Yeah. I discussed it in pages five through seven of this thread.
edit: I don't know if it's the particular font employed in the PDF I've acquired or simply my current mood, but I am heavily reconsidering my assessment of Traitor and, to a lesser extent, Matthew Stover himself. Metaphors motherfvcking abound.
Originally posted by Eminence
Very much so. Luceno is just about the best in the business, and the excerpts and leaked chapters I've managed to procure here and there have not disappointed.
Yeah, between the Amazon scans and Google books, I've read all but one chapter and a handful of pages. I've pretty much singlehandedly (and thanklessly!) constructed a TVTropes page and have attempted to share my dark secrets and excerpts wherever possible, to whet the appetite of the proletariat.
I'd need to read the whole thing in a seamless collection rather than the bizarre manner in which I've been forced to read it, but my initial impression is that it's an 8.5/10.
Definitely more cerebral than your standard EU book.
ChainOfLove
Google books
ChainOfLoveI see.
I've pretty much singlehandedly (and thanklessly!) constructed a TVTropes page and have attempted to share my dark secrets and excerpts wherever possible, to whet the appetite of the proletariat.
ChainOfLove
I'd need to read the whole thing in a seamless collection rather than the bizarre manner in which I've been forced to read it, but my initial impression is that it's an 8.5/10.Definitely more cerebral than your standard EU book.
Eminence
This. I'm waiting until release to read the entire thing cover to cover and avoiding unnecessary spoilers in the meantime, but it's absurd how much of the novel is already out there in the absence of a single comprehensive format.
Yes, I was hoping someone would have compiled the entire thing sooner. And there was far more content to the Google Books collection even just last night.
Eminence
I see.
I'm home alone, the girlfriend's gone, and the gym is closed. Don't judge me.
Eminence
As broadly as you can: why the -1.5?
Well first, because there's no such thing as a perfect novel. Second, the political angle is in some ways less interesting than what it was in Cloak of Deception because we are privy to Palpatine's devious perspective throughout the novel, whereas Luceno had to take great caution in order to avoid painting Palpatine as the villain in the previous book, as well as the fact that Deception's plot was original-- we had no idea how the struggle would play out, with the exception of the major characters' fates.
Now I don't mean to suggest the political angle isn't excellent, because it is, it's just not as exciting. On the other hand, Plagueis makes up for it by offering a truly cerebral examination of the Sith. The Bane trilogy was more concerned with Karpyshyn's characteristic superficial take on the Force, but Plagueis and Sidious are more intellectual Sith and thus their exploits concern themselves with experimentation and Sith philosophy than displays of power.
All this and the fact that I haven't read it seamlessly, but have had to jump to random points in the book throughout the past two weeks, keeps me from giving it a higher score.
I haven't read or completed about half of those; I might read through The Unifying Force and Shatterpoint again, and I guess I'll get to Cloak of Deception eventually because you and Janus have both recommended it.
Just finished the Traitor reread, and past the first four pages it's still great. Stover remains in esteem.
Originally posted by ChainOfLove
A theme that spans the novel regarding Vitiate is his paranoia. If he so easily subjugated the minds of hundreds of Sith Lords, why would he refuse to do the same to the men and women who populate his Dark Council, his closest, most powerful, and most potentially dangerous servants? He feared them enough to execute them the moment he even suspected their plot against him. It seems to me he could have reduced the threat substantially by using the Force to compel their cooperation, especially when the legend indicates he was wont to do so in the past.So why not now, with the stakes higher and the treachery more dangerous?
Nyriss, it seemed, wasn't even going to make the attempt. She had failed to stop the Emperor before she had even begun. (from Revan novel)
& this:
Nyriss would never move against the Emperor; he knew that now. He had come to accept that neither she nor any of the other
Dark Council members who had plotted with her would ever actually dare to strike. (from Revan novel)
& this:
Several members of the Dark Council, the Emperor's circle of handpicked advisers, had joined together in a conspiracy to remove
him from the throne. Yet after more than a decade, they had made no real progress. (from Revan novel)
Do these give you any hint?
You also assume that Vitiate was afraid of anybody?
This shall also give you a glimpse:
Scourge expected them to search him, or at least instruct him to turn over his weapons. But Yarri and the others simply stood at attention, waiting for him to enter. The fact that they showed no concern over letting an armed Sith Lord speak to the Emperor face-to-face without any kind of preparation was a testament to the Emperor's unfathomable power.
Thinking about that power gave Scourge pause. Like Revan, the Emperor understood the Force in ways Scourge never would. (from Revan novel)
& this:
"I said he killed them all," Scourge replied. "All twelve members of the Dark Council— even those who weren’t part of the conspiracy. He wanted to send a message no one would ever forget." (from Revan novel)
This is why he killed them all.
As far as mental powers are concerned, capability was not the issue:
"The Emperor has the ability to dominate and enslave the minds of those who serve him," she explained.
My assumption is valid. Vitiate did not felt the need to use his mental powers on every individual in his Empire.
When he wanted to crush the will of an opponent with his mental powers, he could do so. And we have several examples.
Just a minor mental brushing from Vitiate could do this to a powerful individual:
As he spoke, the dark circles of his eyes seemed to fill with a swirling red mist, and for a brief instant the Emperor gave Scourge a glimpse of his true self. Scourge cried out in anguish as the Emperor's mind brushed against his, then he collapsed to the floor, shaking like a child. (from Revan novel)
Your assumptions are weak. You need to read the novel properly.
I have one question, in the Emperor fight at the end of the Revan, doesn't Scourge notice that Meetra could have killed the Emperor if she had opted to impale him rather than save Revan's life. Scourged sensed hesitance and uncertainty. Sounds to me like the Emperor was crapping his pants a little bit.
Originally posted by Mizukage Yoda
I have one question, in the Emperor fight at the end of the Revan, doesn't Scourge notice that Meetra could have killed the Emperor if she had opted to impale him rather than save Revan's life. Scourged sensed hesitance and uncertainty. Sounds to me like the Emperor was crapping his pants a little bit.
The Sith Emperor's full attention is on killing Revan at that moment. He's standing over Revan, holding the Jedi's lightsaber intending to kill him right then and there. Meetra and Scourge are too far away to close the distance, so Meetra throws her lightsaber and knocks the blade from Vitiate's grasp. Scourge believes that if she had allowed Revan to die and simply aimed for the Emperor, he may have been slain because he was fully intent only on Revan.
At no point is the Emperor truly afraid of losing, but it does appear that he under-estimates Revan at first and ignores the possible threat of his companions until they all stand against him. It's also important to know that Vitiate is able to make a Force Storm that completely overwhelms Revan, even though the latter had turned Nyriss to ash using the same kind of defensive redirection move. While he's not dominating the trio instantly in the figt, he downs the strongest with his lightning. Meetra, the same Jedi who has trained under Kreia, fought Nihilus and Sion, called Revan the "strongest Force user [she] had ever known". And Vitiate nearly killed him with one attack.