STAR WARS: FATE OF THE JEDI
BOOK SEVEN: CONVICTION
By Aaron Allston
Published in the UK by CENTURY PUBLISHING and in paperback by ARROW
Reviewed by Scott Weller
CONVICTION, bearing another striking cover from Ian Keltie and David
Stevenson, is an overall entertaining set-up for the final two books in the
series and Allston’s solid reputation/trademark with STAR WARS fans in
providing a fast paced book, sprinkled with his obligatory good humour and well
described action sequences of textbook style, remains intact.
Things are certainly not going to be the same again for our heroes in
the universe of the Galactic Alliance, as the galaxy undergoes further upheaval
and dramatic conflict now that Admiral Natasi Daala’s reign lay in tatters,
with her ruthless regime coming to an ends of sorts, as the Jedi finally
(finally!) take control of the situation, though it could have all happened a
little bit more sooner in the run, I think. But the military
strategist/ex-Imperial is still not without supportive and dangerous followers
from within the alliance to aid both her continuing cause and powerful
ambitions, and it isn’t long before her retaliation is quickly initiated. There’s
also the return of two popular characters, from earlier in the series linked to
the main plot, whose involvement will intrigue and surprise EU readers, plus
the noted and welcome presence of a familiar dented helmeted bounty hunter to
spice things up a little.
Meanwhile on the Jade Shadow, the pursuit of the Abeloth, which
has survived several defeats already, by the determined Skywalker's and Sith
warrior youngster Vestara Khai continues, with a decisive battle to come. And
then there’s that pesky Sith death squadron to deal with, too…
On the other side of the galaxy, the rest of our heroes continue their
own plotlines. Sadly, however, there’s still not enough worthy material for Han
and Leia to do, their plot linked to Klatooine and the Hutt Empire slave
revolt, and the sub-plot linked to their granddaughter Allana, may have
interest to die-hard fans but hardly had me excited, and I really wanted to
skip the pages a little bit there…
Despite a promising last chapter, the overall series narrative faults
still persist, and my main criticisms are the same as before: I think the book
series could have been far more effective and interesting in a shorter run, and
there’s no real deviation from what the viewers expect to read. In fact, some
scenes in CONVICTION sizzle out or feel like re-treads. For good or bad, it’s
the standard Expanded Universe norm here, but long-term readers who have stuck
with it through thick and thin will no doubt continue to enjoy it. As someone
who really loves the core Classic Trilogy characters, I’m personally hoping
that, like a tense and important England World Cup match, the series closure,
successful or not, comes with some more memorable and suitably epic last minute
adrenaline surges that will make this overall a satisfying and truly worthy
reading endeavour…
AFICIONADO RATING: More of the same, and another mixed bag. 6.5 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment