** spoiler alert ** One of the things Star Wars often ignores is the political side of war, which is understandable - it's more exciting to watch or read about a lightsaber battle than it is to see ambassadors negotiating treaties. And while this book still had some of the former, it focused more on the latter, which is a welcome change.

Denning also tried to provide more explanation for Jacen's Sith turn, which I'm still not happy about, on a character, story, or thematic level. But I did appreciated that he knows it's a decision they're stuck with, so one might as well make it as believable as possible.