Invincible (Star Wars novel)

Invincible
Author Troy Denning
Cover artist Jason Felix
Country United States
Language English
Series Legacy of the Force
Canon C
Subject Star Wars
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Del Rey
Publication date
 May 13, 2008
Media type Hardcover
Preceded by Revelation
Followed by Crosscurrent

Invincible is the ninth and final book in the Legacy of the Force series. It is a novel by Troy Denning and was released on May 13, 2008.

Story

With Darth Caedus ruling both the Galactic Alliance and the Imperial Remnant, the Jedi Coalition is now desperate to overthrow the Sith Lord by any means necessary. As the events of the novel proceed, with the heroes of the story attempting to find a way to kill Caedus whenever they get the chance, the entire Second Galactic Civil War culminates to a confrontation over the Coalition's base, prompting the Battle of Shedu Maad. Caedus is distracted by the fact that the Imperial Moffs had manufactured a nanovirus programmed to kill Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo and her daughter Allana since they are Hapan royalty, which would be bad for the Hapes Consortium, one of the Galactic Alliance's enemies. Jaina Solo, now prepared to face and kill her hated brother, confronts him in one final lightsaber duel aboard his capital ship: Anakin Solo. Caedus tries to warn her about the nanovirus, going so far as to sheathe his lightsaber in the face of an armed opponent. Jaina however believes that he is attempting to trick her and refuses to believe him, slamming the door shut when Caedus tries to leave and forcing him to fight. The duel continues, with both of them managing to inflict heavy injuries on each other until Jaina manages to cripple Caedus by severing his Achilles tendon, following which she attacks with a final strike which could not possibly be blocked by Caedus in his current condition, but which also leaves her open to a retaliatory strike. However, instead of taking advantage of the opening to drag Jaina into death along with him Caedus chooses to use the last instant of his life to reach out to Tenel Ka and warn her of the danger posed to her and Allana. Jaina realises what he is trying to do an instant before her lightsaber cuts into him, too late for her to stop the killing strike. The guilt associated with Jacen's death continues to haunt Jaina, as she was the only one who had held hope for him, long after everyone else had judged him to have been corrupted beyond redemption; a hope that she had finally given up when she entered into the final battle.

In the aftermath, Ben Skywalker redeems Tahiri Veila of Darth Caedus's darkness, and the Galactic Alliance Guard is disbanded. Luke Skywalker installs Jagged Fel as the Head of State of the Imperial Remnant, and Tenel Ka Djo announces that though she survived the Moffs' nanovirus attack, her daughter didn't. However, in reality, Allana did survive, and Tenel Ka lied about her status so that she wouldn't be targeted for assassination by anyone until she becomes Hapan Queen Mother herself. In the end, with the power vacuum left in Caedus's death, former Imperial Admiral Natasi Daala takes over the Sith Lord's place as the Galactic Alliance's new Chief of State. As she watches Daala being appointed as the Chief of State, Jaina realises that even though Caedus' dream of a New Order died with him, his actions had resulted in the formation of a more unified galaxy. So one way or the other, Caedus had accomplished what he had set out to do. The novel, and the series, ends with Jaina welcoming Han and Leia's adopted daughter, "Amelia Solo" (Allana in disguise), into the family.

Dramatis personae

Reception

Invincible reached 5 on the New York Times bestseller list on June 1, 2008.[1]

References

  1. ↑ "Best Sellers: Fiction: Sunday, June 1st 2008". New York Times. June 1, 2008. Retrieved 2015-03-16.