Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful book!
Review: This is my favorite of all the Star Wars books, because it features prominently my two favorite characters, Luke and Callista. Unlike most of the other Star Wars books, whose main focus is on the action and intrigue, Children of the Jedi is at its heart, a love story between Luke and the Jedi spirit he meets on a mission. Their story was very touching, and I was really disappointed to find that subsequent books had chosen not to go further with this relationship. I wish they had found a way to keep Callista and Luke together. It would have been interesting to have a Jedi knight who may not have awareness of the force anymore, but could still be a Jedi. I'm not sure why so many people hated the book, although I do acknowledge that its style is definitely not your "typical" Star Wars novel. Still, it is beautifully written, and I encourage those on the fence about reading it to go ahead and read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Enh...
Review: I wont go into a whole lot of detail about the actual plot of the novel--that's been done enough in these reviews, I think. My thoughts on the book, though: I liked the plot idea (even if the bit about a Death Star prototype bound for the small planet Belsavis is a bit hackneyed), and there were enough twists to keep the reader interested. I also liked how Hambly /tried/ to analyze how past traumas would affect the characters, particularly her focus on Leia's feelings about the destruction of Alderaan. However, I felt like she focused /too/ much on that particular detail, and I also disliked her portrayal of the relationship between Han and Leia. It didn't feel authentic, or something. And then there was the whole Callista-Luke thing...Hambly completely compromised Luke's character with that. Up until that point, her portrayal of Luke was very true to the character set up in the movies and other books, but his interaction with Callista wasn't substantial enough to warrant his obsession with her, and I really lost respect for him as a result. A man who's had to be as principled and self-reliant as he would not fall so deeply in love with so little motivation, even under the considerable stress he underwent. The relationship was underdeveloped, to say the least, and in many ways it was far too cliche for the outlandish circumstances and considerably complexity of Luke's persona, at the least. Finally, Hambly's writing style is a bizarre mix of pretentious-seeming but limited vocabulary (she references a "hirsute skeleton" and uses the word puerile multiple times--if you're going to go to the effort of using "fancy" words, don't use them more than once) as well as similes intended to be funny or witty but that end up being obnoxious. What with the weak romance, the Romantically haunted pasts and the constant, overly-detailed comparisons, by the end I felt like I was reading the script for one of those old black-and-white detective movies--and a poor one at that. Nevertheless, I would say the book is worth reading; despite all of my ragging, it does have its good points. ;)
Rating: 
Summary: Poor book, retread plot, just very little of anything good.
Review: Children of the Jedi, the first book of the Callista Trilogy, has some intriguing qualities to it, but overall this book is too weak, repetative and convoluted to be considered good. I would give it 1.5 stars if possible, but its not so one will have to do. Yet another superweapon comes into being, the super-automated ship, Eye of Palpatine, whose mission to destroy the children of the Jedi on Belsavis was stopped 30 years earlier by a young female Jedi. Someone restarted the ship's programs, and its up to Luke Skywalker, who i accedentaly on board the vessel, to destroy the ship before it reaches the planet Belsavis where Han and Leia are currently vacationing/investigating. The superweapon story just keeps being used over and over again. IT'S OLD GET OVER IT! Luke and 2 student companions are investigating some random coordinates when they are shot down and captured by the Eye, a super-intelligent ship that does everything it possibly can to kill Skywalker and his friends, but can't tell the difference between alien species. Um ok. After an attack/warning by an old smuggler friend, Han Solo and Chief of State of the New Republic Leia Organa Solo (without escorts, bodyguards or anything) travel to Belsavis seeking out the mythical place where the children of the Jedi were hidden. Right, like the Chief of State of a galactic republic can just wander around without a planet's population of guards orbiting her. Um NO! Luke gets hurt making his job that much more difficult, but to comfort him in his time of need the Jedi who originally stopped the Eye reappeares. It seems Callista had jammed her spirit into the Eyes gun system and existed for the last 30 years by herself. Right! Han & Leia fight a former concubine/Emperor's Hand and her son, who has been implanted with a device that allows him to use the Force to control droids. Menwhile, Luke & Callista fall in love, and eventually she is able to enter the vacated body of one of Luke's students and they can live together except Callista has lost her force powers. The Eye is destroyed and they all live happily until the next galactic crisis. The biggest problem with this story is that the plot is too convoluted and confusing, the story makes little sense and the characters are written out of character. There are some good lines, the Dr. Breen line was very funny, but overall this book is very poorly done. It is probably the weakest of the Callista Trilogy, although all three books are among the weakest in the exapanded Star Wars universe.
Rating:
Summary: Not Too Swift
Review: I have read a lot of Star Wars books, and I like almost all of them -- even the mediocre ones. This one is SO terrible that I just forced myself, after reading about half of the book, to skim the rest so that I had the plot down. That way if it is referred to in other Star Wars books, I would know what the author was talking about. Basically, Luke gets trapped on an automated ship that's on a destructive mission for the now-dead Empire, and he can't escape (he's too injured). The entire time, he's in excruciating pain and wandering around this ship. Leia and Han are on a distant planet, looking for clues about some supposedly mythical descendants of Old Republic Jedi. It just goes on and on, and then on and on some more. I really DO NOT recommend this book. If you're interested in Star Wars, PLEASE start reading the X-wing series instead of this :)
Rating:
Summary: What has happened to the Star Wars Galaxy?
Review: OK ladies and gentlemen, where should I start? Here we go. I thought this book would be soooooo much better than it was. Lame and confusing are the best words that I can find to describe it. I absolutely love the books, but I had to pray I didn't fall asleep halfway through the book because of the boring plot and slow developements. And what the hell is with the Eye of Palpatine? It's a DREADNAUGHT!!!! Not a super star destroyer. How can it be so devestating? And whatever happened with the children? Does anyone know? So many things could have been made better, but they just plain weren't!!! All in all, this is probably the most boring book I've read in Star Wars, and I'm up to Vision of the Future.
Rating:
Summary: I'll make this review simple
Review: The writing style is too choppy to be considered a decent narrative. The plot is very weak. The characters are flat, especially Luke's love interest (who isn't even human). It is almost painful to read. The story even contradicts many beliefs of the Star Wars universe. I wouldn't even consider this a Star Wars novel hadn't the major Star Wars players been involved. I do not recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Laughable!
Review: Hambly, although a good writer, should never have been asked to work with the _Star Wars_ novels. Her over descriptive paragraphs seemed to contridict most people's view of vechicles, ships, and people. Her cute termonlogy also seems to screw the books. Place names are a little too closly related to make sense. The main plot is very shallow. A crazed drug addict attacks Han Solo and after figuring "Hey that's not one of Han's old drinking buddies," they figure that he's important to find the children of the Jedi. Children of the Jedi? Since when were Jedi allowed to get married let alone have children in the the Old Republic? Then they explain the children of the Jedi are actually small children training to be Jedi. Couldn't they have called 'em Jedi Children? And I thought Luke Skywalker was having enough trouble with the Jedi Academy. Was he hoping that kids who hadn't been trained since they were like six could help him?
Then we gallop off to the subplot. Luke finds something that sounds like a Mini-Deathstar called the Eye of Palpatine with an Old Republic female Jedi stuck in the central computer system.
That right there had me laughing so hard I couldn't breath.
Callista and Luke manage to fall in love. Luke falls in love with a computer? My God, things in the star wars universe keep getting worse and worse. Maybe I just have something against Luke's girlfriends except Mara Jade. I like Mara and I'm glad Luke married her. And I would have liked to see her in this book. I'm sure she would have had a few interesting theories on the drug addict and a few snide comments to throw at Luke and Callista.
I really would have enjoyed having Callista blown up instead of Clay. But no. . . Callista gets to take over Clay's body.
I'm sorry but doesn't it disturb Luke at all that he is having an intimate relationship with a woman who is more than TWICE his age and who happens to be inhabiting what used to be the body of a student of his ?
How I read this book: I found myself quite detrimined to finish this horrid book for some strange reason. I used the start, stop, read something better, pick up on page whatever.
Least favorite thing: Callista. Her name came up in Specter of the Past which aroused my curiosity, so after doing research on the internet, I bought the first book of the "Callista Trilogy." But the name I confess when I first heard it sounded like someone scraping their nails down a chalkboard.
Wrap up: Unless you are determined to read evey single Star Wars book, or you're a devoted fan of Star Wars, Barbra Hambly, or Callista ya probably don't buy it retail. Look for it at you r Library, borrow it from a friend, or at a Garage sale where it's cheap.
Rating:
Summary: ....boring...zzzz
Review: After a few chapters, I had to put down the book.
Yeah Luke meets Callista here and falls in love
but in another book, she is taken away from him for good.
At least he married Mara.
Anyway, as far as this book-don't waste your time or money.
Rating:
Summary: Hambly's first Star Wars book is decidedly unsatisfying
Review: There is an interesting phenomenon that occurs when you ask a cross-section of Star Wars fans what they think about specific authors in the Star Wars universe. Except for Timothy Zahn (and possibly Michael Stackpole. Both of whom are universally liked), you will get a wide array of opinions on each and every author. There are some people who seriously dislike Kevin J. Anderson, while myself and others think he's one of the best authors of the Star Wars novels. Some people dislike R.A Salvatore for "Vector Prime" (though, I suspect it has a lot more to do with a certain plot twist he was authorized to make than the quality of his writing), while others (myself included) respect his writing.
Barbara Hambly is one such writer that seems to provoke such varied debate. "Children of the Jedi" is her first foray into writing Star Wars novels (she followed it up with "Planet of Twilight"). Unfortunately, it is quite a disappointing debut. There are some people who love Hambly's writing and thing she is a great addition to the list of Star Wars authors. I am not one of those people, and judging by the averaging rating her books have received, neither are many other people. Hambly is one of those classic cases of an author who doesn't know how to get out of her own way. She is quite enamored with her writing and ability to write long, descriptive passages (not to mention her love of overly cute terminology). However, Star Wars novels are not the place for that type of writing. Most readers are avid fans and already have their own picture of the Star Wars universe, its characters, ships, planets, and battles. Unless something brand new or drastically different is being introduced, this type of writing style only impedes the progress of the story it's trying to tell. This is disappointing because the plot of this novel is actually quite promising, but it never gets the chance to gain any momentum because of Hambly's writing.
The story, itself, focuses on our regular band of heroes quest to find the mythic ancient city that served as a haven for the children of the Jedi during the great purges under Emperor Palpatine. In addition, a massive superweapon has come to life and is on a path to the planet of these children to destroy their haven. This sounds like it would be the basis for a very entertaining book, but it fails under the weight of Hambly's prose. Her love of cute phrases and terminology becomes obvious early in the book when Han and Leia are trying to figure out what place some crazed man was trying to tell them about before he died. He kept muttering about "plettwell", which they were able to determine either meant a place called "Plett's Well" or something else called the "Plawall Rift". Both seem to be places of some importance in this novel, but they are so similar in name and they way there are referenced is so confusing that it's nearly impossible to follow what their significance is. This story is also hindered by the part of the plot dealing with Luke's entry into this massive superweapon ship in an attempt to destroy it. Hambly spends an inordinate amount of time describe to looks and actions of alien creatures who are aboard the ship, but end up having no bearing on the outcome of the story. In addition, there is a forced romance between Luke and the 'spirit' (soon to be embodied in real life) of a former Jedi named Calista. This subplot has proven to be the bane of the Star Wars universe. It's forced, makes little sense, and has been rendered completely moot by Luke's subsequent marriage to Mara Jade.
It's really a letdown to have a clunker of a book like this in the midst of such a high quality science fiction series. Hambly faltered again with her second attempt with "Planet of Twilight". She has not been asked to write any more novels since then, and it's probably for the best. From all accounts, Hambly is an accomplished writer in other science fiction stories, but her style just doesn't fit with the Star Wars universe.
Rating: 
Summary: COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER...................................
Review: well, the story was kinda confusing and luke gets hurt a lot (what happened to the jedi healing trance???) and the bit where leia is getting chased by those weirdos is hard to follow and i didn't really pick up on cray and nichos at all but, all in all, an interesting story if you're a sw fan this is a must read. but i thought callista was okay but if you want to see a really STRONG character read vision of the future
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