Customer Reviews

Betrayal. Aaron Allston (Star Wars)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I'm a bit ambivalent about this book. It's a very promising start to what will undoubtedly prove to be an interesting new series. It has a really good plot too. The challenge is that the writing simply isn't at Allston's usually high level. What should be a thrilling ambush at the beginning of the book, for example, reads more like a ho-hum sequence of events. It never feels like the Jedi are truly in any danger. Similarly, the way in which Ben deals with the Anakin robot reads like a Scholastic series adventure rather than something written for adults. Thankfully it gets better as the book progresses. The various conflicts and loyalties that Wedge needs to deal with is very well written.

Okay, so here's the plot: Luke Skywalker and the Jedi just can't get a break. The Joiner war is over and just when it looks like the galaxy is going to be at peace, various planetary interests threaten to unleash a new wave of violence. And, Luke is plagued with visions of an approaching darkness, an enemy that does not exist... yet.

At the same time, the Galactic Alliance is becoming more and more bureaucratic and dictatorial, pushing member worlds away from its strict, Empire-like regulations. When Jedi's Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker discover an illegal missile plant on Adumar their evidence sparks more political unrest. Fearing the worst, the Alliance readies a preemptive military exercise to bring the potentially rogue worlds in line before things get worse. Not a bad strategy at face value yet the challenge is that they've picked Corellia for their show of force, launching a secret mission to disable Centerpoint Station. Jacen feels honor-bound to stick with his uncle, the leader of the Jedi Order, who takes direction from the Alliance, yet when the Corellians launch a counterstrike, escalating conflict places the Skywalkers and Solos on opposing sides...

Sooo, the bottom line is that I really liked the plot and the promise this new series brings. I wasn't so thrilled about the quality of the writing, however, which was spotty throughout, more miss than hit. All in all I'm glad I read it and will almost certainly pick up the next book in the series though I may wait for it to come out in paperback.

Good book but unfortunately nothing exceptional.

Member worlds chafe under heavy taxation, bridle at providing materiel and conscripts, and make noise of open rebellion. The central government blusters, threatening isolation, economic stagnation and military retaliation, but secretly fears secession and the eventual withering away of its power and influence.

So opens Betrayal, the first in a planned nine-book series following the characters of the Star Wars universe 36 years after events in Revenge of the Jedi and 10 years after the events of the Yuzhong Vong invasion, chronicled in the last extended novel cycle, New Jedi Order (19 volumes published 1999-2003).

To prevent the dissolution of the Galactic Alliance, Chief of State Cal Omas and his government devise a plan in which the Jedi will abduct the leadership of the GA's most openly antagonistic member, Corellia, so that the GA might then brow beat Corellia's leaders into quietly paying their taxes and end all talk of independence. It's one of the most ridiculous plans you're likely to encounter in a Star Wars novel. At least the most ridiculous I've read to date. How much more belligerent - short of dropping bombs or shooting people - can you get than kidnapping a government's leaders? It's as if the Germans decided to kidnap the leaders of the French government for threatening to leave the EU. Even more ridiculous, this plan is approved by Luke Skywalker, a guy normally depicted as levelheaded, who prefers talking to fighting (and who later in the book turns down a second snatch plan on the grounds that the GA doesn't want to set a precedent of kidnapping leaders of hostile governments!).

Word of the plan leaks out and the Jedi come up empty handed in their kidnapping caper. To salvage what little he can from the operation, the GA's leading Admiral over Corellia seizes and occupies a small leisure planet within the Corellian system. Now the Corellians are spitting mad and things quickly move from bad to worse.

Along the way, the characters are put into situations where they must make difficult choices. While the story itself is often confusing when it isn't implausible, author Aaron Allston should be given some credit for trying to beef up this hodgepodge of a novel with some thematic muscle. Betrayal is a story about choice and conscience, about weighing consequences and realizing that sometimes the best action is also the most painful.

Han must choose where his allegiance lays, with the GA or his homeworld of Corellia, while Leia, a newly minted Jedi, must choose between her husband, the GA and the order. Ben must choose whether to terminate a computer simulation of his lost cousin Anakin Solo in order to shut down the Corellian's superweapon, Centerpoint Station. In Betrayal's other main plot, Han and Leia's son Jacen must choose to take a life in order to save the lives of many more, and further whether to extend his knowledge of the Force by studying the dark arts of the Sith.

Overall, there's far too much happening in Betrayal for it to be anything but rushed. The first third covers the initial attack on Corellia (including a laughable scene in which 13-year old Ben Skywalker sneaks into and eliminates the threat from Centerpoint Station by tricking the computer, a la James Kirk, into believing that it isn't a real person after all), the middle part the political maneuvering to get the combatants unstuck, including a subplot of political assassination leading into the last third of the book, Jacen's discovery of the Sith (this particular branch having descended from a sentient species of Mynok, a flying rodent and pest of pilots in the SW universe). Anyone of these parts could have been a novel itself, but mashed together here the stories suffer as a result of having to constantly advance the plot so that we can get to the end of the book - and start the next one.

And there's the rub. These extended series involve a number of editors and writers working together to make a coherent and consistent story. It also involves working on a tight deadline to make sure the books are delivered at regular intervals. With so many cooks stirring the pot, with the added pressure of having to write to deadline, its not surprising that we end up with half-baked books.

Still, I'm looking forward to the next one, especially as Karen Travis will be writing a 71 year old Boba Fett who has to work together with his old bounty, Han Solo. Stay tuned.

*Some minor spoilers*

A review of Betrayal (with a little bit of a review of Bloodlines as well thrown in.)

There is nothing wrong with the book itself, it is well written, engaging, and interesting. Plot lines from previous books are intertwined throughout and there aren't any blaringly obvious inconsistencies with previous books or movies.

One very interesting and kind of fun part about this book is the fact that now that all 6 movies are completed, sections of this series really help tie everything together. Instead of kind of forgetting about the entire period of Darth Vader's demise, this book confronts it and engages the back story.

Overall though, this book, and furthermore this series are a HUGE dissapointment. Easily the most unbelievable plot for any Star Wars series I have read. The whole time you read this book (and the second one as well) you keep thinking to yourself: "Oh come on, this is ridiculous." Jacen can't honestly be this stupid. His motivation for beginning to turn to the dark side is absolutely ridiculous. As seen in Bloodlines (the second book in the series,) Jacen can "Time Walk" back in time and see how his grandfather Darth Vader made his decisions that led him to the dark side. Jacen thinks that he can avoid the same mistakes his grandfather did when he just keeps making the same ones and it just feels dumb. Reading this book (and the second, which is as far as I've gotten in the series) feels like watching the prequel trilogy all over again, just with different characters. But the same dumb mistakes and stupid decisions throughout the story.

The story is also incredibly predictable, as a reader, you know exactly where it's going (because you've seen it all before in the movies.) It's obvious that at some point Lumiya is going to find out about Tenel Ka and her daughter and Jacen is going to have to confront them. (I assume this happens in the third book as it's about the Hapes Consortium.) It's just not very interesting.

Another complaint is the relation between Han and Leia and Luke and Mara. Honestly, would a Jedi leader be dumb enough to ruin his relation ship with his siblings over some ridiculous Corellian dispute. And why are Han and Leia even supporting Corellia, their involvement seems really out of place and awkward.

Can't Star Wars authors come up with more creative and original stories than this? Instead of rehashing the similar plots to previous series (e.g. the Prequel Trilogy) why can't writers come up with something original? At least the New Jedi Order was a new, unique idea. The worst thing about this series is that it is ruining the Star Wars universe that's been created so far in the New Jedi Order and stuff. All this conflic is just getting ridiculous and books that take place after this seem like they will just be dumb. We'll see I guess.

Overall, I would not suggest this series for a Star Wars fan. It is ruining the story, bringing back the same old plot that we've already seen, and ruining the well-developed Star Wars universe we already have.

It's well written, somewhat well structured, with a few problems.

After Traitor, Jacen Solo became something of an enigma. A brutal fighter willing to use questionable means to accomplish his goals. Towards the end of the New Jedi Order, he'd ascended to a new understanding of the force, something only his brother and uncle had ever done. When the Dark Nest trilogy came about, Jacen had spent the last 5 years traveling the galaxy and studying the force from different perspectives. When he returned to the Jedi, he was capable of things even Luke Skywalker couldn't do. He was tough, smart, and misunderstood by his fellow Jedi.

Which leads to my first problem with Betrayal. Jacen's still misunderstood, still powerful, and still smart, and he believes he's the galaxy's only hope to avert war. To do so, he makes a series of choices that make complete sense to the reader, but because the company decided he has to be the villain of the series all common sense is thrown out and the Jedi detest everything he does.

Which leads to the second problem. Jacen meets Lumiya, a Sith, who claims to be reformed and wants to help him save the galaxy. To do so, she takes him as an apprentice. Now, this had me drooling in anticipation. A 9 book series of Sith Jacen versus Luke and the old order, all to save the galaxy! And for the first 2/3 of the book it seemed I would get this.

And then the whole he-has-to-be-the-bad-guy syndrome kicked in. Suddenly Jacen was weak, stupid, and, out of nowhere, a murderer. Everything he ever was for the last several books was thrown out the window, all so we could have a Clone Wars redux with Jacen taking on the Anakin Skywalker role.

But it wouldn't be complete without a cliched monologue that ends the story, and it's a corker: Lumiya cackling over how she turned a Solo to the Dark Side and will soon have her revenge! Just pathetic.

Any hope one might have that this story would improve--this obvious "we can sell more books with a Sith Solo!" marketing campaign--have (with the publication of four more novels) been dashed.

Great book. Betrayal completely lived up to my expectations. The book couldn't have a better title. Five years after Dark Nest it starts out with Luke having a vision of an enemy who doesn't exist. Jacen and Ben off on a mission to discover what's going on in a factory. G.A. is having negotations with Corella. Corella wants be independent of the G.A. because it feels the G.A. is too unstable and unreliable and that the Galaxy often has to turn to Corella for help. The Galactic Allience is still working on putting the galaxy back together. The last thing they need is planetary systems declaring independence. Neither side is wrong on their points and that'll makes for an interesting war. The Skywalker-Solo family are immediately on opposite sides of the issue. Han supports Corella Leia supports Han and Luke supports G.A. All head off to Corella to support their side and do what they each think is right without letting each other know it. That makes things a lot more interesting. It was fun to return to Corella. If there was any doubt in which direction Jacen was heading in this book takes care of it.I can't wait for the next one.

I enjoyed the writing style in this book. The imagery and descriptions are wonderful, and I did not have the least bit of trouble understanding the action sequences (Though this may be due to the fact that I have read almost every Star Wars book in existence). Within the enclosed world of this book, and possibly the rest of the series, the actions of the characters make perfect sense, and Aaron Allston has done a tremendous job of keeping the characters true to themselves. The flaw in this book is that it is not an enclosed world. The author owes it to previous authors to read their works and write with the intention of staying true to the previously developed stories. The simplifications introduced to our understanding of the Force are the most disappointing facet of the book. For most of the book, the author seems to be enriching our understanding of the Force. When it really counts, though, his understanding of the Force seems to be one of childlike simplicity, a distinct division between dark and light. I was very disheartened. The book is good as a stand-alone novel, but I felt that it flopped as part of the overall saga.

Brilliant entry to the final Star Wars series featuring the Classic Trilogy line-up! Allston creates one of the best Star Wars adventures, one that never loses the "feel" of the films (particularly due to his successful use of humor throughout the narrative) but at the same time sets up a dark and intriguing premise for the following books to come.

Civil war threatens to disrupt the galaxy. Han and Leia find themselves on opposing sides of the battlefield from their children, Luke and the Jedi. Each side has a strong view of how to avoid the conflict, but despite their efforts (or because of them) the galaxy plunges deeper into war... Is someone manipulating events from behind the scenes and if so, to what end? Who is the ominous man in the visions Luke keeps having? While events play out, Han and Leia's son Jacen (now a full-fledged Jedi Knight) and his apprentice Ben (Luke and Mara's 13 year old son) investigate a mystery surrounding an unusual artifact, a lure set to lead them to a disturbing revelation about the Dark Side...

Allston weaves an exciting, mysterious and enjoyable Star Wars tale that merges aspects of both SW trilogies, the psychological depth of the Prequel trilogy with the characters and Flash Gordonesque tone of the Classic trilogy. More importantly, he keeps things fresh. Something different is occuring here...

One of the major upheavals (which occurs at the climax of the book) is the cause of great consternation among fans. Yet it's appropriate and the signs have been there for a long time now... Regardless, the ending still comes a shocker!

My favorite aspect of the books is the fact that Allston brings back one of the great villains from the old Marvel Star Wars series (recently reprinted in Dark Horse's seven-volume series "A Long Time Ago") who hasn't been seen for quite some time. Lumiya, apprentice of Darth Vader, is an old nemesis of Luke's, as well as a former love-interest! And despite the intervening years, she is as deadly than ever! Kudos to Allston and LFL for utilizing this character, as Lumiya is the masterstroke of this title!

That said, you don't need to know thirty years of continuity to enjoy this book. While it rewards long-time readers, Allston has made sure to write the story in a way that never alienates new fans who might want to jump on board at this point.

Definitely looking forward to the next chapter in the series!

I am an avid reader of the Legacy of the Force Series and the series that preceeded it, but I strongly dislike Aaron Alston's portrayal of the characters and his overall writing style. It is like he has ignored all the books written prior to his own. His attempt at making Wedge's conversations into a comedy club is jarring compared to the overall dark tone of the novel. I'm sure he would have added a laugh track if it was possible to do so in print. The closest comparison would be George Lucas's own comic relief, Jar Jar Binks: annoying whenever he pops up on screen.

Allston's sentences and use of imagery do not get the point across, and I found that the main plot got a little confusing and bogged down in his dialogue. Also, he doesn't seem to be in tune with the other authors, and he seems to try to pull the overarching plot to his own end. Either that, or it is his weak attempt at pulling one over on the readers.

The good thing is, is that he isn't writing the entire series. You have two books to go before being subjected to his tortured writing.

HAN SHOT FIRST

Taken in context of the novel, possibly means nothing.
But I think we all know what Mr. Allston was getting at!
Best line in the past few novels ever.

Betrayal is easily the best star wars story in quite some time! The characters are not shallow, the ethical dillemas they face are clearly articulated and there is significant movement in the long-term story line. For fans of the Star Wars novels, this one is well worth the cost and is much better written than most of the previous ones. Strongly recommended!