Rating: 
Summary: Surpasses Vector Prime but not by much
Review: I will start out by saying this book was really good and while it was better than Vector Prime it was only marginally so. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed this book very much but it just seemed lacking in some ways. While Stackpole has a good grasp of his characters from his x wing series( not to mention great understanding of the Solo kids) he seems to be lacking when writing about Luke, Leia, and an absent Han. It wasn't horrible I just feel his stronger characters were of the x wings series, which is understandable but star wars fan love their Luke. That said I feel this was a good addition to the new major plot line and is very entertaining. It reads well and that good old star wars universe feeling is always with you even if it is somewhat darkened by the current story. My only real complaint is the book's length which left a lot to be desired. I had read that when Del Rey got the licsense they wanted to focus on longer novels but this one is way off that mark with only 290 something pages. Hopefully the next one will be lengthier and will have more Han. Where was he? That said, this is a good one for star wars fans and should fill that empty void till the next one hits the shelves. Hopefully longer and with Han.
Rating:
Summary: The Force is strong with this one, but not THAT strong
Review: I am happy to say that this book deserves the Star Wars title, and is nicely building upon the New Jedi Order which Salvatore has begun.After reading Salvatore's "Vector Prime", I was VERY excited about the New Jedi Order Series. "Ruin" follows it very well, with an interesting story and fantastic charactisation. It's a very well written SW book, with only a small handful of minor annoyances. I don't know why Han has been reduced to such a non-eventful character. Okay, so he is old, he is not a Jedi, and he is still dwelling on the death of his closest friend -- he plays very little if no part at all, saying lots of things out of character. But that's not too bad, there's plenty of other things going on. Maybe some of us (including myself) have to realise that not every favourite character can have a major hand in everything. I suppose it adds more realism, which I like. A slightly major annoyance is Borsk Fey'lya and that stoopid babbling senate. I think the way the senate acted towards Leia was very silly, I realise that that was the intent, but perhaps taking it a bit too far. Anakin Solo has flourished in this book. Where I always thought Jacen was superior, the events of this book seem to reverse that. Which was quite good. Corran Horn was great! I have to admit that although I have read over half of the Star Wars novels, this is my first Stackpole novel. So i was never really into Corran Horn, until now! The tension forming within Luke's army of Jedi is also quite interesting. I was a little annoyed by the portrayal of the Yhuzzon Vong. In "Vector Prime", Salvatore made them awesome -- a truly mighty mysterious threat, with their own sense of beliefs and honour. Stackpole has them faceless. NONE of the novel is written through the point of view of the Vong, (except for the 3 page long epilogue at the conclusion), which has a mysterious effect, but also annoying. There's no Yammosk, there's no character, there's no name (the others were the Praeorite Vong, who is this mob?). This had me at a loss, as if something of the book was missing. They seem more ruthless than Salvatore's version, however somehow weaker. Anyway I won't complain too much about this aspect as I am guessing it will be addressed in the follow-up - "Ruin". But please, don't get me wrongo, this was a fantastic read, I found it extremely difficult to put the book down between chapters. After reading "Vector Prime" I was slightly disappointed with "Onslaught", but it was still a great read. Looking forward to reading "Ruin"!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Stackpole Strikes Back
Review: Michael Stackpole is a Star Wars veteran and its only proper that he should get in on a pair of the earlies books in a five year long series. Having previously written I, Jedi and starting the wildly popular X-Wing series, Stackpole has Star Wars credentials that few have. The first of his New Jedi Order books is Onslaught, which is the first of the Dark Tide subseries. The story works to show the reader more about the Yuuzhan Vong invaders. What do they want? Who are they? What are they? Why are they more threatening then anyone else? Stackpole begins to answer all of these questions, in Onslaught. First of all, I have to say that this is a fantastic novel. Stackpole outdoes himself big time on this one. I've read through this book at least three times and is without a doubt my favorite New Jedi Order novel, after reading all but the last.
Onslaught spends much of its time talking about Luke and Jacen, and a fair amount talking about Danni Quee, the first witness to Yuuzhan Vong horrors. The book also goes into a little more depth about Mara's illness and how she is feeling because of it. Leia's jealousy of Mara's relationship with Jaina also comes into a little bit of light. This book has so much, battles and debates, character development and you begin to develop strong dislikes for certain characters. The one drawback of this book is that it marks the beginning of the overusage of Corran Horn, who i grew deathly sick of by Balance Point. I highly recommend this book, whether you want to read Vector Prime first or not. This is a great stand alone story; if you liked any of the X-Wing series, you will love Onslaught. This book really got me into the New Jedi Order as Vector Prime wasnt all that gripping. After reading this the first time, I started counting down the days until Ruin came out. Definitely the best New Jedi Order book to date.
Rating:
Summary: Stackpole returns in top form
Review: Stackpole returns in fine form with this book, the first of a New Jedi Order duology. It focuses mainly on the Solo kids, which is fine with me, because one of my guilty pleasures was reading Young Jedi Knights books (I'm 15- Don't laugh, please.) Jaina joins Rogue Squadron and kicks some serious Vong tail, which is very good. Mara and Anakin go to Dantooine, in the hope that Mara will be able to recover and regain her strength, but it is not to be, courtesy of a Yuuzhan Vong ambush. Luke and Jacen go to Belkadan to discover what happened to ExGal 4. Corran and Ganner go to Garqi and find a Vong camp and have a battlt on their hands. Han plays a role of little consequence in here, but never fear, Han gets his time in the Agents of Chaos duology by Sci-Fi master James Luceno. This leaves a number of interesting stories to follow up on, including Jacen's interest in Danni Quee, Luke and Kyp's disagreement over Jedi philosophy, and Anakin and Jacen's constant battling over the best way to learn the Force. Star Wars is getting darker; there are no happy-go-lucky invincible heroes, as Chewie's death proved. All the characters seem so mortal, and the book is all the better for it. There is no end in sight; let's just hope that the upcoming NJO books are as good as this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Narrative hurts the novel
Review: The New Jedi Order series begins the new era of Star Wars with new characters, new enemies, and new plot lines. Unfortunately, the narrative of the Dark Tide books does not help a reader imagine what is happening because it was not properly described. Michael A. Stackpole chronically denies the reader any descriptive detail on what Yuuzhan Vong ships and weapons look like. He also denies detailed background on any major Yuuzhan Vong characters. It is as if he didn't fully understand the enemy he was writing about. He just plainly stated the name of the object or character and moved on with the story. This effect for a novel does help keep the story moving at a quick pace, but the lack of detail and description harmed the overall narrative. It prevented the reader from wanting to care about characters and situations. The author simply went through the motions so that the reader could move onto the next book. For this reason the Dark Tide books are very disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a Stackpole fan
Review: In this book the Yuuzhan Vong don`t have much dialog and Nom Anor is not heard from which is annoying since Vector Prime had him and Yoman Carr on every page. Action galore in this installment, but a few things that bugged the hell out of me. Mara Jade: I`m guessing we`ll find out more about her illness which I certainly hope is the case because I`m tired of reading about HER being tired and withdrawn. Stackpole: What is this guy`s strange fascination with "shoulders"? I started to notice it on page 104 because it seemed to happen frequently with the characters ("...she placed her hand on his shoulders"/".....walking over and sqeezing his shoulder")and ofcourse I couldn`t really get into the book because I`m waiting for the shoulder scene which happens all too much (page 104,118,130,164,196,225,246,274 and 282). I`d like to continue reading the other books in the NJO series but it`ll be difficult considering this book was a tough read and "I, Jedi" was one of the most boring books I ever read.
Rating:
Summary: The Yuuzhan Vong Tide Just Keeps Rolling
Review: Dark Tide I: Onslaught, is the second book in the New Jedi Order series of Star Wars books. While Vector Prime was almost a non-stop action-fest, Stackpole chooses to examine the characters a little more closely. It's a good choice because Stackpole does such a wonderful job of it. Both books are good, just different. It's a good sign for the series, too, as too much of the same thing would get boring really fast. This novel is packed full and it's only 290 pages, yet it doesn't really feel like it's too much. Stackpole does a good job of juggling various storylines, though it does get easier when most of them come together. It does help that this is mostly a character novel, though, as he's able to get into the heads of the various characters and discover what makes them tick and how they all react to this new threat. One way he's able to jam so much into this is because he completely ignores the Vong side of things until the very last chapter, which leads into the next book. In Vector Prime, a large part of the story was told from the Vong point of view, as we learned more about their culture and society. This time, though, we only see the Vong through the eyes of the main characters. This is actually quite effective, as it turns them into an almost unstoppable force that we don't understand, the "dark tide" of the title. The various investigations that the main characters are on provide them with insights to the Vong, and we follow along for the ride. The Vong seem unusually cruel in this one, seemingly creating pain for pain's sake in their prisoners, torturing slaves when they become useless. Since Stackpole wrote the next book as well, though, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he will explain some of these changes in the Vong. Some of it could boil down to differences in individual Vong, but some of the differences seem almost institutional, and I'd like to know why we didn't see any evidence of it in the first book. The final chapter, told from the Vong point of view, gives me hope that this will happen. There are too many characters in this book to detail how Stackpole does on all of them, but a couple of them stand out. Jaina Solo, Leia's daughter, is an apprentice Jedi Knight but she's also a great pilot. She's trying very hard to get out from Leia's shadow, to be something different than she was. Jaina also is torn because while she thinks that Leia is not fulfilling her full potential by using the Force that runs through her, Jaina is happy that it gives her something that Leia doesn't have. She starts learning that you have to be yourself and to do things not because it's something that her mother hasn't done, but because it's something that would be good for Jaina. When she gets a chance to be part of Rogue Squadron, she jumps at it and feels more alive then when she is being a Jedi. It's interesting to see her growth and I look forward to seeing more of it. The other standout characters is Corran Horn and Ganar. Corran has his beliefs constantly challenged by Ganar as they try to rescue the university students. The interplay between the two is intriguing Stackpole does a good job of showing that it's not just their philosophies that conflict, but their personalities as well. Ganar is arrogant, thinking that because he is powerful in the Force, he's better than anybody else. Corran knows that the Force carries a philosophy behind it that must be embraces as much as the power is. Both characters get to show off their stuff when they discover that the Vong do have a presence on this world and the students are in danger. I like how Stackpole, while occasionally showing Ganar in a bad light, actually has him do some smart things and actually puts Corran in his debt. It makes for interesting, three-dimensional characters that I like to read about. I think Stackpole does a wonderful job with the plot as well. It's not as full of coincidences as Vector Prime was, with only one major one I can think of. It's very tight, with no major holes that I could see. The juggling of stories could have gotten annoying, but Stackpole makes all of the characters interesting enough that you don't mind switching from one story to another. Sometimes the characters speak in annoying "teacher-speak," where the dialogue seems intended to instill a lesson in both another character and the reader, but this didn't annoy me too much. I just rolled my eyes and moved on. I've noticed that this is something that Stackpole does in all of his books, so maybe I've just gotten used to it. While there aren't any major action set-pieces besides the ending, that doesn't mean that there is none. Stackpole gives a nice balance between character philosophy and action, with one never seeming to overshadow the other. He also explains things well enough that you don't need to have read the first book (I hadn't the first time I read this one) to know what is going on. One slight concern I have, with the number of different authors writing for this series, is that certain characters may only appear in books written by their creators. Corran Horn and Gavin Darklighter weren't in the first book, and they appear in Stackpole's. I'm hoping that they don't disappear once different authors take up the story. It's too early to say it's a problem, but it's a concern that I hope will be alleviated with further books. With two hits to start off the series, I'm really looking forward to more of The New Jedi Order. This is just getting good. David Roy
Rating:
Summary: Unfreakinbelieveable
Review: This book was amazing. I love how he continued the new jedi story. This guy is one amazing story teller. After reading this book I was left thinking "wow" It was cool Big Truck
Rating:
Summary: Really gets the series off the ground
Review: R.A. Salvatore's Vector Prime may have been the first book in the NJO series, but it is Stackpole's duology that really gets it off the ground. Stackpole masterfully expands on and fleshes out the various intrigues, characters, and plots introduced in Vector Prime while weaving a fresh series of events that, while they conclude appropriately at the end of the book, lead beautifully into the next one and thus justify the duology. I understand that Stackpole originally wrote a trilogy but was forced to cut an entire book at the last minute. This is a pity, because I certainly could have dealt with a lot more of what I found in the Dark Tide books. Onslaught is a profoundly thoughtful book. The characters are written with intelligence and compassion so that everyone comes off as being dynamic, realistic, and interesting. Readers should relish Stackpole's careful treatment of Jacen Solo, Ganner Rhysode, and Shedao Shai, because this type of characterization disappears for several books following the Dark Tide duology. I particularly appreciated the way the author paired some characters to play off one another--Anakin and Mara, Ganner and Corran--so that they were forced to grow. And though this book diffuses its focus over a wide range of Star Wars characters--from Jedi to politicians to pilots--Jacen Solo is ultimately the star. His constant questioning of the Force and the events that surround him, coupled with his desire to act according to reason and logic despite his natural impulsiveness, make him the interpretive lens through which the reader understands much of what happens in the book, and we are much richer for it. Without Jacen the story would still be a great tale of action and heroism, the reader would not be drawn so deeply into the universe because he would not be forced to think--to really, really think--about what was happening. Moreover, perhaps the only Jedi who can really "think outside of the box," Jacen epitomizes the "New" in New Jedi Order. The simplest way to describe both Jacen's character and Stackpole's elegance as a writer is to say that in this series Jacen is, in many ways, just like Ender Wiggin of the classic and high-literature book Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars, New Jedi Order
Review: This book is in the New Jedi Order series. It is an interesting story. Luke, etc. are still big parts of the stories even though there are younger players in the game now. With these books we also get to see Luke and Mara as a married couple.
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