Star Wars

Fate of the Jedi, Book 2: Omen

By: Christie Golden

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Jedi Order is in crisis. The late Jacen Solo’s shocking transformation into murderous Sith Lord Darth Caedus has cast a damning pall over those who wield the Force for good: Two Jedi Knights have succumbed to an inexplicable and dangerous psychosis, criminal charges have driven Luke Skywalker into self-imposed exile, and power-hungry Chief of State Natasi Daala is exploiting anti-Jedi sentiment to undermine the Order’s influence within the Galactic Alliance.

Forbidden to intervene in Jedi affairs, Luke is on a desperate mission to uncover the truth behind Jacen’s fall to the dark side - and to learn what’s turning peaceful Jedi into raving lunatics. But finding answers will mean venturing into the mind-bending space of the Kathol Rift and bargaining with an alien species as likely to destroy outsiders as deal with them. Still, there is no other choice and no time to lose, as the catastrophic events on Coruscant continue to escalate. Stricken by the same violent dementia that infected her brother, Valin, Jedi Knight Jysella Horn faces an equally grim fate after her capture by Natasi Daala’s police. And when Han and Leia Solo narrowly foil another deranged Jedi bent on deadly destruction, even acting Jedi Grand Master Kenth Hamner appears willing to bow to Daala’s iron will - at the expense of the Jedi Order.

But an even greater threat is looming. Millennia in the past, a Sith starship crashed on an unknown low-tech planet, leaving the survivors stranded. Over the generations, their numbers have grown, the ways of the dark side have been nurtured, and the time is fast approaching when this lost tribe of Sith will once more take to the stars to reclaim their legendary destiny as rulers of the galaxy. Only one thing stands in their way, a name whispered to them through the Force: Skywalker.

More in the Fate of the Jedi series we have. And listen to all of our Star Wars titles you can!

©2009 Christie Golden (P)2009 Random House

Critic Reviews

"Series fans will enjoy this entry and the continued exploration of the huge and mysterious Star Wars galaxy." ( Booklist)

A necessary evil

Okay. I follow Star Wars and have read most of the novels in the SW Universe. The book was palatable because a) it continues to develop the story line and b) once again my favorite characters were brought to life by a *great* narrator. However, this series in general is beginning to become predictable. A couple more Jedi go nuts and Luke/Ben visit one more world and learn one more of Jacen's force abilities. *Yawn* The book could have been longer and could have developed the story line deeper. I also think that suddenly fabricating a new Sith race is.... kind of shallow. ( As was done by releasing "Lost Tribe of the Sith: Precipice" in May 2009.)

Omen: Book - 2

If you could sum up Star Wars in three words, what would they be?

I am writing this review after listening to the first 5 books in the series. Omen has been my favorite book yet. Ben Skywalker grows considerably in this book, and I like the dynamic between him and Luke. The author captures that teenage attitude well. The story line is starting to heat up.

I would listen to the Star Wars books in the following order:

The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command

The Hand of Thrawn Duology by Timothy Zahn
Specter of the Past
Vision of the Future

The Legacy of the Force series
Legacy of the Force: Betrayal by Aaron Allston
Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines by Karen Traviss
Legacy of the Force: Tempest by Troy Denning
Legacy of the Force: Exile by Aaron Allston
Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice by Karen Traviss
Legacy of the Force: Inferno by Troy Denning
Legacy of the Force: Fury by Aaron Allston
Legacy of the Force: Revelation by Karen Traviss
Legacy of the Force: Invincible by Troy Denning

The Fate of the Jedi series
Fate of the Jedi: Outcast by Aaron Allston
Fate of the Jedi: Omen by Christie Golden
Fate of the Jedi: Abyss by Troy Denning
Fate of the Jedi: Backlash by Aaron Allston
Fate of the Jedi: Allies by Christie Golden
Fate of the Jedi: Vortex by Troy Denning
Fate of the Jedi: Conviction by Aaron Allston
Fate of the Jedi: Ascension by Christie Golden
Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse by Troy Denning

What other book might you compare Star Wars to and why?

Be sure to listen to the Thrawn books before these.

What about Marc Thompson’s performance did you like?

Legendary

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Luke: "What's one of the first things you learned in training to be a Jedi?"
Ben: "Don't cut your own head off with your lightsaber."
Luke: "After that."
Ben: "Your eyes can deceive you. Be mindful of your feelings. Girls are fun but dangerous. Lando has extra cards up his sleeve."
Luke: "Well, the truth is in there somewhere…"

A nice continuation of the story!

I don’t really understand the criticisms of this story. Some complain that it feels like filler or some incomplete set-up for the next in the series. But really, what do you expect when you get into a 9-part series that was written as one continuing story? You're not going to get all the answers and conclusions in Part 2!!! Others have complained about the narration which really surprises me. Yes, it sounds a little funny when the adult male narrator does a “little girl voice.” But what do you expect? That’s part of listening to an audio book with one narrator! I say his performance is outstanding!

As for the story itself, this is a nice continuation from part one. The new alien world we are introduced to is very interesting and has a story line you can wrap your teeth around. The evolution of the father/son relationship between Luke and Ben is very well done and touching. I’m stoked to learn more about “Ship” and what its capabilities are. So far it's really spooky in all the right ways. I like how the force is emplained in a new light that makes you think it may be less simple than a "light side" and "dark side." At the same time, it does't trample on what we already know about the force as "canon."

2 books in and I’m loving this series! I’ve never read a Star Wars novel before and may have had some prejudices again people who have, but I think I’m becoming a convert!

Omen

Things grow darker. She is nearly loose.
On Coruscant Jedi Knight Jyclla Horn has gone violently insane like her brother, only to be arrested and frozen in carbonite. People begin to fear the Jedi at the capital. Tensions between them and Chief of State Dalla only get worse.
Luke and Ben’s trail leads them to the Yang Ti. As always throughout the series Luke and Ben’s interactions are wonderful.
Enter Vestara Kia. A Sith with a good? heart. Born and bread a Sith (however the Lost Tribe is far different than Bane’s or Krayt’s) she is a fascinating character. She is not evil, nor is she good. She’s also not a sociopath because she truly cares for others. Anyway....Ship makes contact with her and bring The Lost Tribe out into the galaxy. For first time since the Old Republic.
This book is great listen. It’s truly heartbreaking that FoJ is the last Legends series. However it’s one heck of send off for Legends fans. So I guess if you are dissatisfied with the new Star Wars try the Expanded Universe. It’s still my home and I don’t mind re reading them all.

love

I absolutely love this series. so sad that they can't continue. wish Disney would let them keep these going and call it the alternative universe or something.

The story over the performance

Once again, as with book one of the series, the performance of this audio book nearly derails the story. The voicing of certain characters is cartoonish at best and incredibly annoying at worst. The most annoying award goes to Alana Solo, who comes off sounding like the spoiled brat grandchild of Han and Leia. Coming in at a close second is Ben Skywalker. To portray him as this very clich?d sounding 16 year denies his position as a Jedi Knight and his life's experiences. Perhaps the writing is to blame for that as well, but young Skywalker comes across sounding like some kid who is annoyed that he can't go out skateboarding.
The story in these first two books has hooked me and makes up (mostly) for the performance. This book even more so than the first. The newest parallel story line introduced here (where the book gets "Omen" from) is so intriguing that I wish a book was written solely on that story. None the less, I look forward to this series continuing.
Note to the authors of Star Wars fiction: Please, for the sake of all things good, enough is enough with these not-so-subtle and pointless references to the movies. It is a cheap, almost cynical way to hook the readers. I think that it undermines your abilities as authors. Surely you can create asides or references or conversations that do not require such a crutch. Please, make it stop.

Wasn't bad, could have been much better

I wasn't happy with the ending. Too many loose ends. Kind of unsatisfying considering how good the rest of the book was.

awesome book

SW fate of the jedi omen is a great book with a colorful cast of characters an excellent narator
and a solid plot that will keep u on the edge of your seat for many hours to come. each chapter focusing on a diffrent character and keeps u guessing and wanting to skip a few chapters so you can find out what happens nextto that character, but as soon as you start the next chapter you will want to know what happens to that character next until you realize the book is book is done. overall a great book rating: two thumbs way up 5 starts out of 5 :D

love the old eu

the author makes situations that are at best unrealistic to any type of response to pressure. But aside from making the jedi spineless, the rest of the story is alright

old EU is the best

nothing beats the old EU before Disney started making their books. dam movies should have been the 3 books that started it all heir to the empire series. perfect fit. I WANT MY HAND OF THE JEDI BOOKS DISNEY!!!!

Very disappointing.

I had listened to the first book (Outcast) in this series (Fate of the Jedi) just prior to Omen and I found Omen a big disappointment. The writting quality is very poor in places and there is little or no character development and the plot is an almost total rehash of Outcast the first book in the series. There are one or two major plot developments but they are handled so badly that I almost feel that this book could be skipped and readers of the Fate of the Jedi series wouldn't miss it. I hope the next book in the series returns to the quality of Outcast. Wish I had kept my credit and used it to buy the next Fate of the Jedi book (Abyss) instead.

Star Wars as it should be.

Fantastic second entry into The Fate of the Jedi series. An introduction of a new but familiar enemy, seen from a different point of view, expands the mythos of Star Wars even further. Ad always Marc Thompson is excellent.

bit short and would have preferred more progress

I enjoyed it and am for the most part enjoying the series but this book didn't seem to be doing much of anything other than kicking the Jedi while they were down.
luke and Ben's segments were quit interesting and made the relation ship between feel a bit more real.
the most interesting parts were that that followed the sith girl but her parts were very few and far between.

Fate of the Jedi - The Legacy

Fate of the Jedi series is fantastic as a standalone series as well as continuing the from the legacy series (9 books).
Book 2 fotj , read in two sittings. Great cast and backing audio. No spoilers. I loved this book. Now on to book 3. Thanks for reading.

Great narration

Enjoyed this, looking forward to the next, hoping the action picks up a bit. The narrator is excellent as usual.