Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #1: Betrayal

By: Aaron Allston

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, has unified the Jedi order into a cohesive group of powerful knights. But as the new era begins, honor and duty will collide with friendship and blood ties. The Skywalker and Solo clans find themselves on opposing sides of an explosive conflict, with potentially devastating repercussions for both families, for the Jedi order, and for the entire galaxy.

A mission to uncover an illegal missile factory on the planet Adumar ends in a violent ambush from which Jedi Knight Jacen Solo and his protégé and cousin, Ben Skywalker, narrowly escape. It's the most alarming evidence yet that sparks of political unrest are threatening to ignite a total rebellion.

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Critic Reviews

"Fans of the Star Wars universe will be impressed by Allston's deft handling of the complicated issues raised in the novel, particularly how yesterday's rebels fill their roles as leaders. The novel boasts a shocking ending, one guaranteed to hook readers for the duration of the series." (Booklist)

Very well done! Worth a listen!

Very well done for a Star Wars audiobook. Even though it is abridged, the 6 hour run-time leaves enough material to make this audiobook entertaining. That said, you can still notice gaps where, I assume, material was cut out for the abridgement. This can be annoying after a while. I won't beat around the bush, I loathe any abridgement and I would encourage people to complain to the publisher so that they will begin releasing unabridged versions of these books. Other than that, this book was excellent. Marc Thompson is one of the most talented narrators that I have heard. It is a pleasure to listen to him. The different character voices that he assumes throughout the book are executed flawlessly and I had to keep reminding myself that it was the same person speaking. The writing, sound production, and music were all top notch. I would give this 5 stars if not for the abridgement.

One last thing, stay away from any of the star wars audiobooks that are less than 6 hours in length. They are so butchered by the abridgements, that they are not worth your time or money. Quite a few of these are narrated by Anthony Heald and he is just plain awful. I found this out the hard way. Just remember, Anthony Heald = extremely poor narration. Jonathan Davis = Extremely good narration. Marc Thompson = Outstanding narration.

29 of 29 people found this review helpful

Abridged to death!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Wow, this is the first time abridging a book has resulted in it being completely incomprehensible. The reading jumps from scene to scene leaving out details that would have explained why the characters are now in this new location. I could barely make it through the first hour of this one before demanding a refund.

Please replace this one with an unabridged version.

What was most disappointing about Aaron Allston’s story?

The reader was good and they added some cool sound effects and of course Star Wars theme music. So no fault of the performers.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Marc Thompson?

yes

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Star Wars?

The opposite. Put scenes back until a comprehensible story emerges. Here's an idea: It's not that long a book. How about putting it all back?

50 of 53 people found this review helpful

Hack, cut, slash.

What disappointed you about Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #1: Betrayal?

A lot of hacking, cutting, to many holes, I felt as I was tossed under a bus.

Any additional comments?

Stop hacking and slashing books.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Very Abridged

This was the first Star Wars book I ever read many years ago. I still remembered many points in the story that I enjoyed, whether they were character development, relationship building/defining between the characters, various events that fleshed out the story, or even insights into the mind of the "villan" and how they created the end result they desired. To my disappointment, most of the things I remembered having an impact on me were removed from this story.

If you're looking for (or can be satisfied with) a bare-bones plot version of a spectacular book, this is for you. But, if you want to understand not just how things happened but why, if you want to understand the characters, their motivations, and their emotions behind the things they do and the struggles they have, you'll have to read the book.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Too abridged

It seems that every Star Wars book is abridged and sound effects added, and this is no exception.

I have a well worn copy of this book that I've read at least 10 times, and my son has read as many times. So I thought I'd get the audible to listen to on a motorcycle ride.

The sound effects were much louder than the reading and became almost painful when they would BLARE in my helmet unexpectedly.

The story was so chopped up that if I hadn't read the book, I wouldn't have known why somethings were happening.

I won't be wasting my money on any more abridged Star Wars books.

28 of 34 people found this review helpful

Going to read book...

Was it good? Yes. Marc Thompson was great, although he's usually spot on with Hans Solo and it wasn't quite as precise this time.

I need the omitted info to try and make better sense about the storyline. I hope unabridged versions come available one day.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

No More Abridged Books

I've been a huge Star Wars fan since I was kid and saw the original movie for a friend's birthday party on May 29, 1977, but I don't think I'll be buying any more SW books...

A) The abridged versions are terrible. A big part of the SW universe is the description, most of which is cut out in the abridgement.

2) The current and future books are all in nine-or-ten part series. It seems like the authors and publishers are just stringing the readers along... A single story from beginning to end costs well over $100.

19 of 23 people found this review helpful

Please do these in unabridged

Please do these in unabridged
Please do these in unabridged
Please do these in unabridged
It is badly needed

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Abridged sucks!

I would rate these as 5 stars if they weren't butchered errrr abridged. Need more story and more Marc Thompson, not less.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great Star Wars stories. Why abridged though!?

Always amazing listening to Mark Thompson do his thing. The guy is unbelievable. Legacy of the Force is my favorite series. Great stories, just wish they weren't abridged. That's my only complaint.

Starwars book review

Would you listen to Star Wars again? Why?

the star wars expanded universe is the most detailed gripping group of stories that takes your most beloved characters from starwars and the authors keep the universe alive in our minds with these great well written series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It has to be Jacen solo because of his traumatic experiences in the last series of books he has been through so much and with little support from the jedi order and his fear of what might be could turn him towards the dark side.

What about Marc Thompson’s performance did you like?

Marc has voiced a lot of the starwars books and is by far the best i have ever heard.

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

when jacen killed the the other jedi to save himself form having to fight luke

Any additional comments?

Audible is the only place for me, the best quality books by great authors that transport you to another world for just a while and is always there when you need it.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Amazing

Not to missed. Great performance and we'll worth the credits. Star Wars rocks big time!

brilliant to listen to, very detailed, recommended

loved it, brilliant short book, looking forward to reading the rest, would recommend to anybody that loves star wars.

Excellent story and performance

Loved it! A perfect Star Wars Story. Great Performance and true to the original films

It's a bit short...

Having read most of this series and now realising my disappointment in the new Skywalker movies, I thought I'd return to them to see if they were as good as I remember... This was pretty good.

It was a bit short, but when you consistently resign your self to series of 9 books there's a lot of padding out and the occasional short book.
Overall very good.

amazing

A brilliant presentation of my favourite series in the Star Wars EU. A must listen!

Need an unabridged version

Good story but character development is inhibited by rushed chapters and it's over far too soon

Dreadful story, good production and performance

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story is just risible. Utter trash.

Any additional comments?

As with most of these Star Wars books they are made more enjoyable by the use of familiar sound effects etc. But there was no saving this one.

abridged - I want more.

felt like a lot of important stuff was left out. disappointed, still a good listen.