Rating: 
Summary: Finally, a series in NJO that gets everything right.
Review: Basically, Allston rocks. This 2 part Enemy Lines series pretty much surpasses his previous X-wing novels (which are GREAT, btw), and he manages to entertain throughout the entire book. I bought this book at 2pm, and didn't put it down till 6pm, when I turned the last page. His sense of humor is wonderful. This series is masterfully written, as he brings back old characters and skillfully weaves everything together for a fitting and fulfilling ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Another worthy entry to the New Jedi Order
Review: THERE BE MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. Rebel Stand was a lot of fun, but not as good as Rebel Dream, and a lot of it seemed incidental. There were three main plots: Han/Leia: This was the most fun, and the best, plotline of the book. Their banter was fun, the politics were fun, the daring escapes were fun. Luke&Co on Coruscant: This was very strange. The Wraiths were fun, but this whole part of the story just seemed not to have much to do with anything. I'm all for bringing characters out of limbo, but why this particular character? Still, Nyax was really cool, and has many of the features that I used to toy with in all the fanfics I never finished. Who wants to bet that this "force well" under the Jedi Temple is going to come into play in a big way in Traitor? The defense on Borleias: This was really downplayed here from the last book, with only a few Wedge and Jaina scenes. Janson was a welcome addition, but he unfortunately got barely more than a cameo. There's a great scene in which Wedge is again established as the greatest pilot in the galaxy. And I think that Allston has a fetish for creating inventive ways to scrap SSDs. It was nice to see Tarc out of the picture in a satisfactory was, and equally a pleasure to get into 3PO's head again, as we did in (I think) Jedi Eclipse and to a lesser extent Rebirth, seeing how he actually is petrified of destruction and seeing how he's learning that to be a hero means to have fear in the first place. Unfortunately, Lando doesn't show up, but YVH-11A has a big part in 3PO's little epiphany, so that's okay. I thought that Viqi's demise was somewhat anticlimactic, but it was also completely in-character, and fitting. And Tahiri's little revelation towards the end about pain sounds suspiciously similar to Jacen's same revelation in the Traitor excerpt... The space battles were okay but certainly not phenomenal, and were definitely lacking an "OH SH!T" factor. I think that the exact aim of Emperor's Spear should've been kept secret from the reader until Czulkang finally figured it out; it would've been more impressive that way. Overall, this was a lot of fun to read, quite fulfilling, but some of the plotlines seemed kind of irrelevant; a lot of the book was devoted more to character growth and situational setup towards a future payoff rather than moving the plot itself forward. Not Allston's best effort but definitely worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: 4 and a half stars... an enthralling work on behalf of A.A.
Review: Out of all the New Jedi Order books so far, this one kept my attention the best throughout, for a variety of reasons. First was the rapidly shifting plots and points of view - rotating through Jaina, Luke, Wedge and a variety of others, Allston takes careful time to flush out the storyline that each character finds themselves embroiled in. Of greatest interest to me was the Lord Nyax-Luke Skywalker story on Coruscant; for once an actual Jedi-on-Jedi contest, even if Nyax really couldn't be considered a Jedi, Allston's portrayal of him as a mute, hugely powerful and crazed individual was perfect. The display of power he puts on through the Force is also quite well described and explained. As well, throughout the story I came to greatly appreciate the military tactics that Allston described in the defence of Borelias - the time and thought obviously put into each situation shows itself well. More than anything though, I think Allston deserves credit for setting up the bridge between the two Solo books - Dark Journey and Traitor - a task not easily performed in that events throughout the Enemy Lines are related to what is happening in those books. All in all a great read, and a fine progression in the New Jedi Order series. 4.5/5
Rating:
Summary: star wars the new jedi order enemy lines two
Review: As I was reading the book, the story line was fantastic, it kept me on my toes. Luke, and his wife were great, Han and leia made the book funny and intersting and for the rest of the characters,they supported the main characters really well
Rating:
Summary: Space Battles Galore
Review: This is another great story in the NJO series. It had my attention from the first page. However, there were some slow areas in the book, but they don't hinder the reader from really enjoying the story. This is a great addition to any collection.
Rating:
Summary: Allston does it again!
Review: What Aaron Allston did with Rebel Dream, he did a second time with Rebel Stand. His perfectly inserted humor at full effectiveness, I had to put down the book to laugh at least 5 times during a certain scene with Han and Leia, when they were taken captive and threw out puns and one-liners throughout the entire debriefing and escape. It definately has helped the series along to see the two of them reunited in a similar fast-paced, full-of-action environment to the one they started out in. Though an awkward and unwieldy topic, the part with the Coruscant team battling Lord Nyax was interesting and fit in without an exceedingly high amount of controversy. The parts with Viqi Shesh were very appropriate, and Wraith Squad was, as always, a great source of professionalism and comic relief. Back at the Borleias base, Allston goes all the way with a final bout of amazing strategy and insight that surpasses most anything I've seen from him before. Which is saying a LOT. All in all, Rebel Stand and its predecessor, Rebel Dream, are must-reads for everyone reading the NJO series.
Rating:
Summary: True to the Spirit Created by Lucas
Review: Aaron Allston's 'Rebel Stand' continues the story of the first novel in the 'Enemy Lines' duology, 'Rebel Dream'. Luke Skywalker has sensed one of those famous disturbances in the force, and it is coming from Coruscant. The only problem with that is the former capital of the New Republic is firmly in the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong and is undergoing 'Vongification'. Meanwhile, Han and Leia Solo venture to a few remote worlds to set up Vong resistance cells, and they bring along C-3P0 and R2-D2 with them. Back on Borleias, General Wedge Antilles prepares to bring his forces into combat against the Vong. Of all the novels in the 'New Jedi Order', 'Rebel Stand' proportionally gives the most face time to the 'classic' heroes. Although Jaina Solo, Jag Fel, and Kyp Durron, amongst others, are welcome and interesting editions to the cast, it refreshing to see Luke and Han play a more central role in the action for once. For the most part, Luke's mission to Coruscant was well done. Luke's wife, Mara, a young Jedi named Tahiri, and the Wraiths (a CIA-like outfit for the New Republic) tag along. Their mission begins as an effort to organize the citizenry left behind on Coruscant, but changes when they discover an unusual larger than life Dark Jedi bent on conquest. For the most part, I was pleased with the Jedi's mission to Coruscant, althought I felt the duel with the mysterious Jedi went a little over the top at the end. Maybe the most enjoyable moment of the book came in a scene starring C-3P0 and R2-D2. These two are finally re-united for some significant and memorable scenes. Their banter is classic Star Wars. The other famous duo, Han and Leia, also come off wonderfully in this novel. Han was at his wise-cracking best, and Leia has filled in for Chewbacca wonderfully as his new partner, now that she has gone 'scoundrel'. As the New Jedi Order series has moved along, the series, thus far, has become more and more adept at capturing the feel of the movies. 'Rebel Stand' may have done the best job of that so far with parts of the novel reminding me of the original 'Star Wars', 'The Empire Strikes Back', and 'Return of the Jedi'. For a change, the writers have begun to focus less on what makes other forms of science fiction unique and returned to what makes Star Wars so great. I'd recommend this novel to anyone reading the 'New Jedi Order' series. As with any novel in this series, I would recommend starting with 'Vector Prime' first, and at least read 'Rebel Dream' before thise. Starting with this one will ruin many of the surprises of the previous eleven novels in the series. However, this is one of the better novels, so it may be tempting to skip ahead.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: I thought this was a fantastic book. It had something for everyone. Action, adventure, humour and romance. It was all here. I read this bok in a day and a half it was great. It was great to see characters from the classic trilogy and the bantam books come out strong. I missed Tycho and Wes Jansen's cameo wasn't bad either. I even liked Lord Nyax. I personally enjoy it when old ambiguous characters like Roa, Thracken Saal-Solo and Irek Ismaren are resurrected. You read the name and you stop and think, "where do I know that name from?" It's a lot of fun. But if Callista comes back I'll be pissed. I'd like to make a comment on the NJO series as a whole. I've read every single one of them and I've read many reviews on this site. I gotta say that I'm sick of the whining. First is was about Chewie's death. Lets face it people, Chewie was not an important character in the expanded universe. The only time we ever heard anything out of him besides "woof" or "roar" was in the Blackfleet Crisis trilogy and most of you whined about his talking in that book. Chewie's death allows for Han to make a r-emmergence and development of Anakin. Lets face it, Han had become stagnant. He was starting to become a guy who's kids continued to get kidnapped. Now he's back and everyone seems to like how he's back. This would not have been possible had Chewie not died. Then there was the whining about Anakin's death. I was not happy to see Anakin go. But then again I wasn't happy to see Ben Kenobi go either. Anakin's death allowed Jaina and Tahiri to develop into characters that are actually interesting. Lastly, the constant whining about the New republic getting it's butt kicked all the time. This is a new enemy people. It wouldn't be very realisitic if they just started winning right off the start. These three things together create one of the most compelling aspects of the NJO, unpredcitability. We don't know what's gonna happen. Any moment one of our beloved characters could die. I was freaked in this book. I thought we were gonna lose Wedge. Life has been breathed into the Star Wars universe in the form of death and loss. Lets enjoy it. The one thing we can predict is the ultimate victory over the Vong and it will be all the sweeter becaue our beloved characters have suffered. NJO rules!
| 
