Thoughts on Invincible - 100% spoiler-free, plus bonus Ben Skywalker
I didn't even realise Invincible was the last book in the series until a couple of days ago. *facepalm* For some reason I had thought there were still a few to go. Could be because I haven't read Revelation yet, so chronology-wise I'm still back with Fury (I did read that, right? *googles synopsis* Oh, yes, I did :p). I am cautiously looking forward to finding out how they end the series. I have some thoughts on which way they might take Jacen - there's a lot that could be done with that plot if you don't just take the most direct route. I will try not to expect too much, however. (sidenote: I wonder if Luke could ever actually forgive Jacen for his 'sacrifice'? He forgave Vader - but then none of Vader's crimes, as terrible as they were, hurt Luke as directly and severely as Jacen's have).
For all the issues I have with the execution of LotF, I do like the way that Ben's character has been handled overall. There have been a couple of characterisation hiccoughs where he seemed suddenly too mature or too childish in the hands of one author or another, but for the most part they've managed to craft in him a character who has had to come into his own while questioning a lot of the things he's been taught by people he cares about (his parents' teachings, under Jacen; Jacen's, once he was out of Jacen's influence, and to some extent even before). And I don't mind the conflict between Ben and Luke earlier on in the series - even though I wish it had been explored better - because I do think that their relationship was going to be under some strain, even without Jacen in the mix, and I get that differences between family members don't always have solid reasons you can lay out, and I don't think that Luke would necessarily be OMG!Super Dad from day one, or all the time, because what parent is? Not to mention the numerous family issues he has of his own.
... I really should stop procrastinating now. *sigh* But. The point remains, Ben is one very good thing to come out of LotF. And I don't hate the series, despite ranty posts and the like - if I hated it, I wouldn't be reading it, because my patience doesn't stretch that far. Although, having said that, there is a strange train-wreck quality to watching Jacen bumbling around where you want to look away but you can't. :p
For all the issues I have with the execution of LotF, I do like the way that Ben's character has been handled overall. There have been a couple of characterisation hiccoughs where he seemed suddenly too mature or too childish in the hands of one author or another, but for the most part they've managed to craft in him a character who has had to come into his own while questioning a lot of the things he's been taught by people he cares about (his parents' teachings, under Jacen; Jacen's, once he was out of Jacen's influence, and to some extent even before). And I don't mind the conflict between Ben and Luke earlier on in the series - even though I wish it had been explored better - because I do think that their relationship was going to be under some strain, even without Jacen in the mix, and I get that differences between family members don't always have solid reasons you can lay out, and I don't think that Luke would necessarily be OMG!Super Dad from day one, or all the time, because what parent is? Not to mention the numerous family issues he has of his own.
... I really should stop procrastinating now. *sigh* But. The point remains, Ben is one very good thing to come out of LotF. And I don't hate the series, despite ranty posts and the like - if I hated it, I wouldn't be reading it, because my patience doesn't stretch that far. Although, having said that, there is a strange train-wreck quality to watching Jacen bumbling around where you want to look away but you can't. :p