Oh, SO not fair. Well, OK, all is fair in love and war -- and there's plenty of both in Tempest -- but still. Not nice.

I have to hand it to Troy Denning. I know I've just finished a really good book when I can barely speak in complete sentences after I've put it down. Not only have I gone completely cross-eyed trying to keep up with everything going on in the Legacy of the Force story arc, but now I have to wait until February to see if Han and Leia survive? Yeah. If anyone needs me, I'll be under my desk, sucking my thumb.

What's really got me going is that fact that he left it hanging just so -- there's no way to predict the outcome one way or the other. I certainly wouldn't put it past Lucasfilm to kill off not just one but two major characters at this stage; this whole story arc has had a bit of a feeling of time passing, moving on, handing the fate of the galaxy to the next generation and hoping for the best. It would also reinforce the corner we see Jacen and Ben turning right now. Couple that with the fact that the we know Luke and Mara made it out alive, especially when I was wondering if either of them would, and I begin to wonder.

On the other hand, Han and Leia are well known for surviving the most desparate situations; it's one of the hallmarks of Star Wars. Just when I'm wondering how they're going to get out of this particular scrape, they do. Although taking Han and Leia out of the picture at this point would reinforce the turning point, it leaves a lot of unfinished business that just doesn't feel right to me here. After knowingly opening fire on the, Jacen will have to face his parents at some stage. The whole plot is just begging for it. And of course, the second I have myself convinced that Han and Leia are gone, the story arc would turn around and hit me with another daring escape, just to spite me.

I have to say, though, I just love Allana in all of this. If anyone is going to save Jacen, she's it. The way she effectively prevented Jacen from frying Aurra Sing -- whom I suspect is either directly or indirectly in Lumiya's employ -- she's just a beacon of innocence and goodness. I just melted on the spot when she told this hardened, Jedi-killing bounty hunter not to be scared because "Yedi never kill helpless people--even bad ones like you."

Darned maternal instict. I have to do something about that.