I get the impression, somehow, that Jude Watson wasn't entirely comfortable writing for young readers. I haven't read a lot of her stuff, but the voice in Legacy of the Jedi seemed a little... talking-down. And the really odd thing, to me, was getting the impression that she had written 3D characterization with interesting wrinkles and then, in the little summing-up sections, ironed it.

I'm not really all that surprised at their dropping Lorian, given context. One of the things I think was well done is that Oppo Rancisis, as far as I can tell, knew darned well that Lorian was lying when he put the blame on Dooku, and that the Council was basically giving both kids enough rope to hang themselves, which may or may not be a good idea but does strike me as plausible Jedi behavior. And I have serious doubts about her "thirteenth birthday and you're out" deal, which I suspect she invented arbitrarily as a source of angst for Obi-Wan, but Lorian was (I believe) very close to the deadline.

I got the general impression that the friendship was largely because Lorian was adventurous and fun, and that probably had appeal even if Dooku felt he went too far at times, but I can see feeling it was presented without grounding. I think Lorian's deciding the Sith Holocron would somehow help him impress a master was outright idiotic, but I get the impression he was kind of grasping at straws at that point and panic is not a great source of rationality, so that one makes me want to shake him more than it makes me want to shake Watson. *G* I actually did rather like the bit where Dooku tried to reassure him and he blew up about it.

But on the other hand, I sometimes suspect I'm reading too much into it.