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![[This story occurs during the Legacy of the Force era]](images/banner.jpg) |
| Events that occur between 40 and 43
years after the Battle of Yavin. |
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| Betrayal |
| BOOK STORY |
| Aaron Allston |
| Del Rey [US]; Arrow
Books [UK] |
Story published as:
Hardback Novel (2006)
Audio Book (2006, 2007)
Paperback Novel (2007)
eBook (2008) |
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Rating:
If you have read this book, please
rate it:
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Reviews:
2 reviews [Average review
rating: 2 / 5] |
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Synopsis:
When a mission to uncover an illegal missile factory on
the planet Adumar ends in a violent ambush, from which
Jedi Knight Jacen Solo and his protégé and cousin, Ben
Skywalker, narrowly escape with their lives; it's the
most alarming evidence yet that sparks of political
unrest are threatening to ignite into total rebellion.
The governments of numerous worlds are chafing under the
strict regulations of the Galactic Alliance, and
diplomatic efforts to enforce compliance are failing.
Fearing the worst, the Alliance readies a pre-emptive
display of military might in a bid to bring the rogue
worlds to heel before an uprising erupts. The designated
target of this exercise: planet Corellia, renowned for
the brash independence and renegade spirit that have
made its favourite son, Han Solo, a legend.
Something of a rogue himself, Jacen is nevertheless duty
bound as a Jedi to stand with his uncle, Jedi Master
Luke Skywalker, on the side of the Galactic Alliance.
But when the wary Corellians launch a counter strike,
the Alliance's show of force and a secret mission to
disable Corellia's crucial Centerpoint Station, give way
to an armed skirmish. Once the smoke clears, the battle
lines are drawn. Now the spectre of full-scale war looms
between a growing cadre of defiant planets and the
Galactic Alliance that some fear is becoming a new
Empire. And even as both sides struggle to find a
diplomatic solution, mysterious acts of treachery and
sabotage threaten to doom peace efforts at every turn.
Determined to root out those behind the mayhem, Jacen
follows a trail of cryptic clues to a dark rendezvous
with the most shocking of revelations... while Luke
grapples with something even more troubling: dream
visions of a shadowy figure whose Force power and
ruthlessness remind him of Darth Vader: a lethal enemy
who strikes like a dark spirit on a mission of doom. An
agent of evil who, if Luke's visions come to pass, will
bring untold pain to the Jedi Master, and to the entire
galaxy.
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Chronology:
This story occurs approximately 40 years after the
Battle of Yavin. |
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Related Stories (in
chronological order):
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| Reviews: |
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Review
by Ewan, Star Wars Books, 2008:
"It is ten years since the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War and the
galaxy is dividing itself in matters of self-interest and
determinism, but Allston's storytelling is rather one-sided. We are
constantly informed of the Galactic Alliance's and the Jedi's side
of the story (the Jedi now sworn to protect and serve the Galactic
Alliance), with very little of the differing point of view, except
where it involves the Corellian born heroes, such as Han Solo and
Wedge Antilles. At various points during this book I was thinking to
myself, 'Who cares if Corellia wants to break away', sometimes
mountains can be made out of molehills.
"The introduction, or should that be re-introduction, of Lumiya,
the Dark Lady of the Sith, was one of only a few highlights of the
narrative. Having to follow the clue left by Lumiya, Allston allows
Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker (the 13-year-old son of Luke and Mara)
to journey across the galaxy trying to unravel the meaning of the
tassels. The reader is left in no doubt that the person mentioned in
the prophecies contained within the tassels can only be one person,
but it is still enjoyable to watch Jacen meander himself into the
role he is destined to become.
"Certainly, Allston's strengths lie in the space battle and
espionage narratives that he exploited so well in his X-Wing
books such as Wraith
Squadron and others, and he continues those well in this book,
but as the opening book to a new series it lacked a certain sense of
wonder. Our heroes are getting old and so it appears are the
storylines, have we not trodden these paths before?
"Overall, I was rather disappointed with this book."
Rating: 2
/ 5 |
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Review
by S-Ash, UK, 2006:
"Following Troy Denning's fantastic Dark Nest novels was never
going to be easy. Sadly, Allston's Betrayal suffers under the weight
of comparison. Don't feel too sorry for him; like Anakin Skywalker,
Allston's stepped onto his own dark path with his yellow-tinged eyes
wide-open-setting his story immediately after Dark Nest, using the
same characters, and directly referencing Denning's classic.
"If there were more distance from that spin-off spectacular, we
might have been more forgiving, but there are just too many odd
inconsistencies to make Betrayal truly stand-out. Here, the Jedi act
more like bullies than an intergalactic peace-keeping force.
Remember the days when Jedi Knights seemed like kick-ass monks -
handy with a lightsaber, but still intrinsically good? They belong
to a galaxy even further away than we thought; if the prequel
trilogy made the Jedi seem more like government officials, Allston
gives them an air of aggressive cops, more in love with power than
doing the right thing.
"It's just not the mythology that's clumsily handled. Allston's
prose is awkward, without the flow of the best Star Wars spin-offs.
Apparently obsessed with fashion, our author repeatedly stops the
narrative to describe what a particular character's wearing that
day. Fine, but when you read 'Mara wore more traditional Jedi robes,
in brown and tans, and a red belt that set off her red hair', you
may start to wonder if someone's dropped a copy of Vogue between the
pages of your new book.
"Actually, that might be preferable - at least Vogue has pretty
pictures; all Betrayal has is well, betrayal - a sense that
characters you grew up with are being let down."
Rating: 2 / 5
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