Tempest by troy denning

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

The Hapes cluster is under a serious threat due to the Civil War.

It makes one wonder if the divided Skywalker/Solo family members will have what it takes to rescue them from the brink of ruination.

I truly relished the diverging and interlinking plot lines within this story. Everything was masterfully woven together in a highly pleasing fashion.

However, I am a bit disappointed in the depiction of the Hapan queens. It appears more as a plot device rather than how she would realistically react to Jacen in this particular situation.

Nevertheless, I am willing to overlook this aspect for the sake of the excellent depictions of the other characters in the book. Their portrayals are so vivid and engaging that they manage to draw me deeper into the story, despite this one minor flaw in the characterization of the Hapan queens.

Overall, the story still holds great appeal and keeps me eagerly turning the pages to see what will happen next.

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mirrorofenigmas

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

Troy Denning’s “Tempest” is the third installment in the nine-book series Legacy of the Force. Denning has an impressive track record in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (SWEU). He wrote “Star By Star”, which was one of my favorites in the New Jedi Order series, and also his three-book SWEU Dark Nest series. Characters and events from that series are referenced in “Tempest”, so it would be beneficial to have read that trilogy before this one.

Jacen Solo’s descent into the Dark Side is a gradual yet inevitable process. His work as a terrorist-hunter has earned him praise within the Galactic Alliance military ranks. He is now the captain of a Star Destroyer and has adopted an all-black attire, including a black cape. Any resemblance to his grandfather, Darth Vader, is, of course, purely coincidental.

The plot of “Tempest” is rather complex, involving a series of double- and triple-crosses. Han and Leia Solo are being set up to appear as terrorists, framed for an assassination attempt on Tenel Ka, the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, who is also Jacen’s secret love and the mother of Jacen’s secret love-child.

Luke and Mara are involved in a murder investigation on Coruscant. The brutal homicide of a Jedi Master provides more evidence that the Dark Jedi Lumiya is alive and orchestrating events. Luke fears that Lumiya has been corrupting Jacen, and he is also worried that his son, Ben, may be following the path of the Dark Side.

Lumiya is receiving assistance from Alema Rar, a former Jedi Knight who has joined the Dark Side. She is also a Joiner (a victim of the insectoid race of aliens called the Killik’s hive mind), and she is determined to seek revenge against Leia and Luke Skywalker.

Denning weaves an intricate plot, but the book does become cumbersome and confusing near the midpoint due to an abundance of extraneous details. Nevertheless, when the action commences, Denning’s talent for writing exciting and suspenseful action sequences becomes evident.

On to Book Four!

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YoshitoSakurai

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

Denning's work is truly a wild ride of good and bad, making it extremely difficult to rate him objectively.

In this book, I had a certain fondness for both Tenel Ka and Alema. However, almost everyone else still seems quite out of character. This is perhaps the only explanation for how a chaotic series like this could have come about.

Jaina and Zekk aren't really that terrible. But the decision to leapfrog everything forward over the gap of the Next Gen's 20s means that they have seen almost no character growth for a decade. We do get a hint here, but it's the kind of development that should have occurred a year or two after the NJO, not a full ten years later. Poor Zekk.

Killing off Anakin Solo was a major misstep that sent the entire series into a downward spiral. *sigh*

While this installment is not nearly as bad as the previous novel, the series still suffers from a problem of being rife with contradictions regarding the character decisions made in the last book. Jacen-sue remains as dumb as a brick, and it becomes increasingly less believable that people are allowing him to get away with so much senseless behavior.

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JizztasticDonna

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

SPOILERS

This installment is arguably the best of the series thus far. However, one has to wonder what truly consequential events took place. There were some showdowns between forces, yet shockingly, there were 0 deaths. The heroes emerged worse for wear, but this reader craved more in-depth plot development than what this book provided.

Troy Denning persists in the rather forced insertion of characters and storylines from past books into new material. Karen Traviss did something similar with Boba, and now Troy is doing it with the characters from the "Dark Nest" trilogy. To be fair, the Dark Nest trilogy makes a bit more sense in this context, as it at least occurred more recently. The Boba insertion was, frankly, a bit of a joke.

Despite all these critiques, the fight that took place at the end in the bar was absolutely thrilling and stands as my favorite sequence in the entire series up to this point. Overall, I still managed to enjoy my time with this book, despite its flaws.

It's clear that while there are aspects to appreciate, there is also room for improvement in future installments to truly take this series to the next level.

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Mercenaryk

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

Jacen Solo continues to steadily move closer and closer to the menacing dark side of the Force.

Luke Skywalker, filled with deep concern and worry, notices Hus's sob.

He fears that young Ben Solo is in great danger of following closely in his master Jacen's footsteps.

The situation is becoming increasingly perilous as Jacen's descent into the dark side seems inevitable.

Luke knows all too well the consequences of succumbing to the dark side and is desperate to prevent Ben from making the same tragic mistakes.

With each passing day, the tension and uncertainty grow, leaving Luke in a state of constant anxiety.

He must find a way to reach out to Ben and guide him away from the path that Jacen is leading him down.

The future of the Jedi Order and the balance of the Force hang in the balance, and Luke is determined to do everything in his power to protect Ben and preserve the light side.

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decayingwill

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

Tempest is a significant improvement over its predecessor. It effectively details what Jacen is going through and how he could realistically succumb to the dark side. What truly makes this book a success are the poignant moments Denning crafts as Jacen continuously breaks the hearts of his friends and family. He makes serious judgment errors that lead to a terrible mistake that seems unforgivable. The shame he experiences isolates him even further than his sense of mission and detachment from personal attachments. It's like witnessing a slow-motion train wreck. You know the outcome, but the psychological and emotional aspects are captivating.

Moreover, Denning does an excellent job of weaving a basic plot of political deception and galactic intrigue that keeps you engaged and makes sense. This is where Traviss fell short. It feels right. My only minor complaints are that some of the characters use contemporary American idioms, which seem out of place coming from Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker. Maybe I'm being picky, but it was distracting. Overall, it's great fun.

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Kenmeina

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Recently, I had the opportunity to experience something that led me to give it a rating of 3.5 stars. The overall experience was a mixed bag. There were certain aspects that really stood out and impressed me. For example, the quality of the product or service in some areas was quite good. It had some unique features that set it apart from others in the market. However, there were also a few不足之处. Maybe the customer service could have been a bit more responsive or the process could have been streamlined a little better. Despite these flaws, I still found the experience to be somewhat enjoyable and worthwhile. I believe that with a few improvements here and there, it could easily reach a higher rating. Overall, I would say that it's a decent option, but it's not without its room for growth.

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maiyumi

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

The Legacy of the Force series keeps on going with its third installment, which is penned by Troy Denning this time. I have perused some of his previous works, and I have a great liking for them, particularly Star by Star. What I truly adore about his books is that I don't get the sense that the main characters are safeguarded by a "plot shield", as is often the case in other Star Wars books.

For me, the most crucial aspect was the dialogue. There was constantly an enormous amount of tension between certain specific characters, and I just loved it.

You will witness several lightsaber duels, space battles, as well as stealthy action. Overall, this book contains a plethora of elements that we cherish about Star Wars.

The only drawback for me was Jaina's storyline, which I typically enjoy. However, the other storylines were quite likable.

I wholeheartedly recommend continuing this series if you have already read the previous books. I would rate it a 7/10.

P.S.: If your primary motivation for picking up this book is to read about Tenel Ka (owing to the book's cover art), then it would be better to read a book from the New Jedi Order instead.

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Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #3

Tempest

troy denning marc thompson

This edition

Luke Skywalker

Jacen Solo

Mara Jade

C-3po

R2-d2

Zekk

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About the author

troy denning

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