Aaron Allston delivers the best book so far in the “Legacy of the Force” series with “Exile” (2007), the fourth of the nine-novel saga. Whereas earlier books put most of our heroes in the awkward position of not knowing which side (if any) of the Corellia-Galactic Alliance war they were on, “Exile” smooths things out as the Corellians – now known as the Confederation as they absorb other allies – make plans to elect a supreme commander and move against Alliance shipyards. Granted, the series’ biggest evil character, Jacen Solo, leads the Galactic Alliance Guard, so “LOTF” has hardly become a black-and-white saga, but for now, we get a bit of the old, straightforward adventuring.
It’s great to see Lando – who had been on the bench since the end of “The New Jedi Order” — and a sense of humor back in the saga, and it’s no coincidence that they return simultaneously. Lando dons a white-haired and -bearded disguise (I picture an older version of his Drebble disguise from the original Marvel comics) and assumes the captaincy of the Love Commander (which he pronounces with an extended “o”), much to Han and Leia’s bemusement. (To be fair, Troy Denning peppered some good humor into “Tempest,” but Allston is still the master at this kind of writing, with Michael Stackpole a close second.)
The team investigating the Confederation’s plan consists of Han, Leia, Lando, Wedge, Iella, Myri, Corran, Mirax and Booster. Just like old times.
“Exile” also represents the start of something new. While Ben Skywalker is technically the same generation as Jaina and Jacen, he’s a couple decades younger, so he marks a new age group of characters – to be later joined by his cousin Allana and future love interest Vestara. This book marks Ben’s hero’s journey. It’s one thing for him to ponder Jacen’s behavior and wonder if it’s good or bad, but when he’s tested in the field, we see what kind of person Ben really is. Stranded on Ziost, he initially decides to leave a 6-year-old orphan girl (Kiara, in her only appearance) to her doom, but then changes his mind and saves her – that’s how Luke and Mara raised him, and Jacen hasn’t managed to erase that.
On the dark-side planet Ziost, Ben acquires an amazing ancient ship that he can control with his thoughts; this vehicle will play a role well into later stories such as the “Fate of the Jedi” saga – it’s a prime example of how the LucasBooks team planned things in advance.
This is also the book where Jaina and Jag – estranged since they both tried to kill each other when they found themselves on opposite sides of the “Dark Nest” conflict – begrudgingly work together again, as they’ve been assigned (along with Zekk) by Luke to track down the dark sider Alema Rar. While Alema has mostly been written by Denning up to this point, Allston does entertaining work with the Twi’lek, whose reason for being is to get revenge on our heroes, specifically Leia.
“Exile” features a brief battle between Luke and Lumiya that’s not as epic as the one in “Tempest,” but it’s interesting to note that Luke senses no anger or revenge motive from the Dark Lady of the Sith. Although I love the return of Lumiya to the continuity, I think the authors missed an opportunity in these battle scenes to perhaps provide flashbacks to when Luke and Shira Brie originally knew each other in the Marvel comics. The story of how Darth Vader resurrected Lumiya with biotech and the dark side was never told in detail, and this might’ve been a good chance to do it.
And while we know all about the original round of conflict between Luke and Shira, Allston tantalizingly has Mara note on page 185 that she, too, was a past enemy of Lumiya’s:
Mara: “I did a thing or two to her, as well.”
Luke: “Right. (So she wants) revenge against the both of us.”
It’s interesting to note the similarities between the two characters (both are Force users who were trained and manipulated by Sith lords), and the fact that Lumiya can now be seen as a foil for Mara — an example of what Mara could’ve become. But I wish the saga would’ve gone deeper in exploring their similarities and differences, perhaps through the past showdowns that Mara alludes to. Maybe future “LOTF” books delve into this, but I don’t recall that they do.
At any rate, “Exile” is a great, brisk read. “LOTF’s” complex war politics are still in place, as our heroes are opposed to both the Confederation and the GA (at least Jacen’s and Admiral Niathal’s warmongering approach). Yet Allston manages to get the gang back together and show that old ties of friendship are stronger than the governments that try to split them apart.