Betrayal is the first book in the Legacy of the Force series, set nearly 40 years after the events of Return of the Jedi. The Yuuzhan Vong threat has been defeated, and the Killik expansion seen in the Dark Nest Trilogy has been halted. Relative peace reigns over the galaxy far, far away. At least for a time.
Jacen Solo has taken Luke Skywalker's son, Ben, as his apprentice. Jacen's views on the Force are radical compared ot most Jedi, as he as essntially shunned the light and dark sides to believe in a unified Force that can be bent to the will of the user, but yet the Force also leads the user to his or her destiny. Luke is unsure about letting Jacen teach Ben, but he does so anyway, to show that he has faith in Jacen as a force for good.
Jacen and Ben and another Jedi travel around a bit, hunting down an unseen villain. They reach a subterranean base with the help of Brisha Syo, who is later revealed to be Lumiya, an old nemesis of Luke Skywalker. Lumiya is the Dark Lady of the Sith, and she tells Jacen that he has already received Sith training from Vergere. Jacen is at first hesitant, but then realizes that he can bring lasting peace to the galaxy by going down the path to becoming a Sith Lord.
Aaron Allston is one of my favorite Star Wars writers. He can weave together a serious story and maintain a level of humor that lets the reader know that these events involve normal people. His characters aren't always in the super serious mode we've seen from some Star Wars writers.
I liked the direction this book took the story in. Star Wars has always been kind of sappy, but Allston creates a new level of intrigue. Luke is on a constant watch for a unseen enemy, Jacen begins going down the dark path, and the galaxy is pulled right along with them.
Re-readability: 8.3
Final Grade: B+
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