Denning, Troy: Star Wars: Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
Star Wars: Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen (2005)
Written by: Troy Denning
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 368 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Star Wars
Why I Read It: I'm on a mission to catch up on all the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels that I missed since late 2005. The first step is to read all of the books I bought but never read, and then once I catch up with those, I'll go and buy the books I missed and then read those. Whatever happens with the movies now that Disney's in charge, Star Wars was my first SF-nal love, and I've missed these books and these characters.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: The epic Star Wars odyssey enters a new frontier as the heroes of the New Jedi Order confront a monstrous evil-insidious, unseen, and insatiable. . . .
Despite being given new worlds to populate, the insectoid Killiks have not found peace. An unknown enemy has been attacking the new nests-and the Killiks hold the Jedi responsible. Traveling back to the Unknown Regions to unravel the mystery, the Skywalkers and Solos discover an evil far more familiar than they ever expected . . . and even more terrifying. Why does the Dark Nest want to kill Mara? Will Jacen’s apocalyptic vision trigger another galactic war or prevent one? And perhaps most ominous of all, what deadly secret are the Killiks hiding?
To find out, Luke, Mara, Han, and Leia must embark on a perilous journey into the uncharted void between right and wrong. The ferocious Unknown Terrors are only the beginning of the awesome challenges that lie ahead in their quest to fathom the unfathomable. For an obscure dispute is about to explode into chaos, pitting Jedi against Jedi-and threatening the very galaxy itself.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. And I also want to point out: there will be spoilers, at any given moment, for the entire run of Star Wars books up until the date the current book was published. So if the Star Wars are something you want to get into, stop now and read THIS instead. I don't recommend anyone reading this review unless they've read the book I'm reviewing now, due to aforementioned spoilers, so stop now or -- if you have read the book -- carry on!
I have been spoiled for future events in the EU. I will not say what those spoilers are, because I found out somewhat by accident (and then sometimes on purpose), and I don't want to accidentally spoil someone who's trying to play it safe.
But there's one thing I'm SUPER-GLAD I didn't get spoiled on, and that's this:
Jacen has a daughter with Tenel Ka!
I don't know why I didn't see it coming. I was so conflicted about his mission to Hapes and his reasons for giving into TenalKa's advances (he wanted that Fleet) that I didn't stop to think there'd be more consequences to those actions, other than perhaps Tenal-Ka getting a broken heart when she learns that Jacen's main priority isn't love or family, you know? And let's be honest: that's still in the cards.
But now he has a daughter! I don't know why that delights me so, but it does. I think it's because it means that there's a new Solo/Skywalker in the future--and a girl at that!!!!--who can kick butt in future (far future) EU novels. So yay for potential!
More disturbingly though is what those scenes revealed about Jacen. That boy's doing down the path of the Dark Side, and while I know that the post-NJO Jedi are all about the unified Force and all that, even Luke's realized that this mentality isn't good. Doing bad things with good intentions still makes it bad, basically, and Jacen certainly proved it when he met his daughter for the first time, between his subduing of Ben (poor kid, being so easily manipulated by the Gorog) and the disabling of Ta'a Chume, which was more than a little disturbing. Then there's the way he willfully manipulated his friends and sister into attacking the Chiss, just because of a vision. Jaina's finally thought to him in the dogfight, and his reaction to it, is disheartening and heartbreaking. I'm not going to speculate on these turns, because we're seeing a motivation in Jacen that we saw in Anakin: the desire to do anything, no matter what the cost, to protects those he loves. But the problem is, those he loves cannot follow him down this path.
I do wish I'd read this trilogy closer to my completion of the NJO. I would've loved to see Jacen's arc a little more clearly, because all of this started with the NJO series.
Jaina got the short-shift in development this round. She's "Joined" with Zekk, which is more than a little weird, and I really dislike the way the Joiner minds are portrayed. Jaina feels cut off from everything, her every motivation suspect because she's still, in her way, connected to the Nest, and like any drug, it makes sense that a relapse is emminent. What I'm hoping is that with the conclusion of this trilogy, we'll see her snap out of this foolishness and never revisit it again. :-/
Because I realized with this book that I really, really dislike the whole Killik storyline. Even the strongest in the Force aren't immune to having their minds breached and merged with others (as we maybe started seeing with Luke and Han), but worse is the fact that the Killiks are so clueless to influence by the Gorog. I suspect the final book will really allow the truth to come to light (who's influencing who, or is it all a big cover-up and they're all in it together), but I find myself strongly disliking the whole concept. I'm hoping it'll make for a great showdown, and I hope it wraps up. After this trilogy, I'll be very happy if I never have to hear of the Killiks again, especially considering how much they've warped the characters we know and love (all the Solo kids, for example, and marring (ha!) Mara's name).
I did like seeing Leia stretch her Jedi muscles. She's always put the Force on the backburner, so it was fun to see her improving and training and having to be… I hate using the word submissive due to its various implications, because Leia as a character is anything but, however, that's the best word, so…. submissive when she's used to bossing the Jedi Masters around. But sometimes, it's good to be a student instead of a teacher. She's learning a lot, and her interaction with Saba is a hoot.
Some quibbles:
Around pages 312-313, we get some slippery POV between Luke and Han. One minute, I'm in one person's head, and then next thing I know, I'm in the others. I don't know if that's supposed to be a sign they're becoming Joiners, but I hope not. Also, stop that please.
And a slightly groan-worthy Jedi-ism, on page 313: "He gave her a mental nod."
Oh dear… my old mentor at my grad program would've had a field day with that sentence. :)
My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations
Now that I've got The Joiner King under my belt and I've re-familiarized myself with these characters I hadn't read about in nearly seven years, The Unseen Queen proved to be a fast read. I liked seeing Leia's development as an actual Jedi, but I was disturbed by the direction Jacen is moving towards, despite the delightful surprise to his storyline. I can't say that the Killiks are my favorite story arc, because they and the Gorog create some really frustrating moments in the book, but I'll be reading the third and final installment, as I look forward to seeing how this story arc resolves.
Cover Commentary: I dislike this cover more than I did the one for The Joiner King, but the coloring is just really harsh to my eyes. I like that it features Leia, though, given her role in becoming a real Jedi in this book, but to be swallow, her outfit makes her look like she's been wrapped up in curtains or something. I'm all about cloaks and Jedi robes, but she looks like she's going to easily get tripped up in a fight. :)
Next up: City of Bones by Martha Wells