Originally posted by Geistalt
Top Tier:
Luke Skywalker
Jaina Solo Fel
Mace Windu
Darth Sidious
Yoda
Knightfall Vader
...
For the last time:
As of 41.5 ABY, Jaina Solo is a mediocre combatant at best. She is inferior to the entire Jedi Council and many Jedi Knights. She is completely outclassed by Darth Caedus. There is no basis to the idea Jaina went from a sub-Kit Fisto combatant to above Yoda in the span of 2.5 years when not one of the nine Fate of the Jedi books even mention growth.
And no, this line: "All Luke's team had to do was take out that shield generator. On most days, that would have been an easy job for two Jedi Masters and Jaina Solo, who, as the Sword of the Jedi, had proven time and again that she was the combat equal of anyone in the Order." is not going to change that.
Let's consider the context, for one. The trio (i.e Luke, Jaina, and Corran Horn) have to destroy a shield generator. The reasoning why the text even expands upon Jaina's status is to convey that, while she is just a Jedi Knight, she's just as capable as a Jedi Master for this mission.
Second, consider the terminology of the quote: "[Jaina is] the combat equal of anyone in the Order." The quote would clearly have a different connotation if it instead read, "[Jaina is] the combat equal of Luke Skywalker." There is an inherent distinction between the two quotes. The way Jaina's quote reads is generic, similar to quotes that Asajj Ventress has stating that she is a threat to "any Jedi," which we would all agree is different than, "Asajj Ventress is a threat to Yoda." Simply put, the intent is simply meant to convey Jaina is capable, not to slide in a suggestion that Jaina is just as skilled with a lightsaber as Luke himself.
Most importantly, the quote justifies it's stance by stating she has "proven [this] time and time again." Spoiler: Jaina hasn't... as in, Jaina has never showed anything suggesting parity with Luke with a lightsaber, nor has she done it consistency. Clearly, then, we can recognize what I mentioned before, and that it's just meaning Jaina has showed time and time again she's just as capable as a Jedi Master (which, again is the premise of the quote), in which that is true (albeit debatably - and again not even in favor of Jaina).
It's also worth mentioning Fate of the Jedi rotates between character perspectives like most Star Wars novels do. The narrator hovers above the character's head and generally adopts the knowledge and biases of the characters. It's not at all out of the question that the narrator is reflecting the viewpoint of Jaina, similarly to how the narrator likely adopts the viewpoint of Darth Bane in regards to his musings that Kas'im might be the greatest swordsman ever.