Tensions are rising between the New Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance. Rumors have been swirling among the Jedi and their political allies that GA Chief of State Natasi Daala will move to arrest Luke Skywalker for his defection when he ordered the Jedi to withdraw from battle during the events of Sacrifice (see my review here) and began his own military campaign against the late Jacen Solo (aka Darth Caedus). When he finally is arrested, however, it's actually for dereliction of duty for failing to see that Jacen was turning to the dark side and for not preventing his fall.

Even as Luke as surrendering peacefully to GA personnel, something else occurs that threatens to overshadow Luke's trial. Jedi Valin Horn, the son of Jedi Corran Horn, goes mad and believes that both his parents and most of the Jedi have been replaced by doppelgangers. In his madness, he begins a minor campaign of destruction that is immediately stopped by the Jedi and GA troopers. Although both sides work together to neutralize Valin, the incident further destablizes the already strained relationship between the Jedi and the government.

Negotiating a plea deal, Luke is released on his own recognizance. He steps down as Grand Master of the Jedi Order and turns over the day-to-day operations of the Jedi Order to Kenth Hamner. Accepting self-imposed exile for up to ten years, he will attempt to retrace Jacen's path to find out why his nephew turned to the dark side. (Also, he will try to find out what caused Valin Horn to become insane.) If he discovers the events leading up to Jacen's fall to the dark side before the ten years are up, and presents his findings to a board of inquiry, the sentence will be commuted. If, on the other hand, he intervenes in the Jedi Order in any way, he will be incarcerated in a maximum-security prison for the rest of his sentence.

Accompanying Luke on his mission is his son, Ben. The first stop in their journey will take them to the world of Dorin: the homeworld of the late Jedi Master Plo Koon (who was shot down during the horrific events of Order 66 at the end of the Clone Wars). The things that Luke and Ben learn on Dorin, though, could bring their quest to a sudden end.

But even with Luke gone, the Jedi have more problems to deal with. Luke's self-imposed exile hasn't stopped anti-Jedi sentiment from rising, both in official government circles and among the general populace. And, even worse, another Jedi, Seff Hellin, has subcombed to the same madness that claimed Valin Horn and is traveling to Coruscant in attempt to rescue Valin.

Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian discovers a growing problem on Kessel that might cause the destruction of the planet. He, his wife Teandra, and Nien Nunb recruit Han and Leia to resolve it. If the five of them can't solve the problem, Kessel will self-destruct.

Veteran Star Wars author Aaron Allston does a fine job of launching the Fate of the Jedi series and juggling these various plotlines. He even is able to find logical reasons to include a minor character from Star By Star (see my review here) as well as characters from both his and Michael Stackpole's X-Wing Novels (reviews forthcoming). Here's hoping that Christie Golden and Troy Denning continue high level set by Aaron Allston.

The only negative is that there is a disconuity error between Outcast and Millenium Falcon (see my review here). In the final chapter of Millenium Falcon, Han, Leia, and Allana learn about Luke's arrest immediately after the fact. In Chapter Two of Outcast, they are standing at Luke's side when he's arrested. In fact, he surrenders his lightsaber to Leia and Han is allowed to ride beside him to jail. Obviously, some editor was asleep at the switch. But, the discontinuity error doesn't detract from the overall pace of the story. Final rating: **** (on a scale of 0-4 stars).