A distinct improvement on the lackluster previous novel and it's now building up a head of steam towards the end.

Reasonably exciting stuff. ( )

Luke Skywalker is still grieving over the murder of his wife, but his niece Jaina and her comrades Zekk and Jag are going hunting for the Sith exerting influence over Jacen Solo. And while Jacen is keeping his kidnapped daughter Allana close to him, her mother Tenel Ka— Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium and former Jedi— wants her back, and the mission to retrieve her is enough to get Luke and Ben Skywalker back in the line of fire. Of course, their operation takes place in the middle of a space battle where the Galactic Alliance is trying to get control of Centerpoint Station, the superweapon in the Corellian system...

The story has plenty of action and continues ratcheting up the pressure in the conflict involving the Galactic Alliance, the Corellian Confederation, and the Jedi Order. ( )

It didn't seem like much happened in this one, though in retrospect there were a number of major events working the series towards its inevitable conclusion. There's nothing spectacular about Allston's prose, but it reads clearly and quickly and moves the story along, which is all I ask of a Star Wars book. ( )

Fury brings Legacy of the Force back on track. Fortunately, Allston quickly handwaves away Inferno's characterization rewrites, bringing Ben and Jacen back to much the same place they were at the end of Exile.

This time, Jacen's actions seem like the sane ones they're asserted to be—up until the very end of the book, when he accepts an officer's apology. He's become, in Mace Windu's words, dangerously sane. Jacen sees his family as nothing more than bargaining chips; he kidnaps his own daughter in order to secure Tenel Ka's cooperation.

Even as Luke goes to the rescue of Tenel Ka's daughter and hunts down Jacen, Jaina, Jag, and Zekk clean up the loose ends from Sacrifice—namely, Alema Rar. We see just what's involved in taking down a Jedi—a Sith—and get an idea of what's in store for Jaina, Luke, and the Jedi order as they continue the hunt for Jacen. More: Jaina realizes her fatal flaw, one that must be rectified before she can even think about being able to take down Jacen.

It wouldn't be an Allston book without a fleet battle, of course; and here he fails to disappoint. He manages to tie up the Centerpoint plot started back in Betrayal, while cripping the GA fleet to set up the events of Revelation. We also find out the true cost of the war; it's not just the Jedi main characters who are hurting. The men and women on the line are losing family too, something not really focused on in earlier fights.

Allston manages to weave in elements of both Traviss and Denning's books: Alema, Fett and his crushgaunts… The elements of their disparate books and plots come together, leading towards a final confrontation with Jacen with the fate of the galaxy at stake. That is, once Jaina becomes the unexpected… ( )

By now, we all know what to expect from a Legacy of the Force novel: Jacen-- sorry, Darth Caedus-- will do evil, and the Jedi won't react enough to it. They're going a bit more proactive in this installment of the series, but the metaplot is still only crawling along, even as the stakes heighten. Caedus is a bit of a clumsy villain, too. I feel that Allston is less suited to the grand plots found here and in The New Jedi Order and more to the smaller scale of his X-Wing novels, but he still writes a solid entry; his command of the characters, especially Luke, Ben, Wedge, Jag, and Han/Leia is what really recommends this book. Mostly fluff, but enjoyable, well-written fluff. (originally written January 2008)