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Luke Skywalker and son Ben continue to follow the trail left by Jacen Solo to discover the former Jedi's reasons for becoming the despicable Darth Cadeus. In the Outer Rim of the Galaxy, they find themselves tracked by a mysterious Lost Tribe of Sith and the dark presence that is driving Jedi across the galaxy insane continues to manipulate and promote dissention and mistrust within the Galactic Alliance.

Backlash, the fourth installment in the Fate of the Jedi series finds some familiar locations on the battle front. Dathomir, home to Force-sensitive witches and Rancor monsters, is where Luke and Ben wind up after their eerie meeting with the Mind Walkers at Sinkhole Station in the middle of the Maw Cluster. Aaron Allston, who gave us the first installment, Outcast, returns with his great understanding and writing of the Luke/Ben -- Father/Son relationship.

The adventure is classic Star Wars, our heroes up against insurmountable odds, but managing to save the day with their usual fashion and flair. Han Solo and Leia Organa-Solo show up to lend a hand and the precocious Allana Solo (Jacen's daughter) has some fun moments with C-3P0 on the Millennium Falcon.

The thrust of the story, however, is that the mysterious Lost Tribe of the Sith has finally tracked down Luke Skywalker. After the events of Sinkhole Station, the Skywalkers find themselves with a prisoner, in the form of young Vestara Khai, a Sith Apprentice from the Tribe, with a quick wit and veiled intentions. Long time fans will notice some striking similarities between her and the late Mara Jade. The evil presence that stole the Sith training vessel ship that attacked the Tribe and, though they attempt to lay siege to Luke and his friends, a more interesting twist is in the works.

Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Chief of State Daala continues to try and bring the Jedi under her heel while the Jedi struggle against growing public mistrust. The rash of crazed Jedi outbreaks continues, and the acting Jedi Grand Master Kenth Hamner is at his wits end on how to deal with it. At the same time, Jaina Solo and fiancé Jagged Fel (who is also in charge of the Imperial Remnant) attempt to discover if there is an assassination plot in place to remove Fel from leadership and turn what is left of the Empire over to the remaining Moffs.

The nine-part Fate of the Jedi storyline continues to please readers with its handling of the classic characters and the Expanded Universe cast. The mysteries are deep enough that, even when one is revealed, fans know that there are much deeper revelations to come in the next five chapters. After the last deep, soul-searching tales, Backlash does a good job of lightening the mood with good old fashioned light saber battles between Jedi and Sith as well as some good Star Wars monsters.

Science fiction enthusiast David Maddox has been many things, including Star Trek characters and the Riddler in a Batman stunt show. He holds a degree in Cinema from San Francisco State University, and has written several articles for various SF sites as well as the Star Wars Insider and the Star Trek Communicator. He spends his time working on screenplays and stories while acting on stage, screen and television. He can sometimes be seen giving tours at Universal Studios Hollywood and occasionally playing Norman Bates. Really.