Rating: 
Summary: Can we get rid of the pantywaist?
Review: After the suspense of Agents of chaos 1 and 2 I could not wait for Balance point to come out. Going by the title I thought it would have more to do with Centerpoint or something to that affect but I was wrong. While not as action packed and dark as the previous books I did like it in the end. Leia's up and close and personal meeting with the vong warmaster is bound to give her something to think about in the next installment. However, the most irritating thing about this book is Jason Solo. Waht a wimp! He takes the light/dark side thing to the limit; one hopes that Kyp might step in and set him right. I never seen such a nellie Jedi before! Its only when he is pushed to the breaking point that he finally sees that using the force wont turn him into grandpa Vader. I gave the book 4 stars for the last part of the book; prier to that the book for me dragged on. It was interesting to see Jaynna injured and such but there should have been a bit more action. And how about Luke and Mara; they are going to be parents now; sorry if I spoiled it for anyone. While this is a good sub plot and one which will benefit the Star Wars universe I can't help but think how homophobic Star Wars is in a lot of ways. We have this entire Galaxy, and surely there has to be planets where there live a few gay folk. While Star Wars is not the place for sexual politics; its an all ages universe after all, I think adding a diverse range of characters would not be a bad thing. It doesn't have to be explicit or anything but it would give a quick nod to the fact that there are different people out there. If we can have humans courting furry aliens and such why not a minor gay character? A gay Jedi? parish the thoght some might say. At any rate Star Wars is all about action good and evil and suspense filled adventure and I hope it will always stay that way. Buy this book for it does add to the NJO series and now lets look forward to the next one hwich will take us back in time.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved it!
Review: This is really a great book. It reads tremendously quickly because it has a good pace. It has good action sequences, and the set-up to get to these scenes are great. The characters have good development, which I like to see. Jacen is starting to make inroads on his Jedi dilemma. Luke and Mara are closer than ever, and looks like Han and Leia are on the back to their old selves. This novel brings everyone back like the "old days." That was rather refreshing. Leia's encounter with the warmaster is one of the high points of the NJO series. The subtle "behind the scenes" mysteries are great also (like which side is Duros gov't on and when is Senator Shesh going to be discovered?). The only problem I had with this installment was that is just seemed to end. I guess I got so involved with the story, that I hated to see it end. Welcome back to the Star Wars galaxy, Kathy Tyers!
Rating: 
Summary: this book sucks in every way possible. starwars is outof gas
Review: first off, whenever you are in the minds of jacen or jaina, they always refer to their parents in their minds as HAN and LEIa, which on kathy tyers part is pretty stupid. and the novel is just another book in this "great" new series that is really a rehash of the last one. who cares anymore about refugees going from planet to planet? this is getting on my nerves, and if not on yours yet, it will be pretty soon. I thought the book moved very slowely and made no real sense. we get a good glimpse at the new enemy, but at the cost of losing interest in the good guys. something needs to happen in the next book, before all of us get bored with this new series. it is totally unaccpetable to have plotlines in a star wars novel even worse than episode one. and you cant do that very easily. there was way to much dialog in the plotline, and not enough action. it's time for the republic to take up arms. han, leia, and luke seem to have been typecast in the same roles over and over again. it is starting to get very old. why can't we get a jedi order novel these days that match those of dark tide one and 2? in my opinion, those two are the best in the new series, and quite possibly the entire novels. take heed, lucasbooks, you have utterly destoryed the quality of star wars novels by taking publishing rights form bantam, but you are on the verge of losing many readers. start bringing out intersting books in the near future, before i move my loyalties elsewhere. PS: anyone who liked this book is completly stupid and willingly to enjoy anything with the name star wars over it. you are george lucas's master race.
Rating:
Summary: I Didn't Want to Put This Book Down.........
Review: and that is saying quite a bit, since this is the first Star Wars adult novel I've felt this way about in some time. The characterizations are dead on. Luke and Mara interract like a real married couple. The relationships between various members of the Solo family are realistically complex and true to life. One still loves to hate the Vong, but Ms. Tyers kindly spared us from excessive gore and other details of Vong practices as found in previous novels in this series. I plan to go back and read this one again soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I'm surprised to see so many good reviews for this book. I felt that this was the worst book so far in the NJO series. The only reason I'm not giving it a lower rating is because its a hardcover and important to the overall series. I thought it was good that they got all the main characters together in one place for once but the whole book felt rushed, like they tried to jam a 500 page book into 300 pages. The orginization is just terrible and it bounces around too much. The characters are in one setting one second and in the next line its the next day and they're someplace else with no real explanation of how they got there or what happened. The dialogue is boring and jumpy too and its hard to follow who's speaking. Many of the characters also seem like stereotypes and are delegated to set roles in this book. It seems as though Jacen is supposed to be the main focus of this book but he's just irritating and stupid, which is sad because he was a favorite of mine. The only good interactions in the whole book was luke and mara but even that was sub-par. They usually have a little bantering back and forth but in this all they seem to do is say "i love you", "oh i love you to, now dont die". I mean how many times do we have establish that they have a bond with each other, we get the picture! And as for a little comedy and action that usually accompany a star wars book, well there seems to be none this time. Never have I ever been so relieved to reach the end of a book. I mean i had to force myself to finish this thing, and the only reason i bothered finishing it is because i knew its important to the series. So overall, important book to read for the series but bad execution.
Rating:
Summary: BEST OF NEW SERIES
Review: I couldn't put this one down. Just when I thought the new books might start to get predictable, this one through it out the window. It kept me guessing what was going to happen the whole way. Who's gonna make it? Who isn't? What is Jacen thinking!? The traditional characters (-Chewie of course) are all fighting together again and it brings back the original trilogy. I can't wait for the next installment to come out now. Kathy Tyers did a much better job with this book than The Truce at Bakura, and I felt that was a great book as well. Any Star Wars fan will love this book. Definitely recommend
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the NJO so far...
Review: Out of all the NJO books so far, this one is the best. The interactions between Luke and Mara are great. The plot is unpredictable.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Addition
Review: This is without a doubt a worthy addition to the starwars univers. The book is well writen, and the plot is not only interesting and well thought out, but it fits in nicely with the other books in the new jedi order. This book is definatly worth reading if you enjoy the new jedi order; expect some surprises and interesting developments. I haven't heard anything about the next book in the series, but whoever writes it, I hope he can measure up.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best of the seris
Review: I thought that the book was great. I also love the seris. I couldn't wait till this new book came out. It was great.
Rating:
Summary: You Will Like This One
Review: Kathy Tyers wrote her last book for The Star Wars Galaxy in January of 1994, when she penned "The Truce At Bakura". In the intervening six and one half years she clearly has developed both as an Author, and placed herself among the top writers for Star Wars fans, with her new book "Balance Point". This is the 8th book in this new series, and while subtle shifts are beginning to take place, or at least hinted at, The New Republic does not fair any better this time around, and the group that should be beyond reproach is threatened with persecution. The threat is particularly sordid and indicative of how badly the traditional alliances have become blurred, because the threat is delivered by a member, and in a place, that such an action has previously been unthinkable. The theme of this book is not vastly different from the previous installments. However fans should enjoy that, instead of being spread across the galaxy, the members of the Solo Family, and the Skywalker pair of Luke and Mara are fighting together this time. Han is again prominent in the story, and the action sequences, whether individual combat, or large-scale invasion are very well done. The Solo Kids are no longer Kids, they have all come into their own albeit it different ways. Even Jacen seems to have sorted out what direction he will take in his relationship with the Force. The mood is still dark, and the friends we have followed into a third decade, while not fragile, are now sporting some gray hair, except for those...but that would be a spoiler and a humorous one at that. There are few light moments, but one will become a classic. Again I cannot spoil the scene, but Anakin is no longer a child, and the view from a 16 years old perspective, is...different. There are also some gestures/sacrifices that come from the least likely of players, and it was instances like these, that give the slightest bit of hope, that the end of this series will not end all we have come to know and enjoy. There is a long way to go in this story line, and this particular installment ends as dramatically as any of the previous seven, and perhaps even more so. Kathy Tyler has delivered a great book, enjoy!
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