Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines

A new era of exciting adventures and shocking revelations continues to unfold, as the legendary Star Wars saga sweeps forward into astonishing new territory.

So, I just got done reading another of the Legacy of the Force books, this one being titled Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines. Like the other books in the series, this one delves a bit deeper into the fall of Jacen Solo to Darth Caedus. And the more I read the Legacy of the Force series of books, the more I realize how similar certain aspects of the now non-canon Extended Universe, or Star Wars Legends, and characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens are.

What I mean by that is how similar Jacen Solo and Kylo Ren are. Both are the child of Leia and Han Solo. Both are Jedi who are seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. There's a bit more that I won't go into for spoiler reasons (not that it matters much when the book has been out for ten years), but it's nice to see that while the EU is no longer canon, it wasn't forgotten.

Bloodlines is written by none other than Karen Traviss. In case some of you were wondering, yes, she wrote another of the LotF books that I've reviewed so far. In fact, the series as a whole was co-authored by 3 authors, with responsibilities rotating among the three. Ms. Traviss has also written a few other books that I've read in the Halo universe, so I guess you could say that I'm a fan of her work. As before, the author does the characters she is writing justice, especially in her portrayals of the Mandalorian bounty hunter, Boba Fett.

While Fett isn't the sole focus of Bloodlines, his portion of the story does feature prominently, which I am fine with. It's always nice to see more of a character who didn't get a lot of screen time. In Bloodlines, Fett is on a mission that sees him crossing paths with the Skywalkers and Solos, bringing drama and excitement into the story.

While it may be more beneficial if I treated all 9 of the Legacy of the Force books as a single story since they all cover one long arc, they all have their own tales to tell, much as the movies do. Bloodlines is no different, and the story that it tells is a good one. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next. Some things I expected since I started towards the end of the series, but even with that fact, there were still a few unexpected surprises waiting in store for me.

I really enjoyed seeing the characters of Jacen and Jaina Solo interact and become more fleshed out as the series' first third came to it's middle. Seeing as how they are twins, and Jacen being the primary focus of the series, it's not unexpected for the two of them to get a fair amount of page time. And to see them grow into relatable characters as well. I am truly looking forward to the next book in the series to see what is yet to come.

Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines gets 8½ stars 

Overall, the book does a great job of furthering the story. There's action. There's adventure. There's even a bit of crime going on. And it is all great. I would recommend this book to fans of Star Wars, as well as those who are just getting into it; though I would suggest you start with the previous book first if you are just getting into Star Wars.

Lookout for more Legacy of the Force reviews in the future.

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