3/5 Rancors - Patterns of Force is the final entry in the Coruscant Nights trilogy by frequent Star Wars contributor Michael Reaves. It picks up threads both from the first two books in the series along with elements from his earlier novels Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and the Medstar duology. The story takes place shortly after Revenge of the Sith, although it is evident from multiple date problems it was originally intended to be later in the timeline, right before A New Hope. Over the course of these novels, Reaves has created his own enjoyable stable of recurring characters and utilizes them well.
My personal favorite of his creations is the sarcastic droid-with-a-soul I-5YQ. I-5 has lent himself to some fascinating explorations of the thin line between sentient artificial life and traditional organic beings and that journey reaches a peak in Patterns of Force. I-5 has developed a capacity to experience actual emotion and doing so makes him visible in the Force. I-5’s continued evolution to a higher state raises questions both about his right to self-determination and, specific to the plot of this book, the risk that if he participates in a plot to assassinate Emperor Palpatine, he might be foiled in the attempt by his Force emanations.
I-5’s closest friends Jax Pavan and Den Dhur also play significant parts in Patterns of Force, along with several characters introduced in the prior two books. Most welcome to me was the return and deft handling of Gray Paladin Laranth Tarak. Somewhat of a 2-D character previously, her relationship with Pavan matures here and she becomes more fully realized. Den plays his usual wise-cracking, loyal despite himself role, but is mostly on the sidelines.
The storyline of this book was on the thin side; most of the focus is on developing the characters. As I mentioned, there is a plot brewing to assassinate the Emperor and Jax and his friends get involved. While the idea is tremendously exciting, I didn’t find much payoff. The other plot element I couldn’t wait to see was the inevitable confrontation between Jax and Darth Vader, and while that comes, I also thought there would be more to it. However, that’s a delicate line to walk for Reaves. Obviously Vader shouldn’t be in any mortal danger in a duel during the Dark Times, and many fans would react negatively to a fight which featured anything but Vader handing Jax’s rear to him on a platter. That said, I can see how Reaves came up with the climax. It does balance handling Vader in a realistic way while still having some sort of physical action between him and Jax.
I’m always interested in Star Wars novels that mainly utilize peripheral or brand-new characters, such as the Republic Commando or X-wing series, and in that context the Coruscant Nights trilogy is a welcome expansion of the timeline. Overall, I enjoyed the characters more than the storylines, which dragged in places, but I recommend the books to anyone interested in learning more about the Dark Times era, a part of Star Wars history that still has plenty of room to grow.
My personal favorite of his creations is the sarcastic droid-with-a-soul I-5YQ. I-5 has lent himself to some fascinating explorations of the thin line between sentient artificial life and traditional organic beings and that journey reaches a peak in Patterns of Force. I-5 has developed a capacity to experience actual emotion and doing so makes him visible in the Force. I-5’s continued evolution to a higher state raises questions both about his right to self-determination and, specific to the plot of this book, the risk that if he participates in a plot to assassinate Emperor Palpatine, he might be foiled in the attempt by his Force emanations.
I-5’s closest friends Jax Pavan and Den Dhur also play significant parts in Patterns of Force, along with several characters introduced in the prior two books. Most welcome to me was the return and deft handling of Gray Paladin Laranth Tarak. Somewhat of a 2-D character previously, her relationship with Pavan matures here and she becomes more fully realized. Den plays his usual wise-cracking, loyal despite himself role, but is mostly on the sidelines.The storyline of this book was on the thin side; most of the focus is on developing the characters. As I mentioned, there is a plot brewing to assassinate the Emperor and Jax and his friends get involved. While the idea is tremendously exciting, I didn’t find much payoff. The other plot element I couldn’t wait to see was the inevitable confrontation between Jax and Darth Vader, and while that comes, I also thought there would be more to it. However, that’s a delicate line to walk for Reaves. Obviously Vader shouldn’t be in any mortal danger in a duel during the Dark Times, and many fans would react negatively to a fight which featured anything but Vader handing Jax’s rear to him on a platter. That said, I can see how Reaves came up with the climax. It does balance handling Vader in a realistic way while still having some sort of physical action between him and Jax.
I’m always interested in Star Wars novels that mainly utilize peripheral or brand-new characters, such as the Republic Commando or X-wing series, and in that context the Coruscant Nights trilogy is a welcome expansion of the timeline. Overall, I enjoyed the characters more than the storylines, which dragged in places, but I recommend the books to anyone interested in learning more about the Dark Times era, a part of Star Wars history that still has plenty of room to grow.
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