Bloodlines: Star Wars Legacy of the Force    by Karen Traviss Order:  USA  Can Del Rey, 2006 (2006) Paperback Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by J. A. Kaszuba Locke Karen Traviss's title Bloodlines in book two of Star Wars: Legend of the Force is appropriate to her storyline as she follows Boba Fett and Jacen Solo, one dying from illness, while the other arrogantly climbs the path of a renewed philosophy of the Sith. Boba muses 'I'm really going to die within two years. I'm seventy-one ... I'm not finished yet' as he maneuvers his ship Slave I. While Jacen time-walks in the Jedi Temple in the steps of Darth Vader to learn more of his grandfather, he wonders, 'can I believe Lumiya? ... a true Sith follower? ... or a clever, manipulative, and infinitely patient woman with her own agenda'? Boba Fett carries with him the memory of a wife he left behind (Sintas Vel) and a daughter Ailyn, now in her fifties and a bounty hunter. A young woman follows him, wearing Mandalorian body armor. She holds out a 'heart-of-fire gemstone' Boba gave to Sintas long ago. This woman, Mirta Gev, has knowledge of who killed Sintas, and of Ailyn's whereabouts. Of his final days, Boba ponders 'Slave I should be his final resting place. He didn't want her left behind; he had a sudden vision of setting a course out of the galaxy in his final days and letting the ship carry him as far as she could on her fuel cells and then drifting forever where nobody would follow. It was reassuring.' Mara Skywalker refused a Galactic Alliance offer to command an attack group on the Corellians. Jacen, who is asked to bridge the gap between army and the Corellian Security Force, proposes to Chief Omas: 'a complete neutralization of their capacity to fight a war. The destruction of their shipyards.' Jacen demands a battle group command, with which he can 'bring to heel' opposition, sending a message that 'no single planet is bigger than the Alliance'. Ben accompanies Jacen to force the internment of thousands of Corellians residing on Coruscant. Ben wants to learn from Jacen, not just be seen as Luke and Mara's Jedi son, but has misgivings as he watches Jacen kill for the sake of killing, using Jedi Force. On Coronet, Han and Leia are warned by Dur Gejjen (a member of Thrackan Sal Solo's staff) that the Solo and Skywalker families have been targeted for elimination by a bounty hunter. Mara and Luke are at odds as to their son's apprenticeship under Jacen. Luke's nightmares of an 'image of a shrouded man' increase in frequency, and he realizes that it is not a he but a she, sensing the return of dark Jedi Lumiya's presence in the area. Lumiya (now more cyborg than human) was once in love with Luke. In his private apartment on Coruscant, Jacen Solo reaches out in the Force, 'and at that moment he would have given nearly anything to see her {his love Tenel Ka} and his daughter, Allana, again'. But Jacen must protect the Hapan royalty, especially from Lumiya, as he wonders 'How tall has Allana grown? Was she aware of her Force powers yet?' Jacen and Ben deal with riots at the Corellian Embassy, and an 'enemy within' when Coruscant's Water Supply is purposely contaminated with Fex-M3, causing deaths or nerve damage to residents of the cosmopolitan City. Here's an attention-getter from this episode: colleagues go deadly silent when they hear Jacen say 'Fear breeds its own problems ... I'm not ashamed of Anakin Skywalker. And there are positive things I can learn from his example'. In Bloodlines, Traviss has opened the doors for a new Star Wars mindset. All we can do is wait and watch the story evolve in the nine books planned. I borrow a line of Traviss's - 'It felt like a world bracing itself for the worst' - as fans do the same. They brace themselves as Jacen's power and influence rises, waiting for book three, Troy Denning's Tempest. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more SF books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews