Rating: 
Summary: A Great Read
Review: 'Jedi Eclipse' was far more enjoyable to read than its companion volume, 'Hero's Trial.' If you aren't a Han fan, 'Jedi Eclipse' has more characters; unfortunately, it still continues to follow the inane, boring storyline of Han and Droma looking for the pesky Ryn's clan-mates. I hope Droma never again resurfaces--let him be banished to the bottomless character pit that Danni Quee, Callista and the Ismarens fell into.And poor Wurth Skidder dies just when his character was starting to get some development. What a waste of a character with a lot of potential.
Rating: 
Summary: ANOTHER GOLD
Review: A string of smashing victories by the forces of the sinister aliens known as the Yuuzhan Vong has left New Republic resources and morale stretched to the breaking point. Leia Organa Solo, estranged from her husband, Han, oversees the evacuation of refugees on planets in the path of the merciless invaders. Luke Skywalker struggles to hold the fractious Jedi Knights together, even while one of them undertakes a bold but reckless undercover mission. Manipulating their alliance with the amoral Hutts, the Yuuzhan Vong leave a cunning trail of vital information where New Republic agents are sure to find it--information the desperate defenders cannot afford to ignore: the location of the aliens' next target. Then Han Solo stumbles into the dark heart of raging battle, thus beginning a furious race against time that will require every skill and trick in his arsenal to win...
Rating: 
Summary: A huge disappointment.
Review: After the rousing and thrill-packed Hero's Trail, I would have expected more. In this lackluster follow up (in which nothing really happens,) the evil Vong and the Hutts strike a deal, and Leia goes to the Harpes Empire for help. At the same time, a Jedi allows himself to be captured and tortured, and Anakin and Jacen fall out over Jacen's unwillingness to help defend the galaxy from the most vile creations to enter it. Unfortunately, the most interesting thing that happens here is the plight of the refugees, which are actually quite compelling, as the rest is pretictable and boring, although one has to wonder whose side Jacen is really on. Pity, because Luceno is the most promising of the writers brought into the New Jedi Order storyline. But unfortunately, he is not the real problem, which affects the entire storyline. The Yuzzhan Vong are too powerful, too shallow an enemy, and five books later one would think that New Republic should have one some battles by now. The following books should have them losing some major battles or else this series will run out of steam.
Rating:
Summary: Another superb New Jedi Order book
Review: Agents of Chaos 2: Jedi Eclipse was a great book to add to the New Jedi Order series. Even as I write this it has been one hour since I finished the book, in case any of you wanted to know. I must admit that you really wouldn't be missing much if you skipped this book, because after everything that transpires, you are still left at square one. Han Solo, accompanied by his new Ryn friend Droma, is searching the galaxy for Droma's clanmates who were seperated from after after the events of Agents of Chaos 1: Hero's Trial. Elsewhere, Leia seeks the help of some old friends, namely the Hapan Cluster, to aid in the war against the never stopping Yuuzhan Vong. Meanwhile the Jedi Knights, such as Jacen, Anakin, Kyp Durron, and others all partake in their own missions. With this book brings the possibility that the New Republic may finally have a chance at winning the war against the Yuuzhan Vong if they can only accomplish one goal: restart the infamous Centerpoint Station. At the end all these events come down to one big climax which will leave you hanging on every page, unable to put the book down. A great read for Star Wars fans, especially those who have been following the NJO series.
Rating:
Summary: Another superb New Jedi Order book
Review: Agents of Chaos 2: Jedi Eclipse was a great book to add to the New Jedi Order series. Even as I write this it has been one hour since I finished the book, in case any of you wanted to know. I must admit that you really wouldn't be missing much if you skipped this book, because after everything that transpires, you are still left at square one. Han Solo, accompanied by his new Ryn friend Droma, is searching the galaxy for Droma's clanmates who were seperated from after after the events of Agents of Chaos 1: Hero's Trial. Elsewhere, Leia seeks the help of some old friends, namely the Hapan Cluster, to aid in the war against the never stopping Yuuzhan Vong. Meanwhile the Jedi Knights, such as Jacen, Anakin, Kyp Durron, and others all partake in their own missions. With this book brings the possibility that the New Republic may finally have a chance at winning the war against the Yuuzhan Vong if they can only accomplish one goal: restart the infamous Centerpoint Station. At the end all these events come down to one big climax which will leave you hanging on every page, unable to put the book down. A great read for Star Wars fans, especially those who have been following the NJO series.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Hero's Trial
Review: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse is a worthy addition to the Star Wars mythos, but it's certainly not anywhere near the best. Whereas this book's predecessor, Hero's Trial, focused almost solely on the (mis)adventures of a still-grieving Han Solo, this volume tries to keep track of everyone. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily a good thing. Han is still on his quest, with newfound sidekick Droma, to find Droma's missing clan. Meanwhile, Leia heads off to the Hapes Consortium to try to win them over to the cause, the Hutts try to play the New Republic off of the Vong for their own benefit, Jacen & Anakin head off to examine the possibility of using Centerpoint Station as a weapon against the Vong, Borsk continues to be Borsk, and there are subplots galore. The author maintains his high standards of writing throughout, and this book could have been absolutely terrific had it been about, say, three times as long as it is. Unfortunately, because of the relatively short length of the book, very few of the plot threads are developed satisfactorily, and sometimes they seem a bit disjointed. Still, the action is excellent, the characterizations are dead on, Luceno's knowledge of the Star Wars universe is superb, and there are cameo appearances of old favorites galore. The only two plots in this book that really kept me extremely interested were the Han and the Skidder plots, though, with the rest being too underdeveloped. The cover isn't very good either. While the Vong (Warmaster Tsavong Lah) appears much as he is described in the book, Han is missing an arm, and his beard looks more like a blur than any facial hair I've ever seen. Overall, this is an okay addition to the New Jedi Order, but the only Great parts of the book were the Han scenes and the last chapter, which almost boosted the book up another point just by itself. I do recommend this novel, but it's not the best.
Rating: 
Summary: Han Solo gets into the thick of it again
Review: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse is the fifth book in the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order series. While the first book of this series within a series was a bump in the road to success, the second book redeems it slightly. But only slightly. It starts off slowly and still has some of Luceno's previous book's problems, but overall it is an improvement. Hopefully, the entire series is back on the upswing. Luceno crams a lot of story into the 348 pages of this book. Sometimes it seems to be bursting at the seams, with bits of story leaking from the holes. Some of the stories seem to get short shrift, like the Skidder story. This does play an important part in the finale, so it has to be in there, but I think Luceno could have spent a little more time on it, or found some other way for what happens to evolve. Actually, what I think could have been left on the cutting room floor, with more stuff added to other stories, is the in-depth scenes with the various refugee Ryn. A lot of time is spent on them and with not a lot of discernible effect. Sure, Luceno uses them to illustrate the greediness of the people trying to handle the refugees, and the ship on which they eventually end up plays a semi-important part in the finale, but I think too much time is spent on them. There is another reason I think too much time is spent on them, though. I thought the characterization of them was very lazy. The Ryn are just stereotypical gypsies, and the numbers aren't even filed off. They are people who roam the galaxy, always suspected and persecuted, who dance a lot and play games. They are fortune-tellers who like to use cards in their telling. Droma, because he is characterized a lot more deeply by being partners with Han Solo, breaks out of this stereotype, though the elements are still there. He is actually made an interesting character. But his family and relatives who show up in this book don't do anything but act like gypsies. It would have been nice if they were at least slightly different. And since Luceno doesn't even make them very interesting people as characters, the scenes with them are slow and boring. Another problem with the book is the very slow beginning. I really struggled to get through the first 100 pages or so. There are also various slow spots throughout the rest of the novel as well. This usually happens when Luceno decides to go into great, gory detail about previous books. When I say previous books, I'm not talking about previous New Jedi Order books either. There are so many references to previous series and books that I found it very distracting. Unlike Luceno's last book, where these references also were but he handled them a lot better and I didn't see them as worth mentioning in my review, this time it gets distracting. Luceno sometimes spends whole paragraphs explaining what happened in the previous books, making the story skid to a halt. The worst example of this is when Jacen and Anakin are brought in to prime the secret weapon in the Corellian system. A few years ago this weapon was the centerpiece in a potential rebellion of the Corellian system against the New Republic. Luceno describes almost everything about these books, and it really drags the story down with it when he does. While most of the stories do a decent job of holding the reader's interest (except for the refugees, as explained above), the only really interesting story is the Han and Droma story. The book just kind of sits there when they aren't on the screen, and the book does suffer from it. Han and Droma play off each other very well as characters, and the interplay between them is wonderful. Luceno does a great job of making Droma slide right in as Han's partner, with only a few pangs at Chewbacca's absence. The events that happen to them are interesting as well. Han's daring rescue of Droma when Droma's been arrested on Ruan is a lot of fun, and the droid character that helps Han helps make the story even more fun. The action is non-stop, and vividly described by Luceno, and I have to applaud him for it. This story is wonderful. While the other stories do just kind of sit there, I have to give Luceno credit for tying everything together. The climax is breath-taking, and makes up for the entire rest of the book. Unlike the previous book, there are valid explanations for why everybody ends up at the same place and I didn't find myself groaning once at the coincidence. Luceno still doesn't describe the space battle sequences very well, in my opinion, but he does do a better job than the previous book. There is a lot of tension in the action and it definitely held my interest. I think part of the success is because Luceno doesn't have to describe a lot of ship-to-ship action (though there is some). Instead, most of the ship-to-ship action is the Millenium Falcon and her adversaries. Luceno seems to be better at personal action, with the fight scenes in Han's rescue of Droma and in Kyp and Ganar's attempted rescue of Wurth being especially done well. This book started out so slowly that I was convinced I would give it a worse rating than Hero's Trial, but it surprised me. It got a lot better, and while most of the stories didn't completely excite me, they held my interest while I was waiting for more Han Solo action. That's not bad. I have to say that Luceno did much better this time around, though I'm still not particularly happy that he's the author chosen to end the entire series. Still, we shall see. David Roy
Rating:
Summary: The Yuuzhan Vong increase their hold. Funny Hutt's
Review: Agents of Chaos is the follow up to Hero's Trial in the New Jedi Order series that began with Vector Prime. This installment picks up where Hero's Trial ended and made for a very entertaining and action packed story in current timeline of the Star Wars Universe. Again, like all novels within the New Jedi Order time frame, the New Republic is at war with an extra-galaxy force known as the Yuuzhan Vong. Where as Vector Prime painted a very grim future for the New Republic, the follow up novels (in my opinion) softened up on the ferocity of the Vong. However, author James Luceno re-invigorates the strength and evil of the Vong as they slowly but surely take a more prominent foothold in the Star Wars Universe. By the end of this novel, we see the Vong double their efforts and with some success inch ever closer to the core worlds. Of course the various races and alliances within the Republic are now thrown into Chaos. No one trusts the government, the Jedi are questioned, the Hutt's are made to be betrayers to the Republic and hopes are quickly dashed out. The primary characters here are Han and his new Ryn friend, Droma. Their escapades make for a real good ride reminiscent of Indiana Jones, James Bond, and the original New Hope action. Leia is also here as she pleads her case to her former suitor Isolder and the Hapes Consortium (from 'The Courtship of Princess Leia'). Though Luke is present, he is scarcely mentioned as the focus is shifted to other Jedi; namely Kyp Duron, Wurth Skidder, Jacen and Anakin Solo. Kyp continues his aggressive style where as Jacen and Anakin question their loyalties to the spirituality of being a Jedi Knight and their role in the Force. One character, previously thought dead makes a return, but noticeable are the absences of Lando, Ackbar, R2, Jaina Solo, Mara Jade and any Imperials. The author did include a new spin was very enjoyable to read...that of the Hutt's. For the Hutt's play both sides of the war, for obvious reasons and it is amusing to read their takes on the New Republic and the Vong. Sometimes comedic in nature, they are the master manipulators, and also the sniveling wimps who hide behind their hired hands. Many plot twists center around the Hutt's and their decisions, and we have great insight about their culture because of this. Then there is the rift slowly forming between Han and Leia. Both silently blame each other for the division that has come between them which lends to credibility that they are human, and even strong relationships in the Star Wars universe are put to the test. You actually feel for both of them. The one odd thing I always note in any SW novels is the creation or revelation of a new super weapon. In this case it is Centerpoint Station around Coreilla. HHHmmmm, we have had 2 death Stars, (really 3 from the Maw Installation), the Sun Crusher, the Dark Saber, the World Devastators, now Centerpoint. Each always promising to be more powerful than the last. When will it end? The closing chapter made for some very interesting revelations as the war continues. Exactly who is pulling whose strings, and who is for the Republic and who is for the Vong. A mysterious cliffhanger looms.
Rating:
Summary: disillusioned
Review: As Star Wars books go, this one wasn't so great. Like all books the plot has good elements and bad elements. The problem is that it spends too much time on the not so good parts of the plot, and not enough on the intersting parts. I think the story line had a lot of potential, but Luceno left key parts underdeveloped, while wasting time and paper by describing in excruciating detail the most mundane and non-important scenes of the book. One of the most wonderful aspects of the new jedi order is that it opens up so many possibilities. It introduces new heros and villains that were not in the movies, and are therefore not bound so much by the 'rules' of the star wars univers as we have seen it so far. The authers of these books, especially Luceno, could have done so much more with this. In Vector Prime, the Yuuzhan Vong are introduced as a totally alien species, but over the course of the books they become more and more like the bad guys we already know. In Luceno's favor, Hero's trail was not quite as bad as Jedi Eclipse.
Rating:
Summary: We Will Get There?
Review: At least we're back on the Falcon again. Han is back to the days of old and I'm talking before Leia. He and his new found friend are what makes this book work for me. I like the humor and their sarcastic remarks toward one another. They pair up perfectly. Luke, Mara, and Jaina have better things to do or they are not worthy of reading about anymore. It makes you wonder if anything more could go wrong with the New Republic. How they could bungle up so badly and still be there. I find myself wanting the Emperor back, because you know he would have had a way of dealing with the Vong. If the books intent was to leave you hanging for the next book, Balance Point, it has a done a fine job. I can't wait. Star Wars fans, you have to read it. If you're like me, you can't get enough of it.
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