Rating: 
Summary: Characters Shaping Up
Review: This book was kind of boring to start but got better pretty quickly. Cunningham finally got the characters back in line. Kyp Durron actually acts like he cares about people other than himself and Jania after a stint with the dark side starts to get her life back to normal. It shows the romance between Jag Fel and Jania and sort of the romance between Tenel Ka and Jacen (who is almost totally absent in this book). But the Hapan royal family has changed. Ta'a Chume isn't the loving grandmother from young jedi nights but a plotting villian. Tis book would have been better with Jacen but hey. All-in-All its pretty good.
Rating: 
Summary: Actually 4 out of 5, this is to balance it out...
Review: This is a lukewarmish Star Wars novel, IMHO, but it sort of unwinds after the perilous and tragic events of the previous entry, "Star by Star." There were quite a few touching scenes in it, such as Hapes, and a good focus on Jaina Solo who took a leap toward the dark side in the the afformationed "Star by Star."I believe the most touching scene has to be Anakin Solo's funeral. For maximum impact, listen to "Qui-Gon's Funeral" on your Phantom Menace soundtrack, if you have it, and perhaps the entry on the same track before it (the Council Meeting, or whatever it is). This is a good one to unwind from the events in "Star by Star," and to prepare for the "Enemy Lines" two-parter by Aaron Allitson. You still don't know what will happen to Jacen in this series yet (I believe he comes out okay, but still.) I also believe that Kyp Durron might be the next main character to go in this series, later on.
Rating: 
Summary: Very thin writing! Only read to advance the series!
Review: This book had a lot going for it. A bestselling series name, the star wars license, and an avid fan base. It does not live up to my expectations, however. It is absolutely the worst star wars book ever written, hands down. The plot was pretty good, but the development and execution were seriously flawed. The writer needs to go back to 12th grade english. Every time i thought something exciting was going to happen, the storyline would shift. That is expected, with suspense being an important part of a book. But to have the storyline shift back and the action actually diminish without resolution is just simply bad writing! Nothing in this book was even remotely up to par with the rest of the series. The characters had no heart; they were just vehicles to move along some god-forsaken through the looking-glass walk into Jaina Solo's alter-ego, Yun Harla, the trickster goddess. Another beef was the way the writer handled the evolving love story with jagged fel and jaina. I understand that the writer was probably hamstrung with the fact that th story has to evolve over several books, but it had neither feel nor substance. No sparks flew. Another dud came out of the writer's clearly broken pen. I must admit though, if you have any interest in the series and have read the other books, it would be in your best interest to read this one, for sake of continuity. But try not to fall asleep.
Rating: 
Summary: Flat, not a lot of depth
Review: I like Jaina Solo, and I have an interest in what a person thinks and feels as they walk that line between dark side and light, I thought this book would catch my interest, but sadly it didn't. This is one of the few books I have had to force myself to finish.
There is a great story in this book, a story that could have been told better. The plot is great, but the author's portrayal of it falls flat in may ways; characters are lacking depth, scenes are skimpy on details, and there was no emotional envolvement for the reader.
There is a scene in this book that should have been deep, and moving and powerful, and perhaps dwelled upon a little longer, it was a funeral for crying out loud! Yet like most events in the book, it is skimmed briefly, and then passed by.
This author has written some great short stories and novellas, and that is what this book felt like, a short story or novella stretched out to fill the 300 pages of a novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Did I miss something?
Review: I consider myself a great fan of the Star Wars saga. I own all the books, have read them several times, and have been following the series since its inception. Now that you know where I'm coming from... I enjoyed this book, Dark Journey, but detest the writer's style. While there was a really good plot, great characters, and wonderful insight into Jaina's character I felt like parts of the book were missing. There were gaps and jumps where the scene changed, time passed, or something happened "off stage" and the writer assumed you knew what was going on. It was kind of like dozing off in the middle of a movie and wondering how the actors got where there are. I felt the same way. In the end this is a vital part of the New Jedi Order story and well worth reading. I just with it was better edited/written.
Rating:
Summary: It was darn good.
Review: Sure, it didn't advance the physical plot as much, but it brought about cool keypoints about the force and the Vong. Also, on a personal note, it had literature bishonen (cute guys) Kyp and Jag. Reading it was stellar, even through the weak points in the story. Buying this would be great, especially for those who like a story focused on strong females.
Rating:
Summary: The best one to come out in a long while
Review: Jana is the last of the Solo kids(or is she?) Takeing what remains of her peers and friends away from the mission into Yuuzhan Vong territory they manage to get as far as Tentel Ka's home planet of Hapes. This is, of course only after they run a huge guntlet of Ex-Hapian military vessles. It is important to follow the serise in this instance because without prior knowledge you will not understand what is happening. In edition to being stimulating this book also raise a key point 1. How do the Jedi expect to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong if they do not use what they know. 2. With that being said this new generation of Jedi has to redefine the force. 3. At this point it gets interesting because the line between light and dark becomes blury. Overal-Excellent serise of books I plan to continue
Rating:
Summary: There's no way out!
Review: Talk about addicting! Ever since I bought the first installment of the New Jedi Order I just have to know how the story continues. And boy does it! For better and for worse. So far this episode is not one of my favorites so far but again...it's well written, true to the series and very exciting.
Rating:
Summary: jania's dark journey to the dark side
Review: how would you handle the stress and the grief of losing 2 of your
brothers's in the same battle? how can you claim a victory when
your heart is yelling defeat on the most personal of levels? this
is the conflicts jania is faced after anakin is killed and jacen
is captured. she leads a group of jedi survivors to a stolen enemy ship and outruns her pursuers for the hapes system where she hopes she can find refuge. with the queen mother's help there
jania plans her revenge in only a solo can and in quite
inventive and awe inspiring ways. but the danger to this is that
these ways lead to the dark side and who will be there to pull her back in time. this book is a very sensitive book and it really shows jania in a new light. it does not have much to do
with the older generation, but their brief roles do fit in nicely. for anyone who has lost a sibling at a young age you will
really identify with jania on this one. i lost my brother a young
so i can testify to this one. happy reading.
Rating:
Summary: Why WAS this book necessary?
Review: What a useless book. Its disadvantages?
a)Absolutely no developments in the story or in the characters,
b)major discrepancies between the characters that we know and those that Elaine Cunningham describes,
c) no excitement, nothing! If you do not read this book, you will not lose anything in the NJO series. Jaina has gone over to the Dark Side? Who says so? For having shields to hide her pain from her brother's death or for wiping the mind of some soldiers and scientists? Where is the darkly magnificent Dark Side of Darth Vader & Emperor Palpatine or even Joruus C'Baoth? This is a child playing with grown up games! Not to mention that it is a pale rehush of Kyp Durron's story. And Taa Chume is trying to wed her son to Jaina? In a whole galaxy peopled with humans can the royal mother find noone else but the daughter of Leia who once refused the same wedding with, please note, the same man (which makes him, incidentally, old enough to be Jaina's fathet)! Come on, is there nothing new to add to a story that is starting to get boring? And what about Han, who took the death of his Wookie friend so badly as to stop speaking to his son Anakin, how can he now be so cool for the death of this very same son that he becomes Leia's support even against Jaina? Why then did I give the story 2 stars? For the return of the Chiss, Baron Fel (a cameo appearance) and Jagged Fel. I loved them ever since they were first introduced in Spectre of the Past & Vision of the Future by Mr. Zahn who, by the way, is for me the BEST writer of Star Wars EVER and I fervently hope he will write some NJO books. It is high time the writers involve the Chiss, as well as the old Empire, to the NJO storyline. It is impossible that they see what is happening right at their doorstep and stay indifferent. The second reason is for the idea of Jaina to confuse the Vong using their own religious fanaticism against them. The idea of the Trickster Jaina identifying herself with the Trickster Goddess of the Vong was indeed brilliant, and perhaps in the hands of some other author it could be more effective, and maybe it will be so in the future. And to close. it is becoming more and more obvious that writers of the NJO series are instructed to shape their stories in such a way as to make the son of Luke and Mara the final hero. In killing Anakin, the most brilliant and hopefull character in the NJO series they purposefully left a gap. They had a chance of filling this gap with Jaina, but in the end Cunningham makes her understand that she is not the one to fulfill this destiny. I don't mind, Luke and Mara are my favorite couple and I' ve been in love with him since the movies, but I'm sure they could be more artful in concealing their purpose or even save us the trouble and take us directly there!
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