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| Sacrifice (Star Wars: Legacy of the Force, Book 5) | 
 enlarge | Author: Karen Traviss
Publisher: Del Rey
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  71 reviews
Sales Rank: 17404
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0345477413
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9780345477415
ASIN: 0345477413
Publication Date: April 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
Civil war rages as the Galactic Alliance–led by Cal Omas and the Jedi forces of Luke Skywalker–battles a confederation of breakaway planets that rally to the side of rebellious Corellia. Suspected of involvement in an assassination plot against Queen Mother Tenel Ka of the Hapes Consortium, Han and Leia Solo are on the run, hunted by none other than their own son, Jacen, whose increasingly authoritarian tactics as head of GA security have led Luke and Mara Skywalker to fear that their nephew may be treading perilously close to the dark side.
But as his family sees in Jacen the chilling legacy of his Sith grandfather, Darth Vader, many of the frontline troops adore him, and countless citizens see him as a savior. The galaxy has been torn apart by too many wars. All Jacen wants is safety and stability for all–and he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
To end the bloodshed and suffering, what sacrifice would be too great? That is the question tormenting Jacen. Already he has sacrificed much, embracing the pitiless teachings of Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith, who has taught him that a strong will and noble purpose can hold the evil excesses of the dark side at bay, bringing peace and order to the galaxy–but at a price.
For there is one final test that Jacen must pass before he can gain the awesome power of a true Sith Lord: He must bring about the death of someone he values dearly. What troubles Jacen isn’t whether he has the strength to commit murder. He has steeled himself for that, and worse if necessary. No, the question that troubles Jacen is who the sacrifice should be.
As the strands of destiny draw ever more tightly together in a galaxy-spanning web, the shocking answer will shatter two families . . . and cast a grim shadow over the future.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 66 more reviews...
 Off to a slow start, the series begins rocking with "Sacrifice" June 15, 2007
29 out of 32 found this review helpful
Two major characters die in battle, a minor character is assassinated by one of the principles, a government is overthrown, a leader imprisoned, and the antagonist crosses into territory so villainous he can never hope to return.
Oh, and Boba Fett makes a major discovery about a long-lost family member.
At last, something is happening in the Legacy of the Force series, which until now has been a political drama without politics, punctuated by outbreaks of violence that do nothing to move the story along. The beginning of each book seemed exactly like the one before.
All that's changed now in this 5th of nine volumes. If for no other reason than something actually happens, Sacrifice is by far the best book in the series thus far. It also happens to be mostly well written and suspenseful, at least in the latter half. The beginning plods along like much of the rest of the previous volumes, but as soon as Jacen sends Ben off an a mission of assassination, the story suddenly loses all slack, a taut tale that keeps you turning the pages.
It's fairly hard to summarize the plot without giving away all the details. Anyone who has been following the series and reads the first paragraph above can probably guess who is doing what, though I for one didn't anticipate the identity of the titular sacrifice. I'm not unhappy with the choice, though it does seem a bit out of place given the prophecy that sets it up, that Jacen will kill the thing he loves. Obviously, the real sacrifice will be Jacen's family, which is sure to disown him once they learn who he's dispatched. (Interestingly, all of the Jedi deaths in the series so far have been female characters, including Tresina Lobi and Nelani, plus a non-Jedi Force user in Sacrifice).
Once it gets going, Sacrfice flags only when Traviss diverts from the main plot to write about Fett and the Mandalorians. These chapters actually contain quite a lot of interesting material - Boba learns to accept his new role as leader of his people and their planet, a new industry is launched, the Mandalorians get back into the political game, and Boba makes a surprising discovery about his wife. But dropped in between the action, the Boba chapters interrupt the suspense like bad television commercials.
And after all the pages spent on Jacen's ruminations about what the prophecy means and who he would have to sacrifice, there is no explanation of his new Sith name, why he chose it, and what it means to him.
There are a couple of other nits worth picking, but most can't be discussed without giving away the plot. Suffice it to say that Sacrifice may be the place to start reading Legacy of The Force. Let's hope the writers and editors can maintain the momentum.
 A Mediocre Legacy July 16, 2007
17 out of 21 found this review helpful
Let me start out by saying that I love that the Star Wars Universe lives on in books - the characters age, earth-shattering stories and adventures continue, new players join the scene. I will probably keep buying Star Wars books as long as they keep pumping them out.
However, I have to say that this series, and particularly this book, has been subpar and somewhat of a disappointment. There are some incredibly powerful themes to be mined here (son against parents/mentors, government against the individual, contrasting moralities and more), and Traviss (and the other authors who have contributed books to the series as well) only comes away with a few nuggets while bypassing the mother lode. But as I read further into the series, I can't help but ask: Are our favorite characters really this dumb? Is a government in control of thousands of planetary systems, supposedly a democracy, really this corrupt and stupid? (Sure, they could be making parallels to the current administration, but I really feel like it's out of place in the Star Wars universe.) Did these books really make it all the way through the editing process with no one noticing the gigantic plot holes, unfulfilled promises or flimsy premises that are abandoned as soon as the story moves on to the next plot point?
What it comes down to is that the favorite son of the Jedi, Jacen, turns dark, really dark, for pretty flimsy reasons. All of the signs are there, but no one can stop him, due to rampant ignorance, stupidity and failure to communicate. There have to be better plot devices than this to get to the same place, but none of the authors in this series have managed to stumble upon them.
It gets tiring reading a book with timeless characters who have been with you since childhood and seeing them act in ways that are totally out of character, and just plain stupid. Plus, for a book called "Sacrifice" the sacrifice that Jacen ends up making is not one of any real emotional significance - he'd already effectively cut off ties with that person and what they represented long before coming down to the actual act. Gone is the soul-searching, knowledge-craving Jacen of the NJO (and to a lesser extent, Hive Wars), and in his place is a poorly thought out, weakly motivated caricature. Good game.
The only redeeming quality about this book is Traviss' attention to Boba Fett and the Mandalorians, which really has very little bearing on the rest of the plot. Fett profits from events the other characters have set in motion, and while he did play a small role earlier in the series, at this point, his parts of the book can be read completely independently and have no effect on your understanding (or head-scratching due to) the main plot.
Go ahead and buy this book if you want to see what happens in the series (and find out who Jacen finally "sacrifices"). There are some well-written scenes, and chapters, but much of the time you'll have a hard time suspending disbelief. Good thing the writing isn't very challenging to read and you can get through it quickly. Here's hoping the rest of the series (4 books to go, I believe) can accomplish something praise-worthy. Perhaps getting some bigger-name authors with stronger writing/plot advancement skills would help for the next 'blockbuster' series, if there are any worthwhile characters or stories to work with by then.
 Darth-Who, Boba-Mando special, and Wide-eyed surprise June 1, 2007
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
The book itself was good, the Legacy story continues to move along in a way that continues to hold my interest captive and thrill me. There was ALOT of hype built up for this book...two of only three hardcovers of the series, Darth-Who is revealed, and you can just feel that something BAD is about to happen that is going to throw things into whack, like who or what Jacen's sacrifice would be.
Overall the story moved nicely, but I was a little dissapointed as little action really took place. There were fights sure, but this was more like one of the 'drama' and plot points kind of books in a series. Battles weren't fought with clashing sabers or in space, but within the mind and hearts of the characters, which is cool...whatever floats your boat.
Someone on a Star Wars forum board hit the nail on the head MONTHS ago about this book, they said, 'Expect a hardcover book about Mando's/Boba Fett with a little Jedi and a twist about Jacen'. Even though Jacen and Ben got a healthy portion of the book, I couldn't help but feel Boba and the Mando's were center stage. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what Karen Traviss is doing, she's single-handedly cleaned up the EU about Boba and Mando's and made them interesting and important again. Though as important as their part was in the book and setting up for future events, I feel they kind of stole the spotlight a little.
One major gripe, at what point did the authors feel it was necessary to make up Star wars versions of cursewords? Why did they feel compelled to make the characters curse SO MUCH?? I can't see Luke or Mara saying the cross match for 'F'ing', it just seems...wrong and trashy. It's Star Wars! 'Family Feel'? A Sci-Fi/Fantasy adventure of wonder...Star Wars is getting to realistic for my taste lately.
I'm still trying to figure out why on earth the authors are completely excluded some characters...Jaina barely showed up near the end. Where is Lowbacca?? Oh well, at least we got Kyle Katarn again, the star wars chuck norris, Woot!
Overall a good book, lots of 'inner struggle' which seems fitting. I was a little confused about Jacen's 'Sacrifice', it didn't really fit into how I thought I understood it, but I won't spoil it for you. Not sure if it was 'hardcover' worthy but not bad...can't wait to see what Aaron A. does in the next part of the series.
 LOTF series is a trainwreck to behold July 14, 2007
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
Sacrifice is the 5th book of the nine-book Legacy Of the Force series. The events in it take place roughly 37 years after the Battle Of Endor.
The fifth book is the by far worst of a series whose faults become increasingly evident as the story progresses. I didn't like their decision to turn Jacen into a Sith. I feel it totally destroys the impact of the NJO series and Jacen's development as a character since Traitor. When Anakin Solo was killed off, a portion of the fanbase was outraged. I wasn't one of them(though I felt very bad about Han and Leia) and I conseled myself that this was necessary for Jacen's hero's journey. Now this has all come to nothing with Jacen chosing to follow the villain's journey. And such a boring, cliched, and stupid villain that is.
The coordination between the three authors of the LOTF is also particularly bad. NJO had many more authors participating in it and I felt their efforts was more streamlined than what we see in LOTF. All of the three authors write their favorite characters, and some plotlines simply do not appear in the other books. Traviss is busy forcing her Mandalorians into the storyline; Allston writes about Wedge and his family, and Denning is obsessed with Han and Leia who still dodge blockades and turbolaser fire in the Falcon. But Traviss is by far the worst team player. And I don't understand why they chose her to co-author a mainstream series as LOTF. Her Republic Commando books are quite good, but she's terrible at writing this kind of story depicting important events in the galaxy.
Her writing style in this novel is especially dull. There's talk, talk, politics, politics, and very little action. It had seemed the war had finally started in Exile, but you can't see it here. There was one space battle in this book, and it was written very badly and it ended in a few pages.
Ben Skywalker's slowly coming to his own; it almost seems to me that after destroying the Solo kids(Anakin=dead; Jaina=almost written into obscurity; Jacen=idiotic Sith Lord), LFL is trying to salvage the situation by hastily developing Ben's character. But even he ends up in this book with a sniper rifle and assasinates the Corellian prime minister cold bloodedly. Not real Jedi-like, eh? Not to mention that he's still just a 14 year old kid. Typical of Traviss writing.
Jacen "legally" seizing power in a matter of days was also totally unconvincing. It makes the GA senate seem even more stupid and inefficient than the Palpatine-era Old Republic senate. And once the deed is done, no one asks any questions when suddenly Cal Omas is arrested. Oh, come on!
** Major spoilers from now on **
And the major character death in this book... It was written horribly. Mara goes off hunting Jacen after learning what he is; and does this without telling Luke or rest of the Jedi; thereby ensuring that after her death no one knows that Jacen did it. And still no one knows Jacen has become a Sith. This is NOT Mara. She's not that stupid.
And Luke is again made to look like an idiot when he jumps to the conclusion that Lumiya has killed Mara and goes after her all guns blazing; and kills her, after she's out of the fight. It's more like an execution and not very Luke-like at all.
Ironically, the only thing I enjoyed reading in this book was the Boba Fett and Mandalorian side-story. And it had almost nothing to do with the main storyline, and could be easily left out without affecting the rest of the book!!
So, my advice: Do not buy this book. Actually, if you haven't began reading the LOTF series, I suggest you don't start at all. It's not worth the money and time. Read the awesome Legacy comics from Dark Horse instead.
Not the best Star Wars book but I'm reading just to find out what happens. June 22, 2007
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
This review will touch on the book, and then the series itself.
The book was, in my opinion, too long, slow and inconsistant. A lot of things happen, with the eventual death of three major characters (of this series), Ben discovering Jacen is Sith, and a lot of focus on Fett becoming a leader of his people, but most of it is towards the end, or the last third of the book.
Many characters are not given the normally astute intellect they are usually written with either. For instance, when Mara has a bath with Leia, in other books, Leia would be looking into the meaning of Mara's questions, make the correct deductions, grab Han and blast out into space in the Falcon and perhaps contact Luke for help. Instead, Leia gets a few lines and that's it.
Similarly, Luke is portrayed as a bit of an easily mislead dummy.
I feel that this series is taking much too long to get into Jacen's path into Sith-hood, and the resolution. The original series did the whole rise and fall and redemption of Darth Vader in 6 movies/novels. The Star Wars Legacy series isn't even half way there yet. The New Jedi Order series also took too long. I have a bad feeling that the publishers are trying to milk Star Wars for all they can and are stringing it along.
6th July 2007.
I thought I'd add on a bit.
At this moment, I am ranking about 319,000th most popular reviewer, and only 2 out of 5 readers found my review useful.
One thing I've noticed about the most useful reviews is that they tend to be very long and the majority are very positive about the product they review. Those who arent tend to get a "not useful" ranking.
Now I find the Amazon review system very good. I have mentioned it before on another review that I would not have read Tanya Huff's very good Confederation/Sergeant Torin series had it not been for the positive reviews.
But reviews are there to provide an honest opinon, not to wax on ad nauseum about how wonderful the book is.
And I didnt enjoy this book that much, nor have I been enjoying the Star Wars franchise of books since they expanded into the New Jedi Order. There have been moments of uniqueness and action. But it is inconsistent.
So for those who read my review, dont expect a long detailed review on the positives. It's simply a quick review on my take of the book, and I dont add too many details because I assume the reader is very familiar with the series. It is Book 5 for Heaven's sake, not Book 1.
I will be reading the rest of the series, simply to discover how it ends. My one hope is that Ben Skywalker becomes someone who is a true Jedi of the future, that he discovers how he has been decieved, and grows to become an inspiration, as his father was before him.
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