A review by hollytrolley
Allies by Christie Golden
1.0
This was arguably one of the worst Star Wars books I've ever read. And I have read 304 of them to date, so that's saying a lot. I'll admit that some of this comes from the fact that I despise Golden's writing style, but the story itself has a lot to answer for.
First of all, the characters. Luke is portrayed as a weak old man; Ben as the stereotypical teenager that nobody is like really; Leia and Han as dim echoes of what they were in the movies; Vestara and the rest of the Sith: Hello, you have only used the "Sith come back and attack the Jedi" plotline for about 9/10 of the books! These Sith are the same old characters recycled for the hundredth time.
Abeloth is a vague evil that is clearly not thought out very well. Natasi Daala is a different character in different books, because authors cannot agree on what she is like. Jaina and Jagged - isn't this the third relationship that Jaina has had, that the authors act is the last one, but then she breaks it off? Here's a hint: it's getting a little old by now.
Speaking of cliches, since when is the "son of leader of good falls in love with daughter of leader of evil" storyline original? I totally saw that coming, and yet I was still disgusted when it happened. For the most recent example of the storyline mentioned before, have you forgotten about Luke and Mara?
The happenings on Coruscant are poorly thought out and written. Just one stalemate after another. It was incredibly boring to read and probably boring to write too. The Jedi sickness is one of my least favorite parts. It's too vague and impersonal for the reader to care what's going on, let alone understand. The author tries to represent Tahiri as tragically misunderstood, but tragically fails in that endeavor.
First of all, the characters. Luke is portrayed as a weak old man; Ben as the stereotypical teenager that nobody is like really; Leia and Han as dim echoes of what they were in the movies; Vestara and the rest of the Sith: Hello, you have only used the "Sith come back and attack the Jedi" plotline for about 9/10 of the books! These Sith are the same old characters recycled for the hundredth time.
Abeloth is a vague evil that is clearly not thought out very well. Natasi Daala is a different character in different books, because authors cannot agree on what she is like. Jaina and Jagged - isn't this the third relationship that Jaina has had, that the authors act is the last one, but then she breaks it off? Here's a hint: it's getting a little old by now.
Speaking of cliches, since when is the "son of leader of good falls in love with daughter of leader of evil" storyline original? I totally saw that coming, and yet I was still disgusted when it happened. For the most recent example of the storyline mentioned before, have you forgotten about Luke and Mara?
The happenings on Coruscant are poorly thought out and written. Just one stalemate after another. It was incredibly boring to read and probably boring to write too. The Jedi sickness is one of my least favorite parts. It's too vague and impersonal for the reader to care what's going on, let alone understand. The author tries to represent Tahiri as tragically misunderstood, but tragically fails in that endeavor.