Exile

Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #4

by Aaron Allston

In the Star Wars® galaxy, evil is on the move as the Galactic Alliance and Jedi order battle forces seen and unseen, from rampant internal treachery to the nightmare of all-out war.

With each victory against the Corellian rebels, Jacen Solo becomes more admired, more powerful, and more certain of achieving galactic peace. But that peace may come with a price. Despite strained relationships caused by opposing sympathies in the war, Han and Leia Solo and Luke and Mara Skywalker remain united by one frightening suspicion: Someone insidious is manipulating this war, and if he or she isn't stopped, all efforts at reconciliation may be for naught. And as sinister visions lead Luke to believe that the source of the evil is none other than Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith, the greatest peril revolves around Jacen himself. Jacket art by Jason Felix. Approx. 368 pp. 2007.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure

337 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 2007

About the author

Aaron Dale Allston was an American game designer and author of many science fiction books, notably Star Wars novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for role-playing games, several of which served to establish the basis for products and subsequent development of TSR's Dungeons & Dragons game setting Mystara. His later works as a novelist include those of the X-Wing series: Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, Solo Command, Starfighters of Adumar, and Mercy Kill. He wrote two entries in the New Jedi Order series: Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream and Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand. Allston wrote three of the nine Legacy of the Force novels: Betrayal, Exile, and Fury, and three of the nine Fate of the Jedi novels: Outcast, Backlash, and Conviction.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting...but not the best of the series.

[Jaime K · Rating 3 out of 5]

- The cover is gorgeous

- Jacen is beyond irritating. He wants to destroy Lavint's hyperdrive just to see if she survives. Then he punishes people when he thinks they failed in sabotage.
Plus, he's incredibly disrespectful to Wedge.

- I love that Kyp wants to unify with Luke, even when he disagrees with the Master.

- Jag is awesome. Zekk's a little annoying by being jealous even though he's "over Jaina." But I get it. Anyone else, he'd be okay; but this is an old fling and old habits die hard.

- It's great to see the ladies - Myri, Mirax, and Iella - take charge.
My favorite scenes were on the Errant Venture.

- Ben's subplot was annoying and pointless. He's on a wild bantha chase to be tested by...Jacen? Lumiya? Both?
Whatever.
All that it shows is that he no longer wants to take a "What Would Jacen Do?" approach to life.
Oh, and Ship. Can't forget about Ship.

- The Corellia vs. Alliance scenes were brushed over too easily.

- I hate that there is very little about the Yuuzhan Vong or Zonoma Sekot. All post-NJO material seems to ignore that major war. *sigh*

- Han says "brix" as a curse. The hell?

[Meggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

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 four in the Legacy of the Force series, Exile by Aaron Allston.

SOME HISTORY:

Exile by Aaron Allston saw the return of one of the Sith worlds from the Tales of the Jedi comic. Ziost was not the actual Sith homeworld like Korriban, but it was still very important to the Sith Empire. Additionally, the ship that Ben commandeers on Ziost also comes from Tales of the Jedi--and who knows, maybe we’ll see that vessel again.

MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:

All that I retained from Exile was that Wedge reappeared, because as I’m learning with this Legacy of the Force reread I only remembered the plot in its very broadest strokes.

A BRIEF SUMMARY:

After the Hapan coup attempt failed, Corellia continues to seek out allies in the form of disgruntled star systems. Han and Leia, and Luke and Mara, separately come to the realization that someone is manipulating this war, and that he or she must be stopped. Luke is increasingly convinced that the Dark Lady Lumiya is behind this escalating civil war, but the greatest peril revolves around Jacen Solo and the others he has drawn into his orbit—like his young cousin Ben…

THE PLOT:

There is a lot of plot here! (More about that in the Issues section.) Even though Luke and Mara removed Ben from Jacen’s tutelage at the end of Tempest, Jacen is still able to influence his cousin—so Ben ends up running away on a mission to retrieve a dark side amulet. Luke and Mara continue to investigate Lumiya’s presence on Coruscant and her possible motives. Jag Fel appears in search of Alema Rar, and Luke assembles a task force of Jaina Solo and Jag and Zekk to track down the fallen Jedi. Han and Leia limp their way to one of Lando’s businesses, and while the Falcon is being repaired they travel around with Lando on a ridiculous ship called the Love Commander. Wedge is booted out of the Corellian military, nearly killed, and escapes Corellia with his family and Corran Horn and Mirax Terrik. Wedge and co. and the OT trio end up teaming up on the Errant Venture to do some intel digging. Alema still plans to kill members of the Skywalker/Solo family and restore Balance. Lumiya is recovering her strength after the duel on Roqoo Depot, and manipulates other worlds into joining the Corellian conflict. Finally, Jacen continues on his downward track of being a straight-up jerk to the people around him.

CHARACTERS:

Jaina’s plot was more relationship junk, but I found it a little easier to stomach here—perhaps because Jag and Zekk’s stupidly competitive interactions felt a lot like some real world analogues. Jaina’s convinced that she can’t have a relationship because she’s the Sword of the Jedi and she doesn’t even know what that entails, but she’s definitely intrigued by Jag’s return. Jag is a hard character to sell: he can come across as rigid and dull, and I preferred his appearances in the NJO when he was forced to work with Jaina outside his comfort zone. There’s not a lot of that here, but you can see the way that losing his family has left him adrift.

Luke and Mara continue to investigate Lumiya on Coruscant, but it feels like the investigation is moving very slowly. In Tempest they uncovered the GAG safehouse, but then were distracted by the Hapan coup and the attack on Roqoo Depot and Ben’s situation. They’re finally following up on those findings here, and they uncover some info planted by Lumiya (basically, suggesting that Brisha Syo was her daughter rather than Lumiya herself). Luke and Mara + the rest of the Jedi Council discuss Leia, and decide that they’re not going to reprimand her or temporarily remove her from the Jedi Order because she’s doing the right thing. What?? She is currently trying to uncover this conspiracy, but she and Han were skirting the edge of treason for several books.

Luke is also summoned to meet with Chief of State Cal Omas and Admiral Niathal, and surprise! They want him to make Jacen a Jedi Master. Kyp Durron actually backs Luke up here, and the Council presents a unified front. Luke does suggest that the other Masters compile a list of Jedi they think should be promoted, though, and I’m hoping Jacen is not on it —although his lack of advancement would have strong Prequels vibes.

Han and Leia have teamed up with a bored Lando (I hope he asked Tendra first), and they head back to Corellia, only to escape in the dead of night and join up with Wedge and family on an information gathering trip. After three books of “Han and Leia toy with siding with Corellia,” it feels like they have finally accepted that though Corellia has genuine grievances, their current politicians are trash like Thrackan Sal-Solo and they don’t have Corellia’s best interests at heart. Someone is manipulating events, but who?

Wedge likewise has realized that he can’t remain the Corellian Supreme Commander, because leadership is not interested in achieving a diplomatic solution or lessening the number of casualties. I think Wedge is similar to Han here, in that he views himself as Corellian but doesn’t have a lot of ties to his homeworld. (I expected Corran Horn to maybe be the most gung-ho Corellian of the lot, due to his background, but I guess that now he’s a Jedi Master he has a greater allegiance to the Jedi Order.) I would have liked more with Iella, but at least she’s here! Myri Antilles is a fun character, cheerful and smart, and I hope we see more of her.

Poor Ben Skywalker continues to be the character that I am most worried about. I think that Jacen’s resentment towards Luke has carried over a bit to Ben, as he seems more receptive to his mother right now. And even though he’s separated from Jacen, he’s still very influenceable by him—Ben’s modus operandi seems to be “What would Jacen do?” So when a pretty girl gives Ben a secret message, he’s eager to escape the Jedi Temple to retrieve a dark side amulet from one of Almania’s moons. Unfortunately, the whole thing is a test implemented by Lumiya to judge his receptiveness to being Jacen’s Sith apprentice, and so Ben has to figure out where his morals lie. What is he willing to do (theft) and what he is not willing to do (kill a child). Ben has inherited his mother’s resourcefulness, but he has a fair bit of his father’s compassion as well. The Sith world Ziost is creepy and unsettling, and Ben’s plotline becomes a journey of self-discovery. Ben tries to live up to Jacen’s example, but he also realizes that maybe he doesn’t want to be just like Jacen. I think Ben proves himself to be capable far beyond his years.

On the bad guy front, Jacen continues to be just absolute trash. A smuggler mouths off to him, so he sends her off with a broken hyperdrive to die alone in the depths of space. He’s a little troubled by the fact that he fired on his own parents in Tempest, only to justify his actions in the end. The more time we spend with Jacen, the more I dislike him. He’s such a jerk to the people around him, and he’s so self-deluded that he can explain away anything he’s done “for the greater good.” I felt like Karen Traviss didn’t have any sympathy for Jacen in Bloodlines, and I don’t think Aaron Allston did either in this book. Luke and Mara believe that if only they could talk to Jacen, he would see the error of his ways—but after four books of Jacen doing whatever he wants, I don’t think he can change and I have no sympathy for his plight!

I had wondered if this was the book where Alema Rar would finally bite the dust (she’s not a great fighter), but she weasels her way out of two encounters. Lumiya is still puppet-mastering this conflict, and her motives remain murky to me. She wants to set Jacen up as the Sith savior of the galaxy, she doesn’t care if she dies, and she leaves a lot of chaos in her wake. She seems more like a religious fanatic than your typical Sith.

ISSUES:

I’ve noticed some blatant similarities between the Legacy of the Force series and the Prequels. Episodes II and III had systems seceding from the Republic and joining the Confederation of Independent Systems aka the Separatist Alliance. In book four of Legacy of the Force, Corellia joins forces with the Bothans and Commenor to become a Confederation. That…sounds like something we’ve seen before. Other planets like Adumar and Bespin have thrown in their lot with the Confederates towards the end. Jacen, meanwhile, is constantly compared to his grandfather, what with his striding around in all black and leading a secret police force and having people request on his behalf that he be made a Jedi Master despite the will of the Council.

I think if you’re trying to come up with a galactic-wide conflict, your options are either an outside threat (the New Jedi Order had the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong invaders) or a civil war. Star Wars is full of civil wars, from the Republic vs. the Separatists in the Prequels to the Empire vs. the scrappy Rebels in the Original Trilogy to the New Republic vs. the Imperial Remnant in the post-RotJ EU. The Prequels ended in 2005, and Legacy of the Force began in 2006, so I do think that the Prequels were very much on both the authors’ and readers’ minds. However, it does make this aspect of the storyline feel very cyclical.

Second, while I did enjoy seeing Ben grow and develop as a character here, his plotline felt somewhat removed from the rest of the novel. It reminded me of Lando’s story in the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy: Lando is chasing after a treasure ship, I found it super enjoyable, but it was completely divorced from the rest of the narrative in those books. Ben's journey to Ziost felt like a wild goose chase, and while I’m sure it will have ramifications in future books, it felt so different compared to the Corellians and Lumiya and the big plot stuff.

Finally, there was a lot going on here, so my complaint is very similar to what I said in my Betrayal review. I wondered at times if Allston was trying to do too much in one book. Not only do we have Lumiya manipulating Bothawui and Commenor into joining Corellia, but we have the surprise attack that ends the Corellian blockade, Confederate attacks on places like Gyndine, and only two chapters devoted to the Confederate summit that’s actually a trap. I thought the summit especially would have a little more build-up, but after chapters of “what is Corellia doing?” events escalated very quickly in the last few chapters.

IN CONCLUSION:

Exile transforms this galactic conflict from a squabble between the Galactic Alliance and Corellia to a schism involving multiple worlds like Fondor and Adumar and Bothawui. Leia and Han have finally reconciled with Luke and Mara, and it seems that Ben is starting to see the cracks in his cousin's approach. There is a lot going on here (maybe too much?) but it’s set up for future novels and especially for Jacen’s next steps as a Sith.


Next up: book five in the Legacy of the Force series, Sacrifice by Karen Traviss.

My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/dwZuPW_GDSQ

“Aaron Allston: Examining Exile” (February 26, 2007): https://web.archive.org/web/200703011...

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacen Solo’s gradual slide towards the Dark Side continues in Aaron Allston’s “Exile”, the fourth novel in the nine-book Legacy of the Force series.

War is mounting between Corellia and the Galactic Alliance, and more planets have joined the faction attempting to break away from the GA. They call themselves the Confederation.

Everyone is beginning to believe that an unknown force is choreographing the whole thing, and Luke Skywalker is now certain that it is his arch-nemesis, the Dark Lady of the Sith known as Lumiya, someone that he thought long dead.

Indeed, Lumiya has been playing all sides. To what ultimate purpose is still not totally clear, although the eventual turning of Jacen Solo into a Sith Lord is an obvious goal.

Lando Calrassian, bored of being rich and happily married, joins the excitement in this one. With his wife’s permission, of course. Hell, everyone joins the party in this book: Han, Leia, Luke, Mara, Wedge Antilles, Corran Horn, and others.

Ben Skywalker, sent on a mission by Jacen, finds himself alone on a hostile planet with no starship and a young girl that he must protect. Ben does a lot of soul-searching in this one, and he starts to see what his dad was trying to tell him about Jacen. His older cousin really is an asshole.

As is expected, there is plenty of action and excitement in this one, but Allston may have been over-ambitious with this, as there are almost too many things going on at once. I was having a hard time keeping track of the multiple characters and storylines.

(I know it’s cheating, but the plot summaries in Wookiepedia can be occasionally useful…)

[Alix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book Star Wars “Exile” because of the non stop action throughout the whole book. The further you get into the series the more characters start to change. There are always new and exciting characters introduced into the book Star Wars “Exile.”

This book is told by many different characters. There are a lot of different events that happen throughout the book. In the Star War series there are different setting and new characters introduce in every book. Main characters are always changing this makes it very interesting.

Jason had a dream that Lea his mother sneaked on the Anakin-Solo to kill him. But it was just Lumiya create an image in his mind that would never happen. Luke told Ben if he wants him to keep training with Jason. He has to train with Luke once a week. Ben is being investigated because of a light saber accident. Jedi Temple said they will choose a random Jedi to investigate what happened.Mara Skywalker does not believe that Jason is going to the dark side.

The theme of Star Wars “Exile” , is to never misplace your trust in family or friends.

I would recommend these books to anyone that has interest in the Star Wars movie series. This book would be great book to do book reports on because you don't get lost in the details. Middle school kids and up would be able to understand everything that happens throughout the whole series.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like to call these novels "bridge" novels. They are the novels in a long series that wrap up some ideas previously suggested in earlier books and introduce new plot lines for forthcoming endeavours. That is what this book does as we see Jacen continue to evolve into a Sith Lord, Luke & Mara continue to suspect he is becoming a baddie, and young Ben Skywalker continue to follow his cousin orders. Han & Leia find themselves being hounded by both the Galactic Alliance and Corellian forces as they continue to bounce back and forth between sides. The newest plot lines involve Wedge Antilles' dismissal from the Corellian military while other planetary systems join their cause, and the discovery of a Sith meditation vehicle that Lumiya seems quite interested in owning. Draggy at parts, this book was a necessary read if I want to continue the series as a whole, and I have heard that the later books are very good.

[Alan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. After a couple of not-great, but at least including intriguing plot twist books this was yet another unnecessary waste of time that just contained a lot more of the same repetitive story that added pretty much zero to the overall story line. It's a shame that Lucas allowed all these books that were nothing but filler to generate more money just to keep a series going longer than it should be.

[Katrin von Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, I've rather enjoyed the Legacy of the Force series and have eagerly devoured the first three books of the series. Exile, however, took me almost two weeks to get through and then didn't leave me feeling particularly satisfied. I'm sad to say that this is probably my least favourite book of the series so far and, for the first time, I'm starting to doubt if the LotF can really span out over five more books and still stay interesting. Spoilers follow.

There honestly isn't a lot that happens in this book; or nothing of great importance, at any rate. The main points are Ben being sent on a secret Sith test, the Skywalker- Solo families coming together and realizing the significance of their unity, and the siding of a few key planets with Corellia. Between these points is some well-written filler, ending with a failed attempt by Jacen to infiltrate a conference of the new Corellian Federation.

The main problem is that nothing really happens. Don't get me wrong, the book isn't absolutely horrible; in fact, what is important is very well done and will most likely have a significant impact on future events. The main points are surrounded in filler and some interesting, but ultimately unimportant events (such as Leia, Han, the Antilles family, and Alema doing their thing on the Errant Venture). Ultimately, the plot isn't really developed any further than it was at the end of the third book.

Still on the run from the Galactic Alliance and the Corellia system, Han and Leia find their way to Lando Calrissian, who repairs their ship and aids them in travelling freely via disguise. From there, they meet up with the Antilles family and board the gambling ship Errant Venture in hopes of gaining access to Corellian space. Somewhere in this line, Leia comes to the realization that only the unity of the Skywalker-Solo clans can bring the galaxy together and keep it at relative peace. Alema, still on her quest to bring Balance to the galaxy, also secures a place on the Errant Venture and eventually squares off with some of the Jedi. Predictably, no one is hurt, Alema flees once again, and everyone is right back to where they left off at the end of the previous book.

Ben, now back at the Jedi Temple, receives a secret mission from Jacen to retrieve a powerful artifact and eventually ends up stranded on the Sith planet of Ziost. The planet pushes Ben to his physical and mental limits, testing him for his ability to become a Sith apprentice, while, at the same time, Ben struggles with wanting to please Jacen and wanting to fulfill his duty as a Jedi. Unbeknownst to him, the mission is really a test orchestrated by Jacen and Lumiya to determine whether or not Ben will make an acceptable apprentice for Jacen. The attempts on Ben's life are foiled by the young Jedi and he escapes the planet safely with the amulet. The ultimate failure or success of his mission is not yet known.

Lumiya, in the meantime, has been setting up an alliance between Commenor, Bothawui, and Corellia, leading to the formation of the Corellian Federation. Jacen attempts to infiltrate a conference of the new federation, failing miserably and abandoning his parents (who eagerly rush to his rescue) and other family members in the scuffle the follows his failure.

There are also a few side plots unfolding. Jag is back, seemingly for good this time, and has teamed up with Jaina and Zekk on a Jedi-aided mission to stop Alema from carrying out her evil intentions (and he introduces a nifty little invention the transfers things immediately into the long-term memory). I thought the strained relationship between Jag and Jaina was refreshing to the series and brought back and personally well loved aspect from the New Jedi Order series. Now that Zekk has abandoned his infatuation for Jaina, I'm eager to see if the love that once existed between Jaina and Jag will be rekindled (I've always preferred that couple to the Jaina/Zekk pairing). The tiresome "Sword of the Jedi" prophesy returns, much to my dismay. This idea didn't work that well in the New Jedi Order series and, honestly, I don't see it doing much for the Legacy of the Force, either. It seems like a half-baked idea invented and brought back just for the sake of throwing something else into the mix. I, for one, hope it either proves to be a deciding factor in the conflict (and finally proves its worth) or fades back into obscurity.

Luke and Mara continue to play a rather small role in the grand scheme of things. Despite not being a fan of Mara, I have to wonder why the two aren't stepping up and rising to the occasion like they usually do. They have the motive (their son possibly turning to the Dark Side and throwing the galaxy out of balance) and the skills; perhaps it's their age holding them back? Whatever the reason, it seems odd that they more or less just sit in the background while the events of the first four books unfold around them.

Allston is a great writer and contributes great things to the Star Wars universe, but Exile just failed to deliver. Nothing really happens, the characters don't develop past where they were in the previous book, the plot doesn't really develop, and we still don't know why the Galactic Alliance has suddenly become so Empire-like or why the rift between it and Corellia has formed. I now wonder how the LotF can continue over five more books without becoming stale and uninteresting.

This review is also posted on Amazon.com.

[Joe Xtarr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just goofy, and everything felt paper thin. The only highlight was getting to talk to my kid about Ben's moral dilemma over cannibalism.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one felt like a filler story. Not much happened.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the slow decent of Jacen to the dark side. Ben's quest is also intriguing. There are still many questions to be answered.

[Marcus Coffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars Legacy of the Force: Exile is a book that immerses you into the world of the Solo family. Taking place years after Return of the Jedi, the story centers on many different characters, though mainly Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker. The book tells an intriguing story of Jacen Solo and his slow demise to the dark side, his struggles to choose the light over the dark (good vs. evil). Ben Skywalker is also heavily focused in this book, his story is about his jedi training and his relationship with his aunt, Leia Organa Solo, who is also now a jedi master herself. It is interesting to see the way Ben Skywalker is portrayed in this novel compared to the newer Star Wars movies (this book is not canon). Throughout the book, Jacen Solo becomes more of a galactic hero, though makes some questionable decisions. On the contrary, Ben Skywalker is in the shadows, and develops a strong relationship with the some of the ancient sith temples. Additionally, the Rebel Alliance, which still exists long after the fall of the Galactic Empire, fights hard to stop the newly formed Confederation, which is a group of star systems formed solely to be against the Alliance. The leaders of the Alliance, Captain Solo and Leia Organa Solo, find themselves in a galactic crisis halfway through the book. They reach out to their former colleague, General Lando Calrissian, for help against the Confederation. Calrissian does join up with them and help them out, and they eventually destroy the current threat of the Confederation. Calrissian, who had left the Rebel Alliance shortly after the demise of the Galactic Empire, decided to rejoin after defeating the most recent threat of the Confederation. He was given back his title of General. Later on in the book, Jacen Solo makes some light connections with the dark side of the force. His path to the dark side is slow, though Allston makes it very interesting to follow. Overall, the book is interesting and does not fail to grab your attention. I would say that it is the best in the series, but I haven’t read any of the other books. That being said, it wasn’t hard to understand what was going on without reading the others in the series. I would recommend to any fan of Han and Leia Organa Solo.

[Michael Davenport · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Ben in this book because he doesn't know what to do. He wants to follow his master Jason and fights against what he thinks is wrong and justifies his wrong doings. He is a teenager so he doesn't want to listen to his parents even though he wants to talk to them, but he feels like he can't. I am interested to see what will happen to him next. I have a guess and if I am right, then this series will become amazing.

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start by saying "the cover is stunning!" That's the nice part of the review, but overall this one was boring and very long for no reason. ;(
However, I did enjoy the final scene between Jacen and Lumiya.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's mostly talk-talk-put-pieces-in-place...spiced up with a bit of action. It's good piece-moving storytelling, but some of these longer story arcs always feels like they have too many moments of standing still and treading water until the right moment.

[Thalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

while allston’s writing can sometimes be meandering, i firmly believe he has the best understanding of these characters. and ben’s dilemmas on ziost? absolute cinema

[Gerardo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Oliver · Rating 2 out of 5]

We have a reservation and landing authorization. Looooove Commander and the All-Clown Squadron of Fun.

2.5 stars I guess

Exile is another puzzling entry in the ever puzzling LOTF series. Confronted with how the previous two books did - or did not - build upon the foundation he himself set, Aaron Allston seems to have lost most of his interest in the larger plot, instead desiring to give the fanbase pure, comedic escapism. What this results in is another novel which is fun - and funny - when you read it, but ultimately fails the series it is supposed to be part of.


To be fair, the fun and comedic parts are just that: Fun! Comedic! Allston is channeling Starfighters of Adumar energy here. What this results in is a cast with a much more easy-going disposition than is usual for LOTF, both in terms of interpersonal relationships and also the patent Allston humor. There is a ship referred to as the Looooove Commander in this book, courtesy of a thankfully finally returning Lando Calrissian who's travelling around with a pimp cane and a white wig-disguise for some reason (could this be a Marvel comics reference?), for Yun-Yuuzhan's sake. No, despite all the whining that is about to follow I cannot deny that this book is a fun time... mainly during its first half. One of the biggest reasons for my personal enjoyment of this book, however, would be the multitude of references to the shared Allston-Stackpole X-Wing Expanded Universe subseries, with Wedge and Corran and Mirax and Booster and even Turr Phennir of all obscure-yet-popular EU characters making a triumphant return. The resulting story is not as satisfying a read as Betrayal was - more on that later - but still, this is good material. It feels like classic Star Wars again. If fans critical of Legacy of the Force were to get any enjoyment out of this book, I reckon it would be found in these quasi-filler sections.

What doesn't work as well is Exile's other side, the part that is (sort of) still trying to adhere to the uber plot. Allston simply does not give any of the subplots or ideas in this book enough time to truly flourish, to develop into anything more than a footnote. Let's stick with one of the characters from the Comedy Squad for a second - Myri Antilles - and compare her story to that of a similar character from Betrayal in Syal Antilles. Wedge's younger daughter is built up near the beginning to be given a plotline of her own, just like big sis Syal previously, but it doesn't go anywhere. She makes an educated guess about a circumstance that the audience has known since book 1, sure, but that's about it; we don't really get anything about her personality either, aside from dyed hair and boundless enthusiasm. Syal, meanwhile, was granted a plotline of her own that tied her into the larger story, she was given a personality and struggle which, sure, was somewhat generic but in the end still compelling and birthed out of a genuine attempt to build up the next generation. Syal was a core part of her story whereas Myri is ancillary in "hers". This lack of focus sadly pervades throughout the narrative, Ben Skywalker's sidequest of the day being affected by it as well. This is a shame. I like Ben in this book, an overly enthusiastic teenager just like he was in Bloodlines, and I like a lot of the elements in his plot as well. Ziost is a decent setting, the little girl Kiara serves her purpose in reminding Ben of the idiocy of cynical utilitarianism (indeed the only glimpse of this series' supposed core theme we get in this book!), and the ship they come across is a wholly unique concept for this setting, as well. But this entire subplot comes in so late in this book and is thereby only given a fraction of the attention it deserves.

Oh, and what even is the deal with this GA-Corellia War LOTF is supposed to be all about? To recap once more... Betrayal set up the war perfectly, Bloodlines, for better or worse, concentrated completely on the government and the way its decisions affected the civilian population and only established the War's official beginning at the very end, and finally, Tempest... didn't do anything, really. Now we're at book four out of nine and Allston takes his time to slowly wade us out of the molasses of that book and finally does away with the inertia of the plot by bringing in other planets and actors, but only in the last fifty pages or so. I appreciate the attempt to do something with the premise, but seriously, isn't this a bit late? Further, it's not like what Exile does is of particular note, either; sure, the developments do get through, but the aforementioned Turr Phennir, who is revealed as the now officially formed Confederation's Supreme Commander appears in all of one scene. And knowing Legacy of the Force he probably won't make another appearance until Allston's third book anyways. Talk about wasting an interesting premise, LOTF team. Back during New Jedi Order we had the War firing from all cylinders by book two, and that series was twice as long...

Finally, as always, Jacen Solo. This book's Jacen is the most laughable EU character since Admiral Daala. I have no words for this. The previous novel having made the decisive decision to drop Jacen's philosophical outlook in favor of channeling a less charismatic, less threatening, yes, overall lesser Darth Vader, Aaron Allston doubles down on all of that by making Jacen a Saturday Morning Cartoon villain. A smuggler is somewhat rude towards you? Sabotage her ship so that she gets stranded in the middle of nowhere and probably dies. Luke wants you to not allow a Star Destroyer to enter this GA-controlled space in an offensively obvious ploy of reverse psychology? Better do the exact opposite, because clearly that's what the complex character we saw in Dark Nest, Betrayal, and Bloodlines would do. Forget the incongruities with his NJO-self, this new Jacen isn't even true to himself. The only thing that's unclear to me is if this is some sort of active trolling on Allston's part? If so, did he simply stop giving a kriff, or is this a dig at his co-authors for ignoring most of his set-up? Or, worst of all, are the readers perhaps truly meant to take this seriously?


This was quite disappointing. Allston usually excels at military stories and complex characters but, for whatever reason, this one failed to deliver. Easily Allston's weakest book as of its release, but, to be fair, not a complete loss: Barring Jacen, the characters are at least still fun to read about and the jokes do land. Hopefully Fury will be better; but before that and first up is the return of Karen Traviss, with Sacrifice. Another controversial one, to say the least.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh look, it's another volume of people running around frantically and a whole lot of forward motion not really happening. Granted, we see some fallout from the climax of the last volume, and the book ends with another similar climax which even the book describes as a minor incursion in the overall theme of war. Characters run around randomly pushing plot threads, and going off on tangents, but almost everyone somehow manages to end up at the same place for the 'climactic' battle. I think nine volumes without being broken into smaller sections may have been a bit much.

That said, why does the book still manage three stars? Because Allston writes well, and he brings lots of characters he always wrote well (Mirax and Corran, Wedge, Booster, even Tycho briefly), and lets them shine. And he brought Lando back into the story, which was a nice surprise. So even though not a whole lot feels like it happens, at least it doesn't happen with enjoyable dialogue. I'm less fond of Ben's side-story, although it actually feels like it may have some real ramifications.

Ultimately the fact is it still feels like pieces are being shuffled on the chess board rather than an actual game is being played. We're in Book Four - we should have at least passed out of Act I of the overarching story by now... It just feels really drawn out.

[Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lando Calrissian with a ship called the "Love Commander".... need I say more? :) haha

Anyways, this book had some great moments (loved seeing a bit of Ben growth), but I found that it jumped around a little bit more than I would have liked between "important" parts and "political" parts (you'll see).

Would like to have seen a little bit more of Jacen and his parents flushed out and developed... felt a bit "Episode III Anakin Skywalker-y" and abrupt.

Love the Jag, Zekk, and Jaina moments as always, although I really wish there was more of a Jaina focus throughout this entire series (it's not only this book that's guilty of it). You'd really think that Jaina's turmoil and twin-bond with Jacen would be a focus point throughout the series, and I really hope that it gets flushed out a bit soon.

Still, good book, series is still going strong :)

[b · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the longest I've taken to finish a Star Wars novel, nothing to do with the novel, but it's that time of year where I have to travel to see family, and where winter starts to slow everything down. So it was a different experience than most of the SW books I've gone thru lately. I feel like the last novel left off in a space that was so much more melancholy, and it seems like this novel doesn't carry thru the consequences of the last one. That said, it's pretty good for SW fare. Lots of cool subterfuge, the looming war, and some hilarious memorable bad-writing quotes, etc.

The best part of this novel, the part that takes it to 4 stars for me, is Ben's little solo mission. It has dreaminess, and a strange hazy frontier feel, reminding me of Blood Meridian (but infinitely more PG, obviously). Pretty cool thread for the book.

[Darryl Dobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still not entirely sure why there is a war between the Galactic Alliance and the newly-minuted Confederation. If planets or systems want to secede then let them. It's not your place to fight it. If Centerpoint is the reason, then destroy it. I also don't understand why a Force-user needs to kill someone they love in order to become Sith. That would just eliminate any desire to become a Sith. With those two major issues hovering over the storyline like a dark cloud, it makes it more difficult to enjoy the book. But Exile had it's moments. The Wedge storyline was nice, as well as Ben's survival on the Sith planet Ziost and how a young girl helped him with his hold on the light side. A necessary book to push the overall story along.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man this one was boring and very long for no reason. I had to skim some of the parts because it was just too wording.

As you can tell from the title and picture on the front this about Leia and Han trying to hide from the Alliance because they are accused of being traitors. Just a lot of unnecessary things and it could have been about 50 pages less.

Let me see without ruining the story.

Jacen still a jerk
Ben has become a jerk.
Luke is made out to be a wimp as opposed to a Master Jedi

Having Lumiya and Alema still alive is ridiculous.

If you want to read the series this one can be either skipped by reading the synopsis from any site or skimmed really fast.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I liked it." - 3 out of 5 star rating.

This whole Jacen, Jaina, Mara, Luke, Ben, Leia, and Han deal is starting to grow on me.

There are also quite a few other additional characters thrown into this book as well, that does create quite an ambitious title where I can see some readers feeling like this book is trying to do too much at once. Which I can empathize with, but it wasn't an issue for me overall.

What I am enjoying the most is the whole Jacen and Lumiya relationship. The gradual fall towards the Dark Side continues.

Really enjoying this Legacy of the Force journey. Onward to book #5!

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting...but not the best of the series.

[Rob Whaley · Rating 3 out of 5]

LOTF isn't a 9 book series: It's 3 separate series in one, with 3 different agendas from 3 different authors. At least Aaron Allston is trying to tell a cohesive story, even if the story is terrible.

Jacen is racking up victories against the Corellians and pissing off everyone not in the GA. And the GA don't care that he's becoming more and more ruthless, they're too busy kissing his ass. Meanwhile, his sith master Lumiya is busy manipulating the war to become bigger, but Jacen lost all his brain cells back during the Dark Nest crisis, and thus doesn't realize that. And speaking of no brain cells...

Ben, despite *gestures wildly* everything going on with Jacen, still worships the ground the slug walks on. Thus, Jacen is able to manipulate him pretty easily. The phrase of the day is WWJD: What Would Jacen Do? He sends Ben on a mission to recover a Sith artifact that can be used to completely hide someone in the force (ala Yuuzhan Vong). He plans a heist to get it, only to discover that it was already stolen and taken to the sith world of Ziost. He tracks it down, only to discover it was stolen by a small-time thief who brought his daughter with him. Ben ambushes them and nearly kills them both, with seemingly no remorse. He only stops because the guy was shot down and already dying, and his R2 unit isn't too thrilled with leaving a child behind to starve to death. It turns out that Lumiya organized the whole thing to test whether Ben would be a good sith apprentice, and apparently he failed. She gives orders to a crew of pirates to kill him, but Ben manages to find a sith ship and he and the child and the droid escape.

Jagged Fel ends up meeting back up with Jaina and Zekk, and they organize a task force to hunt down Alama Rae, who's flying around being nothing more than space Gollum, trying to get revenge on Luke and Leia. (Somebody please, kill this bitch and put her out of her misery.) Of course, the whole thing dissolves into relationship drama, as it becomes clear both Jagg and Zekk still have feelings for Jaina, and her character is now basically a typical YA female lead character: "Oh I have two boys who each love me!? Who should I choose?! I can't decide now, I have a war to fight!" She deserves so much better.

And Han and Leia, on the run from pretty much everyone, manage to hole up with Lando to get the Falcon fixed, and wind up falling in with Wedge, Corran, and their families aboard the Errant Venture. While they meet up, Bothwai, Fondor, Bespin, and several other planets come to Corellia's aid. They smash the blockade and now we have a Civil War on our hands. The group goes undercover to get more info, and they discover a meetup where the Confederation will choose their new military leader. They manage to get the info to Jacen and the GA, but the whole thing turns out to be a trap. In the chaos, Jacen runs away like a coward, and decides that he needs to kill his parents to complete his transformation into a Sith.

Aaron has a better writing style than Karen Traviss and Troy Denning, and his books have been the better ones so far, but even he can only do so much when Lucasfilms and Denning are directing a massive car crash. I appreciate the parallels with the Prequels that they were going for, I just think they could've done a much better job with it if they hadn't decided to character assassinate everyone and create convoluted moments and twists for the sake of a thin plot. Also, along with Betrayal, Aaron tries to just fit too much into the book. There are points where he just does quick summaries of events that are happening and the results of them in order to keep the plot moving. I feel like this is due to Traviss and Denning's books featuring things and characters that shouldn't be in them, so he has to cram more into his books to show readers what's happening while Denning wastes pages on torture porn and bringing back useless characters who should've been dead many times over, and Traviss uses her time to fetishize Mandalorians. The whole concept of the LOTF series could've worked if they got better writers to work with Aaron.

[Kasc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exile marks the fourth installment of the Legacy of the Force series, which unfortunately breaks with its predecessors’ trend of becoming better in terms of quality moving from one installment to the next. Still, Exile is a decent novel. Compared to Tempest, i.e. the novel directly preceding it, it just isn’t as captivating as it takes many pages for things to finally become interesting.

Plot-wise, Exile extends upon the conflict between the Galactic Alliance and the Corellian sector, which is becoming ever larger and more of a threat for peaceful coexistence in the galaxy. As before, the protagonists find themselves in different places across the spectrum of this conflict. In contrast to how things have evolved before, now all the main cast – except Jacen (and maybe Ben) – have found a common ground and are back to cooperating a little more. The overarching plot remains interesting, although at this point each new galactic conflict has a sort of been-there-done-that feel to it.

For a considerable time, Exile sort of ripples on without really adding anything useful to the plot. Granted, there are a number of enjoyable sequences (e.g. the Jedi mind-trick scene featuring Leia and Lando). Yet, a fun scene here and there is not enough to carry a novel. It is only towards the last third of the book or so that the story becomes really gripping. At that point Ben’s own little storyline – my personal highlight in this book – gains traction, while everyone else comes together for a showdown-type situation. These two things make for a very intense ending, which heavily contributed to my three-star rating.

While Ben’s behavior often is rather annoying, his emotional journey is a compelling element of this novel. We see him practically turn into Jacen 2.0 before realizing that, perhaps, his chosen Master is not omniscient and that it might not be the worst idea to think for himself every once in a while. Meanwhile, the authors of this series have made a very good job so far of making Jacen unlikeable (I guess this way his fall to the Dark is easier to stand). For me, it is the hubris that is so aggravating about him. Somehow Jacen thinks himself to be this incredibly smart, rational person, who constantly is morally superior. At the same time, he is consistently being selfish and acts like a total jerk towards everyone else. On top of that Jacen does not even realize how heavily he is being influenced by Lumiya and thinks all the change he goes through stems from his own beliefs and the decisions based thereon. This perception just does not fit with the alleged Sith mastermind that Lumiya is more and more made out to be. Granted, I do think this development is kind of annoying as Jacen’s fall to the Dark being orchestrated to such a heavy extent takes away from himself being at fault, maybe even absolves him a little. I think it should be made clearer that everything Jacen is going through is his own fault and that there is no one to blame for the negative consequences from his actions but himself.

All in all, Exile is a mediocre Star Wars novel, which is salvaged by a strong ending. It contributes only a little to furthering the series’ plot, but gives some interesting insights into the core characters, most importantly Ben. I am hoping that the next installment is going to pick up the pace again.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaron Allston really is one of the best Star Wars authors. His novels always have very quick and witty writing, which is appropriate for a Star Wars book, but can also be reflective and serious when needed.

My favorite part was undoubtedly Ben' story. He sneaks away from his parents on Coruscant, going on a mission to find an ancient Sith relic assigned to him by Jane, although Lumiya really is the puppet master. His story is adventurous despite being a mistake for him, and he seems to be realizing the errors of Jane's teaching. My favorite part of the book is when he goes back to help Kiara. I feel like thats when he begins to truly go back to being a true Jedi apprentice, because of how directly is goes against what Jacen would have done. It was also really cool to see a Sith Meditation Sphere, a cool tie in to Tales of the Jedi.

Wedge also becomes more important in this book than in the last two. He is ousted format he cornelian military, and ends up basically abandoning Corellia and meeting up with Han and Leia and others, who see that both sides of the conflict are pretty terrible, but Corellia is definitely the worst. Its great to see that whole group working together, especially on the Errant Venture.

Really, the entire Solo-Skywalker family is reunited in this book, with the obvious exception of Jacen and Ben. Ben is probably going back to them, so Jacen is really becoming separate. He becomes even more of a villain in this book, betraying Uran Lavint and abandoning his parents at the end. he's basically a Sith Lord in all but name now, literally. I think his going to the Dark Side has been portrayed naturally so far, slowly becoming more significant with every book. Lumiya really feels manipulative in this book, and I can't help but wonder if she really is just trying to get revenge on Luke.

Altogether a very good Star Wars book. I've really been liking Legacy of the Force so far, which is interesting, because many people seem to dislike it.

[Michael Church · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you can’t tell from how long I’ve been picking this up and putting it back down, it was a SLOG to get through. It’s more of what I’ve now realized is the standard for Star Wars novels, though. Heavy on political influences and hidden motives and intrigue that doesn’t actually really go anywhere, and light on action and answers.

I honestly don’t even remember all of what happened in this book. I know that Han and Leia are trying to clear their names for an assassination attempt that seemingly should have been obvious it wasn’t at their hands. Jacen continues his obvious descent toward the Dark Side, though I think this book had fewer explicit examples of him sacrificing his morals until toward the end. Luke and Mara struggle with not taking sides and pursuing assassins across the galaxy. Jaina eventually shows up to sort of help them. Ben gets into a ton of trouble, almost makes an absolutely horrifying choice because of Jacen’s influence, and then finds his way out of it. There’s a star destroyer casino.

All that sounds like it should be at least somewhat interesting, but it just isn’t. It’s a chore to get through. It feels like there’s a ton of really indirect and frustrating communication because there’s so much political posturing. That honestly makes me understand how so many people came to really love Han. He’s one of the few characters to routinely try to cut through all the filler.

Unfortunately, it’s hardly enough to make the difference. I keep hoping that the next book will be better. Maybe some of the momentum I had from the last couple of weeks would help carry me through another novel. We’ll see, but I might take a diversion through another series for a while first.

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The previous books in the Legacy of the Force series made me really mad at everyone for not all siding with Luke and the GA. Now, however, I think I've just resigned to the fact that Jacen is falling to the dark side and there is nothing that I can do about it.

This book is in many ways just a filler book. This book exacerbates the conflict between the Corellians and the Galactic Aliance by adding in more allies to the Corellian side. The book also advances Jacens decline into the dark side and sets up "Sacrifice" well, which is intended to be one of the three tentpole novels in the series.

For some reason, I liked Han and Leia's story in this better than I have in the past. I think it's because Han wasn't stubbornly supporting the Corellians like he has in the previous books. The interaction with Han, Leia and Lando was so funny that I audibly laughed at several times. Aaron Allston was a master of humor and wrote their scenes perfectly.

Jag and Zekk annoyed me throughout the book. I wish one of them would just act mature(particularly Zekk) so that Jaina will choose them and abondon the other and get this silly love triangle behind them. This plot line seems really boring and at times just too cliche.

Ben's story at first was incredibly dull, but picked up substantially. Something clicks and his story drastically changes about half way through and I was very pleased with it and was actively engaged by the end of the book.

Overall, this is a solid entry into the Legacy of the Force, but for me just doesn't stack up to the previous three that I've read. 7.7 out of 10! Good job Allston.