Rating: 
Summary: The tides of war are turning fast
Review: Destiny's Way is an exciting addition to the New Jedi Order series. Finally, the tides of war has turned and there are hopes in every front of the war. The conversation between Vergere and Luke Skywalker is probably the most profounding discussion about the force in all starwars books.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: On...the Author admits to never reading ANY of the previous books except for Traitor and a Star Wars who's who book.
It comes in loud and clear while reading the book. Please don't write another Star Wars book if you don't care enough to be consistant. I'm definatly reading part of the next book at the store before buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting!
Review: Here we go fans the Vong are about to get their due. Destiny's Way marks the beginning though I do hope the upcoming battles are grand and bloody. Plenty is a foot in this installment but I wont give any spoilers away. We do get to see however the Vong's supreme overloard take a more active role in the war and what a character he is. In short there is no true republic to speak of. The capital world is now the home world of the Vong and all the forces of the republic are scattered throughout the galaxy. However all is not loss. New elections are on the way to select a new cheif of state and luke Skywalker is hard at work to re-establish the jedi council. on the water world of Mon Kalamari where all this is taking place Admiral Akbar who is more or less dying hatches out a plan to ensnare the Vong. However the republic has been working on a secret weapon called Alfa Red which could eradicate the Vong but it would be an inhuman way to do so. Verger also plays a crucial role in this installment as well and Jason's return from the dead is a nice subplot. This book was highly entertainning. I was glued to my headphones for hours. I think its the right time to start dealing defeats to the Vong though I would not mind if the story arc were to have another 20 volumes. Still, there are four more volumes to go and despite the losses the Vong have here anything could happen. The audio prduction as always was top notch. The reader did a fine job especially with the Vong overlord. Sound effects and incidental music were used quite cleverly to add to the excitement of the story. Can't hardly wait till the next Volume but alas it will not come out till after the holidays. Waht to do? I think I'll listen to the first Volume Vecter Prime once more. This book contains 5 CDs and includes sound effects and music from all five star wars films.
Rating: 
Summary: what happened to the characters!?
Review: After last year's Star by Star, I was expecting a blow you away, totally awesome book. But what I found was a rather perfunctory novel that did advance the universe, but seemed almost reluntant to do so. Yes, I liked all that happened at the end, but that was basically all that happened in the book. It seemed like the whole rest of the book was just build up for one big scene at the end.But I could deal with weak plots, but what really got me was the way the characters fell short. It does seem like Williams ignored all the other novels and the leaps of development that the characters went through in those books. Jaina instead of recovering from her dark path, is in full of denial and suppression of emotions. No spark, just ice. Han and Leia were more like side show entertainment. What I really hated was that Jacen seemed to not have gone through the whole philosophical/spiritual journey that we found in Traiter. I understand that Williams most likely didn't have that whole novel to work off of due to publishing schedules, but to change a character so much is just wrong. Jacen is back to being an almost happy-go-lucky "I love the new republic" kid. None of the resolve at the end of Traiter for teaching the Jedi new things. But I guess that's what "Force Heretic" will be about??? I'm not saying I hated the book. It was in many ways a fun read (it is Star Wars!). It is a must read for the NJO series and I can't wait to see how the universe will play out after this. But it didn't live up to my expectations of a NJO hardback.
Rating: 
Summary: What a letdown
Review: To be sure, the books of the NJO have been a mixed bag. But, for the most part, the hardbacks have held their own and a few of the paperbacks, like Traitor, have been extremely enjoyable. Destiny's Way changes all this...and not for the better. Why oh why did the editors think that Williams would be a good choice for such an important book? His writing is so simple and blase you'd think he was turning it in as a junior high homework assignment. Entire chapters consisted of narrative dribble: "Jaina got up and went to work. Jacen went swimming." Indeed, simple writing concepts such as climax and plot twists seem as alien to him as the Yuuzhan Vong do to our Star Wars family. Of course, what is truly unpardonable is his obvious lack of familiarity with the characters' personalities. Not a single character is well written and some of them, like Luke and especially Vergere, are just plain terrible. Apparently, Williams believed that the better strategy was just to throw in as many characters as he possibly could, include a few who have been absent for far too long, and then hope the readers would love him for it. Clue in, Walt: lots of characters don't make a good book--truly understanding your characters and helping the reader to does (see Traitor). In the end, you have to read it because it's supposed to be "the turning point" of the series. But, don't expect too much. It's a simple story written by a simple author.
Rating:
Summary: Grandiose but Rushed
Review: This novel should have been two or three books. It attempts to deal with too many plot elements and make use of too many of the popular characters, in very little space. As a result, it feels rushed and, at times, sloppy. The only good bit was the interaction between Luke & Vergere. Other than that the story is humorless and confused, attempting to tie every lose end in the story line within 400-odd pages and doing a amateurish job of it. What makes other S.W. books so enjoyable, is the attention to detail ensuring continuity in the series. In Destiny's Way, too many people are behaving inconsistently with their established personalities. So the story is served but not the universe. If you are a fan of the NJO Series, like I am, then you absolutely had to read this book, because the storyline surges forward here and the events of Destiny's Way are indeed the turning point, the top of the arc of the Yuuzhan Vong war. However, fans of the series will also demand more attention to detail and will expect a number of rather esoteric issues to be accurately represented, if not resolved. The author appears to have taken a crash course in the Expanded Universe, but from someone who does not favor T. Zahn or M. Stackpole. For example: Important characters like Wedge Antilles, Soontir Fell, Grand Admiral Pellaeon or Bel Iblis are treated like no more than props, from getting vague referrences for the sake of enlarging the cast to being downright misrepresented What can I say? It feels like the author had a Star Wars Encyclopedia open and kept thinking "hey, I can use this" trying to make us feel at home on a story he had written about something else. It is all a bit off, all a bit out of place, oversimplyfied and misunderstood. This should have been a trilogy and it should have been commissioned to Timothy Zahn
Rating:
Summary: Great book......
Review: Turning point is the "name" of this book.
Don't hesitate to by it.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Awesome
Review: This book was the absolute best NJO book to date.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother Reading this book
Review: Review Destiny's Way by Walter Jon Williams First off, would it not have been possible for Del Rey to have found an author that knew more about Star Wars than snoozing through the movies, and getting a friend to tell him about the EU. I mean HELLO...I think RA Salvatore had a better grip on the characters than this guy, and Vector Prime was the third worst book of the series. This guy did not even know that Winter was married to Tycho, and had to add a blurp in after the fact that made the story become choppy. He portrays Jaina as a 'Damsel in Distress', having her in a total panic in the middle of not one but four furballs. I mean HELLO, I am married to a Fighter Jock, and I know from his history and common sense, that you NEVER panic in a furball, if you do, you die. Also the man can't write a space battle to save his life, 'Extend foils'? Did this man even see Star Wars? Extend means to move out, and the S-foils on an X-Wing do not extend they separate. As for Mara in this book, well he has her closer to her personality, her personality from the Thrawn and Jedi Academy Trilogies. Since the birth of Ben, she has shown a lot more restraint in her actions, so as NOT to make him an orphan. I just don't see her ramming a Vong spy's sub with hers, I see her keeping them occupied while someone else gets there with weapons to destroy the Vong sub, but ramming? Also, I'm sorry, but having been married to a Sub Jock (Yeah been married a couple of times) it takes YEARS to be able to pilot a sub to the point of getting a missile on your arse to think your opponent is you. Also where all of a sudden did Luke acquire all this information about the old Jedi and another Holocron? When Luke is talking to Vergere, he knows entirely too much about the old order, information that had been destroyed by the Emperor, and lost for all eternity. He would not know that Jedi were not allowed to marry and procreate, nor that they were taken from their homes as infants. Also the last Holocron was destroyed by Exar Kun in the Jedi Academy Trilogy. Now onto Leia, in the other books, (Dark Journey, Rebel Dream and Rebel Stand), Leia approved of Jaina's parrying with Jag Fel. Now all of a sudden she does not, thinking that having an Imperial Baron in the family would be just to confusing (paraphrase from the book). Leia would not think that way, mainly because there are too many ex-Imperials that have joined the New Republic. Also he is Wedge's nephew, and is much more like his uncle than his father. I just cannot see Leia wanting to daunt her daughter's happiness for the sake of protocol. If she were going to do that, she would have married Isolder not Han. Then at the end of the book, there is a scene in which Luke is trying to encourage Han to rejoin the military to lead the group from the Smuggler's Alliance (which had been disbanded before the end of the Thrawn Trilogy). During this, Leia is attempting to convince Han NOT to do this. Now if this isn't out of character for Leia, I have no clue what her character is like. Also there is a scene in the book where she tells an Imperial Commander "Wisdom is knowing when you've given all you can." Sorry but this is not Leia like. Leia would be back in the heat of things, as is her personality. Now here is one I really like. Mr. Williams has written Tsvong Lah as a sniveling idiot, not fit to command a garbage hauler much less be a warmaster for the Yzuuhan Vong. I was extremely disappointed in the Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord Shimrra. He is a whimp. HAS MR. WILLIAMS EVEN READ THE NJO? The Vong are so caught up in courage and bravery that they take it BEYOND the extreme. There is no fear of death or pain, they EMBRACE it, they WELCOME it. I mean these people relax in the 'Embrace of Pain' this is their form of recreation. Personally I feel that this book though written well, was written by someone who has no clue what Star Wars is. I would definitely suggest to anyone wanting to read this book, that they just check it out of the library and save your money for more meaningful things, I sure wish I had.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally a breather....
Review: Warning do not continue if you have not been reading the NJI books!
Well if you are like me you got into the NJI books, and had no idea what you were up against, I mean really, the Jerks killed Chewie, Anakin, and some other new folks that we all kinda liked. Well this book is kinda a breather, at the end of Traitor we find out that Jacen makes it and yadda yadda, and we finally see that this situation might just be winnable. If you are a big SW action fan then this book is not the read for you, there really isn't that much spine tingling stuff going on. Desiny's Way does wrap up a few things though. All the folks you have been wondering about(i.e. Leia and Han, Lando, Talon Karrde, and the like) show up and you find out what everyone has been up to. However, as far as things go, a lightsaber isn't even ignited until the last few pages of the book, and even then, it isn't that exciting. One suggestion, if you haven't read the E-book Ylesia yet, don't...You will know when to stop reading and read the e-book...) At any rate Destiny's way is a pretty decent read, and it gives you at least some closure so you won't be on pins and needles 'till January. So until then my friends, May The For....you really thought I was going to say it, didn't you??? Take care!! ;-) PB
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