Last warning - it will all be spoiled!!!


Before I get into my full of SPOILER review of the last book in the series let me just take a moment and breath a sigh of relief. SSSSIIGGGGGHHHHH. Phew. That's better. I have been completely overwhelmed just keeping my head above water over the last two months. On the plus side what has overwhelmed me are all good things. Two work conferences, a programming conference, and two short vacations - that is a lot of running around!

Despite my active life I made the time to read Invincible over the course of three days! My initial reactions were all positive, but as with all EU material I held off making my final decision until I had some time to reflect on the book. As a Star Wars fan I tend fall into the trap of being easily impressed (or in some cases easily disappointed) by the material I love so much. You could publish a 300 page book of Troy Denning's old shopping lists and put in 20 pages of how Han Solo got his Corellian Bloodstripes and I would pre-order it. After reflecting on the book and reading Troy's forum posts I have come to a conclusion, Invincible was a great book. Now do not ask me about the series as a whole - that review comes later.

I really enjoyed the pace of the book, from the opening chapter to the end, almost non-stop action. Denning discussed the tight focus approach he took, staying close to Jaina and Caedus, which left some plot lines somewhat open and unresolved. I personally think if the novel went in the opposite direction - focusing on multiple fronts fans would have missed out on some great material surrounding Jaina. Denning did an amazing job establishing the Sword of the Jedi in Invincible. I for one can only imagine how the mantel will follow Jaina in new EU books post LotF - a Jedi who kills her twin!? I think there is something very new and exciting to that, Anakin sacrificed himself to defeat the Emperor and save his son, this is very different in my opinion and very true to Star Wars. Jaina faced one heck of a hero's challenge.

Just as I can be easily impressed by little things as a fan, I can also be frustrated by bigger things. Daala becoming Chief of State and Jag Fel replacing Pellaeon are two examples. I would love to know more about both events. but I know the absence of that information means I will just have to be patient. Another disappointment was there was no focus on the Jedi crossing the Mandos. We all know Fett is not going to let that slide.

A lot of the buzz about the book that I have heard is people are frustrated by the various deaths in the series and the various plot threads that were somewhat passed over or ignored in Invincible. I am not totally thrilled by the deaths of Pellaeon and Mara in particular. I like both characters so of course I am sad to see them pass. However their deaths served a valuable purpose in furthering the EU. Pellaeon's death opened the door for Jag, and Mara's death grounded and focused young Ben. Of course the authors could have achieved both ends without killing those characters, but at least they were not 'empty' deaths. I will say, as a fan, I would have preferred Luke not suffer the loss of Mara. Luke's character has done plenty of exploration into loss, but that is just my opinion. On the other hand if Luke can be tempted by the dark side after Mara's death, that shows even the great Luke Skywalker is still vulnerable. I do see value in maintaining the power of the dark side over everyone.

As for Jacen's death, well that is still open for debate. Did his final act projecting the danger to Allana bring him back to the light? Did Jacen spare Luke from falling to the dark side by becoming a Sith? Honestly, I feel both questions take a backseat to his little fascist rampage. What Jacen did, started in Betrayal, he decided before he even met Lumiya that he could decide who lives and who dies. Jacen put himself on the path towards darkness, good intentions are just no excuse. While the dark side may accelerate one's fall to evil, the person always makes the first step. Like Anakin, Jacen made his choice, and the responsibility falls solely on his shoulders. Even if Jacen came back to the light and even if he did save Luke, what he did as Caedus overrides those points. Did Jacen have to die? I would have liked to see Jacen be redeemed and forced to face the consequences. Jacen always felt there was more to being a Jedi than heroic deeds and I for one would love to see him re-visit that after his fall to the dark side. The decision to kill Caedus is all good and works with the story, but I just wanted something different.

The book was still very entertaining and I like what Troy did with the book. I still feel this whole series was primarily a set up for the Legacy Era. I am really interested to see where thing go from here, they got my attention now lets see where this goes.

Oh and the picture? I got bored looking around, and at least its cool.

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