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June 1, 2006
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 At last we come to The Swarm War, the conclusion to Troy Denning?s bug-infested trilogy, The Dark Nest. A deadly border war has waged for years between the Chiss Ascendancy and the alien Killiks, led by Raynar Unu?Thul and his shadow queen Lomi Plo. Millions upon millions of unrelenting bugs, led by Jedi puppet commanders, lay siege to a grossly outnumbered contingent of Chiss. Will the Ascendancy be able to deploy their devastating secret weapon before they are overrun and will Luke Skywalker be able to stop the war and prevent the destruction of an entire species in the process?
It is unfortunate to report that this novel is incredibly flawed with far more than could be balanced by its pro offerings. Chief among them is an underlying theme of Jedi and the Force that flows contradictory to what has previously been established. For one, in a meeting with Cal Omas and Admiral Palleon, Luke speaks of a strange morality for the Jedi, where they must serve ?Good? and depose ?Evil?. I was shocked, as it has long been established that morality is dangerous to a Jedi. Remorseless and serene, they serve the will of the Force alone, even if they cannot yet understand its reasons.
In a continuation of this theme, Denning promotes the overabundant use of the Force even in menial tasks, which any Star Wars fan knows is greatly frowned upon. In a scene with Mara Jade Skywalker, she uses the Force to manipulate a switch to move her furniture she is sitting in verses just using her hand. In a scene with Leia near the book?s end, she wanted to use her repulsor pack to float down from a jungle tree, but Denning wrote, ?Saba disdained technological ?crutches? when the Force would do instead.?
The Jedi characters use the Force in gross abundance to what should be normal, even in a conflict, and it reads more like a Star Wars video game where those kinds of concessions are allowed. Don?t believe me, just count how many times Denning writes ?Force-jump? and the number is guaranteed to astound you.
Many flaws surround Denning?s depiction of Luke Skywalker in this final novel. Approximately fifty five standard years old and a grand master of the Jedi order, Luke nonetheless is depicted as having much to learn about his own emotions. To make matters worse, it?s his twenty-something-year-old nephew that slowly and patiently teaches Luke the error of his ways. Don?t get me wrong. I love Jacen Solo and how strong his character is, personality-wise and in the Force, but there should be very little anyone could have to teach Luke at this point, especially about his own emotions. His presence should be as cool and confidant as Mace Windu in every situation and, with Denning at the helm, you would think that Luke had just defeated Darth Vader and the second Darth Star blew up just months before this story took place. To make matters worse, Luke has a subtle arrogance that comes out when he finally defeats a villain at the book?s climax in two corny and haughty lines of dialogue.
As bland and misguided as the above paragraphs may portray this book, it?s not without its good points. Leia Solo comes across as a capable Jedi, despite her age and relatively short span of training. Her scenes are always enjoyable to read, especially in a well-written Chiss interrogation scene (where Leia shows just why it?s dangerous to take a Jedi captive) and in her final confrontation with Alema Rar in the jungles of Tenupe.
Seperated from her Joiner mind-mate, Jaina also gets to shine, leading an uncountable ground force of Killiks against their resilient Chiss adversaries. The scene is vivid with insecticide bombs, asphyxiated Killiks, bug gore, explosions, and all of the hallmarks of good wartime fanfare.
Despite its few gems, The Swarm War was a chore to read and at times wince-inducing with Denning?s take on my beloved universe. Needless to say, it?s a Star Wars adventure that I won?t be rereading.
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