Rating: 
Summary: Changing the face of Star Wars
Review: This book is one of the best in the New Jedi Order. Many people have claimed that killing off characters in the Star Wars universe is completely wrong. Death is not wrong, it's a part of life, even in a fictional unverse. Authors do not like to kill off characters they spent time developing, and it is not their choice. The Vong are the deadliest foe that our heros have encountered and we do not know if the galaxy is going to survive after this novel.
After reading this book, Star Wars has been changed for me forever. It has become clear that no character is safe from the merciles Vong which adds a new form of excitement, but sadness when tragedy hits. This book is one of my favorite in the new series and if you are looking for an enjoyable novel with non-stop action, then pick this book up, you won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: What's going on?
Review: I just have to ask, "What's going on?" One minute the Yuuzhan Vong are this ubbeatable force new to the galaxy, the Next the Jedi are decimating them. But enough ranting.I feel that each new chapter in the E/U is awsome, And this is no exception. I have only one question. How much grief can the Solo family endure with the loss of both Chewy and Anikin, Jasen whimping out, and Jaina turning to the dark side? Will they ever be able to rest?
Rating:
Summary: Massive In Size, Scope, And Change
Review: The Star Wars Saga that has been unfolding for fans for nearly 24 years is little short of amazing, and possibly unprecedented. The world that George Lucas unveiled to the public in 1977 redefined how movies could be made, with technology Industrial Light And Magic have continually recreated. The books may be the lowest tech aspect of the epic, however they have provided the majority of the epic's history. "Star By Star", by Troy Denning is the latest addition to the written world of Star Wars that has grown to over 200 books and illustrated collections. Lucas is a genius at sustaining this epic tale. No author, or even 10 authors could sustain the caliber of work that these books represent. Lucas has consistently attracted the best writers of the genre to contribute a single book, or a series. By constantly expanding the list of authors, the books remain fresh, while at the same time maintaining seamless additions to the tale, without producing incongruities in plot or character development that have preceded their work for 30 years. At 609 pages this is the longest single work that I can recall. It is easily double the length of the majority of installments, and with very good reason. "Star By Star", marks a dramatic fundamental shift, or perhaps pivotal point that has not been seen since the close of the first trilogy of movies. "Vector Prime", by R.A. Salvatore was the first in this series. It stunned long time fans by removing one of the original characters. For readers who found the death of Chewbacca startling, this book will absolutely flatten them. If there was any doubt as to what drastic events Lucas would allow, and the characters that would be the center of them, this book puts that issue to rest. Gone are the days of everyone making a safe escape no matter how improbable. I have thought before, and feel even more strongly now, that when this series comes to a close some 2 dozen books from now, the second trilogy of movies will be complete, and the final book will end the epic story that Lucas began nearly 3 decades ago. The first offspring of Jedi, Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin are now grown, and with this book take the burden of the fight upon themselves far beyond what they have done before. These books continue to darken, and the violence goes well beyond that of the mild cartoon variety. The players, including the young Solo Children, are leaders in a very violent war. They face an enemy that is without remorse, an enemy that makes the original Empire Of Palpatine appear benevolent by comparison. The Yuuzhan Vong are as fascinating as they are evil. They find machines and technology vile, an offense to their Gods, so they are an enemy that has created an amazing array of weapons and defense that are all biologic. Their weapons are sentient, as are their tools for communicating, for defense, and disguise. They can destroy an individual or an entire planet with a biologic singularity. As Yoda has said, "size matters not". Their new biologic this time is a hunter killer that has a taste for one life form, the Jedi. How effective are these Voxyn? They are dangerous enough to the continued survival of the Jedi that all three Solo Children, and a host of other Jedi undertake a mission to destroy the Queen that begets these Jedi Assassins. Even Jedi that have chosen the dark side of the force join this hunt that could decide whether the New Republic survives, or whether the Yuuzhan Vong become the new occupants of Coruscant, and the new rulers of the galaxy. This mission alone would justify a book. However there is so much more. The greatest conflict ever fought, inclusive of thousands of ships, takes place as the Yuuzhan Vong make their final grab for the heart of The Core. The debate over what the force is, and how it should be used is tested as never before. Jedi kill with no weapons apparent, have they fallen? Jedi decide revenge is the first order of business, whether the dark side waits is of no interest. And even the most passive of Jedi are forced to take steps that were previously felt to be unthinkable. And at page 609 the result is...................well, great, and unknown. If there has been a Star Wars book that has had more key players all hanging from cliffs, and others that appear to have fallen, I do not recall the book. Candidly, I don't know if there is a book that, "Star By Star", does not match in quality at the very least, or possibly surpass a reader's previous favorite. "Dark Journey", will take the next step in this saga. The cast of players will be different, however there is ambiguity enough to wonder just who will be there and who is most certainly gone. Troy Denning has done a spectacular job of relating a massive shift in this galaxy far, far away, and has also included details about characters and events that stretch back to books written over a decade ago, without a misstep.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, did he read the others?
Review: I really enjoyed the book but there were WAY TO MANY inconsistancies with the storyline. In both the paperbacks, a big deal is made of Anakin and Tahari's bond - what bond? What happened to the becoming friendly Yuuzhan Vong outcasts? There are too many possibilities killed off in this story. I can't make head or heels out of where this storyline is going. I have to agree with the review by Handofthrawn.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Approach
Review: Star by Star is a fast paced book. It will keep you on the edge of your seat through out the entire work. However at times it can be a little difficult to follow. Denning jumps around a lot during the text. However a main character was killed off, and this seems outragous. It was one thing for the writers to kill of Chewbacca but it is completly different to kill of this character. In my opinion it completly killed of the book. The events have made a lot of devoted star wars readers turn away from the new series, and I am almost tempted to do the same. The death was completly unneeded and made the book much more somber. If it were not for this part the book would be an excellent addition to the New Jedi Order, however now it just (...). I ask Mr. Denning why? It held no point and upset a lot of devoted readers. Bad Move.
Rating:
Summary: Still in shock
Review: I am saddened and a little depressed at the turn of events in this book. I was looking forward to the next generation of jedi knights taking their place in the galaxy even though I had mixed emotions about the "older" crew not playing such active roles anymore.
After the events of Sept. 11 I cannot help but read this book and compare our own events in this country with the events taking place in this "fictitious" galxay "far, far away." If one rates a book by such things as making one think more about the world in which we live and one can't put the book down (as I couldn't) then even if we don't like the plot or outcomes the book has masterfully captured us. I cannot say how much it disheartens me to read this series - one planet after another destroyed. Major characters gone. I purchase each NJO book and can't bring myself to start reading because I don't know what horrible thing will happen this time. And yet, I do read.
I would caution people who do not know the Star Wars universe (pre-Republic, Old Republic, New Order, New Republic...) that this universe is and has always been undergoing good vs. evil battles. This is not the first time planets have been detroyed or peoples wiped out. But, as Leia said "We will prevail."
Keep reading we have not reached the darkest before the dawn.
Rating: 
Summary: Now what?
Review: All in all, this wasn't a bad book. There was plenty of action, gooy aliens, heroic good guys, and everything a good star wars book should have, right? Wrong. This book is not star wars. Star wars is an adventure where good triumphs over evil, one that leaves the reader (or watcher) with a wonderful feeling of satsifaction when it is all over. This book left a nasty taste in the back of my mouth, and had me depressed for days. Was it well written? Yeah, pretty much. The character development fell short of my standards, and there wasn't anything particularly original about most of the action scenes, but other then that I'd have to say Troy Denning did a good job. good enough, anyway, to meet the standards of most star wars readers. But he has totally abolished the entire mood and essence of star wars with this book. Star by Star is basically Aliens with star wars characters and a less uplifting ending. Because the ending of Star by Star left me crying, and not just because one of my favorite characters had died. But lets talk about that for a second: why, for any other reason then shock value, would whoever runs the EU decide to kill such an important character? It served absolutely no positive purpose in the book, and it's effect on the long term plot of the NJO is tremendous, and completely negative. As far as I'm concerned, they could not possibly have found a worse character to kill. but my biggest problem with this book is that it has dug the characters into a hole they can't possibly climb out of. Unless the Vong are supposed to win in the end, any way they find to make the good guys win will be cheesy and unbelievable. Of course, star wars isn't supposed to be realistic, but too little realism insults our intelligence. At this point, the heroes are just too far gone to be saved. Who wants to see another superweapon come and kill the bad guys? Who wants to see another Jedi go balistic and fall to the dark side? If star wars can't be original, it should at least be uplifting, but it can't even manage that anymore. Even if they good guys do win, who cares when victory came at such a price?
I did not enjoy reading this book. It did not leave me with a sense of satisfaction. The only reason I gave it two stars was because it was moderatly well written, and I reserve one star for books that are so terrible I could have written them better.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME JEDI ACTION!!!
Review: I thought this book was AWESOME. It had a great mixture of Jedi character, fighter pilot action, and Old Hero Leadership. This book is a 'blast from the past'! Come join Luke, Han, Leia-and the new breed of Knights; Jacen, Jaina, Anakin, ect. in an overwhelming battle against the evil of the 'Vong (yes, I know they don;t like being called that, but who cares)! Don't miss this book. If you're stuck on buying ALL the NJO books (buy them!). Don't miss out on this GRAND adventure!!!!!!!!! Also look forward to these forth-coming NJO novels: Dark Journey, by Elaine Cunningham and Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream, by Aaron Allston.
Rating:
Summary: Yuck
Review: Despite my title, I think the book was well written. Troy Denning did a good job. This book has a lot interesting twists and it's never slow paced. After the Vong create a special creature that is bred to destroy the jedi, Luke finally gets it in gear and decides to "take the fight to" the Vong. We get to see a lot more of the older generation(Han, Luke, etc.)than we have for some time.
However, when my favorite character in the whole EU died I was really annoyed. Yes, it is a war, and in wars people die, but when I read a science FICTION book I'm not looking for a big o slap of unhappy realism, especially from Star Wars. The death damages part of what makes Star Wars better than other sci fi series. I still feel depressed. I hope NJO is going somewhere good with this, because otherwise all the death did was anger a lot of people. This is my opinion and I don't care what all those weird people who think the death was a good thing say. It ruined a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Some Great, some bad
Review: Am I the only who noticed that not a single jedi disappeered when they died in this book? I understand that there's a "secret" meaning behind who becomes one with the Force & who just plain old dies (e.g. - Qui Gonn vs. Obi Wan or Yoda), but glaring inconsistencies drive me crazy! Overall, this book really drew me in and while I don't like all the choices made(like a major character's death),that is the writer's choice. I can't wait until Feb., but agree with many others that this series seems stalled out. Please bring back Zahn!!! It was nice to see Lando as the Solos' true friend, but also his regular wheeler-dealer self. Luke, Mara, Han, & Leia,I thought, were well portrayed, and as for all the young Jedi I can accept that they are still maturing, so their personalities would most likely go through some changes (though let's not get carried away!)I'm also looking forward to finding out where the story line with Vergere is going. I am getting tired of Kyp and his childish attitude. There seems to be the impression that he's a "young" Jedi one minute and a Master the next. Which is it? Let's see Vong personality AND our fav Star War storylines.
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