Ascension
The book begins with the dark creature known as Abeloth being escorted back to Kesh, the home world of the Lost Tribe of the Sith. The Sith are not necessarily in agreement as to whether they should form an alliance with Abeloth or simply destroy this mysterious dark being. The Sith ultimately welcome Abeloth with an outlandish welcome ceremony. However, Abeloth and the Grand Lord of the Sith, Darish Vol, battle each other in a dream like state. Although Vol seems terribly old and overmatched, he ultimately hurts Abeloth more than the dark creature would ever admit. Abeloth goes into a crazed rampage after being seriously wounded by the dark lord and tries to destroy an entire city of Tahv (also known as the “exquisite City of Glass) on Kesh. During this chaos, the Sith Saber known as Gavar Khai (who is also the father of Vestari Khai) and his crew aboard the Sith Vessell, the Black Wave, betray the Lost Tribe of the Sith and decide to follow Abeloth.
Meanwhile, Luke, Ben, Vestara, and Jaina seek out possible locations where Abeloth and the Sith could possibly have gone into hiding. Luke eventually decides to visit various sites that have been historically linked to the Sith. Their initial journey takes them to the traditional homeworld of the ancient Sith, Koriban. Although steeped in darkside energies, there’s no sign of any living Sith on the desolate planet. At this point it’s worth mentioning that the Luke and Ben Skywalker and Jaina Solo are even more watchful of Vestara given the fact that she may be tempted by the dark side energies than originate from this ancient Sith locations.
The next Sith planet the crew of the Jade Shadow find themselves visiting is the marshy & dank world once thought to be a myth, Dromund Kaas. The real danger on this planet is the dark side nexus find within the old Sith Temple. Just when it Luke and company had hit another dead end they found themselves face to face with ten Sith Sabers lead by Vestara’s father, Gavar Khai. Initially it appeared that Luke and company felt they were betrayed by Vestara but it quickly became apparent that Vestara and her father were not on the same page at all anymore. Luke, Jaina, and Ben performed brilliantly in lightsaber combat against the Sith despite being in such close proximity to this dark side nexus Luke and Jain fought back to back against a number of Saber killing each enemy that crossed their paths. Ben Skywalker again showed that despite his young age his destiny can only be as the future leader of the Jedi Order. The most compelling aspect of this fight scene was found in the combat between father and daughter. Gavar Khai desperately tried to destroy his own daughter, but eventually Vestara did the only thing she could. Vestara killed her own father. At that moment in the story, Vestara seemed to earn a new found respect from Luke Skywalker that hopefully will continue throughout the rest of this book and beyond.
You could jokingly title the next section of the book, “Skywalker spoons Sith!” Basically as Luke and company found themselves heading back to Coruscant, Ben and Vestara finally hooked up in that cuddling and holding hands sort of way. Although Ben and Vestara both seem rather young at sixteen years old, I’m sure some fans were already imagining how the future of the Jedi Order could change based on a union between these two. But as Jaina said to Luke when discussing the teenagers in love, “let’s not get to far ahead of ourselves!”
The story has a few side stories here and there regarding certain Imperial Moffs seeking to rise in power and replace both Natasi Daala and Jagged Fel as the new Emperor. Admiral Natasi Daala, the former Galactic Chief of State, who previously escaped from her imprisonment near the end of the last book, finds herself making a deal with Boba Fett pertaining to the services of the Mandolorians. The fact that Fett was able to break Daala out of a secure Galactic Alliance prison on Coruscant in the last book was a miracle in and of itself. Now Boba Fett wants his payment, which involves Daala finding a cure for a nanovirus that was originally created during Darth Caedus’ reign of terror. Fett and his granddaughter are unable to return to Mandalore until a cure is found. Hopefully we can cound on seeing more from Boba Fett later.
On Coruscant, Han & Leia Solo find themselves in a strange situation involving three strange little Squibs who claim to have important information pertaining to the safety of their family and to Jagged Fel. Of course the Squibs have a history with the Solo’s and present a little humor to an otherwise serious story. Allana still seems as curious as ever and everything and everyone. However, at some point in this series I must object to Allana’s nexu as a pet. The nexu in Episode I: The Phantom Menace was a vicious creature that wouldn’t fit into a cargo hold aboard the Millinium Falcon unless it was cut into pieces. Although, Allana’s nexu is still a pup at some point that pup will be a killing machine in dire need of anger management.
An interesting plot twist occurred after Luke Skywalker returned to Coruscant and thoughtfully made some decisions that would possibly affect the Star Wars timeline for years to come. Luke announced the Jedi Order would no longer be working as a branch of the Galactic Alliance. Luke also indicated that all the Jedi would be leaving Coruscant immediately to find a new base of operations. The decision initially was based on the fact that this would prevent any future leaders of the Galactic Alliance from trying to use the Jedi as a tool or a weapon for the Republic. This decision would also allow the Jedi Order to better serve the galaxy as a whole and not simply limit itself to matters of pertaining to the Galactic Alliance. Leia, Han, & Allana Solo would stay on Coruscant for political and Jedi reasons. Luke also allowed the Barabels (specifically Tesar and Wilyem) to stay behind and safeguard the Jedi Temple. That of course is also a matter of convenience since they’re currently hidden in the Jedi Temple walls somewhere preparing “their nest”
Surprise number one came shortly after the Skywalkers and the rest of the Jedi left Coruscant. Vestar Khai informed the Jedi that Senator Kameron Suldar, who is currently heading the Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Jedi Activity, is actually a High Sith Lord named Ivaar Workan. Vestara herself didn’t realize this fact until she saw the so called Senator on the HoloNet. Shockingly, Luke Skywalker expected as much from the Sith and informed his fellow Jedi that this was one of the other reasons he decided to leave Coruscant. Luke’s mindset was to lay a “trap” for the Sith that the Jedi would soon capitalize on.
Surprise number two came in the form of the “Empire of the Hand” (the hand of course being the deceased Chiss, Grand Adiral Thrawn) consisting of the Chiss Ascendancy (there it is…Ascension) The first mention hinting at why this books bears such a name. The Chiss also brought Nssis Clawcraft and their laser/kinetic technology referred to as Chiss masers. A great and well written space battle occurs between the forces who’ve aligned themselves with Jagged Fel and those who’ve chosen to support Natasi Daala. Although there were technically no Sith or Jedi involved in this particular battle the potentional fall out from such an epic encounter will probably shake up the landscape of the Imperial Remnant for quite some time.
The part of the story I personally had the most problem with was when Luke Skywalker, the wisest of all living Jedi, decides it would be in the Jedi Order’s best interest to throw all their dogs into one fight so to speak. Meaning, going to a Sith planet with almost every living Jedi and putting the Order in a position to fall victim to an “Order 66: Part Two” was completely moronic and unbelievable. The Jedi essentially get their butts handed to them by Abeloth who has set a trap that leaves many Jedi dead and others scrambling for their lives. All the major players stayed very much alive, but the whole thing seemed like a slap in the face to the knowledgeable Star Wars who would expect the Jedi to fall to a much better written tragedy of events.
The story ends with Senator Roki Kem of Qaras assuming the office of Interim Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance. The odd thing here is that somehow Abeloth has assumed the identity of this Senator and has thwarted the plot of the Grand Lord of the Sith, Darish Vol, and the Lost Tribe to overtake Coruscant. Abeloth forces Sith High Lord Workan, posing as Senator Suldar, to help her obtain this position after showing Workan how she has easily decapitated Darish Vol. Leia and Han Solo, along with Zekk, find themselves in Coruscant’s underworld after having sprung Leia out of prison. Now we as the fans and readers of this series must wait patiently and hope Troy Denning can pull this altogether and make some sort of sense out of all this chaos in the final book of this series. I personal would love some sort of explanation as to the madness that Abeloth was able to inflict on the “crazed Jedi” early in this series. And please explain to us what exactly this creature is before this series is over!
RATINGS
Storyline Importance: 8.3
I’d like to believe this score would be higher, but unfortunately the story all rests on Troy Denning’s shoulders now. And unless this series involves an epic conclusion explaining the origins of the Imperial Knights or some future Skywalker bloodline then I don’t expect this score will increase to dramatically come the final book of this series.
Character Importance: 8.8
The only redeeming factor in this story is the further development of characters like Vestara Khai. Killing off the old Grand Lord of the Sith is a mistake in my mind. At least give us a standalone book on this guy so we can see what made this human stand out amongst the Lost Tribe of the Sith as its most powerful member. Three words: More Fett please!
Excitement Level: 8.6
I really hate politics and when you bleed that kind of thing into light saber fight scenes and space battles then that doesn’t always make for an exciting storyline. Teasing the reader with great expectations of some awesome finding on a Sith planet which simply results in showing what an ignorant Grand Master Luke Skywalker can be. And please don’t book a giant picture of Boba Fett on the back of the book if you only intentd on giving such an awesome character just one chapter.
Overall Score: 8.5
Something tells me the Jedi are about to begin a journey that will remain in place for quite sometimes. You can almost see the beginnings of Dark Horse Comics Legacy Series in the finality of this series. Meaning, a Coruscant that is ripe for a Sith takeover, an Empire ready to be ruled for generations to come by the offspring of Jagg and Jaina, and lastly a Jedi Order who are sent running across the galaxy like out of work Grateful Dead Hippies in search of their next Banaroo.
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