REVIEW: Fate of the Jedi: Conviction by Aaron Allston
My overall reaction to Conviction is similar to what I felt about Vortex, and it echoes what others have said about this book, as well. On the one hand, standing purely on its own terms, Conviction has solid writing, good characterization, and some classic Allston hilarity. On the other hand, Conviction is seriously dragged down by the weakness and defects in the story design of the Fate of the Jedi series as a whole. Because Conviction is part of a series that refused to allow each book to stand as an individual story, it’s simply not possible to separate out the review of Conviction as a book from its part in the series.
As I discuss in more detail in my full review, Allston does his best with the piece of the story that it’s his turn to tell, but the elements he’s given are so weak there’s honestly very little he can do to turn the story into a success. Still, Conviction reaffirms Aaron Allston’s place as a good Star Wars writer. His previous FotJ novel, Backlash, had been written while he was recovering from a near-fatal heart attack, and he understandably was not at the top of his writing game for that book. In Conviction, Allston’s craft is back on par with his previous series work, such as Outcast, Fury, and Exile. His prose is crisp and clear, and fun to read. There’s plenty of good Allston humor, from the sly wink or terrible pun to the laugh-out-loud comedic. At times the point-of-view will have a blip or a head-jump, but Allston has never worried about robotic precision in that area. The quality control is also high, with a text that is mostly error-free.
The other thing that has become clear to me as a reader is that Allston wanted to tell a different story than his two fellow authors. From the start in Outcast, this series opened promising a completely different tone – and a much lighter one, at that – with strong indications that the EU books might actually allow different characters to finally take center stage. Of course that hasn’t happened, and what plays out throughout the series is Allston’s vision for plot, characterization, and flow standing at odds with the rest of the team’s.
Bottom Line
If you like Fate of the Jedi so far, you’ll like this book. If you stand somewhere outside that zone, but you like Allston, then you have a choice to make – do you want a laugh-out-loud funny book that doesn’t really go anywhere? If that suits your bill, buy this book – or if you just want to show your mad love for Allston, buy this book. For people who have stayed away from Fate of the Jedi and were hoping the new exciting “mini-trilogy” would turn things around, it’s still too early to say.
Conviction is a difficult book to assess because of these two starkly contrasting elements. It’s like getting a brownie sundae with tons of hot fudge swirled on top to mask the stale brownie and melty ice cream underneath. As a fun Allston book, it’s an 8.5; for the Fate of the Jedi flaws, it’s a 4. I like Allston, so I’ll give the individual book score double weight.
7/10
Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.
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if you just want to show your mad love for Allston, buy this book.
Sadly that won’t be enough for me. I’ll try to grab it at the library, maybe, someday but that is all.
As someone who (much to my shock at the time) enjoyed Planet of Twilight, I believe the planners of FOTJ made a serious error – Vortex, rather than Conviction, should have featured Nam Chorios. That planet is much better equipped for a horror story, what with the drochs and Force storms, than Allston’s style of adventure romp. In addition, I’m sure Denning, with his love of devastating Force powers, would have enjoyed Abeloth unleashing the Force storm to end all Force storms…
“Because Conviction is part of a series that refused to allow each book to stand as an individual story, it’s simply not possible to separate out the review of Conviction as a book from its part in the series. […] At this point, it has become clear that the authors and editors had about a trilogy’s worth of material, yet they’ve been attempting to stretch it out over nine books. The result, for the reader, is a story moving at a glacial pace. ”
Interestingly enough… It seems like the authors have been writing FOTJ as three separate trilogies nominally connected by the same plot. Allston thinks they’re writing a light-hearted adventure romp, Golden thinks they’re writing a YA romance, and Denning thinks they’re writing a (relatively) gory horror story. Were the trilogies coming out separately, perhaps they wouldn’t seem so badly-paced.
…Or not.
“going-nowhere, gain-another-Force-power-as-we-pursue-Abeloth storyline.”
Culminating, I bet, in the Deus Ex Machina power in Apocalypse, vanquishing Abeloth with a handwave and little to no explanation of what she actually was… (Well, not really. I hope we haven’t hit that point yet…)
“For once the little Solo heiress didn’t come off as bratty and worthy of a permanent time-out.”
Huh, really? Maybe I should actually finish Conviction…
“Vestara – I can’t say much about the Sith-turning-whatever-she’ll-be character. She’s been portrayed three different ways by three different authors. At least in this book I felt less inclined to dislike her. I’m not sure that’s saying much, but Allston does manage to keep her from wandering into that gag-me-with-a-lightsaber self-involved Bella Swan treatment she’s received in some of the books.”
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can tolerate Vestara, and I still find this hilarious. XD
I sincerely hope Ascension and Conviction DO go somewhere. I know it’s pure fantasy, but I would hope that Ascension explores Sith society a bit (before it gets wiped out by Abeloth, if it comes to that) and solidifies the Ben/Vestara romance (rather than giving us the Will They-Won’t They natter), and that Apocalypse ties up all the subplots with a bang. *sigh* I can dream…
I agree! While not terrible, it lacks any serious forward movement in the story. I am reading these because I like the “Lost Tribe” idea, I want to know what the hell Abeloth is, I hope to see them drop Daala into a deep deep hole and cover her with rocks, and I hope the conclusion to this arc is worth it. I have about 60 star wars books on my shelf (mostly used paperbacks) but I am borrowing these from the library.
I am hoping that TPTB have thought this story out and it winds up with a good satisfying ending.