Rating: 
Summary: A return to good writing in NJO
Review: Balance Point is a welcome return to high-quality, thoughtful writing in the New Jedi Order series. Kathy Tyers achieves what James Luceno does not: she tightly focuses her plot around the Skywalker-Solo family group, handling their internal and interpersonal turmoil in a manner that shows this family's struggles to be representative of the macrocosmic struggles of the galaxy. She could have added another chapter at the end or a few sentences or paragraphs here and there making the connection between the Skywalker-Solos' tale and the rest of the galaxy more explicit--or at least to enhance the sense of an over-arching plot through the NJO series, but there is a certain artfulness in the way Tyers leaves it to the reader to draw out these sorts of connections.Balance Point's success is largely the result of Tyers following a diverse enough cast of characters that each individual can fill in an important niche within the plot, and of her attention to detail in her writing. By following Jedi of a variety of persuasions, refugees and those assisting them, and active pilots and warriors, Tyers avoids having to describe important events without being able to follow them from the point of view of one or more main characters--the mistake that killed Luceno's battle scenes. It similarly allows her to avoid inserting "filler" characters who must show up to play a role in the plot, but never receive any sort of characterization. In fact, attention to details--particularly characterization--is one of Tyers' greatest strengths in this book. She strikes a comfortable balance between Michael Stackpole's internal-dialogue drenched mode of characterization and Timothy Zahn's more subtle indication of personality through nuanced action and speech. This combination of techniques works particularly well on Mara Jade Skywalker, who is written perhaps better than she's been since Zahn last dealt with her. Though I think that Stackpole's approach is preferable for Jacen because he is a character with a lot of internal dialogue, Tyers does well with him, too. She focuses on his sensitivity as the driving force behind his character, offering some hint at the sources of his sudden anti-action stance, though perhaps not enough. Jacen is certainly meant to be a bit frustrating in this book, and that he is, but I think the frustration may be more at a gap in the series' writing than at his character's actions. Perhaps I would have liked to see a Stackpole book between Jedi Eclipse and Balance Point (or just a better author for the Agents of Chaos duology) that gave an even more psychological account of Jacen's progress. This is not Tyers' fault, though, and she deserves to be commended for her Jacen, who is once again the interesting and dynamic young man of the first three NJO books. Tyers' attention to detail also shines through in her handling of the Yuuzhan Vong and in her succinct but evocative descriptive language. The Yuuzhan Vong are once again the severe and distant religious fanatics of the earlier books, and Tyers even manages to explain the inappropriate flippancy Luceno ascribed to Nom Anor, as well as his correct pronunciation of "Jedi." She avoids Luceno's tendency towards melodrama and exaggeration. This is particularly apparent in her descriptive language. She ditches the overwrought vocabulary of Agents of Chaos in favor of clarity. The result is settings like the Coruscant tapcaf where Anakin and Mara go after a potential Yuuzhan Vong agent: it is vivid and memorable, but its description doesn't impede the flow of the writing, and the book continues apace. This simplification of language makes Balance Point more engaging than the James Luceno books. In Agents of Chaos, I always had the impression that Luceno was writing lots of filler-words for the sake of making his story long enough to be a book. Most of what he wrote didn't seem to matter, and I got bored with it. Not so with Balance Point, where clarity and straight-forwardness make the book seem cohesive and interesting. Balance Point seamlessly combines the strengths of Stackpole and Zahn to create a brilliant new chapter in NJO, returning the series to the high level of quality at which it began.
Rating: 
Summary: Ok book....but not the best
Review: I got this book thinking it was going to be the best in the series up to that point, but I was dissapointed. This was a good book, but it could not beat out the 2 by Michael Stockpole. I found this book was slow paced, and the action only picked up towards the end of the book. I would still buy this book because it has alot of plot issues that will play into future books, but IMO it was not as good as some of the others.
Rating: 
Summary: Declining state of star wars
Review: I dont like to do this but I think I have to. You will allready have seen that I dont rate the book to highly but the fact is it's nothing to do with the books writting or the dialogue, it's the overall plot of the new jedi order thats got me annoyed. The problem is that all the books have started to have this sameish plot, Han or Leia or one of the main charecters turns up on some planet with a shedload of refuges, everybody talks to everybody else, the Borg, sorry Yuuzhan Vong turn up, they fight, they run, the end. It's simplified I know but I really am getting fed up of it, I admit there are further books in the series I havent read yet but I am getting fed up of the constant repetiveness of the invincibility of the aliens and everybody having to fight then run from them. The borg, damn i mean Yuuzhan Vong, whose name I really cant be bothered spelling properly, even if i could are the most boring villans ever' sorry but they are, all they do is assimilate, i mean conquer world after world and then try to torture everybody into goodness from their point of view. Boooring. They hardly try to corrupt anybody. Oh and before I forget how come the jedi cant kick them from here to next tuesday and back again? Just 'cos they arent there in the force why dont they just drop a rock on the borg, whoops, stuff it, why dont they just pick up a rock and drop it on the aliens head, nothing to stop 'em doing that is there, and Anakin has already figured that out. Ohh and before I forget Jacen!! That whginning pipsqueak is getting on my nerves. Morally worrying all the time or worrying about morality or whatever, and his attitude changes all the time, with each different author. The technology battle is worse where they try to equip the enterprise with oscillating shields to, no wait I'm getting confused again, still it's not hard to do. If you havent already gathered my main gripoe is this is ment to be star Wars not Start Trek, i havent got a problem with Star Trek except when it's getting in the Star Wars books, please just kill the Yuuzhan Vong and get back to proper star wars, pleaaasseee. What do ya mean youre making to much money, no u cant silence, me I am the truth, I am....
Rating: 
Summary: Not even Zahn could save this series!
Review: While I would love to be a writer in the Star Wars universe, I don't think I would touch the New Jedi Order with a 50-foot pole! Not even Zahn could save this series (and I have GREAT faith in his abilities and love for his Star Wars vision). Tyers gives it her all, but there is just nothing interesting here. The characters of the series are little more than matte paintings that are hard to care about. The whole series has ruined any great potential stories for the Solo children, and offers up a Jedi Order where no two Jedi follow the same path. Any time one of them begins to get interesting they do a 180 in the next book and go back to ambiguity. This mixing of the young Jedi series in to the New Jedi Order only serves to further remove the true Star Wars feel. Balance Point gives us another "big shocker" (which is now an expected trademark of the series -yawn) but does not redeem the book in anyway. It further sets in motion new plots for Jacen and Jaina...but nothing that you really care about or rather nothing that gets developed extensively (thus far), later in the series. I have often sat around with fellow fans trying to come up with something to "fix" the series or give it focus, but even our best efforts cannot undo the growing apathy many of us have for the series. The book is critical if you are trying to keep up with the series in hopes it will get more interesting but beyond that I can't recommend it. As a Star Wars fan I keep plugging though them like a junkie who realizes a bad fix is better than no fix, but I'm seriously thinking about rehab.
Rating:
Summary: Tyers keeps the Balance
Review: Balance Point continues the New Jedi Order series with the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong moving toward the Core at an increasing speed. Jacen Solo has given up use of the force after seeing an apocalyptic vision of the galaxy's future. Balance Point offers new insight into the refugee situation in the galaxy, and the treachery within the New Republic itself. Jacen's dilemma also spices things up, and the character of Tsavong Lah continues to intice the reader.
Rating:
Summary: A well written novel
Review: I thought this book was very well written. I spoke valumes.. I was able to put myself directly into the characters position, and I enjoied that very much. I exspecailly enjoied how the Warmaster was intruduced.. I would recomend this novel and all the others in this series to any Star Wars fans.
Rating:
Summary: Sigh...
Review: After four increasingly generic paperback (all with basically the same plot), the NJO returns to the plummy awfulness of "Vector Prime" with its second hardback, "Balance Point." Like "Vector Prime" and the paperbacks, it has the same damn plot, and like them it's not very good judged by ordinary standards. Which are the only ones I know. The NJO books appear to be more like a television series than a book sequence. Interest has been waning, so they did what they do with fading sitcoms--suddenly there's a pregnancy. Big surprise! The prospective mother is over forty and esperately ill, no naturally the parents seek no medical assistance whatsoever. And the powers that be appear to be setting up the princess and the pirate for a spin-off. I can see the advertising now: "Dysfunction Junction! Real Drama! Watch "The Solos" Tuesdays at nine! Here's the set-up: Dad is pouting because Mom is canoodling with her former beau, Mr. Perfect (or in this case, Prince Perfect). Mom, whose talents could be better used in a thouand different places, somehow conveniently winds up within a stone's throw of all the other characters, doing something or other. Sis whines because Mom is uninterested in motherhood (duh, like saving the galaxy should come second). Younger son, being set up as the hearttrob of the TV (oops, I mean book) series, poses a lot and blows kisses at the swooning masses. Elder son provides Christlike symbolism, including the crucifixion posture on the cover, plus arguments about pacificism (yes, it's the old 'my-son-is-a-conscientious-objector-in-the-middle-of-WWIII-oh-woe-is-me' plot). Don't miss the next episode, a soapy resolution is guaranteed! Watch Dad and Mom kiss and make up! Watch Sis regain her eyesight! Watch elder son bore himself (and us) to death! Watch younger son fall in love with his own chin dimple! Then we have the villainous Vong, who are as hilariously campy as ever. They talk like Bela Lugosi, and I kept waiting for them to say, "Zhey mak buttifal muzik, ze children of ze night." the torture scene had me rolling on the floor laughing (I half expected Mom to say to the head Vong in her mid-Atlantic accent, "I thought I recognized your stench when I came aboard," but no such luck.)
Rating:
Summary: Another great New Jedi Order book!
Review: Balance Point was one of the best New Jedi Order books out yet. Once you get to the end it really becomes hard to put it down. The Yuuzhan Vong are still continuing their reign of terror throughout the galaxy. Their next target? An uninhabited planet named Duro, whose species dwell in cities above the ground. It is here that Leia Organa Solo has undertaken a project to restore it's beauty and provide a home for the flood of refugees fleeing the terror of the Yuuzhan Vong. It is also here that Luke, Mara, and the Solo children embark on their own journeys to find a missing Jedi apprentice, and to find the true nature of the force. It is also here that the Yuuzhan Vong will strike next with all of their might, once again possibly changing the destiny of Duro, and the galaxy itself, yet again!
Rating: 
Summary: Really 4.5 stars.
Review: Before I say anything else, I really enjoyed this book. The characters are believable and fully fleshed out, the Yuuzhan Vong are given a real starring role, and the author's exploration of the Force is fascinating. It also explores the various relationships between the Solos from some interesting angles. Finally, the story moves at a good pace and comes to a great climax. However... There are a few things that I have come to expect from Star Wars novels that are missing. For instance, there is very little in the way of space battles and the political side of this story is a bit neglected. Also, the author dwells a bit too much on the character of Mara Jade, at the expense of other characters. In truth, these points don't detract too much from the story. It's fun light reading thats appropriate for any teenager or adult who enjoys light science fiction or the Star Wars genre.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't ask for more!!
Review: While I have found most of the books in this series better than the averedge Star Wars book of the earlier series', and very entertaining for the most part, none so far in the New Jedi Order has come close to this one! Kathy Tyers did an excellent job with The Truce at Bakura, but it's easy to see how much she's developed as a writer between this book and that one. (especially since here, her talents are not clouded by the annoying character of Gaeriel.) The writing is immpecable, the characters flawlessly portrayed and deeply emotional without being too sappy, and the general flow and plot gripping, realistic, and understandable. The author also manages to make this story uplifting and a bit dark at the same time, without using pages filled with blood and gore as some of the previous authers did, and this story was still just as compelling, if not more so, than it's predicessers. By this time in the series, the Vong have taken nearly half the galaxy, and the countless billions of terrified refugees pouring from the Vong occupied war zones is enough to make even the most generous and patriotic of planets unwilling to house them. This has become a major problem, so what remains of the fractitios New Republic government strikes a deal with the people of Duro, a planet so ruined and torn by wars on the surface that most of the inhabitants live in floating cities above the atmostphere. The refugees will work to restore Duro to a livable state, and Duro's government will allow the refugees to live there with them in peace and relative safely for the duration of the war. The deal is readily agreed to, but it isn't long before cultural diferences and and the strain of being in close quarters begin to rise between the New Republic and Duro, and the refugees themselves. Han and Jacen are sent there to help, not knowing that Leia is only "klicks" away working partially against them, while barely seventeen year old Jaina (having been with Rogue Squadren for months now) is shot down and badly wounded (as in temporary blindness, messed up legs, broken ribs, etc) as well badly scared, her confindence perhaps permenantly shaken. Meanwhile, Luke and Mara get news that a young Jedi apprentice has gone missing, so, finding the listless New Republic government unhelpful as usual, they take Anakin and strike out on their own to find the girl. At the same time, Mara's been feeling a little...strange, and so, fearing her remission has ended, and her disease is about to flare up again, she tries to destroy with the Force whatever it is, only to discover that it's no biological terror that is growing inside her... Anyway, as I already stated, altogether this was one of the best and most entertaining Star Wars books I've read in a while, and I have to say I'm more than impressed with this author's ability to carry a story begun by previous authors. While this book mainly focused on Jacen, it did not exclude everyone else, and was thus a diverse, well built story. While other books tended to portray Jacen's plaintive soul-searching and confusion as to to his place in the universe as weak and pointless, I was pleased to at last see an author who not only remembers what it's like to be a teenager, but also refused to condescend to Jacen, or us, in that way. For once, I didn't feel that the older characters were compromised in favor of the younger ones, (something that's been bothering me for a while in this series) yet at the same time it could easily be seen that the kids are coming into their own, whether they're ready to or not. I was also quite pleased at the abrupt new developments in Luke and Mara's relationship; since Heir to the Empire, this is what I've been waiting for. Luke and Mara have been my favorite couple for a while, and I was deeply pleased to finally see the focus switching back to them. This author portrayed their relationship almost on a par with Zahn, and it's fairly obvious how well she knows and cares for these characters. Han and Leia were interesting for a while, but now they've been married upwards of seventeen years and even their kids are all grown up, (and I must say have far more interesting relationships than they do) and they just remind me more of my parents than anything else. Luke and Mara make the older generation as lively and interesting as the new one, but without compromising the much needed wisdom only an adult can have. Anyway, this is an excellent book, that (unlike others in this series) I would recommend to all lovers of Star Wars!
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