So I find myself having finished Invincible and feeling like crap. Not because I'm feeling sick or anything, but because this book made me feel like crap. I feel like this book not only robbed me of all of my hopes and expectations for this series, and perhaps more importantly, its climax, but that it also took a sharp left hand turn regarding some of the thematic bedrocks that permeate the Star Wars universe.
It also not only killed off the most complex and interesting (and indeed controversial) Expanded Universe character in Jacen Solo, but it also robbed the character of any sense of dignity, respect and love.
And what's more this book that made me feel so sad and robbed and desolate for all the wrong reasons came from who was, until I finished this novel, my favourite Expanded Universe author. You all know about the Heterosexual Man-Crush, you've seen it before and you know what it means.
But it is no more.
Like Jacen Solo, I have been robbed of my dignity and respect of Denning.
By no means do I want people to feel like I am going to be going on a tirade of endless bashing and anger and complaining, because although I felt angry at first I find that that didn't really fester or continue inside. What I really feel is disconcerted, sad and wistful.
When I get into my discussion proper, you'll see that I did indeed love some things about Invincible, but sadly these things were not enough to save it. So here we go. I hope you'll find some points that you agree with, some to make you think and some to make you laugh. I do think that some people would enjoy Invincible in its entirety, but those people are the kind that hate Jacen Solo and want him to die a horrible punishing death.
If you are anyone else, then I believe that no matter how much you loved some aspects of Invincible, then you'll still walk away feeling like you missed the point of this series, or wondered what the hell was happening in the creative decision-making behind the series' climax, or wondering just what the hell happened period.
Ambiguity, thy name is Invincible
So Invincible carried with it a lot of ambiguity. And I mean, a LOT. Now, I am not averse to the concept of ambiguity. Hello, my second-favourite series of all-time is Lost and one of the reasons I adore it so much is that we DON'T automatically get all the answers we seek.
Yet, Invincible is not Lost. It is not the X-Files. It's actually a Star Wars title, and furthermore the CONCLUSION to a NINE-BOOK series in which we farewell one of the longest-standing Expanded Universe veterans who has been there since the first widely-received novel and is also the son of two of the movie characters and indeed two of the BIG THREE. He's been a character who has been the fulcrum of many a plot, and indeed sometimes a character who all others rebound off of and react to.
And he's dead.
But not only is he dead and killed off in a way that robs him of any dignity, but we're left with so many questions.
Was he redeemed? Apart from Jaina, does his family care? What did they do with his body? Did they hold a funeral? Apart from Jaina, why does no one cry? Why does no one else seem to show any emotion at all (I'm sorry, but Han's trembling lip and Leia's red-rimmed eyes don't cut it for me).
So readers are left with having to make up their own minds on whether or not Jacen found salvation. I'm always one for letting readers draw some of their own conclusions, but never when the question at hand is one of the most pivotal of the entire series. That's just sloppy.
Ambiguity rears its ugly head again multiple times throughout the novel.
Let's look at Allana. Okay, so we get confirmation from Jaina's own POV that tells us she knows her relationship to Allana. But does Ben know? Does Luke? It seems kind of odd to leave the reader floundering at such a question, especially given that Allana (sorry, Ameila) is now going to be raised by Han and Leia. Jaina also notes that even with the hair change and whatever else, that Allana still LOOKS like Jacen and feels like Jacen and Tenel Ka in the Force.
So… what do Han and Leia do when other people start to click?
A lot of Jedi know Jacen and Tenel Ka well. What are they going to say when Tahiri walks by one day and figures it out? Lowbacca? Any random Jedi Master..??
I don't know if I'm overthinking things here but the unfinished tangled mess of Invincible left me thinking it anyway.
I also take issue with the very fact that Han and Leia are raising her. I feel like it's a case of "be careful what you wish for" as from Day One I wanted Han and Leia to find out about her. So, I got exactly that, with added "We'll even get to raise her!!" So, I guess no one outside the family will ever know that Jacen had a daughter and left some goodness behind unless they stumble onto the secret themselves.
And what about poor Tenel Ka? It isn't like she's a bad mother or anything, but what the hey, Han and Leia lost a son, let's replace her with a granddaughter. It's only fair to Han and Leia, after all. Sucks to be Jacen or Tenel Ka. Allana herself didn't seem to be upset about the prospect either.
And what about the whole ending to the war? AMBIGUOUS. So… let me try and understand. Caedus dies, and everyone… stops fighting. O….kay. Given that entire planetary systems had beefs with the Galactic Allaince administration an entire decade or more before Jacen even met Lumiya, I find this difficult to swallow, especially given the hand-wavey way it was presented here. They… got tired of fighting..??
What happened to fighting for what they believed to be their rights? Their liberation? Their freedom?
So you're telling me that Caedus died and everyone from the fiercely independent and "Rules? What rules?" Corellians, the "we've survived every war thus far without being assimilated into anyone's" government" Hutts, the "we're misunderstood as a galactic society" Bothans, "everyone treats is like crap and still expects us to toe the line" Commenorians, to the "We're loud, we're proud and we're awesome" Coruscanti and every other galactic faction just dropped their weaponry and turned into a group of peace-loving doe-eyed civilians.
Sorry, it doesn't work that way.
Niathal's fate is ambiguous. Dead? Forcibly retired? Ran home to Mon Calamari? Who knows? It's ambiguous.
The Galactic Alliance Guard: Punished for war crimes? Disbanded? On trial? Imprisoned? Who knows? Who cares?
Boba Fett: Trying to find a way to neutralise the nano-virus? Cut his losses and ran? Reunited with Mirta? Ambiguous!
The Antilles family: Living on Corellia? Opposing Queen Daala? Throwing a middle finger to he ambiguously fated Niathal? Who knows?
The Confederation: Now the leading power factions in the restored Galactic Alliance? Told to "sit still and be quiet" by Coruscant? Joining the Imperial Remnant? Leaving the Alliance but promising not to cause any more trouble?
Zekk… Dead? Missing in action? Found in the wreckage of his craft by those pesky One Sith? I tell you, if he returns as a villain, OR insane OR an insane villain, that's it. I'm making personal attacks on these authors, even if it means sacrificing all my maturity and respect in the process.
Who knows? I'm tired of asking questions.
Now, I did certainly not expect this to be a Unifying Force. But I also expected and even deserved more closure than I got, on a variety of issues. Despite whatever number of stories that come after this, Legacy of the Force is at the end of the day, a nine-book arc and although stories will continue with the characters here and the galactic factions, this was a "mini-story" set in the overall wider Expanded Universe. And after following this for three years and investing a lot of my time and energies, don't I, as a reader, deserve more?
It's okay if you're bad, we'll forgive you… Except if you are JACEN SOLO!!!
With the exceptions of Shira Brie and Thrackan Sal-Solo, I have noticed all the "bad guys" whether they were actually bad, or just putting on a show, or actually insane, all got off relatively easy in the grand scheme of things… except for Jacen, who it seems apparent was the actual one who deserved redemption and forgiveness.
Let's look shall we:
The Moff Council: I don't know why, but LOTF has the Moffs continuously travelling in this gigantic herd, which seems ridiculous, but anyways…
These Moffs are depicted as nothing but power-hungry, self-serving idiots who gallivant around trying to direct fleet battles and develop viruses rather than govern their home sectors.
These same Moffs (who have multiple Mofferences, giggle giggle) seek to destabilise the Imperial Remnant by assassinating Pellaeon who has proven a stable guiding hand, and carving the Remnant into separate fiefdoms like in Bantam's day, while also snagging pieces of the Galactic Alliance.
They've developed a nano-virus that once unleashed on Mandalore will target who knows how many clones and clone descendants and relatives that are innocent. That are children.
Same goes for the Hapan strain. How many people died from that?
And yet Luke of all people lets them keep their jobs, and their lives, doesn't put them on trial and basically lets them go back to Remnant space with only the proviso of Jag being with them. Wow. Those villains certainly got their just desserts.
Admiral Daala: Terrorist. Murderer of civilians and non-combatants. She who planned to ram Coruscant with a Star Destroyer. She who slagged an entire Mon Calamarian city. She who tortured Han Solo. She who planned to steal the Sun Crusher from Kyp Durron and detonate the sun of every single solar system that belonged to the New Republic….
Becomes Chief of State of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.
The words "We're screwed" do not hope to cover it.
I wonder who her Minister of State is? Fyor Rodan? Or wil Nil Spaar's ecape pod pop out of hyperspace in time for him to take the position.
I look at my copy of Champions of the Force in which a valiant TWO-YEAR OLD Jacen Solo takes up a lightsaber and defends his comatose uncle against all manner of Sith beasts while Admiral Daala actually rubs her hands together in glee at the thought of ramming her Star Destroyer into the surface of the most heavily populated planet in the galaxy… An Admiral Daala who also tortured Han Solo, led a destructive raid with an SSD and a fleet of 17 Star Destroyers against the Jedi Academy and who Kyp Durron blew up entire STARS to kill.
And then I look at Invincible and cry.
What chu talkin' 'bout Skywalker?
Invincible also had me suspending even my suspension of disbelief at some of the things this novel presented me with.
Han Solo telling his daughter to "Give Daala a chance" and that she "isn't all that bad." Um… and you have WHAT evidence to back this up with, Han? Last time I checked, you think your son is an ass for burning Kashyyyk, torturing people, killing innocents and oh yeah, causing irrevocable pain to your family.
Last time *I* checked, Natasi Daala burned Mon Calamari's cities, tortured people (including you and your best friend, HAN!!), killed swaths of innocents (unless hapless Sullustan traders, novice Jedi Knights, Eol Sha colonists, random Dantari and citizens of Mon Calamari don't count) and oh yeah, caused some major damage to you, your family, your friends and the New Republic.
Even if Daala HAS changed after she ran like a crazy bitch into Bel Iblis' task force who were trying to capture her for crimes against sentient beings after all this time, then I sure did not pick up on any changes in character in Revelation. She was still trying to gas the Moff Council, taking antiquated pieces of crap into battle and she's STILL trying to kill Jedi and persuade the galaxy that they are no good.
Han, your wife, daughter, granddaughter, nephew, brother-in-law and many other people you love are JEDI. This is not good news.
Darth-in-chief? …
Han… I'm sorry, I never thought I'd say this to you… but SHUT UP.
Daala is the "only choice everyone could agree on." Okay, but I'd only accept this if everyone in the GFFA got a simultaneous lobotomy. And I guess "everyone" DOES NOT include the populations of Mon Calamari or Dantooine, or even Coruscant, because hey, she tried to RAM THEIR PLANET WITH A BIG BLOODY SHIP.
Let me suggest to you all some names. Leia Organa Solo. Kenth Hamner. Wedge Antilles. Garm Bel Iblis. Ponc Gavrisom. Releqy A'Kla. Tal'aan Ranth. Denjax Teppler. All of these names and more are capable of leading the GFFA and I do feel that all these names would be ones that "everyone could agree upon." Because you get your various undergarments in a twist, I realise that some of the people listed above would decline an invitation to rule the GFFA, Leia for example, and probably Wedge and Kenth too. But that doesn't stop the others, and it doesn't stop names that I've neglected to mention here.
On another note, exactly why Leia feels the need to flirt up a storm in front of her own daughter is beyond me. Apart from Jaina getting totally creeped out, does ANYONE in their right mind love to see their parents talking kinky sex talk in front of them? That'd be a "No."
I also fail to see why, when discussing locking Han up in chains in their bedroom in front of Luke and the Jedi Council, Leia and Han are not given looks of, "Backing away slowly" or "Er… can we get back to the topic at hand!"
It just seems to me like so many people here were acting out of character.
I feel like everyone in the Jedi Order with the exception of Ben and Lowie/Tesar need to be shot. WHY is redemption not on their minds? WHY must Jaina be their puppet assassin?
Is Jacen not worth more than this?
I'm not denying that some of what he has done is horrid, but if people can forgive Vader, who did much worse, and Daala, who is running their administration even though she is certifiably insane, and Moffs who knowingly develop viruses that will kill children, then why can't they at least LOOK INTO redeeming Jacen. And by redeem I don't mean a few half-hearted attempts at talking sense into him.
Look at Raynar Thul. Luke fricken rendered him unconscious and brought him back to a severe rehabilitation program at the Temple.
Looks at people like Brakiss, whom Luke never gave up on, even after he rigged trillions of droids to explode in close proximity to crowds of people and later, abducting his niece and nephew and torturing them.
Love is the answer to the darkness, ROTS told us, and it is a theme that permeates all that Star Wars is.
I look at LOTF and ask, "Where is the love?"
Ben is the only one who even CONSIDERS redemption, and even then he is quickly shut down by Tenel Ka, who may not be the best person to discuss it with in this circumstance, because she's mightily pissed (and understandably so) at Jacen.
I also feel like we were missing certain other people who may have actually argued against the "Let's kill Jacen" mob squad. Where was Lowbacca, apart from awesomely training with the others? Where was Tesar? These two seem to always be about redemption and aren't afraid to tell the Council so.
Speaking of the Council, where were Kam and Tionne? I feel like they'd argue for redemption, but were never around. I just find it somewhat hypocritical that half of the Council have been Dark Siders at one point or another (Luke, Kam, Kyle, Kyp, Mara) and yet they all sit there and argue against it.
And where did Allana's "Jedi Jacen scares me" come from. At the end of Fury she wanted to say goodbye and leave him a friggen letter. Now, if she's THAT scared, I doubt she'd want a face-to-face or to bother writing him.
I'm sorry, did my lightsaber blade get in the way of your ambiguous imminent redemption?
So… Jaina Solo is a dejarik pawn. Luke Skywalker is this ultimate strategic game-player, deciding the fates of his son and niece like they are nothing more than game board pieces and Jacen Solo is despised by all and even in death, no one seems to think of him fondly and he is promptly forgotten so that everyone can pretend like Allana is Han and Leia's adopted daughter.
Not how I thought they'd end the series.
And not what I expected, hoped or would have wanted to happen.
I know some will argue, "How else did you expect this to end for Jacen?"
Um… redemption. Barring that… imprisonment… rehabilitation. Escape. Force-stripped. Injured to the point that he simply couldn't fight anymore and THEN taken in.
Instead, his character and all the work put into it is jettisoned in an effort to make Jaina Solo Sword of the Jedi, and to make way for Ben as Teh Ultimate Hero. Don't get me wrong. Love Jaina Solo. Love her. Ben: Intriguing character with as much potential as Anakin Solo had circa Conquest.
But… they aren't Jacen. And their character advancement is not worth degrading him and then killing him in such a gruesome and disrespectful way.
Look at how Chewbacca died. Look at Anakin's passing. Hell, even look at Mara's. Then look at Jacen's. What a waste.
And I'm not just talking about the physical way in which he died, with Jaina slowly hacking away limb by limb and the whole "used syringes in face" crap.
Luke Skywalker mentally drove Jacen insane, starting in Inferno and finishing with his vision-roulette in Invincible. Allana hates him. And what's worse to a father than their child hating them? NOTHING. Han and Leia don't seem interested in anything to do with him except killing him and Jaina does JUST THAT, not even listening when he turns off his lightsaber, stops fighting and just stands there, with one arm cut off and the foot on the opposite side of his body severed.
What's more, Jacen is not only mangled and insane, but upon his death, with lacerations and cuts and hell, some syringes in his face too, he looks pretty much like a but of a hellraiser. Inspiring (I say sarcastically).
And although I risk delving off the topic of Invincible, I am extremely alarmed that not only will Millennium Falcon pick up two years later, but it apparently won't have much to do with Jacen in terms of family mourning or remembering him.
What a slander to his character. We won't get a funeral, we won't get people standing up and talking about all the good things Jacen was and meant to them, we won't get anything like that.
What SHOULD be a source of drama and angst of the highest order and indeed, some happy remembrances as a tribute, will instead be a distant memory as opposed to a living trial of strength and unity and emotion.
That's heart-breaking.
Does Jacen mean that little to Del Rey? To the readers? Am I the only one who cares?
Have we followed him for so long and see him achieve so much only to have this happen?
I guess Del Rey was right. This series IS a tragedy. But not for the reasons they think.
When the only good thing that happened this series was that Lando and Tendra are having a baby, that Ben becomes a Jedi Knight and that Han and Leia found out they're grandparents (but even then that gets skewed) then I look at this series as a whole and wonder whether it was worth it.
And it wasn't. Even with the return of Luscious Lumiya and the devilishly villainous Thrackan and even with Tahiri and even with LOWBACCA AND TESAR FINALLY APPEARING, it… wasn't worth it.
And that makes me sad.
It's like the series took a hard left with Revelation and ended in this unimpressive, tangled, unresolved surreal kind of finished, but not quite wrapped up package.
Will I read Millennium Falcon? I don't know. Possibly, but I think I'll read some spoilers/reviews first to see if it is worth it. Perhaps my fellow NJOE members can tell me if it is worth it for me.
At least I still have Stover, and Coruscant Nights to look forward to. Because I certainly hold trepidations regarding the forward direction of this franchise. I don't know if I can muster interest in a universe where Jacen is dead and summarily forgotten, and where Luke, Han and Leia have forgotten what redemption is, and where Luke plays with people's lives like they're nothing and where Natasi freakin' Daala is running the show and where My Heterosexual Man Crush is shot down in flames.
Other Random Crap Hasty Legacy Tie-Ins.
Okay, let me get this straight. Bear with me. Han Solo inadvertently sets up the Imperial Mission (or the beginnings of it) because of Allana's apparent death. <>Dr Evil Voice<>Riiiiiiiiiight.<>Dr Evil voice<>
Luke Skywalker installs Jagged Fel as the leader of the Moff Council and by default the leader of the Imperial Remnant, and the Moffs all agree to this because they value their lives and because Soontir Fel is awesome, thereby giving the reader the strong impression that Jagged Fel is indeed Emperor Fel I?
O…kay.
These hasty tacked-on additions really would've benefited from a LONGER PAGE COUNT. They did seem like unnecessary hand-me-downs from
Legacy and rather out of place here.
And what the hell happened to Aaron Allston? Invincible not only continued some of Denning's plotlines and character arcs, but included a lot of
Traviss' as well. But... where is Allston? Where is Wedge, Syal and Myri Antilles? What happened to Syal, who was made into the Alliance military's
liason to the Jedi Order? What happened to Denjax Teppler, who at long last seemed like to be the selfless, approachable leader that Corellia needs? Where was
Tycho? Valin Horn? Seha Dorvald? It seemed like so much attention was brought to including Traviss and her contributions to the series, but nothing whatsoever
on Allston. He was a brilliant addition to this series but his creations were totally absent.
That's what I like about you:
Finally, I'll give you some Invincible love.
LOWBACCA AND TESAR. And they didn't even do much. When this is the highlight of a series finale AND a Denning book to boot, one knows there is something wrong here.
But at last… Lowbacca and Tesar. I guess I'll have to hang on to that. How glorious WERE THEY!! Even if Jaina did kick their ass, that was just so bloody glorious. I shall carry it with me always.
The Flashbacks! Oh, how I wept at the unrestrained beauty of these passages. They were written so magically and so magnificently that I only find myself wishing there were more. The prose flowed and conjured up fantastic emotions and ZOMG they rendered so simply and so heart-achingly gloriously this fantastic bond between Jacen and Jaina. These would, I have to say, be the highlight for me.
I do take issue with the final flashback how Jacen comes in after Anni Capstan dies. My copy of Ruin tells me that Anakin actually came in afterwards and comforted Jaina. Sure, Jacen could also do the same, but it just seems odd that they seemed to have jettisoned the Anakin angle. Why couldn't this flashback have been about Chewbacca's death instead of Anni's?
But I suppose I shouldn't drag this down after I've spent X pages bemoaning how Invincible let me down.
Those flashbacks were fan-diddly-tastic. Fanboy SQUEE!
I will admit though, that while the jokes were awesome at first, they quickly wore thin. Instead on jokes EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER, they should have interspersed some with quotes from randon characters about Jacen. That way, we might have gotten more of a sense about how people were feeling about him, and indeed, have quotes from people who weren't physically present in the novel, but who lives touched Jacen and people who Jacen loved (or at least, random people Jacen knew): Luke, Leia, Han, Jaina, Allan, Ben, Tenel Ka, Threepio, Artoo, Winter Celchu, Anja Gallandro, Wedge Antilles, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Lowbacca, Danni Quee, Akanah Pell, Vergere, Lumiya, Raynar, Tahiri,… Anakin Solo.
I do appreciate what they did with the jokes, I really do, but if they wanted a technique that reminded us of who Jacen was, then why not have people talking about him. I know that those jokes, "so bad they're good" may indeed really piss people off because they're so inane.
What would be better, any random joke we got, or quotes like these:
*Tenel Ka Djo: "I will always be fond of you, Jacen Solo."
*Luke Skywalker: "Jacen has always questioned his purpose as a Jedi, and even the meaning of the Force. I can't imagine him not questioning any fate that lay in store for him. And a special destiny is not always something joyous, or easy to bear. My father had a special destiny, and see where it took him."
*Jaina Solo: "As far back as I can recall, no matter what was going on, I could turn around and Jacen would be there. We could be on some distant hideout world or lost in the underbelly of Coruscant or wandering around on parts of Yavin Four no thinking creature has ever seen, and there Jacen was. I never had to be bored, I never had to be afraid and I never had to be alone. When we lost him, I was cut in half. Half of me is gone."
What speaks louder as a testament to Jacen's character? A bunch of jokes all uttered during a two year span of his life, or meaningful things people have said and felt about him his entire life?
On that note, I feel especially gypped that there was no Anakin Solo Ghost! Perhaps I put too much stock in this transpiring, but I still felt massively ripped off when he remained absent. My only hope is that in some afterlife, Jacen Solo's battered spirit has found that of his brother and they're sitting there watching over all their loved ones.
Anyways, what else did I love about Invincible…
Threepio. And Artoo. With dialogue! And interaction with the rest of the cast! Doing STUFF! Although some may argue too little too late, I've done enough negativity. I loved this! YAY! Exciting times. And it just highlighted how these two characters have been missed.
What else… Zel sisters, funny… Ben… intriguing plot and character growth…
Tahiri Veila: REDEEMED. I may not have gotten my redemption story with my beloved Jacen, but at least they didn't go the whole hog with killing Tahiri too. I do wonder whether her redemption will actually amount to anything or if she will just pull a Raynar and disappear forevermore. But goshdarnit, she was REDEEMED and Ben believes in REDEMPTION!!!
Heartwarming. And poor Tahiri deserves it.
I also found it quite bittersweet (in a good way) when Jacen leans in and almost kisses her forehead, but doesn't. Talks a lot about their relationship, and it also wordlessly brings back Anakin's final request of Jacen.
On that note, apart from the flashbacks, I'd have to say my favourite piece of Invincible was the low-key but bubbling-with-potential revelation that while on his journeys, Jacen was looking for a way to save Anakin! That revelation that he tried to use Flow-Walking to save Anakin was poignant, heart-wrenching, welcome and very much needed. It adds a whole new dimension to the reasoning behind Jacen's travels, and indeed behind a lot of Jacen's dialogue and actions and choices since he returned. Re-read his conversation with Tenel Ka in Joiner King bearing in mind the above revelation. You won't read it the same again. This has very much elevated my hopes for a Jacen Solo Force Trip novel or two, but then this is mitigated by Jaina stabbing his heart. I highly doubt we'll get this now, and Del Rey has raised then dashed my hopes too much in the last couple of months. Guess I can always fanfic it. Just that small revelation opened so many possibilities in my mind, and so much empathy for Jacen, and weirdly enough, a lot of stark images: Jacen standing crestfallen in front of a group of venerable, but indifferent Aing-Tii, Jacen Flow-Walking and like, shouting out warnings to Anakin, or pushing him away or something, only to have some monks physically pull him back out of the Flow and scald him.
I heart Denning for that and this small, yet welcome piece of revelation, but it doesn't undo everything else he did. I also heart the Nightsister blood-trail. It's probably the last piece of info we will hear about what Jacen learned.
So yeah… not much love from me regarding Invincible. Nothing I hoped for, precious little I expected, and a degradation of the most riveting and complex character in the Expanded Universe. All for nothing. Sorry Del Rey, you've lost me.
Perhaps more importantly, you've lost a character whose depths still had much to be mined. We've lost someone unique. Someone dynamic and intriguing and full of potential. And he went out with not so much of a whimper. And that's more of a pity.
