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Holistic Guidance - Sacrifice (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 5)
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List Price: $7.99
Our Price: $7.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Del Rey
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9780345477415
ISBN: 0345477413
Label: Del Rey
Manufacturer: Del Rey
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 512
Publication Date: 2008-04-29
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: 2008-04-29
Studio: Del Rey
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Editorial Reviews:
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Civil war rages as the Galactic Alliance–led by Cal Omas and the Jedi forces of Luke Skywalker–battles a confederation of breakaway planets that rally to the side of rebellious Corellia. Suspected of involvement in an assassination plot against Queen Mother Tenel Ka of the Hapes Consortium, Han and Leia Solo are on the run, hunted by none other than their own son, Jacen, whose increasingly authoritarian tactics as head of GA security have led Luke and Mara Skywalker to fear that their nephew may be treading perilously close to the dark side.
But as his family sees in Jacen the chilling legacy of his Sith grandfather, Darth Vader, many of the frontline troops adore him, and countless citizens see him as a savior. The galaxy has been torn apart by too many wars. All Jacen wants is safety and stability for all–and he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
To end the bloodshed and suffering, what sacrifice would be too great? That is the question tormenting Jacen. Already he has sacrificed much, embracing the pitiless teachings of Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith, who has taught him that a strong will and noble purpose can hold the evil excesses of the dark side at bay, bringing peace and order to the galaxy–but at a price.
For there is one final test that Jacen must pass before he can gain the awesome power of a true Sith Lord: He must bring about the death of someone he values dearly. What troubles Jacen isn’t whether he has the strength to commit murder. He has steeled himself for that, and worse if necessary. No, the question that troubles Jacen is who the sacrifice should be.
As the strands of destiny draw ever more tightly together in a galaxy-spanning web, the shocking answer will shatter two families . . . and cast a grim shadow over the future.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: A really good book!
Comment: I really liked this book. The reason why I'm giving it 4 stars is because the parts with Boba Fett & Mirta were boring to me. The rest though was good. Jacen sends Ben on a mission to assassinate Gejjen. Mara Jade battles Lumiya. Cal Omas is arrested. Ben overhears Lumiya and Jacen talking in Jacen's office. Mara plans to kill Jacen. Lumiya discovers Jacen's secret. Mara battles Jacen. Jacen lethally poisons her. Luke thinks Lumiya did it so He goes after her and kills her. Ben tells his dad it wasn't Lumiya. I can't really understand why Ben doesn't realize it was Jacen. I mean come on you heard them talking like friends plus can't he realize that all the missions Jacen put him through were death missions. Undoubtedly no not a smart bunch these people. Anyways Jacen has a sith name. O boy! So if there is one book in this series you got to read it's this one!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice
Comment: Next to Inferno (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 6)this has to be my favourite book in the Legacy of the Force series.
How do I begin to review this book? Well, it opens with Ben returning from a mission that Jacen deceived him to go on. This is the beginning of the end for Jacen's tyranny over Ben. I noticed that Ben isn't quite as devoted to Jacen in this book as he was in the earlier books in this series, which is a good thing. Maybe he will finally realize that Luke and Mara aren't as unfair and tyrannical as he thought in the past.
Jacen is going so totally dark that it is rather amazing that it is taking this long for the GA and so many other people to notice. And his take over of the GA is rather unbelievable. To get there, he tasks Ben to murder the Head of State of the system whose rebellion was the starter of the war. Jacen's behavior isn't going to help the situation one little bit. During the killing of the afore mentioned Head of State, one of the members of the GAG blows up his ship, with himself inside so that Ben can escape. This doses Ben with some common sense and he really begins to realize that Jacen isn't his friend. This realization gets even more stunning when Ben overhears a coversation between Jacen and Lumiya.
The main complaint that I have about this book is that Karen Traviss spends WAY too much time analyzing Boba Fett and trying to make him into a character who people should feel got a bum rap during his early life and therefore should be considered a good guy who made some bad choices. Give me a break!!! Fett is an amoral bounty hunter who happens to have gotten thrust onto the readers by an author who likes to bore her readers with everyother page being about Fett and the Mandolorians. It could be interesting information in a book about Fett and the Mandolorians, not at all necessary in a series of books about the Skywalkers and Solos. At least there was more time devoted to the Skywalkers and Solos in this book than there was in Bloodlines (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 2) and in Revelation (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 8).
Speaking of the Skywalkers and Solos, Mara Jade Skywalker was really front and center in this book. The cover artist made Mara look really good for this book. I hope I look that good when I am almost 60! Because I read the books that follow this book first, I had a pretty good idea of what happened in this book before I read it. Mara goes back to her past as the Emperor's Hand and you get to see just what she was like in those days. She goes after Lumiya and you get a pretty amazing duel between two former Emperor's Hands. It is a shame that Mara was unable to finish Lumiya off at that point, it would have saved everyone in the Star Wars universe a lot of pain and grief. Luke takes a side role in this bokkas he seems to do in alot of the previous books in this series. I just wish that he had insisted that BOTH he and Mara go after Lumiya. Maybe what happened in this book wouldn't have happened.
The main focus of this book was on the sacrifice that Jacen would have to make to become a full Sith Lord. It is very interesting to read about how Jacen comes to the decision on who the sacrifice has to be and how he suddenly changes it at the last moment.
The duel that provides Jacen's sacrifice was stunning. I have the audio version of this book uses the 'Duel of Fates' music from Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition) as a backround track. I started crying while I was reading this book. I just wonder how certain other authors feel about the death of this character?
Luke reacts in an incredible way. You get to see the Luke Skywalker of the movies in this scene.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this series.
May the Force be with us!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sacrifice is an understatement
Comment: Sacrifice has many meanings within this novel and can apply to a bevy of the situation contained within.
Book 5 here in this series really seems to take Star Wars back to its roots, and is able to balance a somewhat cerebral tone as well. Meaning, it has great action and climatic battles in every book thus far, but weaves a more politically motivated tale akin to those novels spun by Tom Clancy or Larry Bond.
The build from the previous installments is still escalating and there is quite a bit of political intrigue and thread weaving that all seems to make sense. Karen Traviss does a fine job in taking the second tier Star Wars universe characters and really fleshing them out and making them the forefront of this tale.
Lumiya, Jacen Solo, Ben Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker, Boba Fett, Mirta Gev (to name a few) all play prominent roles in shaping the direction of the galaxy after the Vong war and a very solid foundation in which the rumblings of the once powerful Sith culture and religion begin to take shape again and usher in a new era for the galaxy akin to the Empire.
As it stands the stand-off between Corellia and the Galactic Alliance grows as planets begin to take sides. The jedi order wishes to maintain a certain level of neutrality whereas Jacen Solo and his secret police (The GAG) begin to squash splinter cells and dissenters. With the ousting of Cal Omas (Galactic Chief of State), Jacen and Mon-Cal Admiral Cha Niathal assume a new role as `acting' dual head of state.
Ben is tasked by Jacen to do something unspeakable at the request of Lumiya to either proved Ben's worth and loyalty or destroy him in the process. This act alone had a profound impact on Ben, and forces him to grow up in a way he never intended or wished. He first wants to hide this from his parents, but his conscious eventually gives way and he tells Mara.
At this point Mara has her own personal revelations about Lumiya and Jacen and decides that something must be done, even if Luke is slightly hesitant and Mara begins to slip into her old ways as The Emperor's Hand. By the end of the novel Mara is cast in a whole new light and the reader can sympathize with her dual role.
At the other end of the galaxy, Boba Fett and his granddaughter Mirta begin a quest not only to restore Boba's failing health, but a Mandalore discovery prompts Fett to become the leader he was always tapped to be to the people Madalore. However, he hasn't forgotten about the death of his daughter at the hands of Jacen Solo. But the re-emergence of the people of Mandalore and their place in the galaxy, and what side they are about to choose is an interesting chess piece that author Traviss reveals and begins to explore. By the end of the novel, it is clear which side Boba has chosen and he also receives some shattering news that even the most stoic of all bounty hunters is shaken to his core.
Luke's showdown with Lumiya towards the climax and the events that lead up to it has the reader once more excited about the Luke Skywalker of old, as he's on a personal quest now letting his emotions triumph over his Jedi training. I'd hate to be in his way now.
Finally a new Sith Lord arises, Darth Caedus, who begins to full fill his own destiny as he proves good on the prophecies Lumiya speaks of. The galaxy, the characters, and the Star Wars universe is about to change very dramatically. What Traviss reveals and executes on in this book all serves purpose and really makes this series shine.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not so good
Comment: *CAUTION CONTAINS SPOILERS*
I'm a diehard Star Wars fan, and I did not care for this book. I'll admit that I'm a little jaded due to the fact that my favorite Expanded Universe character, in fact possibly my favorite character in the entire SW universe is killed off. I've always considered Han and Wedge my favorite characters, but Mara was right up there too. She's the ideal female character: a servant of the good side with just a bit of the dark still in her, stealthy yet strong, powerful without sacrificing her femininity. She embraces her role as Luke's wife and Ben's mother while still having the cunning and killer instinct of an assassin (she's also incredibly beautiful, whoever did the artwork on the cover deserves an award.) It's always an interesting story when Mara's involved, and I'm deeply saddened to see that the Lucas Licensing people have now made her inaccessible to any future novels. Her death rips a distinct and vital piece out of any future installments to the expanded universe, though I will grudgingly admit that the whole sequence was well prepared for and well written when the time came.
My biases at losing Mara aside, the writing was pretty poorly structured. The book, like the others before it, has a good deal of emphasis on the Fett storyline, which has absolutely no impact whatsoever on the overall plot. I found myself frequently skipping over the pages with it. Jacen is turning dark, ordering assassinations, deciding who is the right person he loves that he must kill in cold blood, then you turn the page and it's Boba Fett trying to figure out his role, recycling the same dialogue that the series has already used numerous times. You get past it to the dynamics of the Skywalker family shifting, Ben coming to grips with life, Mara and Luke trying to figure out the right path with the fate of the universe in the balance, then you turn the page and it's Boba Fett trying to figure out his role, recycling the same dialogue that the series has already used numerous times. Back to military action, dogfights, lightsaber battles, hunting for the bad guys, then you turn the page and it's Boba Fett trying to figure out his role, recycling the same dialogue that the series has already used numerous times. You get the idea, plus my sneak preview of the repetitiveness.
Another major problem is the idleness of numerous major characters. Han and Leia pretty much just sit on the sidelines, idling on Corellia. That's not the Han and Leia I know. Even Luke doesn't do anything until the end; he just kind of sits at home and worries about Mara and Ben. When Mara goes hunting for Lumiya, and eventually to confront Jacen, he doesn't do anything. Knowing how powerful Jacen has become, if Mara were my wife I'd have insisted we go together. He didn't, and he lost her because of it. Jaina's hunt for Alema Rar is a subplot at best and receives little to no attention. Having Han, Leia, and Luke inactive while focusing on Boba Fett's family soap opera is not the structure of a good Star Wars book.
Overall, I am enjoying the Legacy of the Force series, but I do not like the direction this book went in. When pertaining to Jacen, who is the main character of the series, this book is excellent; however, the other areas are poorly developed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Legacy of the force 5:Sacrifice
Comment: Overall, I think the book was great, it tells about Jacen's ultimate turn to the dark side. However the making of Jacen's sacrifice could have been more spectacular, that's why I give this book 4/5 stars.
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