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A review by verkisto
The Moment of Truth by Jude Watson
3.0
Vanqor and Typha-Dor may be going to war, and the Jedi have been asked to step in to determine why Typha-Dor's outpost station has gone silent. Of course, it's Obi-Wan and Anakin who are sent there, when they're already suffering a strained relationship due to Anakin's choices from The School of Fear. Like the other books in the series, this one focuses on that relationship, and tries to provide answers to where it's headed.
The Moment of Truth is about war and espionage and spies, which is a common theme in Watson's books, and there's always the one character who's undercover. I've been able to identify the moles in other books, so I'll admit I was surprised when she fooled me here. It just gets a little tiresome to see this same device used in all of her books. I'm not sure if it would be as big a concern to me if I hadn't read all of these back-to-back like I've done, but it's definitely common, even if the stories aren't formulaic.
Watson also resurrects a character from her Jedi Apprentice series, which was fun, as was her filling in the reference to Obi-Wan falling into a nest of gundarks made in Attack of the Clones. So those bits were cool, but the story wasn't as engaging or interesting as her other books, largely because of Anakin and his arrogance. I've written about it enough already in my other reviews of this series, but it's hard to identify with either Anakin or Obi-Wan, since Anakin is insufferable, and Obi-Wan lets him get away with it. I wish Watson would put more scenes in the series like the one where Soara reveals her concern regarding Anakin, or where Obi-Wan shouts Anakin down for abandoning Ferus. I feel like if there were more of these kinds of scenes in the Expanded Universe, we wouldn't have wound up with the Anakin in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I know, I know; this isn't Watson's fault. I see it as a failing of the larger story.
I've come this far with the series, so I'm not going to quit it, but I can definitely say this series doesn't have the same kind of charm as Jedi Apprentice. It helps that both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are likable, sympathetic characters in that series.
The Moment of Truth is about war and espionage and spies, which is a common theme in Watson's books, and there's always the one character who's undercover. I've been able to identify the moles in other books, so I'll admit I was surprised when she fooled me here. It just gets a little tiresome to see this same device used in all of her books. I'm not sure if it would be as big a concern to me if I hadn't read all of these back-to-back like I've done, but it's definitely common, even if the stories aren't formulaic.
Watson also resurrects a character from her Jedi Apprentice series, which was fun, as was her filling in the reference to Obi-Wan falling into a nest of gundarks made in Attack of the Clones. So those bits were cool, but the story wasn't as engaging or interesting as her other books, largely because of Anakin and his arrogance. I've written about it enough already in my other reviews of this series, but it's hard to identify with either Anakin or Obi-Wan, since Anakin is insufferable, and Obi-Wan lets him get away with it. I wish Watson would put more scenes in the series like the one where Soara reveals her concern regarding Anakin, or where Obi-Wan shouts Anakin down for abandoning Ferus. I feel like if there were more of these kinds of scenes in the Expanded Universe, we wouldn't have wound up with the Anakin in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I know, I know; this isn't Watson's fault. I see it as a failing of the larger story.
I've come this far with the series, so I'm not going to quit it, but I can definitely say this series doesn't have the same kind of charm as Jedi Apprentice. It helps that both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are likable, sympathetic characters in that series.