Just finished Betrayal, and felt I had to vent my thoughts.

First off, this is an amazing novel, and a fantastic way to begin the Legacy of the Force series. I have high hopes for the eight books to follow.

Aaron Allston doesn't waste time here, getting straight to the point in the opening chapter with Luke's vision of the "man who doesn't exist". This is a strand that continues throughout the book, and sets the tone of unease and foreshadowing for events to come - in much the same way the tone for Revenge of the Sith was established by the use of the word "War!" in the opening crawl.

Comparisons with that movie can be found throughout the novel, though most notably in its final, dark, epic chapters. As with RotS, Betrayal opens with something a little lighter; a Jedi mission, in which we find both Jedi action drawing on the tone of the prequels, and some classic Allston humour - Ben taking a bite out of a chicken leg scooped up from a table he just landed on caused me to laugh out loud.

Humour is prevailent throughout, despite the dark nature of the growing conflict between the GA and Corellia. There are many nods to the fans, particuarly the comments about fans of Aayla Secura writing fiction about her, and the followup line, asking if Jacen had been involved in an unusual romantic pairing in such stories. There's also Leia's "Han shot first", tying in nicely to recent news in the world of Star Wars fandom.

But, drama is here in spades, too, with so many action sequences I've lost count. Space battles are surprisingly, for an Allston book, sparse, with combat largely centered groundside, particuarly on the Jedi. These sequences are well executed, and, despite Jedi preference, give some secondary characters time to shine, with some very realistic characterizations: the scene with Seyah in the shuttle heading for Centerpoint, and his conflicting thoughts over whether or not to warn the young mother and child sitting next to him about the oncoming danger, was highly emotional and deftly handled.

One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is Jacen's fall, particuarly the aspects represented by the tassel left for him. Here are my thoughts on the meanings of each strand:

- "He will remake himself", possibly "rename himself". Naturally, with hindsight garnered at the end of the book, this is referring to Jacen's turn to the dark side, and his future self hoping that, soon, he will finally have a name. Seems to imply Jacen may soon take up the title of Darth.

- "He will ruin those who deny justice". This can be fairly ambiguous, depending upon "his" point-of-view and opinion of justice. Jacen definately wanted to kill Thrackan Sal-Solo, who could be seen as denying justice for the galaxy, but who else will Jacen see as an impediment to justice, not only for the galaxy, but for himself? His delusions broaden the scope of this particular meaning.

- "He will choose the fate of the weak". We've already seen how he treats those less powerful than himself in the final chapters. And since he's arrogant enough to believe he wields more power than Luke, "the weak" is a very large group for Jacen to choose from.

- "He will choose how he will be loved" or possibly "I will choose how I will be loved". This could be referring to how Jacen wishes to be seen by the galaxy; not as a despot like Palpatine, but as a being pursuing justice, hoping he will become beloved. Seems to be a fallacy also adopted by Dooku, and we all know how his dreams of a better future turned out. Again it uses the word "choice", linking it to Jacen's final choice at the end of the book, and also seems to be a forceful statement, as if the speaker can influence the opinions of others.

- "He will win and break his chains". As Jacen himself mentions, this is similar to the Sith code, as heard in Knights of the Old Republic: "Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." Indicates unlimited power on Jacen's part, but what will he be victorious over? What will his victory entail? And does he believe he can become stronger than the Force itself, breaking the chain that anchors him to it? The Sith see restraint as a weakness, and it seems so too does Jacen.

- "He will shed his skin and choose a new skin". Just as Anakin Skywalker chose the skin of Darth Vader, so too does it seem likely Jacen will adopt the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, forging a new, dark identity to suffocate his Jedi personna.

- "He will crawl through his cloak". This could have multiple meanings. It may be that Jacen's Jedi teachings are a cloak over him, restricting him and unfocusing him, that he must crawl through and beyond to achieve his goals. It could also be that, as a Sith, he continues to crawl through the darkness, never finding light for his cloak is secured about his neck, and can never be escaped.

- "He will know brotherhood". This is a strange one, and makes me think of the brotherhood shared between Anakin and Obi-Wan, before Anakin turned. However, the Sith order that preceeded Darth Bane was known as the Brotherhood of the Sith, so Jacen may find allies as a Dark Lord.

- "He will make a pet". Jacen, in the Young Jedi Knights books, was known to have an empathy with creatures, and had many pets. Here, however, it is implied that he will actually fabricate a "pet" - or servant, minion, or even apprentice. This put me in mind of the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis, who could literally influence the midi-chlorians to create life. Could Jacen learn the knowledge to emulate this, and create an apprentice for himself? Some fan theories speculate that Jacen is somehow linked to Plagueis, so there may well be some connection here.

- "He will strengthen himself through pain" and "He will strengthen himself through sacrifice". This links back to his time in the Embrace of Pain, when Vergere, now revealed to be a psudeo-Sith apprentice, taught him to master his pain and use it to his advantage. It also links to Lumiya's comments on sacrifice; he will gain strength through actions that bring him pain: "Your greatest attainment of knowledge and power will come at the same time as your greatest act of sacrifice, when you give up something that is as dear to you as life - making your love immortal through its sacrifice". Immortality of a different kind is also a goal of the Sith, and one that, as Qui-Gon says, can never be achieved by a dark sider.

- "He will be drawn from peace into conflict" or "His life will be balanced between peace and conflict", as per Jacen's own reading. Duality is a common theme in Star Wars, and here it implies Jacen may find the power to choose between peace and conflict - likely a choice on his part that could result in peace, or the unending war his visions are so often plagued with. The second reading could also imply that for Jacen, there will be no escaping war, for his life will always include both peace and conflict. He will never know true peace.

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. Suffice to say, I loved Betrayal, and am eagerly awaiting Bloodlines.

- Force, out.