Backlash Review/Recap/Rant - Part 2
You know how I promised a month ago to finally update with the rest of my review/recap/rant for Backlash? Well here it finally is. If you need a refresher on what happened in the first 15 chapters, go here.
Chapter 16
-Ben is trying to figure out Tribeless Sha's backstory (she was the Dathomirian native that is in the group of guides traveling with Luke and Ben who was murdered a couple of chapters back by the Nightsisters). Sha was asking about kids in the tribe. Per other guide in the group: Sha and her husband were members of enemy clans, they ran away, husband was later killed, and the Nightsisters possibly took her kid.
"I'm trusting my instincts. Yeah, it's tenuous, but it explains a lot if it's true. She and her Scissorfist husband are living away from their persecutors but also away from the protection a clan normally offers. They have a baby, everything's good. Then one night the Nightsisters come. Suddenly her baby's gone and her husband's dead. She hires herself out on missions that finance her while she searches for her kid." Ben looked around, visually scanning the Raining Leaves camp. "And she found something. Maybe one of the Raining Leaves told her, There was a baby like that. But I don't want to talk out here in the open. Someone might hear. Let's take a short walk into the Trees of Imminent Doom." (181)
...His father grinned. "And when someone asks you to talk to her among the Trees of Imminent Doom?"
"I say yes, and close my eyes and pucker up for a big kiss?"
"There, that's the Skywalker survival instinct at work." (182)
-Ben finds a possible suspect--Halliava. Ben doesn't want it to be true because she seems like a nice person, so it probably is.
Chapter 17
-Second time the analogy has been used of a successful female athlete who retires and does endorsements (first was Jaina, now Tahiri).
-Tahiri talking to her new public defender. He wants her to start believing she's not guilty because she was influence by Jacen. She would like to think she could be though of as not guilty, but in order to do that, she must believe that she wasn't constantly and completely in control of her own actions, and she's not ready to do that just yet.
-Typo on pg 188 -- Galactic Alliance Defense Forcce -- you use that word how many times in a given Star Wars book and you all overlook that one? Seriously?
-Lawyer wants Tahiri's trial to be moved off of Coruscant so Luke can testify.
-Question: How guilty is Tahiri? I only skimmed about 20 pages of Invincible, so I'm not really qualified to say.
-Tahiri offered a settlement: spy on Jedi and get a reduced sentence at a minimum security facility of her choice. She's refusing and the public defender might quit if she doesn't take it because he's never done a high-profile case before and doesn't know how to play that game.
Chapter 18
Firen stood a couple of meters away. She looked unhappy. Seeing his gaze on her, she turned toward him. "There's nothing worse than being beaten by a man."
Luke grinned. "You mean a lowly man?"
"Well... Kaminne says we should no longer use that phrase."
"There's having a rancor fall atop you."
She thought about it. "You are right. That is worse." She stepped forward and extended a hand. "Well fought, lowly man."
"Well fought, traditionalist oppressor." (193)
-Detective Ben is annoying. Case in point:
Luke took a look around then glanced skyward to check the position of the sun. Midafternoon. He wondered if tonight would bring--
"Yes, they will."
He glanced at his son. "What?"
"Yes, the Nightsisters will attack tonight." Ben lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone straight out of a holodrama. "Your thoughts betray you."
"I'm going to shake you so hard... I'm certain that you got nothing through the Force about my thoughts."
"Not everything is the Force, Dad. First you looked off in the direction where we had our traps and bodies and so forth the other night. Then you scanned the tree line all around, but not the lake. So you were thinking about avenues of approach toward the camp, which meant enemies, which meant Nightsisters. You checked the sun, which, since it's usually there, means you were really estimating time until sundown, so you were asking how much time minimum we had before the Nightsisters attack." (193)
-The Skywalkers decide to move everyone out of the meadow and onto some mesa thing. The two of them, their guide, and a few others from each of the tribe go to stake their claim and get things ready. Ben manages to talk the suspected Nightsister into coming with the advance group so he can keep an eye on her. "Luke gave Ben a look he tried, and failed, to make an admonishing one. 'You're getting very sneaky, Ben.' 'I get that from Mom. And maybe from the Skywalkers, too--Leia's your sister. Sneakiness just skipped you.'" (196)
-So as not to start a fight, the camp has to be claimed by a tribe. Not wanting either one of the Dathomiri tribes to take over and ruin the potential collaboration, it's decided it'll be a Jedi camp. It's noted that one--Luke can't be there if this takes place, and two--there won't be a majority of Jedi and therefore can't be their camp. Luke moves halfway down the ridge and stays there, Ben pays their guide (the Jedi washout) five credits to be on his side so it becomes a Jedi camp.
Chapter 19
-Solos land on Coruscant. Forgot there was a warrant out for their arrest until Daala showed up. They don't get arrested, but have to meet with Daala while Jaina takes Allana and her injured Nexu to see Cilghal.
-Daala is horrified that Allana has a Nexu. Join the club.
-Daala wants the Solos to open negotiations with the Jedi for her, but Leia can't since she is a Jedi. So it's up to Han, who Daala brings back to active duty.
Dorvan cleared his throat. "We realize that you don't care for the public at large to know that you have ethics and would in fact try to fulfill your duty to the Galactic Alliance here. So teh exact terms of this deal won't be revealed. Just an announcement that former chief of State, Jedi Leia Solo, and Alliance hero and scoundrel Han Solo are making an effort to resolve the disputes between the government and the Jedi."
Han peered at his wife. "Did he say scoundrel?"
"He did."
"It's gotta be wildly popular scoundrel or it's no deal."
Chapter 20
-Punctuation, writing, and editing are all sloppy and now annoying me.
-Dorvan tells Daala that it'll take 18 years and half a billion credits to improve her popularity. For some reason, I think it would cost much more money since we're operating on a galactic scale here, but what do I know.
"The more people you enlist to help, the more likely it is that your enemies, if there are actually conspirators arrayed against you, will learn that you're on to them. I'd find one investigator who has all teh skills you need, pay in large capital ships or small planets, and see if he or she can root out your enemies. In the meantime, make it harder and harder for them to cut your legs out from under you. Become a nicer and nicer figure in the public eye. Make the public like you."
She thought about it, then shook her head. Her voice sounded miserable, even to herself. "I can't do that. I can't be Wynssa Starflare."
"Who?"
"Before your time, child. A holodrama actress. Beautiful, perky, blond, shiny. I have to stick by my laser batteries and keep firing."
"All right."
"You want out?"
His smile showed teeth for a moment. "You may think I'm soft, but I stick to my laser batteries, too."
"I don't think you're soft. Just irredeemably civilian." She crushed her hair back from her face. "All right. Call in more favors, do what you can. I'll see what kind of revenue stream I can come up with for a top-notch investigator. And in the meantime, if the public is determined to think of me as a monster, I might have to to give them a monster to remember."
Dorvan rose. "Eat your vegetables, children, or Admiral Daala will come for you." (213)
-Moff Lecersen and his crew meet. Have to deal with stupid costumes and learning a new card game to learn that they suspect booty-call-Bothan's loyalty to Daala than that of just an officer and that if he doesn't work with them, they'll kill him. Honestly the whole scene reminded me of my one dare challenge story, which was written way better than this scene was.
Chapter 21
-Back on Dathomir. Everyone makes up to the top just in time for a Nightsister attack.
-"Rancors." Tasander nearly spat out the word. "Of course they would choose an attack that would all but ignore our defensive advantage. Stupid of me to overlook rancors." (224) Stupid, indeed. You're on Dathomir, what else is going to happen? Gah.
Chapter 22
-Third and fourth attacks on the camp. This time a ruse to go after Luke.
Chapter 23
-Vestara, who swiped Ben's saber and jumped off the top of the hill towards Luke, ended up defending him and helping him fight off the Nightsisters, citing reasons of fighting a common enemy.
-More uniting of the male and female tribes. Another rancor attack. Blah, blah, blah. To be fair, this was the first battle the good guys kind of won, but I'm so over Dathomir at this point I don't care.
Chapter 24
-Back on Coruscant, the government has shut down water, power, and waste pickup to the Temple. That would be the first thing I'd fix in negotiations.
-Maybe I'll take Dathomir over reading GAS
Chapter 25
-And back to Dathomir, joy.
-Two chiefs marry and make new tribe and take over claim of hilltop. This allows Luke to reunite with Ben where they speculate that Vestara isn't going to run off and rejoin the Sith, but make the Sith rejoin her.
-Vestara and Halliava meet up. Sith are in-system and will be acting as weapon suppliers to the Nightsisters. Wonderful.
Chapter 26
-Current deal with Daala: turn over latest crazy Jedi. He won't be frozen and hel'll get medical/scientific attention from one member of the Order and a Jedi liason. If the Chev behaves for a month, a Horn will be unfrozen. Lather, rinse, repeat in order to unfreeze other Horn child.
-Daala reluctant to make decisions without Dorvan polling the public's opinion first.
-FYI - Gavin Darklighter is in charge of space marines.
-Latest replacement for Jag's "Captain Cardboard" nickname:
"...Senator, do you know what duusha is?"
She offered him a delicate little frown of consideration. "Some sort of cheese, isn't it?"
"Produced on Tatooine and other backward worlds. It's made with blue milk and takes the milk's coloration. It's aged in rounds. Various fungi grow on the outside, insulating the cheese as it ages, protecting it from contaminants; some are white, some brown, red, green..."
"I see. Or, rather, I don't." Then she did. Lecersen all but saw a glow rod light up over the Senator's head. "No, I do. Duusha is blue on the inside and some other color on the outside... like Fel."
"Correct. His nickname among certain bands of critics in the Empire is Duusha because, they say, he's crude, cheap, and blue on the inside." (268-269) Jag can now be known as Cheese Boy. Fantastic.
-Plan of attack--Kester Tolann (grandson of someone named Wister back in the Civil War days?) is going to make a more than likely failed assassination attempt on Jag, but it's a diversion for an attack planned on the Solos while Han, Leia, Jaina and Jag are on a double date.
Chapter 27
-"Jaina fell into step beside Jag. 'Very smooth of you. The teenage pilot you were back in the Yuuzhan Vong war didn't have all those social graces.'" (272) Funny, that's not how I remember Jag in NJO. At all.
-In addition to the Solos, Jaina, and Jag, we also have Allana and the droids going to dinner. Allana I can understand, but the droids? Why? They don't eat.
-The walls in each private table can display different images. Jag sucks up to Leia by displaying images of Alderaan. The next room over has the unsuccessful assassin who is watching a recreation of the scene of the Death Star blowing up Alderaan. Really? Alderaan being blown to chunks is the signal you use to attack the Solos? Ugh.
-The heroes survive both attacks, of course. Han thinks Daala stalled in the latest meeting with them to do this.
-Senator asks Lecersen if he knew Allana was going to be there; he didn't and is glad she survived. Senaator suggests that if they'd killed Allana, Han would've removed Daala from power for them. Fail, Allston, fail. Don't give Denning ideas.
Chapter 28
-"Like her father, Jag tended to brood. For days." (280) First time I've smiled at this book in chapters.
-Meanwhile on Dathomir, Vestara captures Halliava (who is in fact a Nightsister if you haven't figured it out already). Vestara runs off with her as a prisoner and confuses the Skywalkers who are trailing her. Blah.
Chapter 29
-Sith arrive and use a man to do the greeting. Big mistake. Nightsisers attack and the Sith beat the crap out of them. They kill the Rancors but try to only knock the witches out so they can be trained.
-Jedi meet up with the Sith (while Vestara is off a bit in the woods). They fight, some of the Sith die, but the rest (including the male leader) escape and leave Vestara behind.
Chapter 30
-Vestara is confident Halliava won't tell what happened because then she'll have to admit she's a Nightsister, but of course that's exactly what happens.
-The Skywalkers and the guide take Vestara as their prisoner and make their way back to the spaceport. They meet up with the lousy repair guy who tried to attack Allana and get him to give the guide Vestara's yacht. In the final chapter the Skywalkers and the guide take off, only to find a Sith fleet in orbit.
Obviously I didn't write much, and I didn't even copy everything from my handwritten notes onto this. That's how bad this was. I'm sick of rancors, I'm sick of Sith. I'm sick of Jaina and Jag getting no attention whatsoever. And it's an Allston book for crying out loud. Pretty disappointed. But not enough to cancel my library request for the book that comes out on Tuesday. I'll see if I can muster the energy to review that one, but we'll see.
Chapter 16
-Ben is trying to figure out Tribeless Sha's backstory (she was the Dathomirian native that is in the group of guides traveling with Luke and Ben who was murdered a couple of chapters back by the Nightsisters). Sha was asking about kids in the tribe. Per other guide in the group: Sha and her husband were members of enemy clans, they ran away, husband was later killed, and the Nightsisters possibly took her kid.
"I'm trusting my instincts. Yeah, it's tenuous, but it explains a lot if it's true. She and her Scissorfist husband are living away from their persecutors but also away from the protection a clan normally offers. They have a baby, everything's good. Then one night the Nightsisters come. Suddenly her baby's gone and her husband's dead. She hires herself out on missions that finance her while she searches for her kid." Ben looked around, visually scanning the Raining Leaves camp. "And she found something. Maybe one of the Raining Leaves told her, There was a baby like that. But I don't want to talk out here in the open. Someone might hear. Let's take a short walk into the Trees of Imminent Doom." (181)
...His father grinned. "And when someone asks you to talk to her among the Trees of Imminent Doom?"
"I say yes, and close my eyes and pucker up for a big kiss?"
"There, that's the Skywalker survival instinct at work." (182)
-Ben finds a possible suspect--Halliava. Ben doesn't want it to be true because she seems like a nice person, so it probably is.
Chapter 17
-Second time the analogy has been used of a successful female athlete who retires and does endorsements (first was Jaina, now Tahiri).
-Tahiri talking to her new public defender. He wants her to start believing she's not guilty because she was influence by Jacen. She would like to think she could be though of as not guilty, but in order to do that, she must believe that she wasn't constantly and completely in control of her own actions, and she's not ready to do that just yet.
-Typo on pg 188 -- Galactic Alliance Defense Forcce -- you use that word how many times in a given Star Wars book and you all overlook that one? Seriously?
-Lawyer wants Tahiri's trial to be moved off of Coruscant so Luke can testify.
-Question: How guilty is Tahiri? I only skimmed about 20 pages of Invincible, so I'm not really qualified to say.
-Tahiri offered a settlement: spy on Jedi and get a reduced sentence at a minimum security facility of her choice. She's refusing and the public defender might quit if she doesn't take it because he's never done a high-profile case before and doesn't know how to play that game.
Chapter 18
Firen stood a couple of meters away. She looked unhappy. Seeing his gaze on her, she turned toward him. "There's nothing worse than being beaten by a man."
Luke grinned. "You mean a lowly man?"
"Well... Kaminne says we should no longer use that phrase."
"There's having a rancor fall atop you."
She thought about it. "You are right. That is worse." She stepped forward and extended a hand. "Well fought, lowly man."
"Well fought, traditionalist oppressor." (193)
-Detective Ben is annoying. Case in point:
Luke took a look around then glanced skyward to check the position of the sun. Midafternoon. He wondered if tonight would bring--
"Yes, they will."
He glanced at his son. "What?"
"Yes, the Nightsisters will attack tonight." Ben lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone straight out of a holodrama. "Your thoughts betray you."
"I'm going to shake you so hard... I'm certain that you got nothing through the Force about my thoughts."
"Not everything is the Force, Dad. First you looked off in the direction where we had our traps and bodies and so forth the other night. Then you scanned the tree line all around, but not the lake. So you were thinking about avenues of approach toward the camp, which meant enemies, which meant Nightsisters. You checked the sun, which, since it's usually there, means you were really estimating time until sundown, so you were asking how much time minimum we had before the Nightsisters attack." (193)
-The Skywalkers decide to move everyone out of the meadow and onto some mesa thing. The two of them, their guide, and a few others from each of the tribe go to stake their claim and get things ready. Ben manages to talk the suspected Nightsister into coming with the advance group so he can keep an eye on her. "Luke gave Ben a look he tried, and failed, to make an admonishing one. 'You're getting very sneaky, Ben.' 'I get that from Mom. And maybe from the Skywalkers, too--Leia's your sister. Sneakiness just skipped you.'" (196)
-So as not to start a fight, the camp has to be claimed by a tribe. Not wanting either one of the Dathomiri tribes to take over and ruin the potential collaboration, it's decided it'll be a Jedi camp. It's noted that one--Luke can't be there if this takes place, and two--there won't be a majority of Jedi and therefore can't be their camp. Luke moves halfway down the ridge and stays there, Ben pays their guide (the Jedi washout) five credits to be on his side so it becomes a Jedi camp.
Chapter 19
-Solos land on Coruscant. Forgot there was a warrant out for their arrest until Daala showed up. They don't get arrested, but have to meet with Daala while Jaina takes Allana and her injured Nexu to see Cilghal.
-Daala is horrified that Allana has a Nexu. Join the club.
-Daala wants the Solos to open negotiations with the Jedi for her, but Leia can't since she is a Jedi. So it's up to Han, who Daala brings back to active duty.
Dorvan cleared his throat. "We realize that you don't care for the public at large to know that you have ethics and would in fact try to fulfill your duty to the Galactic Alliance here. So teh exact terms of this deal won't be revealed. Just an announcement that former chief of State, Jedi Leia Solo, and Alliance hero and scoundrel Han Solo are making an effort to resolve the disputes between the government and the Jedi."
Han peered at his wife. "Did he say scoundrel?"
"He did."
"It's gotta be wildly popular scoundrel or it's no deal."
Chapter 20
-Punctuation, writing, and editing are all sloppy and now annoying me.
-Dorvan tells Daala that it'll take 18 years and half a billion credits to improve her popularity. For some reason, I think it would cost much more money since we're operating on a galactic scale here, but what do I know.
"The more people you enlist to help, the more likely it is that your enemies, if there are actually conspirators arrayed against you, will learn that you're on to them. I'd find one investigator who has all teh skills you need, pay in large capital ships or small planets, and see if he or she can root out your enemies. In the meantime, make it harder and harder for them to cut your legs out from under you. Become a nicer and nicer figure in the public eye. Make the public like you."
She thought about it, then shook her head. Her voice sounded miserable, even to herself. "I can't do that. I can't be Wynssa Starflare."
"Who?"
"Before your time, child. A holodrama actress. Beautiful, perky, blond, shiny. I have to stick by my laser batteries and keep firing."
"All right."
"You want out?"
His smile showed teeth for a moment. "You may think I'm soft, but I stick to my laser batteries, too."
"I don't think you're soft. Just irredeemably civilian." She crushed her hair back from her face. "All right. Call in more favors, do what you can. I'll see what kind of revenue stream I can come up with for a top-notch investigator. And in the meantime, if the public is determined to think of me as a monster, I might have to to give them a monster to remember."
Dorvan rose. "Eat your vegetables, children, or Admiral Daala will come for you." (213)
-Moff Lecersen and his crew meet. Have to deal with stupid costumes and learning a new card game to learn that they suspect booty-call-Bothan's loyalty to Daala than that of just an officer and that if he doesn't work with them, they'll kill him. Honestly the whole scene reminded me of my one dare challenge story, which was written way better than this scene was.
Chapter 21
-Back on Dathomir. Everyone makes up to the top just in time for a Nightsister attack.
-"Rancors." Tasander nearly spat out the word. "Of course they would choose an attack that would all but ignore our defensive advantage. Stupid of me to overlook rancors." (224) Stupid, indeed. You're on Dathomir, what else is going to happen? Gah.
Chapter 22
-Third and fourth attacks on the camp. This time a ruse to go after Luke.
Chapter 23
-Vestara, who swiped Ben's saber and jumped off the top of the hill towards Luke, ended up defending him and helping him fight off the Nightsisters, citing reasons of fighting a common enemy.
-More uniting of the male and female tribes. Another rancor attack. Blah, blah, blah. To be fair, this was the first battle the good guys kind of won, but I'm so over Dathomir at this point I don't care.
Chapter 24
-Back on Coruscant, the government has shut down water, power, and waste pickup to the Temple. That would be the first thing I'd fix in negotiations.
-Maybe I'll take Dathomir over reading GAS
Chapter 25
-And back to Dathomir, joy.
-Two chiefs marry and make new tribe and take over claim of hilltop. This allows Luke to reunite with Ben where they speculate that Vestara isn't going to run off and rejoin the Sith, but make the Sith rejoin her.
-Vestara and Halliava meet up. Sith are in-system and will be acting as weapon suppliers to the Nightsisters. Wonderful.
Chapter 26
-Current deal with Daala: turn over latest crazy Jedi. He won't be frozen and hel'll get medical/scientific attention from one member of the Order and a Jedi liason. If the Chev behaves for a month, a Horn will be unfrozen. Lather, rinse, repeat in order to unfreeze other Horn child.
-Daala reluctant to make decisions without Dorvan polling the public's opinion first.
-FYI - Gavin Darklighter is in charge of space marines.
-Latest replacement for Jag's "Captain Cardboard" nickname:
"...Senator, do you know what duusha is?"
She offered him a delicate little frown of consideration. "Some sort of cheese, isn't it?"
"Produced on Tatooine and other backward worlds. It's made with blue milk and takes the milk's coloration. It's aged in rounds. Various fungi grow on the outside, insulating the cheese as it ages, protecting it from contaminants; some are white, some brown, red, green..."
"I see. Or, rather, I don't." Then she did. Lecersen all but saw a glow rod light up over the Senator's head. "No, I do. Duusha is blue on the inside and some other color on the outside... like Fel."
"Correct. His nickname among certain bands of critics in the Empire is Duusha because, they say, he's crude, cheap, and blue on the inside." (268-269) Jag can now be known as Cheese Boy. Fantastic.
-Plan of attack--Kester Tolann (grandson of someone named Wister back in the Civil War days?) is going to make a more than likely failed assassination attempt on Jag, but it's a diversion for an attack planned on the Solos while Han, Leia, Jaina and Jag are on a double date.
Chapter 27
-"Jaina fell into step beside Jag. 'Very smooth of you. The teenage pilot you were back in the Yuuzhan Vong war didn't have all those social graces.'" (272) Funny, that's not how I remember Jag in NJO. At all.
-In addition to the Solos, Jaina, and Jag, we also have Allana and the droids going to dinner. Allana I can understand, but the droids? Why? They don't eat.
-The walls in each private table can display different images. Jag sucks up to Leia by displaying images of Alderaan. The next room over has the unsuccessful assassin who is watching a recreation of the scene of the Death Star blowing up Alderaan. Really? Alderaan being blown to chunks is the signal you use to attack the Solos? Ugh.
-The heroes survive both attacks, of course. Han thinks Daala stalled in the latest meeting with them to do this.
-Senator asks Lecersen if he knew Allana was going to be there; he didn't and is glad she survived. Senaator suggests that if they'd killed Allana, Han would've removed Daala from power for them. Fail, Allston, fail. Don't give Denning ideas.
Chapter 28
-"Like her father, Jag tended to brood. For days." (280) First time I've smiled at this book in chapters.
-Meanwhile on Dathomir, Vestara captures Halliava (who is in fact a Nightsister if you haven't figured it out already). Vestara runs off with her as a prisoner and confuses the Skywalkers who are trailing her. Blah.
Chapter 29
-Sith arrive and use a man to do the greeting. Big mistake. Nightsisers attack and the Sith beat the crap out of them. They kill the Rancors but try to only knock the witches out so they can be trained.
-Jedi meet up with the Sith (while Vestara is off a bit in the woods). They fight, some of the Sith die, but the rest (including the male leader) escape and leave Vestara behind.
Chapter 30
-Vestara is confident Halliava won't tell what happened because then she'll have to admit she's a Nightsister, but of course that's exactly what happens.
-The Skywalkers and the guide take Vestara as their prisoner and make their way back to the spaceport. They meet up with the lousy repair guy who tried to attack Allana and get him to give the guide Vestara's yacht. In the final chapter the Skywalkers and the guide take off, only to find a Sith fleet in orbit.
Obviously I didn't write much, and I didn't even copy everything from my handwritten notes onto this. That's how bad this was. I'm sick of rancors, I'm sick of Sith. I'm sick of Jaina and Jag getting no attention whatsoever. And it's an Allston book for crying out loud. Pretty disappointed. But not enough to cancel my library request for the book that comes out on Tuesday. I'll see if I can muster the energy to review that one, but we'll see.