Rating: 
Summary: Best Yet
Review: I thought this book was extremely well written and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The characters are well developed and easy to follow. I felt like I was right there with them. It was the best yet! I can't wait for the next one, "Dark Journey".
Rating:
Summary: Best book of the series.
Review: Well, this is the 9th book of the NJO series, and things are not getting any better for the Good Guys.If you care one wit for the plights of the characters involved, and this book makes you angry and sad...then Troy Denning did his job. He did his job very well.
Rating: 
Summary: WHAT IN THE HECK IS THIS!??!!!
Review: I am an old fan of Star Wars, but I think it's name is being thought of as bad when people read this book. Dark, gloomy, and killing of the characters I have come to know and love. I am thoroughly dissappointed in this book, and that's all I have to say.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best
Review: All I can say is that Star by Star outshines the other books in an already truly genius series. The book was worth every cent. So are all the other New Jedi Order books. All of the battles are well planned out and the characters well developed. As for major character deaths, all I can say is, to those who are whining about who died and how, the person who died will not be brought back. And think about this before you throw a tantrum: in case you didnt realize, the New Republic is at WAR with the Vong! People die in wars! How can you complain about someone DYING in a WAR? Especially a war to preserve the freedom way of life of an entire galaxy! Another thing you should know...the series is called STAR WARS! WARS WARS WARS! A war is a violent conflict between two or more groups of people. Violence means people die. No one is untouchable. Keep that in mind before you criticize a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Quite simply the best epic SW novel yet!
Review: According to fellow NJO author R.A. Salvatore, one of Troy Denning's strengths is that he "can tell a BIG story, keeping control of all the side details, as well as anyone." And he's right. Star by Star is one of the three biggest SW novels ever, perhaps THE biggest, and it is also, quite simply, the best. Star by Star, marking the beginning of the third year of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, is an important novel in the New Jedi Order arc in that it's the centerpiece of the series. This book doesn't center on any one character, but instead gives all the main characters (The movie characters, Mara, the Solo twins) approximately equal time. He gets all the characters in character, except for one, but more on that later. Before I continue this review, I think that something needs to be cleared up. Yes, there is a major death in this book. Yes, it is sad. What people don't seem to understand, though, is that Denning didn't arbitrarily decide to kill this character, any more than Salvatore arbitrarily decided to kill Chewbacca. The New Jedi Order series is something new in Star Wars literature - a story arc. The major plot points are planned and decided, by a committee of authors and editors, well in advance of the writing of the individual novels. The reason this character was so built up in previous books was so that, like the death or hate it, the audience would care, would feel the impact. The death was not randomly thrown in as "shock value" or to piss off the fans. They are trying to show that this is war, and in war, people die, especially those who undertake suicidal missions. I applaud the NJO creative team for not shying away from such a move. As to the characters and situations, I was very pleasantly surprised. Both sides of the conflict showed remarkable innovation in tactics and technology that had been, for the most part, sadly lacking in many of the previous books. The political scenes were some of the strongest I have read in a Star Wars novel - in fact, Borsk's first scene in this book is one of my new favorites. For the first time, and perhaps the last time, we actually get inside Borsk's head - and you might actually like what you find there. Unfortunately, he is the one character who was slightly out of character, but I loved him all the more for it. Lando, who's been neglected in the New Jedi Order series, is back in best form, as is the enigmatic but interesting Vergere, Danni Quee, Ganner, and many other old faces. The Yuuzhan Vong characters are getting better fleshed out then ever - I even found myself feeling for Tsavong Lah at times. The Jedi enter the fray with some finality, and the space battles were on a magnitude never before seen in Star Wars...simply amazing. Despite all that this novel has going for it, there are a few flaws. The Voxyn, the new Yuuzhan Vong creations, were obviously more than a little influenced by the Aliens from the film of the same name, and several scenes from the book felt right out of that film. However, to balance that out with have the YVH droids...but enough on that. All I can say is...READ THE BOOK. And don't lose heart...I know it's dark, but this is only the middle of this saga of the New Jedi Order. Great job Troy!
Rating: 
Summary: WHY ???
Review: Why ? There must be a reason. Killing one of the emerging stars of the series. Chewbacca was tough to get over, but this ??? The book starts off great, there seems to be hope for the Jedi and the New Republic. Luke is acting like the Jedi Master we have been waiting for. Looks like the Vong could be in for trouble. And then it happens. It was tough to finish the book. Is there hope that he will be brought back. Did the bird creature Vergere do something that will allow this. Dark Journey hopefully will have some answers.
Rating:
Summary: More Gloom
Review: This whole series has been depressing and this book tops all of the rest. The poor Solo family, when are they going to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? Hopefully soon or else I'll not be around to see it because I'm just about fed up with all this gloom. Otherwise this is a very well written book full of both emotion and action. I literally cried in some places and continued to feel depress even after I finished reading the book. Some of the plots didn't make much sense but I think that's the fault of the NJO series and not the author. When this is all over I think that Han and Leia deserve a long vacation with plenty of rest.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad at all.
Review: The Yuuzhan Vong have 'shaped' a creature that can hunt down and kill Jedi. In a desprerate attempt to stop the creatures, all cloned from a single 'queen,' Anakin Solo assembles a Jedi strike team including his two siblings, to be captured and brought behind enemy lines where they will overtake the ship, fly to the cloning facility, and destroy the 'queen' to stop the production of the Jedi Hunters. One of the most powerful and imaginative Star Wars books ever written. Full of heart-wrenching plot twist, betrayal, and the ever present seduction from the Dark Side of the Force, this book is not written in the traditional Star Wars style where no matter how hard it seems, the good guys come out unscathed. A startlingly realistic and half sad portrayal of the small strike team having to work together to stay alive while stranded on a Vong Worldship, and save each other from themselves as well as the hundreds of enemies nipping at their heels for the entire book. One of the first times a New Jedi Order author has gotten dialogue correct with the favorite characters which makes it very exciting and easy to get into. However, some of the characters are portrayed a little off. For instance in every battle, Luke and Mara are in X-Wings fighting in the air, rather than on the ground coordinating like they usually do. And Corran Horn, THE X-Wing pilot stays out of the air battles to coodinate the battles from the ground or a nearby capital ship. Other than that, though, the book is very well written, interesting, action packed, and as I said full of heart-wrenching plot twist that make it one of the sadder, but still entertaining Star Wars books ever.
Rating:
Summary: They told me to tell you (the reader) what I think.
Review: HERE'S WHAT I THINK!!! I think Troy Denning should have his Star Wars novel-making card REVOKED!!!!! There are certain rules they should all follow, and he breaks them without second thought!!! This book really annoyed me. Follow my advise and don't spend another dime on it!!
Rating:
Summary: WHY?
Review: I totally agree with all the others, even the ones who have given
1 stars. The plot is awesome and goes well until THAT moment! All I can say is WHY. Jeez... I cried, still feel like crying and I'm still depressed after reading it. I barely got through the rest of the book. I usually enjoy rereading NJO books, but this one... It breaks my heart. What are you going to do? What can possibly be done when you've slashed so many good characters that carried the hope of the storyline? I'm sad and angry that you've done this. Ex-Reference Librarian from occupied Obroa-Skai
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