This is the era of Luke Skywalker’s legacy: the Jedi Master has unified the order into a cohesive group of powerful Jedi Knights. But as the new era begins, planetary interests threaten to disrupt this time of relative peace, and Luke is plagued with visions of an approaching darkness. Evil is rising again–out of the best intentions–and it looks as if the legacy of the Skywalkers may come full circle. Honor and duty will collide with friendship and blood ties as 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. When 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 with their lives–it’s the most alarming evidence yet that sparks of political unrest are threatening to ignite into total rebellion. The governments of numerous worlds are chafing under the strict regulations of the Galactic Alliance, and diplomatic efforts to enforce compliance are failing. Fearing the worst, the Alliance readies a preemptive display of military might in a bid to bring the rogue worlds in line before an uprising erupts. The designated target of this exercise: planet Corellia–renowned for the brash independence and renegade spirit that have made its favorite son, Han Solo, a legend. Something of a rogue himself, Jacen is nevertheless duty bound as a Jedi to stand with his uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, on the side of the Galactic Alliance. But when the wary Corellians launch a counterstrike, the Alliance’s show of force–and a secret mission to disable Corellia’s crucial Centerpoint Station–give way to an armed skirmish. Once the smoke clears, the battle lines are drawn. Now the specter of full-scale war looms between a growing cadre of defiant planets and the Galactic Alliance that some fear is becoming a new Empire. And even as both sides struggle to find a diplomatic solution, mysterious acts of treachery and sabotage threaten peace efforts at every turn. Determined to root out those behind the mayhem, Jacen follows a trail of cryptic clues to a dark rendezvous with the most shocking of revelations . . . while Luke grapples with something even more troubling: dream visions of a shadowy figure whose Force power and ruthlessness remind him of Darth Vader–a lethal enemy who strikes like a dark spirit on a mission of doom. An agent of evil who, if Luke’s visions come to pass, will bring untold pain to the Jedi Master . . . and to the entire galaxy. A new Star Wars adventure begins with this novel in which the Galactic Alliance faces a new and unexpected threat. Luke Skywalker is surprised and dismayed to learn that the Corellians are chafing under GA rule and are preparing to strike for independence by arming a deadly weapon in their star system known as Centerpoint Station. The weapon caused great destruction during a previous war, and Luke is determined that the Corellians don't harness its power now. He dispatches Jedi Jacen Solo, the son of Han and Leia, and his own son, Ben, who is Jacen's apprentice, to neutralize the threat. But Han, a native Corellian, is deeply conflicted by the GA's plans to stop the Corellians' strike for independence, and he and Leia go to the Corellian government to warn them of the threat. Much of the GA's plan goes awry, and although Jacen and Ben are successful in their mission, it comes at a price. The leaders of the GA and the Corellian government agree to meet, but a shocking assassination pushes them closer to conflict. 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. Kristine Huntley Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Aaron Allston is the New York Times bestselling author of the Star Wars Enemy Lines novels: Rebel Dreams and Rebel Stand; novels in the popular Star Wars X-Wing series; Web of Danger, game-based fiction supporting the Top Secret/S.I. game line; and Hitman: Killer Brand, based on the blockbuster video game. He is a former editor of The Space Gamer magazine, which won the H. G. Wells Award for Best Role-Playing Magazine in 1982. He lives in Central Texas. Visit his website at www.AaronAllston.com. Leia Organa Solo, one-time princess of the world of Alderaan, former Chief of State of the New Republic, now a Jedi Knight, stood dressed in all-white robes, suitable to either a Jedi or a politician in informal surroundings, before the portal. It was not an ordinary door; though in appearance it was identical to billions of dwelling exterior doors found on the world of Coruscant, in reality it was not. In the recent past, the original low