“War does not determine who is right---only who is left.” ---Bertrand Russell

“Politics is the art of controlling your environment.” ---Hunter S. Thompson

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” ---William Shakespeare

The fourteenth installment of the New Jedi Order series, “Destiny’s Way” by Walter Jon Williams, focuses on the political spectrum within the Star Wars universe. Space battles and intergalactic action/adventure take a back seat in this one to committee meetings, electioneering, and lobbying, all of which may seem boring to some fans, fascinating to others.

As someone who thinks that politics is a subtler and, in some ways, deadlier form of warfare, I fall into the latter camp.

“Destiny’s Way” starts with the successful return of Jacen Solo, who has been a prisoner of war under the Yuuzhan Vong for months. He returns with the former Jedi master known as Vergere, a mysterious character who believes that with Jacen lies a very specific destiny, one that she can’t, or won’t, divulge.

Jacen’s return coincides with a tumultuous transitional period for the New Republic. The government has, essentially, been destroyed after the fall of Coruscant. Efforts are quickly being taken to create a new, stronger form of government, and Master Luke Skywalker is using the opportunity to establish a Jedi Council within the new government through a strong lobbying campaign amongst the Senate.

Luke endorses Senator Cal Omas for the position of President. Omas has been one of the few outspoken supporters of the Jedis and is in favor of the formation of a Jedi Council. His biggest rival is the virulently anti-Jedi Fyor Rodan.

Luke spends much of his time on the campaign trail, while behind the scenes (and seemingly unbeknownst to him), back-handed deals and attempts at fixing the election are taking place.

When he discovers, too late, that Omas has been working in secret with scientists to develop a doomsday weapon that could destroy the Yuuzhan Vong in one fell genocidal swoop, Luke must figure out a political way to prevent the weapon’s use, as its mere existence goes against everything for which the Jedi stand.

Han and Leia, in the meantime, are conducting meetings with the Empire on Bastion in the hopes of utilizing Imperial firepower in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. Officially, the Empire has remained “neutral” in the war but has, occasionally, under the leadership of Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, stepped in to assist.

The charismatic old Imperial officer still has much to offer, and, while the Empire will never see eye to eye with the New Republic, under the alliance created by Pellaeon, the Imperial Armada could still be a useful ally.

Of course, Leia knows only too well that it could also become a formidable foe again if the New Republic government can’t establish a viable government anytime soon. Pellaeon all but admits that the Empire has been keeping a keen eye on the situation for any moment of weakness to exploit.

Admiral Ackbar, from his deathbed, has been devising an intricate and complex plan of attack against the Yuuzhan Vong. Against Luke’s better judgment, the plan involves using Jedis as bait.

“Destiny’s Way” culminates in a tense space battle on the strategically unimportant planet of Ebaq 9, a battle which could tip the scales for the New Republic and seriously hurt the Yuuzhan Vong, assuming everything goes according to plan...

I’ve got a bad feeling about this… movie-tie-in science-fiction star-wars8 s Jim C1,599 24

This is another entry that pits the heroes we love against the Vong in a war that spans galaxies. This is not considered canon anymore as it is now part of the Legends timeline. In this one, we get three different plot stories. Jacen is returning home, the New Republic needs to establish some form of government, and there is a plan to take the offensive against the Vong.

This book was a nice, pleasant surprise as I had no experience with this author and I was a little surprised he authored a book this far into a series. The author did an excellent job. I was most impressed by how he balanced the three stories and all the characters. He touched upon everyone including Lando and gave us a nice peek into the Vong religion. This author understands Star Wars. He advanced the plot and at the same time he answered questions that fans might have been wondering about. There were several highlights to this book including the final battle scene, a conversation between characters about the force, and Mara Jade with an underwater incident.

I enjoyed the direction the author went with this story as it looks we are in the final turn of this long series. This was my introduction to this author and I would definitely read more of his offerings as he seemed to be able to connect with the reader.8 s Rachel (TheShadesofOrange)2,380 3,602

3.5 Stars
This was a solid entry in the series that advanced the story through political discussions and character development rather than action. I quite enjoyed the discussion surrounding the rebuilding of the Jedi Council.science-fiction8 s Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library)4,764 70

Another great installment in the New Jedi Order series.8 s Crystal Starr Light1,390 867

"What happens if you need a diplomat who can also practice philosophy fight with a lightsaber and levitate small objects? Who else are you going to call but us?"

Jacen is back! Sure he's brought his crazy, feathered friend, Vergere, on whose side, no one is sure, but Han, Leia, Luke, Mara, and Jaina are ecstatic. Meanwhile, the Galactic Alliance is voting for a new president and tearing at the pieces of the slowly deteriorating Yuuzhan Vong forces.

NOTE: Based on audiobook and novel.

A brief audiobook note: Un its NJO predecessors, this book is 5+ hours long (vs the barely 4 hours of the previous ones). This makes the story flow much better, though I am pretty sure stuff is omitted (such as the Nen Yim plotline, of which I didn't catch a scent).

I cite the beginning of the end of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion with Rebel Dream/Rebel Stand, but you could very well cite it here, with Destiny's Way. For all the bumps and potholes I found in my journey through this book, one thing I can't fault is "doing nothing" nor "not having an impact".

Walter Jon Williams is a newbie to Star Wars EU, and he does a pretty dang good job, considering. His grasp of the major characters is impressive (even if Leia comes off as sounding a wee bit too happy about Jacen returning--in a squickly MILF-y way, if you catch my meaning). I was particularly impressed with Vergere (whom Stover wrote magnificently), Luke (who has such a rocky, inconsistent character at times), and Cal Omas (who supports the Jedi, but still sanctions the use of Alpha Red).

Now, there were characters that were "meh" to me. Nom Anor seems to have taken a class in Wussy Villains, because he feels emasculated and timid. Definitely not the guy who, for decades, has been snooping on the New Republic. Oh, and can't we give this guy at least ONE victory? How has he NOT ended up dead for his past failures? The other one is Jacen, who leans aggravatingly towards doing what he did in books 1 - 12: not a whole lot of anything, other than whining about not knowing what his purpose is. Figure it out, boy. You've had 14 books to get it--more than Luke Skywalker or Leia Organa.

Williams does a good job adding lots of new people to the cast and including some old ones. Sien Sovv and Kre'fey are added to our military roster and, as the ultimate shock, NEITHER are human! Woohooo! Old characters that return are the ever-annoying Danni Quee (shame on the audiobooks/editor for leaving her out so much, even if I do wish she'd fall into a cheese grater), Admiral Ackbar, Winter (though no sign of her hubby, Tycho, for some reason), Lowie, and more in mere cameos. Characters that are startlingly missing include Nen Yim (audiobook only, I think) and Ben Skywalker, the beloved Skywalker boy who disappears as the plot requires. Ah, continuity, don't you love it?

Storywise, this book GOES places, and that is one of the biggest plusses for this book. Almost from the beginning, most of the NJO has been wallowing around, not being effective, tiptoeing around the Force because attacking might use the Dark Side (so...why was it okay when Luke did it?!), and other some fluff that really amounted to just stretching this cow as far as the cash would good. That stops here. So much happens in these pages--storylines are picked up, the plot moves forward, the end is in sight, the Force issues are resolved, the Jedi Council is finally freakin' formed (wasn't it back in Rebirth that Luke wanted to form the blasted thing?!). What I particularly d were the conversations between Vergere and Luke about the use of the Force. WOW. That was great! It was great to have Vergere call Luke out on his stupidity for the last 13 books and to get the Jedi into action. And seeing some of our new Jedi actually become Jedi Knights was very good (though the line about having no Knighting ceremony is bullsh!t).

But I will say, some of the scenes were rather talky. For instance, one of the early scenes with the Yuuzhan Vong--Tsavong Lah, Shimrra, and Nom Anor--goes on way too long. I lost interest very quickly (of course, having Nom Anor complain every other sentence about an itch on his foot didn't help). Also, some of them seemed rather redundant. We only need Jaina making a passing comment about drills, not see her through each one.

Speaking of Jaina, how is a barely out of her teens woman a Major? That's a pretty high rank! And what about her training with Mara? Did she just drop that when her mother strong-armed her into Rogue Squadron back in Onslaught?

So, yeah, I've kinda picked this book apart and made it sound nasty, but actually, it's not bad. It only looks kinda weak if you compare it to Traitor (of course, many books look bad next to that piece of art). Destiny's Way does a lot of stuff right: things happen, people go somewhere, plotlines are tied up, and changes are made. Overall, not a half-bad book and worthwhile, particularly if you are already invested in the series.star-wars4 s Kellen Arnoldy1 review

The book was really good, up until the last few chapters. What a wet fart of an ending. Its clear that the disjointed attempt of this overarching series was haphazard at best. When you get to the conclusion of a major characters story should it feel a last ditch, lazy attempt to somehow write off a character? The conclusion of the twins story in this book feels you threw a dart at a bunch of half hearted ideas to figure out how they get to the next books. Let's just throw up some magic force holding air shields out of left field. Maybe a little magic lightsaber float to cheapen and bastardize a confrontation over 10 books in the making? That's not even true because Jaina and the warmaster didn't have that great of history anyway. Why even bother with a limp dick approach to a final confrontation with a major villan? Well at least magic force air shields can't hold heat for no evident reason. It was a good read, but the end really diminished all the good that came before.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review3 s Meggie484 58

For 2021, I decided to reread Del Rey’s first attempt at a multi-author book series in the Star Wars universe: The New Jedi Order, which was published between 1999 and 2003. This shakes out to 19 novels, two eBook novellas, three short stories, and a tangentially-related prequel era novel.

This week’s focus: the fourth hardcover release in the New Jedi Order series, Destiny’s Way by Walter Jon Williams.

SOME HISTORY:

Before the release of his first sci-fi novel, Hardwired, in 1986, Walter Jon Williams wrote five nautical adventure novels between 1981 and 1984—To Glory Arise, originally titled The Privateer, is set during the American Revolutionary War, and the subsequent four books pick up almost thirty years later during the Anglo-American War of 1812. (Not to be confused with the other “War of 1812,” the French invasion of Russia!) As we will see in Destiny’s Way, Williams loves naval battles. Destiny’s Way made it to number seven on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of October 20, 2002, and was on the NYT list for two weeks.

MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:

I remember being dissatisfied with parts of Destiny’s Way, but unable to articulate why. This reread was very helpful in pinpointing which parts of the novel worked for me, and which parts didn’t.

A BRIEF SUMMARY:

The tide has turned for our struggling heroes! Jacen Solo returns from a year’s captivity in the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong, Luke Skywalker sets about reestablishing the Jedi Council, and the New Republic finally chooses a new Chief of State. And on Mon Calamari, the ailing Admiral Ackbar has conceived a major tactical plan that could spell the beginning of the end for the Yuuzhan Vong war...

THE CHARACTERS:

After Traitor’s tight focus on four characters, Destiny’s Way features another large cast of characters. We cut back and forth between Han and Leia on a diplomatic mission to the Imperial Remnant; Luke and Mara and others trying to ensure that the right person is elected Chief of State, so that they can finally reinstate the Jedi Council; Jacen Solo returns to his family, and has to decide what he’s going to do next; Jaina Solo has been promoted to Major and is attempting to train the rookies in her Twin Suns Squadron; Vergere is here, being Vergere; and Supreme Overlord Shimrra finally makes his way to the new Yuuzhan Vong capital of Yuuzhan’tar.

Jacen returns from Traitor’s terrifyingly intense philosophical journey to...go on vacation, I guess. I don’t begrudge him this free time (Vergere and the Vong put him through the ringer), but we get so many statements about how Jacen is important, and how he will be the key to understanding the Yuuzhan Vong, yet he’s not given many examples to prove himself. Instead of treating Jacen a mature adult, Luke tries to separate him from Vergere’s influence; and while Jacen decides to serve in the last quarter as the Jedi meld coordinator again, he spends most of his time worrying about Jaina. When it looks Jaina is in danger during the Battle of Ebaq-9, he rushes off to try to save her. He doesn’t really do anything, but he tries. ¯\_(?)_/¯

Speaking of Jaina: I thought that she had sorted out some of her issues in Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream, but nope, she’s back on her “I will die soon so it doesn’t matter” nonsense. On the whole, the New Jedi Order has a lot of good continuity, but then there are bits this where you thought a character had changed and grown, but a few books later they’re right back where they started. I just want Jaina to find peace, but I entirely forgot about Luke’s prophecy during the Jedi Knighting Ceremony:

"I name you the Sword of the Jedi. You are tempered steel, purposeful and razor-keen. Always you shall be in the front rank, a burning brand to your enemies, a brilliant fire to your friends. Yours is a restless life, and never shall you know peace, though you shall be blessed for the peace that you bring to others. Take comfort in the fact that, though you stand tall and alone, others take shelter in the shadow that you cast."

Williams has said that he did not plan on this part--he was writing the novel and that's what happened, and it must have been the Force. But no one pushes back against this at all! They all hear this frankly depressing prophecy, and the only person to think “oh that doesn't sound right” is Jacen. But he merely thinks that, and then doesn’t say anything. There are some times in Star Wars where the will of the Force seems completely separated from what is best for an individual, and this is a really stark example of that. I feel people always call Jaina “The Sword of the Jedi,” and forget what it means: that she will always be alone, and she will never find peace. She's just this weapon to be used, with no thought about how that affects her; and especially with how Jaina is acting in Destiny's Way, it’s so upsetting to me.

Meanwhile, Luke is actively trying to get the Jedi Council reestablished--he’s been pushing for this since Vector Prime, but this is the first time it actually seems feasible. But to get this done, he has to wade into politics (definitely not his strong point). Luke talks to a number of politicians, which is fine, but Lando and Karrde take things a step further--they bribe people, then blackmail them with the proof of their bribery, which seems such an underhanded way to get Cal Omas elected.

Questions of legality aside, Omas is elected and Luke makes the decision to split the Jedi Council between six Jedi positions and six members of the New Republic government. And I'm not quite crazy about that? Luke has always struggled with how to define the Jedi Order: they receive significant financial support from the New Republic, but at the same time he doesn’t want them to be a tool of the government. I feel letting half the Council be the Minister of State, and the Head of Intelligence, and the Military head commander, and the Minister of Justice, etc, is not quite the best option--because that seems the government will become even more involved in the future of the Jedi Order, and I'm not sure how to reconcile that.

Han and Leia get the Deep Core hyperspace routes from Admiral Pellaeon, and that’s it. They’re happy that their son has returned, Han ends up leading the Smuggler’s Alliance ships during the Battle of Ebaq, but that’s the extent of their involvement here. And I’m fine with that! Han and Leia had a lot of prominence in earlier books, especially in regards to their marital problems, but they’re solved them now and can take a break.

Vergere comes with Jacen to Mon Calamari, she’s questioned for a while, and then she’s released--which leads to some super awkward conversations, because she lurks in the Skywalker residence. We finally get her backstory, delivered in a monologue to Jacen: that she was an Old Republic Jedi and she went off with the Yuuzhan Vong 50 years ago. First, this revelation felt a little clumsily delivered, and second, I’m not sure that she would identify herself as an Old Republic Jedi? The Vergere of Star by Star and Traitor was mysterious, and seemed opposed to the dichotomy of Jedi and Sith. But I did her conversations with Luke; I thought the dialogue was very well done, and I loved the way that Vergere would push against Luke’s pre-conceived ideas. It is frustrating to me that Vergere is the only one to take action against Alpha Red (Luke throws his hands up in the air; Vergere destroys their research), and that in saving Jacen and the rest on Ebaq-9, she sacrifices herself. With her death, we’ve lost so much of both the Old Republic traditions as well as the further insights she could have given the Jedi.

Admiral Ackbar returns! He’s retired and in very poor health, but he finally comes up with a plan to defeat the Vong. I it, but I wonder why no one came up with this before? The answer is that there’s 19 books and we need to drag this out… Part one of his plan involves small engagements: they’ll attack the enemy where they’re weak, so they can safely train their rookies. Part two involves leading the Yuuzhan Vong into a trap with Jedi as bait, and then decimating their fleet. Part one goes pretty well--we don’t see a lot of examples of it in action, but we do see a minor skirmish at Duro. The Battle of Ebaq-9 is a resounding victory, with very few setbacks.

We finally see the grand entrance of Supreme Overlord Shimrra, but his appearance takes a lot of focus away from the Warmaster Tsavong Lah. Up to this point, the Warmaster has been our primary antagonist; he has a good tactical mind, but his weakness is that he’s a true believer in the Yuuzhan Vong gods and in their sacred mission. We don’t get to see his tactical skills in this book, though, because he’s really only present for the trap at the end. I also felt the lack of focus on his character made his death scene fall a little flat. I’m glad that Jaina was able to kill him in personal combat, but it felt an ignoble end for such a prominent character.

Shimrra is a mystery--he’s very powerful, he seems to have some sort of telepathic ability, but the end opens up the possibility that the situation is very different than it initially appeared. I can’t get a good read on him, other than he’s a big dude with rainbow eyes. Fortunately Nom Anor is here to be...Nom Anor. He delves into the Jeedai heresy, realizes that it could be better structured, falls prey to the false information about Ebaq-9, and gets the heck out of Dodge. (Classic Nom Anor.)

ISSUES:

I mentioned in the intro that Walter Jon Williams loves naval battles, and you can see that in the battles here, especially in the final battle of Ebaq-9. He loves how ships move against each other. You can follow most of it, which is good--sometimes I find that the space naval engagements can get a little confusing. Jaina gets pretty flustered during battles, which I'm not sure I buy based on how jaded she had been in previous engagements in previous books and also with her current “I'm going to die” attitude. But she is very concerned about her fellow pilots, which could explain that. I d Jacen being the Jedi meld coordinator again--keeping everyone together, making them work better together--and I think that will be something that we'll see more of in future books.

But Williams also really s politics (and I also politics!), yet it doesn't work so well for me here. Some of the conversations felt rather dull and prosaic, and I didn’t agree with some of the decisions made--which may have tainted my view of all the political scheming. The dull nature and strong focus on the political scenes led me to feel the pace was a little slow until we got to the lead up to the Battle of Ebaq-9. Destiny's Way is about 450 pages--which is a lot shorter than Star by Star--but there's still a lot to wade through before you get to the really exciting bits towards the end

I think my biggest issue with Destiny's Way was how poorly at times it fit with the books that came previously. I suspect this was what dissatisfied me so much in my initial read years ago. Jaina had made real progress with her issues...except now she regresses. Jacen had matured and grown into a strong adult...except he’s given few chances to prove himself. Wedge and the others had come up with this Insider plan to fight the old Rebel Alliance...except now they don't. Danni Quee was working on countering the Yuuzhan Vong...except now she’s been taken off projects, and has nothing to do.

I found two interviews with Walter Jon Williams from circa 2002 that shed a lot of light on why this issue existed:

The chief problem I experienced was that I was early delivering my manuscript, and that other authors were late. (I don't blame them for being late. I've been late with books in the past, and I know how easily it can happen.) As a result of this, I didn't get to actually read the four books prior to mine until after I'd completed my own, which resulted in a lot of rewriting in order to deal with "retroactive reality checks." (2002 TheForce.net interview)

"Developing the big pictures and writing the big scenes was never a problem. It was always the little details that made life miserable," the author reveals, recalling a series of surprises that caused a few headaches and frantic rewrites. "What do you mean I can't kill Zavval the Hutt because he's already dead? What do you mean Winter's married? When did Winter get married? What do you mean, years ago? All these little discoveries meant more rewriting -- Jaina Solo's love-life in particular. That certainly wasn't in any of the outlines.” (2002 StarWars.com interview)

As a newbie to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Williams was only familiar with the movies. He was sent a lot of the reference material, but he didn't have the background with the Expanded Universe books some of the other authors, and I think it shows. There are a lot of throwaway lines, where I suspect he sent in his manuscript and they sent it back with notes about things he needed to address. So you have these awkward bits where we learn that Winter's with Admiral Ackbar because her husband Tycho is off with Wedge. Williams wrote his manuscript having no idea of Winter's history with Tycho, and these explanatory lines feel awkward and unnecessary. I think the most egregious fit issues come with the developments that happened in the Enemy Lines duology: because Williams wasn't able to read those books and was just going off of outlines, it just feels all the progress that happened there is lost.

There was an online rumor that Williams never read a single Star Wars book before he wrote Destiny’s Way, and I don't think that's true. I think he did immerse himself in the Star Wars universe, and really enjoyed the process of writing in it. I just don't think he has as good of an ear for Star Wars as some of the other writers do. When Han and Leia find out that Jacen's alive, they send messages to him. Han's message says “Way to go Sprout,” which doesn’t sound Han at all! Some of the characters sound OK, some sound off, but your mileage may vary here. I might just be more sensitive to these issues of tone.

IN CONCLUSION:

While all the books after Star by Star have featured the tide turning for our heroes, the end of Destiny's Way marks a major victory. The Warmaster Tsavong Lah is dead, the New Republic is revitalized, and the Jedi Order finally has some structure going forward. But at the same time, I felt the pace was a little slow for most of the book, and Destiny's Way had a lot of niggling issues with continuity and tone that affected my enjoyment of the book overall.


Next up: an eBook novella that’s set in-between Chapters 21 and 22 of Destiny's Way, Ylesia by Walter Jon Williams.

My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/Taw_h7qtMmM
Extended Destiny’s Way rants: https://youtu.be/c_oXhhMi428borrowed fiction star-wars ...more2 s AndrewAuthor 1 book39

This wasn't bad. A decent follow up to 'Traitor', which was the best entry in the series so far. Jacen Solo returns after a brutal captivity, and his savior, Vergere, is also his captor. Vergere's character is quite interesting as she has a way of saying the truth while wrapping it up in lies at the same time. You're not sure who she is, what she really wants, or whether or not she means the lies and the truth she speaks. I have little interest in the Yuzzhan Vong themselves, and much more in Vergere.2 s Darlene118 1 follower

Very good with lots of action, especially in the last third of the book. The only thing that kinda dragged was the political stuff. However, I enjoyed this book and I feel it moved the plot slightly forward.science-fiction star-wars2 s1 comment Janek Gabriel3 1 follower

Certainly one of the better books in New Jedi Order series, although it suffers from the same mistakes as its predecessors: Vongs are suddenly shown being passive, lacking initiative and without the military genius shown in beginning of the series. "The ultimate enemy" is now a rotting carcass of what it once was, which is quite frankly very sad, as the change happens overnight and without insight into their actions or to be more fitting lack of them.

There are funny moments here and there, but most importantly the aspect of the relationship between the Force and Vongs is opened for the first (second, if you count Traitor) time together with more insight into some of the more important characters opinions.

Main drawback comes from the depiction of Vongs as near imbeciles, ready to jump on every carrot on a stick New Republic points before them. I am really getting tired of Jedi on stimpacks saving destroying everything the Vongs throw at them. The narrative is dumbed down for the average reader, but alas this is not Zahn writing, so we cannot really expect more. The reader is left without wondering, as every action of every character is explained explicitly - which comes with the prize of the motives being more times simpler than simple. I do hope that the next books will use less pages on the depiction of Jaina's maneuvers and more on the reasoning behind character decisions.

Even then I give the book 4 stars, but that is mainly given with the knowledge that such rating applies to comparison with other NJO books.2 s Seth207

Fine. It was fun seeing Ackbar again. Finally the New Republic has a real victory against the Vong. The action was quite good. The Mon Calamari scenes were pretty boring. 2 s NicoleAuthor 5 books47

I know it seems weird to read only book #14 of a 19 volume series, but I have an explanation. I was around when the original movies first came out and have been a fan most of my life. I’d been reading Star Wars novels (the Extended Universe, beyond the novelizations) awhile before the New Jedi Order series was first published. I was in a Star Wars fan group at the time, and there was a member who was happy to provide spoilers. I’d already heard about how they killed Chewbacca in the first book of the series, because that made the mainstream entertainment news at the time. Noooo! Not Chewie!!! The NJO sounded too depressing, so I decided not to read books in the Star Wars timeline taking place after Timothy Zahn’s Vision of the Future. I didn’t read any Star Wars books for a few years afterward, until finding some prequel and original trilogy stories that appealed to me.
But I’ve read several other books by the author of this one; he’s a talented writer, known for the complexity of his work. And he’s a local. I’ve heard good things about this book. At some point--I don’t know how many years ago--I acquired a used copy. Being back in a Star Wars phase and open to trying things I’d previously avoided, I decided to finally read this one.
There’s enough recap/detail in the narrative that I didn’t feel lost even though I was reading book #14 of a series.
Throughout there are some interesting, often cynical observations about politics and governments. Some of the characters have great conversations about the Jedi Code and what actions reflect the dark side of the Force. I’ve always thought the Jedi Code was too rigid and should’ve allowed for acknowledgement of feelings fear and anger. I loved the bits featuring Talon Karrde and Lando Calrissian. Talon is my favourite EU character. Although Leia and Han didn’t get many pages, they’re well-depicted. Luke has some really good moments. Jaina is sympathetic and a little heartbreaking, with the burden of responsibility she bears. Jacen is also sympathetic, but knowing that he goes off the rails later on casts a shadow over everything he does. Admiral Ackbar has some good scenes. Mara gets to do some skulking about but isn’t as interesting as she’s been in other stories. Vergere is creepy and untrustworthy, which augments the sense of tension in the book.
The Yuuzhan Vong are nightmarish in every way. The tech derived from living sources is creative and at times mindblowing. But one book featuring their cruelty is plenty for me.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewpirates-and-smugglers smart-alecs star-wars1 MorganAuthor 13 books97

I’d call this one a mediocre installment. The writing is nothing spectacular, but stuff is always happening and it’s far from boring, which is more than I can say for certain other NJO books. I do feel he had no idea what to do with Mara. She was mostly just there. Which was frustrating. It’s kind of understandable—he had no idea of any Expanded Universe anything before he was hired to write for NJO, though he was naturally a fan of the movies. Obviously I prefer the books where it’s obvious the writer did their research on the characters they were working with and understood them on a deep level ( Dark Journey). The flat characterizations of the majority of the characters and the lack of character voice did detract from the enjoyment somewhat, but I did still enjoy it quite a bit. A lot of politics, but I politics. And sure, there’s a lot of sitting and talking, but I’m a prequel fan so I’m okay with that.
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