The fourth of what will be nine spoiler-free reviews of Fate of the Jedi is ready. For those of you like me who hear “spoiler” and run as far in the other direction as possible, you can finally find out if Aaron Allston’s Backlash- beset as it was with struggles from which we’re glad our author has emerged- is any good or not.

In pursuit of Sith Apprentice Vestara Khai, sole survivor of the Sith strike team aboard Sinkhole Station, Luke and Ben Skywalker have found themselves on Dathomir, home of the Witches- and the Sith-like Nightsisters- in a struggle to determine the life or death of themselves and their newfound allies. When Han and Leia Organa Solo become caught up in the situation, grand daughter Allana and droids See-Threepio and Artoo Detoo are left to fend for themselves in a situation that seems even more grave. What is Vestara doing on Dathomir? What is Daala doing in their absence?

Well, I’m not tell you. Consider yourself teased. What I am going to do is tell you my opinion of it. Spoiler-free, remember?

But first off, I’m going to do something a little new. As followers of The Official Site might be aware, the timeline included at the start of most Star Wars novels has been updated for some of the latest news and releases. I’m going to give serious fans (Casuals and new readers, it’s okay, skip on down for things that pertain to you. Because this book does.) my personal thoughts on these changes.

On the last timeline update, fans reacted cynically to the merging of the Clone Wars timeline- by no longer separating by year, LucasBooks gave the impression to many fans that it was no longer attempting to make sense of the controversial area, at least until the latest upheaval has its chance to settle. In a similar move, all of the similar time periods have now been grouped like that- the 19 years between Episodes III and IV, the 20 years comprising what is often referred to as “The Bantam Era”, and some smaller periods. In most of these, the changes are merely condensing- the books are still kept in chronological order, with the individual years removed. During the Clone Wars of course, that’s not the case- there is no definitive timeline stating how the new content relates to the old.

Other than that, just a few notes to wrap this up. For each series, even such as The Hand of Thrawn duology, there’s a sub-heading in bold. The Old Republic gets this treatment. Curiously enough, though, the Darth Bane trilogy does not. I like to think this is because it will be grouped as part of a larger series, but as yet there’s no way to tell.

On to the book now. Like Outcast, one of the things that struck me most about this book was its accessibility. If you’ve only watched one Star Wars film- indeed, I may be pushing even that- Allston fills in all you need. Don’t know about Luke’s hand? Allston will tell you. Don’t know what happened to Leia after Return of the Jedi? Allston will tell you. A couple of times I gritted my teeth and rolled my eyes, but all in all it’s a nice touch. This isn’t one of the many Star Wars books these days that requires you to sit down with 20 plus novels’ worth of experience in the franchise just to laugh at the jokes. Don’t get me wrong- it’s much more funny that way, but it’s sort of the way your favorite cake is even better if you put the correct frosting on it. Even if you don’t have that Expanded Universe frosting, this cake is still filled with fruits and flavors.

Another unique thing about this book- unique, except that it shares this with Outcast as well- is its readability as a novel. Don’t look at me like that. Pick a Star Wars book out of your collection. I’ll wait. Sacrifice, Abyss, Vision of the Future, True Colors, to name a few. Could you, would you, recommend these to someone who hadn’t read the rest of Legacy of the Force, Fate of the Jedi, Specter of the Past, or Republic Commando? Probably not. Aaron Allston’s great strength, I think, is the way that his novels just work. It fits perfectly into Fate of the Jedi. It fits even more perfectly into the overall framework we call Star Wars. But, like I said before, if you watched Star Wars, and then picked up this book at the store, you’d know all you needed to know to simply read this book. Maybe not everything- some spoilers in Abyss are largely ignored- but everything you need to enjoy this book as a standalone novel. Which, to me, should be the goal of every series novel.

Now, on to the important things. The characters. The stars. The wars.

When it comes to characterization, I shouldn’t even need to say anything. There’s a reason that, in the Star Wars pantheon, Aaron Allston sits on the same pedestal as Matthew Stover and maybe a few others. He portrays well known characters perfectly, and gives new characters a voice (even if it’s not a distinct enough voice that I’ll be able to remember them three books from now). I almost doubled over laughing when Allston described a character in relation to the size of another well-known character, just because he seemed so pushy (in a friendly way) when it came to making sure readers are aware of every aspect of the character.

When it comes to characters, though, there is a bit of a downside. This almost feels like a James Luceno book, when it comes to the sheer number of characters who simply cameo or are referenced doing awesome things, or simply doing things EU fans will recognize and enjoy. I could have done with two or three less of these in exchange for involving the others a bit more, but at least it didn’t come across as forced as the Kessel Squadron in Outcast.

Aside from these cameos and mentions, though, every character gets a Crowning Moment of Awesome. Droid? Crowning Moment of Awesome. Politician? Crowning Moment of Awesome. Big Three? At least one Crowning Moment of Awesome. Neither did these seem forced- characters displayed skills and thought patterns that longtime readers would expect. We continue to get characterization for key characters such as Vestara, Ben and Allana, and more than ever I’m convinced that Vestara has become the new Mara Jade. Long-time characters that many see as timeless can even be seen as having grown from the days of old- even if there were times I felt as though certain actors were in my head, reading their lines. There were two moments in which I felt characters to a little out of character, but each of these instances were one word in a line that was otherwise fine. Not perfect, but not at all bad either (though I did have my time when those moments would have ruined the book for me).

Reading it outside of the Star Wars schema, the most notable thing about this novel is the combat. Backlash really steps it up in every conceivable way. I had some complaints regarding the combat in Abyss, and I was pleased to find many of these addressed pretty immediately in Backlash. That’s not all, though- during some points of the novel, my mind was drawn to epic battles in Dragon Ball Z. Yes, it’s just that good.

All in all, the episodic nature of the book seemed like a step back into Bantam. Yes, there are differences- every character that was around back then has evolved into a completely different character by this point, for better or worse- but that was how I felt even as I reminisced of The Courtship of Princess Leia. Despite his medical difficulties, Allston delivered exactly what I’ve come to expect of him and his unique, expert blend of Bantam and Del Rey Star Wars. Just read this.

Review Copy courtesy of  Del Rey.