WARNING: The following review contains several spoilers for the novel in question.
StarCraft: Twilight is the final book in The Dark Templar Saga, and it is easily the most engrossing of the trilogy. As with the entire trilogy thus far, this book focuses on a mercenary named Rosemary Dahl as well as the archeologist Jacob Jefferson Ramsey and the Protoss preserver, Zamara, inside his brain. Twilight diverges from its predecessors in answering a significant number of questions that many StarCraft fans have pondered. What is not directly answered is at least implied. These answers include the fate of Adun, the truth about Samir Duran, and the ominous meaning of the “cycle” so often alluded to in the lore.
As Jake and Rosemary attempt to flee through the Warp Gate, the Protoss on Shakuras are forced to alter the gate’s destination to prevent another Zerg invasion (which occurred in the Brood War campaign). Rosemary ends up on Shakuras in the care of the Protoss, while Jacob is sent elsewhere. Ethan, Valerian, and Ulrezaj are all weakened, but the three commanders retreat to regroup their respective forces and begin the search for Jake. Valerian is forced to turn to Mengsk for help and accompanies the fleet himself, while Kerrigan and Ethan follow Ulrezaj's search.
On Shakuras, Rosemary must deal with Protoss politics and prejudice. Kerrigan was the only other Terran female the Protoss have known personally, and thus Terran women are held in low regard. Rosemary must stand her ground negotiating with Selendis and Artanis, as well as an assembled Protoss council of tribal representatives, in order to convince them to help Jake. Vartanil, a young Furinax Protoss who is a survivor from Aiur, bonds with Rosemary during this time. He pledges himself to her and Jake’s service to avenge his servitude to Ulrezaj.
Although now on Shakuras, Zamara quickly comes up with a new plan; the pair take a shuttlecraft to a small world that Zamara tells Jacob is the private sanctuary of Prelate Zeratul. Compared to previous novels, the memories Zamara shares with Jake take up a small part of the novel, but they do reveal quite a bit. The memories are those of Zamara herself as a crewmember aboard the Gantrithor beginning from the destruction of Chau Sara and including Tassadar’s journey to Char. They find Zeratul, plagued by pity and doubt, who is a shadow of his former glory. He is especially distressed by the murder of Raszagal. Though it takes many failed conversations and a physical altercation, Jake and Zamara help Zeratul overcome these barriers; a large amount of information is imparted in the process.
Zeratul begins by revealing that many believe Adun did not die, but rather ascended to a higher plane of existence. He will reveal himself again when the Protoss are imperiled. Zeratul believed this ‘second coming’ was heralded by Tassadar destroying the Overmind, and says that the upcoming threat may cause Adun to save the Protoss again. He refers to Adun as the “anakh su’n”, the Twilight Deliverer.
In addition, Zamara reveals much about the Xel’Naga experiments. The Xel’Naga, though powerful, were still mortal beings; they needed a way to extend their lives using a method that Jake crudely compares to needing “host bodies”. The Xel’Naga sought out to engineer two species: one with purity of essence; one with purity of form. Throughout the natural course of their growth, the two species would come together and merge. The Xel’Naga would be reborn in this perfect combination. They did this successfully for eons, and this time the Protoss and Zerg were chosen. However, the Zerg became aware of the Xel'Naga and destroyed their fleet; this distorted the cycle of rebirth, and Samir Duran capitalized on this disruption. The Protoss/Zerg Hybrid Duran has engineered is not the intended result the Xel’Naga would have been reborn as, rather a twisted perversion of this, which would unleash horror upon the galaxy while preventing the Xel’Naga from returning.
With these revelations, the trio go to “Ehlna”, a place where the Dark Templar use augmented Khaydarin Crystals as mystical data banks to store memories. It is here that Jake and Rosemary are reunited, and Zamara is extracted from Jake’s mind into a Khaydarin Crystal. However, during the separation, Ulrezaj, Ethan, and Valerian arrive and attack; though Ethan temporarily sides with the Protoss to keep Jake safe while the ritual completes. Eventually, Zamara uses the energies around them to draw Ulrezaj into the Crystal with her, Ethan is killed, and the Dominion triumphs. Using Devon Starke, a Ghost, as a decoy, Valerian manages to conceal Jake from Mengsk. He finally realizes his vision of sharing a glass of alcohol with Jake while listening to his stories.
In terms of answering questions, this novel is perhaps the most critical of all StarCraft novels. The truth of the Xel’Naga is finally revealed, and Adun’s return is prophesied to happen once again. Samir Duran remains an unknown factor; the reader isn’t told who or what he is. What is confirmed, however, is that the Hybrid is not what the Xel’Naga intended for their experiments. It’s the exact opposite, and thus whatever Duran is, his work is in direct conflict with the Xel’Naga’s rebirth. Ulrezaj’s past is also revealed. He was a scholar at Ehlna, responsible for storing the memories of dead Protoss, until he tired of simply storing memories and aspired to learn from them. This forbidden knowledge is what allowed him merge with three other Dark Templar to form a Dark Archon, and then later merge three more Dark Templar into a new form. Though his appearance in the “Enslavers: Dark Vengeance” campaign, as well as the Protoss expedition to Aiur, are mentioned, Eredas is not mentioned (although a survivor from a stasis cell is).
StarCraft: Twilight is weakest in its climax. Somehow, Valerian, Ethan, and Ulrezaj all find their way to Ehlna and a replay of the battle from the second novel, excluding the massive psionic storm, occurs. The battle feels tacked on and implausible, though it is required for the three factions to have their respective story arcs completed. Ethan is shot down by the Dominion, Ulrezaj is contained, and Valerian defies Mengsk in denying him Jake. Valerian also manages to sneak a small crate of memory-laden Khaydarin Crystals away from Ehlna, though he says it sarcastically that it is surely something of importance.
The characters are given final fates that let the trilogy have a sense of a true ending even though StarCraft II continues the tale. Ethan is injured by the Dominion and killed by Selendis while Kerrigan willingly allows him to die as his purpose has been fulfilled. Valerian’s Ghost, Devon Starke, enters Jake’s mind and takes much of the knowledge Zamara imparted; he offers himself as a sacrificial decoy to keep Arcturus busy while Valerian hides Jake disappear from the emperor’s eyes. Zeratul is sent on a private mission from Zamara, and bears witness to dozens of energy beings from the Xel’Naga temples opening a wormhole to an unknown world, which he enters. A handful of other important details are given: there is a new tribe of Protoss, the “Nerazim”, made up of the original outcast Dark Templar; Zamara and Ulrezaj are in the hands of the Protoss; Kerrigan learns of the caverns on Aiur, intending to explore them at a more convenient time. Some other inconsistencies are cleared up, such as the events of “Enslavers: Dark Vengeance” and the presence of Khaydarin on Shakuras, where it is naturally occurring but different in nature from the Khaydarin of Aiur.
Many mysteries of the Protoss and the Xel’Naga are at long last revealed; it’s difficult to imagine how any StarCraft fan could not be engrossed by it all. Though StarCraft II will likely reiterate many of the events of the novel when necessary, the novel still gives a great deal of insight into the events of the coming sequel as well as helps prepare fans for what they can expect in its storyline. StarCraft: Twilight appears to be both an end of the trilogy and a novelized prequel to StarCraft II itself. For this reason - as well as being as well written as the first two novels - "Twilight" should be near the top of any StarCraft fan’s reading list.
