Star Wars Legends Reading Challenge: Fatal Alliance

Hello friends! It’s been a while since I posted about my Legends Reading Challenge, but I’ve finally finished The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, by Sean Williams. On top of it being quite a hefty read (482 pages!), I put it down a few times when I was busy reading current canon like The Last Order and Mask of Evil. It didn’t help that the story wasn’t (at least initially) very compelling to me. But let’s get into it.

SPOILERS!!! (Legends have been out for years, but just be aware.)

The story takes place about ten years after the sack of Coruscant by the Sith, as related in the book Deceived. There’s a treaty, but also a very cold Cold War between the Republic and the Sith Empire. It starts with a strange ship being intercepted by a smuggler called Jet Nebula (not his real name, as you can imagine). He’s on a job for the Hutts, but decides to see what kind of cargo this ship has as a bonus. But before he can board the Cinzia, it self-destructs. He takes what’s left of it back to the Hutts, who decide to auction off what they have. Tasha Bareesh, the ruling Hutt, doesn’t reveal what it is, but lets it be known that it could be very profitable and change the balance of power in the galaxy.

Into this mix comes several characters: Shigar Konshi, a Kiffu Jedi Padawan who is sent to Hutta to investigate what it may be (his master is Grand Master Satele Shan); Eldon Ax, the apprentice to Darth Chratis, with instructions to steal whatever it is; Ula Vii, a Republic envoy who is actually an Imperial spy, sent by the Republic to find out what it is and who hopes to use it to please his Imperial masters; Larin Moxla, a disgraced Republic soldier (who is also Kiffu like Shigar) who meets and accompanies the Jedi Padawan; and Dao Stryver, a Mandalorian whose interest and motive in acquiring the item is a mystery to all. All they are told is that it’s from an unknown planet that could hold untold riches in minerals and/or have a strategic advantage. Naturally, both the Republic and the Empire want those things.

They all have competing interests and loyalties, they all end up on Hutta, and naturally chaos erupts and battles are fought. As they all fight each other, whatever it is the Hutts have escape the vault it’s locked in. Turns out they are droids, but unlike any droids they’ve ever seen. They dub them “hexes” because of their shape, but they are super-resiliant, adaptable, and lethal. They can join together to increase their strength. And they endlessly scream “We do not recognize your authority!”

Turns out the killer droids were made by Lema Xandret, a particularly skilled droidmaker, who hates the Sith Empire with a rage she put into these droids. The Sith had taken her young Force-sensitive daughter, named Cinzia, and that loss and rage fuels her to create droids that could wipe out the entire galaxy, if attacked. Here’s the twist: the Sith apprentice, Eldon Ax, is that child who had once been Cinzia. She doesn’t remember her mother, Lema Xandret, and only wants to finish her mission for Darth Chratis (who she hates, by the way).

The Essential Legends edition of Fatal Alliance, with Eldon Ax and Shigar Konshi on the cover.

Anyway, the droids in the vault are finally destroyed, but Ax leaves with a piece of the “nest” from which the droids can replicate themselves, and Stryver has the ship’s navicomputer, both of which lead them back to the planet they originated from. Shigar has psychometric abilities and a piece of a droid, from which, after some persuasion from his master, he’s able to discern the coordinates. Or close enough. Envoy Vii ends up with Shigar, Larin, and Jet Nebula.

They all converge on the planet Sebaddon, which is near a black hole just outside of the galaxy itself. They all reluctantly agree to work together to destroy the colony of hexes (Lema Xandret and the small colony are already dead) to save the galaxy. They hatch a plan to have mixed troops attack two spots on the planet: the equator, where the CI (central intelligence governing the hexes) seems to be, led by Satele Shan and Eldon Ax; and the southern pole, where the actually factory building the hexes is located, led by Darth Chratis and Shigar, as well as Larin and some troops.

While on the ground, which is a very unstable, volcanic landscape, Darth Chratis tries to seduce Shigar to the dark side (doesn’t seem like a good time to do that, but whatever, lol). The Sith Lord and the Padawan fight, and Shigar has to fight the dark side, the anger, within himself.

On the equator, Satele and Ax come upon the actual central intelligence of the whole operation: a clone of Lema Xandret’s daughter, Cinzia. She’s younger by a few years, and suspended in a red, bacta-like substance, where she’s lived her whole life. The red fluid has some kind of metal in it that blocks her Force abilities. Lema had put her here to protect her, but she’s been a virtual prisoner. The droids had killed Lema Xandret when she sent the ship out to make a deal with the Mandalorians, as they were programmed to fiercely protect Cinzia. But her mother somehow lives on in the fluid, talking to her daughter in a kind of telepathy. The hexes take orders from Cinzia now, but she’s been so isolated and protected, she’s quite naive and doesn’t know anything about the outside galaxy, or the battles that have been taking place above the planet. She wants to know Ax better, her “sister,” what her life’s been like. Ax is appalled, naturally, and doesn’t really want anything to do with her. Her mother, “alive” through the liquid, starts to strangle Cinzia when she doesn’t listen to her and decides to help them with the hexes. Satele breaks the glass of the tank to save her, but she’s not used to living outside the tank, and dies shortly thereafter. But Cinzia told Ax she could control the hexes, like her, if she uploaded her DNA into the matrix, which she does.

After that, the battles end and Ax announces to Darth Chratis she no longer answers to him. He scoffs, of course, but then she orders the hexes to attack and kill him, and then to destroy themselves.

Afterward, Ax goes back to Dromund Kass and becomes an apprentice to Darth Howl, who is on the Dark Council. I was kind of hoping she’d leave the Sith Order, but no, she has her own ambitions and Darth Howl is the pathway to that.

Shigar is now allowed to take the Jedi Trials, which he’d been denied at the beginning of the book. I liked him throughout the story, but he does seem a bit angry and rash. I think he’s meant to join other Jedi later on who want to engage the Sith in battle sooner rather than later, if only to end the cold war and get on with it. Another war is coming.

As an aside, I just want to say that yes, Lema Xandret was a little insane, lol. Okay, a lot insane. But as a mother, I totally understand her maternal rage. If the devil stole my child to raise as evil, I’d burn down the galaxy in revenge, too. Just putting that out there.

So, all in all, I thought the book was fine. It took me a while to warm to it and get to know the characters, and actually care about what happens to them. They all had their own personal battles to fight, which tends to draw me in more than space battles, lol. But by the last quarter of the book, I was eager to see how it all worked out. I do believe this book is linked to the Old Republic video games, so there’s probably some stuff about these people or events I don’t know or understand. But that’s okay. In the end, I give this book:

Three out of Five Lightsabers.

Next up is The Old Republic: Annhilation, by Drew Karpyshyn.

Onward!

My Star Wars Entertainment Update November 2025

Hello friends! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, if you celebrate that where you are. 🙂 A few things to get to, so here we go!

Warning: SPOILERS!!!

Visions Season 3. I’d really been looking forward to this edition of Visions, as I’d loved the first two, especially Season 2. And while this one offered some good, entertaining episodes, none of them really stood out to me and I didn’t absolutely love it like Season 2. I think, like Season 1, these were all Japanese anime studios, while Season 2 encompassed other anime studios from around the world, and I think I loved that kind of diversity. So there seemed to be a certain stylistic sameness here that didn’t resonate with me.

That being said, there were some good ones. The sequel to Season 1’s The Duel, with the Ronin (The Duel: Payback), was a favorite, as I love the style, and the character of the Ronin. (Someday, I’m going to read that Ronin novel!) The Bounty Hunters was great, with the droid with two personalities, lol. I think my favorite, though, was The Smuggler, with the exiled Prince and the secret Jedi with the lightsaber hidden in a prosthetic arm.

The other two sequels, The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope and The Lost Ones, were fine, but I feel like the Ninth Jedi one was holding back for the future series (although I did love that crazy ship, and the little droid who sacrified himself for Kara); F in The Lost Ones has to face her old master who has turned to the dark side, though it’s unclear how that came to be.

Yuko’s Treasure was kind of adorable with the big bear droid with a microwave belly, and the theme of found family is fitting for Star Wars. The last two episodes were my least favorite, though they were the most visually stunning. The Bird of Paradise was gorgeous, but the Padawan in question is unbearable, lol. I was left wondering how she got to be a Padawan in the first place with so many un-Jedi-like qualities–impatience, self-centeredness, self-pity, anger. I understand she had to work through these things to become more Jedi-like (and I’m not even sure if she survived or not by the end), but I had zero empathy for her. And Black is a psychedelic trip that is up for interpretation. Maybe it’s because I don’t do drugs, lol, but damn, it was just weird and alienating. My interpretation is that it’s a stormtrooper’s dying flashbacks to his life and the battles he’s fought. It’s an interesting premise, but I was glad when it was over, lol. Just not my thing.

I’m hoping that if we get a Season 4 we can get more of the anime studios from around the world, as I seemed to enjoy those most.

Master of Evil, by Adam Christopher. This book was much more satisfying than the last canon book (The Last Order). At first I thought, hmm, another Vader story? Do we need one? But I heard good things, and I’m happy to say that it was well worth the read.

The book takes place mere days or weeks after events of The Revenge of the Sith. The Empire is new, and Vader himself is new, so to speak. Sidious has not been forthcoming in his promise to teach Vader the secrets of the Sith and how to conquer death (although, technically, Palpatine promised the power to “prevent” others from dying, not bring them back from death, right?) Anyway, Vader is still obsessed with bringing Padme back into his life, and if Sidious won’t help him, he’ll figure it out himself. Sidious sends him on a mission to Diso, a distant planet, to investigate a Force shaman and the rumor of a Temple which holds a Force vergence.

Instead of being completely from Vader’s point of view (there’s a handful of short chapters from him, though), the main point of view is from Colonel Halland Goth, a member of the Imperial Royal Guard. He’s proud to serve, but the problem is, he’s dying. He’s got Kangly’s disease, which makes him feel like he’s burning up from the inside out, and will eventually kill him. He’s got his own personal droid, TC-99, who not only helps him with his medical needs, but is a good friend. Goth is tasked by the ISB to keep an eye on Vader, who no one really knows anything about yet, and he accompanies Vader to Diso. While on the mission, Goth figures out that Vader is probably Anakin Skywalker. As a good Imperial soldier, Goth swallows the propaganda that the Jedi were traitors and is glad to be rid of them, but he’s fascinated with Vader: he realizes the suit he wears is keeping him alive. He gets the crazy idea that Vader, and that kind of technology, might help him survive. He wants to live, and he wants to serve.

The Temple in question turns out to be on a Separatist ship stuck in hyperspace somewhere (it’s a long story involving Count Dooku, lol), and that’s where the climax of the story happens. The vergence in the Force emanating from the Temple causes Vader to have some interesting visions; the shaman’s wife and daughter have gotten involved, and want revenge on Vader; there’s a couple of droid scientists from a former Techno Union Corporation on board who want to utilize the brain of a super-tactical droid running ship; and Goth is near death, just trying to keep everybody alive, while realizing he himself won’t be getting any miracle cure from Vader. He understands that it’s not just the suit that’s keeping Vader alive, but the Force itself. And he realizes that the Empire he’s so loyal to is not exactly what he thought it was.

Goth is a likable Imperial protagonist, and his friendship with TC-99 is touching. The theme of “masks” runs throughout the story: TC-99 has data matrices from many other droids he can insert into his chest plate to learn whatever specialty he needs to, but sometimes the personality of the droid is very strong and takes him over, as if he’s a completely different droid. The natives of Diso wear masks in their Force rituals; Jarvic, one of the droid scientists, has a wrap-around cyborg implant in his head (like Lobot) and the tactical droid ends up plugging into it and taking him over; the evil entity from the Temple (the dark side itself) temporarily takes over the shaman’s wife; Goth himself wears the red mask of the Royal Imperial Guard, but is he loyal to the Emperor, Vader, the ISB, or himself and TC-99? It shifts throughout the narrative. And of course, there’s Vader himself and his iconic mask, representing the split between himself and Anakin Skywalker, who he battles in one of his visions.

I loved this book, and though maybe we didn’t “need” another Vader story, I’m glad we got this one.

Comics:

Han Solo: Hunt for the Falcon #3. Han and Chewie continue to search for the Falcon, as the Irving Boys point them in the direction of Unkar Plutt. There’s another flashback to Han’s past, with young Ben wanting to spend time with his dad, tinkering with a landspeeder, and Leia scolding him for not finishing his studies. Han and Leia then argue about the whole thing. (I feel like Leia is being a bit unreasonable here; geez, let the kid spend some time with his dad, lol). Han and Chewie end up arguing, as Han discovers that Chewie has been speaking with Leia without telling him. Anyway, Ducain gets back into the picture and decides to warn Plutt about Han and Chewie coming to look for the ship. There’s only one issue left, and I’m eager to see how this concludes, as we already know they don’t get the ship back until The Force Awakens.

Legacy of Vader #10. Kylo, back on Mustafar with Vanee, goes into Vader’s meditation chamber to see if he can find Luke Skywalker. The man is dead, and Kylo is still obsessed, lol. At first he sees weird snake-like creatures with the heads of his family, and he spends time cutting them down. Then, he finds himself somewhere that looks like Force Heaven or something, and a Force ghost tells him he shouldn’t be there. But Luke’s Force ghost comes over and chats with Kylo. Kylo wants to know how he died, who killed him and how much he suffered. But Luke tells him no one killed him. He sacrificed himself for those he loved. That’s what his life was for. “What’s your life for?” he asks Kylo. And of course, this enrages him. “Stop trying to teach me!” he yells at him. Luke points out that he shouldn’t have been able to access this place, and Kylo should think about how he did. (There’s still Light in him, if you haven’t figured it out, lol). Then Kylo is punished by some darkside creature for (unconsciously) accessing the Light to go there, and he comes out of the meditation chamber terribly wounded. I really liked this issue and his conversation with Luke, but as we know Kylo doesn’t really learn anything from it.

Non-Star Wars pick of the month:

Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Frankenstein has always been a favorite of mine, meaning the book and any movie adaptations that come along. I loved the Kenneth Branagh adaptation from 1994, and I think it’s still my favorite, but this one is a close second, although it’s very different in style and tone. Director Guillermo del Toro has a very distinct style and that comes through in this film very clearly. The subject matter is naturally gruesome, but it’s brought to a level of grotesqueness that’s more creepy than bloody (though there’s plenty of that, too, lol). There’s always a ton of stuff you can break down in this story, but I’ll just briefly touch on my thoughts here, since I think we’re all familiar with the basic storyline.

As you may know, I’m a fan of Oscar Isaac, and he did a fine job as the obsessed Victor Frankenstein. To be honest, I thought Mia Goth’s character as Elizabeth was just weird. In this version, Elizabeth is Victor’s brother William’s fiance, instead of Victor’s eventual bride, but there’s a sexual tension between her and Victor. I like that she has compassion for the Creature, but there’s something weird about it. She’s just weird, lol. Maybe it’s the actress, I don’t know, I haven’t seen her in anything else (I hope I like her better in the upcoming Star Wars film Starfighter). We’ll see.

Speaking of the Creature, I think Jacob Elordi does a fantastic job with him. I always love the Creature in any version, and this one was especially child-like and sweet (until he’s not, of course, lol). My sentimental mother’s heart always breaks for this child that is rejected by its parent; in other versions, it was fear that caused Victor to reject him, but here it’s more disappointment. He doesn’t learn to speak properly right away, and Victor, aghast that his creation is so dumb, is pretty damn mean to him and it’s clear that once again, Victor is the true monster here. Of course, it mirrors Victor’s father’s disappointment in him, a cycle that he doesn’t even realize he’s repeating.

I do like that the two forgive each other at the end, which does not happen in the book (not really), but instead of them both dying, the Creature in this version cannot die and must live alone forever in the Arctic wastes, which is the saddest thing I can think of.

So, an interesting and unique interpretation of an eternally fascinating story; not perfect, kind of weird, but definitely entertaining.

That’s it this month. What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Star Wars Entertainment Update for October 2025

Hello friends! Lots of things to cover this past month, so let’s get started.

If you missed the past two reviews of my Legends Reading Challenge, here are the links: Deceived, and Red Harvest.

The Final Order, by Kwame Mbalia. I’ve been really looking forward to this book, as I’ve been extremely eager for some post-sequel trilogy stories. In fact, we sequel fans have been starved for stories, and we kept waiting and waiting and waiting…

Well, this book ain’t that.

Not exactly, anyway. It begins mere days after the Battle of Exegol with a young man named Coy, who’d been part of the Citizen’s Fleet. His family grows tea on his home planet, and he was pretty damn well terrified at the battle. But he made it and is proud he took part. He was ready to go home…until a ship arrived full of refugee kids from the First Order, and Finn and Jannah need a ride to find a vicious FO officer named Major Grohl. So Coy finds himself on another adventure.

But the bulk of the book is alternating chapters between Finn and Jannah, flashbacks to their time as stormtroopers. Like, 95% of the book. Which was disappointing. Sure, we get to see Jannah and her troops refuse to fire on civilians on Ansette Island–at the very end of the book. And the whole story of how they got to that point. As well as Finn’s entanglements with Major Grohl. But did I really need these stories? No, not really. Nope.

That’s not to say it’s a bad book. The author did a fine job with what he was given and allowed to write about. But it wasn’t what I expected or wanted, and I’m being grumpy about it, lol. I feel like Lucasfilm/Disney is holding back on sequel-era stories, while The Rise of Skywalker came out six freaking years ago! We’ve gotten plenty of “leading up to” stories, and “between this movie and that movie” stories, but nothing after. It’s frustrating. And yes, the Rey movie, blah blah blah, but who knows if that will even come out? (I hope so). And yes, Starfighter takes place after the sequels, and I’m eager to see what might be going on. But damn, give us some books or comics with Rey, Finn, Poe, etc. after TROS. Please???

Anyway, rant over. The book was fine, and if you want to know more about Finn and Jannah’s experiences as stormtroopers, this is your book; if you’re looking for new, uncharted material, you’ll have to wait.

Comics:

Han Solo: Hunt for the Falcon #2. Han and Chewie continue their search for the Falcon, this time running into the Irving Boys. The only thing I find particularly interesting about these comics are the personal moments, the character-driven moments, Han’s memories of his family, etc. At the beginning of this one, Leia is speaking to Chewie via hologram and warns him not to let Han drag him into one of his schemes. To go back to his family. Also, Han has a memory of himself and Leia with little Ben on the Falcon, and Ben is so excited to be at the controls with his old man. Damn. I imagine the next two issues will involve Unkar Plutt, the Guavian Death Gang and/or Kanjiklub. Stay tuned.

Legacy of Vader #9. Tava Ren fights Kylo Ren, then they have dinner, a little conversation, she kisses him, he recoils and attacks her, she escapes his ship, and though he could shoot her ship down, he lets her go. In a nutshell, lol. Tava fights Kylo, teases him, provokes him, infuriates him. I’m still not sure why she even went there, to be honest. To serve him was a lie, and she admits that. She tells him he misses the freedom of the Knights of Ren, that with the First Order he’s in a cage. She definitely strikes a nerve, but I’m not sure if we’ll see her again or what her end game is. Stay tuned.

Visions 1 & 2 rewatch. With Season 3 of Visions dropping on October 29th, I thought I’d rewatch Seasons 1 & 2. There’s only a few episodes that don’t really resonate with me, but for the most part I love this series. My favorites are “The Duel,” “The Ninth Jedi,” and “The Elder,” from Season 1; almost all the episodes from Season 2 are fantastic but I particularly love “Sith,” “The Bandits of Golak,” and “The Pit.” I can’t wait to see what we get in Season 3–there are sequel episodes to “The Ninth Jedi” (and a series in the works, I hear), and “The Bride.” I love it all so much!

(I’ve since watched S3 and will discuss it a bit more in my next Update).

Book news:

Ooh, new book news! I love that we’re getting some more sequel novels; along with The Last Order (see above), we’re getting this one with Leia and Rey between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Can’t wait! Here’s the blurb:

STAR WARS: LEGACY

By Madeleine Roux

On Sale Date: July 28, 2026

Set between Episodes VIII and IX, Rey and Leia embark on a quest to repair Rey’s lightsaber and rekindle the legacy of the Jedi.

After barely escaping the First Order on Crait, Rey and the Resistance are struggling to rebuild. Her friends need the last Jedi more than ever, but Rey feels alone and overwhelmed. Jedi tradition is built on masters and apprentices, and Rey’s teacher is gone. Leia Organa tries her best to train Rey in the ways of the Force as Luke did for her so many years ago, but Leia’s knowledge is limited, Rey’s lightsaber is broken, and the specter of Kylo Ren and regrets from the past haunt them both. How can Leia pass the torch when she herself is unsure of the way?
But then, the ancient Jedi texts offer a glimmer of hope: a long-forgotten Jedi temple on Tython that might hold the key to repairing Rey’s saber. Rey leaps at the chance to journey there — and to her surprise, so does Leia.
Rey and Leia’s nascent mentorship is put to the test when they discover the temple on Tython is filled with obscure clues to decipher and arcane trials to complete. As they work to unravel the temple’s mysteries, they encounter a group of refugees living in its shadow, hiding from a First Order officer hot on the trail of two freedom fighters in their midst. With the threat of the First Order looming and the secrets of the temple yet to be unlocked, the newly forged master and apprentice must confront their pasts, reach each other in the present, and decide what it means to carry the legacy of the Jedi into the future.

Again, an “in-between” story, but I’ll take it, because I still would like some more insight into Rey and Leia’s relationship.

Eyes Like Stars, by Ashley Poston. There’s always been romance in Star Wars, with some books focusing on it more than others, but this one is being touted as the first “romance novel” in Star Wars. It’s a young adult novel, which makes sense, and I’ll probably read it out of curiosity. It’s also during the sequel era, which is a plus. I’m kind of hoping it leads to more romance novels featuring more familiar characters (Obi-Wan and Satine, anyone? We’re waiting, Disney/Lucasfilm!), but we’ll see. Here’s a little blurb:

What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Can we talk about this Ben Solo thing?

Hello friends 🙂

I don’t usually do “Star Wars News” posts, at least not in a separate post, but I have a few thoughts about this latest news. If you haven’t already heard, Adam Driver recently stated in an interview that he and director Steven Soderbergh had developed a script about Ben Solo that takes place after The Rise of Skywalker called “The Hunt for Ben Solo.”

Whaaaa????

As a sequel trilogy fan, a Kylo/Ben fan, and an Adam Driver fan, this is hugely exciting. The two brought the script to Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm and got a green light there. But when they brought it to Bob Iger (head of Disney) he said no. His reason? He can’t see how Ben Solo is still alive after TROS. End of story.

Excuse me? Disney Star Wars, where somehow…Palpatine returned? Not to mention Maul, Asajj Ventress, and Boba Fett all made miraculous returns after death? Adam freaking Driver, perhaps one of the best actors of his generation, and who brought his considerable acting chops to Star Wars, wants to do a movie, which was greenlit by Kathy Kennedy and Lucasfilm, and you’re just like, “Nah” ????

I know that the sequel trilogy wasn’t perfect. It was, in fact, Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren who carried a lot if it with his performance. And one of the things that hugely disappointed me was Ben Solo’s death. Yes, I get it, he’d been a monster as Kylo and even though he turned back to the light, how would the galaxy ever forgive him, blah blah blah. Easier to just kill him off, like most redemption stories in Star Wars. Crosshair in The Bad Batch was a great exception to this rule, as he has to live with his sins and try to atone for them somehow. We need to see more of this.

But Ben’s death left a huge hole in my heart. We only got a short, tantalizing glimpse of Ben Solo, a few amazing scenes in which he says nothing at all (and yes, actions speak louder than words, but his last word was “Ow.” Come on, man!) I NEED more Ben Solo in my life, please, yes, please. And I was content to maybe get some books or comics about him; lately all we’ve been getting are comics about Kylo Ren. I’m not complaining, exactly, I just want more Ben. But to have Adam Driver actually want to reprise the role in some way and bring him back to the big screen–dreams do come true! I was under the impression the guy was done with Star Wars and Kylo, but no, it looks like Driver had some unfinished business with Ben himself. And that’s just amazing to me!

But Bob “I’m an idiot” Iger said no. Now, there is a question as to how Ben would come back. As we don’t have access to the actual script, we can’t really know what Driver had in mind. But based on all the other characters who have been raised from the dead, in a sci-fi fantasy story, no less, there are endless possibilities.

At the end of TROS, Ben disappeared into the Force. Maybe he’s in the World Between Worlds and needs to learn some lessons there? Maybe it’s about young Ben Solo and his childhood and Driver isn’t in it at all, he just has the idea for the character and wants to executive produce? I don’t know. But I’m sure there’s an answer there.

He’s a complicated man. Sorry, he WAS a complicated man.

Anyway, I’m very disappointed and a bit flummoxed as to why it was shot down. It seems to be a huge missed opportunity. I’m sure there are other fans out there who feel “He died, end of story. He sacrificed himself for Rey, and if he comes back that would cheapen it, blah blah blah.” I get it. As someone who is a big Bad Batch fan and has been embroiled in the whole #TechLives thing on social media, I get it. The point is valid. The thing is, I don’t care, lol. If I can’t have Tech back, give me Ben Solo. I’d forfeit Maul, Ventress, and Boba Fett, all of them, in an instant to get either one back. Anyway, that’s my rant on the whole Ben Solo thing.

What do you think? Should Iger have agreed to this? Or did he do the right thing? Let me know how you feel about #thehuntforbensolo in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Legends Reading Challenge: Red Harvest

Hello friends, the Legends Reading Challenge continues with book #4, Red Harvest, by Joe Scheiber.

(Warning: SPOILERS!!!)

So, this one is that rare combination of Star Wars and horror, specifically: zombies! Not my usual cup of tea, although I will admit to having watched the first few seasons of The Walking Dead, as well as The Last of Us (which I loved). So zombies aren’t completely off the table for me, lol.

This one takes place about 3,600 BBY (before the Battle of Yavin), so still firmly in the Old Republic. The majority of the story takes place on the icy planet Odacer-Faustin, where a Sith Academy is overseen by Darth Scabrous (that’s a good one!). Scabrous has been experimenting with an ancient Sith ritual in order to achieve immortality (as they do). But he is lacking one crucial element: a particular flower called the Murakami orchid, which is slightly Force-sensitive.

On the planet Marfa, a Jedi named Hestizo Trace, who is a member of the Jedi Agricultural Corps, tends the many plant species there, including a Murakami orchid with which she has a special relationship. Hestizo, or Zo, can communicate with the orchid through the Force, and can hear its thoughts in her head, which I find particularly fascinating.

Somehow Scabrous is aware of this orchid and Zo’s relationship with it (it’s not clear how he knows; Sith magic?) and sends a bounty hunter after her, a Whiphid named Tulkh. He takes her and the orchid back to the Sith Academy. Scabrous puts the orchid into his crazy potion and injects it into his speciment, a Sith student he’s been experimenting on. The student, Wim Nickter, has been transformed into a mindless beast. He escapes his cage, slams into another student who had been spying on Scabrous, and they both plummet from the top of the tower to the ground hundreds of meters below. They don’t die, however; Nickter had infected the other student, and they both run rampant through the campus, infecting the other students, and the the “Sickness” spreads. Zo, meanwhile, escapes Scabrous in the confusion and realizes she can still hear the orchid–through the infected students.

In another part of the galaxy, Rojo Trace, Zo’s brother, is investigating a crash (he has psychometry, where he can see images when he touches an object). During the investigation, he “hears” Zo calling for help, and is determined to find her. It doesn’t take long for him to figure it out, and off he goes to Odacer-Faustin to save his sister.

Along the way, we get to know a few Sith students–Ra’at, Kindra, Maggs, and Hegwith–and how they are dealing with the hordes of zombie students swarming the campus. They band together, but because they’re Sith, they don’t trust each other and will betray each other the first chance they get. One by one, they’re taken out by the zombies in bloody, brutal fashion.

Meanwhile, Scabrous, who is also infected by his potion, needs to find Zo: the Sith ritual requires him to eat the living heart of someone with a high midichlorian count so he doesn’t become a mindless zombie, only acquiring the immortality he seeks. He finally captures her and is about to cut her heart out when her brother shows up and fights Scabrous. Unfortunately, he doesn’t win the duel, and Scabrous disembowels him. It’s finally the spirit of the orchid that saves her, as Zo commands it to grow inside the zombie bodies, exploding them with vines growing out of ears, eyes, mouth, until their heads expode, lol.

Tulkh is a Whiphid, which is a warrior and hunter species. Image from Wookieepedia.

Zo’s last savior is Tulkh, who has had his own adventures with the zombies, allying with an HK-droid and a mechanic named Pergus Frode. They show up on Tulkh’s ship to lift her out of the Sith chamber where more zombies are trying to kill her. They manage to blow up the tower and get away from the planet, but Tulkh has been infected by the blood of a zombie tauntaun (really) and Zo has to blast him out of the airlock, along with a stowaway Sith student zombie. When she returns to Marfa, she decides to go back to the Temple on Coruscant to continue her training, in case it’s not the end of the zombie virus story.

So, yeah, this book moved right along with short chapters, tight writing, and a whole lot of horrifyingly detailed blood and gore, as one would expect with a zombie novel. By the end, I’d had about enough of disintigrating body parts, exposed viscera, mindless flesh-eating, etc. What I did find interesting, as I mentioned, was the bond between Zo and the orchid, and the idea of a Force-sensitive plant, which I don’t think we normally consider. They are living things, of course, and so are imbued with the Force like everything else. That this one was semi-sentient was really intriguing (although we did see it in the Drengir in the High Republic). I also like the Neti librarian, who was a huge tree-like creature that oversaw the Sith archives of scrolls, parchments, and data discs. He reminds me of an Ent, like Treebeard from the Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, he got infected, too, and decided to burn everything in the library. He was really the only good thing at the Sith Academy, and the fact that he was a plant-like being speaks volumes. The cold, dark deadness of the Sith Academy contrasts sharply with the living laboratory of the plant-filled Jedi Agricultural outpost. The fact that the orchid, which was a key ingredient in the Sith immortality potion, which only brought living death, was also the key to defeating it, was a nice symbolic touch.

I also want to mention the Jedi Agricultural Corps, of which Zo was a member. In Legends, any Jedi who don’t or can’t take the Jedi trials or who otherwise aren’t up to snuff on their Force abilities and can’t become a Knight, go to one of several branches like the Agricultural Corps. They don’t get kicked out of the Order, they just become useful in some other way. Zo had her talent of communicating with plant life, so that’s where she went. Everyone has their place and a purpose.

In contrast, it was also interesting to see the workings of a Sith Academy. The students, naturally, are competitive in a self-serving and often devious way; it’s survival of the the most cunning and ruthless. They certainly don’t work together or form friendships, even under the stress of a zombie attack, lol. Dark side through and through, so it wasn’t sad to see that all of them perished.

I found out that this book is a prequel of sorts to Schrieber’s other zombie Star Wars book, Death Troopers, which occurs much later in the timeline. More zombie fun! This book was entertaining in its own way, but not my favorite kind of book, especially when it comes to Star Wars; however, Halloween is on the horizon, so my rating is…

Three out of five lightsabers.

Next up is The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, by Sean Williams.

Legends Reading Challenge: Deceived

Hello friends, the Legends Reading Challenge continues with…

(As always–SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived, by Paul S. Kemp. You know, I really thought I’d have to slog through the Old Republic books, but they’ve been surprisingly good. This one, especially, I thought was quite good, as it had interesting, complex characters that had to make difficult decisions.

There are three interweaving plotlines in Deceived. One is of Darth Malgus, who, at the beginning of the book, leads the assault on Coruscant and destroys the Jedi Temple. At his side is Eleena, a lovely lavender Twi’lek, a former slave that Malgus had taken pity on and rescued. Now she is is his constant companion, lover, and stand-in-conscience, and is absolutely devoted to him. During the assault, Malgus defeats Master Zallow, a Jedi Master, and the Sith force kill all the Jedi in the Temple.

Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Aryn Leneer is on Alderaan with a Jedi delegation meeting with the Sith for a peace treaty. It doesn’t sit well with Aryn, as she had recently fought the Sith on Alderaan. When her former Master, Master Zallow, is killed by Malgus, she feels his death and is devastated. Once Coruscant is taken, the Republic has no choice but to acquiesce to the Sith’s demands. Aryn is furious that they are capitulating, but the Jedi and the Republic really have no choice. Aryn decides that she will leave the Order and pursue vengeance for her master’s death.

The third story involves a former Republic commando named Zeerid, who is now running spice for a criminal syndicate called The Exchange. He is only doing it for the money to take care of his daughter, Arra, who had been in an accident that killed her mother and left her with no legs. Zeerid wants to give his daughter a better life, and is now in debt to The Exchange and feels there is no way out. His boss wants him to deliver engspice (a highly addictive form of spice) to Coruscant, which has been shut down by the Sith. At the same time, a rival operative employed by the Hutts called Vrath Xizor is trying to stop the shipment, either by destroying the spice, or killing Zeerid.

Darth Malgus and Eleena Daru, by Aleksandra Skiba.

These characters will all come together and collide during the course of the story. Aryn, who had fought beside Zeerid before and considers him a friend (and perhaps a little bit more), seeks him out to help her get into Coruscant, and he happens to be going there. Vrath tells Malgus about Aryn, and Malgus figures out that Zallow was her master and she’s probably looking for him. So he goes to her.

I love these characters because they’re all wrestling with some form of internal conflict. Malgus, who is furious that the Sith are seeking peace when he wants war, knows he has a weakness: Eleena. He loves her, and that makes him vulnerable, particularly to other Sith lords like Darth Angral and Lord Adraas, who use the idea of Eleena to undermine him. Aryn obviously has left behind the Order to seek vengeance for her master’s death; she chooses to do this without too much doubt, but realizes that when she seeks to hurt him through Eleena that perhaps she’s gone too far. And Zeerid hates himself for dealing in spice, but feels he has no other choice in order to help his daughter; he later kills Vrath in order to protect her, and must live with the idea of being a murderer.

There are some great lightsaber duels and fight scenes, and I like that the plot remains fairly simple but interesting nonetheless. The characterizations and personal stakes involved are enough to keep me invested. Particularly at the end, when Darth Malgus defeats Aryn in battle but lets her go for sparing Eleena; he then turns around and kills Eleena after admitting to her that he loves her. He recognizes that she is his weakness, and he mustn’t be weak or vulnerable in any way. It’s tragic and so very Sith-like, lol. So Malgus lives, but Aryn keeps her soul and goes to live with Zeerid and Arra on Dantooine.

My only gripe is that there are too many names that begin with the letter A: Arra, Angral, Adraas, and Aryn. Whyyyyyy, Paul S. Kemp????

Rating: I’m going to give this one 4.5 out of 5 lightsabers (not sure what half a lightsaber looks like–the hilt or the blade? Or split down the length? Lol.) I really liked this one, but I need to read more Legends to get to know what a 5-star book looks like (I’ve heard great things about the Bane trilogy, so we’ll see).

Up next is Red Harvest, by Joe Schrieber. Just in time for Halloween: zombies!

My Star Wars Entertainment Update for September 2025

Hello friends! Lots of Star Wars stuff to go over this month, so let’s get started.

I’ve recently decided to do a Legends reading challenge, and I’ve finished the first two books in the timeline and posted my reviews. Check out my thoughts on Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, by Tim Lebbon here, as well as my thoughts on The Old Republic: Revan, by Drew Karpyshyn here.

Comics:

Han Solo: Hunt for the Falcon #1, by Rodney Barnes (Marvel). In “Celebrating 10 Years of The Force Awakens,” (wow) Marvel has our favorite smuggler on the search for the missing Millenium Falcon. In TFA, we see Rey, Finn, and BB-8 run into Han and Chewie in the Falcon after they escaped Jakku (stolen from Unkar Plutt), and we find out the ship had been missing for years. In this new series, Han, along with Lando Calrissian, is in the racing business while Chewbacca is home on Kashyyk with his family. It’s hard to pin down the timeline here, but clearly the Falcon is missing, and his relationship with Leia and Ben is on the rocks. He feels he’s failed as a husband and father and misses the good ol’ days when he was just Han Solo, Captain of the Millenium Falcon.

He decides to leave racing and find his ship. But he needs help, so he travels to Kashyyk and enlists the help of his old friend, Chewie. Chewie is living happily with his family-his wife, Malla, and his son Lumpawaroo (“Lumpy” in the Holiday Special, but he insists on being called “Waroo” here, lol). Han watches them wistfully, seeing how happy they are (compared to his own broken family), but still has no problem asking his friend to leave them to go on an adventure to find their old ship. And of course, Chewie agrees. As Han knew he would. Han comes off as a little selfish here, and I’m trying to decide if it’s out of character for him at this point. Sure, young Han was a selfish rogue with a heart, lol, but by this age, I feel like he knows better. Anyway, off they go to find the first of the Falcon’s thieves, Ducain.

Legacy of Vader #8, by Charles Soule (Marvel). This one starts off with the Knights of Ren with a new leader, Tava Ren. They tell her the story of how Kylo Ren came to be their leader and then abandoned them when Snoke came around for his new apprentice. Tava decides to go to Kylo and pledge her service, but I’m sure she has something else in mind. That’s about all that happens here, flashbacks to when Kylo led them, but I’m hoping the next issue will be more interesting as she inevitably faces off with him.

The Jedi Path, by Daniel Wallace. I’ve had my eye on this one since it came out and finally decided to get it. It’s presented as a Jedi manual for Padawans, with chapters written by Jedi Masters of the past. There are sections on what’s expected of a Padawan, proper dress, lightsaber forms, Force abilities, the Jedi Trials; and because it was written during the Legends era, the various branches of the Jedi, including Consulars, Sentinels, and where Jedi go if they don’t pass their trials (services like the Agricultural Corps, the Medical and Educational Corps, and the Exploration Corps).

What’s fun about this book is that there are handwritten notes in the margins of the pages by various Padawans through the years, including Dooku, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka, as well as Yoda and even Darth Sidious, who apparently had the book in his possession at some point. Luke is the last to make notes in here and comments on his students in his new Jedi Academy. These notes (in different handwriting) are little snippets into these various characters and their personalities shine through, as well as show some foreshadowing. For example, on the page describing a lightsaber form against a foe with many limbs, Obi-Wan writes: “I shudder at the thought of facing that many sabers at once.” Of course, he later does in ROTS when he fights General Grievous and his many-limbed lightsaber attack. Anakin makes quite a few snarky comments, where little hints of his darkness come through. In response to a page talking about finding nonviolent solutions, Anakin states: “If you never use your saber, then why have one?” Ahsoka is preoccupied with the Clone Wars and what will best serve in that situation. Ahsoka has been a soldier since becoming a Padawan, so her experience has been very different from all the other Padawans. Really fun book.

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance #1, Manga by Justina Ireland and Shim Shinyo. Now that the High Republic is officially “over,” I thought I’d go back and check out some stories that I didn’t get around to outside of the books. There are a ton of comics, but what stood out to me was this manga series that looked cool. It centers on Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi, who is on the planet Banchii with her former Master, the Wookiee Arkoff. They are resettling people who have been displaced by the Nihil, but soon discover another threat: the Drengir. Along with her Padawan Keerin and two younglings, they fight off the Drengir. I love the art in this book, and also the fact that my daughter’s name is Lilly, lol. There are several books in this series, but I only have this one and Precedent right now. I’m working on getting the others.

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance: Precedent, Manga by Daniel Jose Older. This one centers on Arkoff in the past, during Phase 2 of the High Republic. Specifically, during the “Night of Sorrows” on the planet Dalna, where the Path of the Open Hand (which later morphs into the Nihil) fight the Jedi with their Nameless. Arkoff loses his Master to the Nameless, but with the help of their droid and a young Azlin Rell (who is driven mad by the Nameless), he survives. There’s also a Harch bounty Hunter named Vol Garat (who looks like Admiral Trench from the Clone Wars, so I hear his voice whenever Vol speaks, lol) who is working with the Nihil for…some reason. I like the insight we get into Azlin Rell in this one, as he’s a very interesting character in the Phase 3 books.

Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Pieces of the Past. The Star Wars Lego specials are a fun treat, and this one was no exception. In this one, Sig Greebling must work with his dark side brother Dev to stop the villain Solitus from reducing the galaxy to a whole bunch of nothing. The thing about Rebuild the Galaxy is that all of the characters we know are flipped or changed in some way: there are the darksiders–Darth Rey, Darth Rose, and Darth Jar Jar, lol. There’s even a scene with dark side Obi-Wan and Darth Revan (who doesn’t speak, preserving the gamer’s option of gender, which is pretty cool). And the lightsiders: Palpatine, Maul, white Vader, etc. Leia is in love with Greedo, not Han Solo, and Luke is a surfer dude. In this one, we meet “new” characters: The Landolorian with Grogu, Giant Chewbacca, blocky Ahsoka, Pirate Queen Padme, the BB8-Wing (a ship based on BB-8 and which I adored, lol), and a deep-cut appearance by Jaxon the green rabbit from one of the first Star Wars comics (voiced by Ben Schwartz, whose voice I recognized instantly as the racer droid Tay-O from The Bad Batch episode Faster in Season 2). The point is, everything is all mixed up in this galaxy; Sig is a “builder” in the Force, and Dev is a “destroyer” in the Force, building and destroying all manner of things from Legos. Sig and Dev work with Jedi Bob, Yessi, and Sig’s droid Servo, along with all of these characters, to defeat Solitus. It’s a super-fun ride, and I’m definitely here for the jokes and laughs.

Oh, and we got a couple of teaser trailers: one for The Mandalorian and Grogu movie (May 22, 2026), and the other for Visions Vol. 3 (October 29, 2025). I’m not going to go into my thoughts on them yet, only that they look great and I can’t wait for both! Here are the trailers:

That’s it for this month. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Legends Reading Challenge: Revan

Hello friends! Welcome to book #2 in my Legends Reading Challenge: Revan, by Drew Karpyshyn, published in 2012. It’s been out for quite a while, so there are SPOILERS ahead!!! (And it’s kind of long, lol). By the way, I’m getting the chronological order of the books from a list on Youtini.com.

So Revan is a character from the Knights of the Old Republic video game, and the events of this book occur between in the middle of Revan’s video game story arc. As I’ve said here before, I’m not a gamer, so I felt I had to do some research before I began this book. Youtube to the rescue!

This is what I gathered from my “Revan’s Story” research (very basically): Revan was a very gifted Jedi, strong in the Force, who did not agree with the Jedi Council’s stance on staying out of the Mandalorian conquest of the Outer Rim worlds. He gathered some loyal Jedi who followed him to fight the Mandalorians, including his close friend Malak. At one point during the war, Revan found a Mandalorian mask and put it on, vowing to never take it off until the Mandalorians were defeated. After besting Mandalore the Ultimate in one-on-one combat, the Mandalore revealed that it was a Sith who pushed them to go to war with the Republic, so Revan and Malak went in search of this Sith on the planet Dromund Kaas. It was the Sith Emperor Vitiate, who, when Revan and Malak confronted him, twisted their will to the dark side and sent them out to make war against the Republic.

Now Darth Revan and Darth Malak, they did just that; the Jedi Council decided they had no choice but to fight back and sent Jedi Knights to oppose them, led by Bastila Shan. At this point, Malak had challenged Revan (as Sith do) but Revan won the battle by shearing off Malak’s jaw (oof). Anyway, Bastila confronts Revan, but there’s an explosion and he’s injured. She instinctively tries to save Revan, bringing him back to the Council. They decide to wipe his memory and retrain him as a Jedi. He and Bastila then go back out to defeat Malak, and the two Jedi fall in love, though they both try to ignore their feelings. Malak manages to capture Bastila and turn her to the dark side. After much trial and tribulation, Revan defeats Malak, turns Bastila back to the light, they declare their love for one another and go back to Coruscant to live together. This is a very trimmed down synopsis, and I may have gotten some things mixed up, lol. But it was enough background for me to know in order to start the book, which begins with Revan and Bastila on Coruscant.

Revan is having vivid dreams and nightmares, mostly about a dark, lightning-filled world. He believes it’s some of his memories coming back and is convinced that there’s still something out there that threatens the Republic. We know that it’s the Sith Emperor Vitiate on Dromund Kaas, but Revan has no idea what these dreams mean, only that he is compelled to do something about it.

He decides to talk to his old Mandalorian friend Canderous Ordo. He and Canderous were enemies during the Mandalorian Wars; when the Mandalorians were defeated and the clans scattered, Canderous became a mercenary. Revan meets him during this time, and they work together during the Jedi Civil War to defeat Malak. Anyway, he asks Canderous for help, seeking any information on what he, Revan, had said or done when Canderous knew him. Canderous asks around among his Mandalorian contacts and finds out the clans have been searching for Mandalore the Ultimate’s mask in order to reunite and possibly move against the Republic. Revan had told him he had taken Mandalore’s mask and he and Malak had hidden it somewhere to prevent the clans from reuniting. It was after that he and Malak went to the Unknown Regions and came back as Darth Revan and Dark Malak.

Revan believes that finding Mandalore’s mask might help him discover why they went to the Unknown Regions and what happened there. Canderous says that the Mandalorian clans are looking for the mask on the planet Rekkiad. Revan decides he needs to go and find out what his dark dreams mean. When he tells Bastila, she gives him her own news: she’s pregnant with his child. She understandably must stay on Coruscant, and neither of them know if they’ll ever see each other again (spoiler: they don’t). Even so, Revan leaves with Canderous and his loyal droid, T3-M4.

Meanwhile, on Dromund Kaas, we meet Lord Scourge, a Dark Lord of the Sith who arrives to serve Darth Nyriss, a member of the Dark Council. Scourge, like Nyriss and many on the Dark Council, are of the Sith species, red-skinned and strong with the dark side. Scourge is ambitious, as all Sith Lords are, and hopes his service with Nyriss will one day lead him closer to the Dark Council. However, he becomes enmeshed in the entangled machinations of Nyriss, who tests Scourge’s abilities, loyalty, and motivations. It turns out that Nyriss and others on the Council believe the Emperor is mad and will bring the galaxy to eventual annihilation. To convince Scourge of this and recruit his help, she tells the history of Vitiate and what he’s done. He’s lived for over one thousand years; his immortality stems from what he did to his home world, Nathema–through a Sith ritual, he drained the entire planet of life and Force energy, every living being and plant reduced to dead ash (this reminds me of the Blight in the High Republic novels–a deadness that spreads across planets, in which the Force itself is absent). Nyriss decides to take Scourge to Nathema so he can experience it himself and convince him the Emperor must be stopped.

Meanwhile, Revan and Canderous meet up with the Ordo clan on Rekkiad (who are led by Canderous’ wife, Leera). Revan and Canderous find the mask at the top of an ice tower, but Leera has figured out that he’s their old enemy Revan and turns on them. Leera and her team are killed, and Revan gives the mask to Canderous to lead the Mandalorians as Mandalore the Preserver. But seeing the mask unlocks some more memories of Revan’s, which also leads him to Nathema.

Scourge, after being on Nathema for a short time and experiencing the total loss of the Force, agrees that the Emperor is mad and must be stopped. He and Nyriss leave the planet, but before they leave the system they detect Revan entering it and crash-landing on the planet. They take him prisoner, leaving T3 behind.

Revan is their prisoner for three years. They get all the information they can out of him, but don’t really have a use for him. What’s interesting is that Scourge becomes interested in Revan. Revan is drugged most of the time to keep his Force abilities at bay, but Scourge will often visit him to have conversations with the Jedi. He knows Revan has mastered both the Light and Dark sides of the Force, which fascinates him. He wants to know about Force visions, which Revan has had (and which darksiders rarely have, apparently). Revan makes use of Scourge’s interest, attempting to plant the idea of Scourge freeing Revan so they can work together to take down the Emperor, a common goal for both of them. Scourge is getting impatient with Nyriss and the rest of the Dark Council, who clearly aren’t going to make a move against the Emperor out of an abundance of caution and fear.

In the meantime, T3 has gotten himself off of Nathema and found Meetra, a Jedi known as the Exile. She’s got a whole backstory of her own (which I learned about on Youtube, but won’t get into here), but basically, she worked with Revan during the Mandalorian Wars and now wants to find him. Meetra goes to Bastila with T3; Bastila gives Meetra two things: a holovid of herself and Vaner–her and Revan’s 3-year-old son–and Revan’s old Mandalorian mask.

Meetra and T3 go to Nathema, where T3 extracts information from the dead city about Dromund Kaas, where they head next. Meetra eventually meets up with Scourge, and they come up with a plan to free Revan so they can work together to defeat the Emperor. Of course, things go terribly wrong.

Scourge, who has had an actual Force vision of seeing Meetra and Revan dead at the Emperor’s feet, starts to have doubts. Unlike the Jedi, he’s unwilling to sacrifice himself for the cause (although he’s willing to sacrifice others). When the battle with the Emperor goes badly, he makes his decision and betrays the Jedi, killing Meetra and showing Vitiate he’s willing to kill Revan. He tells himself he will continue to undermine the Emperor and take him out when the time is right, so their deaths are acceptable. He lies to the Emperor to save his own skin.

However, the Emperor has another use for Revan–he keeps him in stasis indefinitely, feeding off of his lifeforce. During this time, the Force ghost of Meetra stays by his side, giving him strength.

Scourge is rewarded by Vitiate with immortality and the title of “Emperor’s Wrath.” The ritual to achieve this is extremely painful, and to Scourge’s dismay, he finds out after the ritual that the pain never ends. He’ll just eventually “accept” it and become numb to any emotions, which runs counter to his plans–as a Sith Lord, he counts on his anger and hate, as well as that of his enemies, to fuel his power, a power he had hoped would increase over time so he could defeat the Emperor. Ah well, make a deal with the devil, and you get what you deserve.

The epilogue shows Bastila, an old woman fifty years later, talking with her son and grandchildren. Vaner has not inherited force-sensitivity and got into politics instead, helping to rebuild the hurting Republic. Bastila misses Revan, but believes he achieved his mission, as there has been no threat to the Republic since he left.

It’s very sad, and I’m glad she doesn’t know the truth–that Revan is alive and being held by Vitiate and will be for the next TWO HUNDRED FIFTY YEARS. Revan’s story isn’t over, and I assume the next game tells it–that eventually Revan is freed from his prison and splits into two beings: the “good” Jedi part that becomes a Force ghost (I think?) and a living being that is all dark-side revenge against the Emperor. Say what you want about Legends, it’s over-the-top nuts! But in a fun way, lol.

Despite not having played the game, I enjoyed this book. I liked Revan and his story, but he’s kind of larger-than-life, which makes sense–he’s a mythical figure to the Jedi. Surprisingly, I found Scourge to be the most interesting character. He’s bad, no doubt about it, but he’s complex, too. Ambitious, brutal, but understands the existential threat of Vitiate and willing to work with the Jedi to defeat him. But only to a point. Sith like absolutes–Scourge wants to know that they will definitely win if they go up against the Emperor. Revan tells him they must have faith in the Force and do their best–and be willing to sacrifice their lives for it. This doesn’t satisfy Scourge, lol. The Force vision he has (which he thought he wanted) doesn’t help. He doesn’t know how to interpret it, and it makes him skittish. That doubt seals his fate–once the battle goes downhill, he decides to save himself, rationalizing that at least one of them will live to continue the battle. But he only gets eternal pain as a result, which–duh, dark side.

Rating: 4 out of 5 lightsabers.

Anway, a cool book, and I’m really starting to get into this Old Republic stuff. Onward to Darth Malgus in The Old Republic: Deceived.

Star Wars Legends Reading Challenge-Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void

Hello friends, and welcome to the first post of my Legends Reading Challenge. The first book in timeline Order is Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, by Tim Lebbon. It was published in May of 2013, and ties into a collection of comics called Dawn of the Jedi. (I’m only reading the adult novels, and not any comics or junior novels, etc).

Into the Void takes place about 25,000 years BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). It has date references such as 3,500 TYA, 7,537 TYA, 10,661 TYA, etc., with chapters starting with a quote from some Master. TYA stand for “Tho Yor Arrival,” which refers to eight ships that arrived in the Tython system long ago, from a mysterious, far away system, and which held Force-sensitive beings. They began the settlement on Tython and eventually became the Jed’aii Order. These ancient Jedi strove to find a balance between Ashla (the Light) and Bogan (the Dark).

I had to look up a few of these things on Wookieepedia, as I didn’t know much about this time period and the book doesn’t exactly spell it out. I have a feeling the comics delved much deeper into the ancient lore. This book tells the story of a particular Jed’aii, Lanoree Brock, that lived about 10,000 years after the Tho Yor appeared. She is a Ranger, akin to a Jedi Knight’s role and responsibilities, travelling the system and helping out in whatever way she can. There is no hyperspace travel at this point, so they’re contained to the Tython system.

Lanoree is called back to Tython to speak with the Jed’aii Council concerning a new mission. They’re concerned about a cult called the Stargazers, who have developed a device that, if detonated near a supposed “hypergate,” will either cause a hyperspace gateway to open up, or cause a black hole that will swallow the entire system. They want Lanoree to find this group and stop them. The twist is that the leader of this group is Dalien Brock, Lanoree’s brother, who has long been thought dead.

The book flips back and forth between the present and the past; it tells of Lanoree and Dal’s relationship and childhood. Their parents are both Jed’aii, and Lanoree has a strong connection to the Force. Everyone expects Dal to have that connection as well, but…he doesn’t. This seems to be something they can’t accept, as they believe he’ll eventually “allow the Force in,” as if he’s actively pushing it away. This kind of confused me–is he Force-sensitive or not? Because if you’re Force-sensitive, why would you actively reject it? Dal seems to hate the Force and everything about it, but I assume it’s because he can’t access it. His parents and sibling don’t seem to accept this and keep encouraging him to continue with his studies. He and Lanoree travel across Tython on their “Great Journey” to different temples where they study different aspects of the Force. Each time, Dal fails miserably. Is it any wonder he becomes bitter and hateful? They keep expecting him to do this thing he cannot do.

Anyway, Dal becomes obsessed with the ancient myth of their ancestors, who they were and where they came from, and is determined to somehow get back there. He finally murders a Jed’aii student and flees to the Old City, which is a ruin built by an ancient race, the Gree. Not much is known about them, but Dal believes there is a hypergate deep in the bowels of the City. Lanoree follows him, hears him scream, and finds his bloodied clothing. Everyone assumes he’s dead.

In the present, it seems her brother is definitely not dead, and Lanoree is instructed to find him and stop him–kill him, if she must. With the help of a Twi’lek Jed’aii contact named Tre Sana, she follows a trail from Khalimar to Nox to Sunspot, playing a game of cat and mouse with Dal, who she believes has gone completely mad. Twice he tries to kill her, and twice she survives. She finally catches up to him back on Tython as he brings his device to the Old City and very nearly initiates the device before Lanoree kills him.

An artist rendering (Albert Umanov) of Greenwood Station on the planet Nox.

It took me a bit to get into the book, but once it got going, it was fine. I found the Jed’aii Order interesting, especially the temples the young learners had to visit on their “Great Journey” to finish their training. Tython itself is described as a planet strong in the Force, and it seems only Force-sensitives can manage to live on the planet. Their code wasn’t as solidified as we see in the later Jedi; these Jed’aii strive for balance between the Light and the Dark. I can see where some fans got the idea for the “Gray Jedi” in this story.

Lanoree herself, though she doesn’t relish killing, separates quite a few heads from bodies in this story, if it serves her mission (with a metal sword; there were no lightsabers yet). She also studied and had a proficiency in Alchemy, a “manipulation of the flesh through use of the Force,” which I thought very weird, to say the least, lol. She conducted experiments on her ship, the Peacemaker, in which she grew living tissue from her own cells, and which she used to heal herself when Dal shot her in the chest at point-blank range. She was always trying to balance the influence of Bogan (the Dark) when she felt pride and power from her accomplishments. She was also tempted to try Dal’s device herself after he was dead, to see what would happen. Just for a minute.

This was a fairly entertaining book, and I learned a lot of Legends Lore about the early incarnation of the Jedi, a good start to my Legends Reading Challenge.

Three out of Five Lightsabers

Up next: The Old Republic: Revan

Star Wars Legends Challenge

I love Star Wars in any form: movies, live-action shows, animated series, some comics and manga, and of course, the books! I favor “canon” books–the ones that have come out since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2015 and is supposedly what “really” happened in a galaxy far, far away.

Everything that came before that–all the books, comics, games, etc., usually referred to as the Extended Universe, or EU–got relegated to what is now called “Legends.” A lot of EU fans were furious, believing that everything they loved and knew as Star Wars had been thrown into the trash bin. I get that, but as I’d never been a huge EU fan, it was far less painful for me. I tend to see the EU as an AU, or alternate universe, of Star Wars. A different way things could have gone for our characters. Whether people like one or the other better shouldn’t matter, and we certainly shouldn’t be at each other’s throats about it. And Disney Star Wars has borrowed a lot from Legends, if you pay attention.

As a fan of anything Star Wars–seriously, there’s not much I don’t like–I feel I have room in my heart for both canon and Legends. I’ve simply concentrated on canon, sprinkling in Legends here and there that caught my interest. There are still plenty of canon books I haven’t read yet that I intend to someday (looking at you, Thrawn and Alphabet Squadron), and I will always read upcoming publications; but I’ve decided to turn my attention to Legends and read them in a more consistent fashion.

I’ve been reading Dawn of the Jedi by Tim Lebbon, which happens to be the first Legends read in timeline order. I thought, well, why not keep going? It’s time for a Star Wars challenge, and I’ve always had the intention of reading all the Legends books “someday” (that’s about 160 adult novels). Why not now?

So here’s my challenge to myself: one Legends book per month (on average), in timeline order. This is on top of any canon book I may be reading, and any non-Star Wars book. I think I’ll do separate posts on the Legends, outside of my monthly update.

This is a lot of freaking books, lol. I can do this!

I’ve printed out a list of Legends in timeline order from Youtini.com, which is a great resource for Star Wars books. I already own a few, as I often pick them up as I come across them at used bookstores. I’d like to get all physical copies and have a complete collection at the end of this–which will take some time! It’s a little daunting and long-term, and I worry about getting through the Old Republic novels, as I’m not a gamer and not familiar with these characters. But I’m determined, lol. Revan and Bane, here I come!

I’m sure I will love some, and hate some, but it will be an interesting experience. Stay tuned for the first Legends Challenge post!

Do you prefer canon or Legends? Or both? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!