Rating: Summary: Excellent Story and Characterization! Great Read! Review: Conquest is an excellent addition to the New Jedi Order series. Just when it seemed that the books were going to get predictable, Keyes takes the story in a different direction. This story is not as dark as some of the books in this series, most notably Star by Star which is very dark. Keyes captured the well-known characters perfectly. Although I was unfamiliar with many of the younger characters in this book, Keyes does an excellent job introducing them and integrating them into the older, more mature Star Wars books. Some people have complained about the length of the story, while it is shorter than some Star Wars books, but that doesn't detract from the excellent story at all. Some books just keep going, taking forever to get to the point. Conquest does not do this. As for the story focussing more on Anakin, it was really his turn. The first 3 NJO books focused on the Jedi as a whole, while the second 2 focussed on Han Solo. The book directly before conquest focussed on the twins more, so it was really Anakin's time. The casting of the Vong as different castes and in a more sympathetic light was a stroke of genius. The only reason this book has 4 stars instead of 5 is because as good as it is, Rebirth is better.
Rating: Summary: ACTION, ACTION, AND MORE ACTION Review: Conquest is one of my favorite NJO books. I read it in a little over a week because it is constant action.
Rating: Summary: A Big Surprise Review: First of all, I have to say that I was almost dreading the new subseries by Greg Keyes, Edge of Victory. So far in the New Jedi Order series, new authors have disappointed, and the only ones who wrote good books had prior experience (Michael Stackpole and Kathy Tyers) but Keyes just blew me away. Even though the story focuses almost exclusively on Anakin Solo (who i cant stand), I still found this book exciting to read.As first shown in James Luceno's Hero's Trial, the Yuuzhan Vong hate the Jedi. Whether they fear the Jedi or just want them out of the way, is unknown. Warmaster Tsavong Lah has declared (at the end of Kathy Tyers' Balance Point) that the Yuuzhan Vong will stop invading new lands if and only if all of the Jedi are turned over, especially Jacen Solo. A group of people who want peace with the Yuuzhan Vong have called themselves the Peace Brigade and have set out to capture all of the Jedi, starting with the Jedi students on Yavin 4. While Luke Skywalker sends Talon Karrde to pick up the students, Anakin Solo fears that Karrde will not arrive in time, and sets off, against orders, to Yavin 4. He arrives in time to see the Peace Brigade baring down on the defenseless children. Without giving the story away, Anakin sets off to save the children, and in the process his closest friend, Tahiri Veila, is captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, and Anakin sets off to save her, with the help of ex-Imperial Tie fighter pilot, Qorl, who had previously kidnapped Jacen and Jaina. Along the way, Anakin really establishes himself as the wonder kid of the Star Wars Universe, as he allies himself with a now shamed Yuuzhan Vong, to save Tahiri, and it the Vong's case, to get revenge. Greg Keyes puts forth a great effort, creating one of the top books in the whole nineteen book series. While focusing only on Anakin, Keyes manages to not get repetitive and the reader will not get tired of hearing about Anakin (even if they dont like him). You wont be disappointed with Edge of Victory: Conquest. Even if you have not liked the New Jedi Order series so far, Conquest is sure to please.
Rating: Summary: The Best of the Best Review: Greg Keyes, let me just start off by congratulating you. You have made a wonderful beginning in the star wars universe and i hope you continue to grace its glory. This is the best book in the new jedi order. It is from this that the plot is really dominanted by the rest of the series. All of the shamed ones heretics, all of Tahiris problems, every thing stems from this book. This is the one star wars book that i can read over and over again. It follows Anakin Solo's quest to rescue his friend Tahiri from the Shapers. He meets up with a Shamed One who is trying to clear his name. So they join forces to take on all of the Yuzhan Vong. If you havent read this book go out and buy it right now and read it and dont get up till you've finished reading it.
Rating: Summary: The Best of the Best Review: Greg Keyes, let me just start off by congratulating you. You have made a wonderful beginning in the star wars universe and i hope you continue to grace its glory. This is the best book in the new jedi order. It is from this that the plot is really dominanted by the rest of the series. All of the shamed ones heretics, all of Tahiris problems, every thing stems from this book. This is the one star wars book that i can read over and over again. It follows Anakin Solo's quest to rescue his friend Tahiri from the Shapers. He meets up with a Shamed One who is trying to clear his name. So they join forces to take on all of the Yuzhan Vong. If you havent read this book go out and buy it right now and read it and dont get up till you've finished reading it.
Rating: Summary: Conquest, it worries me Review: Hello for the first time! I'm an avid Star Wars reader with over 30 SWs books. I had been waiting for this book to come out since I finished Balance Point. I was definately not surprised by the superior writing of Greg Keyes. This book kept me in suspense the entire time and had me guessing about a different outcome every couple of paragraphs. As the previous books, this one still does not give you a hint of what will happen in the end with the "Vong", I say that, cause as you read the book you'll understand why there was no prefix to "Vong." :) I would recommend this book to any Star Wars fan, but only if you have read the rest of the books in this series. Otherwise you miss out on a lot of good reading, and it all makes sense. :) Have fun fellow Star Wars fans, and May the Force Be With You!
Rating: Summary: Edge of Victory I: Conquest (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Review: I am an avid star wars reader and i found that this book was amazing. It had just the right mix of everything star wars fans have come to love about the series. With lightsaber battles in every chapter and interstellar space battles mixed throughout the book it gives a new meaning to action. I reccomend this book to anyone who loves reading.
Rating: Summary: It's a new world out there Review: I have been reading the New Jedi Order books with trepidation. Every time I read one I find I am so drawn into the books that I feel the same horror as the characters as they see the destruction the Yuuzhan Vong evoke as they take over the Star Wars Galaxy. This book was no exception. I bought it when it first came out and couldn't bring myself to read it until recently. I kept looking at the book and saying "I can't read that - I don't want to know what happens next..." It was very hard to approach this book since I had read the Jr. Jedi Knights series and remembered the characters Tahiri, Tionne and others. Needless to say, this was the first book that gave me hope as well as more insight into the Yuuzhan Vong and the characters of Anakin Solo and Tahiri. If you are looking for the "tried and true" characters, Luke, Mara Jade, Han and Leia - this is not the place to find them. It's a new galaxy ...
Rating: Summary: ???? Review: The seventh book of the New Jedi Order series alternates between melodramatic and illogical over-simplification, and a genuine effort at developing dynamic and believable characters and at giving the Yuuzhan Vong a realistic culture. The quality of the story and writing rises and falls in three distinct waves. These correspond closely to the three sections into which Keyes divides his book. The first third or so of Conquest is simplistic and childish. I had the strong sense that Keyes here relied heavily on Kevin J. Anderson's Young Jedi Knights series. The characters are very cardboard, the dialogue is trite, and the events are implausible. The next third of the book is much better, and it is here that most of the solid character development, and development of the Yuuzhan Vong culture, takes place. Once Anakin is alone in the jungle and Keyes begins to deal with characters of his own invention (or at least not derived from Kevin J.'s series), his style improves greatly. Dialogue and events are more compelling; this is fresh material instead of a rehash of Anderson's children's books. Unfortunately, the last third of the book becomes melodramatic and illogical again. Anakin has a moment of epiphany in which he "realizes" that only people who are Force-sensitive can judge right and wrong; after this, he turns into some kind of ridiculous superhero who realizes Master Ikrit's truest dream by uniting with Tahiri to rip trees out of the ground and throw them at the Yuuzhan Vong. As for Tahiri, she all but reverts from a total brainwashing in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, Anakin's siblings appear unexplained and out of nowhere to save the day, and are then portrayed as children. Jaina, a 17 year old military officer focused on discipline, talks with her mouth full while Jacen, who in the last book committed to fighting the Yuuzhan Vong, declares that Anakin should illogically work for peace. The resolution seems almost a mockery of Keyes' achievements in the central chapters of Conquest. His ultimate ignorance of the characterization that took place in the previous books is a shortcoming that is all too common in Star Wars books, and no doubt much of the blame should be placed on the series editors. Until they learn to do their job, I'll read something else.
Rating: Summary: NJO finally shines. Review: This book is simply amazing, and actually might be one of the best Star Wars books ever written. Keyes shows here that he doesn't need to have five different plotlines in order to give a story momentum. Instead, the focus is on Anakin's race to save his best freind, Tahiri, a student at the Jedi Academy, from being turned into a Yuzzhan Vong. The plot might be predictable, but the characters are the true centerpoint of the novel. Keyes is the first NJO author to actually bring character depth to the Yuzzhan Vong. While the sequel, Edge of Victory II: Rebirth, might not be the best, this book will leave readers deeply satisfied.
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