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 Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:09 pm
Rogue Planet by Greg Bear
Tie-in to the New Jedi Order
3/5 Lightsabers
Okay, author, okay book. Pretty cool tie in to the NJO
Story: It starts off with Anakin surviving an assassination attempt. Then The Jedi Council , after talking to the Jedi Knight Vergere's former master Thracia Cho Leem, the Jedi Council sends Anakin and Obi-Wan on their first mission ever: to go to the legendary planet Zonama Sekot to buy one of the legendary Sekotan ships made of organic material, and to find out about Vergere. Meanwhile, Commander Wilhuff Tarkin sends Raith Sienar to ZS to get a ship, along with the Blood Carver who tried to kill Anakin. Anyways, on ZS, Anakin gets the best Sekotan ship ever made, and learns that Vergere went with the "Far Outsiders" (Yuuzhan Vong) in exchange for the Outsiders' attack breaking off. Anyways, Tarkin shows up and sends a fleet down so that he looks "good" to the Supreme Chancellor cuz he's a dickhead like that, and the Blood Carver ends up on the planet, and in a fit of anger, Anakin kills him, his first personal kill ever. Tarkin's fleet limps back to Coruscant and Anakin and Obi leave on the Sekotan ship, which ends up dying, and right when they are leaving the system, they see ZS fire up engines from the northern hemisphere and break out of its own orbit. The ship dies, and a few months after the ordeal, Thracia Cho leem leaves the Jedi Order for unknown reasons.
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 10:40 pm
Dark Journey by Elaine Cunningham
Book Ten of the NJO
3/5 Lightsabers
I guess the NJO likes to focus on specific characters, we had a Han book, a Corran book, an Anakin book, and now we get a Jaina book. It's all in all a good read, but I doubt I would reread it, so i give it a 3.
Story: After escaping the Yuuzhan Vong by stealing a ship, the remants of the Jedi Strike Team, Zekk, Lowbacca, Tenel Ka, Jaina, Alema Rar, Tesar Sebatyne, Tekli and Tahiri, as well as Ganner Rhysode make their way back to Coruscant, after the deaths of over half their team, including their leader Anakin Solo and the capture of Jacen Solo. At the Fall of Coruscant, the Milleinum Falcon, housing the Older Solos and Skywalkers as well as Ben Skywalker, escapes the carnage with Kyp Durron, who'se squadron is decimated, so they end up at Hapes as well as the Strike Team. On Hapes, Jag Fel arrives, and Jaina starts to fall for him, and almost doesnt go to Anakin's funeral. After the funeral, most of the Jedi leave, but the Solos, Tenel ka and Lowbacca remain. Jaina begins straying toward the ddark side, using lighting several times, but ends up apprenticing to Kyp Durron. Meanwhile, Han gets into a fight with Hapan Guards, but fractures his skull and can't remember why he got in the fight in the first place. Former Queen Mother of Hapes, Ta'a Chume, plots to replace current Queen Mother Teneniel Djo, Tenel Ka's mother, with Jaina. Eventually, Jaina names the stolen Vong Ship the "Trickster" a play on Yun-Harla, the Trickster Vong Godess. Unbeknownst to Jaina, the Vong name their ships after their pilots, which makes mayhem when Jaina figures out how to alter gravatic signatures so that she could pkay other Vong ships as the "Trickster". This aggravates the Vong, because they end up decimating themselves, as they assault Hapes. Han remembers that he started the fight because the Guards wanted Prince Isolder to Marry Jaina, making Jaina the Queen mother. Anyways, the Vong attack Hapes and Teneniel Djo is poisoned *cough Ta'a Chume cough* and dies, so Tenel Ka becomes Queen Mother, and puts Jag Fel in command of the defense. The Vong find the gravatic alterer, and get super pissed off and break off the attack.
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 4:11 pm
Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream by Aaron Allston
Book 11 of the NJO
4 out of 5 lightsabers
Actually, I really liked this book. To begin with, its written by a great author, Aaron Allston, who joins Zahn, Denning and Stackpole in my list of great writers. It's also got all the elements of a good story: mystery, intrigue, rebellion, the enemy, romance, and a sideplot. I could read it over maybe, once or twice more, but then I'd start to get sick of it. So, the combination of moderate reread value, and a great author, merits a 4/5 lightsabers ranking.
Story: Coruscant has fallen. The New Republic is fleeing to the Pyria system, to the former Rebel Alliance base, now under Vong occupance, of Borleias. The Republic comes in with the Executor-class Star Destroyer, Lusankyaand mops up a Vong fleet, and claims the planet for the New Republic, and Borleias is put under the control of General Wedge Antilles. Meanwhile, Tsavong Lah's new arm is still being rejected, and he approaches his father, the former Warmaster, Czulkang Lah, and sends him to lead the assault on Borleais. Then, the New Republic Advisory Council's remnants, led by self-delcared Chief of State Pwoe, a Quarren, pretty much declares Wedge to lead everyone on Borelias to their deaths. So, Wedge, Tycho Celchu, the Skywalkers, and Lando Calrissian create the Resistance, to fight the Vong and the corrupt New Republic Council. Later on, more people are let in to the "Insiders" such as the Solos, and Danni Quee. Jaina assumes control of a new "Twin Suns Squadron" and masquerades as Godess, posing as Yun-Harla the Vong's Trikster Godess, with Jag Fel and Kyp Durron in her squad. On one mission covering for Project "Starlancer" The Resistance uses four pipefighters to channel enegy and fire it at the Vong worldship on Coruscant, causing minimal damage to the worldship. On this mission, Vong coral skippers are deployed, and Jaina defies orders from Wedge to save Jag. Later on, back at base, Jaina and Jag kiss. Kay, then Han and Leia take most of the Jedi from the mission to myrkr, and wedge's kids and the kid that looks like Anakin, Tarc, who wasused by Viqi shes to try and capture Ben, to the secret Jedi base at the Maw. Then, the Vong show up, and a huge battle occurs, and they start landing troops, only to be slaughtered when Lusankya fulfills its purposse: Orbital bombardment.
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Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 10:17 am
Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand by Aaron Allston
Book TWelve of the NJO
2/5 lightsabers
Great author, the novel itself wasnt quite as good as Rebel Dream, I found it kind of boring actually.
Story: Okay, that kid Tarc no longer is at the Maw, but learning to be a holocam operator with Wolam Tser and Tam Elgrin. On Coruscant, the Wraiths, Luke, Mara and Tahiri discover that a Dark Jedi was genetically enhanced on Coruscant, and that hes causing trouble, so they go out to stop Lord Nyax. Meanwhile, Viqi Shesh is sent to Coruscant to hunt the Jedi,she runs away, while Team Coruscant is killing Nyax they steal the ship Viqi was gonna take back, she goes and kills herself, the Wraiths go back except for one of them who stays to teach the survivors to..survive. Han and Leia are captured on a backwater world and are about to be thrown back to the Peace Brigade, but they bust out thanks to Artoo and Threepio. Uhh..the Vong decide to take Borleias and send out a force, theres a crazy battle, Lusankya is heavily damaged, so it's commander Eldo Davip stays onboard and rams into a Vong worldship. Tsavong thinks this as a victory, but his farther Czulkang, who dies at Borleias sees it as a great loss even though they took the world.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 4:34 pm
Traitor by Matthew Stover
BookThirteen of the NJO
5/5 Lighsabers
A 5/5 is NOT a rating I give often, but this book merits it. It's captivating, very well written, and philosophical. Matt Stover strikes back.
Story: Jacen Solo lives. After his betrayal by the creature called Vergere on the Myrkyr Worldship, he hangs in the Embrace of Pain. Meanwhile, Nom Anor adn Vergere are plotting to turn jacen to the True Way, the way of the Vong. Jacen is led into the Nursery, where slaves are being utilized to train the dhuryams, telepathic creatures that cooridate the worldshaping, one of which will be the World Brain that shapes Coruscant into Yuuzhan'tar. Jacen, in a fit of rage, destroys the nursery to save some slaves, and kills all but one Dhuryam. Acommpanied by Vergere, he escapes to Yuuzhan'tar. There, Vergere leads him to the Jedi temple, that was built upon a dark side nexus. Vergere tells Jacen that the reason is because there is no dark side of the force, just the dark side of the person using the force. refusing to believe it, Jacen runs away, and almost dies, but is contacted by the spirit of Anakin. Vergere and Nom Anor show up again, and Jacen goes with them, to be turned to the True Way. Months later, Jacen is undercover on a refugee camp ship, and Ganner Rhysode is investigating a rumor that Jacen lives. Ganner infiltrates the camp ship and finds Jacen, who pretends that he will sacrifice Ganner on Yuuzhan'tar's Well of the World Brain where the dhuryam resides. In reality, he and Ganner escape, and Ganner duels many Vong warriors to the death, his included. jacen uses his empathic telepathy to mess with the Dhuryam to set the Vong's Vongforming the wrong way. Then, he and Vergere escape on Nom Anor's ship, leaving Nom Anor to a presumable doom.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 10:30 am
Destiny's Way by Walter Jon Williams
Book Fourteen of the NJO
5/5 Lightsabers
Wow. If you've been following my reviews, then you know that previously I said that Star by Star was my favorite novel. I changed my mind. Destiny's Way was excellent. I simply could not put it down. It had the perfect blend of plot elements: drama, intrigue, mystery, action, comic relief, enough romance to make a good story but not enough to make it too mushy, combat: both hand to hand, verbal, mental and space. They all bllended together with a nice writing style and a brilliant story that earned it five lightsabers.
Story: The beggining of the book doesn't have much plot advancement, but builds up toward it. It starts with Jaina Solo and a New Republic fleet attempting to destroy the Supreme Overlord's private ship over Obroa-Skai. The battle is a success, but Supreme OVerlord Shimrra is not there, but his second in command is killed. Meanwhile, the New Republic has moved its headquarters to Mon Calamari, and a politicla election is taking place. The two majoy candidates are Fyor Rodan and Cal Omas, the latter being favored by the Jedi. Eventually, Cal Omas wins, and lets Luke set up a Jedi Council, but to make it look like the Jedi aren't making a power grab, six non Jedi are put on the Council, thereby making it a "High" Council. Meanwhile, Vergere and Jacen Solo arive on Mon Calamari, and while Jacen is given a vacation with Danni Quee, Vergere is detained for interragation, and while in her cell, has many talks about Jedi philosophy with Luke.
Now for the good part:
The ailing Admiral Ackbar comes up with a plan to trap and kill the Vong, and its about to be implemented. Meanwhile, with the death of Borsk Fey'lya, the Bothan community has declared ar'krai: total war, on the Vong, and it makes it no better that Fey'lyas cousin Traest Krey'fey is a New Republic Admiral. Unfortunately, Dif Scaur a director of Intelligence and the Chiss have come up with a deadly bio-weapon called Alpha Red that could literally wipe out the Yuuzhan vong. Luke and the Jedi object to using it since it would be Genocide, but Cal Omas authorizes it anyways, much to his own and the Jedi's dismay. Vergere though, sets out and destroys Alpha Red, and then escapes to Jacen Solo who is currently on a New Republic flagship above Kashyyyk. He hids her, and a huge ammount of NR Forces are sent to Ebaq 9 in the Deep Core, to stage a trap for the Vong. The Vong come, and are pretty much decimated. Vergere sacrifices herself to save a lot of Jedi, Jacen discovers light side Force Lightning, which is green and stuns, and can only be used in times of despair, and Jaina kills Warmaster Tsavong Lah in battle. Afterward, Luke and Cal Omas talk about how Cal wants to reorganize the New Republic with a new constituiton so that Senators dont control pretty muche verything.
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