Rating: 
Summary: Great Ending
Review: This book was the perfect tying up of the New Jedi Order series. I have been following it since the first one came out in 1999 and got very emotional about this book. It is well writen with intrigue, suspence, and humor. Buy it, you'll like it
Rating:
Summary: Luceno knows his Star Wars
Review: Warning: if you haven't read most of the Star Wars books in existence, many of the wonderful, unexpected moments in "The Unifying Force" will probably pass you by. It is extremely satisfying to see so many characters from, and references made to, older books in the Star Wars saga. All of our favorites are back in character, and we get to see some new sides to certain characters, that just might change your opinions of them. To name names would be to spoil the surprises. For those looking for a little philosophical thought, I'll just say that I'm still trying to completely figure things out. What I have figured out is that the notion of the Force at the end of this book is quite different than the one we see at the beginning of "The Phantom Menace". And, this evolution in thought makes sense. What I loved best about this book was that the Jedi did not dominate it. While they still played a very important part, it was made obvious that everyone had an important role in saving the galaxy, even the enemy. In other words, the galaxy needs its Han Solos just as much as it needs its Luke Skywalkers. Did Mr. Luceno tie up all the loose ends? Most of them, yes, and for one in particular, it was done in absolutely fitting fashion. But, he also raised a few interesting questions, for which no answers were given. I hope to see these addressed in future books. In closing, I'd like to thank Mr. Luceno, and all the other NJO authors, for continuing the action and adventure in a galaxy far, far away. The journey wasn't always smooth, and a few good friends were lost along the way, but in the end, the magic was back, and I knew just exactly why I had become a Star Wars fan in the first place.
Rating: 
Summary: Glad it's over
Review: While this review comes under the novel 'The Unifying Force', I am writing it more as a review of the entire NJO series.
'The Unifying Force' is actually a well written novel, penned by one of my favourite authors, James Luceno. The novel ties together a lot of plot points very well, and provides a fitting ending to the series.
That being said, I disliked the NJO series as a whole. The books have shown a savage invasion of known 'Star Wars' space, by a ruthless and extremely violent enemy. Right from the start, the writers seemed to WANT to violate Star Wars lore, with the deaths of Chewbacca and Anakin Solo, the destruction of the planets Ithor and Coruscant (among others), and, finally, the destruction of the New Republic.
The writing of the NJO novels themselves seemed very basic and elementary, and the series was obviously written to accommodate younger readers around the 10-12 years of age literacy level. Such destruction and violence are often entertaining to younger people who do not understand the full implications of such acts, and have never really trusted in something enough to be saddened when it's ripped away.
For older Star Wars readers such as myself, such violations of the Star Wars story are distasteful. I read a great deal of the initial New Republic novels, from the Zahn trilogy to the Zahn duology, and everything in between. While those novels had their ups and downs, for the most part I found them very entertaining reading, and I read with fascination as the Empire crumbled and the New Republic, having struggled in it's infancy, grew to thrive. Events such as Han and Leia's marriage and subsequent children, Thrawn's campaign against the New Republic, the establishment of the Jedi Academy, the Black Fleet crisis and the peace treaty with the Empire were interesting and logical extensions of the story presented in George Lucas's initial 3 films (Episodes IV, V and VI).
The NJO series ripped down a lot of this work, with much of the known galaxy falling under the oppressive heel of an alien race that views pain as something akin to religion. These new aliens enslaved people by the use of parasitic seeds implanted inside of them, rendering the hosts susceptible to influence, but also causing the hosts ever increasing pain as the seeds grew within them, eventually driving the hosts into insanity before the seeds would hatch. This is merely an example of the 'new' aliens and what they inflicted on the galaxy.
The NJO series, in addition to crushing what past novels built up, also featured excessive and bloodthirsty violence. While violence and action have always been part of the Star Wars story, the NJO took it to a new, and distasteful, level. Reading about these acts (such as the before mentioned parasitic enslavement of people) isn't entertaining or interesting at all, and I actually felt sick to my stomach while reading parts of the NJO novels. It's no surprise that Timothy Zahn and Kevin J. Anderson, two of the most respected Star Wars authors, kept their distance from the entire NJO series.
I'm glad that 'The Unifying Force' has finally ended the NJO saga, although I suspect that the damage done to the Star Wars saga is irreparable. I'm immensely saddened to see what has happened to Star Wars, which used to be a story that I loved and eagerly awaited each new novel.
While 'The Unifying Force' is a good novel by NJO standards, and with all due respect to Mr Luceno, there can be no going back on what the NJO series has done to Star Wars. I merely see it as the end to a miserable saga, and I'm glad that it's over.
I personally believe that the Star Wars publishers should have ended the Star Wars publications with 'Vision of the Future', from that fantastic Timothy Zahn duology. I believe that showing a peace treaty between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant would have been a fitting end to the saga, but that is a matter of opinion.
I don't recommend 'The Unifying Force', and the entire NJO series for that matter, to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than I expected
Review: With all series finales, especially with novels, your expectations are set pretty high. (As were mine.) This novel exceeds all expectations. It's fast-paced, ties together all loose ends, and even manages to throw in a few surprises along the way. For a series as long, drawn-out, and well planned such as the Star Wars New Jedi Order was, it's nice to see that they didn't let the final book fall short of the standards that they had previously set.
Without giving away the surprises of the final book, it's safe to say that you probably won't be expecting some of them. It's also nice to know that they aren't giving up on this end of the Star Wars timeline, as LucasBooks has announced another trilogy of books to follow this one.
For any true Star Wars fan, this book (along with the others in the New Jedi Order) are a necessity.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterful Resolution
Review: Wow! I have almost nothing but entousiastically positive comments for this excellent grand finale of the New jedi Order's 19-book saga. Once again, James Luceno has risen to the challenge. The expectations were very high indeed, not only because the series needed to be completed with the bang, but also because of the Herculean task of tying up the myriads of loose ends. To compound the pressure, four of the last five NJO novels had defiintely been sub-par. Unifying Force more than makes up for it. The scale is positively epic. The cast is huge, the action is constant, the narration gripping. I read the whole 500+ page novel in one straight sitting (and had to visit the chiropractor after because my neck was sore!) And yes, all the loose ends have been finally taken care of. Luceno is big on continuity and it shows. Part of the creative team at Lucas Books, he has been largely resposnsible for the NJO story arc. He claimed in the past that he read ALL of the previous Star Wars novels to prepare and I definitely believe him. Everything feels right in this book. The species, the technology and most-of-all the people. All major characters, as well as just about all secondary ones are used - thoroughly. And they are all true to form. The story is mostly carried by Luke, Han and Leia, but I was happiest about Jacen Solo, who finally returns to the thoughtful and complex superhero of Matthew Stover's Traitor. What I liked the most was that, somehow, the story actually felt very much like the classic trilogy, especially the Return of the Jedi. The settings, the heroics, the final confrontation with everything hanging in the balance, Luke's determination, Han's sarcastic commentary, they were all vintage Star Wars that will appeal very strongly to the franchise's fans. Also the suspense: In more than one occasion I was convinced that Luceno was going to kill another favourite character. My criticisms are minor (but cost the novel a 5-star rating!): (a) the story doesn't quite reach the level of complexity of Timothy Zanh's novels or Luceno's own prequel era Cloak of Deception - it is too busy trying to resolve everything (b) it also lacks the creative millitary tactics of Mike Stackpole or Aaron Allston novels. Overall, the four stars are probably not enough. This one is certainly worth the price of the hardcover and more. NJO Commentary Now that the whole series is over, my final thoughts are as follows:
- the NJO was great. It was finally adult sci-fi, Star Wars having very much grown and matured with its fan base.
- I really like the new Jacen, while Jaina never quite lived up to the Sword of the Jedi billing or the Trickster Goddess persona.
- I was a bit disappointed that the Chiss (even though they have been preparing for exactly such an eventuality, ever since Thrawn's time) never quite participated in the war, like for example Hapes. Jag Fel's contributions were mostly incidental.
- The final solution to the Yuuzhan Vong question was a bit light or realism, particularly the logistics of fitting them all on one single planet. If their population is not that large, what did they need all these other planets for and how did they manage to occupy them??
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