LOTF VI: Inferno Talkback (Spoilers)

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2007-09-02 11:39pm

Synopsis
Luke Skywalker wanted to unify the Jedi Order and bring peace to the universe. Instead, his wife, Mara, lies dead at the hands of an unknown assassin, his wayward nephew Jacen has seized control of the Galactic Alliance, and the galaxy has exploded in all-out civil war.

With Luke consumed with grief, Jacen Solo works quickly to consolidate his power and jumpstart his plan to take over the Jedi. Convinced he's the only one who can save the galaxy, Jacen will do whatever it takes, even ambush his own parents.

With the Rebel confederacy driving deep into the Core to attack Coruscant and the Jedi under siege, Luke must reassert his position. Only he can lead the Jedi through this crisis, but it means solving the toughest problem Luke's ever faced. Does he fight alongside his nephew Jacen, a tyrant who's taken over the GA or does he join the rebels to smash the Galactic Alliance he helped create?

Sorry about not putting up a thread earlier; as it is the first week back in the semester, I've been busy.

Anyway, I'm 20 pages into it and all I'm seeing is more fucking flow-walking bullshit, more film rehashing and more dickery courtesy of Tony Star...I mean, Jacen Solo. God, three books more before this latest abortion from the EU comes to an end...

Edit - title corrected; I had the numeral of IV rather than VI...

Chris OFarrell · Post by **Chris OFarrell** » 2007-09-03 12:01am

Yeah, attack of the Clones...of SW Stories.
I mean they even called the bad guys the Confederation again for the love of God...

I am increasingly happy I never brought one of these LOTF books and just mockingly shake my head at posts on the internet about them.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2007-09-03 12:15am

It's my understanding that flow-walking now can change past events?

lord Martiya · Post by **lord Martiya** » 2007-09-03 09:53am

At least, Mara Jade is dead.

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2007-09-03 10:09am

And the Confederacy is going to attack Coruscant; gee thats never happened before.... Oh, wait

Maybe for symmetry they could send Jacen, or Darth Asshole or whatever the fuck he goes by, on a one-way trip to visit Mustafar for some hot-spa treatment

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-09-03 10:27am

God, three books more before this latest abortion from the EU comes to an end...

You can just not read them. Or at least wait for reviews before you dump time and money into these books.

It's my understanding that flow-walking now can change past events?

What is flow-walking, anyway? I thought it was just a way to passively see past events, which at least makes some sense if you accept that big events leave an imprint in the Force , but how can it be active?

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2007-09-03 11:23am

Why does the acronym for this series look to me like:

Laughing Our Tits Off?

Alexian Cale · Post by **Alexian Cale** » 2007-09-03 01:58pm

Jacen's the most despicable bastard in the whole of Star Wars in that he's totally unsympathetic. He's Anakin 2.0, and has the benefit of knowing all the shit Anakin and Luke went through when they devoted themselves to the dark side, and still he deludes himself into thinking he'll somehow master it.

I enjoy all the scenarios when he gets his ass kicked. It's like comfort food.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2007-09-03 03:23pm

I gave up at Exile. If they where gonna kill Mara they had the perfect to make Jacen a bad ass and have him take her out one on one saber to saber. Instead Jacen displays all the worst traits of his grandfather with zero of the bad assery.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2007-09-03 03:31pm

Mange wrote:It's my understanding that flow-walking now can change past events?

No. I flipped through it at Borders, and that was the only interesting revelation in it - it is explicetly stated that the Force does not permit the violation of casualty. Presumably this does not count when the Force does it itself by feeding information to users. But for such a simple statement it has some pretty heavy implications.

Warsie · Post by **Warsie** » 2007-09-03 05:53pm

You do know History repeats itself people, and Coruscant has been attacked MANY times throuought history; given it's the Galactic capital.

Likely many of the same strategic things that happened in the CW happen here; it's to be expected (for example; a possible attack on Anaxes as it is the "defender of the core");

Shit, France was attacked several times in their various wars with Germany the same way: Invade a neutral nation and use that to attack northern France;

Not to mention the "Rebel Confederacy"; the Outer Rim worlds tend to be more independent than the Core Worlds, naturally they would form a Confederation of sorts.

EDIT: Also; didn't Palpatine mention a "Skywalker Curse". in Dark Empire

Pelranius · Post by **Pelranius** » 2007-09-03 08:02pm

The Galactic Alliance seems to be the bad guys now as well.

And Jacen has taken douchebagness to another dimension, frankly.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2007-09-04 12:18am

Ender wrote:
Mange wrote:It's my understanding that flow-walking now can change past events?
No. I flipped through it at Borders, and that was the only interesting revelation in it - it is explicetly stated that the Force does not permit the violation of casualty. Presumably this does not count when the Force does it itself by feeding information to users. But for such a simple statement it has some pretty heavy implications.

Yes, I remember it's stated as that, but later in the book Jacen hints at the possibility to change past events but that it's too dangerous and it has that bit with Tahiri there. I don't recall it verbatim though. Perhaps someone who has read the book through could clarify.

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2007-09-04 12:39am

Warsie wrote: EDIT: Also; didn't Palpatine mention a "Skywalker Curse". in Dark Empire

If this is a curse, it must be the curse of mundaneness.

Mlenk · Post by **Mlenk** » 2007-09-04 01:16pm

lord Martiya wrote:At least, Mara Jade is dead.

That is why I not only will never buy any books from this abominable series, I also refuse to take the time at a library or bookstore to sit down and read any of this shit.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2007-09-04 02:42pm

Why does everyone complain about Jacen being a dick or a douche... He is supposed to be EVIL after all.

Lord Revan · Post by **Lord Revan** » 2007-09-04 02:48pm

havokeff wrote:Why does everyone complain about Jacen being a dick or a douche... He is supposed to be EVIL after all.

well lets just say it's because he acts that way without any kind reasonble motivation for it, what makes Palpatine such a great villian is that he does seem to some kind of reason behind why acts that way, rather then acting that because the scrip demanded that he must be the bad guy.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2007-09-04 02:58pm

Lord Revan wrote:
havokeff wrote:Why does everyone complain about Jacen being a dick or a douche... He is supposed to be EVIL after all.
well lets just say it's because he acts that way without any kind reasonble motivation for it, what makes Palpatine such a great villian is that he does seem to some kind of reason behind why acts that way, rather then acting that because the scrip demanded that he must be the bad guy.

Palpatine wanted to control the galaxy. Doesn't Jacen want that as well?

Lord Revan · Post by **Lord Revan** » 2007-09-04 03:07pm

havokeff wrote:
Lord Revan wrote:
havokeff wrote:Why does everyone complain about Jacen being a dick or a douche... He is supposed to be EVIL after all.
well lets just say it's because he acts that way without any kind reasonble motivation for it, what makes Palpatine such a great villian is that he does seem to some kind of reason behind why acts that way, rather then acting that because the scrip demanded that he must be the bad guy.
Palpatine wanted to control the galaxy. Doesn't Jacen want that as well?

who knows he seems to want that sometimes, but other times he's just whining so hard he makes Anakin Skywalker seems reasonble and well centered person by comparisson.

Alexian Cale · Post by **Alexian Cale** » 2007-09-04 05:29pm

The series has bounced back and forth, making comparisons of Jacen with Palpatine and his grandfather. The difference is this: Palpatine is, first, so much smarter and more intelligent than Jacen that it isn't even worth considering. What I enjoyed about Palpatine is that he just wanted power, he didn't delude himself into thinking anything near the level Jacen has. Jacen, meanwhile, deludes himself into thinking that his motivations are nothing like Anakin's.

People freaked out when Anakin reasoned "to save my wife, I'll obviously need to kill a bunch of kids" when there was more 'logic' to it than the shit Jacen pulls. Jacen: "To save the galaxy, I must kill everyone in it!!!1!". It's pure bullshit.

I detest Jacen for the delusion and hypocrisy.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2007-09-05 12:59pm

So, I finished the book on Monday and here are my thoughts.

Flow-Walking: Still shit (though interesting to see Denning revist the events he depicted).

Han/Leia: As with my thoughts on Tempest, I still like how Denning writes them.

Battle of Kashyyyk: Luceno did it better in Dark Lord, but I suppouse that was inspiration given that Denning does acknowledge him again. More dickery that should be lodged in the next entry...

Jacen: Wah! Wah! Nobody likes me anymore. My family's betrayed me; they're the real enemies. I'm just trying to save the galaxy. Blah, blah, blah. Will somebody please kill this little shit already?

Indiana Rar and the Temple of the Sith: Well, I was wondering when that little plot thread from Tempest was going to be dealt with again. So, unless we're getting more of the Vergere school of thought (i.e. everything I tell you is a lie): Vergere was indeed a Sith, Lumiya's hinted Sith allies are indeed the predecessors of the Legacy-era Sith (as they peach the Rule of One), and that Lumiya went rogue from this group during the Yuuzhan Vong War.

So, overall, liked it better than Denning's previous novel, Tempest, but my overall dislike of LOTF has only been growing since Sacrifice. Thank god we're 2/3 of the way through; the sooner Jacen gets his and this series ends, the happier I'll be.

3.5/5