Customer Reviews

Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 5)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse is a worthy addition to the Star Wars mythos, but it's certainly not anywhere near the best. Whereas this book's predecessor, Hero's Trial, focused almost solely on the (mis)adventures of a still-grieving Han Solo, this volume tries to keep track of everyone. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily a good thing.

Han is still on his quest, with newfound sidekick Droma, to find Droma's missing clan. Meanwhile, Leia heads off to the Hapes Consortium to try to win them over to the cause, the Hutts try to play the New Republic off of the Vong for their own benefit, Jacen & Anakin head off to examine the possibility of using Centerpoint Station as a weapon against the Vong, Borsk continues to be Borsk, and there are subplots galore. The author maintains his high standards of writing throughout, and this book could have been absolutely terrific had it been about, say, three times as long as it is. Unfortunately, because of the relatively short length of the book, very few of the plot threads are developed satisfactorily, and sometimes they seem a bit disjointed.

Still, the action is excellent, the characterizations are dead on, Luceno's knowledge of the Star Wars universe is superb, and there are cameo appearances of old favorites galore. The only two plots in this book that really kept me extremely interested were the Han and the Skidder plots, though, with the rest being too underdeveloped.

The cover isn't very good either. While the Vong (Warmaster Tsavong Lah) appears much as he is described in the book, Han is missing an arm, and his beard looks more like a blur than any facial hair I've ever seen.

Overall, this is an okay addition to the New Jedi Order, but the only Great parts of the book were the Han scenes and the last chapter, which almost boosted the book up another point just by itself. I do recommend this novel, but it's not the best.

Jedi Eclipse is boring. There is nothing original about it. Han Solo continues to run around with the Chewie clone, and there is a small subplot involving Anakin and Jacen but overall, there is nothing original or exciting in the this novel. There is simply to little going on to justify the amount of writing Luceno does for this story. The only original idea in the entire story is the droid revolution that Han Solo gets involved in. Jacen is portrayed as a whiny, spoiled brat, while Anakin could have ended the whole NJO series with the flick of a button. There is too much that doesn't add up, and too little of the other SW characters to make this book interesting at all.

James Luceno continues the blockbuster New Jedi Order series with heart and soul that only the best can follow. While Leia is trying her best to keep the refugees safe and establish help from old "friends", the New Republic military moves quickly to work behind the back of the President. Han and new friends continue their chase across the galaxy running into trouble at every turn. But whats new? The fact that Mara Jade is not a highlight character and that Luke is finding leading a harder job than ever. As for the rest of the plot, read the book. Personally, I love the job done, but the story is loosing its grip on me. The Republic shows how badly disorganized and I find myself wondering how in the force they survived Grand Admiral Thrawn. I would like to see more of the New Republic military and the Imperial Remnant disposing of this invasion... since the Jedi continue to act foolishly and get into more trouble.

Please read the book and soon. Balance Point in coming quickly!

While I enjoyed Jedi Eclipse quite a bit. I found this book lacking in a few areas. The plot jumps quite a bit, while covering many adventures at once this is to be expected, but it just seemed choppy to me. Leaving off at a important point might be considered suspenseful, but too much of it leaves a bad aftertaste and slows down the read.

The author really goes overboard on Jacen Solo's inability to do just about anything, the only thing I got from his portrayal of Jacen was that he whines, alot. It's annoying to not see any progress from that character except that he whines more in every novel.

The lack of Luke and Mara were sore points also. Also there was no real interaction between the Ryn and his clan after he found them. I mean come on, you make a major storyline in the plot about this guy finding his clan, and when he does, nothing is shown, not his joy, relief, sadness etc...very sad close on that plotline.

The space battles were not well written, it was kinda confusing about what was really going on all over. I enjoy reading and re-reading my star wars novels, and this is the worst example of a space battle I have laid eyes on.

Book was lacking, I cant recommend it to anyone. I suppose if you read the first, you should read this one to close it out.

I for one will not be purchasing another Luceno novel set in the star wars universe.

This book is a disappointing effort by a very capable and stylish author. While much of it will interest Star Wars fans, it lacks a believable story line.

Chief among these story problems is that the most famous Jedi don't know if they should fight to save their own galaxy from the biggest threat in history. The Jedi act like immature adolescents who don't know the difference between idealism and duty.

Another story problem for the reader is finding a way to get interested in the "refugee evacuation challenge", to which 50% of the book is dedicated. This plot is clearly insignificant compared to the Galactic War, yet the war remains firmly in the background until the very end of the book.

If you need to read this book to "connect the dots" in the series, go ahead, it's well written. If you're looking for a "gem" from the many Star Wars books written to this point, continue your search.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the first book of 'Agents of Chaos'. But here Luceno tries to fit in too many things between the title page and the back cover.

I think there are about 9 parallel story threads going on. While this can work in a pageturning monster book of 700+ pages, 350 pages are not enough space to elaborate any of those strory threads. Each of the threads is in itself worthwile, 1) Leia revisiting the Hapes cluster to get reinforcements, 2) Jacen and Anakin Solo going to Corellia to rearm Cenerpoint Station, 3) Han and the Ryn trying to find the Ryn's family clan and discovering another dirty plot of humans working together with the Yuuzhan Vong (this time its transporting refugees), 4) Wurth Skidder doing a covert mission aboard a prison vessel of the Yuuzhan Vong, 5) Kyp Durron and his Dozen trying to rescue Wurth, 6) the friction of the pact between Hutts and Yuuzhan Vong, 7) Talon Karrde off on an Intelligence mission to determine the next target of the Yuuzhan Vong, 8) the rise of a new ruthless senator in the Defensive Council, 9) plans and intrigues between the Yuuzhan Vongs.

I think those were all the different plot lines. Each one in itself could have made a good story, often building on old continuity, but everything together in just 348 pages do not fit the bill.

Mara Jade is missing sorely from the book... after getting healthy again, you would suspect her to take a really active role, after trying to not let the desease hamper her actions, she gets well, she disappears (What?). Sounds like "Problem is solved, next one..." to me. The storylines in this book could have easily been spread to two books, making this a trilogy. Now its just two many stroylines eclipsing the quality of the book.

James Luceno has contributed a superlative chapter into a saga that has stretched over 4 movies, and over 140 books in different forms. I have no idea to what degree the dozens of Authors collaborate on these written episodes, but their coordination of events, lack of contradiction, and seamless plot integration is almost uncanny. Many single volume tales contradict themselves, but George Lucas maintains an incredibly high standard, in each work, and the epic as a whole.

The genetic weapons of the Yuuzhan Vong continue to be introduced without repetition, and with a cleverness that sets the standard for original Science Fiction. As I read this work I kept thinking the visual display these stories would make on a screen, visual experiences we likely will never see. I suppose a long shot hope would be that the younger of the Lucas clan would continue their father's work someday.

When this all started in The New Hope, The Rebel Alliance was definitely on the razor's edge of defeat. This series that is certainly dark tragedy continues to escalate in violence, spread over rapidly increasing star systems, and few survive the experience. The New Republic is being lead by a council that gets more inept, or willfully negligent with each installment, The Jedi are not what we originally thought them to be, at least so far, and there is almost no cohesion except for the Yuuzhan Vong. These fractured alliances range from the galactic to the very personal.

We already know where Episode III will leave us, and now after Episode VI, this new series is as dark as anything we have seen. Chewbacca has been killed, Jedi too have died, and other main characters are sure to follow. What a Jedi is supposed to be gets more confusing each time, will Anakin once again step to the forefront, or will his more passive Brother influence events?

Whatever has brought this new enemy to the New Republic is also unveiling more of itself and its structure. Does anyone else find their reverence for natural biologic instruments as opposed to the mechanical, as conflicting with their self abuse, the mutilation of their own bodies as I do?

This series started out with a very negative bent, and has not changed its direction. While still early in the series, events will need to start unfolding soon, so that a recovery, however devastating can be executed.

Who will be left standing, in control, and the truth behind these new invaders is going to be a wild ride.

This conclusion to James Lucerno's series effectively ties in most of the characters and sub-plots of the New Jedi Order series - with a few notable exceptions. Lucerno's ability to weave all the characters and sub-plots together into an explosive finale is almost on par to that of Timothy Zahn, author of what is arguably the best Star Wars writing ever. While keeping the fast-moving pace of that characterizes his writing, Lucerno manages to work in many little background details that any semi-literate Star Wars fan will recognize. Fans of the Young Jedi Knights series, like myself, will be happy to know that that series is not ignored by Lucerno, the only author of the new series to make an effort to incorporate it into his book. There's even a small cameo for Tenel Ka. While Lucerno doesn't tie up many of the loose ends that R.A. Salvatore created in Vector Prime, he does manage to darken the overall mood of the series. (Allthough Vector Prime was pretty dark to begin with.) As our heroes (and there are a lot of them) go from one desperate situation, their struggles are tied in with the struggles of the New Republic as a whole. I won't spoil it for you, but this book ends on a grimmer note than his previous one, presumably setting the scene for Kathy Tiers novel Balance Point. Allthough I enjoyed this book, a few things annoyed me. Most notably, the absence of Mara Jade, Jaina Solo, or any other strong female character other than Leia. While most of the plot centers around Han Solo and the Vong's alliance with the Hutts, all of the subplots focus around male characters - Wurth Skidder, Jacen and Anakin Solo - with the exception of Leia, who is engaged in - what else?- diplomacy. Even if Jaina Solo is off flying in Rogue Squadron, Lucerno had ample oppurtunity to put her in one of the many space battles he wrote. And knowing what I do of Mara Jade's character, I find it hard to believe she would just stand around waiting on Coruscant, recuperating or not. Lucerno is not the first Star Wars author to ignore the female characters, but I hope he is the last. I, for one, was looking foward to seeing Jaina Solo's character grow and change, not just Jacen and Anakin's.

This was an ok book. I did not care for how it skipped around all the time from character to character point of view. It could be better if it was more uniform and flowed together more.

This is the fifth volume of this epic Star Wars saga which takes place twenty-one years after the Battle of Endor (the destruction of the second Death Star.) While the skeptic might say that the series is getting bogged down in minutia, I actually am quite pleased with how this series is addressing the personal nature of the invasion on the various protagenists.

Han is not taking the death of Chewie very well. Jacen and Anakin continue their philosophical dispute over the nature of the Force and how it should be employed against the Yuuzhan Vong. Leia is off on another impossible diplomatic mission, this one to try to bring the Hapes Consortium into the war on the side of the New Republic. The Hutts have been involved as well as dozens of worlds, many of which have been either occupied or destroyed by the extragalactic invaders.

All of this is taking place in the context of a seemingly unstoppable advance that is taking the Yuuzhan Vong ever closer to the Core and the capital world of Coruscant. The New Republic is grasping at staws trying to determine where the Vong are going to strike next and profiteers are trying to take advantage of the situation to make profit off of the refugee crisis.

The sad part of all of this is that the very human responses (including from many nonhumans) is all too realistic. From the profiteering to the racism (particularly against the Ryn, but also by some humans at Corellia) is a sad commentary.

The writing is good and I am enjoying the evolution of the story. I am very curious to see where this is going.