Rating: 
Summary: ok yet not ok
Review: This book was quite intresting in almost all scenes and I have enjoyed it. Yet the most chilling part about this is the death of a great character we've all come to love. Other authors spent years developing this character and he was just killed of in this book. I really don't think that was justified.
Rating: 
Summary: Epic Chapter of the NJO
Review: This, the center point of the NJO, is the most massive book yet. You read and read and by the time you would be through with a normal NJO book, you're only halfway through this one. And I LOVE that about it! Maybe they (The People In Control) will now see that we don't need pansy wansy titles and we can actually sit through a long, well written book. Enough about that, this was a dark book. Heavy stuff goes down here and it's sure to put some people off, in fact, it already seems to have done so. But you can't blame the author for that, those kind of decisions are made by the higher ups. However, as dark as the book was, it was good to see the good guys kicking some butt. The secret Jedi mission is the darkest of them all, as it deals with the new generation's hunt for the voxyn, a creature that hunts and kills Jedi. During this section, you get scenes of woe, scenes of true heroism, and yes, scenes of tragedy and the characters doing what must be done in the aftermath. When you come right down to it, you see these Young Jedi Knights going through the trial of their lifetimes and at times it can be heartbreaking. As far as the other parts of the story, I have heard people griping at the fact that Luke is in an X-Wing while Corran is down on the ground or in a command ship directing the battle. They say that Corran Horn is the great X-Wing pilot, he should be up there, Luke should be directing. I say to them that Corran did NOT blow up the Death Star. Much was made in the movies about Luke being a great pilot, how his father was a great pilot before him, and I daresay that it is Luke we want to see kicking butt in an X-Wing! Not to say Corran shouldn't be in one, but don't begrudge Luke. The scenes with Luke and Mara leading Kyp's Dozen and the Wild Knightz are great, and made me feel like I was watching the Jedi Master in true action again. Anyways, all that aside, this was a well written book with a lot of stuff going on. Troy Denning did an excellent job. He has you fearing for each and every character throughout the book very effectively. And he made me actually think Borsk F'leya wasn't such a bad guy after all when the chips are down. And the ending. Oh, that ending. Just a couple of more months. The only thing I gotta say is, as good as these reads have been, it better lighten up soon, as I really don't like being depressed by Star Wars. Sure, there is precedent in the movies, but it was still Star Wars. Other than that, pure gold.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too shabby.
Review: I read this novel sometime in November, and the only reason I'm doing my review now is because I've only now become a member of Amazon.com. *s* Well, I'd like to start by saying that Troy Denning is a very good author. I, however, think that Greg Keyes did a better job in his "Edge of Victory" duology (I know that's not a word). I'm a big fan of Star Wars (though I haven't read -all- of the books) and was first introduced to the novel series with "Dark Tide I" by Stackpole (not the best example of his work, IMHO). "Star" is very pivotal in the NJO series, and definitely one of he best books of this series, but...it's...I don't know what the word is...irritating? Well, the book ITSELF isn't irritating, just the few things I didn't like with it - which is why it lost a star. Luke Skywalker seems to be having more and more trouble controlling his anger (since "Rebirth", when it seemed as though Mara was going to die), and I keep thinking that he's FINALLY going to do something outrageous and stuff - something that the Jedi really need to start doing! But he doesn't! What also disturbs me is that the hint of a relationship between Kyp Durron and Jaina Solo found in "Rebirth" is no longer present. What happened with that? I know Kyp's older, but darn it! Give him a girl! I like Kyp-especially his speech in "Rebirth". Back to the current book, Anakin's the main focus again (don't ya just love that guy?) and he teams up with his siblings and a bunch of other young Jedi on a mission to sneak behind enemy lines. They've got to kill the Voxyn queen (a Jedi-hunting monster used by the Vong), but it's easier said than done! What I noticed about this book was that it lacked one-on-one conversation. I mean, Tahiri and Anakin were starting a relationship, but in this book, they hardly even spoke! Couldn't the author have put in more scenes with just the two of them? Tahiri was his -girlfriend- and she didn't get to do anything but stand back and watch Anakin do his heroics. The relationship part should have been involved more-much more! Borsk Fey'lya makes an appearance, of course, but not like any prior to this! He actually earns the respect of the readers-about time! I was really humored by his sudden change of attitude, and amused by Tsavang Lah's final words to him. Tsavang (though he's the bad guy and I dislike him for all the destruction he's causing) is a VERY intriguing character. I thoroughly enjoy reading about him. I used to like Nom Anor, but the Executor seems like such a coward these days. Anyway, aside from all the little things I didn't like about this book, it deserved four stars, IMHO. The writing was easy to follow and fast-paced (so UNLIKE "Children of the Jedi" - blah!) and the comic relief was fun! I enjoyed the Barabels and Lando's own involvement with the story (Lando rocks!). The sardonic comments and thoughts every now and then really make the book fun to read, and there ARE pivotal events in this story - so it IS worth your time if you're a Star Wars fan. Of course, seemingly like for all NJO novels, it DOES get depressing. One thing I've noticed about the NJO series is that they all have depressing endings - except for "Rebirth" (way to go Greg Keyes! Woo!).
Rating:
Summary: Enough already!
Review: I am a faithful fan of the whole Star Wars book catalog and I enjoyed this book. But I feel that enough death and destruction has occured with this plot line and it's time for it to end. I feel like I am being strung along and the story is too drawn out. It's time for this series to be over.
Rating: 
Summary: Enough already
Review: My word, I am tired of this series and unfortunately there seems to be no end in sight. This storyline keeps repeating itself. Yes, the Vong are not at all nice beings; we figured that out. Sure, the Solo kids are experiencing teenage angst magnified by their special abilities. Ok, the New Republic has become mired in corruption. So tell us something we haven't heard for the better part of 2 years! Give us a reason to care!
What I wouldn't give to read a good yarn by Timothy Zahn about now. He could certainly breathe life into this dying franchise. Years ago I used to anticipate the release of a new SW novel. Now I just wait until it shows up at the local library.
Time to put this sorry saga to rest and come up with fresh material. Like the SW characters, we're not getting any younger.
Rating:
Summary: What Was he Thinking!!!!!!!!!
Review: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGggggggggg Wile this book was well written & may have worked as a stand alone novel, it does not belong in the Starwars universe. First; the author does not continue with any of the previously established sub-plots ( come on what's up with the Shamed?). But, instead goes off on his own crazy tangent and does little to further the overall story line ( unless you call killing off a couple pivotal characters furthering a story ). Now I'll leave the technical errors alone, really I will, since I'm one of the few that probably care anyway. But, this author does little for the series other then create a bunch of problems for the next author (who's some one different BTW) to try and solve.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Overall, I will say this is a good book. There is many plot twists that kept me guessing. The author grasped the characters' personalities quite well indeed. The wording was well put and the plot excellent. One thing I did notice was that this author decided that the Vong's armor was very weak against blasters. But the main reason I gave this book a four star instead of a five is because they killed Anikin. Would you stop killing the main characters for peat sake!
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: Following in the traditions of Troy Denning's Dark Sun novels, this book was an excellent piece of work. I have read all of the New Jedi Order books and have found the story line to be rather refreshing. This book in particular sparked a new light to fire that we call the Star Wars world, by killing off another rather important character and setting up an interesting cliff hanger. One aspect of the book that I found enjoyable was the fact that some Dark side characters entered the fight and possibly a major character turning to the powers of the mysterious and tempting dark side. I believe that if you enjoyed R.A. Salvatore's New Jedi Order opener, you will also find this non-traditional taste of Star Wars book authoring to be invigorating
Rating: 
Summary: NJO: I Just Don't Care Anymore
Review: I am extremely disappointed in the New Jedi Order series of books. I have been an avid Star Wars fan for years, and I have read all of the previous novels published by Bantam, as well as the abysmal new ones from Del Ray. I was amazed by Spectre of the Past and Vision of the Future, both by Tim Zahn, that ended the series published by Bantam. I want to know more about the Chiss, and the Unknown Regions; I want to know what's hiding out there. But alas, I cannot. Instead, I must sit through incompetent descriptions of technology that doesn't make sense. The battle scenes are confusing; Denning tells you *what* they are doing, but very rarely does he tell you why. People are right when they say there's a lot of action in this novel: that's ALL there is. The characterization is seriously lacking. The descriptions of Luke and Mara's relationship is excellent, as well as the characterization of Jaina and Anakin, but that is it. There are a whole bunch of new characters we've never heard of before that I simply didn't care about. I've even lost Han and Leia: their relationship has become such a routine that I've lost their individual personalities. Mostly, though, my complaint is about the Vong. Greg Keyes' NJO novel did a bit to help this problem; his characterazation of Anakin and his humanization of the Vong made me enjoy his book immensely and led me to try purchasing this one. No dice. This book returns to portraying the Vong as nothing but torturing monsters, or inhumanly perfect fighting machines, or as groups of warriors simply to be mowed down by lightsabers. That was one of the great strengths of the previous series: the enemy wasn't *always* the enemy. The enemy could be redeemed. Wasn't that the whole theme of Star Wars, from the beginning? Redemption? In the NJO series, there is no possible chance for redemption, and the villian has become so routine; I don't CARE what happens to the Vong. I don't care if they live, and I don't care if they die. Look at Ysanne Isard, for example: she was a villian you could love to hate. I cared what happened to her: I wanted her to die, for Corran and for Mirax and for Tycho. Here, though, even Jaina's righteous anger towards Nom Anor seems forced. I would like to point out, however, that I don't necessarily disagree about killing main characters. That is something that has value; death *is* a part of life. However, I was extremely upset with the choice of deaths: Anakin Solo was the only one of the characters in the novel I felt truly connected to, thanks to Greg Keyes. He really was the only one I cared about; now, I have little or no reason to pick up the next book. Overall, I think that the NJO series is simply too wide in scope: the authors have to do too many things at once. Greg Keyes' novel was good because it was specific, and focused. It still managed to portray galaxy-wide events, but through the eyes and actions of one person. It made the book much more human and realistic. I was hoping that Star by Star would be a continuation of that; I was sadly disappointed. I would not recommend this series of books to anyone. Even Mike Stackpole's two books in this series fall flat, and I have great respect for his other work. I, Jedi was incredible, as was the X-wing series. If you want a Star Wars fix, I highly suggest you read the series published by Bantam, either in chronological order or starting with Tim Zahn's Heir to the Empire. If you've already read them, read 'em again. But don't waste money on the New Jedi Order.
Rating:
Summary: Timothy Zahn COME BACK!!!!!
Review: I understand that there are somethings that need to happen in order to keep series and storylines interesting to people. If Luke Skywalker was still fighting Jabba the Hutt no one would read the novels because they all end the same. When Timothy Zahn began this new wave of stories after Jedi, he did it with flare. He made sure that they characters from the original series were invovled and active and still managed to incorporate new characters slowly and carefully...(Mara, the solo children, etc.) That is how you incorporate change and generate interest.
Killing off one character is understandable, Killing off another (and one of great importance with a flowering storyline) is unforgivable. If you wanted to keep things interesting why didn't you have one of them (the solo kids) turn to the darkside and continue the storyline through getting them back? Yes, it's been done before, but that's better than killing loved and interesting characters.
I want Timothy Zahn to come back and show these authors how it is done. Focus on the new baby, play with the relationship theme, that's where we were heading in the first place with Tahiri wasn't it?
I will read the next novel to find out what happens, but if it doesn't get better you would have lost another dedicated star wars reader........SHAPE UP PEOPLE. You have a lot of redeeming to do!!
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