I have to say that the way the breakup was written annoys me. It's like they both just gave up. Jaina had a request, Jag says no, and now the engagement's off. Boohoo. I don't know, it just seemed a bit.....forced. *dramatic voice* We're different people! We want different things! It's over!! *sigh* I was never a big Jaina/Jag person anyway, so all this back and forth kinda gets to me.

My sister just read the book, and she had two thoughts she wished for me to share:

1. The editor had not had his coffee that day.

2. Abeloth and Taalon. She's convinced that Abeloth did something to him. That she has perhaps transferred somewhat of herself to him. Or something. But she thinks there's something fishy going on there, due to that random seeming bit where Taalon thinks about his vision of running from people.

*shrugs* It sounds possible to me. I hadn't considered that until she mentioned it, but that sounds interesting.

Whoa #2 just blew my mind! I wonder if Abeloth could do the same with the one that fell in the lake? Probably not, but if Abeloth got into Taalon that would be pretty awesome. It would open the door for a Sith takeover.

Well from what we've seen so far, Abeloth has shown no interest whatsoever in the Sith other than killing them. Now Callista supposedly disappeared because she could only touch the dark side in order to use the Force, so it's questionable whether she ever fixed that about herself or not, but so far the only people we know Abeloth has fed on were Callista and Dyon Stadd, so it's possible she only feeds on Jedi (and weakish Jedi at that). Not sure what this indicates, but it's interesting.

Now the one thing that makes me think Abeloth is not dead is the fact that she was seemingly imprisoned on her planet by the Celestials. Why? If she's dangerous, why not kill her? Can she be killed?

One alternate theory I like is that the Celestials did no imprison her, but were trying to protect her and that she wasn't a darksider to begin with, but went crazy in isolation.

Just started reading this the other day, and am already halfway through it. Apologies if I bring up what anyone else has said prior, but I'm spoiler-free on this one and I didn't want to come across anything that might spoil the end of the book. I'd say this is easily the second best of the series so far. It doesn't quite reach the level of Abyss, but it's leagues better than the other books. My only complaint so far, actually, has been that the first chapter (with the alliance) seemed to occur at breakneck speed. It didn't seem believable to me because it happened so fast.

Otherwise, it's a great book. The humor has been great, and I'm actually glad that Han, Leia and Allana have taken a backseat in this one. To me, their misadventures have always felt tacked on because there is an apparent need to have one for a Star Wars book to work. The trial of Tahiri has been interesting so far, as its an aspect of the Star Wars universe that we don't see often. It does annoy me a bit that she gets a trial while the Mandalorians start a siege of the Jedi Temple... but perhaps that will iron itself out by the end of the book.

Regarding the allegations of sexism that I've come across, I think it's unfounded. Jaina ending her engagement is just melodrama because the series is only half over. And Vestara doesn't want to seduce Ben per say. She's a teenage girl, and a Sith. Two tough things to be at once, I'm sure.

Oh, and finally... the slavery subplot. I actually like it. A lot. It does make me worry a bit that the series is becoming a bit bloated with subplots, but this one is good. It really takes over the Moff plot from the previous book, since so far that one hasn't been mentioned at all. I suspect this will be the issue that ties directly into the Jedi/Sith crisis. Either the Lost Tribe will show the galaxy that they use slaves too, thus showing the irrefutable difference between Jedi and Sith that some believe doesn't really exist, or the Lost Tribe will work to help the slaves while the Jedi sit back and continue to really do nothing since their hands are tied to self-preservation at the moment. At least, that's what I think it'll boil down to.

So yeah, great book so far. I suspect I'll finish it before the day is out. This is a major step up for Golden, IMO. I was one of the few that thought Omen was absolute rubbish.

Allies was really good, but there were a few annoyances as well. Han and Leia were basically bypassed so no comment there. Jaina and Jag were also barely there, just to freaking break up again. I can see that they would have friction, Jaina has her duties and Jag has his duties, but could they at least have them married first. We all know they're going to be together in the end so it's just an annoyance for me. I enjoyed the Couruscant Daala verses Jedi stuff (a nice cameo by Seha), but the Mandos were again portrayed as sleemo meatheads. It's true Belok Rhal (horrible name by the way, reminds me of deathmetal) is only one Mando, but do you honestly think the other Mandos would put up with him murdering a child?! Most Mandos I know would be up in arms. I must admit I thought Ben and Vestara were very well written, one of the best parts of the book. Tahiri was wrtitten very well, making her very sympathetic and guilty at the same time. And you gotta love her new lawyer. Abeloth was really confusing. She drives Jedi mad, draws them to her, sucks the energy out of them... and they get up a few minutes later like nothing happened. I know Luke and the Sith will be studying her in the future, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I was pretty worried that Luke and Callista would get back together again. *Breathes a sigh of relief* I hope this review doesn't sound negative. I liked it, but I tend to dwell on things I don't like rather than things I do like. I yam who I yam.