Scan barcode
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
3.0
Bullet Review:
Grrrrrrr...this was quite a bit more frustrating than the previous books. I like how Brakiss talks to Zekk - and he actually makes more than a couple of good points. But the story feels overlong, the eponymous Lost Ones are virtually non-existent and there’s a heap of Protagonist Centered Morality and even more massive classist privilege.
Full Review:
Jaina and Jacen return home to Coruscant with their friends, Lowbacca and Tenel Ka in tow. They plan to meet up with their before-unmentioned friend, Zekk, a rapscallion orphan who survives by scavenging the dangerous Coruscant underworld. But although they are friends, they come from completely different worlds, and when Zekk tries to join Jaina and Jacen's super privileged silver spoon world, he inadvertently embarrasses himself. He leaves and is caught by Tamith Kai and the Nightsisters, who take him to Brakiss. And Brakiss has an offer Zekk can't refuse...
I was very impressed with "Heirs to the Force" and "Shadow Academy". Both books did a good job of having engaging characters, an interesting story and even some good discussions on morals and ethics. And while this book does have an intriguing dialoge between Brakiss and Zekk, there are parts that are irritating - and some make no sense and break me out of the story all together. And yes, I get this is a children's series, but I think even children deserve a modicum of logic in their stories.
Let's rip the band-aid off: Shame on Han and Leia for knowing about Zekk's life and doing absolutely nothing about it. Shame on Leia for not raising an alarm when her children expressed concern about Zekk's whereabouts. Shame on all these privileged a-holes for treating Zekk like a toy, a second-class citizen, for having no compassion when he spent his modest income on outdated clothes. I suppose one could say that in this book, Anderson and Moestra did a better job of making nuance in the New Republic than most authors - here, the New Republic is bloated and inept, unable to clear out debris or upkeep the most important equipment. Children roam in the underworld, scavenging to get by. Sure, life is great for the Solos and Skywalkers, the ones with the big names, but what about everyone else? Do they really see any good from this New Republic?
So yeah, I'm a bit tweaked at our leads for being privileged, exclusive a-holes. If that gives them a place to grow, good. Growth and change is good - and this topic can be great to show for our youths.
Another very minor point: Norys is said to be dark. Garowyn was as well - the same description used on Lando, the only Black Person in Star Wars (other than Finn...). The troublesome part is that Norys, like Garowyn, is a "bad guy" - so out of 3 black people in Star Wars, 2 of them are evil. Yikes. (Yes, I’m aware of Salla Zend, who is another black person in Star Wars. But in these books, the ratio is kinda skewed.)
Then we have the little things that pile up and make no freakin' sense. Why is the book called the Lost Ones, when they so infrequently appear and have little effect on the story? How did a merchant ship get captured around the New Republic's capital? The children cannot directly sense Zekk until they can (they sense he sent them something in a message pod) - and they said that the Force wasn't capable of exactly pinpointing a person's location, even for the likes of Luke Skywalker. So Force inconsistencies abound even still. Where the Shadow Academy is eventually found to be makes no sense - and even though this series is over 20 years old, I still won't spoil it. And the other spoiler - the revelation of who the Big Leader is - well, let's just hope that it's not what I'm afraid it is!
I felt this book was just a whole lot more loosely connected - not necessarily bad thing, but in light of the first two books, it feels sloppy and bloated. The Lost Ones may be in the title, but they hardly appear in the book; it's still weird to think that the kids stole a hawkbat's egg at the beginning of the book and it ends with Zekk at the Academy. However, I do think some interesting plot points were brought up and it could make a better book 4 (which I remember being HUGELY dramatic when I first read it).
Grrrrrrr...this was quite a bit more frustrating than the previous books. I like how Brakiss talks to Zekk - and he actually makes more than a couple of good points. But the story feels overlong, the eponymous Lost Ones are virtually non-existent and there’s a heap of Protagonist Centered Morality and even more massive classist privilege.
Full Review:
Jaina and Jacen return home to Coruscant with their friends, Lowbacca and Tenel Ka in tow. They plan to meet up with their before-unmentioned friend, Zekk, a rapscallion orphan who survives by scavenging the dangerous Coruscant underworld. But although they are friends, they come from completely different worlds, and when Zekk tries to join Jaina and Jacen's super privileged silver spoon world, he inadvertently embarrasses himself. He leaves and is caught by Tamith Kai and the Nightsisters, who take him to Brakiss. And Brakiss has an offer Zekk can't refuse...
I was very impressed with "Heirs to the Force" and "Shadow Academy". Both books did a good job of having engaging characters, an interesting story and even some good discussions on morals and ethics. And while this book does have an intriguing dialoge between Brakiss and Zekk, there are parts that are irritating - and some make no sense and break me out of the story all together. And yes, I get this is a children's series, but I think even children deserve a modicum of logic in their stories.
Let's rip the band-aid off: Shame on Han and Leia for knowing about Zekk's life and doing absolutely nothing about it. Shame on Leia for not raising an alarm when her children expressed concern about Zekk's whereabouts. Shame on all these privileged a-holes for treating Zekk like a toy, a second-class citizen, for having no compassion when he spent his modest income on outdated clothes. I suppose one could say that in this book, Anderson and Moestra did a better job of making nuance in the New Republic than most authors - here, the New Republic is bloated and inept, unable to clear out debris or upkeep the most important equipment. Children roam in the underworld, scavenging to get by. Sure, life is great for the Solos and Skywalkers, the ones with the big names, but what about everyone else? Do they really see any good from this New Republic?
So yeah, I'm a bit tweaked at our leads for being privileged, exclusive a-holes. If that gives them a place to grow, good. Growth and change is good - and this topic can be great to show for our youths.
Another very minor point: Norys is said to be dark. Garowyn was as well - the same description used on Lando, the only Black Person in Star Wars (other than Finn...). The troublesome part is that Norys, like Garowyn, is a "bad guy" - so out of 3 black people in Star Wars, 2 of them are evil. Yikes. (Yes, I’m aware of Salla Zend, who is another black person in Star Wars. But in these books, the ratio is kinda skewed.)
Then we have the little things that pile up and make no freakin' sense. Why is the book called the Lost Ones, when they so infrequently appear and have little effect on the story? How did a merchant ship get captured around the New Republic's capital? The children cannot directly sense Zekk until they can (they sense he sent them something in a message pod) - and they said that the Force wasn't capable of exactly pinpointing a person's location, even for the likes of Luke Skywalker. So Force inconsistencies abound even still. Where the Shadow Academy is eventually found to be makes no sense - and even though this series is over 20 years old, I still won't spoil it. And the other spoiler - the revelation of who the Big Leader is - well, let's just hope that it's not what I'm afraid it is!
I felt this book was just a whole lot more loosely connected - not necessarily bad thing, but in light of the first two books, it feels sloppy and bloated. The Lost Ones may be in the title, but they hardly appear in the book; it's still weird to think that the kids stole a hawkbat's egg at the beginning of the book and it ends with Zekk at the Academy. However, I do think some interesting plot points were brought up and it could make a better book 4 (which I remember being HUGELY dramatic when I first read it).
twilliamson's review
4.0
The Young Jedi Knights series is consistently the best Star Wars around, grounded in the believable characters Anderson and Moesta make together. In this third installment, Jaina and Jacen must face their life of privilege as one of their close friends is suddenly seduced by the Dark Side of the Force.
Maybe it's just the class warrior in me, but that this book takes on a class consciousness as it pertains to the heroes of the New Republic in distinction with the Second Imperium and its more fascist inclinations disguised as populism is just really, really cool. In much of Star Wars to this point, the politics of the galaxy have often been underexplored, so Anderson and Moesta's characterization of Zekk and the Lost Ones gives the series some much-needed political soul. It works really well here, in spite of the lack of clear resolution for the ongoing plot.
Even without a clear resolution to this series' major ideas and plotlines--like the Emperor just suddenly being back?--this book in particular gives us more and more of a look at the lives of the Solo children and their core values, building up believable characters whose lives are full of actual stakes.
This is great children's fiction, and it's even better Star Wars.
Maybe it's just the class warrior in me, but that this book takes on a class consciousness as it pertains to the heroes of the New Republic in distinction with the Second Imperium and its more fascist inclinations disguised as populism is just really, really cool. In much of Star Wars to this point, the politics of the galaxy have often been underexplored, so Anderson and Moesta's characterization of Zekk and the Lost Ones gives the series some much-needed political soul. It works really well here, in spite of the lack of clear resolution for the ongoing plot.
Even without a clear resolution to this series' major ideas and plotlines--like the Emperor just suddenly being back?--this book in particular gives us more and more of a look at the lives of the Solo children and their core values, building up believable characters whose lives are full of actual stakes.
This is great children's fiction, and it's even better Star Wars.
porlarta's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
alphaalexis's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rebelrider's review
3.0
This book was okay but it seemed like the authors were trying to write a book for kids and didn’t know how do that. The plot was interesting and some parts, like Zekk eating the bouquet, were pretty funny.
jljaina's review against another edition
5.0
My first look at Coruscant-outside the movies that is. And a bit of a view of it's seedy underground. The twins and their academy friends go home for a while and meet up with Jaina and Jacen's old friend Zekk. A major difference in their backround causes trouble. I liked seeing how they treated and reacted to Zekk's upbringing and home. While they have always lived a fairly posh life s the children of the Chief of State, Zekk is lucky to be able to afford a small "apartment." He scrouges form parts and salvage in the scummiest parts of the planet just to be able to eat. It broke my heart a bit. Add a major city gang, and trouble from the past and it is a busy yet a bit emotional read. I almost cried toward the end-I won't say why though.
ifthebook's review
3.0
Oh, Zekk. I can almost see why he made the decision he did, but then at other times I just can't.
ragingcardboard's review
4.0
Book three! Another absolute success for me. This one is fun because we see the kids go home to visit Leia and Han, with their friends. We get a taste of Leia's current political responsibilities and also meet people from the lower levels of the city as well. The pacing in this book is excellent and there's a lot packed into this. There's a somewhat surprising twist in this and I think it will make the next book very interesting as we investigate the repercussions of actions from this book.
rey's review
3.0
Gonna go jump inside the book for hugging Jaina. The ending was so exciting and I can't wait for the war. And since the next book is called "Lightsabers", I'm wondering if that's the one where they get their sabers.