4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Force Wasn't With This One, May 3, 2009
So far, I've rather enjoyed the Legacy of the Force series and have eagerly devoured the first three books of the series. Exile, however, took me almost two weeks to get through and then didn't leave me feeling particularly satisfied. I'm sad to say that this is probably my least favourite book of the series so far and, for the first time, I'm starting to doubt if the LotF can really span out over five more books and still stay interesting. Spoilers follow.
There honestly isn't a lot that happens in this book; or nothing of great importance, at any rate. The main points are Ben being sent on a secret Sith test, the Skywalker- Solo families coming together and realizing the significance of their unity, and the siding of a few key planets with Corellia. Between these points is some well-written filler, ending with a failed attempt by Jacen to infiltrate a conference of the new Corellian Federation.
The main problem is that nothing really happens. Don't get me wrong, the book isn't absolutely horrible; in fact, what is important is very well done and will most likely have a significant impact on future events. The main points are surrounded in filler and some interesting, but ultimately unimportant events (such as Leia, Han, the Antilles family, and Alema doing their thing on the Errant Venture). Ultimately, the plot isn't really developed any further than it was at the end of the third book.
Still on the run from the Galactic Alliance and the Corellia system, Han and Leia find their way to Lando Calrissian, who repairs their ship and aids them in travelling freely via disguise. From there, they meet up with the Antilles family and board the gambling ship Errant Venture in hopes of gaining access to Corellian space. Somewhere in this line, Leia comes to the realization that only the unity of the Skywalker-Solo clans can bring the galaxy together and keep it at relative peace. Alema, still on her quest to bring Balance to the galaxy, also secures a place on the Errant Venture and eventually squares off with some of the Jedi. Predictably, no one is hurt, Alema flees once again, and everyone is right back to where they left off at the end of the previous book.
Ben, now back at the Jedi Temple, receives a secret mission from Jacen to retrieve a powerful artifact and eventually ends up stranded on the Sith planet of Ziost. The planet pushes Ben to his physical and mental limits, testing him for his ability to become a Sith apprentice, while, at the same time, Ben struggles with wanting to please Jacen and wanting to fulfill his duty as a Jedi. Unbeknownst to him, the mission is really a test orchestrated by Jacen and Lumiya to determine whether or not Ben will make an acceptable apprentice for Jacen. The attempts on Ben's life are foiled by the young Jedi and he escapes the planet safely with the amulet. The ultimate failure or success of his mission is not yet known.
Lumiya, in the meantime, has been setting up an alliance between Commenor, Bothawui, and Corellia, leading to the formation of the Corellian Federation. Jacen attempts to infiltrate a conference of the new federation, failing miserably and abandoning his parents (who eagerly rush to his rescue) and other family members in the scuffle the follows his failure.
There are also a few side plots unfolding. Jag is back, seemingly for good this time, and has teemed up with Jaina and Zekk on a Jedi-aided mission to stop Alema from carrying out her evil intentions (and he introduces a nifty little invention the transfers things immediately into the long-term memory). I thought the strained relationship between Jag and Jaina was refreshing to the series and brought back and personally well loved aspect from the New Jedi Order series. Now that Zekk has abandoned his infatuation for Jaina, I'm eager to see if the love that once existed between Jaina and Jag will be rekindled (I've always preferred that couple to the Jaina/Zekk pairing). The tiresome "Sword of the Jedi" prophesy returns, much to my dismay. This idea didn't work that well in the New Jedi Order series and, honestly, I don't see it doing much for the Legacy of the Force, either. It seems like a half-baked idea invented and brought back just for the sake of throwing something else into the mix. I, for one, hope it either proves to be a deciding factor in the conflict (and finally proves its worth) or fades back into obscurity.
Luke and Mara continue to play a rather small role in the grand scheme of things. Despite not being a fan of Mara, I have to wonder why the two aren't stepping up and rising to the occasion like they usually do. They have the motive (their son possibly turning to the Dark Side and throwing the galaxy out of balance) and the skills; perhaps it's their age holding them back? Whatever the reason, it seems odd that they more or less just sit in the background while the events of the first four books unfold around them.
Allston is a great writer and contributes great things to the Star Wars universe, but Exile just failed to deliver. Nothing really happens, the characters don't develop past where they were in the previous book, the plot doesn't really develop, and we still don't know why the Galactic Alliance has suddenly become so Empire-like or why the rift between it and Corellia has formed. I now wonder how the LotF can continue over five more books without becoming stale and uninteresting.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Chapter 4 and still nothing much happening, April 10, 2007
This fourth volume in the Legacy of the Force series brings us now to near mid-point in the planned nine-volume series and leaves us in much the same spot as we were at the end volume three, with all the major heroes and villains having had another go at one another without serious injury, death, or development of plot.
Now on the run from both The Galactic Alliance and Corellia, the exiled Han and Leia Solo seek the aid and assistance of Lando Calrissian, who joins his old friends in disguise as owners of a gambling and pleasure ship. Together they arrange GA license to operate in Corellian space, where they sit, watch, and wait for the disfigured and deranged Twilek, Alema Rar. Back from his own exile is Chis pilot Jagged Fel, whose personal mission dovetails nicely with Han and Leia's and who under Luke's orders is assigned to work with Jaina and Zekk to capture or destroy the former Dark Nester and agent of the series' arch villain, Lumiya.
Jacen, meanwhile, sends Ben on a mission to test his cousin's suitability as a Sith apprentice, a mission that ends with Ben stranded on the ancient Sith home world of Ziost fighting for physical survival. While Ben struggles to balance the imperative of his mission with the Jedi imperative to protect life, other worlds join Corellia in seceding from the GA, widening the potential conflict and setting up Exile's final scene, in which Jacen infiltrates a meeting to elect a military commander for the newly christened Corellian Confederation
That particular mission turns rather predictably to failure, an end clumsily telegraphed to any reader passingly familiar with action/adventure/fantasy fiction, in which the details of military plans are glossed to preserve suspense for the actual battle scenes. Here, though, author Aaron Allston lays out the entire scheme, a clear sign that the plan is not what it seems - or will very quickly be made moot once the action starts. Authorial ruse was evident as well in Jacen's insistence that he himself act as the spy at the election meeting when under circumstances not dictated by the need to maneuver the characters Jacen would have sent a less noticeable agent.
Allston also treats us to some spiffy new technology, including a device that delivers an electric shock to transfer short-term memories to long-term memory, effectively short-circuiting Alema Rar's ability to erase her presence from the minds of those who have seen her. As electric shock has in the real world been found to cause memory loss, we're left to wonder is this idea is based on anything but imagination.
Still now we don't know exactly what caused the rift between the GA and its member worlds, except for some vague pronouncements, provided in Exile from Leia, that the conflict between the GA and Corellia was the "inevitable conclusion of their respective political directions." Read into that whatever you will. The authors are not likely to provide anything more.
About the only things noteworthy in Exile, besides a few good one-liners, are Allston's revival of the "Sword of the Jedi" prophecy, foreshadowing Jaina's return to center stage (and her possible role as Jacen's foil), as well as his Solo-Skywalker thesis, that the universe has been kept whole only because these families have worked in concert. The corollary, of course, is that the universe is now going to pot because this alliance has been fractured and its members now set against each other. If the Legacy series continues as it has thus far developed, the Solo-Skywalker thesis will probably not be explored in future volumes, although the title for the upcoming fifth volume, Sacrifice, and the announcement of Jacen's Sith name, suggest author Karen Traviss may be giving us something more than another predictable battle-royale.
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