Apocalypse (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi #9) Review

Cynthia Ayala ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff

By: Troy Denning

Published: March 13, 2012

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group | Lucas Books

Series: Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi

Genre: Science Fiction

There can be no surrender.  There will be no mercy. It’s not just the future of the galaxy at stake—It’s the destiny of the Force. In the stunning finale of the epic Fate of the Jedi series, Jedi and Sith face off—with Coruscant as their battlefield. For the Sith, it’s the chance to restore their dominance over the galaxy that forgot them for so long. For Abeloth, it’s a giant step in her quest to conquer all life everywhere. For Luke Skywalker, it’s a call to arms to eradicate the Sith and their monstrous new master once and for all. In a planet wide strike, teams of Jedi Knights take the Sith infiltrators by swift and lethal surprise. But victory against the cunning and savage Abeloth, and the terrifying endgame she has planned, is anything but certain. And as Luke, Ben, Han, Leia, Jaina, Jag, and their allies close in, the devastating truth about the dark side incarnate will be exposed—and send shock waves through the Jedi Order, the galaxy, and the Force itself.

Being the final book in the Fate of the Jedi series, it was far from a disappointment.  Troy Denning, who has written two books in the series before this one (Abyss, #3 & Vortex, #6) was able to bring the series to a solid finale.

Denning truly has a way with worlds and a great talent for description and action.  With this novel, time vanishes out window drawing the reader in and succumbing him to the overall action in the novel.  It was like a fast-paced movie, with each page being a “bam!” followed by another “bam!” that keeps the reader sucked in.  All the fight sequences and acrobatics were amazing, turning all of it into a pure work of art with his detail and craft.  Each sequence flowed and was effortless in the way it moved from page to page.  Even the exhaustion of the characters emanated off the pages.  There was hardly a chance to breath for the characters and the readers.  It was just an amazingly fast-paced novel.

And that was where the ingenuity lay.  The moment the text slowed down you knew something important was going to happen, and it did.  Being able to focus and zero in on what was happening at those crucial moments was extremely important.  Especially when we finally learn the origin of Abeloth.  At first it all seems very confusing, but Denning wrote and organized the story to repeat the story, making it sink in for the reader.  Coupled with that, Denning opened a few doors for future novels, raising some interest as well as a few questions while he answered most.  Anakin Skywalker is to truly blame, having encountered the First Ones, the Celestials that once guarded the Force and the Galaxy.  His refusal to take the throne of balance threw the universe and the force out of wack.  Not only that, but Abeloth’s story as well would make another stand alone story to build the Star Wars Universe.

This novel was just so rich in texture and characterization, it was simply amazing and left the door wide open for future sagas.  ★★★★ (A)