Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: After reading the first several books of the New Jedi Order I found myself looking for a book more epic in scope, similar to Timothy Zahn's first trilogy and the first book of the series, Vector Prime. Balance Point and Edge of Victory I were both very close to this mark, but couldn't seem to break through. In comes Gregory Keyes's new book Edge of Victory II: Rebirth, with its multiple plot lines that keep you enthralled. My favorite part of the book was the scenes with Luke and Mara, they seem to be ignored in some of the more recent books. In this book Luke is shown as caring and prudent character, not as a super-powerful Jedi Master. The action occurs basically in the all the rest of the scenes with the various other main characters, especially with Anakin, Jacen, and Jaina. Lots of star fights and some hand-to-hand combats keep the book interesting, while vague chapter ending keep you eagerly wanting more. The book ends with a couple twists that should make for a more interesting saga through out. Take note everyone this is the way a Star Wars book should be written, talk about the new characters, while not forgetting the old characters that made the original so memorable and popular. Excellent read, and though it is a page turner, I would not exactly call it an epic, though it sets up the series to become epic in scope. Hopefully the next book will be as good as this, and I will definetly continue reading. Defintely recommended for fans and non-fans alike.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not a NJO best
Review: After reading through Rebirth and then checking out the reviews its gotten, I was actually pretty surprised that some people gave it 4 and 5 stars. I'm not saying its a bad book as I gave it 3 stars myself, but I just found the plot it too scattered and all over the place. Keyes tells four different stories which are almost completely unrelated, even at the end where only a couple of the threads tie together in an underwhelming final battle. The same can be said for the duology as a whole. This book doesn't seem to have anything to do with the first novel. I read the two books nearly a year apart and didn't feel lost at all in the stories. I heard that this duology was actually a fill in for a longer trilogy which was canceled at the last minute, which would explain the scattered plot. For a last minute gig Keyes did okay with it I guess,lol.
I also wasn't crazy about some of the dialog between Han and Leia especially earlier on in the book. They almost seemed to be speaking in Star Wars clichés, and the dialog didn't seem natural to me at all. Maybe its just me though because others seem to think Keyes did very well with the various Star Wars personna.
Its a shame that Keyes was given a limited time frame to work with on this one, because he is a gifted storyteller. I'm excited to check out his new fantasy series. I found myself anxious to turn the page while going through Rebirth even though the story was underwhelming as a whole.
It seems that alot of people that reviewed this book also read every Star Wars book that comes along, so I doubt that even a terrible review would keep you guys from buying the book, but for those like myself who only have time to read a handfull, there are better NJO books out there.
Rating: 
Summary: A very fun read
Review: I wasn't a big fan of the first book in this duology, Conquest, so I didn't have high hopes for Rebirth. Luckily, Greg Keyes surprised me. Rebirth is a very readable book--the combination of short chapters, interesting plotlines, and well-written characters kept me turning the pages. I was very impressed with the plot involving Jaina and Kyp; Keyes intelligently develops a rather convoluted interaction between the two characters over the course of the entire book and does a great job of giving Kyp a distinctive voice. Anakin and Tahiri are quite dynamic, and they've both become a lot more interesting since the last book. I was also pleased to see Jacen and Corran written with sensitivity. All in all, the way Keyes handles the characters--making each distinctive, with his or her own internal psychology--is the greatest strength of Rebirth.
The book does have some weaknesses. Though it's fun to read, the writing isn't as polished as that of authors like Zahn or Troy Denning. That's only a minor complaint though; I don't expect all Star Wars authors to be up to Zahn's level, and compared to many of the other NJO books, this one is beautifully written. My more major complaint is that Keyes seems to have run out of energy at the end. Two of his otherwise logical and careful plots just sort of dissolve. He more or less completely drops the Jacen-Han-Leia storyline, never providing closure for it. And the Mara-Luke story truly fizzles, ending with a "We don't know how everything got fixed, but isn't it truly beautiful?" which was a little too sugary and insubstantive for me. If Keyes had put a little more work into the last fifty or sixty pages of his book, I would have considered giving the book one more star.
Rating:
Summary: All around great
Review: First of all I love the fact that this book did not just focuse on on character. Although Anakin, Tahiri, and Jaina have basicly the center stage. On the Jaina front, it looks like Kyp is more intersted in her that just as a fellow Jedi which I think is kinda weird seeing as how he is like thirty some. I have to say my favirote plot though is the one with Anakin and Tahiri. It is good to see the author bring in new characters. The only thing I did not like is that he keeps pertrying Tahiri as a little-wannabe-Anakin. He keeps acting as if she is 10 and she is 14 and the reason that it gets to me so much as that I am her age and I hate it when people treat me as a little kid. In on scean in the book Corron is about to say some things to Anakin but her dont becouse she is there and dont want her to hear them. Again treating her as a little kid. I did like the little romatic relation ship forming between Anakin and Tahiri. All in all I though this was a great book and I read and read all over. I hope the rest of the NJO books are this good.
Rating:
Summary: Thank God for the Yuuzhan Vong!
Review: No bull. Half a century of what took most of that time to win the name "political correctness" in entertainment and literature has with very few exceptions stripped fiction of all of its bad guys. The Star Wars body of work has been as guilty as any of being so phobic about the demonization of enemies. In the original trilogy, Sith Lord Darth Vader mutated from a harsh villain who strangles a subordinate with telekinesis in "New Hope" to Luke Skywalker's poor misguided daddy who helps him knock off Emperor Palpatine in the end of "Return Of the Jedi". Possibly the best motto of the misguided bleeding-heart second half of the 20th Century is the Dylan lyric "...don't hate nothin' at all except hatred..." from his song "It's Alright Ma". In addition to turning fiction into a mostly-bland diet of do-gooding flawed anti-heros and the "dysfunctional individuals" they contend with by trying to "reason" with them, the real world has suffered from this scourge as well. The whole concept of good and evil, of right and wrong, is now known as "absolutism" and the relativism that remains has made us all meat on the hoof for the world's human predators. If you're forbidden to hate, you're fair game for those who still can. Fortunately, the New Millennium has ushered in a much more believable Star Wars--the "New Jedi Order"--with bad guys you don't have to feel guilty about booing. In a visceral sense, they give you the creeps, and the authors in this cycle don't make the error of suggesting that it would be best to view them with "more understanding" or an "open mind". Instead, they've created a collaborationist cabal called the "Peace Brigade" who fight against their own culture and are nearly as much of a hassle as the "Vong" themselves--the "enemy within" counterpart to the "enemy without". The Yuuzhan Vong are an allegory to every human culture that takes advantage of the civilized world's compulsion for "fair play" and its resultant vulnerability to thugs and creeps. Military historian Gwynne Dyer once said that the best way to make warriors of people who were raised to believe killing people is wrong is to suggest that the enemy aren't people. The "Vong" never have seen other cultures in the Galaxy as people in the first place. The Yuuzhan Vong are an allegory to every culture who places the stamp of The Almighty on their own subhuman blood lust. Try to tell me that the person at Lucas Inc who came up with the idea of the "Vong" wasn't thinking of the bunch who use the term "jihad" or the ones who sing "The Old Rugged Cross" assembled around a burning cross and I'll laugh in your face. The new generation of Jedi have a situation on their hands a lot grimmer than Master Luke had to face in his X-wing when he was young, and I have to say that they seem to have the moxie to deal with it. May the real world, facing a dilemma just as grim if somewhat subtler, learn from it as well.
Rating:
Summary: A New Generation Of Skywalkers?
Review: Luke and Mara Skywalker have faced many trials and have made it through them with each other's help. Now, just when they think that the Yuuzhan Vong is their biggest problem. the Senate has ordered their arrest in response to the Yavin 4 attack, citing that the two Jedi were responsible for the Vong having broken their treaty with the New Republic. To make matters worse, Mara begins to develop complications with her pregnancy which may or may not have something to do with her long-dormant, Yuuzhan Vong-inflicted disease. Meanwhile: Han, Leia, and Jacen search for paths to traffic the hunted Jedi to safety. Corran, Anakin, and Tahiri make a run from the Errant Venture for supplies that is anything but routine. And when Jaina attempts to lure Kyp Durron back into the fold, he reveals to her a new Yuuzhan Vong weapon - one that resembles the Empire's Death Star!
Some very fast-paced action in this novel. Excellent dog-fight scenes. We get some more insight into the Vong through shaper Nim Yen. It's also nice to see more interaction between Luke and Mara, which I believe has waned up to this point. Plus, this book features the return of Corran Horn, which is always a plus. You're kept guessing at the fate of the Skywalkers until the end of the novel. Great work by Greg Keyes!
Rating:
Summary: Another Greg Keyes...
Review: I couldn't put it down! Every single plotline was unbelievaby exciting and Greg Keyes even made Corran less horrible...
Finally there is some romance... Anakin and Tahiri are so cute! :) And Jaina and Kyp start something here which will hopefully lead to a happy end sometime...
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS IN THE SERIES SO FAR
Review: This book takes place only about a few months after Edge of Victory I, Conquest. Things are not looking good for the characters in this book. Luke Skywalker's wife, Mara Jade Skywalker is pregnant and will give birth soon, but the mysterious disease that the Yuuzhan Vong infected her with has come back after being kept down for a long time with a temporary antidote. Meanwhile the Chief of State of the New Republic orders Luke and Mara's arrest because of the senate's anti-Jedi propaganda sentiment. So Luke and Mara flee to join the rest of the hiding Jedi on Booster Terrick's Star Destroyer, a massive star-ship.
While this is happening Han Solo and his wife Leia are jumping through hyperspace from system to system with their oldest son Jacen Solo, in search of some sort of route of safety that the Jedi Knights can travel by. But in their search they get in many encounters with the Yuuzhan Vong. To make matters worse, Jacen Solo has a high bounty placed on his head by the Yuuzhan Vong war-master, Tsavong Lah, who wants to capture the young Jedi because earlier in the series Jacen cut his leg off and humiliated him in an epic battle. So many bounty hunters and members of the Peace Brigade also encounter the main characters in their search for Jacen. And while this is happening Jacen's twin Jedi sister Jaina Solo meets up with the rogue Jedi Kyp Durron and learns of a new super-weapon being developed by the Yuuzhan Vong. And also the three Jedi: Anakin Solo, Tahiri Veila, and Corran Horn get in trouble with the Peace Brigade and soon also encounter the Yuuzhan Vong in dangerous battles.
I thought that this was a good book. Again it had a lot of action. This time it focused more on the main characters of the series. I liked to see all the old characters back in the main roles again. And it was also a major book in the series because Luke's son was born. Luke ends up naming him Ben, though I think he could of thought of a better name. Overall though, this was a good book.
Rating:
Summary: New Jedi Order Back on Track
Review: I've read the novels in the New Jedi Order in sequential order. So far, of the first seven novels in the series, Edge of Victory II: Rebirth was arguably the best. Greg Keyes started a good thing with Edge of Victory I, and improved upon it in the second novel of the duology. This novel contains several plot lines. Luke and Mara leave Coruscant to escape arrest from the New Republic and prepare for the birth of their son. Han and Leia, with their son Jacen, attempt to establish an "underground railroad" for Jedi fleeing from the Peace Brigade, Jaina Solo teams with Kyp Durron and others to attack a perceived Yuuzhan Vong Super Weapon, and Anakin and others stumble upon a new Vong target. There is a lot in the novel, but Keyes paces it all really well. In addition, the elements of a good Star Wars novel are present. Han gets some good quips in while arguing with Leia. C-3P0 gets to fuss like only he is capable, Luke gets more than a half dozen pages, the Jedi get to display their action, and there is a climatic battle scene in the end. Add to that the "good guys" don't suffer a terrible defeat and this book becomes what Star Wars novels are suppose to be: fun. Another strength is the wide array of characters of the novel, most of which are done well. Corran Horn gets a fair amount of space after having been largely absent since third novel of the series. Even Lando gets a chance to show up and do some work. Talon Karde, Kyp Durron, and Wedge Antilles surface as well. In most cases, Keyes has stayed true to the spirit of each character as written by the author that created each character. Keyes continues to develop the Vong better than any author so far in the series. Their bio-technology makes much more sense in this duology and their way of life is much more fleshed out. The belief system, caste system, and general attitudes of the Vong get much more attention here. As a race, they seem more believable. I can't say enough about the novel without spoiling. If you have been disappointed with the New Jedi Order series so far, this will lift your hopes for the future of Star Wars novels. I only hope the novels that follow can approach how good this one was.
Rating:
Summary: Not without faults, but nevertheless good
Review: Keyes' Conquest was a nearly perfect Star Wars novel. Focusing on one plot line, it drew us in and never let us go. Rebirth suffers from an attempt to do too much in too short a space, making it more difficult to become engrossed in any one plot. As several others have mentioned, each storyline is independent of the others, making one wonder why they are all included. A focus on only one of the stories - e.g., Anakin and Tahiri's recovery from Conquest - would have been better. And there are some details that are unconvincing or disturbint - Luke and Mara Force "revelation" at the end, and Kyp Durron's pedophiliac leers toward Jaina Solo (she's still only 17! Let's keep the PG rating here!) That being said, there is still much to be enjoyed. Keyes style is evocative of the original movies, keeping things fast-paced and interesting throughout. The action scenes, while sometimes too brief, are well-described, and the Anakin and Tahiri interaction is tastefully and touchingly explored. The viewpoint of the naysayers about the minimal role played by the older generation is certainly understandable; I particularly miss Lando. I do not believe, however, that the emphasis on the Solo children automatically turns the NJO series into another Young Jedi Knights. Jacen and Jaina aren't all that much younger than Luke and Leia were in Episode IV, or Anakin Skywalker in Episode II. Young characters do not mean a juvenile target audience. I have found nothing about the style, the plot, or the story to warrant the labeling of this or the other NJO books as "juvenile."
|
