Rating: 
Summary: Well-paced, exciting story.
Review: The Yuuzhan Vong, aliens who deplore machines (their own technology is entirely bio-based), are overrunning the galaxy. When their forces collide with the Imperial Remnant, the retreating Remnant encounters what used to be its worst enemy - Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, traveling in his wife and fellow Jedi Master Mara Jade's starship (with nephew Jedi Knight Jacen Solo also aboard) toward the fabled sentient planet Zonama Sekot in search of a way to defeat the Vong.This complex novel is the first Star Wars book I've read since Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, in which Leia Organa Solo's twin children Jacen and Jaina were born. Without the timeline and book list in its front, I'm sure I would have been lost; and even with that to aid me, I still had a bit of trouble sorting out the vast cast of characters and comprehending references to previous events (especially those relating to the death of the third Solo offspring, Anakin). However, this is a book meant to be read by fans following a series. So I cannot hold my difficulties against its authors, and I must in fact compliment them on making things as easy for me as they did. With that said, this is a well-paced, exciting story. The Yuuzhan Vong are a fascinating people, and the relationships among the familiar Star Wars characters (especially Leia and Han) have developed over the years with believable complexity. I'm not sure I want to go looking for all the books in the series now, but I've enjoyed reading this one. It is satisfying to read a media tie-in novel that allows its characters to grow, change, and even suffer wrenching losses, instead of being essentially the same at the story's end. My compliments to whoever approves the Star Wars saga's written continuation! --Nina M. Osier, author of "Love, Jimmy: A Maine Veteran's Longest Battle"
Rating: 
Summary: Beginnings
Review: The last trilogy of the New Jedi Order, Force Heretic I: Remnant is book 15 in the series. With their first strong victory over the Yuuzhan Vong in the near past, the New Republic changes its color and mission to become the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, or simply the Galactic Alliance. In this novel, I especially enjoyed the romances between Danni and Jacen -he needs something to bind him to the universe except philosophy- as well as the romance between Jagged Fel and Jaina, who needs positive reinforcement to keep her from the Dark Side of the Force. On the other hand, Tahiri has an intriguing storyline as she fights the mental brainwashing the Yuuzhan Vong implemented before Anakin Solo's death and the other personality that keeps creeping into her consciousness. The story should become pretty interesting trying to tie up these loose ends by the end of the trilogy. This book is about average for the New Jedi Order Series but the storyline has a few slow places. Though a rough start for the Williams/Dix team, I am confident the pacing will pick up in the second novel. Want more reviews, visit:
http://www.oddworldz.com/thehallow
Rating: 
Summary: Nice cover art. Just don't read the book!
Review: It's far more interesting to read a book by a guy who knows how to capture your interest and create a great story (that makes you want to stay up reading it rather than get some much-needed sleep), than it is to read hundreds of minute detail-references to previous Star Wars novels to prove that the author has been following along with the franchise. These guys know their Star Wars Expanded Universe extremely well, and it shows that they have done their research. The dialogue for Han Solo especially is often very good. BUT... that's the extent of the positive aspects of this book - and the whole "Force Heretic" trilogy. The problem is that these guys seem to be trying to stretch this story into as many pages - and books - as humanly possible! The whole "Force Heretic" trilogy could have easily been one book. And it would have made for a far more engaging story! What I hated most about it was that they repeat certain phrases all the time! Phrases like, "You have to admire their..." were used on nearly every single character in the book! How realistic is that? And there are at least two or three other phrases that are abused in the same way. But the worst problem with this book is that I didn't care at all for the characters. I was so caught up in the bad writing that I didn't care at all about Tahiri's torment with her alter-ego, not did I care even slightly about Luke and the gang's mission to find Zonama Sekot. In fact, I found the whole "living planet" scenario to be more like a bad episode of Star Trek than a major story-line in a Star Wars novel. It just didn't seem very "George Lucas" to me. Sure, you have that kind of thing in Marvel comics, and in other Sci-Fi material, but Star Wars is supposed to be "Fantasy" not "Sci-Fi" in my opinion. Anyways, suffice it to say that this entire trilogy by Sean Williams & Shane Dix is complete rubbish and brings the entire "New Jedi Order" series to an all-time low! The only book from the series that I would compare with these (in terms of being able to skip it entirely without missing anything at all) would be "Dark Journey" about Jaina's near fall to the dark side. If you haven't read the trilogy yet, do yourself a favor and skip it. There are plenty of reviews that summarize it well enough for you to get the jist without having to suffer through the poor writing style of these clowns.
Rating:
Summary: You can skip the first half...
Review: While I love the Star Wars series of novels, this latest is really lacking in comparison with the earlier releases. (To be honest, in my opinion, none have matched the level set by Stackpole in the beginning of the NJO.) For most of the book, the characters are wooden, as the authors relate large amounts of the previous installments to explain the current emotional states of the characters and the political status of the galaxy. Almost nothing new happens in the first half, and if you've read the earlier books, it reads like a re-run. There are two separate missions that are followed, plus the exploits of the persistent Nom Anor. The first of these (arbitrarily chosen) has Luke, Mara, Jacen, and some others trying to find a lead on the location of Zonama Sekot (the world from Rogue Planet). To do this, they journey to the Imperial Remnant to ask for information. Of course, they get embroiled in combat, as the Empire finally decides to fight the Yuuzhan Vong. That is really the only development in this entire novel, and the only part that kept me interested. The second mission has Han, Leia, Jaina, Tahiri, and Jag, plus some not-so-noteworthies, investigating the breaks in communication to old members of the New Republic. In this, we see an end to the Yevetha (from a pre-NJO terrible set of books) and some really boring scenes of the small force wiping out a minor group of Yuuzhan Vong. We get a lot of focus on Tahiri, as Jag is suspicious of her, and she is apparently dealing with the resurfacing after-effects of the Yuuzhan Vong attempt to shape her MANY novels ago. There is an attempt to breed mystery and suspense, but it flops badly (again, Stackpole leads the way in such intrigue and action). In the third thread, Nom Anor on Yuuzhantar (Coruscant) links up with a group of shamed ones and hides from the real members of their society. Again, there is little accomplished in this vein of the story, though it seems that perhaps Nom Anor is the Force Heretic of the title, and not NECESSARILY Tahiri Veila, though it could be both. So, as I mentioned earlier, there is little to no development of any of the characters. There are no new characters introduced who are worth any mention. I did like the confrontation of Pellaeon with the Moff Council near the end, but other than that this novel is really below par for the series. Succeeding the good inroads made two novels ago, with Traitor, after a repetitious series of similar stories, we are given THIS. Also, the setup of this book has no chapter divisions, simply break lines where the story line switches. Not really unacceptable, but certainly noticeable. Also, it seems that during the writing, the authors would hook onto a juicy long word, and use it three or more times in a few pages, then never use it again. If you read it, you'll see what I mean. Overall very poor writing. And considering that this is among the longest of the series (400+), I had hoped for good things to happen, not to get a lot of fluff.
Rating:
Summary: Weak links in the NJO chain
Review: This is a general comment on all three Force Heretic books. These are some of the weakest books of the series, and found them just barely enjoyable and then only because I enjoy the Star Wars milieu so much. The basic problem is that they make very little sense. After reading the whole series I still have no idea who the "force heretic" the title refers to is. And I have only the foggiest idea why the characters think the quest for Zonama Sekot is important. While we're on the subject, the characters are poorly drawn and their actions make little sense. The whole thing is so weak that the books just aren't a lot of fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Force Heretic I: Remnant (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Boo
Review: Another great adition to this new and exciting series that star wars fans have gotten to enjoy. This book holds your interest for the entire book and leaves you wanting for more when your done. With its many plot twists and action packed battles this book is great for any reader. I reccomend it to anyone who enjoys the star wars series.
Rating:
Summary: Book 1 is the best. Trilogy could have been 1 book.
Review: While I am refusing to BUY any SW book that comes on the time line after SBS, I was able to get the Abridged Audio Tapes of these three books, and have now listen to the tapes of all 3 books and read books 1 and 2. I had seldom seen authors slammed so harshly since Children of the Jedi, Planet of Twilight, Crystal Star and the Black Fleet Crisis books. On the time line years 12 through 17 were a time of mostly very bad books.
I have now finished the FH trilogy abridged audio books. Up front I must say that the Audio book editor must have agreed with many of the negative reviews. It seems that a lot of the stuff that miffed the some readers was deleted from the audio. I will disagree with some reviewers in that this first book is the most interesting of the 3. In book 2, you can just read the Bakura story and not miss anything. Then it switches, and in book 3 you need only read sentient planet story line.
The Skywalker stuff was the most heavily deleted. I am not sure we can blame the authors. There has been a tendency for writers to "get rid" of Luke on some meaningless, boring mission. He has gotten to powerful, especially when teamed with Mara. So Luke is often written as if he is insanely stupid and self indulgent. In short, they may have been ordered to include Luke, since this is the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, but get him out of the way of the plot.
After editing the books to fit into 2 ½ hours of audio, we are left with a real good, fast paced story. In FHII, the story that is left after editing is almost entirely the Bakura story. Again, the end result is a vast improvement over the original the unabridged story.
I therefore praise and highly recommend the audio versions of this trilogy for those who like to listen while they drive, like me. (PS the big complaint with Shatterpoint is the long boring parts also. But they edited that down to a 6 hour audio book and it is awesome!) Big disconnect between the Book jacket-cover and the actual story. Those who have noted this disconnect in other reviews are correct. How have we advanced the story? Is a sentient planet going to come to the rescue? Will Jacen continue on his slide into complete stupidity? Will Jaina regain any meaningful place in conflict? Will Luke and Mara continue to be written out of the important stuff? Where is Kyp? Where is Corran Horn? Will Tahiri evolve into a new life form? Will the alliance with Pellaeon last? Stay tuned. I have generally been displeased with much that has been the NJO. The "Prequel" books are another matter. I have liked them all so far. I especially liked Tatooine Ghost, a new addition to the Classic Era, which ties us back to the Prequel Era. The disconnect has two explanations, Laziness or willful misrepresentation. Only the Del Rey people know for sure. Shatterpoint, which is a 6 hour audio, book is tremendous. All is not mediocrity in the EU, just here in NJO.
Rating:
Summary: The beggining to the FORCE HERETIC series
Review: This book overall is entertaining but two out of three of the different plots drag on. Those two plots are good mind you but they could be much shorter.the most interesting plot is Nom Anor's plot to regain power after the Ebaq 9 incedent (which Warmaster Tsavong Lah perished in ) and in the underbelly of Yuuzan'tar (the shaped Curuscant) he runs across a group of the shamed ones. He has a idea that perhaps he can use the shamed ones and "Jeedai" to regain his power among the Vong. His preaching's about the "Jeedai" are the most interesting plot in the entire book. Luke Decides to search for the legendary Zonema Sekot (which according to the late Vergere repelled a Vong attack once) and With him are Mara Jade-Skywalker, Jacen Solo, Danni Quee, Saba Sebytine and Tekli. Though his first move is to get the empire to join the Galactic Alliance (you get to see Pelleion again). Han, Leia, Jaina, Jag Fel, Tahari (who seems to be having personality relapses from when she was shaped by the Vong ) decide to explore the regions that they do not now if they have been deystroyed by the Vong , this is the boringest plot of three plots. But it is rather good.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: The Star Wars saga has become a montrous conglomerate. Not only do the movies exist to tell the story of a galaxy far, far away, but there are dozens of books that tell the stories of virtually every important being in the movies, starting as far back as twenty years before Episode l. Which is way I found Remnant refreshing, not only because it is an engrossing read, but it catalogs, not all but many, of the books that tell the galatic story in chronological order before the novel starts. And when it does, it hits the ground running. A vicious, megalomaniac race called the Yuuzan Vong has shattered the New Republic that was established after "Return of the Jedi," spawning a new Galatic Alliance to restore peace to the galaxy. In the Vong's wake, whole civilizations have been destroyed and worlds burned to the ground. The Jedi have been hit hard, with the Vong specifically targeting them for spreading the teachings of the force, which are in contrast to the Vongs' poly-dietic beliefs. In this chaos, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker has a plan to defeat the Vong: rumor has it that the Vong were defeated b a living planet called Zonoma Sekot. Luke believes this planet hlods the key to beating the Vong, and he takes a band of brethren out to find it. Luke's sister Leia and her husband Han, are on a mission to reunite the galaxy after years of communications blackouts all throughout the galaxy. What they don't know, is if the blackouts are intentional or really an accident. It is an intricate, enthralling story and authors Shane Dix and Sean Williams tell it with amazing detail and gusto. However, the novel rises and falls with how those details are expressed. Sometimes Williams and Dix catch the prequel syndrome, going into over-elaborate and flat dialouge. Coupled with the overflowing detail that goes into the book , this bogs the book down in mediocrity. But the vast majority of the time, "Remnant" is a rich story, stuffed with detail and incident. A great way to start off the Force Heretic series.
Rating:
Summary: this series is slowing down
Review: whoever originally came up with the ideal for this series was brilliant. 15 books later and fans like me still are clamoring for more. unfortunately, the original excitement is slowing down. this book has luke, mara and jacen looking for the only known living planet that may have repelled the yuuhzan vong years ago. instead they run into the yuuhzan fighting their own enemy the empire. choices, choices. meanwhile, han, leia and jania are off on a diplomatic mission to several worlds to find out why all communications have been lost. they go wandering is there a planet left? have the yuuhzan struck again? this book is building up to a climatic ending and i see that it has two more parts so i hope the story eventually picks up a little more steam that it has so far. but for all star wars fans it has enough interest to read it. just not enough to break your neck to go and buy it.
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