Today's Offering:

The Nature of Evil, Revisited

***THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING.... IF YOU HAVEN'T READ "RUIN" OR DISLIKE SPOILERS IN ANY WAY, GO AWAY, CUZ I'M NOT STOPPING FOR YOU***

Devoted fans of Canon will remember an earlier article regarding Corran Horn, in which I expressed some shock at his amazing redemption in I, Jedi, and even ventured so far as to think him cool in Onslaught. I take it back.

I can honestly say that I've never anticipated a book quite as much as I did Ruin. As Stackpole's last novel (FOR THE TIME BEING!), I assumed it would be my last chance to see my old friends ("old" meaning of long acquintance, NOT "we're too old to fly") before they were passed into the uncaring hands of the Del-Ray writers. I danced from site to site looking for spoilers, sample chapters, advance readings, and general info. I wandered into my local (vastly inferior) bookstore with sickening regularity. I twitched and speculated and pondered and theorized and generally sat on the edge of my seat. Finally, I found a site with what I wanted...... "we found some copies of Stackpole's Ruin released early in our bookstore"..... I was fascinated.

???CORRAN HORN GOES OVER TO THE DARK SIDE???

!!!!YESSSSSSS!!!!

What more could a girl ask for? I finally like a guy despite his annoying self-righteousness, and then he goes over to the dark side like a good little boy... how fun. Now I REALLY couldn't wait... both to read the book and to talk to Edallia (me? gloat? surely you jest).

I was at work, calmly waiting until payday so I could buy the blasted book, when she walked up to me with a malicious gleam in her eyes. I fought the urge to hide behind the desk and mustered up a "Hi, Liz, what're you doing at the mall on the day that Ruin is released and I can't afford it yet cuz I foolishly spent all of my money on trifling things like gas and clothing?"

I don't remember the next few minutes very clearly, but I think demons were channeled.

Anyway, she came back through about ten minutes later with a suspicious-looking B. Dalton bag.... suspicious, of course, cuz it had two rather distinct lumps in it.

I knew there was a reason that she's my best friend.

Needless to say, the only reason I didn't sneak a read at work was because my coworkers pried the book from my lifeless fingers after beating me repeatedly over the head with a blunt object (stapler? register scanner? shoe?).

I didn't sleep much that night.

I eagerly scan the text for those two precious little words. Dark side, dark side, dark side, dark side, dark side.... hmmm, more hero crap. Ooh, Ganner gets his butt kicked, liked that part... Tycho's a glorified traffic cop, momentary screaming fit. Then I'm at the end of the book. Did I miss something? Where's the blood and insane power urges and total evil that I was waiting for? ("Hey, Corran, you're short." "Hey Luke, that pisses me off." "GAUUGGGGHHHHH" ) DARN IT!.

What a totally cheezy way to send Corran over the line. But then, the kicker, and the reason I was moved to write this: the old Corran was back, the one who assumed he's better than everyone else. The same arrogance that drove me insane in the first four books--taken to galactic significance. CORRAN IS OF THE DARK SIDE CUZ HE WANTED THE BAD GUY TO KNOW HE SCREWED UP WHEN HE KILLED CORRAN'S FRIEND? EXCUSE ME?

Ok, so it's probably not nice and shiny-clean to make people realize that they're about to die, but when compared to, say, killing a planet or demolishing an entire order of galactic protectors, Corran didn't do anything worse than picking his nose in public. (no, i'm not quite sure why i felt the compulsion to use that particular metaphor)

Besides feeling betrayed (does every Jedi have to experience the dark side? Captain Horn was finally getting past the Jedi flaws in his personality), I feel deprived of all the awesome story angles Stackpole could have used if Corran had gone evil.... what would Mirax have said? Better yet, what would Mirax have DONE? Mara wouldn't have just accepted it... and wouldn't it be cool to have seen the Rogues get sicced on an evil Corran? I chuckle to think about it.

To end this article on a bright note, however.... Liz and I were at DragonCon this year, with the illustrious Mr. Stackpole, and had the chance to ask him what he thought Corran was doing with his.. er... retirement. His answer? "He's probably kicking around the galaxy with Booster." OOOOHHH, that gives me an idea for a whole new fanfic.... hehe.

Until next time.... fly hard, you might end up a y-wing pilot!

PS... FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE UNAWARE OF THIS FACT, EDALLIA=LIZ. HAVE A NICE DAY.

Canon According to Ali.

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