only real chance she has at stopping the megalomaniacal Darth Caedus.
Fett himself is something of an emotional mess, weighed down by the scars of not caring for anyone other than himself and paying the price by crossing paths with everyone from his ex-wife (recently thawed from carbonite), to his granddaughter, to his Mandalorian brethren who've formed a tightly knit surrogate family that would function equally well in his absence.
 While Traviss has been criticized in some fan circles for embellishing Mandalorian lore and remaking the character of Boba Fett into something less than the idealized fanboy wet dream that he was for much of the last two decades, it says here that she's done him a great service (namely, bringing him to life, as prior to her involvement, Boba Fett was little more than an extra with a cool helmet). The character hasn't been so much remade as he has been fleshed out. Prior to Traviss' Bloodlines, Fett was more monotone killing machine than man; now, he bleeds, he ages, and most importantly, he grieves and shows other human emotion that, despite its immaturity given his advanced age, makes him more of a man to be empathized (and reckoned) with and less of a cardboard sci-fi cliché.
Ben Skywalker also receives considerable page time, and, whether he's putting pebbles in his boots to alter his gait during a cat and mouse game of surveillance camera avoidance or coming to grips with visions of his dead mother and agonizing over how best to deepen a strengthening relationship with his famous father, he comes off extremely well. His appeal is a curious mixture of old-school Luke and no nonsense Mara, and his cool factor demands a starring role in post-Legacy adventures.
Revelations' other 800 pound gorilla is of course Darth Caedus, or the artist formerly known as Jacen Solo. Fresh off his best officer-choking Vader impersonation, Caedus forges ahead with his single-minded plan for galactic peace, oblivious to the whisperings of dissent fomenting among his officers and behind the door of his co-Chief of State, Admiral Niathal. Despite the occasional heavy-handed allusions to real-world contemporary politics, Caedus is still a formidable villain, and one you love to hate. Though the cracks in his heretofore invincible armor have become more apparent, he remains one of the darkest, scariest villains in the entire Star Wars mythos, and it will be a shame (albeit a satisfying one) when he inevitably meets his maker.
Less effective is the character of Tahiri Veila, the barefoot baby Jedi who is now all grown up from her days as a scarred Yuuzhan Vong prisoner-of-war in the New Jedi Order series. Reduced to the role of alternate apprentice after Caedus loses sway over his first choice, Ben Skywalker, Tahiri seems out of place, primarily because her motivation for helping her mentally unbalanced master (a connection to her late flame, Anakin Solo) seems contrived at best. Its unfortunate that such a genuinely likable character is showing signs of being expendable, and, while she may yet survive the series, its clear that the Legacy plot masterminds (the three-headed hydra composed of Traviss and co-authors Troy Denning and Aaron Allstone, as well as LucasBooks editor Sue Rostoni) have relegated Tahiri to the role of plot device rather than a character with depth.
Despite this, Revelation is a rocking good read, featuring Traviss' signature combat prose and her crackling dialogue infused with enough sci-fi/military jargon to please the most discerning action novel fan (space junkies will be glad to know that the Mandalorian starfighter known as the Bes'uliik makes another appearance). The book clocks in at over 400 pages, but seems considerably shorter due to the breakneck pacing, and it does a bang-up job of ushering its tortured cast down the slippery slope towards the series' end.
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