Rating: 
Summary: the best in the NJO series
Review: i have read all the books in the NJO series and i have to say that STAR BY STAR is, by far, the best yet! The story has all of the emotion found in the Empire Strikes Back x10. I will have to admit that due to it's gritty realism , this story is not at all for kids. There are deaths at almost every turn, annd trimes when the story gets extremely disheartening. But whhat do you expect it is afterall a war, and Troy Denning doesn't sugar coat. He delivers the story in such a way that you feel that this IS ACTUALLY A WAR , not STARWARS WAR where the main players eternally prevail. Despite the deaths of several mainstays,including Anakin Solo, my favorite character, this has still turned out to be one of my favorite stories in all of star wars .. and i am a 24 year old lifelong fan
Rating:
Summary: Anakin was my favorite character too, Kyle a twelve year old
Review: Most of you are sad about Anakin's death and even though I don't like the fact that Anakin died and that I'm still sad about him being killed off I still say this is a good book plenty of action and by the way I'v read traitor and I find it realy hard to believe that Jacen might be the most powerful of the jedi. if people think that Anakin is going to block the glory of young Ben Jade Skywalker then your wrong, by the time time Ben is a Jedi Knight Anakin would be a Jedi Master and probably asecondary character by the time Ben gets his own glory. Any way I loved the reptilian Barabel Jedi that were in the story not because they were funny because they were cool, cooler than Jacen(of course) It doesn't help the story any that Anakin died other than give some spotlight to Jacen.Good book,I finished it in three days, get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Crushed
Review: I was crushed after reading this book. My favorite character died and I thought he was going to be the one who saved the galaxy from the Vong. This was not to be and I guess we have to see what happens from here. Maybe there will be some sort of crazy resurection they can do like the emperor did with his clones. The book was great except for the fact that the most intriguing character in the NJO was killed off. Denning did a great job although the body count was extremely high. This book was not a good book to read around the holidays.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but...
Review: The novel is well written and suspensful, but why are all the most talented young Jedi send on a suicide mission? I'd rather see Luke and his wife die and stop getting on my nerves.
I will not forgive Denning for practically ignoring the relationship that has been developing between Anakin and Tahiri. It was something I've been looking forward to since Rebirth...
Rating:
Summary: The Empire Strikes Back of the NJO
Review: Don't let the title of my review fool you. I'm not saying 'Star by Star' is as good as the 'Empire Strikes Back'(TESB). However, Troy Denning's 'Star by Star' has an ending that feels the same as TESB. 'Star by Star' could be described as the darkest hour for the New Republic, much the same way TESB was the darkest moment for the Rebellion in the original movie trilogy.The basic story of 'Star by Star' is the continuation of the Yuzhaan Vong conquest of the galaxy dominated by the New Republic. The Vong continue to press towards the Core, capturing planets and stars along the way. In the meantime, Luke Skywalker and the Jedi have set up a secret base to conduct their own missions from as the New Republic has shunned them and the Vong are trying to exterminate them. A threat to the Jedi, in the form a Jedi hunting creature crafted by the Vong Shaper's, is discovered, and Luke's nephew, Anakin Solo, leads a mission into Vong space to destroy the queen. I found the quality of Denning's writing to be a bit inconsistent in 'Star by Star'. The last 150 pages of this monster are well paced, and full of action including the battle of Coruscant (both in space and on the surface), and the hunt for the Voxyn Queen in a Yuzhaan Vong Worldship. I got much the same feeling as I did watching the escape from Cloud City in TESB. However, in earlier chapters, it often takes a couple of paragraphs to catch up to what Denning is trying to say. Some of his action scenes can bog down a bit. I did find 'Star by Star' to be rather creative. Denning develops some new force techniques for the various Jedi X-Wing squadrons. Most of them are consistent with what we have come to expect the Jedi to be capable of. This was one of the most pleasing aspects of the book. There is also some technology advancements for the New Republic, such as upgrades for the X-Wings, that help the war from becoming stagnant. Denning also introduces a new brand of droid: the Yuzhaan Vong Hunters. These droids are designed to detect and destroy the Vong. Denning wrote them very well. My only other complaint is that at times, I felt Denning's style lost the spirit of the Star Wars saga. There is a particularly vicious torture scene for instance. If you have read some other reviews, then you probably already know that a couple of major characters don't survive this novel either. At times, I found this novel frustrating to read, but I felt the story, and especially the conclusion, to be statisfying overall. I'd recommend this to any Star Wars fan, especially those interested in the New Jedi Order, although I would recomment the previous eight novels be read first from this series. Other science fiction fans would most definitely want to catch up on other Star Wars novels first.
Rating:
Summary: What a great book!
Review: I have read a lot of series-type books and novels, not to mention countless comic books. I greatly enjoy long-arcing storylines. But, what usually disappoints me in the end with these books is that the main character always survives or comes back from the dead. In all the other Star Wars books, Luke, Leia, Han, their children, R2D2, C3PO, etc., always win out. The Empire is pushed to surrender by the Thrawn Duology. The Hutts are chased back to their planet. The New Republic thrives. This is very similar to other series. You knew Superman would come back from the dead, Wolverine always comes back from the dead, and other character who supposedly died never really did. I say all this to tell you why I like NJO. Characters die. They don't come back. One of the themes is that the Solo "luck" might have run out and that the good guys don't always win. Chewie is gone. That wasn't a huge deal since he has always been a sidekick character. But Anakin? Wow. I was blown away. It makes me get into the books more because I am never sure of the outcome. Who wants to always read books where Luke always, I mean always, saves the day? That's fun for 2 or 3 books, but it was getting old. Plus, you throw in that Coruscant, center of the the New Republic, gets taken? Borsk becomes a martyr and a hero? That makes a great series. My main question to the complainers is this: What would you rather have happened? Have a massive storyline where the writers bring in these savage aliens to conquer the galaxy where planets are crushed, fleets are destroyed and millions or billions of people and aliens die but not one main character goes down? Have Han, Leia, Luke, Mara, the children, Wedge, etc. be the heroes of the battles and never have a chance to die? To me, Anakin dying is a stroke of genius. War kills young people and the New Republic is at war. It gives the sci-fi series some reality. Summing up, Star by Star is a great book. After reading the next 3 and just finishing Traitor, Star by Star is even better b/c of how the authors followed up on Anakin's death. Read it and love it.
Rating:
Summary: The book gives a new word to destructive power.
Review: This Book, it took me two weeks to read, and I held out on getting to the 43rd chapter. But it seems to be the obvious turning point in the series although I Do not agree with the motive of the Authors on killing half the Expanded Universe Cast and some of the old cast to the Movies. The book is good, brining the cast from the Young Jedi Knight series,from my favorite wife and husband duo Anderson and Moesta. I looked forward to reading onto the Dark Journey and many more. As far Vergere..what can i say about the birdie, shes sneaky I am expecting much from that character as far as turning points go and look forward to a weird history coming in a upcoming trilogy. Anakin and the other Solo's could have learned so much from each other now they are split, on all sides. And the only hope is for the eremaining come together for one final trial like many they hadve faced thus far. If none of this makes sense i suggesyt you read the book, the book shows the ups and downs of being a jedi Knight more so then the previous NJO series books. The Death count is also bigger so if you have a real heart connected to any characters beware,, it'll become worse as you read this book. Till the end the.
Rating: 
Summary: Star by Star - Troy Denning
Review: I hate it when my favourite caracter dies. So I dont want to
no anything more about the book. I think it will be the last
New Jedi order book that I will Read. I am a Star Wars fanatic
but I am realy disappointed in the way the story line is going.
I realy hope someone can give me a good reason to go on reading
them
Star Wars Fanatic
Nicci
Rating:
Summary: killing of the next gen......
Review: I of coarse was very angry when a main charactor was killed off in this well written book. It was indeed interesting to see how much it affected me, and is a tribute to the previous few books at how well they charactorized this charactor. One thing that was VERY vexing however was the fact that there were many, MANY interesting charactors who we were just introduced to who also died. Interesting, young love stories stopped, small sidenotes just dropped off mid stride and so on and so fourth. I believe these moves to kill off many of the young jedi knights hurt the series a lot. And so far, looking back on it, the series has never been as interesting as it was before this great charactor died. The following books do NOT bring fourth another to fill that created void. In fact, i wish they would just kill the next antagonist, and pick yet another one.
Rating:
Summary: great book horrible death!!
Review: this is by far the the best in the NJO series since the first and it is also the most epic of all the books so far but the one problem with this book is the fact that wether or not they meant to do it ... when it comes to the character that dies. what was the intention when they came up with that dumb idea. alot of other hardcore star wars fans i ve met are mad at the series and have lost interest in them completly because of the beloved characters that keep dying. i really wish lucas would have told them to stop messing up the universe he began.some people try to make excuses for the people who made this dicision ... what is the point of having a main character for the previous couple books when your going to have him killed. shock. lets hope they had a better reason then that for killing two of star wars most beloved characters. this book was great aside from that detail. just dont think of it as star wars, because everything kind of falls apart and that could really make the everyday fan mad. lets just hope nothing happens to luke, jacen or corran and maby they can save this series that only gets worse despite this book. i dont see how they'll get fans back but maybe they can keep from losing more.
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