Conviction: Star Wars

Conviction Scores with Tons of Humor and Fun

Conviction took off from the momentum of Vortex, and on the surface, it was a lot like Backlash. In both books Allston followed up on Denning's efforts of a Lovecraftian portrayal of the mysterious, uber-powerful Abeloth. Like Backlash, Abeloth took more of a back seat as the other parties stepped forward, especially the teaming of Han-Leia-Allana and Luke-Ben-Vestara. However, Allston did a lot more than write another Backlash. Conviction soared above and beyond its predecessors as easily the most fun book in the series and with possibly the funniest Star Wars jokes in years. The book is simply jam packed with humor, fun, an excellent characterization. Over all it is an enjoyable and viable addition to the FOTJ series. With the "yes and" method Allston successfully manages to advance events from the previous books while presenting Golden and Denning with plenty to work with in their next two novels. He wraps this all up in a thorough EU package for the enjoyment of the reader, with no false notes in any of his characterizations. And although this is not an Abyss or Vortex, packed with mysterious Abeloth action, Allston really topped himself with his best book yet in this series, and in my opinion his best book since the Enemy Lines duology. The story mimics the fun, action-adventure aspect of the Original Trilogy, and, in a way, the joy that early Bantam stories like the Thrawn Trilogy and the X-wing books did so well. By leaving the Tribe to Christie Golden, and Abeloth to Troy Denning, Allston managed to hit a home run by focusing on the Big 3, classic Star Wars characters, and the new generation of Jedi. Conviction is Allston doing what he does best. Read more