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| Patterns of Force |
| BOOK STORY |
| Michael Reeves |
| Del Rey [US]; Arrow
Books [UK] |
Story published as:
Paperback Novel (2009)
e-Book (2011) |
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Rating:
If you have read this book, please
rate it:
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Reviews:
1 review [Average review
score: 3.5 / 5] |
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Synopsis:
After the Empire's bloody purge of
the Jedi, one lone Knight still fights for those who
cannot, unaware that he's about to be swept into a
cataclysmic battle against the Master of Darkness
himself.
Throughout the galaxy, a captured Jedi is a dead Jedi,
even in Coruscant's most foul subterranean slums, where
Jedi Knight Jax Pavan champions the causes of the
oppressed with the help of hard-nosed reporter Den Dhur
and the wisecracking droid I-5YQ. But Jax is also
involved in another struggle: to unlock the secrets of
his father's death and his own past.
While Jax believes that I-5YQ holds some of those
answers, he never imagines that the truth could be
shocking enough to catapult him to the frontlines of a
plot to kill Emperor Palpatine. Worse yet, Darth Vader's
relentless search for Jax is about to end in triumph.
The future looming over the valiant Jedi and his staunch
pals promises to be dark and brief, because there's no
secret whatsoever about the harshest truth of all: Few
indeed are those who tangle with Darth Vader and live to
tell the tale.
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Chronology:
This story occurs approximately 12 months after Revenge
of the Sith (18 years before the Battle of Yavin).
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Related Stories (in
chronological order):
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"Patterns
of Force sees Jax Pavan continue his day to day challenge of
avoiding detection on post-66 Coruscant.
"I was not particularly enamoured with the last book of the
series, so wasn't sure what I would find in this instalment of the
Coruscant Nights saga. Fortunately this third entry contains several
quite interesting points and developments, particularly when
compared to the stagnant languishing of Street
of Shadows. It was nice to hear some of I-5YQ's back-story and
his character develops in interesting (if potentially unorthodox)
ways during the course of the story. Reaves also does a relatively
good job of playing his cards close to his chest and there is much
mystery surrounding the identities of various clandestine
operatives. This doesn't always work for him, and there are
occasions when it just seems as though the characters are meandering
through paranoid allegiance shifts for the sake of filling time, but
on the whole, he maintains the air of enigma throughout, especially
when desperation begins to fragment the group.
"For me, the biggest plus in this story was Kaj. It was a very
fascinating angle to consider: how did Order 66 affect unidentified
Force adepts, principally those on Coruscant, right in the thick of
the situation. The situation is worsened by the severity of Kaj's
plight, specifically the strength of his connection to the Force
and, towards the end, we see the probable outcome of discovery for
many such beings.
"There were, naturally, negatives. Most of these were gathered
at the end of the story, although the main exception would be the
prevaricating in the middle of the book. The ending felt rushed.
There were several moments when the phrase "deus ex machina"
flashed across my mind, most notably when Jax uncovers something
that changes his mind about Sal's plan. The whole scene that
finalised the book just seemed to be hastily thrown down, with
revelations coming thick and fast with only cursory explanations.
Also, the Inquisitorial development involving Kaj seemed
unnecessary.
"Reaves' prose is often quite uncomplicated and quaffable and
this book is no exception. At times it gets bogged down but it
generally isn't too taxing. However, it does have loose ends that
will hopefully be addressed in the tentatively forthcoming final
volume."
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