Rating: 
Summary: I have to wait another month? Crap....
Review: I don't know about anyone else, but I can't wait for the last part of the New Jedi Order. I have been reading all the Star Wars books since the original Timothy Zahn trilogy. I have never been dissappointed by one of the books. Not one. I read reviews on how people think that the book is boring to them, and it's missing this, or it's missing that, and blah blah blah blah blah. Well, I'm sorry but I feel those people are looking way too much into the bigger picture. These books are meant to entertain, and open our eyes to one thing: fun. Each book getts written with the approval of the Jedi Master himself, Lucas, and everything that is written is an extension of how he envisioned his universe to be. It was nice to see such a fresh storyline played out the last couple of years, and this book got me so pumped up for the conclusion it's ridiculous. I bought it yesterday, and I read it yesterday. I really enjoy reading storys that don't focus on the main Star Wars heroes, such as this one did. In this one, Tahiri finds out much about her Yuuzhan Vong "past." How that was written shocked me, and wowed me at the same time. It was really cool. Nom Anor proves once again just how evil and manipulative her really is. He would deinitately be no match for Vader, had he been able to be sensed through The Force, but that character could give Lex Luthor a run for his money that's for sure. Wedge Antilles was one of my favorite characters of the original trilogy, well at least a character that we all knew to have a brief roll in all three films. He proves once again that he is the best Military Stategist that the Gallactic Alliance has to office. I'm sorry to say this, but I think he surpasses Admiral Akbar on that front. Kill me now people if you must, but come on, search your feelings you know it to be true. Ok sorry, had to do that. I didn't want to say too much of this book, because if I did, I would have given away everything. But I will say this, did the Yuuzhan Vong come from a Galaxy evern farther away, or did they come from somewhere a lot closer than we have been thought to believe. That's it, I'm done. Hope you all enjoyed this series as much as I did. And again, I can't wait for the conclusion on November 4th.
Rating: 
Summary: A Return to Competency
Review: I find it difficult to review The Final Prophecy fairly after finishing the Force Heretic series. That trilogy was so terrible that even a poorly written book would seem excellent in comparison. Additionally, it had been a long time since I've read a good NJO book that it's hard to remember what the Stackpoles, Dennings, and Stovers can do. Upon reflection it is clear that Prophecy falls between those extremes in quality, but precisely where it lies I don't really know.It was nice to have some attention given to characters we haven't seen in awhile, like Corran and Wedge. Jacen got laughably short camera time, but that's fine--this book wasn't about him. Tahiri's new state was made a little less ridiculous by Keyes' superior (compared to Williams and Dix) mind. Dialog was very good for some characters, often feeling believable and making memorable scenes, but Keyes missed the mark on others. Tahiri's dialog makes her seem a little too mature and stable, especially in contrast to the emotional states we're told she's confronting. Corran was maybe a little too reactionary, but it was nice to see him get attention and even maintain some of the quirks of speech given to him by Stackpole. Oddly enough, the one area in which Williams and Dix didn't fail miserably was where Keyes stumbled the most. The Yuuzhan Vong, particularly Harrar and Nen Yim, were far too accepting of Corran and the situation he imposed on them. They came around to the reasonable side a little too easily. I don't believe that a lifetime of fanaticism can really be changed by logical arguments, and if it can, I doubt it would work so quickly and
completely. While I still believe that Keyes writes overly abstract and imprecise space battles, he improved on their quality in this book over those in his previous NJO duology. His personal action scenes were also improved through more concrete description. I would give this book 3.5 stars, but I can't. Since it was so nice to have a return to competency in NJO writing, I'll give the benefit of the doubt with 4.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally, a competent writer returns
Review: I have not even finished this book yet, but at only a third of the way through I found myself much more interested and involved in a NJO book than I have been for a long time. I liked Keyes' prior additions to the NJO, including Conquest, and he provides badly needed skill to make this book better than the abysmal outings of the Force Heretic trilogy. I will save my final opinion until I am finished, but so far the dialogue and writing is realitic and well-paced, locations are described with good detail and are easily visualized, and emotions are not just talked about but are described very well. It is good to see Wedge Antilles featured, and Keyes writes the Yuuzhan Vong very well. The space battles are easy to follow and are not overly technical, unlike the baffling and repetitive writing of Williams and Dix. I hope this book will finish strong and provide a good lead-in to the final ending. So far it has given me what I was looking for. I don't need the best novel every written, just an engaging story with well-written dialogue and action. At this point I can say this book provides that very well, or at least is much better than the other recent books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat Disappointing
Review: I think the best one word description for this penultimate novel of the NJO would be "decisive". A LOT of things happen here, to a LOT of different people. In that respect the book is a must-read: skipping it may well cause you to lose track of the overall story arc. In the end, I wasn't sure if this was a boon or a bane though. I felt that the preceding trilogy, "Force Heretic" took too long to accomplish very little and could have easily been condensed into a single novel. The opposite holds true here. The "Final Prophecy" attempts to resolve a few too many issues in very limited space. Which is not to say that it does so badly - merely not as well as it could. It's just that Keys spoiled us with the excellent duology ("Conquest") that he wrote earlier in the series. For example Vua Rapuung was probably in the top 3-4 characters created for the NJO. (He also wrote a pretty good eBook that was published on the Star Wars site - can't remember the name right now). For the most part, Tahiri carries the story. And, unlike the simplistic, cartoony characterizations found in Force Heretic, this Tahiri makes a lot of sense. Keys has taken the time to elaborate and flesh out a rational, complex and likable young heroine. She is also supported by a very strong supporting cast, which includes... just about everyone: a number of favourite characters from the pre-NJO novels as well as all the essential Vong personalities. What I also liked about the casting was that the classic SW heroes (Luke, Leia etc) are not completely dominating the action. There are two main storylines: Tahiri and Corran Horn form a reluctant and mangled partnership with an extremely suprising group of Vong protagonists in a quest for information. (no spoilers!) What makes this so interesting is the diverging interests of each member of the group. What each party is likely to do with the information once they find it is anyone's guess. What's more, Keys is very careful to not give away what the truth really is, even though he keeps dishing out the tantalizing hints. Mind you, this is the part of the novel that I found somewhat disappointing. There was so much that could have happened among these characters and didn't. What's more, a bunch of them are seemingly discarded at the end of the book, probably to clear the stage for the final novel (coming out next month), so we will never know. The secondary storyline serves mostly as filler, but it does add quite a bit of excitement and action to the book, including a couple of well written battles, a bunch more old favourites (Antilles, Pellaeon), interesting tactics, new technologies and generally speaking advancing the story arc nicely. It also suffers from the same sort of impatience, delivering broad strokes rather than detailed pictures and killing off characters with alarming casualty. For example, Pash Cracken makes a cameo, as a general no less, apparently gets killed in battle and a day later Wedge Antilles is musing about it over a drink, practically unaffected. So, at the end of the day, I would recommend this as a pretty good book that could probably have been better simply by being longer.
Rating:
Summary: Setting the stage
Review: Keyes returns to the NJO saga with a truly excellent penutlimate novel, and many will feel this way, especially in light of the grueling task that was finishing the Force Heretic trilogy. The writing is fast-paced and the dialogue brilliant--although sometimes Tahiri comes off as a bit too stuffy and Nom Anor (the erstwhile Prophet of the Shamed) appears comedic in his reverence.
The plot is rather simple, tying up the final thread in the Heretic trilogy, that being the arrival of the Tahiri to Sekot. She is joined by Corran Horn, Nom Anor in his guise as Yu'shaa, the high priest Harrar, and the Master Shaper Nen Yim. These latter two are affected by the planet (or so it is alluded) and begin to get chummy with Horn and Tahiri, respectively.
The Bilbringi plot seems forced, though it indirectly gives us some additional insight into Pellaeon's character. The parallels to Zahn's final confrontation with Thrawn in "The Last Command" are blatantly obvious and what little gallows humor emerges from Wedge is not really worth of a man of Keyes' talent. Further, the new bioweapon is alluded to and only in the epilogue do we discover what it is, and even then it is hazy.
However, this novel was a chance for the New Jedi to shine; Tahiri and Corran take up the bulk of the novel while the Solo and Skywalker clans are along to serve only for the Bilbringi conflict and the final showdown on Sekot. We have a rather heavy body count; no real big shakers in the death department, but I was disheartened to see Pash and Page leave the literary Star Wars universe. With Harrar and Nen Yim (presumably) out of the picture, the level-headed Vong are all but gone.
And speaking of level-headed Vong, Onimi pops up again, and I keep thinking that in the conclusion we'll see the malformed jester as something else entirely; we learn that Shimmra possibly ascended the throne via dishonorable means and that there is a sect of Vong who still whisper the name of the former Supreme Overlord--Quoreal--with respect.
And, yes, what everyone has suspected since "Rogue Planet" was released is true: Sekot and the Vong are somehow linked.
Finally, an NJO paperback that is worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: New depth of the universe.....
Review: My daughter and I have been huge fans for a long time and were eagerly awaiting this book. I was not disappointed. The multiple story lines, new depth in old characters, and the revelations of Zonama Sekot are enough to cause even the toughest critic not to be able to put the book down once they start. This book is fast-paced, for the most part. We begin to see Tahiri as she lives in her new melded body and mind. Corran Horn agrees to take her on as an apprentice while they search for the hidden secrets on Zonoma Sekot with Harrar the Priest, Nen Yim and the Prophet (Non Anor). The ending is unpredictable and exciting. I can't wait until November 4 for the last installment: Unifying Force.
Rating:
Summary: No book is as good as the films, but they are still fun
Review: No book is ever as good as the films (we are all eagerly awaiting the next one out in 2005) but if you want pleasant light reading and a whole world of mythology to keep you going in the meanwhile, it is fun to have books like these. Christopher Catherwood, Star Wars fan since 1978 and author of CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan, 2003)
Rating:
Summary: Thrawn's aid to the Alliance
Review: Not a bad book at all, just a bit too short. Warning of two important and some what favorite characters get knocked off.
Rating:
Summary: cool
Review: OK so the planet that pretty much all of the people in the Star Wars universe have been searching for has been found. The trouble is that any of you that were hear for the last book already know that. The most interesting part of the book has to be the part concerning Wedge. These battle sceans are why I gave the book the 4th star they are wonderful. We also have the internation between Nom Anor "The Prophet" and the rest of Vong to keep us interested. This book tries its best to keep us entertained but fails on many levels. Simply because much of the information that was "discovered" we as readers already knew about or had at least suspected. Still this shouldn't diter you from buying the book I have the feeling that the series is building up to something big and that this book has an important role to play in it. Overall-You should only get this book if you REALLY have been keeping up with the series from book one. You knew guys coming in will not understand all that is going on so don't try. Once again battle sceans and the interaction were great it just appears to be the length of the series that's the problem here. In many respects this book suffers from a lot of the drawbacks of a large serise taking 3 books to explian what could easily have been said in 2.
Rating:
Summary: Kind of a holding pattern going on
Review: OK so the planet that pretty much all of the people in the Star Wars universe have been searching for has been found. The trouble is that any of you that were hear for the last book already know that. The most interesting part of the book has to be the part concerning Wedge. These battle sceans are why I gave the book the 4th star they are wonderful. We also have the internation between Nom Anor "The Prophet" and the rest of Vong to keep us interested. This book tries its best to keep us entertained but fails on many levels. Simply because much of the information that was "discovered" we as readers already knew about or had at least suspected. Still this shouldn't diter you from buying the book I have the feeling that the series is building up to something big and that this book has an important role to play in it. Overall-You should only get this book if you REALLY have been keeping up with the series from book one. You knew guys coming in will not understand all that is going on so don't try. Once again battle sceans and the interaction were great it just appears to be the length of the series that's the problem here. In many respects this book suffers from a lot of the drawbacks of a large serise taking 3 books to explian what could easily have been said in 2.
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