Rating: 
Summary: Swords, Choices, and Politics
Review: "This is it. The turning point. Now, everything changes." With that paraphrase, Walter Jon Williams sets the stage for the final quarter of the New Jedi Order Saga. Reeling from Anakin's death and the assumed death of Jacen, the New Republic faces one of its greatest challenges: rebuilding the fractured alliance of planets that opposed a dark empire and was crushed by an invisible enemy.
The Galactic Alliance (nee New Republic) relocates its base to Mon Calamari, and to rebuild the galaxy they need a Chief of State. And this is where the novel misses its mark; there is far too much political manuevering, and the overall tone is somewhat deadened by the far-reaching politics. We know from the beginning who will win the election between Fyor Rodan and Cal Omas; there really is no suspense. This is what we see Luke and Mara due through the course of the novel: shady backroom dealings to orchestrate desired election results.
Han and Leia attempt to reopen ties with the Remnant but are rebuffed; we learn a bit here, such as Pellaeon's penchant for gardening and overindulging in food, but in all honesty, it's really not worth the ink.
Jacen returns with Vergere a little worse for wear; she presents an idea of the Force that conflicts with Luke's, and it can be summed up rather simply: "Either the Vong are a terrible evil that live outside the Force, or your perception of the Force is skewed."
And it goes on. Jaina is named Sword of the Jedi, Jacen manages to begin his destiny but at a price, the Vong suffer a couple of setbacks, and the whole series of incidents with the aftereffects of the Well of the World Brain are highly amusing. Any planet that passes gas is worth a cheap laugh.
Tahiri also returns as a conflicted, delusional young woman who imagines Anakin is after her; Jaina rescues her and is thrust into an even greater mystery, one that will return in the Force Heretic Trilogy.
When all is said and done, Williams is a talented author, even if he changes characters' eye colors on occasion. The novel is a bridge and is necessary if you plan on finishing the cycle; a lot happens here, but it is often rushed and underplayed; this should have been a book on the scope of "Star by Star," but instead we were treated to a slimmer text that leaves more questions than answers.
As always is the case in the Star Wars Universe.
Rating:
Summary: Rebel scum!
Review: By the 14th book in the series, everyone should be familiar with the main players. So when Han or Jacen Solo say or do something out of character for no reason, it kind of sticks out like a Wookie in a McDonald's drive-thru. "Oh, Leia, my darling."
After "Traitor," which was great, I was expecting Jacen to use little more of that "Vongsense" and a little less whining. No, but at least he's got that beard, lol.
There were several parts in the book that seem contrived, which made things predictable. And you know how in some of the books in the series, they climax is a big battle scene? Predictable right? Well, get ready not to be surprised.
Here's hoping "Force Heretic" is awesome.
Rating: 
Summary: Destiny's Way (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 14)
Review: This book is possibly the best book in the series so far. Their are so many plot twists and the last battle is by far one of the best action sequences that i have ever read in my entire life. If lucas arts ever did a movie on this book it would go down as one of the best science fiction movies ever made. I cannot say enough about how great this book is. I reccomend it to anyone who can read. This is a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: not one of the best of the series
Review: after the hardcover book "star by star", i thought that oh they have another of the series in hard cover which must mean that this book is gonna be as good or better. wrong!!!i am glad i did not spen 25 on the hardcover. traitor left us wondering how jacen was going to be received back in the new republic and left us with a clifhanger. his return was really anticlimatic. vegree's story was about the most interesting part of the book where it finally gives us some answers about this mysterious being. the rest of the book basically covers the goverment trying to struggle and rebuild after the fall of coruscant. now don't get me wrong the book is not bad but after waiting so long for it to come out in paperback, i just expected it to be a lot better. the end was very well written and i give the author a lot of credit there. the new republic is finally working together to defeat the enemy and all the diffrent ways that various people have to solve the problem makes the book well worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Why did they kill the New Republic?
Review: I will say this now, I do not like the New Jedi Order series. That being said, I actually found Destiny's Way to be one of the better books of the series. The book shows the shattered New Republic trying to come to grips with the loss of Coruscant to the Vong. Not just a simple conquest, but planet wide devestation. The heroes have regrouped on Mon Calamari, and suddenly Admiral Ackbar re-enters the story. He was noticeably absent in the series up to Destiny's Way, and now he has come back onto the scene with a plan to defeat the Vong. Character wise, the story is fairly sound, and I won't go into many details other than the fact that Han and Leia don't feature very prominently at all, which is a bit of a disappointment. The moral dilemmas raised later on in the book are interesting, yet hardly surprising. Which makes me wonder why the NR didn't unleash the 'genetic super-weapon' earlier, maybe even before the fall of Coruscant. But what I found most disturbing about the book was the fact that everyone seems to have given up on the New Republic, and it is quote 'torn to shreds by the savage Vong invasion'. I clearly remember reading about the New Republic being set up after the defeat of the Empire, and I read on through the various novel sagas as it grew and thrived. A lot of people died during the Rebellion to see the New Republic set up, and now we're being told the Republic was decaying, and it was best to start over. My question is, why did the writers do this? I mean, they've already killed off Chewbacca (something which did not sit well with older fans), Anakin Solo, not to mention destroying Ithor and Coruscant. I think they've succeded in showing just how savage the Vong are, why don't they instead try and show the strength of the New Republic to withstand the onslaught? And once again, as has been the trend for this series, the books are 'dumbed down', obviously written to accomodate for younger and less literate readers. The story is presented in an efficient and factual way, with none of the grace or style that people like Zahn use in their works. The writers also seem to enjoy making a point of the excessive violence in this series like some sort of mark of honour. And on another point, why do these books contain so much bloody violence? Right from the start of the NJO series, we've seen countless incidents of bloodthirsty violence, was it really necessary? Star Wars has always avoided such things, and in fact, I think the most blood we ever saw was in ESB when Luke was scratched by the wampa ice monster. All this has led to my higher than usual rating for NJO books (the usual being 1 star), to two stars, mainly because the story was at least somewhat interesting. If you've been a diehard fan of this series, you'll certainly enjoy this book, but how anyone can enjoy a series that has violated Star Wars lore so much is beyond me. For those, like me, who find this entire series a pathetic money-making exercise, I recommend looking into the new Clone war books that are coming out, back when the galaxy was more 'civilised'.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible!
Review: I've never read a Star Wars book with so many continuity mistakes! What are the editors paid for? Certainly not for preventing mistakes. WJW practically ignored the 4 books that came out before DW!
Some characters have been messed up so badly it hurt (Kyp, Jaina), the only one I liked in DW was Vergere, but they had to get rid of her, too, like they do with all the interesting characters.
The Yuuzhan Vong intelligence is decreasing more with each book. When they were introduced as such powerful enemies I thought the people responsible for the NJO had a good idea of how they would still loose at the end, but unfortunately my expectations were too high, again.
DelRey should get a new team for the SW novels...
Rating:
Summary: The New Republic Reaches for its Roots
Review: 'Destiny's Way' might be characterized as the turning point in the war between the Yuuzhan Vong and the New Republic. After losing the Capital World of Coruscant and countless other worlds, the death of Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya, and the loss of dozens of Jedi, the New Republic finally begins to pick up the pieces to take the fight to the Vong. Waltor Jon Williams creates a good Star Wars adventure to tell the tale of how the New Republic went from the defensive to the offensive. Jacen Solo has returned to the New Republic after escaping from the Vong with the mysterious Jedi Vergere. He is no longer the pensive brooding teenager that was captured by the Vong at Myrkr. Jacen is a changed man, and he returns to find his friends and family have changed as well in his absence. Most notably, his twin sister Jaina has adopted a grim outlook on her own future. The New Republic has relocated the Capitol to Mon Calamari. This was a great idea. It would have been better if more time had been spent providing some details of this world. The best descriptions came from the shipyards, where countless Mon Calamari Battle Cruisers were undergoing construction, and in the description of a floating city that Mara Jade Skywalker explores in a submersible. Hopefully, future novels in the series will explore this planet more. In addition to relocating the capitol, the New Republic begins the process of replacing the Chief of State. This part is very well done. Lando Calrissian and Talon Karrde move behind the scenes to attempt to swing the vote to the candidate of their choosing. Councilor Pwoe, who had assumed the title, disputes the legitimacy of the Senate electing a new leader. In the meantime, Luke Skywalker attempts to resurrect the fabled Jedi Council from the days of the Old Republic. The trouble is finding a candidate that will support it and a method for implementing it that does not appear to be a power grab by the Jedi. Through it all, Admiral Ackbar returns from retirement to design a battle strategy to defeat the Vong. It was good to see him back. Williams' battle scenes are good. He maintains a quick pace. A clever inovation is the invention of the Solo Sling, a maneuver created by the greatest hot shot in the galaxy--Han Solo, which becomes pivotal later in the novel. My complaints about the novel are small. First, Jaina Solo gets a new wingmate named Vale. In one part of the book, Williams calls her a Duro, but then later, she is called a Neimoidian. Minor, but those types of details annoy me. Second, the cast of characters in this book was so large, it was hard to do many of them the justice they deserved. That being said, I think Williams did a decent job helping some of them evolve. This is a problem with the New Jedi Order series in general, and is usually overcome by dividing duologies between sets of characters. Overall, I thought this was a tremendously fun read. After 'Traitor,' which was very dark and thought provoking, this was a nice change. I recommend this novel to all Stars Wars fans, but encourage the reader to start at the beginning of the series and then move forward.
Rating:
Summary: A decent read
Review: Spoilers below The book was alright. My favorite characters were hardly in it unfortuatly. Luke,Han and Leia had smaller parts compared to the Solo kids. And the girl,Jaina, is a pain. I also did NOT like the way Tsavong Lah went. Once again Jaina being annoying.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth The Wait!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Pacing was great and all the major players from the earlier books in the series were present. Having said that, I know that there will be fans who are upset with the fact that the writer breaks new ground with some of the characters. If you are looking for a turning point in the series....well the book is a must read. There is a passing of the baton of sorts as tne young Jedi blossom into full Jedi Knights. If you are fan of the series you will not be disappointed. If you are dedicated fan of the series, you may or may not like the way the primary characters (Jaina, Kyp, Jacen etc.) have changed but this is a story on a grand scale and character development in some cases took a back seat to describing the turning point in the war between the New Republic and the Vong. I recommend the book and the stage it sets for the final chapters in this saga.
Rating:
Summary: Speed Bump
Review: It's unfortunate that this book is part of the largely excellent NJO series, because I can't tell you to skip it! Sure the basic story is good, but that's prescripted to fit into the timelines/plotlines of the series as a whole. Once Williams got to it, the life seems sucked out. The book isn't worthless, it's just nowhere near as engaging and interesting as some of the other books in the series. Most people seem to be criticizing Jacen's characterization - I was personally absolutely appalled by Mara. She seemed very flighty and ditzy compared to the Mara I know and love. Although she doesn't get a lot of "page" time in Remnant (Book 15), her treatment was more true to form. My advice: get this one out of the way so you can get on with the good stuff!
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