(I wrote this last night, October 8, 2008.)

So as I type this at 11:34 PM, I have just finished reading Order 66. And I'm currently dealing with the loss of my favorite EU character - a loss that should never have happened. I'm almost hesitant to write what I'm about to write, since I've always said that getting too attached to fictional characters is the point at which you may need to take a step back from fantasy and re-enter reality. Friends and family would look at me like I'm nuts right now. But I'm pretty darn sure that quite a few of you have gone through what I'm going through right now, so I don't feel too much shame in sharing it with you.

Etain is dead. I've said in previous blogs that she is the one person in the entire GFFA that I identify with the most. She's my favorite character. And I can't believe she's gone.

I'm debating whether or not to say that Karen Traviss is no longer my favorite author. My first reaction would be to say that I hate her guts for killing off Etain and breaking the hearts of the entire Skirata clan - aliit - in the process. But my second reaction - perhaps more reasonable - is to keep her right up there in that two-way tie. Why? Because this series shows her skill as an author. She's created characters that have become real to me. Their fears were my fears. Their joys were my joys. Their triumphs and losses were mine as well. And now I grieve with them over the death of a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a good friend. That's what a talented author does - she makes her stories come alive. And it worked.

I considered writing something of an "ode to Etain," but I just don't have it in me right now. So instead of just rambling on, I'm gonna leave it at that.

In the words of Obi-Wan (who unfortunately didn't get much love in this series) :

"Goodbye old friend."

MTFBWY always,
Jade

P.S. I may post an actual review of Order 66 later. We'll see what life looks like . . . .