Comments

In my review for the first half of this duology, I complained that despite an intriguing premise, the book opened so many stories that never were completed.  While I knew this book was available, I was upset that nothing was settled.  Honestly I even put off reading this second part.

I'm certainly glad I got around to it.

Most Star Wars novels make valiant attempts to weave their storylines together like the films did.  Zahn appears to be one of the few masters that actually make all of the stories come together in ways that are satisfying for everyone.

One of the things I looked forward to in this novel was the character of Car’das, and he was more than I expected.  His back story, including his encounter with Yoda, was mesmerizing and he became a favorite character for me.  With so much build up in finding him, the payoff worked very well and his piece in the puzzle worked brilliantly in the overall plot as well as for the story arc of Shada.  In fact, up to this point I was not particularly interested in her character at all.

Admiral Pellaeon’s story is more of a slow burn.  He spends the majority of both books sitting in space waiting around.  For some reason, however, I was always interested in what was going on with him.  There is something noble about his character and the fact that wants to attempt a treaty despite opposition from Disra.  The revelations on Yaga Minor were made even better because we were allowed to experience them from him instead of from our standard heroes.

Since I hadn't followed the EU all that closely, I knew that Luke and Mara got together, but had no idea at what point that would happen.  While I still found some of the scenes a bit awkward, the pairing of these two is really ideal.  She’s more action oriented and he is more emotional.  Their storyline since their first meeting in the original Thrawn Trilogy is clearly satisfying and their match shouldn't upset and fan.

Han and Leia are not usually my favorite EU characters.  Perhaps it’s that Harrison Ford’s charm was such a part of the character that I can’t always accept him in the books.  This book is no different.  They just simply aren't given too many things to do that interested me.

Overall, this was an excellent conclusion to the duology.  It’s too bad some of the bulk of the first couldn’t have been excised to put the two together into a monster novel, but overall this was a great read.

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