Rating: Summary: Tahiri and Anakin, intense battle on Yavin Four Review: This book is very incredible. Greg Keyes does a great job showing the friendship between Tahiri and Anakin. A jedi master also dies in this book. The Yuuzhan Vong are shown in greater focus, and we learn of different types of ranks, like the shapers or the Shamed Ones. It didn't look good for Anakin on his quest to find the captured Tahiri on the doomed planet of Yavin Four.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Story and Characterization! Great Read! Review: Conquest is an excellent addition to the New Jedi Order series. Just when it seemed that the books were going to get predictable, Keyes takes the story in a different direction. This story is not as dark as some of the books in this series, most notably Star by Star which is very dark. Keyes captured the well-known characters perfectly. Although I was unfamiliar with many of the younger characters in this book, Keyes does an excellent job introducing them and integrating them into the older, more mature Star Wars books. Some people have complained about the length of the story, while it is shorter than some Star Wars books, but that doesn't detract from the excellent story at all. Some books just keep going, taking forever to get to the point. Conquest does not do this. As for the story focussing more on Anakin, it was really his turn. The first 3 NJO books focused on the Jedi as a whole, while the second 2 focussed on Han Solo. The book directly before conquest focussed on the twins more, so it was really Anakin's time. The casting of the Vong as different castes and in a more sympathetic light was a stroke of genius. The only reason this book has 4 stars instead of 5 is because as good as it is, Rebirth is better.
Rating: Summary: Anakin in the Spotlight Review: This was the second NJO book I'd picked up. The first of course was Vector Prime. While Vector Prime was not a complete success, I thought it was a strong opening for the NJO series, and I was hoping Conquest would be the same. It isn't. I cannot compare Conquest to other NJO books since I haven't read them, but I hope they're better than this. The main problem with the story was that it focused too much on Anakin. This creates several problems. The first is that it means minor plot lines aren't included. In the Star Wars universe, minor plot lines are very important. The issues concerning Luke and Talon Karrde could have been greatly expanded upon. Secondly, Anakin's adventures just weren't interesting enough to keep my attention for several chapters at a time. Furthermore, by distancing Anakin from the adult heroes of the Star Wars galaxy, the story is reduced to another Young Jedi Knights Adventure. While I generally enjoyed the stories from that series, they tended to paint the Solo kids as adolescents running around with lightsabers, and as such reduced the intensity of the threats directed towards them. In Vector Prime, we saw Anakin intereact with Luke and especially his father Han on a mature basis, and it developed Anakin's character. By keeping Anakin's involvement with the older generation to a minimum and maximizing his interactions with kids, Anakin fails to instill the maturity a 17-year old should have. My biggest disappointment however, was that fact that after I finished reading Conquest, I had no desire to read Rebirth, even though I had the book sitting on my shelf. To the book's credit though, the Vong are depicted in a much deeper fashion. Anakin teams up with an outcast, and we find out what make the Vong tick and a lot about their honor. Keyes writing style is commendable, but for the most part it has the simplicity of the Young Jedi Knights series. The parts where his true writing skills were visible were the scenes including Luke, Karrde, and cruelty of the Vong shapers, leading one to conclude that Keyes might have been better off writing a story based on the adult characters. Conquest is a fair read, and if you like Anakin Solo, by all means pick it up. However the book failed to get me excited about reading the sequel, and this singular story does not seem to carry any lasting impact on the NJO timeline.
Rating: Summary: Greg Keyes saves the New Jedi Order series Review: After reading the previous books in the New Jedi order series, i have been disappointed, particularly with Luceno's "Jedi Eclipse" and and Tyers' "Balance Point". Edge Of Victory I: Conquest, however, has finally brought EXCITEMENT back to Star Wars novels.The greatest aspect of this book, without giving too much of the story away, is that the Yuuzhan Vong are finally depicted as a people who not all share the same beliefs, and that not all of them believe in the Yuuzhan gods. This makes the entire New Jedi Order series so much more realsitic now! There are also one or two surprises concerning the Force, which actually had my heart thumping hard while reading. We get new insights into Anakin Solo, which are also very interesting, seems like he will have a MAJOR role in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong in the forthcoming books. I found it difficult to put this book down, whereas previous books in the series by James Luceno and Kathy Tyers where a bit of a boring slog. "Conquest" mixes both action and ehtical Force issues perfectly, unlike Jacen's fumblings in "Balance Point". It is also a reminder of Kevin J Anderson's Young Jedi Knights series, although much better. The characterisation of Anakin is slightly different to what we have seen of him before, however it is definitely the same Anakin, and he has quite a strong character. He is growing up, but not in the confusing way that Jacen is. Just when I thought the New Jedi Order series was dying, Greg Keyes has produced this beauty. Star Wars fans who are losing your faith in the New Jedi Order, you MUST read this book and renew your faith! I can't wait to read "Edge Of Victory II: Rebirth" !
Rating: Summary: A small great story Review: Conquest is more like a small story concerning on Anakin's odyssey through Yavin 4 to rescue his friend Tahiri from the clutches of the fearsome Yuzzhan Vong, in the way Anakin gets the unexpected help from a Yuzzhan Vong renegade, later he gets a brief glimpse of the answer to the mystery of the Vong devoidness of the force. That's the main plot, through it looked a little simple to me when I first read it (compare it with Jedi Eclipse or Balance Point) I was wrong, for this book also gives another glimpse of the enemy, we get introduced to the Shapers and the Shamed ones castes (BTW: I think the retro gorgon look of the shapers feels weird, not good or bad just weird). Conquest was a light reading with a lot action and adventure and a few unexpected surprises, others who say it's a bad book must keep in mind that this is a paperback story so it's supposed to bridge Balance Point and Star by Star, I liked it a lot this book, I could almost feel the rage of Vua Rappung in the combats and the desperation of Tahiri.
Rating: Summary: star wars new jedi order Review: this and the other new jedi order books are excellent this one tells the story mainly from ankins view.
Rating: Summary: Good Book, Good Twist! Review: What a good book! It was the first Star Wars Book I ever read, so I didn't really know what to expect. I thought it really good. I like how the Jedi came back to life in the Star Wars world. This book was good. I liked the plot, the story, and the way it was told. I say that Greg Keyes wrote a very good book. I recommend it to all. READ IT!!!
Rating: Summary: There was no Conquest Review: Not much happens in Conquest on a galactic scale. There is no "Conquest" by anyone at all really. This book pretty much just follows Anakin as he launches a rescue after the Yuuzhan Vong capture the Jedi Academy. This was much slower that the other 5 books, but after I got used to the pace it was pretty good. Some important interactions begin to take place between Anakin and the Vong and Anakin can almost feel them in the force now. One funny note: I was a bit annoyed at some scenes where the Senate seems content to make deals with the Vong and pretend that they are not bent on capturing the entire galaxy. What I was annoyed about is that I couldn't conceive of anyone being so stupid as to believe the Vong's lies, frankly I couldn't suspend disbelief enough at the fiction of it.
Rating: Summary: Boring but Necessary Review: This book was probably one of the worst Star Wars novels that i have read. The action was very slow and i had a hard time keeping interested in it. This book is necessary to read because it does give you information about the Vong, but it was terrible to read. The other characters are all but forgotten. The only characters that matter are Anakin and Tahiri. These two should really have been kept in the junior jedi knight series. There is very little about the other characters, including Luke and Mara. At a time as critical as this, there really should be more of a plot that involves luke and mara. Anyhow, to finish this up, this book is very slow, but in order to keep reading the series, it really should be read
Rating: Summary: Life to the NJO Series Review: This book simply brought me a new chance of enjoying the New Jedi Order series of books. I read only 100 pages of NJO: Dark Tide 1.....needless to say, i put it down and never will pick it back up. But then i saw this book on the shelf of my nearby bookstore. I bought it, feeling a tad bit skeptical about what i might be getting into, not having read the past three or so books that came between this one and Dark Tide. So, i let it sit on my shelf for a few weeks, till i found myself looking for a book to read. When i came across this one, i picked it up, and like magic, i enjoyed it. The magic of Star Wars was back, and i have Greg Keyes to thank for that. I finished this book in less than 24 hours, and quicky moved on to the next book, eagerly awaiting what was next in store for the characters. I have heard some people complain about spotlights being on only a few of the more major characters, and not on a more widespread base of charcters. I do not agree with these complaints, because it brought a more basic approach to the reading. It was written in a way that allowed for easy comprehension of what was going on, and who was having their story told. If you enjoy Star Wars books, and you have a liking to some nice, fast paced reading, i reccomend this to you.
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