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Summary: Why we read books about the Jedi and the Force
Review: I haven't read any of Matthew Stover's books before, and have been skimming the SW novels, focusing mostly on the New Jedi Order. But this book reminded me of why I bother doing so at all: to get a glimpse into the heart and mind of a Jedi and particularly his connection to the Force. Only, in this book Stover goes far beyond anything that has gone before, and greatly expands upon the definition of the Force and those attuned to it.Unlike other SW books, most of the action in Traitor occurs in a few places, with a few main characters. The story purposefully focuses on Jacen's inner states rather than on New Republic politics, war strategy, or the latest in all our other favorite characters lives. His struggle with defining the Force, and how his perspective changes on how he sees himself, the Jedi, and the Dark Side make up the bulk of the novel, and thankfully so. The Force is not a prop here like warp speed, one of the neato things in this particular universe; the Force in a big way IS the story, grander and simpler and more mysteriously perverse than ever elucidated before, and brought home not with a pedandtic rant, but in the very readable struggles and choices made by Jacen Solo, in extremis with the guidance of a most perplexing and paradoxical teacher. And yes, there is more than enough incredible action.
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Summary: Learning a new path
Review: The flow of this book is well-paced. Jacen Solo is faced with the problem of "Who am I? What am I? and Why am I who I am?", questions that all teenagers and adults ask themselves at a crossroads in their lives. Vergere is very enigmatic and truthful in every sentence that she utters. Her "help" borders on torture and sadism in my opinion, but finally makes sense at the end of the novel. As it SHOULD. A definite growth of character is apparent in the evolution of Jacen's path towards understanding of his place as a Jedi and himself. I highly recommend reading this book. You will not be disappointed.
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Summary: Hands Down, the Best NJO Yet!
Review: For those of you that were losing faith in this series, READ THIS BOOK! If you put the book down before you've read it all, I'd be shocked. An EXCELLENT story told beautifully! Matthew Stover should be proud of his contribution to the series. This book has re-energized my interest in the NJO series, and I bet it will for you, too! One piece of advice -- AVOID ALL SPOILERS! Let this book surprise you. You won't regret it!
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Summary: I Look Forward To the Comments of Others
Review: I believe this is the first time that Matthew Stover has written for Star Wars. "Traitor", the 13th in the NJO series is decidedly different from the previous 12. As with others in the series the beginning lists the Dramatis Personae, and it is here the book announces how different it will be, for there are only 6 names. There is also no acknowledgement by the author to other writers in the series, which seems a bit arrogant as this has traditionally been part of the books. Before I comment on the book, I will say that if Mr. Stover never writes another book for this epic that will be fine with me. This is the first time I almost stopped reading an installment in any Star War's series. There have been some books that have been much weaker than others, but I was never tempted to put the book down. The volume matches installment two and three for the brief 292 page length it offers, not inclusive of a 13 page preview of the forthcoming, "Destiny's Way". For readers who do not like major changes in the structure of the Star Wars world, I do not believe you will like this book. If action is what you enjoy, you definitely will not enjoy this 13th installment. Some may suggest that Anakin's death was a prelude to what you will read of Jacen in this story, I don't. Jacen has generally been a reluctant participant for some time now, whether refusing to use the force, claiming others misuse it, or seeking an understanding that no Jedi before him has managed. In addition to Jacen the other primary character is Vergere who has played an enigmatic role in several episodes. She appears to be on the side of one group only to reappear with another, or plays both ends against the middle. Vergere becomes a major player in the fundamental conflict between the Vong and The Republic, and readers will have to decide whether they embrace the change or not. The book is littered with cliché rhetorical questions that get annoying both because they have been written a thousand times before, and because they are repeated ad nauseum in this book. The entire book is written with an arrogance that comes directly from the author. Traditionally storylines and abandoned, and Mr. Stover writes a book that is little more than very weak and pretentious philosophy than it is interesting. There is nothing in this book that is clever, nothing particularly interesting, and whatever Jacen may be said to have learned is dubious at best. A number of great authors have been able to join the group who has successfully expanded these stories within the greater epic of Star Wars. Mr. Stover has not. Instead he tries to bring a vague mystical experience to bear on Jacen, that in the end proves to be as meaningless as the title of, "Traitor".
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Summary: A completely original novel set within the New Jedi Order.
Review: Every once in a while a novel will rise above it's franchise status. Traitor is just such a novel. It is unlike any other Star Wars novel, and probably the least true to the original films. Stover takes the ideas of the Force and spins them in fascinating new ways. There are two main characters: Jacen Solo, son of Han and Leia, and Vergere, a mysterious force wielder who has long walked the tightrope between friend and foe. Jaina and Jacen, the Solo twins, have gotten their own novels now. I was not a fan of Jaina's (Dark Journey by Elaine Cunningham), because I didn't feel it lived up to it's full dramatic potential. It seemed more concerned with her love triangle than the effects of losing two siblings and falling to the dark side. This novel has everything to do with how Jacen feels about the loss of Anakin... the grieving process is alot closer to what you would expect. More importantly, it charts Jacen's Nietzschesque transition from man to superman. By the end of the novel his is clearly the foremost Force user in the galaxy. It will be interesting to see how further NJO authors play with this.
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Summary: From the Depths of Catastrophe, a Glimmer of Hope
Review: After the capture of Coruscant, the mighty heart of the New Republic, a stunned galaxy fears that nothing can stop the Yuuzhan Vong. Still, that crushing defeat produces one small miracle: Jacen Solo is alive. Yet he can scarcely imagine himself in stranger circumstances.
The young Jedi Knight is in the care of Vergere, a fascinating creature of mystery and power, her intentions hard to fathom, her cruelties rarely concealed. But this master of inscrutable arts has much to teach the young Jedi...for she holds the key to a new way to experience the force, to take it to another level--dangerous, dazzling, perhaps deadly.
In the wrong hands, the tremendous energies of the force can be devastating. And there are others watching Jacen's progress closely, waiting patiently for the moment when he will be ready for their own dire purposes. Now, all is in shadows. Yet whatever happens, whether Jacen's newfound mastery unleashes light or darkness, he will never be the same Jedi again... This book was pretty confusing at the beginning but came together perfectly in the most unexpected way. A great book, and it contains a sneak preview of the next book Destiny's Way.
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Summary: A reveiw by NJOfanatic, who else!
Review: a good read, but for older readers. it really edged toward 3 1/2 stars. very dark, and with a lot of gore. can be confusing at times, with visions and seemingly quick transportation to new places. ganner is killed off, and he was a favorite character of mine. could it be vergere is going to the new republic's side, or JACEN's side? interesting, but not nearly enough characters, only five real ones: jacen, vergere, nom anor, ganner, and tsavong lah. u need luke, mara, jaina, leia, jag, kyp, han, or any others. too short for its subjects, as well. and jacen seems to get along far too well without the force. all in all though, a book worth buying.
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Summary: Good Read. Lays solid groundwork for the next book.
Review: NJO Traitor begins at the end of Star by Star. In many ways, it is the companion story to NJO Dark Journey which told of what happened to Jaina following Anakin's death. Jacen Solo was captured at the end of Star by Star and Traitor is his story. Captured and tortured by the Vong, Jacen is thought dead by his family, but he is not dead, instead he becomes the focal point in a plot by the Vong Warmaster, the villainous Nom Anor and the mysterious Vergere to destroy the Jedi. That is all that I will write about plot. This book is well-written, and therefore easy to read. It lays a solid foundation for the next several NJO books. Occasional Force doctrine stuff can be tedious, but the even those occasional blips of tediousness do not slow down the reader. Which brings up my second complaint, this book is a little too short. While the focus is all on Jacen, so there are no other characters which makes less of an overall story, at under 300 pages, Traitor is just a bit on short side. But as I said its well written, and the information about Jacen is invaluable. It also makes the reader much more interested in the NJO series. I, for one, am now waiting anxiously for the next NJO book Destiny's Way to continue the reinvigorated NJO series.
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Summary: Jacen's Odyssey
Review: Let me make two things clear: I am a diehard Star Wars fanboy, and a bigtime Stover groupie. A such, when this novel was announced months ago, it quickly became my most anticipated Star Wars novel ever. As the months wore on, the anxiety grew; I needed this book, and simply couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I trusted that Stover would give me a fantastic novel. My trust was not unfounded. Right from the outset, this book is something special. Stover is a compulsively readable writer, and his prose and writing style are head and shoulders above many of the other authors writing Star Wars novels. He knows how to turn a phrase and shape a paragraph so that it sticks in your mind long after you've finished reading the book. And what a book! From the Holy [cow]! opening (which finally explained Jacen's emanations from Dark Journey) to the stunningly awesome climax (featuring one of the coolest lightsaber fights ever) to the outstanding three-against-the-galaxy ending (and you'll NEVER guess who the third one is), Traitor proved impossible to put down. Literally. I read it in one sitting and have since read it twice more. Jacen's feats in this book put to shame similar conquests by his siblings in the novels focusing on them, and Vergere absolutely blossoms as an interesting, enigmatic character. Jacen's revelations throughout the novel, often spurred by Vergere's observations, are consistently interesting (and pretty consistent with what you'd come to expect from a Stover novel). With Nom Anor it's pretty much just more of the same, which is getting kind of old, but Ganner really shines here. You can expect a cameo or three from a long lost pal, as well as a whole lot of Stover-style philosophizing on the nature of the Force and its Dark Side, as well as what makes a Hero, and what makes a Jedi, and a whole bunch of other questions that haven't, or haven't often, been tackled before in a Star Wars novel. You'll be surprised at the answers offered, when they are offered, which isn't always, considering that, as is said, the question is often more telling than the answer. The action is fantastic, as is to be expected from a Stover novel, and for you skeptics out there - put your fears to rest; there's only one fight scene (out of many) that's described at all graphically or gorily. Do not mistake graphicness for intensity, however - these fights are as intense as anything you've seen in a Star Wars novel. Overall, yes, this is easily my favorite New Jedi Order novel so far; my only real complaint is that there's not more of it. And it could have used a little more humor. If you're a Star Wars fan, or a Stover fan, or just a fan of good Literature (yes, I daresay that this, a Star Wars novel, qualifies as Literature), you can't go wrong with this book. It is, quite simply, the best Star Wars novel yet published.
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Summary: By far the best New Jedi Order book so far.
Review: The title for the latest Star Wars Extended Universe set of novels, New Jedi Order, has been touched upon within the books themselves once, maybe twice before, but in this amazing, thorough, impossibly revealing chapter of the series, the title of the series finally begins to take on the true extent of its meaning. To summarize, Jacen Solo finds himeself captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, specifically held at the hands of Vergere, a minor character in previous novels. Slowly, through a variety of experiences that change his perspective, Jacen realizes that the current Jedi understanding of the Force is incorrect. To put it simply, Jacen faces the question, "If the Force is life, how can there be life, without the Force?" Referring to the Yuuzhan Vong's seeming non-existence in the Force. To understand that there IS in fact, no life, without the Force, Jacen realizes that the Force is in fact part of a larger power, an absolutely universal collection of dualities that bind things even as opposite as the Yuuzhan Vong and the New Republic, Love and Hate, Light and Dark and all others - they are all combined in a... something (energy, Force, connection, it's never really defined) that holds not only the Jedi and the New Republic in its grasp, but also the Yuuzhan Vong and all other life in the Universe. Because so much of the book is composed of Vergere and Jacen's philosophical discussions, back and forth, one would think the plot and action would suffer, but this is not so, it merely heightens the intensity each action and turn creates. The introduction of Ganner as a main character, a full two thirds through the book, seemed strange at the time, but worked perfectly - highlighting the philosophy Vergere spouts - of dualities becoming one, through love. With captivating descriptions, engaging dialogue, and a change in the very scales of power in the Star Wars Universe, the novel is a definite step in the right direction of a series that hasn't always lived up to its expectations or possibilities. Hopefully the books following this one do not fail to follow in Matthew Stover's path.
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