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Luke Skywalker wanted to unify the Jedi order and bring peace to the universe. Instead his wife Mara lies dead at the hands of an unknown assassin, his wayward nephew Jacen has seized control of the Galactic Alliance, and the galaxy has exploded in all-out civil war.
With Luke consumed by grief, Jacen Solo works quickly to consolidate his power and jumpstart his plan to take over the Jedi. Convinced he’s the only one who can save the galaxy, Jacen will do whatever it takes, even ambush his own parents.
With the Rebel confederacy driving deep into the Core to attack Coruscant and the Jedi under siege, Luke must reassert his position. Only he can lead the Jedi through this crisis, but it means solving the toughest problem Luke’s ever faced. Does he fight alongside his nephew Jacen, a tyrant who’s illegally taken over the GA, or does he join the rebels to smash the Galactic Alliance he helped create?
With Luke consumed by grief, Jacen Solo works quickly to consolidate his power and jumpstart his plan to take over the Jedi. Convinced he’s the only one who can save the galaxy, Jacen will do whatever it takes, even ambush his own parents.
With the Rebel confederacy driving deep into the Core to attack Coruscant and the Jedi under siege, Luke must reassert his position. Only he can lead the Jedi through this crisis, but it means solving the toughest problem Luke’s ever faced. Does he fight alongside his nephew Jacen, a tyrant who’s illegally taken over the GA, or does he join the rebels to smash the Galactic Alliance he helped create?
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2007
129 people are currently reading
2705 people want to read
About the author
Troy Denning
186 books662 followersAlso known as Richard Awlinson.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Den...
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Den...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
January 19, 2025
That was quick read, it's always nice to be able to go from somewhat understanding a villain to absolutely hoping they get murdered soon. Jacens descent to evil has been very well done in this series. Luke flexing on him by holding him immobile in a chair was definitely the highlight.
January 14, 2023
Even though I already know the ending, it's interesting to see what leads up to it. The interview with the three authors was good, too.
May 3, 2023
For 2023, I decided to reread the post-NJO books set after the Dark Nest trilogy, especially as I abandoned the Legacy of the Force series after Sacrifice all the way back in 2007. This shakes out to the nine books of the Legacy of the Force series, the nine books of the Fate of the Jedi series, three standalone novels, and five short stories.
This week’s focus: book six in the Legacy of the Force series, Inferno by Troy Denning.
SOME HISTORY:
Cover art is usually created months before a book’s release, to drum up interest as booksellers choose what they want to pre-order. Likewise, StarWars.com would often reveal the covers for upcoming Star Wars books months ahead of time to offer fans a first look at future titles. Inferno by Troy Denning was a little different, though. The solicitation cover was just the title, the author’s name, and flames—in March of 2007, the identity and outcome of Jacen’s titular sacrifice in book #5 was still unknown. The actual cover was not shared until a few days after Sacrifice’s release, and the back cover description wasn’t made public until the end of June.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Absolutely no memories of this one! From Sacrifice on I know very few spoilers, and am trying to avoid them.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
As the galaxy explodes into all-out civil war, Jacen Solo has seized control of the Galactic Alliance—and by murdering his aunt, has become a secret yet fully fledged Sith Lord. With Luke Skywalker consumed by his grief, Jacen works quickly to consolidate his power and jumpstart his plans to take over both the Jedi and the galaxy as a whole. So Luke has a choice: does he join forces with his nephew to save the Galactic Alliance, even though Jacen has become a tyrant? Or does he join the Confederation to smash a Galactic Alliance that he ultimately helped create?
THE PLOT:
Inferno is a bit shorter than the books that preceded it, as the paperback clocks in at barely under 300 pages. There’s still a number of plot threads running through this novel, though. Perhaps the heaviest focus is on Luke and Ben separately dealing with their grief around Mara’s death: Ben suspects Jacen and ends up on a chaotic revenge path, while Luke goes from complete inaction to siding with the Galactic Alliance to cutting ties with the Galactic Alliance (all in one book!). Han and Leia narrowly escape a GAG ambush at the Jedi Temple, head off for Kashyyyk to talk with the Wookiees and later rush to Hapes to talk with Queen Mother Tenel Ka. Jaina and Jag and Zekk continue to track down Alema Rar, and end up getting drawn into one of Jacen's terrible horrible plans for the Jedi on the Ossus Jedi Academy. Meanwhile, Alema digs through Lumiya’s stuff on her asteroid base and heads off in search of more Sith. Finally, Jacen starts using battle meditation to manipulate the Alliance/Confederation conflicts, continues to self-justify his actions as being good for the Galactic Alliance, and takes some very aggressive actions against the Jedi and Kashyyyk.
CHARACTERS:
After Sacrifice, I expected that Luke and Ben would finally have a heart-to-heart, that they would sit down and really talk with each other. But maybe I should have realized otherwise, because there are three more books to go after this one… In Inferno, Luke and Ben’s inability to communicate continues—and continues to frustrate me. Ben has vital information about Jacen & Lumiya and his mother’s final movements, but he keeps his suspicions to himself. Luke instead suspects Alema Rar of Mara’s murder, because intelligence places her in the Hapan cluster afterwards. Ben confronts Jacen, Jacen redirects his attention to Cal Omas, and Cal Omas ends up dead in a seeming assassination attempt—and Ben apparently killing Omas is what snaps Luke out of supporting the Galactic Alliance, and the whole Jedi order defecting during the Battle of Kuat.
Ben returns to Jacen and pretends to side with him, and unfortunately contributes to both Jacen’s awareness of the Jedi on Kashyyyk as well as the bombardment of the Wookiee cities. (Ben, you don’t have to be that undercover!) Ben finally attacks Jacen, Jacen overpowers him, and Ben wakes up later in a Yuuzhan Vong Embrace of Pain. (More on that later.) Luke fakes his own death, sneaks onto Jacen’s flagship, engages Jacen in a duel…and even though Luke has the upper hand over Jacen for the beginning of the fight, this ends up being a standstill. Luke stops Ben from killing Jacen and the book ends with no one realizing Jacen’s role in Mara’s death.
I think Luke has been inactive and dithering for so much of this series because he is so much more powerful than anyone else, and that really showed in the scene at Kuat where he confronted Jacen—he just pins him in his chair, and Jacen can’t move. It makes Jacen seem weaker than I thought. Likewise, the Jedi response to Jacen has been so frustrating, like artificial drama dragged out to sustain more books than I believe it realistically could. I’m glad the Jedi finally chose a side (and they would have chosen a little sooner, if they hadn’t been humoring Luke), but man did we have several books of no decisions to get there.
Leia and Han are still fugitives from Galactic Alliance justice, and they can’t even attend Mara’s memorial service because of Jacen’s arrest order. This was annoying to me, because on the one hand I understand that fugitives can’t just show up at the government’s capital and expect to get away with it. But on the other hand, Mara was their sister-in-law, and it gives me a bad feeling to have Leia and Han completely miss out on this celebration of her life. Instead, Han and Leia rush off to Kashyyyk to talk the Wookiees into remaining neutral. They have a run-in with Jae Junn the Sullustan GA agent and Tarfang the nasty little Ewok (not my favorite Denning characters, but at least they’re not the Squibs). Leia’s pushing neutrality and Jae Junn wants the Wookiees to arrest the fugitive Solos, but then Luke shows up and asks the Wookiees to side with the Jedi Council against the Galactic Alliance.
That…does not turn out well for the Wookiees, as Jacen firebombs their treetop cities, so Han and Leia rush off to Hapes to let Tenel Ka know what Jacen’s really doing with her fleet. They smuggle her back to Kashyyyk, Jacen’s forces are routed, and as the book ends Han and Leia seem to have made peace with the fact that the old Jacen Solo is gone and this horrible tyrant needs to be stopped.
Jaina and the boys are still on their mission to track down Alema Rar, and apparently between books they uncovered evidence that Alema was on Roqoo Depot shortly after Mara’s death. They follow Alema to the Jedi Academy on Ossus, which places them in the right place at a very bad time. (Jacen contemplated taking over the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when he tried to arrest his parents, but apparently he settled for sending a deranged GAG officer and troops to the Jedi Academy.) Jaina and Jag try to keep tensions calm, but the situation gets much worse—students are pulled out of the dormitory, the adult Jedi are incapacitated, and while Jaina et al. are successful in retaking the Academy there are dire consequences for others. Kam Solusar is badly wounded; Jedi Knights and younglings are killed; most upsetting, Tionne Solusar is tortured and mutilated. (More on that later.) Jaina heads off to Kashyyyk afterwards and witnesses Luke’s supposed death, and she sets Luke on the “Alema killed Mara” track.
I appreciate when Jaina is given more to do, because she’s a decidedly minor character compared to her brother. However, I was surprised by how easily Jaina has given up on Jacen, especially compared to her parents. It seems like ever since Jacen manipulated Jaina and the other Jedi in the Chiss/Killik conflict, Jaina has been suspicious of his motives—but one of things I found most interesting about the twins was their close inherent connection, and that’s been completely bulldozered and gone for many books now.
Speaking of Alema: she has commandeered the Sith meditation sphere that was Ben’s and then Lumiya’s, and she heads off to the asteroid base and uncovers evidence of more Sith (a group calling themselves the One Sith on Korriban, with connections to the Legacy comic). Apparently she’s decided that the best thing for Balance is to help Jacen? Anyway, she ends up being the deus ex machina who saves Jacen from his own disasters, as she manipulates the Bothan fleet into letting Jacen’s forces escape. In every book up to this point I have been convinced that Alema will meet her imminent demise, but she went an entire book here without being confronted by anyone—so she’ll still be around in book seven, which I was not expecting when she first appeared in Tempest.
Oh Jacen. The more terrible things he does, the more he justifies his actions to himself. Going into Inferno, I wondered “what terrible thing will he do now?” and firebombing the Wookiees is pretty darn bad! He’s become so self-deluded that he can acknowledge his love and respect for Chewbacca but still target the Wookiees because they “betrayed” him. I think it’s also telling that he doesn’t target their ships, but instead their villages on Kashyyyk itself…as though the lives of Wookiees don’t matter at all to him. It felt like his own sense of fallibility has become increasingly warped, and in his head he can do no wrong and every action is justified. His resentment of Luke and the Jedi Order has been subsumed by his feeling of superiority. (He’s such a pompous creep now!)
I think Tenel Ka’s defection takes him completely by surprise, and he just can’t see why she would remove her support from him. (A little worried about Allana here!) Lumiya’s death also makes him realize that he needs a minion, so he starts working on Tahiri Veila: offering to help her flow-walk back to Anakin’s death. I will touch on this more in the Issues section, but Tahiri is surprisingly receptive to Jacen’s ideas, although she becomes more of a tool than his apprentice. I think Jacen still has hopes that Ben will want to remain his apprentice, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Jacen seems to have reached a point where there’s less and less logic to his actions. Like sending a deranged individual to deal with the Ossus Jedi Academy, Jacen’s own reasoning seems to be increasingly skewed as he progresses further on his dark journey. I also wonder if the subsequent three books will show Jacen's physical health degrading further, because that is definitely a dark side element from the films and previous books. The dark side corrupts and degrades, and with Jacen already injured after his showdown with Luke, I’m interested to see if his physical state will decline rapidly as well.
ISSUES:
My first issue was related to pace: the first half was very slow, and while the second half picked up the pace it felt too frenetic/rushed at times. We go from the Battle of Kuat to the situation on Ossus to Jacen firebombing Kashyyyk to Leia and Han on Hapes to Luke vs. Jacen. Speaking of which, what happened to R2-D2 when Luke faked his death? Obviously, Luke didn’t die and landed on the Anakin Solo, but we never see R2 at any point after that. I need to know that little trash bucket is OK! I found Luke’s fight with Jacen similarly disorienting, and the climax was perhaps too fast-paced in the end.
Why did Saba deliver the eulogy at Mara’s funeral? I know that Leia was meant to speak and couldn’t, but Saba seems like an out-of-left-field choice here. Saba and Mara got along OK, but I wouldn’t consider them close friends or anything. From the Solo/Skywalker family, I would have picked Jaina to deliver the speech—and if we’re looking at people with a close personal connection to Mara, Corran Horn and Kyle Katarn were right there!
I also took issue with Denning’s treatment of various characters here. Tionne was tortured before our very eyes. Her limbs were blown off, and it was so upsetting to read. Tionne is not a warrior—I don’t think we’ve ever seen her with a lightsaber in her hand. She’s a historian and a musician, basically the closest thing to a bard that the Star Wars universe has. I know Tionne would do anything to protect the Jedi children, but what happened to her felt excessive. To purposefully mutilate a woman who uses her hands to create music made me feel sick to my stomach, and the fact that we never got confirmation that she’d be OK also upset me. I know Tionne is not a major character in any way, but I’m sure there are others like me who love Tionne and are very concerned about her wellbeing.
Likewise, Tahiri’s treatment really bothered me here. It felt like the book was suggesting that she never healed from the events of the NJO, that she still has this gaping emotional hole related to the death of Anakin Solo, and that she would be so receptive to Jacen’s manipulations. I thought that the power of Tahiri’s plotline in the NJO was that she went through terrible events, lost the person she loved most in the world, and her mind splintered into two personalities, but she was strong enough to unite those two parts of herself and live on. She loved Anakin, but she was able to live on and build a new life for herself. It felt like Inferno was countering that no, she’s weak, she’s like an addict, and Jacen is able to twist her and use her as a minion. And I don’t like that! I thought her character was stronger than that, and it’s setting up a dangerous precedent.
Even Jacen’s portrayal bothers me, as his parents and Luke seem to believe that he was irreparably broken by his experiences during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Again, I think that lessens the impact of what Jacen did in the NJO (by coming to a new understanding of the Force and the Vong, Jacen was able to defeat Onimi and end the war) as well as provides an excuse for his behavior in the Dark Nest trilogy onwards. Maybe I just don’t like when characters aren’t solely responsible for their own actions, and have lasting trauma that they can’t seem to overcome?
Finally, I was rather boggled by the logistics of Jacen having an Embrace of Pain on the Anakin Solo. Where did he get this from? How is it still alive? Is it from Zonama Sekot, and if so, when did Jacen go to Zonama Sekot in the last ten years? How did he sneak it on board? Etc. etc. It’s very evocative of Traitor, but I had way too many questions about its origins and why it hadn’t been revealed sooner—dark side Jacen seems like the kind of masochist to use it on himself, but whatever.
IN CONCLUSION:
Inferno is all about the aftermath of the events of Sacrifice: Luke Skywalker goes from consumed by his grief to taking action and standing against Jacen and the Galactic Alliance. Ben Skywalker tries to get revenge on his own, only for that to fail. Jacen loses one of his longest standing allies, as Tenel Ka withdraws the Hapan fleet from the Alliance. A lot happens here, but I found the pace in the first half very very slow and the pace in the second half almost too fast. In the end, I had some major issues with the treatment of several characters, to the point of just closing the book and putting it down and sitting there wondering “was this personally created to hurt me?”
Next up: book seven in the Legacy of the Force series, Fury by Aaron Allston.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/IqYCFofN2Rw
This week’s focus: book six in the Legacy of the Force series, Inferno by Troy Denning.
SOME HISTORY:
Cover art is usually created months before a book’s release, to drum up interest as booksellers choose what they want to pre-order. Likewise, StarWars.com would often reveal the covers for upcoming Star Wars books months ahead of time to offer fans a first look at future titles. Inferno by Troy Denning was a little different, though. The solicitation cover was just the title, the author’s name, and flames—in March of 2007, the identity and outcome of Jacen’s titular sacrifice in book #5 was still unknown. The actual cover was not shared until a few days after Sacrifice’s release, and the back cover description wasn’t made public until the end of June.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Absolutely no memories of this one! From Sacrifice on I know very few spoilers, and am trying to avoid them.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
As the galaxy explodes into all-out civil war, Jacen Solo has seized control of the Galactic Alliance—and by murdering his aunt, has become a secret yet fully fledged Sith Lord. With Luke Skywalker consumed by his grief, Jacen works quickly to consolidate his power and jumpstart his plans to take over both the Jedi and the galaxy as a whole. So Luke has a choice: does he join forces with his nephew to save the Galactic Alliance, even though Jacen has become a tyrant? Or does he join the Confederation to smash a Galactic Alliance that he ultimately helped create?
THE PLOT:
Inferno is a bit shorter than the books that preceded it, as the paperback clocks in at barely under 300 pages. There’s still a number of plot threads running through this novel, though. Perhaps the heaviest focus is on Luke and Ben separately dealing with their grief around Mara’s death: Ben suspects Jacen and ends up on a chaotic revenge path, while Luke goes from complete inaction to siding with the Galactic Alliance to cutting ties with the Galactic Alliance (all in one book!). Han and Leia narrowly escape a GAG ambush at the Jedi Temple, head off for Kashyyyk to talk with the Wookiees and later rush to Hapes to talk with Queen Mother Tenel Ka. Jaina and Jag and Zekk continue to track down Alema Rar, and end up getting drawn into one of Jacen's terrible horrible plans for the Jedi on the Ossus Jedi Academy. Meanwhile, Alema digs through Lumiya’s stuff on her asteroid base and heads off in search of more Sith. Finally, Jacen starts using battle meditation to manipulate the Alliance/Confederation conflicts, continues to self-justify his actions as being good for the Galactic Alliance, and takes some very aggressive actions against the Jedi and Kashyyyk.
CHARACTERS:
After Sacrifice, I expected that Luke and Ben would finally have a heart-to-heart, that they would sit down and really talk with each other. But maybe I should have realized otherwise, because there are three more books to go after this one… In Inferno, Luke and Ben’s inability to communicate continues—and continues to frustrate me. Ben has vital information about Jacen & Lumiya and his mother’s final movements, but he keeps his suspicions to himself. Luke instead suspects Alema Rar of Mara’s murder, because intelligence places her in the Hapan cluster afterwards. Ben confronts Jacen, Jacen redirects his attention to Cal Omas, and Cal Omas ends up dead in a seeming assassination attempt—and Ben apparently killing Omas is what snaps Luke out of supporting the Galactic Alliance, and the whole Jedi order defecting during the Battle of Kuat.
Ben returns to Jacen and pretends to side with him, and unfortunately contributes to both Jacen’s awareness of the Jedi on Kashyyyk as well as the bombardment of the Wookiee cities. (Ben, you don’t have to be that undercover!) Ben finally attacks Jacen, Jacen overpowers him, and Ben wakes up later in a Yuuzhan Vong Embrace of Pain. (More on that later.) Luke fakes his own death, sneaks onto Jacen’s flagship, engages Jacen in a duel…and even though Luke has the upper hand over Jacen for the beginning of the fight, this ends up being a standstill. Luke stops Ben from killing Jacen and the book ends with no one realizing Jacen’s role in Mara’s death.
I think Luke has been inactive and dithering for so much of this series because he is so much more powerful than anyone else, and that really showed in the scene at Kuat where he confronted Jacen—he just pins him in his chair, and Jacen can’t move. It makes Jacen seem weaker than I thought. Likewise, the Jedi response to Jacen has been so frustrating, like artificial drama dragged out to sustain more books than I believe it realistically could. I’m glad the Jedi finally chose a side (and they would have chosen a little sooner, if they hadn’t been humoring Luke), but man did we have several books of no decisions to get there.
Leia and Han are still fugitives from Galactic Alliance justice, and they can’t even attend Mara’s memorial service because of Jacen’s arrest order. This was annoying to me, because on the one hand I understand that fugitives can’t just show up at the government’s capital and expect to get away with it. But on the other hand, Mara was their sister-in-law, and it gives me a bad feeling to have Leia and Han completely miss out on this celebration of her life. Instead, Han and Leia rush off to Kashyyyk to talk the Wookiees into remaining neutral. They have a run-in with Jae Junn the Sullustan GA agent and Tarfang the nasty little Ewok (not my favorite Denning characters, but at least they’re not the Squibs). Leia’s pushing neutrality and Jae Junn wants the Wookiees to arrest the fugitive Solos, but then Luke shows up and asks the Wookiees to side with the Jedi Council against the Galactic Alliance.
That…does not turn out well for the Wookiees, as Jacen firebombs their treetop cities, so Han and Leia rush off to Hapes to let Tenel Ka know what Jacen’s really doing with her fleet. They smuggle her back to Kashyyyk, Jacen’s forces are routed, and as the book ends Han and Leia seem to have made peace with the fact that the old Jacen Solo is gone and this horrible tyrant needs to be stopped.
Jaina and the boys are still on their mission to track down Alema Rar, and apparently between books they uncovered evidence that Alema was on Roqoo Depot shortly after Mara’s death. They follow Alema to the Jedi Academy on Ossus, which places them in the right place at a very bad time. (Jacen contemplated taking over the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when he tried to arrest his parents, but apparently he settled for sending a deranged GAG officer and troops to the Jedi Academy.) Jaina and Jag try to keep tensions calm, but the situation gets much worse—students are pulled out of the dormitory, the adult Jedi are incapacitated, and while Jaina et al. are successful in retaking the Academy there are dire consequences for others. Kam Solusar is badly wounded; Jedi Knights and younglings are killed; most upsetting, Tionne Solusar is tortured and mutilated. (More on that later.) Jaina heads off to Kashyyyk afterwards and witnesses Luke’s supposed death, and she sets Luke on the “Alema killed Mara” track.
I appreciate when Jaina is given more to do, because she’s a decidedly minor character compared to her brother. However, I was surprised by how easily Jaina has given up on Jacen, especially compared to her parents. It seems like ever since Jacen manipulated Jaina and the other Jedi in the Chiss/Killik conflict, Jaina has been suspicious of his motives—but one of things I found most interesting about the twins was their close inherent connection, and that’s been completely bulldozered and gone for many books now.
Speaking of Alema: she has commandeered the Sith meditation sphere that was Ben’s and then Lumiya’s, and she heads off to the asteroid base and uncovers evidence of more Sith (a group calling themselves the One Sith on Korriban, with connections to the Legacy comic). Apparently she’s decided that the best thing for Balance is to help Jacen? Anyway, she ends up being the deus ex machina who saves Jacen from his own disasters, as she manipulates the Bothan fleet into letting Jacen’s forces escape. In every book up to this point I have been convinced that Alema will meet her imminent demise, but she went an entire book here without being confronted by anyone—so she’ll still be around in book seven, which I was not expecting when she first appeared in Tempest.
Oh Jacen. The more terrible things he does, the more he justifies his actions to himself. Going into Inferno, I wondered “what terrible thing will he do now?” and firebombing the Wookiees is pretty darn bad! He’s become so self-deluded that he can acknowledge his love and respect for Chewbacca but still target the Wookiees because they “betrayed” him. I think it’s also telling that he doesn’t target their ships, but instead their villages on Kashyyyk itself…as though the lives of Wookiees don’t matter at all to him. It felt like his own sense of fallibility has become increasingly warped, and in his head he can do no wrong and every action is justified. His resentment of Luke and the Jedi Order has been subsumed by his feeling of superiority. (He’s such a pompous creep now!)
I think Tenel Ka’s defection takes him completely by surprise, and he just can’t see why she would remove her support from him. (A little worried about Allana here!) Lumiya’s death also makes him realize that he needs a minion, so he starts working on Tahiri Veila: offering to help her flow-walk back to Anakin’s death. I will touch on this more in the Issues section, but Tahiri is surprisingly receptive to Jacen’s ideas, although she becomes more of a tool than his apprentice. I think Jacen still has hopes that Ben will want to remain his apprentice, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Jacen seems to have reached a point where there’s less and less logic to his actions. Like sending a deranged individual to deal with the Ossus Jedi Academy, Jacen’s own reasoning seems to be increasingly skewed as he progresses further on his dark journey. I also wonder if the subsequent three books will show Jacen's physical health degrading further, because that is definitely a dark side element from the films and previous books. The dark side corrupts and degrades, and with Jacen already injured after his showdown with Luke, I’m interested to see if his physical state will decline rapidly as well.
ISSUES:
My first issue was related to pace: the first half was very slow, and while the second half picked up the pace it felt too frenetic/rushed at times. We go from the Battle of Kuat to the situation on Ossus to Jacen firebombing Kashyyyk to Leia and Han on Hapes to Luke vs. Jacen. Speaking of which, what happened to R2-D2 when Luke faked his death? Obviously, Luke didn’t die and landed on the Anakin Solo, but we never see R2 at any point after that. I need to know that little trash bucket is OK! I found Luke’s fight with Jacen similarly disorienting, and the climax was perhaps too fast-paced in the end.
Why did Saba deliver the eulogy at Mara’s funeral? I know that Leia was meant to speak and couldn’t, but Saba seems like an out-of-left-field choice here. Saba and Mara got along OK, but I wouldn’t consider them close friends or anything. From the Solo/Skywalker family, I would have picked Jaina to deliver the speech—and if we’re looking at people with a close personal connection to Mara, Corran Horn and Kyle Katarn were right there!
I also took issue with Denning’s treatment of various characters here. Tionne was tortured before our very eyes. Her limbs were blown off, and it was so upsetting to read. Tionne is not a warrior—I don’t think we’ve ever seen her with a lightsaber in her hand. She’s a historian and a musician, basically the closest thing to a bard that the Star Wars universe has. I know Tionne would do anything to protect the Jedi children, but what happened to her felt excessive. To purposefully mutilate a woman who uses her hands to create music made me feel sick to my stomach, and the fact that we never got confirmation that she’d be OK also upset me. I know Tionne is not a major character in any way, but I’m sure there are others like me who love Tionne and are very concerned about her wellbeing.
Likewise, Tahiri’s treatment really bothered me here. It felt like the book was suggesting that she never healed from the events of the NJO, that she still has this gaping emotional hole related to the death of Anakin Solo, and that she would be so receptive to Jacen’s manipulations. I thought that the power of Tahiri’s plotline in the NJO was that she went through terrible events, lost the person she loved most in the world, and her mind splintered into two personalities, but she was strong enough to unite those two parts of herself and live on. She loved Anakin, but she was able to live on and build a new life for herself. It felt like Inferno was countering that no, she’s weak, she’s like an addict, and Jacen is able to twist her and use her as a minion. And I don’t like that! I thought her character was stronger than that, and it’s setting up a dangerous precedent.
Even Jacen’s portrayal bothers me, as his parents and Luke seem to believe that he was irreparably broken by his experiences during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Again, I think that lessens the impact of what Jacen did in the NJO (by coming to a new understanding of the Force and the Vong, Jacen was able to defeat Onimi and end the war) as well as provides an excuse for his behavior in the Dark Nest trilogy onwards. Maybe I just don’t like when characters aren’t solely responsible for their own actions, and have lasting trauma that they can’t seem to overcome?
Finally, I was rather boggled by the logistics of Jacen having an Embrace of Pain on the Anakin Solo. Where did he get this from? How is it still alive? Is it from Zonama Sekot, and if so, when did Jacen go to Zonama Sekot in the last ten years? How did he sneak it on board? Etc. etc. It’s very evocative of Traitor, but I had way too many questions about its origins and why it hadn’t been revealed sooner—dark side Jacen seems like the kind of masochist to use it on himself, but whatever.
IN CONCLUSION:
Inferno is all about the aftermath of the events of Sacrifice: Luke Skywalker goes from consumed by his grief to taking action and standing against Jacen and the Galactic Alliance. Ben Skywalker tries to get revenge on his own, only for that to fail. Jacen loses one of his longest standing allies, as Tenel Ka withdraws the Hapan fleet from the Alliance. A lot happens here, but I found the pace in the first half very very slow and the pace in the second half almost too fast. In the end, I had some major issues with the treatment of several characters, to the point of just closing the book and putting it down and sitting there wondering “was this personally created to hurt me?”
Next up: book seven in the Legacy of the Force series, Fury by Aaron Allston.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/IqYCFofN2Rw
May 5, 2017
Personal Response
I think this book was very good and maybe the best of the series. I also think this book had a lot of unexpected twists and turns which is very good in these types of books. I do have a few questions though: How did Luke or Jacen not die from there injuries? Also why was only Ben able to sense Luke's force presence he shouldn't have been able to conceal it like Jacen could?
Plot
First we find out that Mara Skywalker has been killed ,and then Jacen becomes a Sith Lord and sends GAG troopers to the Jedi Temple where they are not allowed to arrest Han and Leia Solo. Then the Confederation of Independent systems attacks Balmorra and Kuat which are the major shipbuilding yards for the Galactic Alliance. Then while the battle ensues the Galactic Alliance loses Balmorra but Jacen takes the Fifth Fleet and orbitally bombards Kashykk setting the huge forests on fire. Then Luke and Jaina go to destroy the Galactic Alliance Flagship The''Anakin Solo''. While this happens Jaina finds Jacen and tries to kill him because he has turned evil. In doing so she accidentally kills Luke or so she thinks. Meanwhile Jacen tortures Ben because he wants to make him stronger for being a Sith Apprentice. After that Luke hides his force presence and attacks Jacen and Luke wins but doesn't kill Jacen. Next the Confederacy comes to Kashyyk's aid and the Hapan Home Fleet arrives ,but has changed sides and is now with the Confederacy. However a Sith manages to influence the Bothan Fleet to stop firing and the Fifth Fleet is saved along with Jacen.
Recommendation
I would recommend this to High School boys who are into action, tense, and unexpected moments but I would not recommend this to girls because they are not into death and suffering usually.
I think this book was very good and maybe the best of the series. I also think this book had a lot of unexpected twists and turns which is very good in these types of books. I do have a few questions though: How did Luke or Jacen not die from there injuries? Also why was only Ben able to sense Luke's force presence he shouldn't have been able to conceal it like Jacen could?
Plot
First we find out that Mara Skywalker has been killed ,and then Jacen becomes a Sith Lord and sends GAG troopers to the Jedi Temple where they are not allowed to arrest Han and Leia Solo. Then the Confederation of Independent systems attacks Balmorra and Kuat which are the major shipbuilding yards for the Galactic Alliance. Then while the battle ensues the Galactic Alliance loses Balmorra but Jacen takes the Fifth Fleet and orbitally bombards Kashykk setting the huge forests on fire. Then Luke and Jaina go to destroy the Galactic Alliance Flagship The''Anakin Solo''. While this happens Jaina finds Jacen and tries to kill him because he has turned evil. In doing so she accidentally kills Luke or so she thinks. Meanwhile Jacen tortures Ben because he wants to make him stronger for being a Sith Apprentice. After that Luke hides his force presence and attacks Jacen and Luke wins but doesn't kill Jacen. Next the Confederacy comes to Kashyyk's aid and the Hapan Home Fleet arrives ,but has changed sides and is now with the Confederacy. However a Sith manages to influence the Bothan Fleet to stop firing and the Fifth Fleet is saved along with Jacen.
Recommendation
I would recommend this to High School boys who are into action, tense, and unexpected moments but I would not recommend this to girls because they are not into death and suffering usually.
January 9, 2020
Now things have reached a truly dangerous level, Caedus is now being a true Sith and everyone is against him. There's a lot of great storylines in this one with personal tragedy and more galactic level tragedy involved too. Some fantastic battles and some more desparate ones too.
Poor old Luke gets beaten about a bit emotionally and physically.
Poor old Luke gets beaten about a bit emotionally and physically.
Read
October 26, 2007Man, Troy Denning. I view his contributions to the Legacy of the Force series as the price of getting through the story. The key to Legacy's success, I think, is the believable portrayal of a man's descent into evil for the best of reasons, and the acceptance of his descent by people around him. Denning just can't manage it: Jacen comes across as a petulant, stupid child, and it's no longer clear why his supporters are so loyal to him.
Also, Denning is prone to using science fiction words where ordinary words would work better. (This is pretty common in Star Wars books.) The first line of Inferno contains a word in an alien language that is never defined, and its meaning isn't clear from the context. (It's a flashback to another series, which I guess he expects me to have read.) Then there's a description of a place that sounds like it should be visually breathtaking, except that he insists on telling me that the ground is carpeted in "sturdimoss" and walled around by mirrored "transparisteel". Seriously, how does this enhance my experience of the moment? "Moss" and "steel" work great, unless the fact that the mirrored steel is transparent(?) will be used to good effect somewhere in the scene.
But the plot chugs along, and I still want to see where all of this is going.
Also, Denning is prone to using science fiction words where ordinary words would work better. (This is pretty common in Star Wars books.) The first line of Inferno contains a word in an alien language that is never defined, and its meaning isn't clear from the context. (It's a flashback to another series, which I guess he expects me to have read.) Then there's a description of a place that sounds like it should be visually breathtaking, except that he insists on telling me that the ground is carpeted in "sturdimoss" and walled around by mirrored "transparisteel". Seriously, how does this enhance my experience of the moment? "Moss" and "steel" work great, unless the fact that the mirrored steel is transparent(?) will be used to good effect somewhere in the scene.
But the plot chugs along, and I still want to see where all of this is going.
June 18, 2015
It seems to be a trend in the Star Wars universe that greatly significant books are followed up by not-so-great books (Star by Star being followed by Dark Journey, for example). I was afraid that would be the case with Inferno, but the opposite ended up being true. With its fast paced plot, tight story, and the comeback of one character in particular, Inferno ended up being the best in the series, in my opinion. Spoilers follow.
There is never a dull moment in this book. The novel practically opens with action with Han and Leia, still considered traitors to the Galactic Alliance, being attacked at Mara's funeral. Jacen plans to launch an attack against the Confederation that is greatly dependent on the disgruntled Jedi Order. From there, the fast pace continues with Jacen taking control of the Jedi Academy for "protection" purposes, Alema Rar visiting Korriban, Jacen attacking Kashyyyk, and an epic lightsaber battle between Jacen and Luke and Ben.
While the plot of the book is great and simply doesn't leave space for a boring moment, there was also a lot of character development (possibly moreso than in any previous book). Luke was the most satisfying of these characters. He was finally brought back to his full glory. Until now, he has been playing merely on the sidelines, being present but never really stepping up to the plate to assume the role he should. However, Denning brings him back to his full potential. Yes, Luke is distraught by the death of his wife, but he comes back full force, perhaps brought back to awareness by the death of one loved one (Mara) and the pain of another (Ben). It was great to see Luke back to playing the role of Grand Jedi Master and taking on the bad guys just like he used to. Hell, it was great to see him actually DO something.
Another character that made a good comeback was Jaina. Pretty much since the New Jedi Order began to wrap up, Jaina has been written into obscurity with a few occasional comebacks with this whole "Sword of the Jedi" thing (which I'm still not convinced was a great idea) followed by falling into obscurity, once again. She actually played a rather significant role in Inferno, specifically her actions at the Jedi Academy. Now that she isn't really stuck in this Zekk/Jag love triangle (please, let that stay dead), she's actually enjoyable to read about. I only hope she will continue to play a bigger role than she has been.
Ben continues to be a joy to read about. The authors, so far, are characterizing him nicely and are doing a fine job in keeping his actions and reactions consistent and realistic. I like that he isn't a perfect, can-do-no-evil Jedi kid. Like everyone else, he is susceptible to the Dark Side, he isn't always taken seriously because of his age, and he clearly struggles internally with the events that unfold around him. I found his desire for revenge on Jacen to be very realistic, given the situation, and almost wish he had finished the deed.
The only character problem I saw was with Jacen. He just seemed to have changed greatly from the last book to this one. In Inferno, he came off as being a great deal more...evil. He threatens children, destroys planets, and tortures family members. While he has been steadily traveling farther down the path to evil, I felt that this jump was a bit extreme, considering that up until this point, he hasn't been quite so open or blunt with his actions.
Honestly, I think the series could have ended here and I would have been more or less satisfied. Unfortunately, Luke stops Ben from making the final blow with the old "this isn't the right time" line in order to save Ben from the Dark Side. That was almost a bit disappointing. After everything Ben has been through, I think it would have been justified for him to deliver the killing blow now.
Inferno is definitely worth the read, as it is probably the best book in the series so far. I can only hope that the next three books maintain the standard that this novel set.
This review is also posted on Amazon.com.
There is never a dull moment in this book. The novel practically opens with action with Han and Leia, still considered traitors to the Galactic Alliance, being attacked at Mara's funeral. Jacen plans to launch an attack against the Confederation that is greatly dependent on the disgruntled Jedi Order. From there, the fast pace continues with Jacen taking control of the Jedi Academy for "protection" purposes, Alema Rar visiting Korriban, Jacen attacking Kashyyyk, and an epic lightsaber battle between Jacen and Luke and Ben.
While the plot of the book is great and simply doesn't leave space for a boring moment, there was also a lot of character development (possibly moreso than in any previous book). Luke was the most satisfying of these characters. He was finally brought back to his full glory. Until now, he has been playing merely on the sidelines, being present but never really stepping up to the plate to assume the role he should. However, Denning brings him back to his full potential. Yes, Luke is distraught by the death of his wife, but he comes back full force, perhaps brought back to awareness by the death of one loved one (Mara) and the pain of another (Ben). It was great to see Luke back to playing the role of Grand Jedi Master and taking on the bad guys just like he used to. Hell, it was great to see him actually DO something.
Another character that made a good comeback was Jaina. Pretty much since the New Jedi Order began to wrap up, Jaina has been written into obscurity with a few occasional comebacks with this whole "Sword of the Jedi" thing (which I'm still not convinced was a great idea) followed by falling into obscurity, once again. She actually played a rather significant role in Inferno, specifically her actions at the Jedi Academy. Now that she isn't really stuck in this Zekk/Jag love triangle (please, let that stay dead), she's actually enjoyable to read about. I only hope she will continue to play a bigger role than she has been.
Ben continues to be a joy to read about. The authors, so far, are characterizing him nicely and are doing a fine job in keeping his actions and reactions consistent and realistic. I like that he isn't a perfect, can-do-no-evil Jedi kid. Like everyone else, he is susceptible to the Dark Side, he isn't always taken seriously because of his age, and he clearly struggles internally with the events that unfold around him. I found his desire for revenge on Jacen to be very realistic, given the situation, and almost wish he had finished the deed.
The only character problem I saw was with Jacen. He just seemed to have changed greatly from the last book to this one. In Inferno, he came off as being a great deal more...evil. He threatens children, destroys planets, and tortures family members. While he has been steadily traveling farther down the path to evil, I felt that this jump was a bit extreme, considering that up until this point, he hasn't been quite so open or blunt with his actions.
Honestly, I think the series could have ended here and I would have been more or less satisfied. Unfortunately, Luke stops Ben from making the final blow with the old "this isn't the right time" line in order to save Ben from the Dark Side. That was almost a bit disappointing. After everything Ben has been through, I think it would have been justified for him to deliver the killing blow now.
Inferno is definitely worth the read, as it is probably the best book in the series so far. I can only hope that the next three books maintain the standard that this novel set.
This review is also posted on Amazon.com.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2024
I'm officially done with Troy Denning, and not looking forward to him taking on the last book in this series. He's challenging Kevin J. Anderson for the most cringey writing of women characters. His action scenes are a mess. The dialog is awkward. It's like he's never gone outside to interact with other people. Even mundane actions are unbelievable and goofy. Alema Rar is wasted on him, despite having a ton of low-hanging potential. The only highlight of this book is that we get to see Saba Sebatyne again, and a few Wookies.
April 15, 2020
For once, Denning produced a short SW book. It was much better than most of this series, a it kept the politics to a minimum and focused more on the main characters and what roles they played in thie chapter. Unfortunately, everything was mostly just more build up and some of it could have been jettisoned and they could have brought the series to a close, but instead it just leads to three more entries in the series. 2 1/2 *
December 21, 2020
Somehow, I finished this book in one day. I guess I must have been on a roll after the last book. This one was pretty good, it kept me in. The only problem I am having with this series so far is how important boba fett and some of the other characters are in one book, and then it’s almost like they don’t exist in the next one, it is really quite annoying. But other than that this series has been great so far.
May 26, 2020
My favorite of this series so far. Hits some very powerful emotional beats and has tremendous action sequences.
October 4, 2023
3.5/5 - audiobook
Jacen is in full swing emo phase in this book and annoyingly over the top. Most of the other characters are pretty good with a decent fight towards the end.
Jacen is in full swing emo phase in this book and annoyingly over the top. Most of the other characters are pretty good with a decent fight towards the end.
July 26, 2025
4,5 stars
it was such a quick read. i love the difference between each character's perspective. also the way jacen was calling himself both by his name and darth caedus, his conflict was shown so good. i really enjoyed it
it was such a quick read. i love the difference between each character's perspective. also the way jacen was calling himself both by his name and darth caedus, his conflict was shown so good. i really enjoyed it
March 13, 2024
Personally, I'd just as soon blast you back to atoms and pretend you died in that fight with Onimi.
Inferno is an ugly novel. Needlessly cruel, confused in its tone, and singularly dedicated to making everything worse, Troy Denning's second Legacy of the Force book is precisely what this series did not need following the equally dire Sacrifice.
There are some bright spots here and there, mainly regarding Ben Skywalker and momentum in the story. As with Tempest, Denning proves to be the polar opposite of Karen Traviss in terms of his writing: Inferno, for all its missteps, features something resembling a narrative structure again, and unlike the author's previous work, this time around the relevance of what is happening to the overarching story cannot be questioned. For better or for worse, this book gets things done. As I alluded to, a big part of that is thanks to Ben Skywalker who, more than in perhaps any of the previous books, finally comes together as a developed character. The problem with Ben so far is that the authors were simply running him through the same type of "character growth" every novel. Ben is Jacen's biggest supporter, he gets some kind of taste of what his cousin's current trajectory really means, he starts to doubt Jacen. Reset him back to step one and we have Bloodlines, Exile, and Sacrifice all covered (in Tempest he was also reset only without any subsequent internal development). LOTF 6, meanwhile, drops all of that and goes in for the kill: Ben knows Jacen has made an unforgivable mistake, and now he is going to pay. This leads to Inferno's two best scenes: The first, in which Ben confronts Cal Omas in the latter's most memorable outing post-New Jedi Order, the second detailing Ben's decisive action against Jacen, acting as a culmination of almost everything he has suffered through in this series. I'm glad Legacy of the Force at least retains one of its promising next-generation protagonists carrying over from previous works.
On the other side of the coin, there still is Alema Rar, who retains my favor as LOTF's best antagonist. Obligatory horniness aside, she remains possibly the most comprehensible major adult character in this narrative, which might sound weird considering she is literally clinically insane, but that is just the level we've stooped to by now. I found Alema's little "adventure" to be quite fun: First setting up Jaina and her "two lust-toads'" subplot, before investigating Lumiya's legacy and then travelling to Korriban of all places, where she meets Whatever the answer to that, Alema's inclusion in this subplot is still a highly entertaining read. Perhaps Legacy of the Force should have focused on Alema Rar's fall to the dark side instead...
...especially with the state of Del Rey's favorite failson, Jacen Solo. Story development aside - and Kashyyyk, Balmorra, and Hapes would gladly accept Inferno as a relevant book in terms of its getting things done! - Jacen remains absolutely pathetic. What a disgrace his portrayal in this series remains, and I'm far from simply referring to the incongruities with NJO here. There is just no way to take Jacen seriously, be it as a tragic hero (that was dropped come Tempest) or competent villain (error 404 not found). Actually, this is one area where Traviss comparatively shines; her Jacen, though inexplicably radiating Tony Blair particles, never felt like he was being deliberately kneecapped by the writing. In this book, meanwhile, Jacen gets absolutely kriffing curb stomped by Luke Skywalker not once, but twice, and that's when he isn't being rhetorically decimated by his own security droid. At this point I cannot help but wonder if Denning and Allston are doing this at least somewhat deliberately, taking the hatred I know for a fact large parts of the fanbase had for the character back then and translating it into this laughable excuse of a "Sith Lord". No matter what, this is just sad to see. I almost feel like I have to root for Jacen. It wasn't enough for Jacen's family to lose any interest in his redemption, no, The Powers That Be appear to hate his guts now, too.
What I really don't understand, then, is why Denning portrays the Jedi the way he does. To put it simply, they're all holier-than-thou hypocrites. Luke comes off as the worst of them all, for sure, a quasi-sociopath and bully who ever since The Swarm War has done nothing but preach meaningless Jedi phrases while acting in a completely different and often morally bankrupt way. There's a small glimmer of hope near the beginning of Inferno that he will at least try to patch up things with Jacen (every other member of the order having declared him a lost cause already...) but once push comes to shove and the two meet up a second time Luke immediately and viciously pins him to the ground. To mark the compassionless alpha male, I guess. This is wildly problematic for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being that the Jedi are supposed to have put this supposedly morally relativistic approach to being behind themselves after Dark Nest. Like, wasn't the entire point of that trilogy to establish that the Jedi got dangerously close to the Dark Side through pseudo-Vergere's teachings, then recognized and shed that, with only Jacen remaining under her teaching's influence? Then why is Luke still behaving like a petulant teenager?!? No, scratch what I said earlier, I do feel obliged to root for Jacen. At least he's being (inconsistently) consistent in his spiraling down to the Dark Side.
Finally, there's the matter of the author's fascination with splatter-like body horror. Ugh. Long story short, Jaina and her "lust toads" are on Ossus near the Jedi Academy, which has been taken over by a bunch of GAG fascists, and now they're shooting off Jedi body limbs in a most bloody fashion or whatever. I do not care to go into details, as this subplot does not deserve any attention. Look, Denning did torture and graphic violence quite well back in Star by Star, but Inferno's slaughter of children and exposing of bones is so incidental to the overarching plot/themes and so utterly gratuitous that I can't help but find it laughable. What is this nonsense doing in a Star Wars novel, and why does the narration describe it with the same pathos I'd describe my daily commute? It's particularly confusing when paired with comedic elements for whatever reason, like with fan favorite character Jae Juun and Tarfang coming back to cause some real hearty laughs before the latter graphically attacks Leia. What am I even reading at this point.
I finished going through this book in early February. Now that I'm retrospectively collecting my thoughts, I cannot help but feel utterly exhausted just by that very process once more. Inferno is just an unpleasant experience top to bottom, equally stupid and misguided. How far this already flawed series has fallen in this second third. Ridiculous.
Inferno is an ugly novel. Needlessly cruel, confused in its tone, and singularly dedicated to making everything worse, Troy Denning's second Legacy of the Force book is precisely what this series did not need following the equally dire Sacrifice.
There are some bright spots here and there, mainly regarding Ben Skywalker and momentum in the story. As with Tempest, Denning proves to be the polar opposite of Karen Traviss in terms of his writing: Inferno, for all its missteps, features something resembling a narrative structure again, and unlike the author's previous work, this time around the relevance of what is happening to the overarching story cannot be questioned. For better or for worse, this book gets things done. As I alluded to, a big part of that is thanks to Ben Skywalker who, more than in perhaps any of the previous books, finally comes together as a developed character. The problem with Ben so far is that the authors were simply running him through the same type of "character growth" every novel. Ben is Jacen's biggest supporter, he gets some kind of taste of what his cousin's current trajectory really means, he starts to doubt Jacen. Reset him back to step one and we have Bloodlines, Exile, and Sacrifice all covered (in Tempest he was also reset only without any subsequent internal development). LOTF 6, meanwhile, drops all of that and goes in for the kill: Ben knows Jacen has made an unforgivable mistake, and now he is going to pay. This leads to Inferno's two best scenes: The first, in which Ben confronts Cal Omas in the latter's most memorable outing post-New Jedi Order, the second detailing Ben's decisive action against Jacen, acting as a culmination of almost everything he has suffered through in this series. I'm glad Legacy of the Force at least retains one of its promising next-generation protagonists carrying over from previous works.
On the other side of the coin, there still is Alema Rar, who retains my favor as LOTF's best antagonist. Obligatory horniness aside, she remains possibly the most comprehensible major adult character in this narrative, which might sound weird considering she is literally clinically insane, but that is just the level we've stooped to by now. I found Alema's little "adventure" to be quite fun: First setting up Jaina and her "two lust-toads'" subplot, before investigating Lumiya's legacy and then travelling to Korriban of all places, where she meets Whatever the answer to that, Alema's inclusion in this subplot is still a highly entertaining read. Perhaps Legacy of the Force should have focused on Alema Rar's fall to the dark side instead...
...especially with the state of Del Rey's favorite failson, Jacen Solo. Story development aside - and Kashyyyk, Balmorra, and Hapes would gladly accept Inferno as a relevant book in terms of its getting things done! - Jacen remains absolutely pathetic. What a disgrace his portrayal in this series remains, and I'm far from simply referring to the incongruities with NJO here. There is just no way to take Jacen seriously, be it as a tragic hero (that was dropped come Tempest) or competent villain (error 404 not found). Actually, this is one area where Traviss comparatively shines; her Jacen, though inexplicably radiating Tony Blair particles, never felt like he was being deliberately kneecapped by the writing. In this book, meanwhile, Jacen gets absolutely kriffing curb stomped by Luke Skywalker not once, but twice, and that's when he isn't being rhetorically decimated by his own security droid. At this point I cannot help but wonder if Denning and Allston are doing this at least somewhat deliberately, taking the hatred I know for a fact large parts of the fanbase had for the character back then and translating it into this laughable excuse of a "Sith Lord". No matter what, this is just sad to see. I almost feel like I have to root for Jacen. It wasn't enough for Jacen's family to lose any interest in his redemption, no, The Powers That Be appear to hate his guts now, too.
What I really don't understand, then, is why Denning portrays the Jedi the way he does. To put it simply, they're all holier-than-thou hypocrites. Luke comes off as the worst of them all, for sure, a quasi-sociopath and bully who ever since The Swarm War has done nothing but preach meaningless Jedi phrases while acting in a completely different and often morally bankrupt way. There's a small glimmer of hope near the beginning of Inferno that he will at least try to patch up things with Jacen (every other member of the order having declared him a lost cause already...) but once push comes to shove and the two meet up a second time Luke immediately and viciously pins him to the ground. To mark the compassionless alpha male, I guess. This is wildly problematic for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being that the Jedi are supposed to have put this supposedly morally relativistic approach to being behind themselves after Dark Nest. Like, wasn't the entire point of that trilogy to establish that the Jedi got dangerously close to the Dark Side through pseudo-Vergere's teachings, then recognized and shed that, with only Jacen remaining under her teaching's influence? Then why is Luke still behaving like a petulant teenager?!? No, scratch what I said earlier, I do feel obliged to root for Jacen. At least he's being (inconsistently) consistent in his spiraling down to the Dark Side.
Finally, there's the matter of the author's fascination with splatter-like body horror. Ugh. Long story short, Jaina and her "lust toads" are on Ossus near the Jedi Academy, which has been taken over by a bunch of GAG fascists, and now they're shooting off Jedi body limbs in a most bloody fashion or whatever. I do not care to go into details, as this subplot does not deserve any attention. Look, Denning did torture and graphic violence quite well back in Star by Star, but Inferno's slaughter of children and exposing of bones is so incidental to the overarching plot/themes and so utterly gratuitous that I can't help but find it laughable. What is this nonsense doing in a Star Wars novel, and why does the narration describe it with the same pathos I'd describe my daily commute? It's particularly confusing when paired with comedic elements for whatever reason, like with fan favorite character Jae Juun and Tarfang coming back to cause some real hearty laughs before the latter graphically attacks Leia. What am I even reading at this point.
I finished going through this book in early February. Now that I'm retrospectively collecting my thoughts, I cannot help but feel utterly exhausted just by that very process once more. Inferno is just an unpleasant experience top to bottom, equally stupid and misguided. How far this already flawed series has fallen in this second third. Ridiculous.
January 6, 2023
Inferno is the thrilling 6th installment of the Legacy of the Force series that manages to continue on the high note that its predecessor Sacrifice ended on. It is a quick, fast-paced read that showcases further escalation of the ongoing conflict within the Galactic Alliance, while making use of the entire main cast in a meaningful way.
Naturally, this novel deals with the aftermath of Mara’s death, which I think it handles quite well. It shows how her loss affects those closest to her, most importantly Luke and Ben. Mara’s funeral is one of the first scenes and it unfolds in a rather unconventional manner that includes a blaster fight, Jacen acting like a complete jackass, and Saba Sebatyne calling him out for his behavior as part of a marvelous eulogy. Personally, I would have liked to see Leia give it – as originally intended, but Saba’s version sure does not disappoint. Somehow it really fazes me that the Solos actually believed they would be able to attend the funeral without any obstacles given how top Alliance personnel (e.g. both Chiefs of State) would be there. Sure, Jacen setting a trap for them is more than inappropriate given the circumstances, but it is no wonder that their attendance (and Leia giving a speech to top things off) would be a bit provoking considering there is an arrest warrant out for them.
As for Jacen, it was about time someone challenges his behavior and after the inertia and denial the Order has exhibited towards him so far it is refreshing that there finally is some movement happening against him. For a while now, he has been an integral player in the war and in his quest to “unify the galaxy” he manages to stoop to ever new lows. We have seen him break ties with everyone he used to hold dear (so much so that he would be willing to kill a member of his closest family). Here he shows he is willing to sacrifice thousands, if not millions of beings as collateral damage if it serves what he believes to be the greater good. His ruthlessness has become so notorious that his subordinates fear him, much like Vader’s did him. At the same time his often ludicrous commands evoke confusion and resistance in those supposed to execute them. While no one actively moves against him (yet?), the reserve underscores that he now truly stands alone. Jacen is aware of this, but somehow believes himself to be a martyr of some sort, who must make this sacrifice of total isolation in order to save the galaxy. Insights into his thoughts and reasoning show how paranoid he has become – especially towards the Jedi. He constantly thinks others are plotting against him, whether there is any evidence that they are or not. These thoughts sort of contradict his belief that he is superior to everyone – as the only true Master of the Force – and therefore able to sense any scheme anyone might pursue against him. This duplicity underscores that Jacen has truly lost it and is a disaster waiting to happen. At this point it is clear that he will not be around much longer, but how much more damage he will cause before his inevitable demise remains to be seen.
Jacen Solo is a very complex character and I think Denning does a great job at portraying him. Besides the characterization of Jacen I really liked that a portion of the story is set on Kashyyyk, which I think is a very cool setting that is used way to seldomly. The burning of the wroshyr trees has a strong emotional impact and highlights how high the stakes are in this war. Finally, Luke’s actions in this novel show how insanely powerful he is. Even in the grief-stricken and seemingly less than alert state he is in he is able to fool everyone into believing he died (not me, ha!) and would have easily succeeded in killing his nephew if it weren’t for how alarmed he is at his son’s growing proximity to the Dark.
While there is lots to love about his novel and I really enjoyed it, there are some parts that annoyed me (Sorry for being such a nitpicker, but something always manages to grind my gears in these novels).
For one, the way the Jedi handle the hostage situation at the Academy is just stupid. Having deserted Jacen’s fleet at Kuat, the sensible thing to do would have been for the Masters (or, like, half of them) to return to Ossus instantly and help liberate the Academy. It seems to me that all the carnage there would have been highly preventable with a little more manpower. However, even without support, I think the Jedi already present should have been able to do a lot better. Seriously, except Jaina (and Zekk, who interferes kinda late), all the adults – including the Solusars – appear completely incompetent and incapable of defending themselves without their weapons. Jaina shows how easy it is for a Force-wielder to just appropriate any soldiers’ blaster. It is hard for me to believe that two Jedi Masters would not be able to do the same.
For another, I am amazed that still no one is able to figure out the nature of Jacen and Tenel’s relationship. Are you kidding me? Why would she be so grief-stricken if she weren’t very close to him? Why would she deliberately mention his deserting her and Allana if he didn’t play an important role in their lives? Everyone’s ignorance with respect to this issue (especially the Solos, who experience her behavior first-hand) is beyond infuriating and I hope this will finally be cleared up soon.
Irrespective of these minor grievances, Inferno is a very solid Star Wars novel. While it doesn’t have the same emotional depth its predecessor offered, it convinces with spot-on characterizations and a decent plot. I am still stoked for the series and hoping the last three installments will make for a blazing finale (also fingers crossed there is not too much Wedge Antilles in the next installment. Apparently, Aaron Allston is a fan of his. Unfortunately, I’m not).
Naturally, this novel deals with the aftermath of Mara’s death, which I think it handles quite well. It shows how her loss affects those closest to her, most importantly Luke and Ben. Mara’s funeral is one of the first scenes and it unfolds in a rather unconventional manner that includes a blaster fight, Jacen acting like a complete jackass, and Saba Sebatyne calling him out for his behavior as part of a marvelous eulogy. Personally, I would have liked to see Leia give it – as originally intended, but Saba’s version sure does not disappoint. Somehow it really fazes me that the Solos actually believed they would be able to attend the funeral without any obstacles given how top Alliance personnel (e.g. both Chiefs of State) would be there. Sure, Jacen setting a trap for them is more than inappropriate given the circumstances, but it is no wonder that their attendance (and Leia giving a speech to top things off) would be a bit provoking considering there is an arrest warrant out for them.
As for Jacen, it was about time someone challenges his behavior and after the inertia and denial the Order has exhibited towards him so far it is refreshing that there finally is some movement happening against him. For a while now, he has been an integral player in the war and in his quest to “unify the galaxy” he manages to stoop to ever new lows. We have seen him break ties with everyone he used to hold dear (so much so that he would be willing to kill a member of his closest family). Here he shows he is willing to sacrifice thousands, if not millions of beings as collateral damage if it serves what he believes to be the greater good. His ruthlessness has become so notorious that his subordinates fear him, much like Vader’s did him. At the same time his often ludicrous commands evoke confusion and resistance in those supposed to execute them. While no one actively moves against him (yet?), the reserve underscores that he now truly stands alone. Jacen is aware of this, but somehow believes himself to be a martyr of some sort, who must make this sacrifice of total isolation in order to save the galaxy. Insights into his thoughts and reasoning show how paranoid he has become – especially towards the Jedi. He constantly thinks others are plotting against him, whether there is any evidence that they are or not. These thoughts sort of contradict his belief that he is superior to everyone – as the only true Master of the Force – and therefore able to sense any scheme anyone might pursue against him. This duplicity underscores that Jacen has truly lost it and is a disaster waiting to happen. At this point it is clear that he will not be around much longer, but how much more damage he will cause before his inevitable demise remains to be seen.
Jacen Solo is a very complex character and I think Denning does a great job at portraying him. Besides the characterization of Jacen I really liked that a portion of the story is set on Kashyyyk, which I think is a very cool setting that is used way to seldomly. The burning of the wroshyr trees has a strong emotional impact and highlights how high the stakes are in this war. Finally, Luke’s actions in this novel show how insanely powerful he is. Even in the grief-stricken and seemingly less than alert state he is in he is able to fool everyone into believing he died (not me, ha!) and would have easily succeeded in killing his nephew if it weren’t for how alarmed he is at his son’s growing proximity to the Dark.
While there is lots to love about his novel and I really enjoyed it, there are some parts that annoyed me (Sorry for being such a nitpicker, but something always manages to grind my gears in these novels).
For one, the way the Jedi handle the hostage situation at the Academy is just stupid. Having deserted Jacen’s fleet at Kuat, the sensible thing to do would have been for the Masters (or, like, half of them) to return to Ossus instantly and help liberate the Academy. It seems to me that all the carnage there would have been highly preventable with a little more manpower. However, even without support, I think the Jedi already present should have been able to do a lot better. Seriously, except Jaina (and Zekk, who interferes kinda late), all the adults – including the Solusars – appear completely incompetent and incapable of defending themselves without their weapons. Jaina shows how easy it is for a Force-wielder to just appropriate any soldiers’ blaster. It is hard for me to believe that two Jedi Masters would not be able to do the same.
For another, I am amazed that still no one is able to figure out the nature of Jacen and Tenel’s relationship. Are you kidding me? Why would she be so grief-stricken if she weren’t very close to him? Why would she deliberately mention his deserting her and Allana if he didn’t play an important role in their lives? Everyone’s ignorance with respect to this issue (especially the Solos, who experience her behavior first-hand) is beyond infuriating and I hope this will finally be cleared up soon.
Irrespective of these minor grievances, Inferno is a very solid Star Wars novel. While it doesn’t have the same emotional depth its predecessor offered, it convinces with spot-on characterizations and a decent plot. I am still stoked for the series and hoping the last three installments will make for a blazing finale (also fingers crossed there is not too much Wedge Antilles in the next installment. Apparently, Aaron Allston is a fan of his. Unfortunately, I’m not).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2014
Ok, first off, the beginning of this book was admittedly a bit slow and suffers a bit from that pacing... however the middle and ending were wonderful. Thankfully, coming fresh off of Sacrifice (Book #5), this lull doesn't feel like as big of an issue.
Hard to go into why this book was great without gushing out spoilers. That said, the climax was fantastic. The interactions involving Ben are excellent. It's nice to see Jaina starting to have a bit more of a role (albeit still a background character for some reason...), and Han and Leia are still in their supporting role with occasional front-lining... which is alright.
Anyways, was wondering why the book was called Inferno, but that question became definitively answered by the end :)
Hard to go into why this book was great without gushing out spoilers. That said, the climax was fantastic. The interactions involving Ben are excellent. It's nice to see Jaina starting to have a bit more of a role (albeit still a background character for some reason...), and Han and Leia are still in their supporting role with occasional front-lining... which is alright.
Anyways, was wondering why the book was called Inferno, but that question became definitively answered by the end :)
September 11, 2023
3.5 stars!
Started off rather slow, but eventually picked up. The fight between Luke and Jacen was written incredibly! The demise of Tenel Ka and Jacen's relationship was also a pivotal part of this story.
Started off rather slow, but eventually picked up. The fight between Luke and Jacen was written incredibly! The demise of Tenel Ka and Jacen's relationship was also a pivotal part of this story.
February 2, 2025
After the last entry from this series left me frustrated, I was a little worried I would find the rest of the series totally derailing, and maybe I’d surrender to pure Denning hate!
I am happy to say, however, that this is quite possibly one of my most beloved Star Wars novels, and easily one of my favourite Star Wars books that I have ever read.
From page to page, the book manages to be extremely entertaining and well-paced, only ever slowing for a moment in the middle, setting up the events to ramp the pace back up, it’s really great to have a shorter entry in the series, not even managing 300 pages, but it doesn’t really need to be any longer.
Whilst a miniscule plotline, and a large element of it, annoy me and cause me to put the score down just a tad, almost everything else about the novel is immaculate, and I’m honestly shocked to have found this such a fantastic book.
I miss Mara Jade, but like with the fallout of Chewbacca’s death changing my mind, I have started to enjoy the fallout of Mara’s death and the impact it has had on the characters, and what it has inspired in Luke, and one particular moment which made me feel a whole lot better about it all…
The prologue to the book explains more of a background element of the plot now, as Darth Caedus flow-walks with Tahiri, which is both a disturbing and emotional moment. Every now and then, I remember Anakin Solo’s death, and I still seriously shiver at the memory, Leia’s reaction, the brutality of it all, it still hurts me and always will.
It was a raw reminder to read portions of it again from another perspective, and set off the tears almost immediately. But what really got me, is the change they made. So Tahiri could make sure she kissed Anakin instead of denying him that kiss.
It’s a wonderfully sad moment, and a clever way to pull Tahiri back into darkness, through an addiction to seeing the person she lost. I think that whilst she may have previously gotten over Anakin’s death, Caedus’ actions here pull her right back into that trauma, now knowing she has the ability to revisit moments with Caedus’ help, I can see someone becoming desperate and latching onto that again, and Caedus has purposefully reopened that wound.
Mara Jade Skywalker’s funeral is one of the most well-written segments I have read in a Star Wars novel. It is tragic, yet buzzes with the fire of Mara herself, alit with the tensions between Caedus and the Jedi, and seemingly, Mara’s final message.
When Caedus steps in, something begins to happen which really shocked me. One of the most traumatic elements of Mara’s death for me was not just the brutality of it, but how she just… died. Not even becoming one with the Force. But then, as Caedus enters the funeral, she starts glowing, and she DOES become one with the Force!
They take this as a message, and I love Mara’s clever nature still coming through, as she allows her body to stay as a warning, and then to disappear at that moment as another. Even more reason for me to love her, but also a little healing moment for me too.
Saba Sebatyne’s eulogy is a beautiful one, but also with how she uses the moment to threaten Caedus. Whilst this annoys Luke, I think it is exactly what Mara would have wanted. I don’t see her caring for a sappy funeral where everyone is miserable for her, she would’ve wanted a funeral as explosive as she got, and I love that Saba uses this opportunity to explain why Caedus will fail. It made me gain even more respect for her.
Luke Skywalker struggles, and I love it.
When people say that Luke in the sequels has flaws and struggles, boy, they have no idea what they’re missing.
Absolutely heartbroken, Luke finally begins to falter, but upon seeing how needed he is, how the Jedi need his guidance, whilst still making flawed decisions, he steps up when he is most needed, and veers the Jedi back to victory.
He has already made mistakes, and will not allow anyone to follow in his footsteps. And he will not take anyone leaving him to grieve, even if that is what he wishes he could do.
The loss destroys him, has broken him, yet he still picks himself back together for the good of the galaxy and his son, Ben.
Jacen Solo, Darth Caedus, really begins to show his true colours in this one, and it’s a very rewarding read to see him finally begin to show his true self, but also to see him falter.
He is not purely winning now, he is making mistakes, he gets things wrong, and he fails. Yet embracing the person Lumiya has shaped him into, this also shows how weak he has become, and how weak anyone like him is.
As always, I get why Caedus annoys fans of the character, Jacen Solo, but I can also see why many like Caedus. For me, nothing will match Jacen Solo in the New Jedi Order books, but I am also loving the character we are getting here.
I am putting aside the issues to try and appreciate what we’ve got, and I’m loving what we’ve got. The difference with the sequels, for example, is I put aside many things to try and enjoy them, but still didn’t like the movies as standalone movies.
My point is, these are good books, even if flawed in consideration of what came before them. Alone, to me, they are good books, and this is one of the bangers.
Ben Skywalker’s story in this book is phenomenal, from his amazing manipulation of Jacen, to his determination as he realises how awful his Master is, he isn’t anybody’s fool, and whilst still uncertain of himself, and still flawed, he is brilliant.
The sacrifice of Cal Omas will probably stay with me forever. Like Fey’lya, he was the ultimate politician, if more of a righteous one. The job obviously stressed him furiously, and he faltered at many points, but was still - according to the Jedi - a decent man, if flawed.
What he does in this book proves that to me; sacrificing himself to give Ben the ammunition he needs to manipulate Caedus.
In that moment, he became a hero, and it is heartbreaking in all the right ways.
So shocking too, it reminds me how good an author Troy Denning can be.
He wrote this sequence so, so well.
Luke Skywalker turns his fury to good, as he begins to play with Darth Caedus. One of the best moments of the series so far, is Luke tricking Caedus to think he was in the room with him, making him extremely paranoid and uncertain.
Later, showing up personally to talk to him, without showing a single sign of exertion, a movement, or even a facial expression, he pins Caedus to his chair and humiliates him, making him look like a spoiled brat, breaking his chair and pinning him to the ground.
An extremely rewarding moment, and it shows how Luke is slowly being broken. Not only is it badass, it’s a reminder of Luke’s faltering beliefs, and also a moment to show how far he is now willing to go, to add to his development and redemption throughout the novel.
One of the coolest and shocking moments occurred soon after, as Luke agreed to help Caedus with what should be the final battle of the war, rallying the Jedi to fight in their StealthXs, they flew off… only to abandon them at the last moment!
I read this in college, and damn. My jaw dropped.
What a fucking awesome moment. The Jedi abandoning the Alliance to press the war on longer and build up to their fight against Caedus is immaculate, and again, so rewarding and epic.
Darth Caedus is further humiliated and made to look a fool, and I love them all for it.
Jaina Solo’s defence of Ossus was also a highlight of the novel, as it is also shockingly brutal, losing the lives of children as the Alliance stoop lower and lower, whilst Jaina, Jag, and Zekk work together to save the students and other Jedi.
It’s a difficult battle, and one a lot more grizzly and raw, but one that’s so brilliant to read. Slowly but surely, Jaina is being built up more and more as a major player, and maturing even more as a person and a Jedi.
I can see her building up to a favourite soon for me.
With the Jedi meeting on Kashyyyk, Han and Leia joining, they formulate a plan that almost wins them the battle, but are sold out by Tahiri who is under Caedus’ influence more and more.
However, it still hits hard, and even works.
If I hadn’t known that Luke survived the outcome of this novel, I think I would’ve bought it here. Troy Denning really plays it out as if Luke Skywalker has died, and it is heartbreaking. After the losses of the previous novels, I see why it would be believable too! And what a sacrifice.
But it is all a brilliant ploy!
Sneaking around the Anakin Solo, Luke has already mastered hiding his presence, and even manages to reveal himself to only Ben, fooling Caedus as he puts Ben in the Embrace of Pain!
This then bursts out into one of my favourite duels in all of Star Wars, Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Caedus.
Brutal, primal, bloody and magnificent, the two duel and match each other repeatedly, but Caedus is more and more surprised to discover he is still no match for his old Master, the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker, proves himself again once more.
Bones are broken, venom injected into bloodstreams, Caedus’ skull showing, the battle is intense, and if it weren’t for Ben interrupting, Luke would’ve killed him there and then.
Although there isn’t a death, there’s a clear victor, and whilst the ship is sabotaged, Luke and Ben escape together, leaving Caedus to heal himself and gather strength, determined not to lose again. But lose, he did. Gravely.
Gathering support from Tenel Ka, Han and Leia turn the Hapans against Darth Caedus, whilst still loyal to the true Galactic Alliance, they are not loyal to the man in charge now, and fooling them into thinking they arrive to assist, Tenel Ka withdraws support and attacks the father of her own daughter.
This moment is a shocking revelation to Caedus, and another gutwrencher, an absolutely shocking moment that is exhilarating to read, and Caedus realises how he has been forced to truly sacrifice everything for what he thinks will gain him peace for the Galaxy and his family, even if it includes their hatred of him.
But I do have one issue with this book…
Alema Rar.
Her plotline is not bad enough for me to skim through or truly hate, but does take away from the rest of the story, and starts to get a little ridiculous.
She discovers a whole group of Sith still living on Korriban, around thirty, following older Sith culture and lore, unknown to the Jedi. This is already quite preposterous, but also, Alema finds them by pure chance, landing on Korriban and immediately meeting people who not only know where they are and who they are, but one who immediately directs her.
Whilst I think the idea of old style Sith returning is cool, this explanation is extremely cheap, and how it is executed is also very, very poor, and a shame as the rest of the novel is done so expertly well.
Alema continues to have insane plot armour, breaking the illusion created by the series that characters are unsafe as whilst other major characters die, Alema continues to live by spectacular events that often venture into the imagination of a child with action figures in a playroom of other children.
Total stupidity in a sea of genius.
Whilst that element leaves a slightly bad taste in my mouth, the rest of this novel is truly spectacular.
It is paced expertly, the story is the most engaging and shocking yet, shock after shock, exceptional and tasteful action where appropriate, emotion is great and the characters are written brilliantly, Troy Denning really out-does himself here.
A lot of elements of the series are flawed, but this novel is a shining example of how good these books can be, and particular characters shine like Luke Skywalker.
I adore who Luke has become, and his struggle with what is clearly him teetering on the edge of the dark side again, as he saves his son, Ben.
And in return, Ben saves him too.
These books are back on track, and while I wish that one particular element was better, this novel was truly a masterpiece to me, and made me feel excitement and sorrow and shock like I haven’t for a while.
9.5/10
I am happy to say, however, that this is quite possibly one of my most beloved Star Wars novels, and easily one of my favourite Star Wars books that I have ever read.
From page to page, the book manages to be extremely entertaining and well-paced, only ever slowing for a moment in the middle, setting up the events to ramp the pace back up, it’s really great to have a shorter entry in the series, not even managing 300 pages, but it doesn’t really need to be any longer.
Whilst a miniscule plotline, and a large element of it, annoy me and cause me to put the score down just a tad, almost everything else about the novel is immaculate, and I’m honestly shocked to have found this such a fantastic book.
I miss Mara Jade, but like with the fallout of Chewbacca’s death changing my mind, I have started to enjoy the fallout of Mara’s death and the impact it has had on the characters, and what it has inspired in Luke, and one particular moment which made me feel a whole lot better about it all…
The prologue to the book explains more of a background element of the plot now, as Darth Caedus flow-walks with Tahiri, which is both a disturbing and emotional moment. Every now and then, I remember Anakin Solo’s death, and I still seriously shiver at the memory, Leia’s reaction, the brutality of it all, it still hurts me and always will.
It was a raw reminder to read portions of it again from another perspective, and set off the tears almost immediately. But what really got me, is the change they made. So Tahiri could make sure she kissed Anakin instead of denying him that kiss.
It’s a wonderfully sad moment, and a clever way to pull Tahiri back into darkness, through an addiction to seeing the person she lost. I think that whilst she may have previously gotten over Anakin’s death, Caedus’ actions here pull her right back into that trauma, now knowing she has the ability to revisit moments with Caedus’ help, I can see someone becoming desperate and latching onto that again, and Caedus has purposefully reopened that wound.
Mara Jade Skywalker’s funeral is one of the most well-written segments I have read in a Star Wars novel. It is tragic, yet buzzes with the fire of Mara herself, alit with the tensions between Caedus and the Jedi, and seemingly, Mara’s final message.
When Caedus steps in, something begins to happen which really shocked me. One of the most traumatic elements of Mara’s death for me was not just the brutality of it, but how she just… died. Not even becoming one with the Force. But then, as Caedus enters the funeral, she starts glowing, and she DOES become one with the Force!
They take this as a message, and I love Mara’s clever nature still coming through, as she allows her body to stay as a warning, and then to disappear at that moment as another. Even more reason for me to love her, but also a little healing moment for me too.
Saba Sebatyne’s eulogy is a beautiful one, but also with how she uses the moment to threaten Caedus. Whilst this annoys Luke, I think it is exactly what Mara would have wanted. I don’t see her caring for a sappy funeral where everyone is miserable for her, she would’ve wanted a funeral as explosive as she got, and I love that Saba uses this opportunity to explain why Caedus will fail. It made me gain even more respect for her.
Luke Skywalker struggles, and I love it.
When people say that Luke in the sequels has flaws and struggles, boy, they have no idea what they’re missing.
Absolutely heartbroken, Luke finally begins to falter, but upon seeing how needed he is, how the Jedi need his guidance, whilst still making flawed decisions, he steps up when he is most needed, and veers the Jedi back to victory.
He has already made mistakes, and will not allow anyone to follow in his footsteps. And he will not take anyone leaving him to grieve, even if that is what he wishes he could do.
The loss destroys him, has broken him, yet he still picks himself back together for the good of the galaxy and his son, Ben.
Jacen Solo, Darth Caedus, really begins to show his true colours in this one, and it’s a very rewarding read to see him finally begin to show his true self, but also to see him falter.
He is not purely winning now, he is making mistakes, he gets things wrong, and he fails. Yet embracing the person Lumiya has shaped him into, this also shows how weak he has become, and how weak anyone like him is.
As always, I get why Caedus annoys fans of the character, Jacen Solo, but I can also see why many like Caedus. For me, nothing will match Jacen Solo in the New Jedi Order books, but I am also loving the character we are getting here.
I am putting aside the issues to try and appreciate what we’ve got, and I’m loving what we’ve got. The difference with the sequels, for example, is I put aside many things to try and enjoy them, but still didn’t like the movies as standalone movies.
My point is, these are good books, even if flawed in consideration of what came before them. Alone, to me, they are good books, and this is one of the bangers.
Ben Skywalker’s story in this book is phenomenal, from his amazing manipulation of Jacen, to his determination as he realises how awful his Master is, he isn’t anybody’s fool, and whilst still uncertain of himself, and still flawed, he is brilliant.
The sacrifice of Cal Omas will probably stay with me forever. Like Fey’lya, he was the ultimate politician, if more of a righteous one. The job obviously stressed him furiously, and he faltered at many points, but was still - according to the Jedi - a decent man, if flawed.
What he does in this book proves that to me; sacrificing himself to give Ben the ammunition he needs to manipulate Caedus.
In that moment, he became a hero, and it is heartbreaking in all the right ways.
So shocking too, it reminds me how good an author Troy Denning can be.
He wrote this sequence so, so well.
Luke Skywalker turns his fury to good, as he begins to play with Darth Caedus. One of the best moments of the series so far, is Luke tricking Caedus to think he was in the room with him, making him extremely paranoid and uncertain.
Later, showing up personally to talk to him, without showing a single sign of exertion, a movement, or even a facial expression, he pins Caedus to his chair and humiliates him, making him look like a spoiled brat, breaking his chair and pinning him to the ground.
An extremely rewarding moment, and it shows how Luke is slowly being broken. Not only is it badass, it’s a reminder of Luke’s faltering beliefs, and also a moment to show how far he is now willing to go, to add to his development and redemption throughout the novel.
One of the coolest and shocking moments occurred soon after, as Luke agreed to help Caedus with what should be the final battle of the war, rallying the Jedi to fight in their StealthXs, they flew off… only to abandon them at the last moment!
I read this in college, and damn. My jaw dropped.
What a fucking awesome moment. The Jedi abandoning the Alliance to press the war on longer and build up to their fight against Caedus is immaculate, and again, so rewarding and epic.
Darth Caedus is further humiliated and made to look a fool, and I love them all for it.
Jaina Solo’s defence of Ossus was also a highlight of the novel, as it is also shockingly brutal, losing the lives of children as the Alliance stoop lower and lower, whilst Jaina, Jag, and Zekk work together to save the students and other Jedi.
It’s a difficult battle, and one a lot more grizzly and raw, but one that’s so brilliant to read. Slowly but surely, Jaina is being built up more and more as a major player, and maturing even more as a person and a Jedi.
I can see her building up to a favourite soon for me.
With the Jedi meeting on Kashyyyk, Han and Leia joining, they formulate a plan that almost wins them the battle, but are sold out by Tahiri who is under Caedus’ influence more and more.
However, it still hits hard, and even works.
If I hadn’t known that Luke survived the outcome of this novel, I think I would’ve bought it here. Troy Denning really plays it out as if Luke Skywalker has died, and it is heartbreaking. After the losses of the previous novels, I see why it would be believable too! And what a sacrifice.
But it is all a brilliant ploy!
Sneaking around the Anakin Solo, Luke has already mastered hiding his presence, and even manages to reveal himself to only Ben, fooling Caedus as he puts Ben in the Embrace of Pain!
This then bursts out into one of my favourite duels in all of Star Wars, Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Caedus.
Brutal, primal, bloody and magnificent, the two duel and match each other repeatedly, but Caedus is more and more surprised to discover he is still no match for his old Master, the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker, proves himself again once more.
Bones are broken, venom injected into bloodstreams, Caedus’ skull showing, the battle is intense, and if it weren’t for Ben interrupting, Luke would’ve killed him there and then.
Although there isn’t a death, there’s a clear victor, and whilst the ship is sabotaged, Luke and Ben escape together, leaving Caedus to heal himself and gather strength, determined not to lose again. But lose, he did. Gravely.
Gathering support from Tenel Ka, Han and Leia turn the Hapans against Darth Caedus, whilst still loyal to the true Galactic Alliance, they are not loyal to the man in charge now, and fooling them into thinking they arrive to assist, Tenel Ka withdraws support and attacks the father of her own daughter.
This moment is a shocking revelation to Caedus, and another gutwrencher, an absolutely shocking moment that is exhilarating to read, and Caedus realises how he has been forced to truly sacrifice everything for what he thinks will gain him peace for the Galaxy and his family, even if it includes their hatred of him.
But I do have one issue with this book…
Alema Rar.
Her plotline is not bad enough for me to skim through or truly hate, but does take away from the rest of the story, and starts to get a little ridiculous.
She discovers a whole group of Sith still living on Korriban, around thirty, following older Sith culture and lore, unknown to the Jedi. This is already quite preposterous, but also, Alema finds them by pure chance, landing on Korriban and immediately meeting people who not only know where they are and who they are, but one who immediately directs her.
Whilst I think the idea of old style Sith returning is cool, this explanation is extremely cheap, and how it is executed is also very, very poor, and a shame as the rest of the novel is done so expertly well.
Alema continues to have insane plot armour, breaking the illusion created by the series that characters are unsafe as whilst other major characters die, Alema continues to live by spectacular events that often venture into the imagination of a child with action figures in a playroom of other children.
Total stupidity in a sea of genius.
Whilst that element leaves a slightly bad taste in my mouth, the rest of this novel is truly spectacular.
It is paced expertly, the story is the most engaging and shocking yet, shock after shock, exceptional and tasteful action where appropriate, emotion is great and the characters are written brilliantly, Troy Denning really out-does himself here.
A lot of elements of the series are flawed, but this novel is a shining example of how good these books can be, and particular characters shine like Luke Skywalker.
I adore who Luke has become, and his struggle with what is clearly him teetering on the edge of the dark side again, as he saves his son, Ben.
And in return, Ben saves him too.
These books are back on track, and while I wish that one particular element was better, this novel was truly a masterpiece to me, and made me feel excitement and sorrow and shock like I haven’t for a while.
9.5/10
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2020
The Legacy of the Force series has been on a slow simmer for the better part of five books, but comes to a full, roiling boil in the taut, sleek, Inferno. Troy Denning juggles multiple plotlines and characters, but keeps most of his attention focused on Darth Caedus, the locus of the gathering storm clouds. The diseased mind of the newly minted Sith lord proves fertile territory for drama.
The novel begins in the aftermath of Mara's death at the end of Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice. Luke searches for Mara's killer, but Ben suspects Jacen had something to do with it and begins to do some research of his own. Meanwhile, Jacen continues to consolidate power as one of the temporary Heads of State for the Galactic Alliance and pushes his agenda in increasingly brutal ways. He attempts to arrest his own parents at Mara's funeral, and takes an academy of Jedi younglings hostage to put pressure on the Order. When the Wookiees remain undecided about what side they will support in the civil war, Jacen mobilizes a space fleet to burn down the cities and forests of Kashyyyk. Eventually, Luke and Ben realize what is happening to Jacen and move to confront him, leading to a final battle worthy of Episode III.
I appreciate that Denning sticks to the knitting here. This novel features lies, schemes, and counter-plots. Deception is key. Caedus really behaves like one would expect a Sith lord to act, and the tension of his desire to do what he feels he must, while withholding the full awareness of who and what he is to those around him, adds significant tension. Meanwhile, the Jedi try to peel back the layers of deceit and understand what is happening in the galaxy around them - and who is behind it. In the end, the book comes down to a battle between good and evil at a truly visceral level. An adrenaline-fueled lightsaber duel between Luke and Jacen, with Ben's life and destiny hanging in the balance, provides the book's climax.
In my previous reviews, I've noted that Denning is not my favorite Star Wars author. Nonetheless, this books feels like a move in the right direction, and lacks the bloat and unmotivated horror of Denning's previous works. I'll be interested to see how they close out this series, as the action heats up.
The novel begins in the aftermath of Mara's death at the end of Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice. Luke searches for Mara's killer, but Ben suspects Jacen had something to do with it and begins to do some research of his own. Meanwhile, Jacen continues to consolidate power as one of the temporary Heads of State for the Galactic Alliance and pushes his agenda in increasingly brutal ways. He attempts to arrest his own parents at Mara's funeral, and takes an academy of Jedi younglings hostage to put pressure on the Order. When the Wookiees remain undecided about what side they will support in the civil war, Jacen mobilizes a space fleet to burn down the cities and forests of Kashyyyk. Eventually, Luke and Ben realize what is happening to Jacen and move to confront him, leading to a final battle worthy of Episode III.
I appreciate that Denning sticks to the knitting here. This novel features lies, schemes, and counter-plots. Deception is key. Caedus really behaves like one would expect a Sith lord to act, and the tension of his desire to do what he feels he must, while withholding the full awareness of who and what he is to those around him, adds significant tension. Meanwhile, the Jedi try to peel back the layers of deceit and understand what is happening in the galaxy around them - and who is behind it. In the end, the book comes down to a battle between good and evil at a truly visceral level. An adrenaline-fueled lightsaber duel between Luke and Jacen, with Ben's life and destiny hanging in the balance, provides the book's climax.
In my previous reviews, I've noted that Denning is not my favorite Star Wars author. Nonetheless, this books feels like a move in the right direction, and lacks the bloat and unmotivated horror of Denning's previous works. I'll be interested to see how they close out this series, as the action heats up.
June 29, 2021
The following review may contain spoilers. That said, it’s the sixth book in a nine-book series within a much larger franchise series that has a ridiculously loyal fan base. I’m guessing if you haven’t read it yet, and aren’t a Star Wars fan, you probably won’t read it, so you could care less about the spoilers. You’ve been warned anyway.
Mara Jade Skywalker is dead. Jacen Solo, a.k.a. Darth Caedus, is the killer. Ben Skywalker is the only one who knows. Luke, and other Jedi Masters, suspect the truth, but they believe a rogue and unstable former Jedi Knight named Alema Rar is the likelier suspect. Jacen Solo, commanding the Galactic Alliance forces, is attacking Kashyyk because Kashyyk is apparently siding with the Confederation. Intense firebombing of the planet has begun. The vast forests of Kashyyk are burning. The war above is raging. Ben wants to kill Jacen with such an intense hatred that he can feel the Dark Side beckoning, but he doesn’t care. Jacen, thinking Luke is dead, is ecstatic: his uncle and aunt are dead, and now there is nothing standing in the way of possibly turning Ben to the Dark Side, too, and ruling the galaxy as Sith Lords. One little hiccup: Luke isn’t dead…
This is the Cliffs Notes version of Troy Denning’s novel “Inferno”, the sixth book in the Star Wars: Legacy of the Force series. I don’t do it justice, because there’s a lot of other stuff that happens, too, that I didn’t mention. It’s exciting. I liked it.
Here’s something, though, that I’m getting kind of annoyed with: How the hell has nobody even suspected Jacen’s transformation to Darth Caedus yet? I mean, I would think the black clothes and black cape would be a red flag. But there’s also the fact that he’s following almost the exact same Imperial playbook as his granddad, Darth Vader. AND NOBODY SUSPECTS A DAMN THING?!
Other than that, yeah, I dig this series. Sorry it’s been taking me forever to finish it, but there are so many comic books to be read. SO MANY COMIC BOOKS!!!
Mara Jade Skywalker is dead. Jacen Solo, a.k.a. Darth Caedus, is the killer. Ben Skywalker is the only one who knows. Luke, and other Jedi Masters, suspect the truth, but they believe a rogue and unstable former Jedi Knight named Alema Rar is the likelier suspect. Jacen Solo, commanding the Galactic Alliance forces, is attacking Kashyyk because Kashyyk is apparently siding with the Confederation. Intense firebombing of the planet has begun. The vast forests of Kashyyk are burning. The war above is raging. Ben wants to kill Jacen with such an intense hatred that he can feel the Dark Side beckoning, but he doesn’t care. Jacen, thinking Luke is dead, is ecstatic: his uncle and aunt are dead, and now there is nothing standing in the way of possibly turning Ben to the Dark Side, too, and ruling the galaxy as Sith Lords. One little hiccup: Luke isn’t dead…
This is the Cliffs Notes version of Troy Denning’s novel “Inferno”, the sixth book in the Star Wars: Legacy of the Force series. I don’t do it justice, because there’s a lot of other stuff that happens, too, that I didn’t mention. It’s exciting. I liked it.
Here’s something, though, that I’m getting kind of annoyed with: How the hell has nobody even suspected Jacen’s transformation to Darth Caedus yet? I mean, I would think the black clothes and black cape would be a red flag. But there’s also the fact that he’s following almost the exact same Imperial playbook as his granddad, Darth Vader. AND NOBODY SUSPECTS A DAMN THING?!
Other than that, yeah, I dig this series. Sorry it’s been taking me forever to finish it, but there are so many comic books to be read. SO MANY COMIC BOOKS!!!
September 18, 2024
Now, finished and updating. But Denning final tipped my saturation point midway through this book. NJO was a bad direction for Star Wars, going too dark, but with the exception of Jacen, most of the characters stayed themselves. They were just character we loved in a very bad situation.
Legacy is just so artificially dark in the stupidest possible ways. I was trying but... Denning does not understand the Jedi, and now I know he's the one who kicked off this whole Jacen becoming a Sith Lord travesty. No one acts like themselves. Everyone makes stupid tactical decision. It's just unpleasant to read. I hate it.
I gave more generous scores early on. But the meta elements are important to the story.
My tipping point was the kids... First that the Academy is so poorly defended to begin with and the GAG were not immediately expelled. But when Luke has had the kids directly threatened. Does he take the Jedi to save the kids and end the hostage situation... Well, why do that when you can go do the exact same thing someone else is already doing? Or send half the knights to save the kids, while you and a couple master go on a political mission? But no, just stupidity. And that stupidity is used as an excuse to torture and kill two of the nicest characters in the Star Wars galaxy. And do it in a stupid way... because Jedi conveniently forget how to use the Force when an author wants to hurt them.
And pointing out that Jacen's plan in stupid does not suddenly make a plot clever. It just means it was stupid and you knew it was stupid but did it anyway.
While I think his ascension to Chief of State was in the last book, it just keeps being weird. There was seriously no on to step in for the chief of state except for the military? The government had no plan for the Chief of State being sick, killed, or otherwise incapacitated other than handing the government over to the military? Seriously?
One breath of air in the book was Tenel Ka coming to her senses, but my heart aches for her.
Legacy is just so artificially dark in the stupidest possible ways. I was trying but... Denning does not understand the Jedi, and now I know he's the one who kicked off this whole Jacen becoming a Sith Lord travesty. No one acts like themselves. Everyone makes stupid tactical decision. It's just unpleasant to read. I hate it.
I gave more generous scores early on. But the meta elements are important to the story.
My tipping point was the kids... First that the Academy is so poorly defended to begin with and the GAG were not immediately expelled. But when Luke has had the kids directly threatened. Does he take the Jedi to save the kids and end the hostage situation... Well, why do that when you can go do the exact same thing someone else is already doing? Or send half the knights to save the kids, while you and a couple master go on a political mission? But no, just stupidity. And that stupidity is used as an excuse to torture and kill two of the nicest characters in the Star Wars galaxy. And do it in a stupid way... because Jedi conveniently forget how to use the Force when an author wants to hurt them.
And pointing out that Jacen's plan in stupid does not suddenly make a plot clever. It just means it was stupid and you knew it was stupid but did it anyway.
While I think his ascension to Chief of State was in the last book, it just keeps being weird. There was seriously no on to step in for the chief of state except for the military? The government had no plan for the Chief of State being sick, killed, or otherwise incapacitated other than handing the government over to the military? Seriously?
One breath of air in the book was Tenel Ka coming to her senses, but my heart aches for her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2025
Here's what I liked: It was readable! It moved right along!
Here are my thoughts, complaints, and horrors:
-Why was Jaina not invited to her aunt's funeral? Not just her aunt, her former master? Just to go chasing after Alema? Jaina continues to be sidelined in a series where she should be central.
-The gratuitous torture of the helpless and the unremitting gore was kind of a lot and felt out of place.
-I thought both Tenel Ka and Alema were GREAT, but Tenel Ka could have done the same thing with clothes on and Alema could have done it without coming onto everyone (including in the middle of a battle).
-It BEGGERS BELIEF that most of the characters haven't even entertained the notion that Jacen could have killed Mara. Literally Luke scoffing in Ben's face and being like, "Is that what you think?" YEAH. EVERYONE SHOULD THINK THAT YOUR TRANSPARENTLY SITH NEWPHEW WHO WAS NEAR MARA WHEN SHE DIED PROBABLY DID IT.
-The bonus Sith on Korriban. Why.
-Alema and the ship becoming buddies is just wonderful.
-Troy Denning's Jacen is such an uncompelling villain. He's mean, stupid, immature, and clueless. Is this really the same Jacen Solo as in NJO? He's worse than ATOC Anakin, and that's saying something.
-I'm really interested in the idea of Jacen turning Tahiri by manipulating her via Anakin and flow-walking, but she was also barely in it and we didn't get her perspective. And why are all the female characters only motivated by love and sex?
-Everyone is either not nearly concerned enough about Jacen or way too blase about trying to kill him. Speaking of that, though, why the hell didn't Luke just kill him? That would have been FINE.
-Most beautiful moment: When Mara's body finally dissolves into the Force and the funeral and people are like, "She's trying to tell us something!" And Jacen, the stupidest man alive, stands there going, "Tell...us? But her mouth is not moving. How would she...tell? Us?"
Oooof on to the next.
Here are my thoughts, complaints, and horrors:
-Why was Jaina not invited to her aunt's funeral? Not just her aunt, her former master? Just to go chasing after Alema? Jaina continues to be sidelined in a series where she should be central.
-The gratuitous torture of the helpless and the unremitting gore was kind of a lot and felt out of place.
-I thought both Tenel Ka and Alema were GREAT, but Tenel Ka could have done the same thing with clothes on and Alema could have done it without coming onto everyone (including in the middle of a battle).
-It BEGGERS BELIEF that most of the characters haven't even entertained the notion that Jacen could have killed Mara. Literally Luke scoffing in Ben's face and being like, "Is that what you think?" YEAH. EVERYONE SHOULD THINK THAT YOUR TRANSPARENTLY SITH NEWPHEW WHO WAS NEAR MARA WHEN SHE DIED PROBABLY DID IT.
-The bonus Sith on Korriban. Why.
-Alema and the ship becoming buddies is just wonderful.
-Troy Denning's Jacen is such an uncompelling villain. He's mean, stupid, immature, and clueless. Is this really the same Jacen Solo as in NJO? He's worse than ATOC Anakin, and that's saying something.
-I'm really interested in the idea of Jacen turning Tahiri by manipulating her via Anakin and flow-walking, but she was also barely in it and we didn't get her perspective. And why are all the female characters only motivated by love and sex?
-Everyone is either not nearly concerned enough about Jacen or way too blase about trying to kill him. Speaking of that, though, why the hell didn't Luke just kill him? That would have been FINE.
-Most beautiful moment: When Mara's body finally dissolves into the Force and the funeral and people are like, "She's trying to tell us something!" And Jacen, the stupidest man alive, stands there going, "Tell...us? But her mouth is not moving. How would she...tell? Us?"
Oooof on to the next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2019
Another good entry in the Legacy of the Force series, and another good book by Troy Denning.
Jacen-now Darth Caedus-officially becomes the enemy of everyone, as Luke and Tenel Ka turn against him and basically everyone he cares about is literally trying to kill him. It's sad to see Jacen becoming so evil, and the conversation he has with Tenel Ka in particular is crushing. He continures to rack up evil deeds, killing Cal Omas (indirectly), holding Jedi children hostage, and bombarding Kashyyk from orbit. Naturally, he has reasons, and while they are really just excuses, I really feel like Jacen turnign evil has been well-written so far. While horribly misguided, it is easy to see how Jacen's experiences could lead to him making these decisions.
Alema Rar does a little more in this book, deciding to help Jacen and seeking out other Sith. While it was interesting, I feel like this part of the book coul dhave been expanded on.
Jaina also has more of a role in this novel, helping free the academy at Ossus from GAG soldiers. Her parts are tense and engaging, and when she attacks the fifth fleet ner the end with Luke, it's yet another sad but understandable moment.
Altogether a very good book. Now were entering the final stages of this series, and things are definetly heating up.
Jacen-now Darth Caedus-officially becomes the enemy of everyone, as Luke and Tenel Ka turn against him and basically everyone he cares about is literally trying to kill him. It's sad to see Jacen becoming so evil, and the conversation he has with Tenel Ka in particular is crushing. He continures to rack up evil deeds, killing Cal Omas (indirectly), holding Jedi children hostage, and bombarding Kashyyk from orbit. Naturally, he has reasons, and while they are really just excuses, I really feel like Jacen turnign evil has been well-written so far. While horribly misguided, it is easy to see how Jacen's experiences could lead to him making these decisions.
Alema Rar does a little more in this book, deciding to help Jacen and seeking out other Sith. While it was interesting, I feel like this part of the book coul dhave been expanded on.
Jaina also has more of a role in this novel, helping free the academy at Ossus from GAG soldiers. Her parts are tense and engaging, and when she attacks the fifth fleet ner the end with Luke, it's yet another sad but understandable moment.
Altogether a very good book. Now were entering the final stages of this series, and things are definetly heating up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2018
Rating: 6.5/10
Very Slow First Half But Ends Strongly
Warning: This review may contain spoilers.
Inferno started very slowly but it did end strongly as Jacen Solo finally made his descent into the darkside as a Sith. The Legacy of the Force series for me is very up and down, very frustrating, taking one step forward and two steps back, and Inferno was a fine example of this. Whilst towards the second half of the novel it really picked up speed, the novel and characters went backwards during the first part and its frustrating to see because all the main characters except for Ben Skywalker, shown absolutely no character growth or development through the story and plots. At the end of this novel, everyone (and surprisingly most of all Luke) still haven't figured out that Jacen has killed Mara which is blatenley obvious.
On the bright side, we finally see Jacen do something sithlike, as he issues an attack on the Wookie's forests and places Ben in the Embrace of Pain in an effort to seduce him into turning to the darkside and becoming his apprentice once more. The plot finally seems to be coming to head against Jacen, setting up for an interesting last couple of books.
Very Slow First Half But Ends Strongly
Warning: This review may contain spoilers.
Inferno started very slowly but it did end strongly as Jacen Solo finally made his descent into the darkside as a Sith. The Legacy of the Force series for me is very up and down, very frustrating, taking one step forward and two steps back, and Inferno was a fine example of this. Whilst towards the second half of the novel it really picked up speed, the novel and characters went backwards during the first part and its frustrating to see because all the main characters except for Ben Skywalker, shown absolutely no character growth or development through the story and plots. At the end of this novel, everyone (and surprisingly most of all Luke) still haven't figured out that Jacen has killed Mara which is blatenley obvious.
On the bright side, we finally see Jacen do something sithlike, as he issues an attack on the Wookie's forests and places Ben in the Embrace of Pain in an effort to seduce him into turning to the darkside and becoming his apprentice once more. The plot finally seems to be coming to head against Jacen, setting up for an interesting last couple of books.
December 9, 2024
It has admittedly been a while since I last read anything in this series, so maybe I oversimplified where the story was at in my head. A lot of Star Wars books get too detailed in the political drama aspects for my tastes. While this one had some of that, there was much less of it, focusing instead on some of the general good versus evil themes that I enjoy more.
I was a little torn by the complexity at times. Sometimes it was astonishing how detailed the machinations of Jacen were, but other times he seemed to be missing extremely obvious problems with his plans and creating blind spots about what he wants to do and how he wants to see himself.
I was frustrated that there were 3 different times the story could have been ended, but it didn’t. Each time it was because some character was taking a supposed moral high ground that still ended up costing scores or hundreds of lives. These war stories do a good job of highlighting how war is hell, but then also accidentally villainize their heroes by showing us the big picture of how their choices hurt people across the galaxy.
The highest praise I can give this is that it flew by and it actually makes me eager to read the next one.
I was a little torn by the complexity at times. Sometimes it was astonishing how detailed the machinations of Jacen were, but other times he seemed to be missing extremely obvious problems with his plans and creating blind spots about what he wants to do and how he wants to see himself.
I was frustrated that there were 3 different times the story could have been ended, but it didn’t. Each time it was because some character was taking a supposed moral high ground that still ended up costing scores or hundreds of lives. These war stories do a good job of highlighting how war is hell, but then also accidentally villainize their heroes by showing us the big picture of how their choices hurt people across the galaxy.
The highest praise I can give this is that it flew by and it actually makes me eager to read the next one.
December 17, 2019
The Legacy of the force has been a consistently good series thus far. However, this book was a step back from the others. I would go so far as to say it was slightly disappointing(only slightly).
I think that this book had some utterly fantastic moments, but overall was fairly bland, especially considering this was by Troy Denning, who is usually a fairly interesting author. His previous novel in the series, Tempest, is my favorite in the series thus far.
It was great to finally have everyone realize that Jacen has turned to the darkside. However, it is still utterly frustrating that no one knows that .
Jaina's story was suprising and heartbreaking. I didn't expect things to escalate so quickly. Luke was brilliant in this book, and Ben was much better than before. I was also pleased that Tenel Ka has finally seen through Jacen's fascade.
Overall, Troy Denning delievered a good book, but it just didn't have the feeling that the others have had. I will have to give it a 6.0 out of 10. Still good, but not great.(This series is still consistantly better than the New Jedi Order though).
I think that this book had some utterly fantastic moments, but overall was fairly bland, especially considering this was by Troy Denning, who is usually a fairly interesting author. His previous novel in the series, Tempest, is my favorite in the series thus far.
It was great to finally have everyone realize that Jacen has turned to the darkside. However, it is still utterly frustrating that no one knows that .
Jaina's story was suprising and heartbreaking. I didn't expect things to escalate so quickly. Luke was brilliant in this book, and Ben was much better than before. I was also pleased that Tenel Ka has finally seen through Jacen's fascade.
Overall, Troy Denning delievered a good book, but it just didn't have the feeling that the others have had. I will have to give it a 6.0 out of 10. Still good, but not great.(This series is still consistantly better than the New Jedi Order though).
February 22, 2021
The first 50 pages didn't rate 1 star. It was tedious to say the least. It picked up and got more interesting by about 100 or so pages in it was up to about 3 stars and by 200 5 stars. As a 289 page book that was too long in the long grass at the start. It felt to me so bad that I was tempted to stop reading the Star Wars EU. Thank goodness it picked up and launched itself as now I am chomping at the bit for the next in the series.
BTW This review is based upon an assumed liking for Star Wars and potential readers having read the predecessors in the series. If you are a Star Wars fan then, at the very minimum, I would advise reading all of the prior Legacy of the Force books. If you are not a Star Wars fan then don't read this book (feel free to become one though - then see former advice).
In this edition there is an interview with the three Legacy of the Force authors. Quite an interesting extra.
BTW This review is based upon an assumed liking for Star Wars and potential readers having read the predecessors in the series. If you are a Star Wars fan then, at the very minimum, I would advise reading all of the prior Legacy of the Force books. If you are not a Star Wars fan then don't read this book (feel free to become one though - then see former advice).
In this edition there is an interview with the three Legacy of the Force authors. Quite an interesting extra.
February 23, 2025
A few fun skirmishes in this one but boy do I not jive with Troy Denning’s writing style. Jacen’s turn to Caedus really accelerated in this book but it’s wild how they wrote the characters surrounding him. They give him way too many chances to get away and to be redeemed, etc. This series is clearly too long too because entire arcs and characters just get sidelined for entire novels because a different author is writing it. Wish it was just Allston and Traviss writing this series as they have the best characterization and arcs in the series. Would love to get explanation on where Jacen got the Vong torture devices and an embrace of pain for use on Ben. Also wish he was still communicating with the World brain on Coruscant. Would be a fun thru line to the previous massive NJO series. Fun moments, but it makes sense why this stuff got made Legends after Disney got the IP.
ALSO found it very strange that this book in particular had SO many syntax and spelling errors in it. Whew.
ALSO found it very strange that this book in particular had SO many syntax and spelling errors in it. Whew.
April 4, 2025
I read through this in a day. That's not a good thing.
Troy Denning really fundamentally misunderstands the concept of Star Wars. He likes to pile on the adult themes like violence, sexuality, murder, and graphic torture. He thinks this is the Warhammer 40k universe. Why did LF give him the reigns to shape the post-NJO universe?
After Mara's death, Jacen, I'm sorry Caedus, holds the Jedi Academy hostage, tries to arrest his parents at Mara's funeral, convinces Ben to assassinate Omas, and burns Kashyyk. Yet no one seems to want to actually kill him because...reasons. Gotta love bad plots and bad writing.
I'm not just ready to get to the end of this series. I'm ready to get to the end of the legends EU. Denning and Traviss have managed to destroy what Star Wars is supposed to be by turning everyone into bitter, hateful, hollow shells of who they're supposed to be.
Troy Denning really fundamentally misunderstands the concept of Star Wars. He likes to pile on the adult themes like violence, sexuality, murder, and graphic torture. He thinks this is the Warhammer 40k universe. Why did LF give him the reigns to shape the post-NJO universe?
After Mara's death, Jacen, I'm sorry Caedus, holds the Jedi Academy hostage, tries to arrest his parents at Mara's funeral, convinces Ben to assassinate Omas, and burns Kashyyk. Yet no one seems to want to actually kill him because...reasons. Gotta love bad plots and bad writing.
I'm not just ready to get to the end of this series. I'm ready to get to the end of the legends EU. Denning and Traviss have managed to destroy what Star Wars is supposed to be by turning everyone into bitter, hateful, hollow shells of who they're supposed to be.
January 3, 2023
4.5-This one as an emotional roller coaster! I almost fell for the fake out of Luke being killed by Jaina, and honestly it made me a little emotional. But then when he came in to save Ben and kick Jacen's butt (finally! I have been waiting almost since book 2 for someone to do this!) I definitely cheered. This version of Luke will always be canon for me. We also get to see Tenel Ka come to her senses in this one, retracting her fleet and trying to take Jacen hostage. The ancient Sith ship comes swooping in to save him, which again I'm glad they are using the ship so much. I am a huge sucker for inanimate objects getting embued with personality. Overall this was another great entry and I'm excited to see where we go next!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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