Rating: 
Summary: Start of New Story Arce or Just a Stupid Move
Review: Now don't let the title fool you I think this book was very good and helped to move along the series storyline and move it out of it's contiuous rut. The one thing that really got me about this book though was the one character they killed. Now whoever thought up this idea was and idiot unless they plan on bringing him/her back (the whole covered in goop thing makes me wonder) because if they don't they will kill the series. This character was starting to lead everything, was developing well, and was one of the main reasons why I kept on reading this series. So if they don't bring him/her back it will be a really stupid mistake, these reasons are why I gave this book a three.
Rating:
Summary: Good novel by itself, bad novel in the series
Review: Star by star will earn itself a 5 star if it's a standalone starwars book; but within the New Jedi Order series, it has serious flaws. Troy Denning developed an exciting storyline, unfortunately, it seems like he didn't read the New Jedi Order series himself and think about what should go on. The killing of a major character is very sad. When will he understand that he can't just kill off major characters created and developed by others randomly. It's very unresponsible. I really wish the character will be brought back to life in a later book; even if the re-birth seems unrealastic, still better than having such an important link broke.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Flaw in New Jedi Order
Review: This book was one of the best Star Wars books I have read in a while. The book, even though it is 606 pages, goes by fast. Unfortunetly, it suffers the same problem seen earlier in the series. If any Star Wars editor or author reads this, please, stop killing off the major characters. I am sick of it. This book would have been the best star Wars book ever written if not for the death of a major character. The death of chewie was bad enough but when will it end? Will the Star Wars series just end with the destruction of all the main characters and the death of the galaxy as we have seen? I think that there is still a way for the writters to....revive chewie and this new casualty before the end and in doing so, save this series. Thanks for reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Plot Development
Review: Without a doubt Star by Star is the definitive work in NJO to date. Excellent characterization that easily pulled the reader into the lives of the characters. Having stayed away from all the reviews until having completed the book, I was shocked at the death of one major character. Part of me wishes him to be brought back but another side says that for the good of the story and future of the SW universe, he must remain dead.This book was fast paced and handled more action than most of the NJO books combined. The way Denning handled the main plot and the sub-plots was nothing short of masterful. This reader is eagerly awaiting for the next book in the NJO saga.
Rating: 
Summary: The usual...
Review: The good thing about this book is that it killed off one of the brats. The bad thing is that it didn't kill all of them. You feel nothing regarding the death because the character in question was composed of the sheerest cardboard anyway. Otherwise, the same old NJO. Infantile style, dumb plotting, stupid biotech. This is the type of thing a 12-year-old thinks is deeply profound. DelRey takes cluelessness to new heights. Like one of the previous posters, I find my interest in SW waning, both movies and books. It ain't never gonna get better, friends. Oh well, there are other franchises, right?
Rating:
Summary: Star by Star Results in a Book by Book "Second Last Chance!"
Review: From A Derlict on Daggobah, Who is Realllly Tired of the Vong!,
I've been a SW fan since New Hope first came out, the movies, all books and an avid follower of the philosophy of 'there is no Try. . . Do or Do Not!' I agree with a fellow critic in many of the points raised about the latest in the NJO series. Finally an installment with some meat! Good plot and a more thorough character development style with few exceptions. The insertion of a couple 'Dark Jedi' and the end result was, IMHO, a waste of paper. It really appeared like, Umm Ahhh, OK Let's throw in a couple 'non-characters' from left field just for the heck of it. Also, the continued self rebukes for using what is necessary to accomplish the goals got a bit tiring. Why do they think Lando warned them that they'd do things 'unpleasant?' Duh! How ironic that the conflicts resulting in such a tragic loss to the New Republic so closely parallels our recent 'Sabotage,' the disarray in the UN and our own Congressional 'Back Biters' and a current government with an emperior who also has NO Clothes, thanks to both of their foot dragging non-united governing bodies! A chilling forboding of things to come??- - That being said, I didn't put it down and finished it in only 4 sittings. - - However, I must say that I have had this series on 'Probation' ever since they killed off Chewie, (I'm still expecting them to find him stranded someplace!!) and the latest loss of a Solo sibling has pushed them to the brink of total exile from my personal library. This is the 'Second Last Chance' this series gets from me.- - Continually killing off lead elements, in this ongoing saga, will not garner them a Congressional Medal of Honor in my book!
Rating: 
Summary: One of the better books in a very mediocre series
Review: The New Jedi Order has been a vast disappointment since its kickoff installment, the highly disappointing and amateurish "Vector Prime." The series has continued to delve deeper into mediocrity, with only the second hardcover, "Balance Point," showing any soul or thematic resonance. At over 600 pages, "Star by Star" finally demonstrates that perhaps the DelRey editorial team realizes that they have readers with attention spans above a fifth grade level. And Troy Denning tries very hard to reward those readers with a story that is well written from a technical view. Unfortunately, what he can't cover up is that this is a soulless, designed to extort the maximum dollar from gullible fans series. Anyone hoping for a deeper look into the spiritual, philosophical side of Star Wars as the heroes face situations that tax their souls and beliefs will still have to look elsewhere. And anyone looking for the cheerful, Saturday morning serial exurbance of the original films would be best advised to stay far, far away from the NJO, with its boogeyman villians and slasher film gore. The NJO is the equivalent of a typical Hollywood blockbluster: designed by committee so that all originality has been leached out; substituting two-dimesional stereotypes for three-dimensional, flesh and blood characters; equivalenting violence for violence's sake with "realism;" ignoring true emotion in favor of calculated stunt events. And unfortunately, "Star by Star" is the poster child for the worst excesses of this series's tendency to pander. Not to mention that yet once more, plot holes the size of which the Errant Venture could sail through with ease pop up. When will we ever see a character in the NJO think logically for once? After reading "Star by Star" at a bookstore, I can firmly say that I am sincerely glad to save the (dollar amount). If you are a Star Wars completist who just can't live without spending money on whatever is put out, then have at it. But if you require a little more thought, a little more resonance, a little more real emotion instead of manufactured, follow-the-dot plot events with characters acting stupid - or if you just want to have some fun while reading - spend the money on something else.
Rating:
Summary: Garbage! I just might be done with NJO!!
Review: Alright, let me set the record straight. I've loved the NJO
series up to this point, but frankly I can't take the gloom and
doom any more. Without giving away any of the deeply depressing plot, the basic
things you will find in Star By Star is a combination of severe
disaster. The Vong are not only invincible again, but any weaknesses revealed in Edge of Victory are almost completely ignored. The rift between major characters gets worse and worse.
And, the final insult, one of the best personalities of the whole series dies in probably the most hopeless and frustrating way possible! From my point of view, Troy Denning has sounded the death-nell
to the NJO series, and possibly the entire Star Wars Expanded
Universe! It's a shame! It was a great series. Now, there is
hardly anything left to salvage out of the gutted remains of Lucus' decimated "galaxy far far away" to write about now.
Where can they possibly go from here? Mass Jedi suicides!? Might at well just forget it and let the Vong win, they already have for all intents and purposes. Well, this is one reader who's sick of it! And until the NJO authors stop the "endless wave of tradegy" garbage, I'm not going to waste another dime on their novels. And unless you enjoy hopeless defeat, one-sided plot, nearly omni-present villans, and useless and frustrating deaths of great characters, then I suggest you not only avoid this book but
all those that come after it.
Rating:
Summary: The best written yet!!
Review: First of all, I will state right now, free and clear that I possitively hated the choice of which character to kill (if you've read the book, you know who I mean, but if you haven't, I'm not about to spoil it for you). However, as you can tell from my rating, I also refuse to let that color my opinion of the entire book, which was excellent besides that certain event. I certainly don't blame the author, as it was not his decision to make anyway. Besides that, what basically happens is that the Vong have released a new weapon called Voxyn, breeded from vornskyrs, and some other weird Vong plague stuff, to create a bio-super weapon, capable of hunting down and destroying the Jedi, one by one, since, weak as they are they still remain the galaxy's best hope for winning the war. And then Jedi begin to fall. If you've read Junior and Young Jedi Knights, some of the names of those killed may be familier. Anakin Solo comes up with a sickeningly dangerous plan, involving sending a strike team to the heart of Vong occupied space, to destroy the Queen Voxyn, from which all the others are cloned. Luke sees no other way to stop his Knights from being killed, so he reluctantly sends Anakin, Tahiri, Jacen, Jaina, Tenel Ka, Lowie, Zekk, and about ten others on this mission, and almost instantly things begin to go wrong. People die, tensions rise, childhood friendships are strained to the breaking point. Meanwhile, Kyp finally decides to stop being a baby and returns with his squadron to the rest of the Jedi, telling Luke that he is ready to follow orders, which is good, because the Vong choose this moment to attack Coruscant, the very heart of New Republic government... I'll say right here, that some of the events in this book seem to disturbingly echo things that are going on in real life right now, and if this will bother you, I strongly suggest you don't read it. I was quite pleased to see Luke and Mara fighting together again, and one can see their relationship continue to grow. As does Han and Leia's, if you Solo fans would stop whining and comparing them to Luke and Mara long enough to open your eyes and notice things like that. That being beside the point, I definitely feel that Luke and Mara deserve some extra attention in this department, being that they are the ones just starting their family right now. Anyway, as for the Solo children and their relationships, I was quite pleased to see Jacen and Tenel Ka hitting it off again; always figured she was the one for him, rather than that silly Danni Quee. Whether both of them will survive the next couple of books though is another question, and one I'm not sure I want to know the answer to. As for Jaina, I wish she would stop brushing Zekk off. I always felt he was her soulmate, and if she doesn't end up with him than I fear she may be destined to wind up with Jag "cold-fish" Fel, or even worse, Kyp "the purvert" "if you don't give me orders I want to follow, than I'll either leave, or do them my own way anyway" Durron. Anyway, moving back to the character death, (nope, still not gonna tell!) he died like the true hero he was, and while the decision to kill him, of all people at this time seems odd to me, I trust Del Rey to have had a reason that will be disclosed in the next couple of books. The scene itself was heartbreaking, and far more emotional even then Chewbacca's death scene in Vector Prime. It takes a lot for a book to make me truly emotional, and yet it was so well done, and so utterly...unfair that I wept through the intire chapter. As you can probably tell, it hits extremely hard, particulerly if you have a sibling. A word to the wise: if Vector Prime upset you, do not even think about reading this one. One reviewer suggested that perhaps this character was put to rest because Luke now has his own son, and to keep ______ alive blocked the potential glory of this child. While this is an interesting proposition, it sickens me to think that ______ died for no other reason than that Del Rey and George Lucas were too lazy to create places for both of them, and also, if some of you will recall, Luke's son Ben is only four months old, and that by the series end he will be about two and a half by my calculations, so unless they decide to extend it for another ten years, I sincerely doubt that Ben's place in the story will expand to include anything other than what he has already done; dirty his diapers, cry at innupertune moments, dirty his diapers some more, cry some more, need to be fed constantly. Anyway, this book was great, if you can handle the death of a beloved character. The writing is superb, character developments flawless, and the book, while being extremely dark, manages to have a few light moments as well. Recommended to Star Wars fans who are fourteen up to adults. Not for younger kids.
Rating:
Summary: Good Twists and Shocking End!!
Review: Well i finished reading this book in two days and i was pretty shocked and glued to each page. Troy Denning does a good job in this novel. Not too much slow pace as i have seen in the previous books. Its good to see the nonstop action in each chapter. It was nice to see other jedi as well bringing in some of the other characters from other star wars novels like Wraith squadron, Wedge, Garm Ben Ilbis and Corran Horran brought back. It was one of the better novels in the new jedi order series. The author kept me interested throughout the book.
As i have just seen in some of the other reviews, I too am very disappointed in a shocking development in the storyline with one of the main characters. Its a shame not to see that character develop but i hope I will be later surpised by some miracle of saving that character into the next novel. There's enough death of many characters in this book which i didn't even know but i would have loved to gotten to know more about them in later novels. Vergere is going to be an important character i bet in the next jedi order series novel. I just finished reading thru the Rogue planet novel and i think we will all be surprised in the next book. There was no need to surprise the star wars public for another twist as seen in this novel. Chewbacca was good enough as well as the other characters that have died in the several novels afterwards such as Wurth Skidder, Miko Regla, Senator A'kla, and the ones (jedi) in this Star by Star novel. I am angry, sad and wondering why more. Good read and exciting. I had to read twice to see what else i may missed and i think there is more to the main twist, the fall of the Republic, vergere, planet Senakot, and Jacen's stupid battle within himself.
I hope this helps some of you in choosing this book. Its worth the reading. Enjoy!!
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