This is a place, as the title suggests, to discuss the series as a whole, it's development, thoughts on the characters and/or events, things you liked/didn't lke, predictions/speculations...basically anything related to this series.
I, for one, was a little upset Jax chose Dejah over Laranth (she was so in love with Jax)...and that Laranth will be leaving the team. I really liked her character, and I hope she makes an appearance and plays some significant role in the final book.
Any predicts about the implied fight in the next book between Jax and Vader?
Sep 4, 2008 9:02 AM | Report Abuse reply
Wow, you must really love the "Coruscant Nights" series so far. This is the third thread you've begun...and the final book hasn't even come out yet!
Sep 6, 2008 5:02 PM | Report Abuse reply
(Apparently it has, as the spoilers have been revealed...?)
That's interesting that you bring up Laranth, because when the book ended I too was left most interested in her character. I can't say that I think she should have ended up with Jax--that would have made her a stereotypical Twi'lek, there for the romance. With her single and stoic I can still identify with her. And besides, nowhere in the books was there indication that Jaz was romantically inclined at all--he only liked Dejah because she was sexy (not to say that he was just going after that--obviously he wasn't, as he was trying to resist the phereomones all along) and more cheerful than Laranth. I do definitly hope to see her in the next book.
My sole predictions about book 3's fight are 1) it's going to be awesome (Jax plus lightwhip plus Xizor equaled win in the first book, and the second one did not dispell my faith in the series' action even if the flamesword was a bit corny) and 2) Jax is going to die. Actually, all the Jedi are going to die. Why? Because obviously nearly all Jedi died before New Hope...because Reeves has a history of killing off good guys...and because if they don't I don't know what the heck is going to be done with them. Not more Coruscant Nights books, obviously, as it is called a trilogy.
Sep 6, 2008 11:54 PM | Report Abuse reply
I created this thread a while back while I was initially reading through the series. For those of you who wish to continue discussing the CN trilogy--I still have some things I wanted to say--this is the logical place.
Nov 1, 2009 7:30 AM | Report Abuse reply
It's good that you bumped this up and allowing some more time to comment on CN. I'll give an overview at the earliest by Thursday. I'm prepping for the Star Wars Concert coming to my town this Tuesday, so I'll be awol for the next few days.
Nov 1, 2009 3:58 PM | Report Abuse reply
That reminds me! I gotta get started on my CN3 review! Man, I've gotten lazy!!
Nov 2, 2009 11:46 AM | Report Abuse reply
My review of the final book. I deserve a big "I told you so" from Stymie!
“ If Jax commits himself and his team to Palpatine's assassination, then what distinguishes him from those who represent the dark side?”
So I was really impressed by number 1, disappointed by number 2, and ready to see how the series would end. So I embarked on the third and final chapter!
Jax Pavan, Den Dhur, I-Five, and Rhinann return in our final installment with the lovely Dejah Duare on what could be their final mission. A rogue Force adept roams the underworld, threatening to blow their operation to the Inquisitors, Force users trained by Darth Vader himself. Furthermore, someone from I-Five's past returns with a plan...a plan to kill Emperor Palpatine! What will our band do, to fight injustice in the galaxy?
I Liked:
In book two, I felt that the character of Rhinann had gone off the deep end. In Book 3, Reaves brings Rhinann back to what he had been at the end of Book 1. He does it well enough, that I can either gloss over the disparities in Book 2 or believe that he changed from Book 2 to 3. I appreciated the “mending” and surprisingly found myself liking the character.
Also, I enjoyed seeing Jax Pavan realize his feelings for Laranth, how much he misses her. When Laranth was first introduced in the series, I was so sure she would be a Mary Sue: you know, tough woman, highly attractive and able to bed men in a single bound. Ha! Reaves must be laughing in his recliner at me. He deftly creates this woman, so real and emotional and...wonderful! Then he broke her and Jax up in Book 2, tearing out my heart in the process (darn you, Reaves!). And now, in 3, he starts to weave Jax and Laranth back together in a most beautiful way. And, not to spoil anything, their resolution is absolutely perfect.
I never liked Dejah Duare, but I love what Reaves does to her. Perfect justice!
Besides the characters (my favorites being Laranth, of course, I-Five, and Den Dhur), which are, for the most part, amazing as usual, Reaves also ties in all the details he has been bringing up in his previous books, not only the Coruscant Nights ones, but also the Darth Maul book and the MedStar Duology. Very nicely done, and always neat to see stuff reused.
The ending!! So fast paced, so much happens in so little time! In this regard, I feel like Reaves looked back at Book 1, how he made it so edge of your seat there and repeated that idea here. It is wonderful, a perfect combination for a Star Wars novel.
Lastly, I liked how this novel touched on so many important concepts, but namely this one: what distinguishes the good guys from the bad guys? It isn't a HUGE part of the novel, but it is sly, tricky, and makes you think. I mean, if the bad guys are bad just because they kill, that means any time the good guys kill (even if it is bad guys), then they have become that which they fight. A very challenging idea, and very important still. Reaves handles it particularly well.
I Didn't Like:
I've already complained about how Rhinann's character has skipped all over the place in this trilogy, but since Reaves “fixed” him in Book 3, he goes off my nit-pick list.
Dejah Duare remains on my list, for being the Mary Sue of this series. I despise her overly done-up sexuality, even if she does rely on pheromones to get her way (or maybe because she does).
I was not very fond of Kajin Savaros. I have a hard time believing that this boy is so powerful (able to blast tall buildings in a single breath); he feels like a Marty Stu. Plus, he is a rather bland character, almost like eating vanilla ice cream, but not even good vanilla ice cream. He really is much less a character than a tool, just to move the plot. And his conclusion makes me wonder if I should even have cared about him in the first place.
The beginning felt very, incredibly slow to me. It took me weeks to actually get into the book. It feels like nothing important is happening, that I can't engage in the story. Thank God Reaves picks it up halfway through!
SPOILER:
My last great complaint is that Jax still lives. Yes, I love how he and Laranth get together at the end, but I really tire of seeing all these Jedi that somehow are able to elude Vader and Order 66. I would have preferred to see him die at the end, like how his father died at the end of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. In this way, I feel that this trilogy is a little too “open-ended”. Yes, Jax had his face-off with Vader, but it is obvious that, since neither died, it is only the first face-off. Vader won't just give up on Jax; Jax still lives on Coruscant. And since Jax isn't my favorite character to begin with, I wouldn't have been upset to see him die.
END OF SPOILER
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Star Wars language only.
Dejah Duare pretty much embodies the biggest sexual blips in this novel.
A man is scarred pretty badly in a Force battle. Two people are kidnapped. Other Star Wars fare battles.
Overall:
To be honest, after a few pages, I dreaded this book. I wanted to put it down and forget about it forever. Reaves had kinda lost me after 2, and I didn't think he could bring it around.
Well, Reaves, you proved me wrong yet again! He finished off the trilogy nicely, though I felt that it was still a little more open-ended than I would have liked. So despite a very slow beginning, I give this book a 4.5 stars, rounded to 5.
Nov 3, 2009 5:39 PM | Report Abuse reply
Awesome review, Crystal. They are always so detailed and clearly well thought out, even if I don't agree with you, like on, say, Death Star.
But you have seen the light with CN3, which helps make up for you bad judgment in regards to Death Star (LOL).
And it's like I didn't tell you so, but I told you so.
More thoughts on your review later.
Did I mentioned I liked Death Star?
Nov 6, 2009 9:25 AM | Report Abuse reply
LOL! No, Stymie, I think you forgot to mention it!!
Anyway, thank you as always for your kind words! When I write my reviews, I try to present a case: almost as if I am either trying to persuade someone to read or not to read. I come up with evidence, specific scenes, etc. I know some people don't like my reviews because they are too long, but I say the longer the better, so long as they stick to the topic and are interesting.
Looking forward to your thoughts! I must say this series was quite interesting and I'm glad I read it :D
Nov 6, 2009 11:15 AM | Report Abuse reply
MJF, are tyou referring to the concerts by the St. Louis Symphony tonight and tomorrow night at Powell Hall or are you referring to something else entirely?
Nov 7, 2009 11:06 AM | Report Abuse reply
"My last great complaint is that Jax still lives." THANK YOU. Shadowhunter was great because it tugged at the heartstrings with the deaths of the good guys--and it was logical that those people had to die, or else Darth Maul would have been revealed early. I really wanted the Jedi in CN3 to be killed--not because I disliked them--exactly the opposite--but because there goes the OT if they live. Maybe he's writing another book about them, but...I'm not happy. This is just like what he did at the end of Death Star, foregoing the threat. He's gone soft. XD
Nov 10, 2009 3:44 PM | Report Abuse reply
Just b/c Jax is alive when CN3 ends does not mean he is when Luke and co. come to save the day.
Jax still has plenty of time to die.
Death Star RULES, BTW. Possibly the best Star Wars novel EVER!!!!!!!!
Everyone thinks so.
Nov 10, 2009 6:08 PM | Report Abuse reply
Only in your mind, Stymie, only in your mind... ;)
Cy, I hope that Reaves will write more about Jax and this time write him dying, like he should have in CN3. That will probably lift that annoying (to me) character into martyrdom and make me like him more :D
Nov 10, 2009 9:42 PM | Report Abuse reply
Alright this review is two weeks later than I anticipated, but better late than never.
First off my apologies to the character Pol Haus. I was thinking he was going to turn out to be an armored rat and betray our heroes towards the end. I'm not ashamed to admit I was wrong about him.
I-Five still remains my favorite character in the entire Coruscant Nights series. It's fascinating that I-Five actually has a force signature. I have no theories how that's even possible; and if Reaves left clues for the audience to pick up on, it completely escaped me. Den brought up that I-Five's reason for wanting to assassinate the Emperor is spurred by vengeance for Lorn's death. Den goes on to explain that as a droid I-Five will never forget Lorn Pavan's death, nor does the intensity of those feelings lessen over the years. Lorn's death is as fresh in I-Five's mind as it was the day he learned about it. We humans have a choice to either move on from a tragedy or let bitterness take over. I-Five is a droid, and it's either impossible or much harder for him to overcome the loss of Lorn.
As for Jax...the man does nothing for me. This main character fails to make a lasting impression. I felt Nick Rostu, and heck even Captain Typho are way more interesting & exciting than Jax. Dejah was able to pull the wool over his eyes for several months, but at least he finally figured out she was manipulating him. And shame on Dejah for being jealous of the attention Jax gave to Kajin. Even I didn't think she could be that low. She saw the condition that kid was in, but her selfish need overrode her good judgement (that is if she ever had any to begin with).
Reaves should have developed Kajin Savaros' character a little bit more, or left him out of the story completely. Reaves introduces this powerful young force adept that ends up a tranquilized basket case at the end of the book. Why even bring Kajin into CN3? If Kajin's purpose was to support and further grow Jax's character, than Reaves failed horribly. We see Jax training Kajin, but it's a short tutelage because of circumstances beyond Jax's control. I wasn't able to feel the Master and Padawan closeness that Jax and Kajin should have developed. In the end Kajin was just filler material that attempted to transition Jax from barely a Jedi Knight towards the role of Jedi Master. Jax is a long way off from that honor.
Review to be continued this evening or tomorrow...
Nov 19, 2009 1:44 PM | Report Abuse reply
"I felt Nick Rostu, and heck even Captain Typho are way more interesting & exciting than Jax"
My sentiments exactly. I don't think I've met a character this bland in a long while. When Reaves wrote Shadow Hunter, Lorn Pavan was a very real, personal, "exciting" character. But his son didn't inherit any of that. Not to mention, he was a complete dimwit, letting Dejah manipulate him like that. Yes, Jax is a new Jedi. Yes, he is barely a Jedi Knight. But I still thought it very pathetic (though it did show how pride masks the obvious, doesn't it?).
As for Kajin, I can think of one word for him and that would be "weak". I agree, seemed pointless to bring in a character that A) ended up a basket case at the end or B) did nothing to the other characters to make them grow.
Look forward to more of your thoughts!!
Nov 19, 2009 3:41 PM | Report Abuse reply
I have to admit that the only reason I started reading the Coruscant Nights trilogy was because of my favorite Falleen being in it.
That said, I know I'm going to take a hell of a lot of flak over that. *winks*
Nov 21, 2009 10:31 AM | Report Abuse reply
--continued--
I'm glad to see Laranth back into the mix. I shuddered to think she would end up sidelined playing second fiddle to Dejah, but instead she remains an integral part of the drama. In retrospect I'm actually glad she decided to leave the ragtag detective group at the end of CN2. I feared if Laranth remained while Dejah was around she would have inadvertently morphed into a creepy, clingy female vying for Jax's attention. If Laranth was able to avoid that unfavorable behavior, I have no illusions Dejah would have taken steps to ensure Laranth would be viewed as a liability. Dejah wants Jax all to herself, so I don't believe I'm off the mark about how far she would go. Laranth stepping away temporarily allowed Jax to figure out what her friendship ultimately meant to him as well as the dynamics she brought to the team. During the time Jax is contemplating his relationship with Laranth, he realizes that most of the team has problems with Dejah. If you ask me Jax doesn't deserve Laranth. He's such a bonehead, but he did realize how manipulative Dejah turned out to be. If I take anything from Laranth besides her kick butt ways, it is to be patient in the face of injustice, and don't go down the despair route. I loved that she didn't feel sorry for herself when she knew she had to leave. Instead Laranth remained active in helping the resistance, and in the end returned to our detective heroes with the leader (Jax) having a newfound or rekindled respect and appreciation for her.
I really felt for Den in this book. He struggles with I-Five's loyalty to Jax, and I-Five's possible demise for attempting to assassinate Emperor Palpatine. Den truly cares for I-Five; he doesn't want the sentient droid to lose his life or the empathy he was able to obtain. I-Five isn't an unfeeling machine. It's very much possible I-Five is experiencing some bitterness and thoughts of vengeance for Lorn Pavan's death. Den's strained relationship with I-Five just adds to the drama of Vader hunting our heroes, they are unsure about Pol Haus' attentions, and with a lady love waiting for him on Sullust, leaving Coruscant forever is an attractive option. For those of you that have finished the book, you know the decision our favorite diminutive Sullustan made.
Rhinann has magically returned to his senses overnight in CN3. In CN2 his character drastically became ambitious, and that lead to unbelievable pipe dreams of grandeur. Except for a few incidences he no longer annoyed me.
*spoiler alert*
I actually felt a little sorry for Rhinann when he met his fate. His people were enslaved by the Empire, and he becomes a slave to Vader despite the secretary title he has. He takes a chance and hooks up with Jax & company, but he derives no satisfaction in helping the resistance and feels his skills are going to waste. The latter part is a bit abominable on Rhinann's part. He ends up a sad, pathetic figure that I can't help but feel a little bit of pity towards.
*end of spoiler*
As for Dejah...her choices and actions lead to what she deserved.
Overall I felt Patterns of Force was a lackluster conclusion to the whole Coruscant Nights series. Jax never became likable or even a good leader. The first book is my favorite of the series, followed by the second one. If Reaves decides to write another book about the adventures of Jax Pavan, he needs to make him interesting.
To answer Elizabeth's question that was posted several days ago...I went to the Star Wars: A Musical Journey Concert at Gwinnett Arena in Atlanta on November 3rd. It was a live orchestra performance of John William's musical score for the Star Wars films. Anthony Daniels, aka C3P0, hosted the event and gave commentary before each musical number.
Nov 21, 2009 5:43 PM | Report Abuse reply
Thanks for answering my question, MJF. *BG* I haven't had a chance to read the conclusion of this series.
Nov 23, 2009 1:25 PM | Report Abuse reply
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