Backlash (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi, #4)

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Backlash (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi #4)

by Aaron Allston

3.78 · rating details · 736 ratings · 62 reviews

Locked in a war of wills and weapons, the Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance must come to terms—before the Sith’s army of darkness enacts revenge.

Repercussions from the dark side’s fatal seduction of Jacen Solo and the mysterious plague of madness afflicting young Jedi continue to wreak galaxywide havoc. Luke and Ben Skywalker are in pursuit of the now Masterless Sith a...more

Hardcover, 309 pages

Published March 9th 2010 by LucasBooks

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Apr 25, 2010

Priya rated it

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Apr 06, 2010

David Bevins rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

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Aug 26, 2010

Marcelo rated it

· review of another edition

It seems that the «Fate of the Jedi» series is picking up after all. Two of the previous three story-lines converge into one, and the book takes place almost completely in the planet Dathomir, among the very interesting culture of the Witches of Dathomir. Even the Solo family gets briefly involved in it.

By the way, I can't tell which story is more compelling, the Skywalkers or the Solos. Even the little adventure/trouble that the 8-year old Allana, R2D2, and C-3PO find for themselves i...more

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Apr 29, 2010

Chad rated it

Shelves: star-wars-novels

Almost enough happens in "Backlash" to make up for the fact that it is just as clunkily written as the three previous entries in the "Fate of the Jedi" series. And I suppose that, at the very least, its a little promising that Allston is finally playing around with the Machiavellian plotting that characterized the far superior "Legacy of the Force" novels. But the lurking problem still remains: Del Rey have purposefully asked their authors to write for a younger aud...more

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Mar 25, 2010

Amy Vidrine rated it

Another good book by Aaron Allston. I pretty much think he's the best when it comes to Star Wars books.

Anyway, it's always interesting to get yet another step towards uniting the Fate of the Jedi and the Legacy (comic) series, and eventually we'll know everything. Of course, I've fallen behind in my comic reading, but I keep up with the books pretty well.

This book involved a revisit to Dathomir, the planet that Han Solo won (in a card game, of course) much earlier on in...more

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Mar 14, 2010

Erika rated it

Luke and Ben seemed to have abandoned their mission to uncover the murky truth of Jacen’s turn to the Dark Side during the third FOTJ book, Abyss, when a weird new tribe of Sith caught their attention. In Backlash, the adventure continues. Luke’s on the prowl, metaphorically sniffing out Vestara Kai like some crazy bad ass Jedi hunting dog; with his blood splattered on her person after a lightsaber battle that ended with the death of her Master, Vestara’s unaware she’s even being tracked, but ...more

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Jul 14, 2011

Adam Bourke rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: star-wars, science-fiction

Finally! Something happens! The first three books of this series were really quite slow, but in this we finally see it going somewhere. This time, while still plenty of political manouvering, we get too see some action.

This book follows quite nicely from the previous one - where the Sith Apprentice Vestara escapes from Luke and Ben Skywalker on Sinkhole Station. It actually starts with a Vestara viewpoint scene of her leaving. It's one of the few of these in the book - I was a little d...moreFinally! Something happens! The first three books of this series were really quite slow, but in this we finally see it going somewhere. This time, while still plenty of political manouvering, we get too see some action.

This book follows quite nicely from the previous one - where the Sith Apprentice Vestara escapes from Luke and Ben Skywalker on Sinkhole Station. It actually starts with a Vestara viewpoint scene of her leaving. It's one of the few of these in the book - I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see more from her point of view, as she was with a more major character for most of the book. But she is a good character nonetheless, and brings some interesting aspects to the story.

As previously, Allston wrote Ben and Luke well, and similar to the other books in the series, Allana still felt like she was considerably older than eight. Still, that is consistent with the rest of the series I guess. But the characters in this series are consistently done well, so it's the story that is reallty important. And it's actually a good one.

When I said we get to see some action, it's on the planet of the nightsisters. I was almost hoping they wouldn't be in it, as all events on dathomir seems to involve them. But they were there, and they were done well. But what I liked most were the two normal tribes, and how they lived and fought. Its not often that primitive races are featured in these books, and I really enjoyed reading about them.

Now the plot I really didn't like was Allana's little quest. Now Han and Leia are in charge of protecting her - first in line to the throne of several systems, and they leave her pretty much alone on a forsaken planet. OK, there are two Jedi hidden around the place, but they still let everything happen. She could have died - because she was bored and wanting to do something exciting - including vandalism and almost theft/murder. I just think that it was irresponsible of Han and Leia to let her do that, and That storyline annoyed me quite a bit.

The politics however, was quite a bit better in this one. Mainly because it was a side-story I think. While I disagree with Daala's political manoeuvrings, they made for a better story in this book, and were a lot faster, action based scenes. There was also the politics dathomir, essentially male vs female, which were quite amusing as well.

And finally, it ends in a cliffhanger that I thought was a good one. I'm not going to say what, but it really gives the impression there will be something happening in the next book.

Simply put, this is the best book in the series so far, and I'm actually excited about the next book. I enjoyed this better than most in The Legacy of the Force, and hope that it marks a turning point of the series.(less)

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Jun 11, 2011

Mike rated it

Surprisingly, to me, I liked this book. I usually find Aaron Allston's writing about as interesting as watching paint dry (insert your favorite alternate cliche' here). I understand the author had some severe health issues around the time book #1 of this series came out. His writing has improved since then.

Backlash, book #4 of the "Fate of the Jedi" series, starts to slowly...very slowly...unify the disparate threads of the first three books. And that's WAY overdue.

...moreSurprisingly, to me, I liked this book. I usually find Aaron Allston's writing about as interesting as watching paint dry (insert your favorite alternate cliche' here). I understand the author had some severe health issues around the time book #1 of this series came out. His writing has improved since then.

Backlash, book #4 of the "Fate of the Jedi" series, starts to slowly...very slowly...unify the disparate threads of the first three books. And that's WAY overdue.

If you've been reading this series and find the exploits of Allana/Amelia (Jacen Solo's daughter and Han Solo and Leia's gradchild) to be fun and interesting, you'll get more of what you enjoy. At least this time around her story was interesting. Yes, she's very cute and prone to trouble, but her exploits actually served to move the story along this time. Back in book #1, her story with Han, Leia and Lando was a dead end that took up a large portion of that first book.

Without giving too much away, I'll try to tell you what's up in book #4.

Luke and Ben are still on Luke's exile tour of the weird Force-related places of the universe. But this time they're chasing comely rogue Sith teen Vestara Khai and end up on the world of Dathomir...home to a matriarchal hunter-gatherer type jungle society where men are subjugated and female "Force Witches" lead. Some of those Force witches are Sith Nightsisters. So it's not a happy place. And there are plenty of rancors about. The problem? Vestara has "renounced" the Sith and joined up with the Force witches, so Luke and Ben have to do a lot of "respecting of tradition" and such. So much so that they need to call in Han, Leia, Allana, C-3PO, R2-D2 and so on for the respecting of tradition and diplomacy involved...which quickly turns into a jungle war with the Nightsisters that takes up a large portion of book #4. It's not badly written, but it also doesn't move the main story forward very much.

Meanwhile, Daala is still trying to subjugate the Jedi--using Mandalorians to blow holes in the defenses of the Jedi Temple--but also seems to be playing into the hands of a cadre of conspirators from the old Empire (and from the Senate as well) whom she has mightily offended. Those same conspirators are also targeting Jagged Fel and all the remaining Solos, which anyone knows is a bad idea. But they're trying to keep the Solos and Daala from working together. Lots of plotting, a little action, a funny scene where the conspirators dress up in costumes from the Empire and Old Republic to play cards.

The madness of the young Jedi seems to be squarely blamed on Abeloth, the freaky Sith planet monster in the Maw from book #3. Abeloth is mentioned a few times in Backlash, but not in any way that suggests her plotline will be resolved in book #4, that's for sure.

And they keep ending these books on cliffhangers in hopes that age-old clumsy and heavy handed technique will get people to buy the next book in the series.

What I would say about this book: better than expected, especially if you like rancor monsters.

(less)

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Nov 27, 2011

Nicholas rated it

Not great, but not bad either. I think I preferred the last novel because it broke new ground in the whole Force mythos and philosophy department as well as provided some heart-warming scenes with older characters. This novel reads like survival fiction. Luke and the crew are trapped on Dathomir with a loose Sith threatening to uncover the secrets to an ancient dark power and the Witches of Dathomir themselves threatening Luke and his progeny because of his history with the planet of Force sensi...more

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Sep 09, 2011

Nick Scott rated it

I get the feeling that the more interesting stuff in this book was supposed to be Ben and Luke's adventures on Dathomir, but what actually turned out to be the most interesting stuff was Han and Leia and the stuff with the Jedi on Coruscant. Ben and Luke's adventures were entertaining, but upon completion of the book I couldn't figure out why it was necessary. It didn't really advance the Sith/investigation plotlines and most of it (particularly the tribes and games stuff) felt like fluff. I'...more

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Apr 06, 2011

Brett rated it

Shelves: star-wars

Better than Abyss but not living up to Outcast, this entry into the FoTJ series is a solid read. Allston really captures the Big Three, as far as characterization goes, as good or better than anyone. The return to Dathomir is very welcome and the scenes there are cool.

I would have liked more scenes dealing with the Jedi and the situation on Coruscant, and I could have done without the Allana scenes. Zekk and Taryn seem wasted. Maybe Id care more/they'd make more sense if Bloodoath ...more

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Apr 06, 2010

Lisa rated it

Shelves: star-wars

I was disappointed in this one. Maybe I'm spoiled by the Legacy series (ZOMG BEST SERIES EVER), but this book felt like a placeholder/throw-away. Very little that pertained to the main plot points of the series actually happened. I liked the parts on Coruscant, but they were few and far between. I'm kind of disappointed that I paid $16 bucks for this book and didn't wait for it to come to paperback. I was actually more intrigued by the preview for the next book than I was reading any of this ...more

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Jul 30, 2011

Luke added it

This book sees Luke & Ben head to Dathomir in persuit of the Sith girl from the end of the last book. it was an enjoyable book, it was great to see Dathomir again and thier were some great throwbacks to previous books.

I really enjoyed the political manuevering of Daala and the Moffs and thiere were a few Han Solo-isms that made me chuckle out loud. That all said, I felt this book was a little on the thin side story wise. Not a lot happens in each book of this series, but that's not stopping me ...more

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Mar 18, 2010

Jesse rated it

Shelves: starwars

This is by far the most exciting, adventurous and satisfying starwars read I've had in years. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and it was a fight just to put it down. Luke, Ben and the rest of the extended Skywalker family have battles and excitement all across the GA this time, and the addition of the Sith and Night Sisters was very interesting. The only downside was a lack of unusual force powers that have come to manifest over the last few books. Overall this is one of the best re...more

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Aug 06, 2011

Sonny added it

Shelves: star-wars

"Aaron Alliston has done it again! After a few hit and miss novels in the current Fate of the Jedi series, Backlash is hands down my favorite so far. The story arc was tightly woven each event building off the previous and delivering a satisfying thrill ride.

One of the many things Alliston brought to us in Backlash, was a chink in the hard armor in Chief of State Daala. Yea, I know a lot of people hate her, and think she's just an imperial slut who came to power, but I really do ...more

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Feb 23, 2011

logankstewart rated it

Shelves: star-wars, sci-fi, library, 2011-read

Backlash is the fourth volume of the Fate of the Jedi series. As such, some of this will be spoilerish for the first three books, so use that how you will.

Luke Skywalker and Ben, his teenage son, are still in exile. Luke, banned by the Galactic Alliance from entering established Jedi places, such as the Temple, is chasing a young Sith girl across the galaxy. He and Ben have tracked her to forests of Dathomir, home to rancors and Nightsisters. There they land and intensify their s...moreBacklash is the fourth volume of the Fate of the Jedi series. As such, some of this will be spoilerish for the first three books, so use that how you will.

Luke Skywalker and Ben, his teenage son, are still in exile. Luke, banned by the Galactic Alliance from entering established Jedi places, such as the Temple, is chasing a young Sith girl across the galaxy. He and Ben have tracked her to forests of Dathomir, home to rancors and Nightsisters. There they land and intensify their search for the Sith, intent on capturing her and learning all they can about the mysterious group.

Meanwhile, Jedi are continuing to go crazy on Coruscant and no one knows why. The relations between the GA and the Jedi are at a breaking point, Daala's image as Chief of State is crumbling, and the backstabbing moffs are hungry for power. Political corruption and fighting is the Coruscant way.

Like the previous books in this series, the story is split among several different perspectives, offering insights from the Jedi, from the Sith, from the GA, from the Moffs, and from others, as well. This multiple POV style is fun to read and follow, and it helps add to how grey and vague politics and religion are.

As for the plot, Backlash took steps forward with the inevitable Jedi/Sith confrontation, but the problem with the Jedi going crazy didn't really go anywhere, and only minor advancements happened with the GA/Jedi relations. Still, the story was fun and entertaining, especially all the Dathomir stuff and experiencing their culture.

Thematically, going into a modern STAR WARS book I expect to be faced with the subtle differences between the Light Side and the Dark Side of the Force. Allston did a great job at blurring the lines of truth and the way Ben sees something as opposed to Vestara. I'm particularly interested to see where their relationship goes.

Overall, I'm enjoying the Fate of the Jedi series. The Lost Tribe of the Sith is interesting, and I'm enjoying Luke & Ben's bonding time. Plus, I have no idea what's causing the Jedi to go barvy, so that's keeping me entertained, too. In the end, Backlash doesn't offer many surprises and it's about what you expect out of a STAR WARS EU novel, but it's still a fun read. (less)

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May 01, 2010

DC rated it

This book improved as I continued reading it.

I was not impressed with Allston's prose in the first part of the book, which was a disappointment, as I've really enjoyed his other Star Wars books (especially the X-wing series). The worst bits are when we, as Star Wars fans, get "treated" to bit of writing that beat us over the head with reminders that Luke has a prosthetic hand, or that Jaina is Leia's daughter (!). Would anyone reading this book really need to be reminded ...moreThis book improved as I continued reading it.

I was not impressed with Allston's prose in the first part of the book, which was a disappointment, as I've really enjoyed his other Star Wars books (especially the X-wing series). The worst bits are when we, as Star Wars fans, get "treated" to bit of writing that beat us over the head with reminders that Luke has a prosthetic hand, or that Jaina is Leia's daughter (!). Would anyone reading this book really need to be reminded of those facts? Now... I can see how the casual mention of such things would enhance the story / writing, or be relevant. Luke being worried about Force lightning affecting his prosthesis after it's fried other electronics. Leia looking at "her daughter" in order to avoid repeating Jaina's name too many times in a small number of sentences.... You know, stuff like that. Instead, we get something more like: Luke, with his sandy-blond hair, blue eyes, and prosthetic hand, sat on a chair, chatting with his son Ben. Argh!

Also, when I first started reading this book, I realized I had no memory of Abyss, and had to go find a synopsis of Abyss to make sure I'd actually read it. So something in that transition was lost for me.

In the end, two of the characters I'd most come to resent (Vestara and Daala) ended up becoming more than two dimensional in this book, so that was nice. And I've got a big soft spot for the Witches of Dathomir, so I enjoyed visiting them again. I'm still charmed by Luke and Ben's adventures, and still annoyed by the bonkers Jedi plot (which has gone absolutely nowhere since book 1).

I was simultaneously amused and annoyed by Allana's little side adventure. It fit into the bigger picture, but barely. It felt very Kevin-J.-Anderson-"let's-find-something-for-the-kids-to-do-in-this-story" to me. It was funny and I liked it, but seriously, when are people (and by "people" I mean Han and Leia) going to realize that leaving small children alone with Threepio is a bad idea?(less)

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May 16, 2010

OK Dad rated it

Don't remember reading the third book in this series -- in fact it's on my "To Read' list, but the events in this novel, so far, feel familiar as a continuing story..so perhaps I did read the third novel. Getting old is hard.
Enjoying it so far...like putting on an old friend.

Post read -
Exactly what you'd want and expect from a SW novel. Nothing too deep, character development follows lines from first 3 novels in the series. Open ending and a big battle to close o...more

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Oct 27, 2010

Marita rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

I was between books and just picked this up from the library shelf expecting a silly little story. I forgot how seriously the Star Wars fans take this stuff. I had fabulous time listening to this with all the familiar sound effects. Solos and Skywalkers have kids of their own now and the galaxy still plots and the fight between good and evil goes on... Fun entertainment if you are not expecting to learn big life lessons from it.

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Sep 18, 2011

Leo rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: star-wars, new-republic, science-fiction

I have been luke warm (pardon the pun) on the Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi books until now. The overarching machinations that conspire to turn common people against the Jedi have been feeling more and more contrived than like a natural reception of events. But in this book I got a little more of the optimistic Star Wars feel. Han, Luke and Leia felt a little more like the characters I envision them to be. The tie to Dathomir and the witches I think helped ground them in something...more

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Mar 28, 2010

Jeffrey rated it

Shelves: sci-fi

Finished this one (the Kindle version) in the course of one cross-country plane roundtrip, but it did a great job keeping me occupied for the 12+ hours. Lots of action, some interesting plot developments and less of the Coruscant storyline that had bothered me before. It doesn't have some of the revelatory nature of some of the other books in the series, but it's a solid entry in the series and a fun (if light) read.

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Apr 01, 2010

Russ rated it

This series has been sort of up and down so far, and I feel like this book was definitely an upper. A lot happened in Backlash and I think even more action was set up for future novels. All of the characters were written well, the action was good, the dialogue is great. Allston is clearly a talented writer. He has me looking forward to the rest of the series again!

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Sep 08, 2011

Derrick rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, star-wars

I really enjoyed this book. It was a short adventure,
(view spoiler)
but it was light and humorous. Several one liners just caused me to burst out laughing.

Allston can write good Star Wars stuff. Hoping the next book advances the plot a little more though.

· see review

Aug 06, 2010

Jenny rated it

Shelves: star-wars

This is the fourth book in the Fate of the Jedi series in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. In this story, Luke & Ben Skywalker find themselves on Dathomir and fighting against the Nightsisters. Also politics are also in play on Courscant between the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order. This author has a great sense of humor which comes across in the dialogue between characters.

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Apr 02, 2010

Chad Saunders rated it

It was an ok book, but overall I was disappointed. I felt too much was going on to fully develop any plot line. It was entertaining, just not my favorite in the series. You could see how things were being shifted to set up for the next book which will be the middle book in this series where huge things happen. Overall if you enjoy Star Wars you will at least find the book entertaining.

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Jun 17, 2010

Paula rated it

Shelves: sci-fi

As always, I enjoy the characterization and humor that Aaron Allston puts into his books. He really knows how to capture Star Wars humor.

The story, though, left me greatly wanting. I don't know if it's due to the place we are in the arc or if it just didn't connect with me. But I was kinda meh on the book.

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Feb 16, 2011

Steve Melton rated it

Shelves: fiction, nook-books, sci-fi, series, star-wars, favorites

One of the best Star Wars novels I've read in years. All the big characters seemed involved and things moved along at a pretty good pace. My only complaint was how they ended it. It's obvious with this series that each book is supposed to trap you into reading the next book. Just seems superfluous with this series. If you're reading this deep into the Star wars novels, you've probably already comitted to reading them all.

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May 19, 2010

Roberta rated it

Shelves: sciencefiction, starwars

Part of a greater story arc so make sure you read the other books first. In this novel, Luke and Ben go to Dathomir to follow a Sith apprentice. Hijinks ensue but no real progress towards Luke finding out why Jacen went dark in the book. Fun story but doesn't stand out.

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Mar 22, 2010

Graham Bailey rated it

Luke & Ben travel to Dathomir tracking Vestara Kai and end up clashing with Nightsisters, Allanah gets caught up in adventure trying to rescue Artoo from an evil mechanic and another Jedi goes crazy resulting in a Mandalorian attack on the Jedi Temple!
This series continues to go from strenght to strenght.

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Nov 25, 2010

Brian Geers rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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“Sometimes to heal, you must first get hurt.” — 4 people liked it

“To go elsewhere would mean starting all over. Learning as a child does. I have been a child already. I will not yield one bit, one speck of the power and influence I have now.” — 1 person liked it

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Backlash (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi #4)

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