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Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #5
Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice
Civil war rages as the Galactic Alliance–led by Cal Omas and the Jedi forces of Luke Skywalker–battles a confederation of breakaway planets that rally to the side of rebellious Corellia. Suspected of involvement in an assassination plot against Queen Mother Tenel Ka of the Hapes Consortium, Han and Leia Solo are on the run, hunted by none other than their own son, Jacen, whose increasingly authoritarian tactics as head of GA security have led Luke and Mara Skywalker to fear that their nephew may be treading perilously close to the dark side. But all Jacen wants is safety and stability for all–and he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
As the strands of destiny draw ever more tightly together in a galaxy-spanning web, the shocking conclusion will shatter two families . . . and cast a grim shadow over the future.
As the strands of destiny draw ever more tightly together in a galaxy-spanning web, the shocking conclusion will shatter two families . . . and cast a grim shadow over the future.
Audio CD
First published May 29, 2007
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About the author
Karen Traviss
124Ìýbooks1,477Ìýfollowers#1 New York Times best-selling novelist, scriptwriter and comics author Karen Traviss has received critical acclaim for her award-nominated Wess'har series, and her work on Halo, Gears of War, Batman, G.I. Joe, and other major franchises has earned her a broad range of fans. She's best known for military science fiction, but GOING GREY and BLACK RUN, the first books in her new techno-thriller series RINGER, are set in the real world of today. A former defence correspondent and TV and newspaper journalist, she lives in Wiltshire, England. She's currently working on SACRIFICIAL RED, the third book in the Ringer series, and HERE WE STAND, book three in the NOMAD series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
July 23, 2007
Well, that was unexpected.
May 20, 2019
Without giving too much away, I can say that this is when Jacen takes a serious turn for the worst. As heart-wrenching as it is, it was still well-written and gripping.
April 10, 2023
I want to give Sacrifice 1 star because it made me SO MAD, but Boba Fett was interesting if out-of-place so 2 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 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 five in the Legacy of the Force series, Sacrifice by Karen Traviss.
SOME HISTORY:
After winnowing down the list of possible Sith names from thousands to just five finalists, the fans voted from January 23 to February 27 of 2007—and only one name could stand triumphant. The chosen name was Darth Caedus, chosen by Tawnia Poland from a Latin word that means “to cut / to kill / to sacrifice.� Del Rey and Lucasfilm thanked Tawnia in the Acknowledgements to Sacrifice, and contrary to Internet assumptions, the name was chosen by a woman! (Tawnia was not a dude.) Sacrifice by Karen Traviss made it to number eight on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of June 17, 2007, and was on the list for two weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
As you would expect from the book that made me bail on Legacy of the Force in 2007, I have no good memories of Sacrifice. I don’t think it was a “throw the book against the wall� situation, but it was pretty close.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
The Skywalker and Solo family has been torn apart by Jacen Solo, and they see in him the chilling legacy of his grandfather Darth Vader. Jacen wants peace and stability for the galaxy, and he's prepared to do anything to achieve that goal—even if it means following the teachings of Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith. Before Jacen can unlock the true power of a Sith Lord, though, he must pass one final test of sacrificing someone that he loves. But what troubles Jacen the most is not whether he has the strength to murder someone he loves, but who precisely that sacrifice should be�
THE PLOT:
After a book that focused heavily on Han Solo and Leia Organa, Sacrifice pushes them (as well as Jaina Solo) to the background. Instead, the plot mainly revolves around Jacen dithering over who he should kill while he carries out a military coup to remove Cal Omas from power. Ben Skywalker completes his mission that led to him questioning his involvement with Jacen…and immediately jumps back into associating with Jacen until his next assignment has terrible consequences for someone he knows. Mara Jade decides that Lumiya must die, and singlehandedly begins to hunt her down. Luke and the Jedi Council continue to be Very Worried about Jacen yet those worries never translate into actions. At least half the book is devoted to Boba Fett and what’s happening on Mandalore. Finally, Lumiya pushes Jacen to take the last step towards becoming a Sith, although she’s not very helpful about who his sacrifice should be. (She’s more like a Sith support group than a proper Sith Master.)
THE DREAD OF REREADS:
I’m not sure what’s worse: to read something blind, so that the ending hits you like a freight train and you want to lay down and cry, or to reread something where you know what’s coming but you don’t remember WHEN, so you go chapter by chapter in a state of constant dread. (2007 was #1, 2023 was #2.) The actual structure of Sacrifice didn’t help here, but I’ll save that for the Issues.
CHARACTERS:
I was somewhat surprised that after a book where Ben's parents wanted to keep him away from Jacen and Ben ran away from the Jedi Temple to do something for Jacen, that Ben is allowed to rejoin the Galactic Alliance Guard and the Skywalkers don’t do anything about it? I was also expecting that Ben’s experiences in would lead to a definitive break in his relationship with Jacen, but that break did not come until after the assassination mission. Jacen sends Ben and two GAG officers to monitor Cal Omas’s meeting with Dur Gejjen, and after the meeting Ben has to kill Gejjen. Ben doesn’t feel good about this, but he also feels like this is an Adult Responsibility and that’s very tempting to a fourteen-year-old. Ben carries out the assassination, Gejjen dies, but then Lekauf sacrifices himself so that Ben and Shevu can escape back to Coruscant. This ends up being the crisis point for Ben, where he (finally) realizes that he’s a young kid in a bad situation, and he starts to question Jacen’s motives. He overhears Jacen conspiring with Lumiya, he tells his mom about it, and that really doesn’t work out well for Mara�
Mara is fixated on killing Lumiya, and “Mara has killed many people� somehow becomes her key defining trait. I absolutely hated this. Yes, Mara was the Emperor’s Hand, but she was not his personal assassin. While I don’t doubt that she carried out assassinations, she was his personal agent—she was more an intelligence operative than anything else. I think some of the common shorthands for Mara (Mara wears the catsuit, Mara is deadly, Mara is dark) tend to limit her character, and I honestly don’t agree with that interpretation of her character. In the past, Mara struggled with guilt over her role and her allegiance to Palpatine, but I’m not sure that 40 years later she’d be repeatedly beating herself up over the fact that she didn’t kill Palpatine? She also thinks about how sad that her son is a child-soldier, but after all that’s what they raised him to be. Um…no you didn’t??? I appreciate that Mara played a larger role here than in the previous four books, but at the same time her characterization felt so off-putting and wrong.
Luke is now on a five-book inactive streak, and lets Mara take care of Lumiya on her own. On the one hand, I think that he trusts her 100%--but their relationship hasn’t been super good in these books, with Mara and Luke often on the opposite side on issues, and I don’t understand why she keeps him out of the loop regarding Jacen. The only person who has confronted Jacen thus far is Mara, and that was basically just “leave my son alone!� I feel like a broken record when I say that Jacen IS a Jedi and the Jedi Council could level some disciplinary action against him, but it’s too late now. Jacen orders the assassination of an enemy PM, he arrests Cal Omas and becomes co-Chief of State with Admiral Niathal, but Luke and the rest of the Jedi Council just sit on their hands.
I was also very shocked at how Luke confronted Lumiya at the end. That was not a duel—that was an execution. Lumiya was willing to die to divert attention from Jacen, but I was not expecting Luke to save her from falling and then chop her head off. I don’t want to say “that doesn’t sound like my Luke Skywalker� but…actually, maybe I do.
We don’t get a lot (or really any) GA vs Confederation battles, but instead a heavy dose of more political scheming. After Corellia joined forces with the Bothans and Commenor and et al. in Exile, I thought there’d be some naval battles. Instead, we got wiretapping and surveillance and Jacen pushing through legislation and it all culminates in an assassination and a military coup. Definitely more politics than I expected.
After being a major presence in and a non-presence in and Exile, Boba Fett and Mirta Gev and a bunch of Mandalorians reappear here. It felt like half the book was Fett stuff, and as with book 2 his plotline feels somewhat removed from the story at large. He tracks down the clone, the clone helps him out because he’s finally stepped up as ²Ñ²¹²Ô»å’a±ô´Ç°ù, they find more beskar on Mandalore, he makes an alliance with the Verpine and the Mandos start building starfighters, and he discovers that his ex Sintas Vel is still alive, frozen in carbonite for decades. Fett’s arc is interesting, but I wonder if it should have been a separate trilogy. Thus far it’s only tangentially related to the bigger civil war plotline, and I feel like the Mandalorians should either have been better integrated into the Legacy of the Force series or reserved for a completely Mandalorian set of books. It’s so strange to read two books with no Mando content, and then reach one of the Traviss novels and get Mandalorians galore.
On the baddie front, Lumiya is absolutely confident that Jacen will sacrifice someone he loves and become a Lord of the Sith, but she doesn’t know who that sacrifice needs to be (that’s Jacen’s problem). She commandeers the Sith vessel that Ben used to escape from Ziost, and she seems more like Jacen’s fanatical minion than Jacen’s Sith mentor. After the climactic events at the end of the novel, she’s willing to accept the blame and has no problem dying to disguise what really happened.
Jacen is all over the place for most of the book. He is convinced that Ben must be his sacrifice, but he can’t bring himself to personally kill Ben and instead just…sends him off to assassinate a head of state and hopefully die in the process. That doesn’t work out, so he briefly considers Allana only to immediately talk himself out of it. He ends up killing someone that he does not love in any way, and he’s like “I’m a Sith now, but I didn’t fulfill the prophecy. Huh. Weird.� But then! He realizes that the prophecy wasn’t about him, but about Ben (??) and Ben will be the one to “immortalize his love.� (Or killing the sacrifice has immortalized his love for Ben? Look man this is very sus reasoning.)
ISSUES - HERE BE SPOILERS:
My second major issue is related to the structure of this novel. There are 24 chapters, and the first half of them (up to Chapter Twelve, maybe even past it) are really long. In the paperback, Chapter Twelve starts at page 270…and the book ends after Chapter Twenty-Four on page 416. The first half (most of the political stuff, as well as Boba Fett tracking down the clone and rebuilding Mandalore) is almost twice as long as the second half that focuses on Mara learning that Jacen is working with Lumiya and the traumatic events that follow. The first half felt plodding at times, and the actual sacrifice section of Sacrifice was hectic and much shorter than I remembered.
Some minor quibbles: I personally do not like when the Mandalorians toss around tons of words in the language, their speech is constantly peppered with it and aside from stuff like beskar I wish they’d just speak English. Some more Britishisms slipped through, like “jobsworth� and Jacen calling the legal droid HM-3 “Aitch-Em.�
My final issue was that Jacen’s Sith ascension at the end felt weirdly anticlimactic. He looks in the mirror and says “I’m Darth Caedus� and what does that mean? Where does that come from? (It came from the “Darth Who contest,� obviously, but it doesn’t appear to have any personal meaning to Jacen.) I feel like the Sith names in the movies have very obvious roots—Vader from “invader,� Sidious from “insidious,� even Plagueis from “plague�--and I’m not sure most readers would look at Caedus and say “ah, yes, the Latin word for murder.� Sidious and Vader also had pretty cool naming scenes in and accordingly, but their Masters name them. Lumiya’s not really Jacen’s Master, so he names himself, but it fell flat for me.
IN CONCLUSION:
Sacrifice was a very difficult read for me, because Mara Jade is one of my favorite characters and both her portrayal as well as her fate didn’t feel right to me. There’s also way too much Boba Fett/Mando stuff, and I wish that he had been better integrated into the series rather than just popping up every third book. Sacrifice is definitely the turning point of the series, though: while Jacen has been pretty dark side all along, he’s now an official Sith Lord…and he’s also the co-Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance. I have a feeling that the galactic situation is about to get much, much worse.
Next up: book six in the Legacy of the Force series, by Troy Denning.
My YouTube review:
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 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 five in the Legacy of the Force series, Sacrifice by Karen Traviss.
SOME HISTORY:
After winnowing down the list of possible Sith names from thousands to just five finalists, the fans voted from January 23 to February 27 of 2007—and only one name could stand triumphant. The chosen name was Darth Caedus, chosen by Tawnia Poland from a Latin word that means “to cut / to kill / to sacrifice.� Del Rey and Lucasfilm thanked Tawnia in the Acknowledgements to Sacrifice, and contrary to Internet assumptions, the name was chosen by a woman! (Tawnia was not a dude.) Sacrifice by Karen Traviss made it to number eight on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of June 17, 2007, and was on the list for two weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
As you would expect from the book that made me bail on Legacy of the Force in 2007, I have no good memories of Sacrifice. I don’t think it was a “throw the book against the wall� situation, but it was pretty close.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
The Skywalker and Solo family has been torn apart by Jacen Solo, and they see in him the chilling legacy of his grandfather Darth Vader. Jacen wants peace and stability for the galaxy, and he's prepared to do anything to achieve that goal—even if it means following the teachings of Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith. Before Jacen can unlock the true power of a Sith Lord, though, he must pass one final test of sacrificing someone that he loves. But what troubles Jacen the most is not whether he has the strength to murder someone he loves, but who precisely that sacrifice should be�
THE PLOT:
After a book that focused heavily on Han Solo and Leia Organa, Sacrifice pushes them (as well as Jaina Solo) to the background. Instead, the plot mainly revolves around Jacen dithering over who he should kill while he carries out a military coup to remove Cal Omas from power. Ben Skywalker completes his mission that led to him questioning his involvement with Jacen…and immediately jumps back into associating with Jacen until his next assignment has terrible consequences for someone he knows. Mara Jade decides that Lumiya must die, and singlehandedly begins to hunt her down. Luke and the Jedi Council continue to be Very Worried about Jacen yet those worries never translate into actions. At least half the book is devoted to Boba Fett and what’s happening on Mandalore. Finally, Lumiya pushes Jacen to take the last step towards becoming a Sith, although she’s not very helpful about who his sacrifice should be. (She’s more like a Sith support group than a proper Sith Master.)
THE DREAD OF REREADS:
I’m not sure what’s worse: to read something blind, so that the ending hits you like a freight train and you want to lay down and cry, or to reread something where you know what’s coming but you don’t remember WHEN, so you go chapter by chapter in a state of constant dread. (2007 was #1, 2023 was #2.) The actual structure of Sacrifice didn’t help here, but I’ll save that for the Issues.
CHARACTERS:
I was somewhat surprised that after a book where Ben's parents wanted to keep him away from Jacen and Ben ran away from the Jedi Temple to do something for Jacen, that Ben is allowed to rejoin the Galactic Alliance Guard and the Skywalkers don’t do anything about it? I was also expecting that Ben’s experiences in would lead to a definitive break in his relationship with Jacen, but that break did not come until after the assassination mission. Jacen sends Ben and two GAG officers to monitor Cal Omas’s meeting with Dur Gejjen, and after the meeting Ben has to kill Gejjen. Ben doesn’t feel good about this, but he also feels like this is an Adult Responsibility and that’s very tempting to a fourteen-year-old. Ben carries out the assassination, Gejjen dies, but then Lekauf sacrifices himself so that Ben and Shevu can escape back to Coruscant. This ends up being the crisis point for Ben, where he (finally) realizes that he’s a young kid in a bad situation, and he starts to question Jacen’s motives. He overhears Jacen conspiring with Lumiya, he tells his mom about it, and that really doesn’t work out well for Mara�
Mara is fixated on killing Lumiya, and “Mara has killed many people� somehow becomes her key defining trait. I absolutely hated this. Yes, Mara was the Emperor’s Hand, but she was not his personal assassin. While I don’t doubt that she carried out assassinations, she was his personal agent—she was more an intelligence operative than anything else. I think some of the common shorthands for Mara (Mara wears the catsuit, Mara is deadly, Mara is dark) tend to limit her character, and I honestly don’t agree with that interpretation of her character. In the past, Mara struggled with guilt over her role and her allegiance to Palpatine, but I’m not sure that 40 years later she’d be repeatedly beating herself up over the fact that she didn’t kill Palpatine? She also thinks about how sad that her son is a child-soldier, but after all that’s what they raised him to be. Um…no you didn’t??? I appreciate that Mara played a larger role here than in the previous four books, but at the same time her characterization felt so off-putting and wrong.
Luke is now on a five-book inactive streak, and lets Mara take care of Lumiya on her own. On the one hand, I think that he trusts her 100%--but their relationship hasn’t been super good in these books, with Mara and Luke often on the opposite side on issues, and I don’t understand why she keeps him out of the loop regarding Jacen. The only person who has confronted Jacen thus far is Mara, and that was basically just “leave my son alone!� I feel like a broken record when I say that Jacen IS a Jedi and the Jedi Council could level some disciplinary action against him, but it’s too late now. Jacen orders the assassination of an enemy PM, he arrests Cal Omas and becomes co-Chief of State with Admiral Niathal, but Luke and the rest of the Jedi Council just sit on their hands.
I was also very shocked at how Luke confronted Lumiya at the end. That was not a duel—that was an execution. Lumiya was willing to die to divert attention from Jacen, but I was not expecting Luke to save her from falling and then chop her head off. I don’t want to say “that doesn’t sound like my Luke Skywalker� but…actually, maybe I do.
We don’t get a lot (or really any) GA vs Confederation battles, but instead a heavy dose of more political scheming. After Corellia joined forces with the Bothans and Commenor and et al. in Exile, I thought there’d be some naval battles. Instead, we got wiretapping and surveillance and Jacen pushing through legislation and it all culminates in an assassination and a military coup. Definitely more politics than I expected.
After being a major presence in and a non-presence in and Exile, Boba Fett and Mirta Gev and a bunch of Mandalorians reappear here. It felt like half the book was Fett stuff, and as with book 2 his plotline feels somewhat removed from the story at large. He tracks down the clone, the clone helps him out because he’s finally stepped up as ²Ñ²¹²Ô»å’a±ô´Ç°ù, they find more beskar on Mandalore, he makes an alliance with the Verpine and the Mandos start building starfighters, and he discovers that his ex Sintas Vel is still alive, frozen in carbonite for decades. Fett’s arc is interesting, but I wonder if it should have been a separate trilogy. Thus far it’s only tangentially related to the bigger civil war plotline, and I feel like the Mandalorians should either have been better integrated into the Legacy of the Force series or reserved for a completely Mandalorian set of books. It’s so strange to read two books with no Mando content, and then reach one of the Traviss novels and get Mandalorians galore.
On the baddie front, Lumiya is absolutely confident that Jacen will sacrifice someone he loves and become a Lord of the Sith, but she doesn’t know who that sacrifice needs to be (that’s Jacen’s problem). She commandeers the Sith vessel that Ben used to escape from Ziost, and she seems more like Jacen’s fanatical minion than Jacen’s Sith mentor. After the climactic events at the end of the novel, she’s willing to accept the blame and has no problem dying to disguise what really happened.
Jacen is all over the place for most of the book. He is convinced that Ben must be his sacrifice, but he can’t bring himself to personally kill Ben and instead just…sends him off to assassinate a head of state and hopefully die in the process. That doesn’t work out, so he briefly considers Allana only to immediately talk himself out of it. He ends up killing someone that he does not love in any way, and he’s like “I’m a Sith now, but I didn’t fulfill the prophecy. Huh. Weird.� But then! He realizes that the prophecy wasn’t about him, but about Ben (??) and Ben will be the one to “immortalize his love.� (Or killing the sacrifice has immortalized his love for Ben? Look man this is very sus reasoning.)
ISSUES - HERE BE SPOILERS:
My second major issue is related to the structure of this novel. There are 24 chapters, and the first half of them (up to Chapter Twelve, maybe even past it) are really long. In the paperback, Chapter Twelve starts at page 270…and the book ends after Chapter Twenty-Four on page 416. The first half (most of the political stuff, as well as Boba Fett tracking down the clone and rebuilding Mandalore) is almost twice as long as the second half that focuses on Mara learning that Jacen is working with Lumiya and the traumatic events that follow. The first half felt plodding at times, and the actual sacrifice section of Sacrifice was hectic and much shorter than I remembered.
Some minor quibbles: I personally do not like when the Mandalorians toss around tons of words in the language, their speech is constantly peppered with it and aside from stuff like beskar I wish they’d just speak English. Some more Britishisms slipped through, like “jobsworth� and Jacen calling the legal droid HM-3 “Aitch-Em.�
My final issue was that Jacen’s Sith ascension at the end felt weirdly anticlimactic. He looks in the mirror and says “I’m Darth Caedus� and what does that mean? Where does that come from? (It came from the “Darth Who contest,� obviously, but it doesn’t appear to have any personal meaning to Jacen.) I feel like the Sith names in the movies have very obvious roots—Vader from “invader,� Sidious from “insidious,� even Plagueis from “plague�--and I’m not sure most readers would look at Caedus and say “ah, yes, the Latin word for murder.� Sidious and Vader also had pretty cool naming scenes in and accordingly, but their Masters name them. Lumiya’s not really Jacen’s Master, so he names himself, but it fell flat for me.
IN CONCLUSION:
Sacrifice was a very difficult read for me, because Mara Jade is one of my favorite characters and both her portrayal as well as her fate didn’t feel right to me. There’s also way too much Boba Fett/Mando stuff, and I wish that he had been better integrated into the series rather than just popping up every third book. Sacrifice is definitely the turning point of the series, though: while Jacen has been pretty dark side all along, he’s now an official Sith Lord…and he’s also the co-Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance. I have a feeling that the galactic situation is about to get much, much worse.
Next up: book six in the Legacy of the Force series, by Troy Denning.
My YouTube review:
November 30, 2007
I don't like this series very much. I think they don't have a good feel for the character Mara Jade, and I frankly don't feel that what happened to her character in this book would have happened as the author portrayed it. If her writing hadn't been so well done outside of that particular scene, I'd have given her 0 stars.
March 30, 2009
Meh.
On the plus side, someone finally decides to do something about Jacen.
On the plus side, someone finally decides to do something about Jacen.
May 18, 2021
Jacen Solo has only one final hurdle to complete before he can finally be the Sith Lord that he longs to be, but he isn’t sure if he can do it. It requires a sacrifice. He must kill someone that he loves.
Karen Traviss’s “Sacrifice� is the fifth book in the nine-book Legacy of the Force series. It is the pivotal book in the series, the one that we have been anticipating, as it finally answers the question: Who will Jacen kill? Will it be one of his parents? His sister Jaina? His cousin Ben? His secret love, Tenel Ka, or their secret love-child?
Traviss takes an awful long way to get to the answer, and a lot of other stuff happens in the interim.
Indeed, my biggest complaint with this book is that Traviss spends a lot of time dodging the issue. Very little action happens in this book. What does happen tends to be somewhat uneventful: lots of talking heads stuff and political machinations, along with the other soap-opera stuff that seems to be de rigueur for the SWEU.
There is even a subplot involving Boba Fett, who is attempting to resurrect the Mandalorians from their slump after the Yuuzhan Vong war nearly wiped out half the population of Mandalore. It’s interesting, but it seems to have a very slim connection to the rest of the story.
Thankfully, Traviss is a good writer. In the hands of a lesser writer, all this might have become boring. To some, it might be, but all the political and soap-opera stuff serves its purpose. It ultimately builds up to the exciting climax.
And, yes, the final death match scene between Jacen and ———�- is worth the wait.
Karen Traviss’s “Sacrifice� is the fifth book in the nine-book Legacy of the Force series. It is the pivotal book in the series, the one that we have been anticipating, as it finally answers the question: Who will Jacen kill? Will it be one of his parents? His sister Jaina? His cousin Ben? His secret love, Tenel Ka, or their secret love-child?
Traviss takes an awful long way to get to the answer, and a lot of other stuff happens in the interim.
Indeed, my biggest complaint with this book is that Traviss spends a lot of time dodging the issue. Very little action happens in this book. What does happen tends to be somewhat uneventful: lots of talking heads stuff and political machinations, along with the other soap-opera stuff that seems to be de rigueur for the SWEU.
There is even a subplot involving Boba Fett, who is attempting to resurrect the Mandalorians from their slump after the Yuuzhan Vong war nearly wiped out half the population of Mandalore. It’s interesting, but it seems to have a very slim connection to the rest of the story.
Thankfully, Traviss is a good writer. In the hands of a lesser writer, all this might have become boring. To some, it might be, but all the political and soap-opera stuff serves its purpose. It ultimately builds up to the exciting climax.
And, yes, the final death match scene between Jacen and ———�- is worth the wait.
June 29, 2024
Well that was incredibly painful.
May 29, 2021
The only good thing in this book was the subplot about Boba Fett. Making Han and Leia enemies of the Galactic Alliance was a bad choice. They are heroes, not criminals. In this entire series, the whole Han and Wedge are defending Corelia plot does not work for me. None of the movies give us any clue that Han cares about Corelia at all, let alone killing hundreds? thousands? of Galactic Alliance members/inhabitants for the sake of an rogue planet. The character of Jacen has been growing more arrogant, stupid, and savage through the series to this point. He is better than Vader? Won't make Vader's mistake? Too late. Indeed, I'd say that by the end of this book in the series, Jacen is more evil than Palpatine. Jacen wants to bring order to the galaxy. Killing needlessly is one way to do that and it seems that this is Jacen's way. How is that different from Vader seeking to bring order by destroying the Rebellion. In Jacen's case, however, it's totally myopic. I'm going to create order my way. That makes my actions good. Then, of course, there's Lumia (sp?). Jacen would not be in this arrogant lust for power were it not for Lumia. Nowhere along in this series has Jacen given serious attention to the evil that Lumia has done. It's fine to murder a defenseless Jedi but punish Lumia? Never. Why? Jacen has bought into her whole story, including the part about killing what you love. Jacen didn't love Mara. That whole story line is Bantha fodder. This is the same kind of junk that made Fate of the Jedi, which I read first, a series I didn't like either. I don't care about any of the characters in the story. No military or police force is going to have a thirteen-year-old going on missions, let alone assasinating someone. That's ridiculous. I don't think I've read any SW story by Travis that I thought was true to the movie characters. The same goes for Troy Deming, and for similar reasons. Both also introduce alien things, like witches' rituals, to the plot line, and don't get me started on Ship.
April 7, 2008
Despite knowing what was going to happen in this book, I tried to be objective, but found ultimately that Kathy Traviss' love of Mandolorians and lack of skill in writing the women of Star Wars (unless they are Mando's) just frustrated the heck out of me.
There were some positive moments, but I wish someone would have taken a the time to let her know that there are other ways to address family members (other then Sweetheart, which is def. not the way Mara Jade would ever refer to Luke.)
Lets not get me started on the 'big' moment of the book--which I won't spoil for anyone other then to say it was lame, weak, and disappointing. If the sacrifice had to happened, why couldn't they do it with more style and in a more fitting manner to give this particular character his/her due?
There were some positive moments, but I wish someone would have taken a the time to let her know that there are other ways to address family members (other then Sweetheart, which is def. not the way Mara Jade would ever refer to Luke.)
Lets not get me started on the 'big' moment of the book--which I won't spoil for anyone other then to say it was lame, weak, and disappointing. If the sacrifice had to happened, why couldn't they do it with more style and in a more fitting manner to give this particular character his/her due?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2007
Continues the chaotic decline of the Skywalker/Solo clan. I wasn't quite as upset about Mara dying as I might have been at one time - the NJO and the EU generally has gone so far beyond what I consider interesting that I find I don't care as much as I used to. Through most of it, I just wished Anakin would come back and smack some sense into Jacen. Come on - Obi-Wan came back as a blue ghost - why not Vader?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2022
I think I'd like this story a bit better if we didn't know Jacen was Mara's murderer. I think there's going to be shock at his betrayal, and Traviss (and the other authors, but I feel like Traviss is carrying the weight of his story) is doing a great job of covering his tracks and seeding the others' doubts. I wish we could experience that with the characters, but I understand why they can't take that approach here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2010
I had read star wars books for a while but stopped. I picked them up again and was so taken in by the storyline. Sacrifice reminded me so much of the first time I saw empire strikes back. It so perfectly showed how easy it was for a good man to turn from everything he knew since childhood. It reminded me of an old expression "The path to hell is paved with good intentions" Jacen chosing to take the role of sith for his reasons so perfectly suits this saying.
December 20, 2022
Sacrifice is easily the best book of the Legacy of the Force series so far. It is a solid novel from cover to cover that becomes truly exceptional in its last third and has left me pumped for the rest of the series. This book has everything: politics, intrigue, family drama, murder, betrayal, and � as if all this weren’t enough � it furthers the overarching plot in a major way. Given how stoked I am about this novel, it might seem surprising that I have not rated it five stars (interpret my 4-star rating as a strong 4.5). The reason for that is that there are some plot points that really bother me, which I will write about in more detail in the rant that is about to follow (sorry in advance).
Before getting into the bad, let’s start with the good, of which Sacrifice has a lot to offer. First of all, there is the politics. The conflict between the Galactic Alliance and its seceding members has reached a new level of escalation (we’re talking assassination of a political leader at the hands of Alliance agents coinciding with what is basically a military coup within the GA). Essentially, Jacen is behind everything bending the law and orchestrating events thereby preparing the galaxy for when he will inevitably take charge. Still uncertain on how to proceed with Ben, he drags the boy along hoping the Force will solve this issue for him. Personally, I really love politics in Star Wars, especially when it ties in closely with the personal lives of the main characters. This is exactly what happens here at an extent that goes well beyond what has become the norm post New Republic, a level of integration that hasn’t been seen perhaps since Leia was Chief of State. I really enjoyed this element of the story and am hoping that given Jacen’s recent ascension to political power there will be more material to follow in this vein in the subsequent installments.
While the politics and the intrigue associated with it are interesting, these aspects alone do not make Sacrifice a remarkable novel, it is the Mara Jade storyline that elevates it to another level. For me, while distressing, her death didn’t really come as a surprise. I knew Mara was going to die at some point (the material is so old by now it is pretty hard not to get spoiled about major events like that), I just didn’t know when and how exactly it was going to occur. However, when I picked up this novel, which has Mara on the cover and is titled Sacrifice, I had a very strong feeling she would not come out of this story alive. Now that I have stomached her demise, I have to say it is executed perfectly in this novel. The writing of her death and how her close family feels it through the Force is amazing goose-bump material. I really have to hand it to Karen Traviss, she did an amazing job at making Mara’s last moments impactful. As for how her death happens, initially, I felt that a poisoned dart is kind of a cheap trick unworthy of such a strong Force wielder. Yet, in hindsight, I think it fits perfectly. Yes, it seems unfair, but Jacen obviously doesn’t care about playing fair anymore. More importantly, the fact that Jacen fails to kill her through conventional means underscores Mara’s abilities both as a Jedi Master and a former top-level assassin. Throughout their entire quarrel, Jacen is absolutely convinced that Mara does not stand a chance against him, believing only he has achieved true mastery of the Force. Regardless, every single trick Mara plans to use against Jacen works exactly the way she intends to. His hubris has led him to gravely underestimate his opponent (that’s what will eventually kill him � I’m calling it now) and he must resort to a sordid trick to be able to perform the deed. The fact that Mara manages to give him a first-rate beating before she goes and the very strong notion that she would have been able to use Jacen’s overestimation of his own abilities to defeat him on a level playing field, really alleviate some of the tragedy stemming from her death.
Her final moment is not the only instance in which Mara is able to shine in this novel, though. Before, we get to see her go back to her roots as she embarks on her self-imposed mission of hunting down and finally eliminating Lumiya. For this purpose, she breaks out skills and equipment shelved when she had to abandon her former life as Emperor’s Hand. It was fun to see Mara return to what she does best for her final story arch. On top of that, I liked the many glimpses into Mara’s thoughts and reasoning that are presented throughout the story. Despite living according to the Jedi Order’s standards and ideals for years, Mara has retained her own set of morals that allow taking a life in cold blood if necessary (which clashes in a major way with her husband’s adamant belief in the redeemability of any individual no matter their actions).
Besides giving Mara one last substantial arch, Traviss really makes sure there are no loose threads left for her by making sure Mara has at least one meaningful interaction with the characters closest to her. Ben finally confides in his mother and their relationship reaches a new level of trust and mutual understanding, which is kind of bittersweet, I guess. Jaina gets one last serving of tough love from her aunt and former mentor, which presumably pushes her onto a trajectory to get her life together. Mara also makes sure she has one last conversation with Leia before setting off to kill Jacen asking her for her assessment of the drivers behind her son’s actions. This interaction underscores the character development Mara has undergone since her first introduction in the Thrawn Trilogy. The Mara Jade of the past would not have second guessed her resolve to eliminate a threat, regardless of family ties. The only relationship I think falls a little short in receiving a proper conclusion is hers with Luke. The two of them do not really get a proper goodbye, although � like Ben � Mara makes sure to touch Luke through the Force as she goes, which makes for a beautiful, yet very sad scene.
While Sacrifice is an amazing book and I have found lots to love about is, there is one reoccurring element of the plot, which I find infuriating. Namely, how stupid and gullible everyone is with respect to Jacen and his actions. However, this aspect is not particular to this novel, but something that has bothered me about the entire series so far.
To underscore my point, here is a brief summary of how said underlying stupidity manifests in this novel: Shady stuff is going on within the GAG? Must be a mole. Jacen has a nice little chat with Lumiya? Must be influenced by her somehow. Some powerful Force user kills Mara? Must have been Lumiya. Lumiya has an alibi? Omg, some mysterious Dark Sider has gone rampant in the galaxy! Meanwhile Jacen is acting a little shady and sort of leaning towards the Dark Side a bit too much � that’s probably unrelated.
You see why I wanted to yell a few times reading this? At this point everything points towards Jacen. Leia herself says that her son cannot easily be influenced. Still, everyone clings to the belief that, somehow, Lumiya is behind everything. Even when there is hard evidence (Ben overhears them after all), Mara does not immediately conclude Jacen is to blame, but needs reassurance first. I get that Ben is reluctant to throw his mentor under the bus. He is still a child and therefore lacks the experience that would have made him shed his naivety. Also, Han and Leia might be hesitant to blame their own son (yet they are suspicious at least). For everyone else, though, there is no excuse. It is really frustrating that Mara never shares her intel with anyone (especially Luke) because that now only leaves Ben with the ability to figure things out. Surprisingly, he comes kind of close to that in the end, whereas his father � again � immediately jumps towards blaming Lumiya. For once, Luke succumbs vigilantism and kills Lumiya, thereby successfully silencing an important witness. It amazes me that even when he learns he has bet on the wrong horse, he still does not conclude Jacen is to blame. Why would Lumiya claim she has killed Mara if she weren’t covering for someone? And who may that someone be if not Jacen? Come on! This whole situation is super frustrating, and I hope that in the next novel someone will finally call Jacen’s BS (Jaina or Leia perhaps) and that this charade will be over at last.
On a related note, I think it is kind of puzzling that no one reacts alarmed to Jacen effectively taking charge of the GA by becoming joint Chief of State. I would have loved to learn Leia’s opinion on this (or � even better � see her reaction to finding out). If anyone knows how politics work it is her and she should have smelled an intrigue from miles away (and probably did, we just weren’t shown). Besides that, it is kind of funny that Jacen would even be offered this position, literally the highest one there is, given he has precisely zero political experience. Why on earth would the Senators agree to this solution? Some random military guy just being assigned co-Chief for checks and balances purposes. Ha!
Then, of course there is the matter of Jacen being able to send a 14-year-old to carry out an assassination job and no one questions it? Wtf? I know in the military superiors aren’t challenged, but an underage kid working for them is already dubious at best, so his being chosen for such a delicate task is where the soldiers should probably draw the line.
Finally, Jacen’s entire fall to the Dark Side does not come across like a fall at all, but like a plunge he takes deliberately. Ever since he has come up with a rationalization for his becoming a Sith Lord (literally, the first and easiest one he could find), he has moved in that direction without second thought, putting to use Lumiya like a welcome assistant to achieve his objectives. I cannot help but wonder where all the duplicity has gone that used to be such a central element of Jacen’s view on life (and that has made him such an annoying teenager in the past). Why is he suddenly so intent on the Dark when he abolished Light and Dark thinking long ago embracing what is essentially a grey area? It is aggravating to see him suddenly and unthinkingly idolize Vader acknowledging the latter’s mistakes while committing the exact same ones somehow believing things will turn out differently for him. It amazes me that apparently all it took was for him to become a father to unhinge what used to be a steady personality. At this point it is clear that things cannot end well for Jacen, but the authors of this series have made such a good job at making him unlikeable that I don’t feel sorry for him at all.
Despite some irksome nuisances relating to its plot, the positive by far outweighs the negative in Sacrifice making it a superb Star Wars novel. Bear in mind that if you are looking for extended space combat paired with a happy ending, this is not the book for you. So far, this is my personal highlight of the series, and soldiering through the previous installments is well worth it to get to this one. I am really excited for what the rest of the series will bring and am hoping that the remaining books keep up the high quality-level established here while perhaps clearing up some of the abovementioned plot-issues.
Before getting into the bad, let’s start with the good, of which Sacrifice has a lot to offer. First of all, there is the politics. The conflict between the Galactic Alliance and its seceding members has reached a new level of escalation (we’re talking assassination of a political leader at the hands of Alliance agents coinciding with what is basically a military coup within the GA). Essentially, Jacen is behind everything bending the law and orchestrating events thereby preparing the galaxy for when he will inevitably take charge. Still uncertain on how to proceed with Ben, he drags the boy along hoping the Force will solve this issue for him. Personally, I really love politics in Star Wars, especially when it ties in closely with the personal lives of the main characters. This is exactly what happens here at an extent that goes well beyond what has become the norm post New Republic, a level of integration that hasn’t been seen perhaps since Leia was Chief of State. I really enjoyed this element of the story and am hoping that given Jacen’s recent ascension to political power there will be more material to follow in this vein in the subsequent installments.
While the politics and the intrigue associated with it are interesting, these aspects alone do not make Sacrifice a remarkable novel, it is the Mara Jade storyline that elevates it to another level. For me, while distressing, her death didn’t really come as a surprise. I knew Mara was going to die at some point (the material is so old by now it is pretty hard not to get spoiled about major events like that), I just didn’t know when and how exactly it was going to occur. However, when I picked up this novel, which has Mara on the cover and is titled Sacrifice, I had a very strong feeling she would not come out of this story alive. Now that I have stomached her demise, I have to say it is executed perfectly in this novel. The writing of her death and how her close family feels it through the Force is amazing goose-bump material. I really have to hand it to Karen Traviss, she did an amazing job at making Mara’s last moments impactful. As for how her death happens, initially, I felt that a poisoned dart is kind of a cheap trick unworthy of such a strong Force wielder. Yet, in hindsight, I think it fits perfectly. Yes, it seems unfair, but Jacen obviously doesn’t care about playing fair anymore. More importantly, the fact that Jacen fails to kill her through conventional means underscores Mara’s abilities both as a Jedi Master and a former top-level assassin. Throughout their entire quarrel, Jacen is absolutely convinced that Mara does not stand a chance against him, believing only he has achieved true mastery of the Force. Regardless, every single trick Mara plans to use against Jacen works exactly the way she intends to. His hubris has led him to gravely underestimate his opponent (that’s what will eventually kill him � I’m calling it now) and he must resort to a sordid trick to be able to perform the deed. The fact that Mara manages to give him a first-rate beating before she goes and the very strong notion that she would have been able to use Jacen’s overestimation of his own abilities to defeat him on a level playing field, really alleviate some of the tragedy stemming from her death.
Her final moment is not the only instance in which Mara is able to shine in this novel, though. Before, we get to see her go back to her roots as she embarks on her self-imposed mission of hunting down and finally eliminating Lumiya. For this purpose, she breaks out skills and equipment shelved when she had to abandon her former life as Emperor’s Hand. It was fun to see Mara return to what she does best for her final story arch. On top of that, I liked the many glimpses into Mara’s thoughts and reasoning that are presented throughout the story. Despite living according to the Jedi Order’s standards and ideals for years, Mara has retained her own set of morals that allow taking a life in cold blood if necessary (which clashes in a major way with her husband’s adamant belief in the redeemability of any individual no matter their actions).
Besides giving Mara one last substantial arch, Traviss really makes sure there are no loose threads left for her by making sure Mara has at least one meaningful interaction with the characters closest to her. Ben finally confides in his mother and their relationship reaches a new level of trust and mutual understanding, which is kind of bittersweet, I guess. Jaina gets one last serving of tough love from her aunt and former mentor, which presumably pushes her onto a trajectory to get her life together. Mara also makes sure she has one last conversation with Leia before setting off to kill Jacen asking her for her assessment of the drivers behind her son’s actions. This interaction underscores the character development Mara has undergone since her first introduction in the Thrawn Trilogy. The Mara Jade of the past would not have second guessed her resolve to eliminate a threat, regardless of family ties. The only relationship I think falls a little short in receiving a proper conclusion is hers with Luke. The two of them do not really get a proper goodbye, although � like Ben � Mara makes sure to touch Luke through the Force as she goes, which makes for a beautiful, yet very sad scene.
While Sacrifice is an amazing book and I have found lots to love about is, there is one reoccurring element of the plot, which I find infuriating. Namely, how stupid and gullible everyone is with respect to Jacen and his actions. However, this aspect is not particular to this novel, but something that has bothered me about the entire series so far.
To underscore my point, here is a brief summary of how said underlying stupidity manifests in this novel: Shady stuff is going on within the GAG? Must be a mole. Jacen has a nice little chat with Lumiya? Must be influenced by her somehow. Some powerful Force user kills Mara? Must have been Lumiya. Lumiya has an alibi? Omg, some mysterious Dark Sider has gone rampant in the galaxy! Meanwhile Jacen is acting a little shady and sort of leaning towards the Dark Side a bit too much � that’s probably unrelated.
You see why I wanted to yell a few times reading this? At this point everything points towards Jacen. Leia herself says that her son cannot easily be influenced. Still, everyone clings to the belief that, somehow, Lumiya is behind everything. Even when there is hard evidence (Ben overhears them after all), Mara does not immediately conclude Jacen is to blame, but needs reassurance first. I get that Ben is reluctant to throw his mentor under the bus. He is still a child and therefore lacks the experience that would have made him shed his naivety. Also, Han and Leia might be hesitant to blame their own son (yet they are suspicious at least). For everyone else, though, there is no excuse. It is really frustrating that Mara never shares her intel with anyone (especially Luke) because that now only leaves Ben with the ability to figure things out. Surprisingly, he comes kind of close to that in the end, whereas his father � again � immediately jumps towards blaming Lumiya. For once, Luke succumbs vigilantism and kills Lumiya, thereby successfully silencing an important witness. It amazes me that even when he learns he has bet on the wrong horse, he still does not conclude Jacen is to blame. Why would Lumiya claim she has killed Mara if she weren’t covering for someone? And who may that someone be if not Jacen? Come on! This whole situation is super frustrating, and I hope that in the next novel someone will finally call Jacen’s BS (Jaina or Leia perhaps) and that this charade will be over at last.
On a related note, I think it is kind of puzzling that no one reacts alarmed to Jacen effectively taking charge of the GA by becoming joint Chief of State. I would have loved to learn Leia’s opinion on this (or � even better � see her reaction to finding out). If anyone knows how politics work it is her and she should have smelled an intrigue from miles away (and probably did, we just weren’t shown). Besides that, it is kind of funny that Jacen would even be offered this position, literally the highest one there is, given he has precisely zero political experience. Why on earth would the Senators agree to this solution? Some random military guy just being assigned co-Chief for checks and balances purposes. Ha!
Then, of course there is the matter of Jacen being able to send a 14-year-old to carry out an assassination job and no one questions it? Wtf? I know in the military superiors aren’t challenged, but an underage kid working for them is already dubious at best, so his being chosen for such a delicate task is where the soldiers should probably draw the line.
Finally, Jacen’s entire fall to the Dark Side does not come across like a fall at all, but like a plunge he takes deliberately. Ever since he has come up with a rationalization for his becoming a Sith Lord (literally, the first and easiest one he could find), he has moved in that direction without second thought, putting to use Lumiya like a welcome assistant to achieve his objectives. I cannot help but wonder where all the duplicity has gone that used to be such a central element of Jacen’s view on life (and that has made him such an annoying teenager in the past). Why is he suddenly so intent on the Dark when he abolished Light and Dark thinking long ago embracing what is essentially a grey area? It is aggravating to see him suddenly and unthinkingly idolize Vader acknowledging the latter’s mistakes while committing the exact same ones somehow believing things will turn out differently for him. It amazes me that apparently all it took was for him to become a father to unhinge what used to be a steady personality. At this point it is clear that things cannot end well for Jacen, but the authors of this series have made such a good job at making him unlikeable that I don’t feel sorry for him at all.
Despite some irksome nuisances relating to its plot, the positive by far outweighs the negative in Sacrifice making it a superb Star Wars novel. Bear in mind that if you are looking for extended space combat paired with a happy ending, this is not the book for you. So far, this is my personal highlight of the series, and soldiering through the previous installments is well worth it to get to this one. I am really excited for what the rest of the series will bring and am hoping that the remaining books keep up the high quality-level established here while perhaps clearing up some of the abovementioned plot-issues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2007
The cardinal sin for a Star Wars novel should be that it is BORING. This one was boring, despite the fact that significant in-world events occurred. Thankfully I didn't buy it.
Read
June 12, 2008Not one of my favorite Star Wars adventures. I don't like when they make Luke mambi pambi, and yes that is a technical term = )
January 18, 2022
It gets worse
March 29, 2018
Rating: 7/10
A Sacrifice Made...A Good But Sad Story...
Warning: This review may contain spoilers.
Oh the irony of fate - after all of Jacen's posturing about not falling into the same weakness as his grandfather Anakin Skywalker, with the current circumstances he's not far of saying as Anakin once did "I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire!" Finally, it has taken five (in what felt at times) slow books in the Legacy of the Force series, and the foreshadowing in earlier series, but the fall of Jacen Solo into Darth Caedus has been complete. Whilst I wish one of my all time didn't have to die, the blow was lessened by the fact I knew the storyline just have never had a chance to actually read the book from the start to finish. Although the fight between Mara and Jacen began promisingly, I felt her death in the end was a little too easy at the hand of Jacen. After everything Mara hasn't experienced and been trained in, it felt too quick to dismissive for her to die that quickly at the hands of poison. She is a character known for her stubborness and survival, and especially after the dual it just felt odd. I think the "sacrifice" was more Mara sacrificing her life to save her son Ben's from Jacen and Lumiya, more than a sacrifice for Jacen. Whilst she is family, through this series and even in previous Jacen has grown more and more detached from his family, including Jaina (who hasn't even been a large role in this series yet), with the exception of Ben and Tenel Ka. I think it would have made all the more sense to use her or their daughter, and cement his path to the darkside, than Mara but perhaps this is just being nit-picky.
That being said, Sacrifice was certainly one of the better novels in the Legacy of the Force series, with a better balance of politics, action and plot. Hopefully after the everything established in this novel, the next doesn't fall into the trap that the earlier novels in the series seemed to fall into - inaction and let Jacen run around unchecked. I look forward to seeing how the now torn Skywalker/Solo family confronts and challenges Jacen and his new role, mantle and "values". I look forward to seeing Darth Caedus in action as a Sith Lord and the evil he can rain upon the galaxy, as he steps into the new role for the first time.
Ben continued to improve and develop as a character in Sacrifice, and some of the novels best moments were the small scenes between him and Mara, simple mother and son as they both come to terms with the person he is growing into, and doing the best to support and understand (not judge) one another. After everything discussed, her death, and especially at the hands of Jacen will be a big event that will probably shape the future of Ben.
A lingering concern for Sacrifice, and the Legacy of the Force series is how little Jaina is in. Given everything happening with her family, and what he twin brother is doing she has been very absent from most of the storytelling, which for me is not well developed for the plot as it isn't really believable.
On the plus side Luke finally wised up and killed Lumiya, so she won't be around as a lingering annoyance to the characters in the series, even though her damage has long been done.
A Sacrifice Made...A Good But Sad Story...
Warning: This review may contain spoilers.
Oh the irony of fate - after all of Jacen's posturing about not falling into the same weakness as his grandfather Anakin Skywalker, with the current circumstances he's not far of saying as Anakin once did "I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire!" Finally, it has taken five (in what felt at times) slow books in the Legacy of the Force series, and the foreshadowing in earlier series, but the fall of Jacen Solo into Darth Caedus has been complete. Whilst I wish one of my all time didn't have to die, the blow was lessened by the fact I knew the storyline just have never had a chance to actually read the book from the start to finish. Although the fight between Mara and Jacen began promisingly, I felt her death in the end was a little too easy at the hand of Jacen. After everything Mara hasn't experienced and been trained in, it felt too quick to dismissive for her to die that quickly at the hands of poison. She is a character known for her stubborness and survival, and especially after the dual it just felt odd. I think the "sacrifice" was more Mara sacrificing her life to save her son Ben's from Jacen and Lumiya, more than a sacrifice for Jacen. Whilst she is family, through this series and even in previous Jacen has grown more and more detached from his family, including Jaina (who hasn't even been a large role in this series yet), with the exception of Ben and Tenel Ka. I think it would have made all the more sense to use her or their daughter, and cement his path to the darkside, than Mara but perhaps this is just being nit-picky.
That being said, Sacrifice was certainly one of the better novels in the Legacy of the Force series, with a better balance of politics, action and plot. Hopefully after the everything established in this novel, the next doesn't fall into the trap that the earlier novels in the series seemed to fall into - inaction and let Jacen run around unchecked. I look forward to seeing how the now torn Skywalker/Solo family confronts and challenges Jacen and his new role, mantle and "values". I look forward to seeing Darth Caedus in action as a Sith Lord and the evil he can rain upon the galaxy, as he steps into the new role for the first time.
Ben continued to improve and develop as a character in Sacrifice, and some of the novels best moments were the small scenes between him and Mara, simple mother and son as they both come to terms with the person he is growing into, and doing the best to support and understand (not judge) one another. After everything discussed, her death, and especially at the hands of Jacen will be a big event that will probably shape the future of Ben.
A lingering concern for Sacrifice, and the Legacy of the Force series is how little Jaina is in. Given everything happening with her family, and what he twin brother is doing she has been very absent from most of the storytelling, which for me is not well developed for the plot as it isn't really believable.
On the plus side Luke finally wised up and killed Lumiya, so she won't be around as a lingering annoyance to the characters in the series, even though her damage has long been done.
April 5, 2025
THESE BOOKS MAKE ME FERAL WITH RAGE. Let's gooooooo.
-Honestly Karen Traviss hates women so much. It's really a shame that she wrote the book in which Mara dies. I like Mara! But it's rough when we spend the entire book watching her be a violent, stupid, irrational asshole. Honestly it's a little hard to be sympathetic to her when she was hunting Jacen in cold blood to murder him first. But even leaving that aside, the wild ride of gender essentialism around motherhood was beyond difficult to tolerate.
-Just for today, Leia Organa is not gonna worry about fat content. (WOMEN BE DIETING, AM I RIGHT?)
-Nobody in the Solo/Skywalker family seems to love or like each other. The only scene with any warmth was the one where Jaina and Luke are comforting each other.
-JAINA. Listen, why is Jaina so egregious sidelined in these books? This is Jacen's TWIN SISTER and she's over here HEAD EMPTY about everything that's going on. And oh, how great was it when Mara furiously berated her for only thinking about boys at a time like this? WOMEN, AM. I. RIGHT? Jeeeeesus Christ.
-Look. Ben is FOURTEEN. HE'S FOURTEEN. He's a CHILD. If I have to hear one more word about how he's a "man now," I'm going to scream. Why did they enlist a CHILD to do political assassination? Especially one who'd never used a gun before?
-Okay I will be 100% honest, the Mandos are starting to grow on me. Maybe it's that they're Star Wars' First Gay Character (!!), but I'm about it. That being said, wouldn't it have been great if this book was half the length and we didn't have Mandos? And did I read "Boba Fett: A Practical Man"? No, why the hell would I do that?
-Luke had some great character moments. I really appreciated when he was Action Luke. Of course he was immediately crushed into submission by his SHREW OF A WIFE, as we are meant to understand that Mara is. This was rough after how sweet their relationship was in the previous book.
-"Darth Caedus." lmaooooooooo I guess we know when this book was written. Jacen in a lil pac sun beanie and wide-leg jeans fr.
-Truly if I could change one thing about this book, it wouldn't even be the misogyny, it would be those embarrassing little "quotes" at the beginning of each chapter.
-The government takeover just isn't--Look, did we have to just do the prequels over again? Is that really interesting? I did think "Jacen learns about basic laws from a droid" was hilarious.
-That. That is not what "immortalize" means. I wish they'd decided what any of the prophecy meant in advance instead of twisting the story to try to match it.
-This is my least favorite Star Wars book. It's worse than "The Courtship of Princess Leia." It's worse than "Shadows of the Empire." At least in those books, the women that the author hates and disrespects don't end up murdered.
-Honestly Karen Traviss hates women so much. It's really a shame that she wrote the book in which Mara dies. I like Mara! But it's rough when we spend the entire book watching her be a violent, stupid, irrational asshole. Honestly it's a little hard to be sympathetic to her when she was hunting Jacen in cold blood to murder him first. But even leaving that aside, the wild ride of gender essentialism around motherhood was beyond difficult to tolerate.
-Just for today, Leia Organa is not gonna worry about fat content. (WOMEN BE DIETING, AM I RIGHT?)
-Nobody in the Solo/Skywalker family seems to love or like each other. The only scene with any warmth was the one where Jaina and Luke are comforting each other.
-JAINA. Listen, why is Jaina so egregious sidelined in these books? This is Jacen's TWIN SISTER and she's over here HEAD EMPTY about everything that's going on. And oh, how great was it when Mara furiously berated her for only thinking about boys at a time like this? WOMEN, AM. I. RIGHT? Jeeeeesus Christ.
-Look. Ben is FOURTEEN. HE'S FOURTEEN. He's a CHILD. If I have to hear one more word about how he's a "man now," I'm going to scream. Why did they enlist a CHILD to do political assassination? Especially one who'd never used a gun before?
-Okay I will be 100% honest, the Mandos are starting to grow on me. Maybe it's that they're Star Wars' First Gay Character (!!), but I'm about it. That being said, wouldn't it have been great if this book was half the length and we didn't have Mandos? And did I read "Boba Fett: A Practical Man"? No, why the hell would I do that?
-Luke had some great character moments. I really appreciated when he was Action Luke. Of course he was immediately crushed into submission by his SHREW OF A WIFE, as we are meant to understand that Mara is. This was rough after how sweet their relationship was in the previous book.
-"Darth Caedus." lmaooooooooo I guess we know when this book was written. Jacen in a lil pac sun beanie and wide-leg jeans fr.
-Truly if I could change one thing about this book, it wouldn't even be the misogyny, it would be those embarrassing little "quotes" at the beginning of each chapter.
-The government takeover just isn't--Look, did we have to just do the prequels over again? Is that really interesting? I did think "Jacen learns about basic laws from a droid" was hilarious.
-That. That is not what "immortalize" means. I wish they'd decided what any of the prophecy meant in advance instead of twisting the story to try to match it.
-This is my least favorite Star Wars book. It's worse than "The Courtship of Princess Leia." It's worse than "Shadows of the Empire." At least in those books, the women that the author hates and disrespects don't end up murdered.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2020
Finally, the big climactic scenes we've been waiting for for six books. Unfortunately, it takes the majority of 400 pages full of dull and unnecessary political intriuge that isn't really intriguing. I don't know why Lucas had allowed these books to be filled with such repetitive political nonsense again and again. If these books cut half of that out, the series could have been wrapped up in four tight, solid books instead of nine drawn out repetitive ones.
***spoilers***
Those complaints aside, the final steps towards Jacen becoming a Sith Lord and members of his family finally coming to that realization, lead to the most interesting and exciting scenes in dozens of books. The big fight scenes at the end were reminiscent of the duels at the end of Revenge of the Sith, and by far the best chapters Traviss has ever put to paper.
***spoilers***
Those complaints aside, the final steps towards Jacen becoming a Sith Lord and members of his family finally coming to that realization, lead to the most interesting and exciting scenes in dozens of books. The big fight scenes at the end were reminiscent of the duels at the end of Revenge of the Sith, and by far the best chapters Traviss has ever put to paper.
February 22, 2018
The first truly enjoyable book in the Legacy series, 'Sacrifice' features a lot of action as well as continued build-up of the Jacen Solo dark side storyline. The death of one of my favorite characters was tough to handle, but as with Anakin Solo - this death was pretty glorious.
It did have it weak points. I felt the Boba Fett storyline was boring and uneventful, but Traviss kept it to a minimum and since she is the expert on Mandalore she was the best person to tell that tale. I also don't like the magical 'you become a Sith Master after you immortalize your love' thing. I believe a natural ascendancy into the dark side is better and more believable, but Traviss was writing under the direction of the SWU team so she didn't have a choice. I also didn't really buy Mara Jade refusing to tell Luke anything that was going on before she died, but it was a necessary evil and many books do the same thing. The final 100 pages were like a roller coaster ride going downhill. Tough to put down and enough to earn five stars in my opinion.
It did have it weak points. I felt the Boba Fett storyline was boring and uneventful, but Traviss kept it to a minimum and since she is the expert on Mandalore she was the best person to tell that tale. I also don't like the magical 'you become a Sith Master after you immortalize your love' thing. I believe a natural ascendancy into the dark side is better and more believable, but Traviss was writing under the direction of the SWU team so she didn't have a choice. I also didn't really buy Mara Jade refusing to tell Luke anything that was going on before she died, but it was a necessary evil and many books do the same thing. The final 100 pages were like a roller coaster ride going downhill. Tough to put down and enough to earn five stars in my opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2024
I hate that Karen Traviss is ex-military and a pig sympathizer, because I really enjoy her writing. I'm choosing to see it as an exercise in art-over-artist appreciation.
This story had a ton of suspended belief moments and Mary Sue'ism, some of which was just silly. Accepting that, I just couldn't put this down. Ben's story arc is finally getting better, and it feels like we're heading into a welcome chaotic escalation in the LotF lineup.
This story had a ton of suspended belief moments and Mary Sue'ism, some of which was just silly. Accepting that, I just couldn't put this down. Ben's story arc is finally getting better, and it feels like we're heading into a welcome chaotic escalation in the LotF lineup.
March 24, 2024
For a book with a monumental conclusion, the result feels...anti-climactic. Many of these short run series in the latter parts of what is now called the "Legends" era are well written...but they also seem to enjoy dragging out their long-term stories far longer than they should. Even epics can be edited down...you just need an editor brave enough to do it.
December 8, 2019
Well-written Star Wars. Pretty decent. =)
May 26, 2021
The series is getting better. I am more interested to know what will happen to the characters with the end of the series.
Disney should have used this series for their recent trilogy.
Disney should have used this series for their recent trilogy.
October 11, 2021
This one gets off to a slow start after the action during the end of the book prior but the last 1/4th I couldn't put it down. Loving this series so far.
February 5, 2024
HE WILL IMMORTALIZE HIS LOVE.
I dunno, maybe it's closer to two stars, but y'know...
Finally, the big one, the middle chapter, the one that managed to weed out all the remaining hardcore Thrawn Trilogy fans! Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice is not completely without redeeming qualities, I guess. Having endured the entirety of its 367 pages and reflecting on them, however, I cannot help but ask myself... What is even the point anymore?
In many ways, Sacrifice is the same book as Traviss' previous work, Bloodlines. The first fifty pages or so are actually quite great, standing out as a righting of the series' previous wrongs, which is then followed up by the mind-numbing lethargy that the remaining ~300 pages represent. There is a frankly decent Boba Fett/Mandalorian subplot which has little, or - in this novel's case - nothing to do with the rest of the plot. Jacen Solo reasons and behaves in a generally more intellectual and reflective manner than in Allston and Denning's books, but still primarily serves to fuel Traviss' digs at a certain British PM. Tough on chaos, tough on the causes of chaos, ohhhh yes. For further thoughts on these topics please refer to my Bloodlines review.
One thing I noticed this time around, however, is just how... barebones the prose here tends to be. In many ways it reminds me of a preliminary script of what is supposed to happen, as if it was a dry retelling of every event that happened cover to cover spruced up by Karen Traviss' signature tight 3rd person POV and some British idiomatic speech. In particular, locations and combat scenes are sparsely populated as far as orthographical interpretations of their existence goes, leading to the double-climax found at the tail end of Sacrifice falling short of reaching the gravitas it was (presumably?) supposed to. I recall someone speculating that one of the two scenes takes place on a rocky planetoid of some sort, but from what I remember, it was supposed to be a rural sort of area made up of ruined monuments on the surface. If I had to compare Sacrifice to Bloodlines in a more general sense I would say that it is a less monolithic work overall, which has positive and negative ramifications. The good thing is that the number of political office scenes, though still numerous, has been reduced overall, making this a less coma-inducing read in theory. Sadly, with the office scenes and Boba Fett's more integrated plot also goes the feeling of intra-novel cohesion. Sacrifice simply lacks the thematic weight and focus Bloodlines had with the eponymous familial motive, as well as Jacen's personal struggle and how that tied into the political plotline. For all its many, numerous flaws, I have to wonder if I undersold Bloodlines after all...
The one distinction I do wish to raise with Traviss' idiosyncratic writing style, however, has to do with its, for lack of a better term, "lifestyle" elements. I noticed this with Allston's Exile as well: just as Kyp Durron was mentioned as seeing a woman who likes his long hair and Ben was seen eating a perhaps overdescribed meal referred to as "kruffy pot pie", Traviss picks up on that and does Allston one better by absolutely going to town with it: Shevu gives Ben breadsticks explicitly described as having fruit in them, and he also has a girlfriend who likes Ben due to him doing the dishes for them! Mara and Kyp meet up in a juice bar, and if that wasn't enough, Mara later on shares a stupidly unhealthy double-sundae with Leia! Best of all, though, is Jacen, who orders "a three-course Toydarian low-fat banquet", writes "HE WILL IMMORTALIZE HIS LOVE" on the mirror on the wall, and then eats his food in the bathtub "like a bachelor slob". Easily one of the best visuals in any SW book ever. Without a doubt, this is the best scene in all of Star Wars. Sarcasm aside this is incredibly hilarious, of course, but I kind of like it - it's nice to see these authors take up what Michael Stackpole in particular always excelled at and give these characters some life outside the confines of the plot. The problem, however, lies in just how easy it is to spot Traviss' authorial tunnel-vision in how every character seems to think about low-fat dieting at least once in this book. Yeah no, forget what I said about this book being less monolithic than Bloodlines; clearly, the focus just shifted to diets rather than offices...
What else to mention besides the elephant in the room... Jacen? Well, there's no way to recover from the resplendent stupidity of Exile!Jacen, but this is probably his best appearance since LOTF 2. In fact, they're the same character, except this Jacen is less interesting as the series' "development" so far necessitates him to not dwell on his self-doubts anymore (though a few scenes like that do still exist, which I appreciate). Something something Tony Blair, something something, New Labour. On the bright side, Ben Skywalker is fun as always, and given that Bloodlines!Ben was my favorite of his iterations so far, getting the same thing but more weary and psychologically damaged struck me as interesting. A few of the side characters remain decent, with Niathal being perhaps the best due to getting some more dimension and attention than previously, so that's nice. Special shout-outs to Lon Shevu and Jori Lekauf, as well; they're perhaps a bit underdeveloped as far as unique personality traits go but still manage to radiate some warmth, camaraderie and a fresh next-generation feeling to combat the OT generation's firm grasp on these later EU stories. Lumiya also exists and has one important moment in particular, but... meh. She was interesting when first (re)introduced in Betrayal but has since failed to stand out as much of a character of her own, being just kind of generically evil with a somewhat complex relationship with Luke and a few moments of emotional insight. Speaking of Luke, he is awful! Completely and utterly dominated by his emotions, narcoleptic, and utterly unsympathetic as if this is The Swarm War, I just cannot bring myself to care for this guy. I get what they were trying to do with him and Lumiya at the end there, but... meh. As I said, too little time was given to the book's two climaxes for them to really stand out in any way when juxtaposed with Mara-rationalizing-her-next-move scene #365.
Alright, that's it. Spoilers ahead.
I went into this expecting an Exile-sized review but ended up kind of losing the plot with the spoiler section. Whatever. I truly do dislike this book, and it's my lowlight of the readthrough so far... I think. All of Bloodlines' flaws are still here and unaccounted for - made worse more often than not, in fact - and that's on top of my "highlight" here being a case of authorial tunnel vision. Maybe LOTF's second half is better. Against my better judgement, I trudge on as always.
I dunno, maybe it's closer to two stars, but y'know...
Finally, the big one, the middle chapter, the one that managed to weed out all the remaining hardcore Thrawn Trilogy fans! Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice is not completely without redeeming qualities, I guess. Having endured the entirety of its 367 pages and reflecting on them, however, I cannot help but ask myself... What is even the point anymore?
In many ways, Sacrifice is the same book as Traviss' previous work, Bloodlines. The first fifty pages or so are actually quite great, standing out as a righting of the series' previous wrongs, which is then followed up by the mind-numbing lethargy that the remaining ~300 pages represent. There is a frankly decent Boba Fett/Mandalorian subplot which has little, or - in this novel's case - nothing to do with the rest of the plot. Jacen Solo reasons and behaves in a generally more intellectual and reflective manner than in Allston and Denning's books, but still primarily serves to fuel Traviss' digs at a certain British PM. Tough on chaos, tough on the causes of chaos, ohhhh yes. For further thoughts on these topics please refer to my Bloodlines review.
One thing I noticed this time around, however, is just how... barebones the prose here tends to be. In many ways it reminds me of a preliminary script of what is supposed to happen, as if it was a dry retelling of every event that happened cover to cover spruced up by Karen Traviss' signature tight 3rd person POV and some British idiomatic speech. In particular, locations and combat scenes are sparsely populated as far as orthographical interpretations of their existence goes, leading to the double-climax found at the tail end of Sacrifice falling short of reaching the gravitas it was (presumably?) supposed to. I recall someone speculating that one of the two scenes takes place on a rocky planetoid of some sort, but from what I remember, it was supposed to be a rural sort of area made up of ruined monuments on the surface. If I had to compare Sacrifice to Bloodlines in a more general sense I would say that it is a less monolithic work overall, which has positive and negative ramifications. The good thing is that the number of political office scenes, though still numerous, has been reduced overall, making this a less coma-inducing read in theory. Sadly, with the office scenes and Boba Fett's more integrated plot also goes the feeling of intra-novel cohesion. Sacrifice simply lacks the thematic weight and focus Bloodlines had with the eponymous familial motive, as well as Jacen's personal struggle and how that tied into the political plotline. For all its many, numerous flaws, I have to wonder if I undersold Bloodlines after all...
The one distinction I do wish to raise with Traviss' idiosyncratic writing style, however, has to do with its, for lack of a better term, "lifestyle" elements. I noticed this with Allston's Exile as well: just as Kyp Durron was mentioned as seeing a woman who likes his long hair and Ben was seen eating a perhaps overdescribed meal referred to as "kruffy pot pie", Traviss picks up on that and does Allston one better by absolutely going to town with it: Shevu gives Ben breadsticks explicitly described as having fruit in them, and he also has a girlfriend who likes Ben due to him doing the dishes for them! Mara and Kyp meet up in a juice bar, and if that wasn't enough, Mara later on shares a stupidly unhealthy double-sundae with Leia! Best of all, though, is Jacen, who orders "a three-course Toydarian low-fat banquet", writes "HE WILL IMMORTALIZE HIS LOVE" on the mirror on the wall, and then eats his food in the bathtub "like a bachelor slob". Easily one of the best visuals in any SW book ever. Without a doubt, this is the best scene in all of Star Wars. Sarcasm aside this is incredibly hilarious, of course, but I kind of like it - it's nice to see these authors take up what Michael Stackpole in particular always excelled at and give these characters some life outside the confines of the plot. The problem, however, lies in just how easy it is to spot Traviss' authorial tunnel-vision in how every character seems to think about low-fat dieting at least once in this book. Yeah no, forget what I said about this book being less monolithic than Bloodlines; clearly, the focus just shifted to diets rather than offices...
What else to mention besides the elephant in the room... Jacen? Well, there's no way to recover from the resplendent stupidity of Exile!Jacen, but this is probably his best appearance since LOTF 2. In fact, they're the same character, except this Jacen is less interesting as the series' "development" so far necessitates him to not dwell on his self-doubts anymore (though a few scenes like that do still exist, which I appreciate). Something something Tony Blair, something something, New Labour. On the bright side, Ben Skywalker is fun as always, and given that Bloodlines!Ben was my favorite of his iterations so far, getting the same thing but more weary and psychologically damaged struck me as interesting. A few of the side characters remain decent, with Niathal being perhaps the best due to getting some more dimension and attention than previously, so that's nice. Special shout-outs to Lon Shevu and Jori Lekauf, as well; they're perhaps a bit underdeveloped as far as unique personality traits go but still manage to radiate some warmth, camaraderie and a fresh next-generation feeling to combat the OT generation's firm grasp on these later EU stories. Lumiya also exists and has one important moment in particular, but... meh. She was interesting when first (re)introduced in Betrayal but has since failed to stand out as much of a character of her own, being just kind of generically evil with a somewhat complex relationship with Luke and a few moments of emotional insight. Speaking of Luke, he is awful! Completely and utterly dominated by his emotions, narcoleptic, and utterly unsympathetic as if this is The Swarm War, I just cannot bring myself to care for this guy. I get what they were trying to do with him and Lumiya at the end there, but... meh. As I said, too little time was given to the book's two climaxes for them to really stand out in any way when juxtaposed with Mara-rationalizing-her-next-move scene #365.
Alright, that's it. Spoilers ahead.
I went into this expecting an Exile-sized review but ended up kind of losing the plot with the spoiler section. Whatever. I truly do dislike this book, and it's my lowlight of the readthrough so far... I think. All of Bloodlines' flaws are still here and unaccounted for - made worse more often than not, in fact - and that's on top of my "highlight" here being a case of authorial tunnel vision. Maybe LOTF's second half is better. Against my better judgement, I trudge on as always.
July 19, 2014
I admit, I'm biased against the author. I go in reading these expecting not to enjoy them and that probably taints my viewpoint. And I know, why read something that I'm expecting not to enjoy? Only because I want to read all the Star Wars novels. It's a goal, even the bad ones. So, I was ready to roll my eyes when the Mandalorians popped up again. It's funny how them and their language disappears from the galaxy until Traviss is writing in the galaxy. Their story within this novel felt fairly pointless. In fact, I found most of it unreadable. The novel could have done without it in my opinion. I didn't like the Boba Fett fighting off death in the last Legacy of the Force novel and it didn't taste any better in this one.
The first half of this novel was the Legacy of the Force series just spinning it's wheels again. The same things happening to the same people with the same responses. No characters are making any progress. In fact, the progress done in the previous novel seemed to be undone, especially Ben's progress. We're back to square one. The only purpose of Ben's trip was to get a cool ship. The things he learned about himself were all gone!
I hated how this book seemed to be a lot of political commentary. Given the year is was written in and fears about government controls the little section about comm taps and programs that listen for specific codewords seemed a blatant commentary about U.S. government and just pulled me out of the story. I believe fiction can be used to make important points, but it just didn't fit here.
Another thing that I hate in Star Wars is authors breaking the fourth wall. This happened when Luke "quotes" a certain admiral making the statement "It's a trap." Well known meme in our universe. In Luke's universe I'm not sure he would have even heard Ackbar say that. Even if he had, given the situation, I'm not sure it would be so groundbreaking that it would stick with him. Of all the stories told about the attack on the second Death Star I'm sure the Admiral yelling about it being a trap was at the bottom of the list. This kind of head nod to memes just annoys me.
While I'm on it, similar nods from previous novels (by other authors) that I also hate: Everyone referring to Mos Eisley as a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Why couldn't that be Obi Wan's personal perspective? All Corellians not wanting to know the odds. Why couldn't that be Han's personality quirk? Any anyone mentioning whether Han shot first or not in novels.
Okay, rant over. The saving grace of this book was that after the halfway point things actually started happening to change the universe. Characters die, governments are overthrown, more characters die.
So here it comes, the big spoiler and the final disappointment: Mara's death. She didn't disincorporate so that her body would remain so that people would be able to find clues about her death and track down her killer? How does that even make sense in this Universe? And how did Ben miss the presence of Jaden at that showdown? How about instead Mara becomes one with the force and, as Obi-Wan did, comes back as a force ghost to tell Luke straight out, "Jacen killed me. He's a Sith!"
I find the farther we get out from the original trilogy the worse the EU gets. AT this point, unless you're a hard core fan who intends to read everything (like me), I would suggest stopping before you get this far. The Dark Nest series and Legacy of the Force series have just been disappointing.
The first half of this novel was the Legacy of the Force series just spinning it's wheels again. The same things happening to the same people with the same responses. No characters are making any progress. In fact, the progress done in the previous novel seemed to be undone, especially Ben's progress. We're back to square one. The only purpose of Ben's trip was to get a cool ship. The things he learned about himself were all gone!
I hated how this book seemed to be a lot of political commentary. Given the year is was written in and fears about government controls the little section about comm taps and programs that listen for specific codewords seemed a blatant commentary about U.S. government and just pulled me out of the story. I believe fiction can be used to make important points, but it just didn't fit here.
Another thing that I hate in Star Wars is authors breaking the fourth wall. This happened when Luke "quotes" a certain admiral making the statement "It's a trap." Well known meme in our universe. In Luke's universe I'm not sure he would have even heard Ackbar say that. Even if he had, given the situation, I'm not sure it would be so groundbreaking that it would stick with him. Of all the stories told about the attack on the second Death Star I'm sure the Admiral yelling about it being a trap was at the bottom of the list. This kind of head nod to memes just annoys me.
While I'm on it, similar nods from previous novels (by other authors) that I also hate: Everyone referring to Mos Eisley as a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Why couldn't that be Obi Wan's personal perspective? All Corellians not wanting to know the odds. Why couldn't that be Han's personality quirk? Any anyone mentioning whether Han shot first or not in novels.
Okay, rant over. The saving grace of this book was that after the halfway point things actually started happening to change the universe. Characters die, governments are overthrown, more characters die.
So here it comes, the big spoiler and the final disappointment: Mara's death. She didn't disincorporate so that her body would remain so that people would be able to find clues about her death and track down her killer? How does that even make sense in this Universe? And how did Ben miss the presence of Jaden at that showdown? How about instead Mara becomes one with the force and, as Obi-Wan did, comes back as a force ghost to tell Luke straight out, "Jacen killed me. He's a Sith!"
I find the farther we get out from the original trilogy the worse the EU gets. AT this point, unless you're a hard core fan who intends to read everything (like me), I would suggest stopping before you get this far. The Dark Nest series and Legacy of the Force series have just been disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2010
**LONG & SPOILERS INCLUDED**
I've been impressed with this series, especially as compared to the last few years of SW writing. A few books have stood out, but not many. Thus far, this series has managed to convey action and character and a serious threat without too many snafus.
Now that there are enough books to form a pattern for the rest of the series, a decent review can be compiled. Overall, Jacen doesn't seem too evil in this book. Yes, he orders Ben to assassinate a head of state, but the tactic could be written off as military excess; cruel and violent, yes, but hardly Sith-level evil. Killing Tenel Ka as his "sacrifice" would have been utterly plausible, emotionally shocking, and added a lot more to the "Sith" story than Mara's death. While Mara's death does set up a Ben/Luke dark side plot, I'm getting tired of SW authors writing the next guy's book and throwing in oblique references to tertiary characters and events. Concentrate on the one you're writing and let the next author do the same! Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy is loved because it was internally consistent and could be enjoyed on its own merit, without needing to reference the previous works every two pages.
That being said, Traviss is a solid writer. Her Republic Commando books have been excellent, her action writing is solid, and she has a good take on her characters. I will be eternally grateful for two character points:
1 - Mara as an action-oriented, thinking, principled character. Too many authors have side-lined her post-wedding and child. A HUGE thank you to Ms. Traviss for remembering that she's still a fighter, just with a different focus.
2- I actually cared about Ben Skywalker for the first time. Let's face it: before this book, all we knew was that he was born during the Vong war, shut down his Force reception, and magically appears working with Jacen 10 years later. By the time Jacen and Jaina were this age in the SW universe, they had a 14 book series and we knew loads more. In Sacrifice, we finally get a brief but strong look at what forces have shaped him and what he believes in.
The best plot aspect was the scenes between Ben and Mara. That character development was individual and priceless to the series.
On the downside: Jacen "deciphering" the Sith prophecy after Mara's death was a let down. If he'd had an epiphany during the fight, that would have been much more climatic (and meaningful). Also, bring back Jaina and Tenel Ka. They are fighters, too, give them their due. I think the idea of a twin mirroring/clash has literary potential... too bad the authors had Jaina sit this one out (and at age 32, Jaina is no longer an indecisive teenager. Give the Jag/Zekk plot a quick death and let's move on). Unless Jaina shows up much more strongly in Inferno, her eventual entry into this plot line is going to be contrived and shallow.
The Fett plot is good, if a little overplayed.
I have to give Sacrifice 3 stars because I did enjoy it and it is a solid setup. But Mara Jade's death has already left a gaping hole in the character scheme of the SW EU. We only hope and pray that Zahn will step up to write a Mara-centric novel from an earlier time (please?). Or maybe someone will write a good novel on Ben's childhood.
One final note: Qui Gon left his body but still communicated with Yoda and Obi-Wan from the Jedi netherworld. Why can't Mara?
I've been impressed with this series, especially as compared to the last few years of SW writing. A few books have stood out, but not many. Thus far, this series has managed to convey action and character and a serious threat without too many snafus.
Now that there are enough books to form a pattern for the rest of the series, a decent review can be compiled. Overall, Jacen doesn't seem too evil in this book. Yes, he orders Ben to assassinate a head of state, but the tactic could be written off as military excess; cruel and violent, yes, but hardly Sith-level evil. Killing Tenel Ka as his "sacrifice" would have been utterly plausible, emotionally shocking, and added a lot more to the "Sith" story than Mara's death. While Mara's death does set up a Ben/Luke dark side plot, I'm getting tired of SW authors writing the next guy's book and throwing in oblique references to tertiary characters and events. Concentrate on the one you're writing and let the next author do the same! Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy is loved because it was internally consistent and could be enjoyed on its own merit, without needing to reference the previous works every two pages.
That being said, Traviss is a solid writer. Her Republic Commando books have been excellent, her action writing is solid, and she has a good take on her characters. I will be eternally grateful for two character points:
1 - Mara as an action-oriented, thinking, principled character. Too many authors have side-lined her post-wedding and child. A HUGE thank you to Ms. Traviss for remembering that she's still a fighter, just with a different focus.
2- I actually cared about Ben Skywalker for the first time. Let's face it: before this book, all we knew was that he was born during the Vong war, shut down his Force reception, and magically appears working with Jacen 10 years later. By the time Jacen and Jaina were this age in the SW universe, they had a 14 book series and we knew loads more. In Sacrifice, we finally get a brief but strong look at what forces have shaped him and what he believes in.
The best plot aspect was the scenes between Ben and Mara. That character development was individual and priceless to the series.
On the downside: Jacen "deciphering" the Sith prophecy after Mara's death was a let down. If he'd had an epiphany during the fight, that would have been much more climatic (and meaningful). Also, bring back Jaina and Tenel Ka. They are fighters, too, give them their due. I think the idea of a twin mirroring/clash has literary potential... too bad the authors had Jaina sit this one out (and at age 32, Jaina is no longer an indecisive teenager. Give the Jag/Zekk plot a quick death and let's move on). Unless Jaina shows up much more strongly in Inferno, her eventual entry into this plot line is going to be contrived and shallow.
The Fett plot is good, if a little overplayed.
I have to give Sacrifice 3 stars because I did enjoy it and it is a solid setup. But Mara Jade's death has already left a gaping hole in the character scheme of the SW EU. We only hope and pray that Zahn will step up to write a Mara-centric novel from an earlier time (please?). Or maybe someone will write a good novel on Ben's childhood.
One final note: Qui Gon left his body but still communicated with Yoda and Obi-Wan from the Jedi netherworld. Why can't Mara?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2023
This whole book can be summed up as a bunch of people withholding information from those who are supposed to be some of their closest confidants and it comes back to bite them in the ass.
I’m extremely distracted by the fact that much of this series follows a 14 year old boy flying around the galaxy by himself. He’s in a military force literally called “GAG.� Yet his parents just let it happen over the course of these books.
Like most Star Wars novels I’ve read, this does have a pretty decent climax that draws you in for the tension of that particular moment. However, in the broader scheme of things, it’s very repetitive, overly detailed, and just generally kind of boring up until that point. It overly relies on dramatic irony to create tension because things that are being shoved in the readers� faces are supposed to be extremely secret in the narrative. It’s hard to strike that balance.
The subplot with Boba Fett and his granddaughter is similarly boring most of the time. It was kind of interesting to see things going well for Mandalore amid everything else, though. I’m finding that I just really prefer reading things slightly more upbeat and hopeful. For a series whose first entry is now called “A New Hope,� it seems to be a pretty hopeless galaxy most of the time.
This also includes the novella Boba Fett: A Practical Man, which gives flashbacks to the Yuzhan Vong war from New Jedi Order and how Mandalorians were involved. It was fine, but totally unnecessary.
I’m extremely distracted by the fact that much of this series follows a 14 year old boy flying around the galaxy by himself. He’s in a military force literally called “GAG.� Yet his parents just let it happen over the course of these books.
Like most Star Wars novels I’ve read, this does have a pretty decent climax that draws you in for the tension of that particular moment. However, in the broader scheme of things, it’s very repetitive, overly detailed, and just generally kind of boring up until that point. It overly relies on dramatic irony to create tension because things that are being shoved in the readers� faces are supposed to be extremely secret in the narrative. It’s hard to strike that balance.
The subplot with Boba Fett and his granddaughter is similarly boring most of the time. It was kind of interesting to see things going well for Mandalore amid everything else, though. I’m finding that I just really prefer reading things slightly more upbeat and hopeful. For a series whose first entry is now called “A New Hope,� it seems to be a pretty hopeless galaxy most of the time.
This also includes the novella Boba Fett: A Practical Man, which gives flashbacks to the Yuzhan Vong war from New Jedi Order and how Mandalorians were involved. It was fine, but totally unnecessary.
July 18, 2008
This was probably my favorite book in the Star Wars Legacy of the Force series. Karen Traviss is by far the best of the three authors writing this series. What I love the most about this series is that it focused on Mara Jade Skywalker, who is a fan favorite from the expanded universe. Traviss does an excellent job providing Mara with her swan song in which her character exits the expanded universe. Traviss has Mara wonderfully pondering the consequences of the life she has lead and where her ultimate sacrifice must take her.
In addition to Mara, Traviss has also created an interesting background in Boba Fett, no folks he did not die as we saw in Return of the Jedi. Traviss creates compassion for Boba and infuses him with a deep sense sadness at the life he has lived.
While there are other interesting plot points with the with this book such as Jacen’s further descent as a Sith Lord, it is the sub stories of Mara and Boba Fett, which made this book the best one in the series.
In addition to Mara, Traviss has also created an interesting background in Boba Fett, no folks he did not die as we saw in Return of the Jedi. Traviss creates compassion for Boba and infuses him with a deep sense sadness at the life he has lived.
While there are other interesting plot points with the with this book such as Jacen’s further descent as a Sith Lord, it is the sub stories of Mara and Boba Fett, which made this book the best one in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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