Okay, Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice is being written about here. Not in any great detail, but with definite spoilers. So, if you don't want it ruined-- and trust me, if you have any inkling you'd like to read this book, then you do not want the plot ruined-- then stop reading.
Seriously.
Spoilers coming.
And here they are:
Jacen Solo is the head of the Galactic Alliance Guard, which has been likened to the Empire (and Jacen has been likened to his grandfather Darth Vader of late as well), and he is using his GAG power to further his goals to become ruler of the galaxy by setting up assassinations as well as working inside the government to find loopholes for him to gain power. In the first few books of the series, he really did believe he could peacefully rule the galaxy, so it was in the galaxy's best interests to have him be the supreme ruler. Lately, though, he hasn't been thinking that way; it's all about power-- and protecting himself and his loved ones (namely his lover and their child).
He has also sent his (unofficial) apprentice Ben Skywalker on a number of dangerous missions to test his mettle as his Sith apprentice (unbeknownst to Ben). Lumiya has been telling him he needs to make a sacrifice of the thing he loves most, and if it's not his parents or his lover (Tenel Ka) and child (Allana), it must be Ben, who has still not wavered in his belief that Jacen's methods are the right ones. In Sacrifice, Jacen sends the fourteen year-old Ben to assassinate the leader of the Correllian people, which he does, and causes Ben to lose a good friend during the mission.
Meanwhile, Jacen has a warrant out for his parents' arrest for the death of Thracken Sal-Solo. He had the chance to capture them, but choose to fire at them instead, badly damaging the Millenium Falcon. He later abandoned them as the space station they were all aboard was coming apart; basically leaving them to die. There was very little Han and Leia in Sacrifice (the events mentioned here are from previous books, namely Exile), but it shows how far Jacen has gone.
As for the Skywalkers, Jacen has taken Ben under his wing in the hopes that Ben will be his Sith apprentice. But Lumiya has been trying to steer him away from Ben, so Jacen and Lumiya (through Jacen) have been sending Ben out on missions with the secondary design that he may not come back. Luke and Mara haven't been fond of Jacen's actions, and they know Lumiya has been hanging around the GAG-- but they think Jacen is just being influnced by others in GAG that Lumiya has gotten to, not that Jacen and her have a relationship already. Luke has been hesitant to confront Jacen for his actions because he doesn't know how far he's gone to the Dark Side and thinks Jacen can pull himself back (just as Luke, Mara, Jaina, et al have done). Mara has defended Jacen because he helped Ben come to grips with the Force so much in the past. But both parents wish Ben had less to do with Jacen.
Boba Fett, now the Mandalore of his people, has been dying. In Sacrifice, he found a cure for his condition. And the Mandalorians have found a lost deposit of Beskar, an ore that can create nearly invulnerable armor, so their stock in the galaxy has just gone up. The Mandalorians are already at work creating a powerful starfighter fleet to protect themselves from the threat of Jacen Solo and the Galactic Alliance when Keldabe and the Madalorians stand against them.
On a more personal note, when Boba was dying, he felt the need to reach out to his daughter and granddaughter. But his reconciliation with his daughter, Ailyn, was cut short when Jacen tortured and killed her during an investigation. Now Fett and his granddaughter, Mirta, are getting to know each other while Boba bides his time before going after Jacen. Fett knows what the Dark Side looks like due to his relationship with Vader, and he knows Jacen has chosen that path. But he wants the galaxy to suffer a bit because it has allowed Jacen to get as far as he has, so he hasn't begun hunting him yet.
At the end of Sacrifice, Mara Jade Skywalker confronts Jacen, and they have a battle. Mara had the upper hand until Jacen "cheated" and poisoned her. Mara's last words were that Ben would never fall to Jacen. Lumiya took the blame for Mara's death, and Luke killed her. Luke was broken up over Mara's death, but still didn't like killing Lumiya. He felt even worse when Ben told him he was with Lumiya when his mom died, so she couldn't have done it. Ben also found out that Jacen had been working with Lumiya and had sent Ben on missions to die. The Skywalkers don't have proof that Jacen killed Mara, but Mara elected not to join the Force when she died, leaving her body behind as evidence. It's only a matter of time before Jacen is found out.
But Jacen has been gaining power little by little and has now made himself Co-Head of the Galactic Alliance, one of the two most powerful people in the galaxy. But will it be enough? There are four books left in the series, and Jacen has gone as far as he can in secret. His murder of Mara led to the sacrifice he knew he had to make. Killing Mara will send Ben into a rage once it's found out that Jacen did it. Anger leads to the Dark Side. Jacen just set up Ben to be his apprentice and eventually his successor. He sacrificed the love and admiration Ben had for him. And he's all alone.
Let's trace the paths that lead to Jacen:
When the Correllians find out Jacen played a part in the damage to their powerful Centerpoint Station as well as the assassination of their Head of State, there will be a revolt.
When the populace of the Galactic Alliance figure out Jacen set all the conflict into motion-- and killed his own Jedi aunt-- there will be a revolt.
The Hapes Consotium has allowed Jacen to do his thing, but when his actions within the galaxy and to his parents-- along with the murder of Mara-- come to light, will even Jacen's lover and queen Tenel Ka forgive him?
And don't forget the politicians of each faction would benefit if Jacen was taken off the table.
Boba Fett has Jacen in his sights for killing his daughter, but has been hanging back until he found a cure for the deterioration of his body. Now that he has it, he's waiting back to make the GA pay for allowing Jacen such power. But sooner or later, Fett will make his move, and he will not stop until Jacen is underground.
Han has disowned Jacen for his actions; and Han will also put him down like a rabid dog once he pieces it all together.
Leia is not a fan of being a fugitive and being shot at by her son, and when she finds out about Mara, it's gonna hit the fan.
Jaina has been screwed with by Jacen. He stripped her of her GA rank. He nearly killed her when his ship nearly destroyed the Millenium Falcon. He killed her Master, Mara. Jaina is the "Sword of the Jedi", and while I don't know what that means, it sounds pretty badass. When she catches up to Jacen, I expect she'll do bad things to him.
The Jedi are starting to agree that Jacen is out of control, but they've held back because Luke has asked them to. When they find out Jacen has killed Mara-- as well as Nelani-- they may not stay in the background any longer.
Luke has known for quite a while that Jacen is following the path to the Dark Side, but has hoped he'd find his way back. When he finds out what Jacen has been doing to Ben, it'll get ugly. When he realizes Jacen killed Mara, it'll get destructive. Add to that the guilt Luke feels for killing Lumiya, thinking she killed Mara, and Jacen may not be able to hide. Jacen is stronger in the Force than Luke, but Luke has beaten the odds before.
Finally, Ben has proof that Jacen lied to him about Nelani's death and that he has been working with Lumiya. He also knows Jacen expected him to die a number of times on various missions Jacen sent him on. He knows Jacen is training to be a Sith. It will not take very long at all for him to piece together how his mother died. Ben knows Jacen needs to be stopped, but when the truth about Mara's death comes to light, Ben will take it upon himself to do it alone. Jacen may have more knowledge of the Force and the Dark Side, but Ben will have revenge on his mind, and that can be the deciding factor when it comes to the Dark Side.
Jacen has pretty much the galaxy against him, but he has completed his final task to become a Sith Lord. Sacrifice ended with Jacen declaring he was Darth Caedus.
Like I said before, I am really into this series, and I recommed it to anyone who is a fan of the of the Star Wars Universe. You may want to read it now because if the body count of fairly major Expanded Universe characters (Mara, Lumiya, Sal-Solo) keeps going up, there may not be much left. I really don't know how Jacen can survive the upcoming onslaught. I just hope they don't cop out and have him redeem himself like Vader did.
On thing I dislike about the series is the tendency to foreshadow major characters with the book covers. In Betrayal, Jacen was the one character on the cover. About half-way through the book, I realized Jacen was the one to do the major betrayal because of the cover (and what I had been reading), even though Jacen's big moment didn't come until the end. Once I figured out Mara was the cover feature of Sacrifice (Mara had to be in her 60s while the cover showed someone who looked to be in her 20s-- maybe Maybelline is really good in a galaxy far far away), I knew she was the sacrifice of the title.
Let's look at the cover again, shall we?
Maybe it was a misdirection to have Jaina on the cover, but Jaina may have had ten pages (and that's generous) in the whole book, so it has to be Mara.
