About.com Rating
Allies by Christie Golden is the fifth novel in the Star Wars Expanded Universe series Fate of the Jedi, which takes place almost forty years after Return of the Jedi. While a bit uneven at times, Allies is a solid effort from a fairly new Star Wars writer, developing the established plots and characters in unexpected and exciting ways.
The Story So Far
The Fate of the Jedi series develops the plot points set out in Legacy of the Force, which featured a great galactic crisis and the return of the Sith.
The series as a whole is more focused on politics and legal maneuvering than space battles, which may alienate some readers -- but such a focus serves to expand the Star Wars universe in realistic ways.
With Chief of State Daala in charge, the Jedi become a scapegoat for all the conflict and destruction. Luke Skywalker is exiled from Coruscant until he can discover what made Darth Caedus turn to the Dark Side. Tahiri Veila is put on trial for her actions in Darth Caedus' service. Meanwhile, Jedi are going insane for no discernible reason.
In Omen, Christie Golden's first book for the Fate of the Jedi series, we first encountered a lost tribe of Sith, separated from the main Sith Order five thousand years ago. In Allies, Luke and Ben must form an alliance with the Sith in order to fight a greater evil: Abeloth, an ancient creature from deep in the Maw.
Juggling Storylines
Allies has a seemingly contradictory pacing problem: it drags along too slowly, and yet seems to contain more plotlines and side stories than the author can readily handle.
There is the main plot for the series, in which Luke and Ben seek out Abeloth; a main plot for the book, in which the Sith incite a conflict by violating local customs on Klatooine; a side plot/second main plot for the series, in which the Jedi try to prevent the government from taking hold of the insane Jedi; a side plot in which Tahiri goes on trial; a minor, character-driven plot about Jaina's relationship with Jagged Fel; and a side plot in which a news reporter we've never met before and don't really care about prepares a report about the evils of slavery.
The constant switching between plotlines makes the pacing uneven and the story occasionally confusing. The story picks up and becomes much more exciting towards the end, when Luke confronts Abeloth -- but this only takes up the last fifty pages of the book.
It's clear what Golden was trying to do with all the side plots, which is to expand the universe beyond the actions of one or two Jedi. News reporting has a much more prominent focus in Fate of the Jedi as a whole than in other Star Wars Expanded Universe works. Allies would have been served better, however, by tightening the focus of the story.
Character Portrayals
The character portrayals, too, are a bit uneven. Allies is only Golden's second Star Wars novel, and she doesn't have quite as solid a handle on the characters as her co-writers for the series, Expanded Universe veterans Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. C-3PO, in particular, just seems off -- too stiff and too wordy compared to his previous portrayals.
The plotline of the Lost Tribe of the Sith doesn't reach its full potential because Golden doesn't do enough with the character of Vestara, the young Sith teenager whom Luke and Ben hold hostage to make the Sith honor the alliance. The awkward flirtation between Ben and Vestara often works well, and the brief appearances by Vestara's father help develop the Sith as a group, but one never really gets the impression that Vestara is any different from a teenage Jedi. After the emphasis in Legacy of the Force on the Sith being completely and irredeemably evil, Vestara is a huge letdown.
Tahiri's trial, however, is a highlight of the novel. Tahiri's character has undergone much abuse since her introduction in the Junior Jedi Knights series, but her portrayal in Fate of the Jedi has been very consistent, and Golden continues this trend. Tahiri is presented a many-layered and sympathetic character, and her trial provides some of the most intense and dramatic moments in Allies.
Functional, But Not Fun
As the middle book of a nine-book series, Allies runs into some of the same problems as Sacrifice by Karen Traviss, the middle book of Legacy of the Force: it brings too many plotlines to a head too quickly. Hopefully there's enough plot left to sustain the next four books of Fate of the Jedi without leaving them feeling sluggish.
All things considered, however, Allies is functional. That is to say, it moves the story along nicely, develops the characters, provides an exciting climax, and ties Fate of the Jedi as a whole to other parts of the Expanded Universe in interesting and surprising ways. The problem is that I didn't enjoy reading it. The negative aspects of Allies detracted from its several strengths, leaving the book as a whole feeling bland.
If you're a fan of the Fate of the Jedi series, Allies probably won't disappoint. Considered in the context of the series as a whole, it really does work well. If you haven't read the rest of the series, however, Allies certainly won't inspire you to start.
Allies by Christie Golden is the fifth novel in the Star Wars Expanded Universe series Fate of the Jedi, which takes place almost forty years after Return of the Jedi. While a bit uneven at times, Allies is a solid effort from a fairly new Star Wars writer, developing the established plots and characters in unexpected and exciting ways.
The Story So Far
The Fate of the Jedi series develops the plot points set out in Legacy of the Force, which featured a great galactic crisis and the return of the Sith.
The series as a whole is more focused on politics and legal maneuvering than space battles, which may alienate some readers -- but such a focus serves to expand the Star Wars universe in realistic ways.
With Chief of State Daala in charge, the Jedi become a scapegoat for all the conflict and destruction. Luke Skywalker is exiled from Coruscant until he can discover what made Darth Caedus turn to the Dark Side. Tahiri Veila is put on trial for her actions in Darth Caedus' service. Meanwhile, Jedi are going insane for no discernible reason.
In Omen, Christie Golden's first book for the Fate of the Jedi series, we first encountered a lost tribe of Sith, separated from the main Sith Order five thousand years ago. In Allies, Luke and Ben must form an alliance with the Sith in order to fight a greater evil: Abeloth, an ancient creature from deep in the Maw.
Juggling Storylines
Allies has a seemingly contradictory pacing problem: it drags along too slowly, and yet seems to contain more plotlines and side stories than the author can readily handle.
There is the main plot for the series, in which Luke and Ben seek out Abeloth; a main plot for the book, in which the Sith incite a conflict by violating local customs on Klatooine; a side plot/second main plot for the series, in which the Jedi try to prevent the government from taking hold of the insane Jedi; a side plot in which Tahiri goes on trial; a minor, character-driven plot about Jaina's relationship with Jagged Fel; and a side plot in which a news reporter we've never met before and don't really care about prepares a report about the evils of slavery.
The constant switching between plotlines makes the pacing uneven and the story occasionally confusing. The story picks up and becomes much more exciting towards the end, when Luke confronts Abeloth -- but this only takes up the last fifty pages of the book.
It's clear what Golden was trying to do with all the side plots, which is to expand the universe beyond the actions of one or two Jedi. News reporting has a much more prominent focus in Fate of the Jedi as a whole than in other Star Wars Expanded Universe works. Allies would have been served better, however, by tightening the focus of the story.
Character Portrayals
The character portrayals, too, are a bit uneven. Allies is only Golden's second Star Wars novel, and she doesn't have quite as solid a handle on the characters as her co-writers for the series, Expanded Universe veterans Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. C-3PO, in particular, just seems off -- too stiff and too wordy compared to his previous portrayals.
The plotline of the Lost Tribe of the Sith doesn't reach its full potential because Golden doesn't do enough with the character of Vestara, the young Sith teenager whom Luke and Ben hold hostage to make the Sith honor the alliance. The awkward flirtation between Ben and Vestara often works well, and the brief appearances by Vestara's father help develop the Sith as a group, but one never really gets the impression that Vestara is any different from a teenage Jedi. After the emphasis in Legacy of the Force on the Sith being completely and irredeemably evil, Vestara is a huge letdown.
Tahiri's trial, however, is a highlight of the novel. Tahiri's character has undergone much abuse since her introduction in the Junior Jedi Knights series, but her portrayal in Fate of the Jedi has been very consistent, and Golden continues this trend. Tahiri is presented a many-layered and sympathetic character, and her trial provides some of the most intense and dramatic moments in Allies.
Functional, But Not Fun
As the middle book of a nine-book series, Allies runs into some of the same problems as Sacrifice by Karen Traviss, the middle book of Legacy of the Force: it brings too many plotlines to a head too quickly. Hopefully there's enough plot left to sustain the next four books of Fate of the Jedi without leaving them feeling sluggish.
All things considered, however, Allies is functional. That is to say, it moves the story along nicely, develops the characters, provides an exciting climax, and ties Fate of the Jedi as a whole to other parts of the Expanded Universe in interesting and surprising ways. The problem is that I didn't enjoy reading it. The negative aspects of Allies detracted from its several strengths, leaving the book as a whole feeling bland.
If you're a fan of the Fate of the Jedi series, Allies probably won't disappoint. Considered in the context of the series as a whole, it really does work well. If you haven't read the rest of the series, however, Allies certainly won't inspire you to start.
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