From the Bookshelf of The Expanded Universe…

Star Wars: Crucible

Troy Denning

Start date: July 9, 2013

Finish date: July 31, 2013

Discussion: Holocronies Reading Room

Why we're reading this: By request: a second Holocronies book for July!
[close] By request: a second Holocronies book for July!

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What Members Thought

Jul 29, 2013 McKenna rated it liked it

Shelves: star-wars

I had high hopes for this book. It has Luke, Leia and Han, so it had to be good.

It starts out wonderfully. I was absolutely engaged through the beginning and the middle of the book, but then it started sliding downhill. I do love that Vestara makes an appearance, because she is a great character and one of my favorites. Ben Skywalker also makes an appearance alongside Tahiri Veila.

The last boss fight was hard for me to follow. I don't really like that Base Prime was on a Monolith that didn't s ...more

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Jul 21, 2013 Andrew rated it it was amazing

Shelves: star-wars-novels

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. A lot of the people who got advanced copies and wrote reviews said, in a nut shell, that it wasn’t that good. I have to respectively disagree with those people. I found the novel it be both exhilarating and action packed. Troy Denning said that is was to be the Big Three’s (Luke, Han, and Leia) “last hurrah” and was supposed to “pass the torch” onto the next generation of Jedi Knights. I believe that Troy Denning accomplished this in Crucible novel. Thoug I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. A lot of the people who got advanced copies and wrote reviews said, in a nut shell, that it wasn’t that good. I have to respectively disagree with those people. I found the novel it be both exhilarating and action packed. Troy Denning said that is was to be the Big Three’s (Luke, Han, and Leia) “last hurrah” and was supposed to “pass the torch” onto the next generation of Jedi Knights. I believe that Troy Denning accomplished this in Crucible novel. Though some reviews say it wasn’t so good, I disagree and others have said similar things.

In the novel, Luke, Leia, and Han go to Lando’s mining operation to help stop the brothers Craitheus and Marvid Qreph from trying to take over Lando’s operation—at all costs. But what they discover about the brothers leads them into something much larger than any of them could ever imagine.

This novel was able to combine Jedi, Sith, Mandalorians, and Criminal Masterminds like never before. Deception, battles, ancient history, and the mighty power of the Force are what made the novel so interesting. While the novel was centered around the Big Three—and Lando Calrissian, of course—Ben Skywalker, Jaina Solo, and Tahiri Veila did have small roles.

I loved the characters and organizations Troy chose for the novel. My personal favorite was the use of Mandalorians led by non-other than Mirta Gev, the granddaughter of Boba Fett. If Mandalorians are used in any Star Wars novel you know that there will be much action along with them. I also liked the nods that were made towards the Original Trilogy as well (or what seemed like nods to me). Such as meeting in a Cantina followed by a shot out like seen in “A New Hope” and stealing and then wearing armor from the enemy. There were more, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Another thing that I like about the novel was the semi-romantic ending for Han and Leia. It’s a little cheesy, but has an element of romanticism to it, as well as laughter.

The only thing I found to be a little confusing was chapter 25. I had to read it twice to get a grasp on what was really happening. My suggestion is to read the chapter slower. It’s NOT a chapter to be rushed. I’m not going to say what happened as I don’t want to spoil anything, but nevertheless it was interesting.

I do have to honestly say that those who read the Fate of the Jedi Series, particularly the Apocalypse, will might find it this novel more enjoyable as it part of the novel continues with topics and characters from the series. But this doesn’t have any major impact on the plot of this story as you could still easily pick the novel up and understand everything from beginning to end.

When all said and done, I really enjoyed this novel. Combining ideas from the Original Trilogy and that of the legacy era made for an exceptional novel to be enjoyed by a wide range of fans. This was defiantly a great way for the Big Three to have their “last hurrah” and leave a great future of stories for the next generation of Jedi Knights. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.
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Sep 11, 2015 Roberto Moscoso rated it really liked it

It was as always amazing, love the characters and the follow up on the story, this time around they are not as undefinable but they realise there are still foes that need to be dealt with. Unfortunately it ends as the beginning of a new era after Faith of the Jedi, but this time it will all end in our dreams for Disney decided to end the story and burry it, thank you Disney! I was looking forward to seeing what new path the where to take, what new adventures and discoveries where they to make an ...more

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Oct 31, 2014 Milan Pohl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Given the recent announcement regarding EU/Legends, this book will almost certainly be the last one in the original continuity. It almost seems like the book was written with this in mind (which is quite possible since it was published after Disney's takover of Lucasfilm - but before the EU announcement). Crucible serves as a much better ending to the LotF/FotJ storyline than FotJ: Apocalypse, also the writing and dialogue seemed to be better than in Troy Denning's previous book. A solid 7,5/10. ...more

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Jul 10, 2013 Brianna rated it it was amazing

Following a year after the Fate of the Jedi series in the EU chronology, Crucible was an excellent bridge book for future Star Wars endeavors. Having nearly all the focus on the Big Three was refreshing, although it did impose a shift towards finality in their story lines. It contained plenty of references to other EU novels and didn't let you forget the characters and plots still in play within the saga. Overall, an excellent summer read. ...more

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Sep 19, 2013 B.j. Schroder rated it really liked it

Outstanding!!! It is great to see our hero's deal with adversity! This book brings back many of the pain and sorrows that all 3 characters have gone through, if you have been keeping up with the series. The Yuzong Vong series is still one of my favorties, along with the Admiral Thrawn triology. This stuff never gets old with me. May the Force be with you! ...more

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Sep 15, 2013 Danielle rated it really liked it

Shelves: star-wars

This is the first Star Wars book I allowed myself to truly enjoy for a while. The big epic multi book series were often so stressful to read. It was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy a book that wasn't part of a series. Having the big 3 or 4 characters was nice, and it was nice to actually acknowledge how old they really are. I was surprised by the ending, just because I didn't think the books would ever allow this to happen. ...more

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