I think Jaina might become Mandalorian. Would certainly be interesting, and I can see Karen Traviss doing that.

First off, the highlight would have to be Daala. I was thrilled to see her return although her thoughts of wanting to chain up all Jedi is ridiculous and no different than the Galactic Empire she served (and still does at heart.) It was sad to see Pellaeon die but I knew his time was at the end of the book when he was such a character at the start; my rule of thumb, if the character suddenly gets a lot more attention than in many previous books, it doesn't bode well for them. And that Tahiri did it was maddening.

Speaking of Tahiri, I'm not convinced the reason we're given for why she just embraces Caedus and the Sith makes sense. I know she was being manipulated by her memory of Anakin, but I would think remembering what Anakin fought for would prevent her from falling so far. Of course, Caedus twisted that line of thought saying this is exactly what Anakin would want which is just utter BS.

Ever since the mystery of Boba Fett has been revealed, I've lost all interest in Mandalorians. I'm not thrilled about his new back story with Mandalorians and a wife, but since most love it, I'm in the minority and will have to deal with it. I enjoy Karen's writing but the Boba Fett story line wasn't integrated well in this series and I really didn't want to read a chapter that dealt with the Mandalorians, even with Jaina there. If Karen wants to do more Mandalorian tales, why doesn't Lucasbooks let her do them like the commando books and not just plug them into the "main stream" ones about the Solos and Skywalkers?

And for Jaina, her great secret to brining in her brother is...be unpredictable? It took Mandalorians to show her that? I'd been thinking about that strategy from the start and it should be even easier now with Jacen totally out of it. Luke has even already adopted this strategy with his illusions, but I guess Jaina wouldn't have learned the lesson without outside Mandalorian help Rolling Eyes

Anyway, that's enough for now, and I loved Luke and Ben's interactions, like I have with all the books since Mara's death. (And, Mara showed up in this book! My hope for an Anakin Solo ghost is gone but maybe he'll show up for Tahiri like Mara did for Luke.)

I think you're right about Tahiri, Aush. I'm not convinced about her reasons for being a Sith either. I think she's only doing it so she can be powerful and close enough try and take Caedus out. The whole thing with Pellaeon and the references to the Blood Fins made me think that this was were her character was going or will go.

As for the Mandalorians, I can't help myself, I love them. I liked being able to see Fett's character fleshed out more, and more of his back story being detailed. With Jaina's training, it's more of a matter of her going through the motions of thinking differently. It can be rather hard to do so on your own or with like minded people like the Jedi. However, the Mandalorians think very differently and being around them helped Jaina create a new self, much like when she created the Trickster Goddess personae of herself. She had to get into character, and they helped her do that.

One more thing about the Mandos, Aush. I don't think it's too big of a spoiler but they're in Invincible. The preview at the end of Revelation had a whole chapter on them. So you haven't seen the last of them yet.

And though some may think it ridiculous, I still like it when Carrid kneecaped Caedus. It just goes to show that anything can happen in combat.

I think the Mandalorians in Invincble will be better with Troy Denning writing; I think he'll integrate them into the story better than Karen did. The first two books with Boba Fett looking for his wife seemed more like an annoying interlude but we'll see in a couple months. Yes, the knee cap was great but I think I got a bigger kick of the Mandalorian saying "I just can't help myself" than just the shot

I was so excited that Mara came back and I loved the epilogue. I'm a huge Mandalorian fan and with Jaina going to them that was really awesome. I also really liked the way they told us more about Jusik and Venku. I loved the way they alluded to the fact that Jacen and Jaina are going to go head to head (duh), because I've been rooting for that since the beginning. All in all, it was great. Not the best, maybe, but great. I can't wait til May!

Darth Skuldren wrote:

@comanderbly Good eye, I missed that one completely. It's almost a certainty that that is who he is referring to. But I'm not sure it means he gets back to 100% but probably just confirming that he was able to help him. I'm more interested in how Venku ends up with Gotab after all these years. Many question left unanswered.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It was a little slow, but it did help me savor it more. Traviss was, again, amazing with the Mandalorians, although Jaina's training wasn't quite as . . . drawn-out as I'd hoped. And although she was a cool character at the end of Revelation, I HATE HER GUTS IN INVINCIBLE! Denning ruined her, and I really don't like the way he wrote her. She's too much like Caedus, when she's supposed to be different from him, and that's what makes her better. But overall, Revelation was good. Shevu was also a new favorite of mine *random point*.