Here are the lyrics that fit Jacen perfectly

Drowning deep in my sea of loathing
Broken your servant I kneel
(Will you give in to me?)
It seems what's left of my human side
Is slowly changing in me
(Will you give in to me?)
Looking at my own reflection
When suddenly it changes
Violently it changes
There is no turning back now
You've woken up the demon in me

Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up come on get down with the sickness
You f*cker get up come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me

I can see inside you, the sickness is rising
Don't try to deny what you feel
(Will you give in to me?)
It seems that all that was good has died
And is decaying in me
(Will you give in to me?)
It seems you're having some trouble
In dealing with these changes
Living with these changes
The world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the demon in me



Very sad!

I'm never certain who is Jaina

I think my two favorites for Jaina are Kate Beckinsale and Hillary Swank. There are others who come close, but for me, those are the top two!

Invinsible......who?

So here we are...at the end of a nine book journey that began 2 years ago. The funny thing is those 2 years flew by and I really don't feel like they were two years ago. I think that's how real time works.

I don't think there are great epiphanies in 2 years. Even when there are children involved 2 years is not that great a span of time.

So here we are two years later with a series that spanned 6-10 months of time. In the series tons of stuff happened and teenaged boy completely came of age! Hello! Last time I checked 8th graders were just starting on their journey of self-discovery. And in a universe where the average human life span is 120, I'm not buying that the kid was adult level at 14.

Do I love Ben Skywalker's character? YES!!!!! But he still has growing to do. In Invincible he acts older than 14, not in any implusible way, just a little. He believes in redemption, and that sheds a real light on him. He seems like the ideal Jedi.

Early thoughts on Revelation

The only thing revealed in this book is that Jacen publically tells his collegues he is a Sith Lord. Wow! Shocker, everyone knows he's insane, he just names it.

Jaina's work with the Mando's is pretty cool. She really is such a light sider and doesn't know it. She has to be taught how to be ruthless, and I'm not so sure she learns. She bonds with Boba Fett's granddaughter Mirta, and I think the parallel of families dealing with the past and the recovery of relationships is evident. Jaina has her own grandfather to forgive as idd Mirta, just Mirta is lucky, she gets to before his death.

Is Boba redeemed? Ah, he's still pretty cold. I think Mirta has made him as human as he will ever be and that's not saying much.

Ben, as always is cooler than cool. He uses evidence and plays CSI in this book. My only complaint is when Luke asks him to be in charge of the Jedi pull out from Endor. Jag's there and certainly more competant than a 14 year old. sure Luke could have had Ben assist the older man...strange.

The Jedi perform a Fallenasi mind illusion on Jacen. He thinks he's surrounded by warships. He thinks it's Luke or maybe Zekk. that made no sense. Corran is the master of mind illusion and Jacen knows this. so if he were thinking of anyone he'd think of Corran Horn. The fact the Jedi got Jacen by using one of his typical tricks was great.

Other exciting Force use: Jaina over rides Jacen's Force choke of Mirta! I cheered at that. That's foreshadowing to me!

Fury: In which no one is furious....well not really, & no Ben doesn't turn Sithly, but this picture is way cooler than the official cover!

This was Aaron Allston's finale to the LOTF series. It was spectacular! 10 out of 10!!! Very energetic and it gave us everything we wanted from the characters. And yes, it was VERY Kyp heavy!!!!

Kyp first is shown basically leading the Order b/c Luke is in mourning and disfunctional. Kyp, with the help of the other master's, puts together a plan to neutralize Jacen. Later, we see the master's spar. It is Kyp who takes on Luke. Luke even uses two sabers at once and it is written that Kyp matches him for speed. They don't win, they just turn off the lightsabers and move on to another topic of discussion.


Later, there is to be a run on Jacen's ship...it does not happen, but it would have been Kyp and Luke storming Jacen.

Finally, we see Kyp disguised as a GAG officier attacking Centerpoint. With the help of the scientist from the first book (Betrayal), Kyp effectively destroys the superweapon and saves the planet!!!!!

And Kyp comes up with the rally: "Let the enemy do the work!"

Allston includes fun props to all his pets including Lando discovering he is going to be a daddy!!!

Excellent book!

ps....crappy cover! So I replaced it with this evil Ben done by Little Zion. Ben is fine in the novel. Showing maturity and acceptance and helping Luke get grounded. And by the end Luke is just fine.

Oh! How can I forget!!! This is where Han and Leia discover Allana is their granddaughter! Very very sweet scene after an energetic rescue scene!

Inferno

I liked this book. This is the book where Luke reminds us he really truly is VADER's son! Wow. Luke punks Jacen's butt a few good times. Then Jacen tries to abuse poor Ben and Luke barrels in and saves his kid. This is what we expect from the Grandmaster.

Caedus is his usual bonkers self. He sets Kashyyk afire.

The Jedi finally get smart (and likely follow Kyp's advice) and leave the GA until Jacen is out of power.

It's Been Awhile

Spoilers are rampant for the new Legacy book. I'll keep it simple and quote Darth Sidious:

"Everything is happening according to my plan." Or.... "I have foreseen this..."

Luke goes badass....he does....on Lumiya! Yay! He thinks Lumiya killed Mara and he takes revenge on her. He tracks her down and cuts her head off. Once again reminding us of just how much he holds back.

Mara makes peace with Kyp in this novel! YAY! They meet in a juice bar and Kyp offers to help her track Lumiya. She declines. She gets a com call from Ben and rushes off to see him. Kyp, again, gives parenting advice to her telling her to set limits. It's pretty funny how Kyp is offering parenting advice to Luke and Mara.

Traviss did a fine respectful job in giving Mara the finale she deserved. Mara fought Jacen/Caedus to the end. He got her with his trickery. It was very sad to read the reaction of both Ben and Luke.

This book made me like Mara more than ever!

Goofiest image of the book: (p. 266) Jacen sitting in his bathtub eating take-out food and writing Sith messages in the steam!

Okay...update: Today, February 23, 2008 I found I had taken notes while reading Sacrifice. So here are the notes:

p. 122 Jacen decides to destroy the Jedi Order

p. 209-210 Ben acts Very very very 14

p. 230 after the death of Jori Ben reflecs he is glad he feels and is not without emotion (this is a very sad part of the book, Jori gives his life and honor to protect Ben)

p. 234 A great discussion with Mom and Dad: "Are you angry with me?"

"How can I be after what I used to do? This is what made you. We wanted you to be like us... We wanted you to be a Jedi and do your duty."

p. 300 The Sith ship does see darkness in Ben...

Well we know later on just about everyone has the darkness....but isn't that true of all humanity?

This Poem Echoes the Sentiments of the Master

Invictus

~William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbow'd.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.



What a wonderful poem to stumble upon this dreary afternoon.
Kyp is indeed the master of his fate and captain of his soul!

I love how the lines echoed his struggle to fight darkness, and
how incredibly triumphant the author feels at the end!

I used to hate poetry...but I have come to love it when I can
connect it to something tangible.

I'm beginning to think...

.....that Mara has sexual tension with Kyp!

Anyway, our favorite master has truly become the master in this latest book. Funny when we remember him as Luke's foil.

Allston has given him the "lady", now give him the child. :)

Review of Exile

So nobody gets exciled okay!!!!

Why must they have such amazingly misleading titles and covers. Yes, Leia fights Alema and Han runs around with his blaster drawn, but that's it.

On to the review.

I like Allston because he has the ability to combine elements from all the stories including Bantam and the movies!!!

He referrenced more things than I can count, but being Kyp centric let me say he gave a nod to Kessel (taras-chi) and Kyp mentioned his darkside pull of the suncrusher from Yavin's planet. Kyp never overtly says what he did, but we all know the story so Allston doesn't belabor it, though he does make an odd hint:

"I felt with absolute cetainty what I was doing was right...." [only sith think in absolutes~ROTS]!!!!!!

It seemed the highlight ofthe book was Wedge and Ben. Wedge was outed from his job and then the corellians attempt to assissinate him [he has a street named after him for goodness sake!]. His escape with the help of Corran, Mirax, Iella, and Myri made a fun way to work everyrone in. so duh...Wedge is the Exile who we leave abord the Errant Venture moving in space near Coruscant. Lando and Booster are there too....and i was excited to see Lando!

Alema does not die even at the hands of several competant Jedi, and this is stupid. At this point I want her down. Lumiya takes most of the book to recover from Luke's three blaster shots. She causes more than her share of trouble by getting the Bothans and the Commenors involved and escallating the war. She can cause more trouble from her asteroid than Jacen from a Statdestroyer...he really needs to step it up, and I think we'll set that from Sacrifice onward.

Jacen is cold to Luke, addressing him as "Luke" in such a way that makes you forget they are realatives or that Jacen was once his honored apprentice. when you really think of it , it is heartbreaking. Jacen isn't very in this book!

Ben's story is exciting to me because he grows tremdously while on his quest. He does not get assigned a master, nor now do I think he will.

A Totally AU Teen Kyp !!!

What if he never returned from his trip to the darkside?

A moment to Discuss the book Twilight

OMG!!!! I loved this book. Yeh, it's about vampires, but they are the benevolent type...and it's a love story. It's just got these great characters, which isn't that why we get so smitten by characters like Kyp in the first place. You know, isn't that why there is fan fiction?

The characters in Twilight are Edward and Bella. It is told in a first person narritive by Bella (the human). she's a great character and you love her, but you love Edward too, even though, as a vampire, he has obvious flaws.

Maybe that's why I like Kyp. He has in his grasp the ability to do great evil, but he choses not to, no not by abstaining but by controlling himself. It is his strength of character and his ability to do good and help others that makes him a hero.

Wait who'sthat about: Kyp or Edward? See it doesn't matter. It's the archetypre of the flawed hero, the redeemed, the even the tragic hero. It's interesting reading. And hey, maybe we see something of our own flaws and forgivance in these characters.

I still love to ponder free will versus genetics and that there always is a choice.

this links to the twilight site: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com

Ben's Thoughts in Tempest

p. 268 …”during their practice sessions, not even Jacen could always tell when he was lying.”

p. 270 His thoughts on Jaina:
“Jaina was just as volatile and unreasonable as Jacen claimed. It was a wonder she lasted as long in the military as she had- but then the standards of the New republic forces had not been nearly as high as they were now that Jacen and Niathal had reorganized the military. These days, someone as hot headed as Jaina would never even make it into flight school-and he couldn’t imagine how she ever became a Jedi Knight. Jacen was always telling him that a good Jedi used his anger-not the other way around. “

I thought these two passages were interesting. In Bloodlines Ben also asks Jacen to teach him to hide his presence in the Force. He also has the ability to lay down a sonic blast that knocks people flat momentarily.

He is one powerful 13 year old.

Plot Summary of LOTF books 1-3

Ok, so now I have read 3 of the LOTF books. If I had to summarize the plot thus far and tell you the theme...could I? Typically this comes easily to me, but for some reason I can't. Maybe it's because when I get these books I read them in a race. Last night I read Tempest from 5 PM to 12:20 AM and was done. Perhaps I am simply going so fast I am not giving myself time to process the material. Maybe I need to calm down and try a new technique (yeah right, Exile is next and Kyp is in it so you know I'm gonna spas! At least this time I was perfectly calm about Kyp's non-involvement, honestly it would not have made sense in the story line. So here is my attempt at summary.

This is the external conflict and plot:

The story begins with Corellia's dissatisfaction with the GA. The tension rises and negotiation fails. There is an assassination of the Corellian leader and misunderstanding regarding who attacked. It ends with battle between Corellia and the GA and a GA blockade. By the second novel Corellia has officiallly declared independence. This is the beginning of the Civil War. The GAG is formed with Jacen Solo as its commander. Protest becomes terrorism and civil rights are weakened as laws become oppressive. After two months things have not improved, in fact more worlds are likely to defect and join Corellia. Corellia makes a calculated attempt to draw Hapes to their side. This requires the execution of Tenel Ka since she is GA loyal. The murder is foiled however her usupers rally a small fleet and a battle is fought over Hapes in which the GA wins and Jacen is seen as a hero.

Now for the Internal Conflict and Plot:

This is harder because it is dependent on whose point of view is being presented. Obviously we have a Force powerful thinker named Jacen who is willing to learn more about his destiny. He embraces the Sith teachings willingly asa way to bring peace to his galaxy. He is a narcissitic man who thinks he can use his great power to save everyone, however in his manipulations and the manipulations of the bitter Sith Lumiya war is perpetuated. Jacen knows how to work people and in a short amount of time is given a very special position as head of the GAG (read Gestapo). In this position he rises to power and popularity within the fear fed culture of Coruscant. After two months he is the hero, given his own SSD and he takes the initiative to go to Hapes to protect GA interests there (do you really think it matters to him about Tenel Ka? I don't). Despite his ever questionable behavior he is popular as ever and the push is on from the top to make him a Jedi Master.

Things Poised to Happen

Lumiya hints there are other Sith.

The whole Korriban thing

Jaina is free of Zekk and Kyp, yet both respect her and are friendly, the relationships are still in tact.

Potential Imperial Knights, potential alliances to fight Jacen, potential loved ones to die and change the character

Jacen has his own SSD. That took only three books, wow!

Battle meld ala Palpatine

Luke isn’t falling for Jacen’s charms

“Jedi vs. Sith” round whatever….

Jacen nearly looses an eye to Aurra Sing

Couldn’t help but think of Krayt’s fake eye

Ben wears Yuuzhan Vong inspired armor

Couldn’t help but think of Krayt’s armor and that worried me…what if Ben becomes Krayt? That’s one Sith turn that would make me mad and sad.

What to Make of the Exile Excerpt on Kyp

Allston took time to develop these pages and his thoughts, why? These novels are brief and concise compared to the NJO, there are few pages lost to random thoughts. So why let us know the following about Kyp:

-He’s contemplative as he thinks of the war and his first thoughts are on the homecoming relief of the soldiers. Allston touches on his empathic side, which is not usually explored. We are in Kyp’s thoughts and that rarely happens.

-He seems enormously peaceful and calm (until he drives a sports car like speeder of course)

-He still is enormously powerful in the Force and frivolously rocks the Jade Shadow with telekinesis.

-He is investigating Ben

-He is privy to the info that Omas and Niathal want Jacen made master, and he doesn’t seem to like that idea anymore. You get the feeling he’s been thinking about Jacen a lot more lately.

-He has a girlfriend!!!!!! And it is not Jaina!!! He realizes what he really thought about her 12 years before and Allston attempts to show Kyp as much more mature now.

Will Kyppie make the DP of Exile? I hope so!!!!

Side note: Allstons' physical description of Kyp was amusing. He was wearing the hood up on his Jedi cloak and when it blew off in the breeze of his open speeder his hair was very long and nearly smacked Luke in the face. It is also described as having grey in it. Is Kyp the new Qui gon? I mean that was what I got out of DN when I had no background on Kyp. Kyp the hippie free spirit.

I was a Teenage Sith Apprentice

Thoughts on Ben in light of Tempest and the new exile Excerpt.

OK, Ben is not dark (yet) but he is being taught the kind of sneaky skills associated with the Sith. He comments, what did other Master’s teach?

And Ben most definitely considers Jacen his Master, and he most definitely considers him the strongest Force user. At this point Jacen has the power over Ben because he has twisted Ben’s thoughts and point of view to believe in absolutes. He has developed in him a code of discipline that causes Ben to see his cousin Jaina as a lesser Jedi because she is “undisciplined” (ie. She thinks for herself). He is simply to young to get the big picture.

It wasn’t surprising when the boy tried to arrest Han. He was just doing his job. His duty is to follow orders. He is definitely not Jedi trained to follow his conscience (though he would likely believe he was following it while following orders).

So that leaves the kid in need of a master. Now Allston’s excerpt shows Kyp’s involvement with the Family. Kyp will investigate Ben’s light saber accident. What if it is decided Ben needs proper training and he works with Kyp? After all, Kyp was also a teenage Sith apprentice and I believe those two are the only two. So idealistically there is an understanding. But you know it is too late for Ben. He is loyal to Jacen and his thoughts are so firm it will take years to open his mind.

Jacen’s done a good job with his protégé.


Thoughts on Ben after reading Exile:

Ben has just turned 14 while on a set up mission to test his ethics and his strength. Ben travels to find an Amulet [sounds so hokey i had to read it twice] and he basically follows the hero's quest route. He is on Ziost, a former Sith planet that reaks of the darkside. He gets his Amulet and has to help a 6 year old girl, but in between his ship is destroyed and they are without food. His thoughts are brutal and dark (he'd leave the girl, later he thinks about eating her, and finally he downs a tie fighter with a boulder thrown by the Force). Lumiya ordered him killed by this tie-fighter because he saved the little girl and she thought he'd be too kind to be a Sith. so we see Ben thinking and weighing his choices. He constantly thinks how would my mom do this? (his enoamored by her "spy" stuff) and he thinks what would Jacen think of my thoughts and actions? And basically every time he comes to the conclusion that Jacen would think his actions were qacceptable given the circumstances. (justification)

In the end Ben flies a Sith Meditation sphere which had called to him in his thoughts and which you operate through a Force connection.

I thnk Ben will continue to fall to the dark through his absolute belief in Jacen and his ability to do what needs to be done. But I think he may not fall completely unless something presses him over the edge.

Review of Tempest

Hapan Trechery, secret trysts, betrayal, Vader moments, and cold realizations, it’s all here in Tempest. We have the core characters and some useful peripheral ones too. Denning allows multiple characters screen time and gives everyone but Mara Jade a backbone and personality. Yes, you read that right, Luke has spunk and he does not waver!!!!!! The Force is used in satisfying ways and the author let’s you into the characters’ thoughts.

I have to say once again I wasn’t disappointed. Denning was able to convey enough setting to me that I pictured the whole thing and he kept building the kinetic energy all the way to the end just as in SBS. He danced us through multiple characters too, which was a favorite part of the NJO. As many characters as NJO? NO! But still, it wasn’t the “BIG 4” show.

Jaina had some real screen time and I liked it. Zekk had a personality and got to live (to fight another day). And my favorite screaming with excitement moment: JAG FEL !!!!!!! He’s back and he’s bitter!!!! YES! He should be bitter, he was practically left for dead and marooned on Tenupe for 2 years. Then he gets exiled from the Chiss Ascendency and let’s face it, the military was everything to him. Oh the joy, please Jag, please become the first Emperor! It would be too cool. At least we know he is free and doing his own thing. I just hope he has a hidden agenda and is already secretly working for the Empire. Palleon left the GA and we haven’t heard from him, so we can hope they are concocting their plan. (Well we know the Empire arises in a few years).

Let’s just get the bad out of the way:
Allana would not have a speech impediment befitting a preschooler in need of special services! She’s a Force user and probably has the potential to be a really powerful one! For Kriffin’ sake Denning, what were you thinking. She’s going to seem precocious and she should! I don’t want my future Sith Queen to be an idiot!!!!!

I guess humans don’t really get their relationship poodoo together until they are in their 40’s. The only flirting and innuendo going on was Han/Leia and Luke/Mara. Tenel Ka and Jacen didn’t even have clearly hidden passion, droids feel more. Jaina at least has fantasies of Jag, but she thinks maybe she doesn’t want to be with anyone! OK, I’d like a little more romance in these novels, after all, if they are like a soap (and let’s face it they are) they need some sordid affairs.

So Denning has set up some things to carry on, namely is Lumiya dead? I hope so, it’s time for Jacen to step up to Sith Lord, and she was getting very annoying. She told Alema he was ready. “Jacen has the knowledge to complete his journey.” She also stated to Alema. “Sly, ruthless, and deadly, I couldn’t be more proud.” Hopefully Luke did blast her to death!!! Their fight by the way was exciting and not easy for either of them, and though Luke was in uber mode (which I think strains the edges of darkness) he never used the dark side or appeared tempted to.
What else is left hanging? Ben’s future. Luke forces him back with him to Coruscant, but what will happen next? Ben is not happy about this and he doesn’t respect his parents. It’s highly unlikely he’ll be coming around to the light any time soon.

Kyp at 16

Remember "James at 15"? I never got it maybe cause I was like 7 at the time. Kyp arrived in Coruscant aboard the Suncrusher; as he dismounted the space ship he exclaimed "now that's a city!" He was at times described as a boy, teen, young man, and by Han: a kid. He had lived in Kessel so long he had nearly abandoned hope until Han and Chewbacca, and then he had hope, it quickly returned, lots of it and he wasn't going to give it away. After facing death and helplessness at the Maw he discovered something new, he could abandon fear also. Abandon it completely? No, but he seems able to put it off for needed times (such as escaping the Maw and flying past black holes). He also shows limited fear when he meets Exar Kun. (okay so some of it is pure teenage intrepidness).

How is Kyp with Han? He instantly seems to trust him and follow his lead. He is described: "had clung to Han..." They seem to think of each other as friends, but with a 25 year span I'm sure Han had some paternal feelings for him. I'm sure Han must have invited him to stay at his home for the month Kyp is described as being on Coruscant. Heck even Wedge says the kid deserves some vacation after all he'd been through (not that Wedge would be wanting to champioin him for long!).

So Kyp tries to be fearless, yet is nervous Luke won't accept him. It's obvious being a Jedi became very important to him once he realized what he could do with his powers. He is very curious and likes learning (which we all know get's him into trouble).

So what would Kyp's brief time on Coruscant been like? Hmmmm do I hear fanfiction?

Why I still love Kyp

It was fun reading Keyes' book. Kyp had a significant role and his words made a lot of sense to me. This was a pivotal point when he could have torn the order in half, but deep down he is so loyal to Luke, he just won’t do it.

Luke sighed. "I was young, then," he pointed out. "There was much I did not understand. Aggression is the way of the dark side."

This is “Yoda speak” (I absolutely hate the little green toad). Yoda likely could have beaten the likes of Palpatine, but “aggression is of the dark side”. Poor Luke. He never had any decent teachers. Even Owen and Beru were passive and more worried about the binary function of moisture evaporators than nurturing their nephew’s curiosity and critical thinking. I’d like to believe that Kyp learned to think from his mom and dad.

Kyp is an eloquent speaker and very persuasive. Why does anyone follow Luke? His arguments make less sense.

"No!" Jaina whispered to Anakin. "If Kyp leaves, he'll take too many with him.""So?" Anakin said. "Are you so sure he's wrong?""Of course I—" She stopped, paused, started again. " It won't help any of us if the Jedi split. We have to try to help Uncle Luke. Come on."

I love this line because it clearly shows where their instinctual loyalties lie. They just had tough time turning their backs on their uncle.

"It's too bad I didn't take care of Kyp years ago," Mara said.

Why does Luke worry so much about the dark side, but allows Mara to make dark side comments ALL THE TIME!

I recommended Dark Apprentice to a student today. I said, “ the coolest JedI is in this book.” the student said, “Luke? Darth Vader?”

I said “no, Kyp.”

This poor kids gonna go home, read, and think, “how is Kyp cool?” He just mind raped a woman, attacked Luke, and declared himself a Sith and ends the book with his sun crusher attack! Well if the student gets through the book maybe I should encourage COF to get to the Kyp redemption. I think it’s easier to love Kyp when you are an adult rather than 11. It will be interesting to hear the student’s take on this is he actually completes the book.