Star Wars: Jedi Academy - Dark Apprentice

Author: Kevin J. Anderson {DAYSSINCEBIRTH(birth=1994-07-01,birthphrase=Release)}{DAYSSINCEBIRTH} I read: June 5 - June 7, 2007 Non-spoilery short description:

~11 ABY, things continue from the previous book.

Totally spoilery summary:

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|<td>With characters more tangled this time, it doesn't break as easy into discrete paragraphs... 
<p>Han hangs out with Kyp for a while, letting him have some fun before Kyp goes off to learn from Luke. Han and Lando also repeatedly wager the Falcon in sabacc games, losing it to each other several times. Han has it in the end, though. 
<p>Gantoris is visited by the spirit of ancient dead Sith Exar Kun at Luke's Jedi Praxeum, and ends up too dark for his own good, eventually burning up after he learns that Daala has killed the transplanted colonists from his world. Kyp arrives and also starts getting visited by Exar Kun, and soon decides he's better able to learn the Force and heal the galaxy of the Empire by going dark and not limiting himself like Luke. 
<p>Since the Sun Crusher can't be destroyed by conventional means, they hide it away where it can't be reached; the middle of the gas planet Yavin. 
<p>Ackbar crashes his B-Wing into an important building on another planet, it having been sabotaged by his brain-sabotaged mechanic. He resigns and heads back to his world. The brain-sabotaged man is being controlled by the ambassador from the Imperial planet Caridan who poisoned Mon Mothma (though this is obvious, the good guys don't realize it yet), who is dying. To help keep the moderate side of rule around even without Mothma, Leia tries to get Ackbar to come out of hiding. While there Daala attacks Calamari, though Ackbar recognizes her tactics and destroys one of her remaining three Star Destroyers. He decides to not stay in hiding, but against Leia's wishes decides to stay and help keep Calamari safe. 
<p>Jaina and Jacen end up lost on the ground level of Coruscant while being taken care of by Chewbacca and Threepio, but due to a combination of their Force abilities and running across a group of people hiding away from the Empire, they get returned safely. 
<p>Wedge and Qwi Xux become quite close, and go to hide out for a while on Ithor. 
<p>Mara Jade comes to Luke's Praxeum, and shortly thereafter Kyp bolts by stealing her craft. She shortly decides she must return to her other duties, so she requests a New Republic ship come pick her up. Lando and Han come to do this; Han is quite bummed to hear about Kyp. 
<p>Kyp goes to Ithor. Not wanting anyone else to learn the destructive knowledge Xux knows, he waits until she's alone and uses his abilities to rip that knowledge, and most of her other memories out of her head. She doesn't seem to remember much. Kyp then returns to Yavin, and using the Force gets the Sun Crusher out from the core of the planet. Luke wakes and tries to stop him, but the combined dark powers of Kyp and Exar Kun's spirit mess him up pretty good; his students find him the next morning barely alive, but unconscious and seemingly spiritless. 
<p>Kyp goes to the nebula where Daala's two Star Destroyers are hiding in preparation for an attack on Coruscant, where she'll sacrifice one to cause mass devastation on the planet. He sets several close stars in the nebula to explode and tries to trick them into staying for a while, but while the to-be-sacrificed ship that's been mostly emptied is destroyed, it seems Daala's last Star Destroyer managed to get away.</td></tr>

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Preceded by Star Wars: Jedi Academy - Jedi Search. Followed by Star Wars: Jedi Academy - Champions of the Force.