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The Final Prophecy (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 18)

The Final Prophecy (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 18)

List Price: $6.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Slightly Brief, Well Written, Good Overall
Review: On the one hand the book is very brief, but on the other it is really nice how Greg Keyes has focused on several specific characters and their *interactions*. This sets the book apart from many in the series. There is some nice dialogue, and I would say it is generally more coherent than the last several.

For awhile it has seemed like the inertia of this series has been too powerful and some of the novels have neglected to develop anything surprising or really interesting. Keyes changes that a little bit. It has all the depth you could expect from a 300 pg. book.

As for characters, he writes Corran Horn, Wedge, and Nom Anor really well. Notably, he even seems to be one of the few to write Han very well. Tahiri is kinda mediocre as usual, which is unfortunate since she's turning out to be our main player.

I would agree this has the vibe of episodes 4-6.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good book, except for one thing...
Review: Overall, I think is a good addition to the NJO series. It's a little too short and underdeveloped in some aspects, but still a good read. Like many of the other reviewers, I enjoy reading about characters other than the main heroes, however, how could Zonoma Sekot go through a tremendous crisis without Luke, Mara, and Jacen - who were all ON the planet - not know it. That is a serious plot flaw, and it distracted me through out the entire novel. Since Keyes last NJO novels were awesome, it makes me wonder if he was at the mercy of an imcompetent editor.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What? No laser fights?
Review: Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 18, The Final Prophecy (apart from being a mouthful!) was an incredibly strange departure for the series in my rather educated and highly valued opinion. I must question the author's intent.

When one normally reads a book of this franchise, one expects laser swordfights, laser gun battles, laser chases down laser-ricocheting corridors, laser explosions and aliens (non-laser). Loads and loads and loads of aliens of every size, shape, color and species. This novel has very little of any of those sci-fi things. What it did contain boggles the mind.

For whatever reason, "The Final Prophecy" storyline centers around an old,crotchety cosmic junk dealer, Fred Sanfordwalker, as he sits around his junk castle on Wattstooine, verbally sparring and berating his Jedi-wanna-be son, Lamont. They are occasionally joined by the shabby and cantankerous droid Grady in a series of madcap adventures involving Wattstooine's number one cosmic export: Ripple.

Having at one time suffered a massive coronary event, Fred secretly hides the fact that he is indeed an evil Jedi of the highest caliber. His fake attacks, which confuse those around him, conceal a dastardly plan for the forces of the Dark Side. (Forces! Get it!?) Fred plans to use Wattstoonie's ripple stockpiles to destroy the Rebellion once and for all! His reasoning being that a cosmos of sentient beings addicted to ripple will be an easy target to conquer. His plan almost succeeds! Almost!

Meanwhile, in a side storyline, Grady, Jar Jar Binks and the pubescent Lamont manage to hot-wire their neighbor's X-Wing and successfully pilot a course to the Siliconia IV system., the mysterious solar system which contains the legendary Planet of the Nudie Nymphets! There they learn the true meaning of the term "Oiling the Droid."

Overall a confusing and somewhat misguided novel.

Two stars from the wonderful and unexpected cameo appearance of Iron Chef Chen Kinichi, as the scene offered just the right element of comedic effect in an otherwise droll installment. The visual of Iron Chef Chinese hacking away at Jar Jar with a cleaver was well deserving of two stars.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One Of the better not the best
Review: The book the final propecy was a good star wars new jedi order book but not the best in theis series. it lacked the pull to constantly read the book that the other books had and it wasn't quite as full of battles or duels as the others. it had a clifhanger end and concentrated mainly on tahiri whom a couple of other books have been on. The story is the prorhet yushaa wants jedi to take him to zomnoma sekot when the jedi get there they also take a shaper and a priest. overall this book is a good read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It's getting close
Review: The end of this horrible, genocidal Yuuzhan Vong/Galactic Alliance War is coming to a close. After months and years of the Yuuzhan Vong pushing and conquering the New Republic/Galactic Alliance inhabitants all across the galaxy (including capturing the capital homeworld, Coruscant, now known as Yuuzhan'tar), the Alliance finally struck back and began putting the Vong on the defensive. These two opposing forces have finally created the irresistible force meeting the immovable object syndrome. The tension builds and one of the sides will have to break.

The forces in play on both sides portend of a spectacular climax. An Alliance Expeditionary Force, led by Luke Skywalker, finally located the living planet Zonoma Sekot, seeming the last hope for ending the hostilities that have plagued the galaxy. On Yuuzhan'tar, dissention continues to permeate the ranks of the Yuuzhan Vong. A politically motivated move by disgraced executor, Nom Anor, to regain power has now gained a force stronger than anything he can control. Using a 'masquer' to conceal his identity and playing upon the reverence the Shamed Ones of the Vong have for the Jedi, Anor created a rebellious movement that has infected all levels of Yuuzhan Vong culture, including certain members of the inner circle of Supreme Overlord Shimmra. What's more, Shimmra's claim of an alleged mandate from the gods to continue to pursue this genocidal conflict is slowly coming under scrutiny. It's becoming obvious to some that Shimmra may actually be a fraud and much of what he preaches, and much of what is central to Yuuzhan Vong culture, may prove to be earth-shatteringly false. So lays the groundwork for the events that take place in the penultimate story of the New Jedi Order series, "The Final Prophecy".

Though there is a space battle around the famed Bilbringi Shipyards that involves favorites like Wedge Antilles, Garm Bel Iblis, and Jaina Solo, the primary focus of "The Final Prophecy" deals with an unlikely truce between higher members of the Yuuzhan Vong and select Alliance members (the oft-absent Corran Horn and the enigmatic Tahiri). These Yuuzhan Vong, specifically master shaper and heretic, Nen Yim, wish to seek the truth about the existence of the living planet, the honor of the Jedi, and possible treachery committed by Shimmra. With assistance from High Priest Harrar (a powerful Yuuzhan Vong whose dissident nature is still clandestine), Nen Yim makes contact with the Prophet Yu'Shaa, the leader of the Shamed Ones movement, with the intent of making a secret plea to Galactic Alliance to seek out Zonoma Sekot. Unbeknownst to anyone, Yu'Shaa is really Nom Anor, and Anor plans to use this truce as a means to further his own political agenda. The results of this unlikely and unholy alliance are among the most compelling twists so far in the New Jedi Order series.

There are a few things to be said. For starters, it is nice to see Corran Horn back in the fold. He has essentially been MIA since the "Edge of Victory" duology and he was sorely missed. It helps that he was not forced back into the series with an unnatural storyline. He is paired with Tahiri to 'capture' Nen Yim and proceed on to Zonoma Sekot. In Corran's last significant appearance in the NJO, Tahiri was a major factor and there was much that happened between them. Putting them back together and referencing their past was a very smart move. Tahiri has become an even more intriguing character now that she is becoming more at one with the combination of her human and Yuuzhan Vong personalities. She continues to the wild card that keeps events intriguing.

What is most fascinating about "The Final Prophecy" is seeing the divide that is taking place among the Yuuzhan Vong. Nom Anor's antics are nothing new, so his actions throughout are no surprise. However, the fact that Vong as high up as a Master Shaper (Nen Yim) and a High Priest (Harrar) doubt Shimmra and begin to develop a respect for the Jedi foreshadows greater dissention among the Yuuzhan Vong. It's become clear that the end result will not be the eradication of Yuuzhan Vong from the galaxy, so it becomes necessary to adjust to the concept of the Vong and the galaxy residents co-inhabiting peacefully. Zonoma Sekot holds the secrets of how this might actually happen, but it's the interactions between Tahiri and Corran with Harrar and Nen Yim that make it seem as though this is a possible destiny.

"The Final Prophecy" is a quick read at 300 pages. The end seems near, yet it seems still very much in doubt. It leaves the reader hungry for the final novel "The Unifying Force" and gives a fascinating look at what the future could possibly hold for the galaxy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pleasure from this Penultimate Pandemonium
Review: There are some significant problems with this work. However, Keyes writes this so well they do not detract from the enjoyment. He has deconstructed the NJO down to a bare bones Star Wars story focusing on just a few characters. Of all the Star Wars novels I have read, this one is possibly the closest to capturing the feel of the original movies. In fact it reminded me in spirt of The Empire Strikes Back, high praise indeed.

There are really two problems in this novel. The first is the Bilbringi space battle. It is totally extraneous to what the book is about and seems included only because a space battle is thought to be obligatory and to give some face time to the Solos. The other problem is that the uneasy truce of Corran Horn, Tahiri and Nim Yen, Nom Anor and the Vong priest is not uneasy enough. In fact after just a tiny bit of tension they all get along well excepting Nom Anor. After the billions of deaths, it is just a bit too much to expect them to work together this well, especially when they don't really have their backs to the wall.

That complaint aside, the quest of Corran and company and their own discovery of Zonoma Sekot races along and is quite enjoyable. This is the first book in a long time I've read straight through in an afternoon/evening. Keyes reveals intriguing hints of the end of the series, allows Nom Anor to once more throw a wrench into the works and leaves us a cliffhanger, bittersweet ending.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: It is time to put this series to an end......
Review: This book falls short of its promise of finally giving the details of this mysterious race that threatens to wipe out the New Republic and the Jedi's.
Very little new is given and only hinted at. I am so frustrated by the way this has been stretched out with few of the books being well written.
I feel trapped and have to read Book "19" to see how they conclude this unending "drag" of a story. This could have been told in a lot fewer books. Shame on them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great book
Review: this is one of the better books that have come out in a while.

corran and tahiri form an alliance with an unlikely group of vong to find the living planet zonama sekot. what each of the people in the group fails to realize is everyone has their own agenda and no one trusts each other so it makes for an interesting journey. the book gives us a closer look at the new tahiri which is sweet and well thought out. this book actually looks like the author put some thought into it becasue some of the previous ones were true sleepers.

as a filler the author has wedge attilles fighting in a sector cut off from everyone else and vastly outnumbered. this part was ok but the fights with the vong is getting a little old and it is time to wrap up this wonderful series and start with something new.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great book
Review: this is one of the better books that have come out in a while.

corran and tahiri form an alliance with an unlikely group of vong to find the living planet zonama sekot. what each of the people in the group fails to realize is everyone has their own agenda and no one trusts each other so it makes for an interesting journey. the book gives us a closer look at the new tahiri which is sweet and well thought out. this book actually looks like the author put some thought into it becasue some of the previous ones were true sleepers.

as a filler the author has wedge attilles fighting in a sector cut off from everyone else and vastly outnumbered. this part was ok but the fights with the vong is getting a little old and it is time to wrap up this wonderful series and start with something new.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of the better stoies in the NJO.
Review: This particular edition of the NJO is actually pretty good, following sereral mediocre books. I was expecting worse after the previous trilogy. But this book combined bringing in some old favorite characters of mine with an interesting advancement of the story line. It sets up the final NJO.

My review is based on the abridged Audio CD. Based on the other reviews here, it would seem that this book is even better when read. I know that seems obvious but I generally read the book AND then listen to the audio book. I have found that the audio books tend to edit out the uninteresting stuff I didn't care for anyway. But with this book, I hardly recognize the book described in other reviews based on only having listen to the audio. The audio leaves out most of the cool stuff about Wedge and the battle of Bilbringi and focuses primarily on the Corran Horn - Tahiri - Harrar - NomAnor part of the story. Secondarily on the Luke -Jacen storyline.

For example the Force Heretic trilogy is much better on abridged audio because most of what made those books bad was deleted. What was left wasn't so bad. Here it seems that a lot of good stuff had to be sacrificed by the audio editors and I look forward to reading the book soon!

At long last, this bitter episode of the star wars expanded universe is almost over. The editors asked us to trust them but that trust was misplaced. A sentient planet? Writers were permitted to go off on uninteresting tangents, characters were dumbed down and hero favorites were killed. Many thought that it was cool to kill favorite characters. The compassionate among us said - get over it!!. But for most long time fans that had come to this universe for the fun it provided, well the fun was diminished at best for some and ruined for others.

On a brighter note.. So far the prequel stuff is going well. The novels, movies and Dark Horse comics are intermixing very well. Shatterpoint was amazing. At least here we know well that the heroes we are enjoying in the prequel books and comics will all be killed. A favorite of mine is Quinlan Vos. I have no expectation that he will ultimately save the day and will likely die in battle. So I can enjoy his character for the moment with no expectation of greatness. Anakin Solo on the other hand is a different story. The youngest son of Han and Leia, the youngster who was a hero in the Corellian trilogy, the youngster in the Young Jedi Knights tales, the youngster that Chewy gave his life for.. to end all the hope and promise with his death was a cruel, unnecessary act.

Addition point. - I have seen speculation of some why the NJO was so mediocre. One answer is expressed at the bottom of the paperback page 96 in a scene and conversation between the shamed one warrior Kunra, Tahiri and Corran:
The Warriors eyes widened. One who was shaped!
Then his eyes switched to Corran, and he returned to Basic..
The slayer of Shedao Shai! We expected Jeedai, but not the most august of them.
Ah, there are still a few higher on the ladder than us,
Corran said. Luke Skywalker, for instance.

But he does not figures in our sacred tales! Kunra replied.

Even a shamed one knew that the writers were ordered to write Luke and Mara out of the main parts of the story. The characters are acknowledging that Luke was written out of the way of the main story, action and heroism. To many of us, this was a huge failing of the NJO. The consequence of writing Luke so he was out of the way was to make him appear as stupid and impotent.


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