Outcast by Aaron Allston, the first book in this new Fate of the Jedi series, has some of the hallmarks of a great beginning. A number of new threats are unveiled, there are some great Jedi battles, and all our favorite characters are brought together to continue their stories. At the same time, it’s a bit of a slow beginning to the series, and lacks some of the excitement of other Star Wars books. I definitely recommend it, but if you want to read more of my opinion, click on the link to read a more detailed, spoiler filled review.

Outcast starts with all the major charaters gathered together on Coruscant, where we’re brought up to date on the events that have passed in the two years since Invincible. Jaina Solo and Jagged Fel are dating, and the Galactic Alliance is reaching out once more to other governments in an attempt to forge closer ties since the end of the civil war as chronicled in Legacy of the Force. But all is not well, as Valin Horn succumbs to some kind Force sickness and gives rise to more fears of another uncontrollable Jedi. Chief of State Daala has Luke exiled from Coruscant and the Jedi Order until he can prove what happened to Jacen Solo, and he and Ben set off on a journey that follows the path Jacen took between The Unifying Force and Dark Nest. At the same time, Han and Leia are asked by Lando to investigate what’s happening at his mines on Kessel, where more than one secret just might be uncovered. And ever present is the growing tension between the Alliance and the Jedi, as government observers are assigned to watch the Jedi in all their actions.

In some ways, Allston does a great job of bringing up ideas that the fans have been talking about all over message boards not only since the end of LotF but from even before that. To those people who argued ‘Kyp got a free pass but Jacen didn’t’ - that’s brought up. The mess that was Tahiri in LotF is brought into focus in Outcast and she brings up numerous arguments like Han and Leia’s parenting and why Jacen fell, that fans have been talking about.

At the same time, I’m feeling only ok about Outcast. I felt like there wasn’t enough of a BIG THREAT in this novel. We’ve had a number of smaller novels since Invincible (Millenium Falcon and Shadows of Mindor come to mind) - and I wanted FotJ to begin the next BIG arc. I loved Betrayal because it was HUGE. So much going on in that book - a rocking start to the new series. Outcast in comparison feels like a slow burn, almost a book prologue to the rest of the series.

While the Force sickness could be a BIG DEAL, it’s just not enough of one in Outcast. Yes Valin’s plight is well done, and I really felt for him, but at the same time I thought this should have ramped up by the end of the book with an entire outbreak, multiple Jedi contracting the disease. There’s an odd bounty hunter working for the government who carries a lightsaber that isn’t a Jedi - is she a Sith? Again, who knows. While I understand holding some things back for future novels, some hint as to her ultimately affiliation would have raised the threat level of this novel - even if it was in the final pages (think of the scenes from Phantom Menace when Maul talks to Sidious “we shall have our revenge” - that’s the kind of thing that I feel like this book should have had). Instead it all feels a little random.

I love what’s going on with Jaina and Jag, though I find it a little odd that Jag can escape from his duties as Head of the Galactic Empire so easily to play bounty-hunter. Yes, they’re trying to capture Seff to give the Jedi a chance to figure out what his connection is to Valin Horn, and ultimately I’m sure it will connect to the Luke/Ben plot - but it also seems very similar to what Jaina and Jag were doing in most of LotF; tracking down Alema Rar. I did like that things are not being made easy for the Jedi - the observers, especially the reintroduction of Tarc, was a good plot point and made for some good tension. The government isn’t exactly on the side of the Jedi, but they’re not full out enemies of the state either.

The Han/Leia/Allana stuff… oh how I wanted to enjoy this. But honestly, it felt like a drag to me. There were some hints that there’s a connection between Kessel and Centerpoint - so again, those fans who wanted closure on what happened after Centerpoint blew, we may still get that in FotJ. But again, there’s not enough about it in this novel. The Celestials were mentioned, but I’d have liked a bigger hint that there are more things to come, that there is in fact some connection between this story and the rest of the arc of Fate of the Jedi. Ultimately I liked how Allston introduced the rag tag group of pilots - and even gave us updated descriptions of some of them as well as their families, but even then, I felt like the space piloting wasn’t as exciting as it could have been. Why not have the thing go to hell - like the bogeys figure out what these pilots are doing and start detonating the planet, so it’s crashing all around the pilots as they try to improvise a new plan while avoiding collapsing tunnels, etc. It all just felt rather tame. I did like seeing Lando and Tendra and their son Chance, and I did like the omnious voice talking to Allana. I do suspect there’s more to be learned on Kessel still, with the avians and the pyramids are at the top of my list of connections to the bigger story.

Luke and Ben retracing Jacen’s footsteps is the glue that holds this story together, and I felt it was the best part of the book. I looked forward to getting back to them each time the story moved away from them. Ben has some great fight scenes, and Luke has a pretty good one himself. Ben shows a lot of the analytical side (and the ‘getting to the point’ side) of his mother. I see real character progression here, someone who acts like a teenager at times, and a little wiser beyond his years at other times due to what he’s been through in LotF. As of right now, I’m most looking forward to their continuing journey in FotJ.

So ultimately, I liked Outcast. It’s not my favorite Allston novel, it’s also not my least favorite of his. I wanted to really like it, so I’m finding myself mildly disappointed - and yet I have no real reason to feel that way. I think it has more to do with my expectations after Betrayal (one of my favorite Star Wars books ever) being set too high, because in all seriousness, Outcast is a good novel. And I’m seriously looking forward to reading Omen.