STAR WARS - FATE OF THE JEDI
BOOK EIGHT: ASCENSION
By Christie Golden
Published in the UK by CENTURY PUBLISHING and in paperback by ARROW
Reviewed by Scott Weller
Having greatly enjoyed Timothy Zahn’s recent triumphant return to the
STAR WARS EXPANDED UNIVERSE realm with Choices of One, I threw myself into the
next instalment of the Lucas publishing schedule- book eight of the FATE OF THE JEDI series- with a greater
sense of renewed reading optimism than I’ve had for the run in several years,
hoping that some of Zahn’s story telling fire and magic may subconsciously help
me to enjoy this penultimate tale of the new LUCAS BOOKS conceived saga, and
that the plot and character developments within its 410 pages would have
greatly improved from what I’d read previously in the series. Sadly, I’m afraid that
ASCENSION, from recent fan favourite novelist Christie Golden, didn’t quite
deliver the expected, and necessary, goods I wanted from a STAR WARS adventure…
As ever there’s lots of fast paced action, traps and escapes, and events
are finally, finally moving towards their conclusion, but as has been
mentioned in my previous reviews too many times before, this book series really
has been padded out to a length far longer than it should have (at least a
fifth of the book namely linked to the ongoing Lost Tribe of the Sith aspect in
particular (though there are interesting moments here), and the pursuit of the
Abeloth creature by Luke and Ben), with the overall novels strained from the
heavy burden. Worryingly, certain plot elements from earlier in the series also
seemed to have been either shortened or dropped (unless there’s more
developments to come in the finale?), which I’m sure will annoy long-term
readers of the EU cannon.
Character interactions of our favourite Classic Trilogy heroes feel
incoherent and out of character once again, and sometimes I feel that their
dialogue often simply doesn’t ring true. Complaints from some fans that
Golden’s wordage also feels a bit too juvenile ring true in some sections. On
the plus side, though, there is firm development of the supporting characters,
namely the ones Golden herself introduced in previous books, in particular the
interesting Vestara, who, with her still conflicted Sith heart, continues her
strong relationship with Ben Skywalker, which has been an important part of the
latter books of the series and which enters an important new phase here.
There’s also a new development for the Jedi Order in general-already caught in the
quagmire of dangers within intergalactic politics- as Luke makes an important
decision regarding their future and their role with the Alliance. There’s also
the death of a supporting character that fans of the series will be surprised
to read about, too…
And, though the ultimate raison d’etre behind the Abeloth
creature, one of the books major opponents for our Force users, is sadly not as
all that exciting as its earlier promise indicated, it does at least get to
show off some of its major league Dark Side powers quite vigorously towards
Darish Vol, the Grand Lord of the Lost Tribe of the Sith (now that’s a mouthful
to say!), alongside its accompanying semi-sentient Ship.
The book sees in subplots galore as we reach the story’s last third on
Coruscant, of which conspiracies and bids for control of the Galactic Alliance
begin to quickly (perhaps too quickly) form and coalesce from a multitude of
relatively new Senate characters, though the deposed Chief of State, Daala,
surely hoping to be as formidable as our reality’s Margaret Thatcher, isn’t out
of the fight yet now that she ‘s allied with Bounty hunter fave Boba Fett and
his Mandalorians. There are better moments within all this Political intrigue,
witch-hunting, double dealings, intrigue and subterfuge run rampant, but none
totally thrill or generate the excitement that this Saga truly deserves and
should have had right from the start…
Beyond all the political stuff, readers can still enjoy further
aforementioned bouts of traps, daring escapes and fast action sequences (but no
lightsaber duels?!) linked to the Sith and the Abeloth quest. But none of that
works anywhere near as well if you don’t have an involving, nay compelling,
plot. Alas, in that respect, ASCENSION doesn’t quite make the full grade.
Plainly put, there are great fantasy writers who can create great STAR WARS
adventures, and then there are great fantasy writers. I think Miss Golden is in
the overall latter category than the former.
Despite the books important positioning, it all feels a bit
anticlimactic, so let’s hope that the upcoming finale, APOCALYPSE, can at least
end the series in some noteworthy, and respectable, style.
AFICIONADO RATING: 3 out of 5
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