Michael Stackpole 2000 – Del Rey 25 years after The Battle of Yavin Site Rating =  Buy Now From Amazon.Com

SPOILER ALERT: This Will Spoil The Plot of the Book!

Shedao Shai is orbiting Debrillain, the Vong base of operations. He recounts much of the detail about his grandfather’s journey to this new galaxy. (See Dark Tide I for further information). He moves into the embrace of pain device and thinks about his hatred of the people here and their aversion to physical pain.

Mara and Corran are training together. Corran uses a new lightsaber technique he believes will be effective against the Yuuzhan Vong. Kyp Durron enters and he and Luke get into another debate about the role of Jedi as attackers or as defenders. Corran wishes he could just strangle Kyp, but Luke chastises him and they discuss the true meaning of being a Jedi. Luke tells them that their job is to help evacuate those who are defenseless. Mara wants to scout more locations. Luke begins to fear that the Jedi will collapse from within.

The Solo children reunite on Coruscant. Jaina has been recruiting pilots for Rogue Squadron and helping them train. Anakin is still haunted by Chewbacca’s death. Han joins them. He is beginning to return to his old self (and showing his age a bit as well), and he tells them that losing Chewie was one of the most frightening things he’s ever faced.

Leia, Fey’lya, Wedge, and Elegos are meeting to discuss strategy. Fey’lya is against using the Jedi and says any of their movements will be without New Republic support. Leia wants to return to Bastian and visit Pellaeon to see if the Imperial Remnant will be willing to help. In an unexpected move, Elegos announces he’s going to meet with the Yuuzhan Vong and ask them what they want.

At a Jedi meeting, Luke tells them that their actions will no longer be sanctioned and many are upset by this. Their mood is made even worse when Luke tells them that Corran is the only Jedi that has an official mission. He has been recalled by Rogue Squadron to lead a mission to Garqi. He’s allowed two civilian observers and he chooses Ganner and Jacen Solo.

Leia arrives at Bastian and meets with Pellaeon. She presents him with a data card of Yuuzhan Vong information. Many of the Imperials are suspicious and believe this is an attempt to lure away Imperial forces so the New Republic can wipe out what’s left of the Empire. Pellaeon agrees to look over the material.

Luke continues to compile missions for the Jedi. Mara and Anakin arrive and Anakin tells his uncle about a filing system he has been using to track Jedi intel. He noticed that someone has been looking into the mission files. The one point that the searches have in common is that they all deal with super weapons (Death Star, Sun Crusher, etc). The person that accessed the files tried to hide their path. They also learn that a Jedi named Daeshara’cor did not follow through on her assignment and actually went somewhere else. They go looking for her and they find a man named Chalco that tells them where she was headed. Luke invites the man to help them look for Daeshara’cor.

Shedao Shai fends off an attack from one of the slaves. He instructs others to take the slave and test him for use later on. When Shai returns to base, Elegos is waiting for him. Shai says he respects Elegos coming considering he knew there was a chance he would die. Elegos tells him he wants to share information, and Shai agrees to help him learn about the Vong by putting him the embrace of pain device.

Corran’s plan is to take a ship to Garqi and fake a crash with a small pod escaping and landing on the surface. Rogue Squadron provides cover for the mission. The plan is successful. Corran and the group meet up with Rade, his New Republic contact. Rade shows them that slaves have been turned into armies by the coral attachments on their bodies. Corran suggests that they sneak into the group during one of the war exercises and kidnap a few of the humans.

After a day of constant pain, Elegos and Shai meet again. Shai is impressed with Elegos’ understanding of the Vong. After Shai mentions that they believe in gods, Elegos questions their lack of spirituality. Shai tells him that he believes the New Republic members are resilient, but he vows to test that resilience during the war.

After a trip to Vortex, Luke’s party (also joined by Corran’s wife, Mirax) heads to Garos IV. Once on the planet, Anakin and Chalco are left behind. They decide to go looking for Daeshara’cor on their own. Instead she finds them and Anakin is kidnapped. Daeshara’cor contacts Luke and tells him she’ll trade Anakin for the information she seeks. Chalco fails in an attempt to rescue him, but Anakin uses the Force to knock her unconscious.

After watching some war games footage on a holocam, Corran’s group joins the attack, Ganner successfully kills one of the Vong, but the group is attacked by the slave army. They retreat to a Bafforr tree grove for hiding. When the Vong enter the grove, their living arm begins to swell and kills them with some kind of allergic reaction. Corran tells them to take samples and then burn the grove so the Vong won’t learn what’s happened. Ganner’s face was severely injured in the battle. He has them seal his face in a manner that will permanently scar him. He wants to always remember that his arrogance has led him down the wrong path.

As Corran’s team flies off the planet to meet Kre’fey, Wedge and others, they are attacked by an incoming Vong squadron. Jaina and the Rogues join the battle and fight the Vong ships. All are saved with help from the Imperial Remnant along with surprising help from Chiss fighters who are very effective. The Chiss are lead by Jagged Fel, son of Baron Fel and Syal Antilles (Wedge’s Sister).

Shai arrives on Garqi and views with outrage the remnants of Corran’s work. He also wonders about the mystery assistance the New Republic ships received, and surmises it was the Imperial Remnant. Elegos is also present, and tries to explain why the Jedi would burn even their own dead. Elegos tells him he knows it was Corran who killed Shai’s family. Shai chooses Elegos to be his envoy with the New Republic.

Luke, Kre’fey, and Pellaeon meet to discuss the battle for Ithor. The Ithorians are not thrilled about their trees being cut down for the attack. Kre’fey places Pellaeon in command of the defense of the planet. They also wonder about the Chiss involvement. Both agree that the leaders of each side will not be happy about them joining forces, but they’ll have to work it out.

Two dozen Jedi assemble again inside a floating city. Jacen questions whether taking life is necessary when all life is joined by the Force. Luke enters with an Ithorian priest, as does Daeshara’cor. The priest asks that they cleanse themselves spiritually before going onto the surface. Luke gives up his feelings of being the sole person responsible for the Jedi Order. This takes many by surprise, but it also helps the others. Anakin gives up his self assuredness, Daeshara’cor gives up hatred, Jacen, his need to know what his future holds, and Corran lets go of his fear. Other soldiers also take similar vows.

Shai learns the secret that the Jedi tried to hide from one of his advisors. They also learn that the mystery plant can be found on Ithor. They will take the planet even if they have to do so without their living armor.

The ship Elegos took returns to the New Republic along with a recording from him that sends compliments to Corran from Shai. The ship is covered in scab like growths. It opens only when Corran allows it to take a sample of his blood. He and Wedge enter the craft and find a message from Elegos. Elegos tells him that Shai hopes to meet Corran in the future and passes along some information so he can learn of the Vong as Shai has learned of him. There is also a gift, the jeweled covered bones of Elegos himself! A message from Shai reveals that he has killed Elegos to show how to properly honor the dead, and now demands the return of the bones of his ancestor.

The New Republic now plans for the battle of Ithor. Corran suggests a truce by returning the bones and by going to meet Shai himself in a duel. If Corran wins, Ithor is saved and if he loses, the bones are returned. He hopes that the duel will by time to evacuate those that need it on Ithor.

As the attack nears, Jaina leads the Rogues, several of whom are killed in the battle. Vong Carriers are able to land and unleash the hoard of Vong warriors onto the planet without their living armor along with reptoids and slaves. Daeshara’cor and Anakin converge on the group. Daeshara’cor is poisoned while saving Anakin. Anakin is furious and wants to seek revenge for all the pain the Vong has caused, but he thinks better of it and pulls his anger back. He is able to carry her body back to the city.

In another area, Shai leads troopers towards a city that is protected by droids (an abomination the Vong despises). The battle is intense, but Shai soon realizes that the droids are a decoy and the buildings are empty. The New Republic force, lead by Corran and Jacen rumbles in surprising the Vong. Corran delivers his challenge to Shai and the duel is set for one week’s time.

Back in the medical bay, Daeshara’cor tells Anakin not to feel guilt for her death, nor Chewbacca’s either. She dies and her body fades into nothingness.

Luke and Corran await Shai and his second, Deign Lian. After several minutes Shai plunges his amphistaff into Corran’s chest. He can taste the victory as he tastes Corran’s blood from the staff, but Corran feels the Force through his body and he rises again. As Shai’s fury grows he comes in for the attack again, but Corran deactivates the lightsaber throwing Shai off balance. Corran places the saber against Shai’s stomach and reactivates his saber killing the Vong Commander. He takes Shai’s mask as a sign of the vulnerability of the Vong.

Deign Lian returns to the Vong base and is promoted. He launches pods over Ithor that releases bacteria throughout the planet. Nothing can hide as the bacteria kills everything on the entire planet! His pleasure, however, is short lived. The time Corran had bought them with the duel allowed Kre’fey and Pellaeon to discover weak spots in the Vong defense. The ship is destroyed and explodes as it crashes into Ithor.

While Pellaeon returns to the Remnant, Jagged Fel decides to remain with Rogue Squadron for the time being.

Jaina feels guilt over the death of her friend Anni in the fight. Anakin enters and sits with her. He imparts his newfound knowledge that he learned from Daeshara’cor and helps to ease Jaina’s guilt.

Corran returns to the body of Elegos. He retells the duel and feels that he has dishonored Elegos and has been turned to the Dark Side. The reputation of the Jedi has been sullied in the media as the reason that Ithor was destroyed. Corran wishes to be disowned by the Order so that he can take the blame and not the Jedi on a whole. He plans to return to Corellia with his wife, but leaves his children to be trained as Jedi. His final wish is that Jacen and Ganner provide Luke with the support he needs to withstand any power struggle with Kyp Duron. He hopes that the galaxy will never need him again or perhaps it will mean it is already beyond saving.

Comments

As the second part of a the Dark Tide duology, this story effectively closes several that began in Onslaught. Whereas the first half relied more on discovering the newest Vong info, this one heats up the action with several battles.

Corran Horn takes center stage in this book and his departure at the end actually made me a little sad to see him go. His character is very defined and it seems obvious that his leadership will be missed by the Jedi.

Of the Yuuzhan Vong we’ve met thus far, Shedao Shai has been my favorite in the series, most likely because we get to learn a bit more about him than some others. He handling of Elegos was very effective and although I was not pleased that Elegos was killed, his death couldn’t have been played out better. It tied things up perfectly for Shai to really drive one into the minds of the New Republic.

It’s good to see that the Vong are not invincible. This is the first real sign that perhaps there will be some ways to defeat them or at least hold them at bay.

I’ve always thought that Pellaeon was an exceptional character and having him along with the Imperial Remnant enter the fray is a welcome storyline. The mysterious Chiss coming into the mix also add a new element as to what they will bring to the table down the line.

For those fans of Han Solo, these two books are not the series for you, but obviously you won’t have to wait long in the series for that to change.

The more Jedi politics the better as far as I’m concerned. I would actually welcome more information on Kyp’s side of the war during this period.

The Solo children begin to come into their own here. Whereas before Jacen seemed the more mature, Anakin is showing signs that his knowledge of the Force is also growing. While not a big Rogue Squadron fan, having Jaina join up was a perfect match and adds a bit more peril to their attacks knowing the she’s up their with them.

Overall this was an effective wrap up. Corran Horn is clearly the stand out character here and should win many fans with his selfless acts alongside his battle tactics.

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