Customer Reviews

Dark Tide I: Onslaught (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 2)

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I gave this book 4 stars because I reserve 5 stars for really groundbreaking books with outstanding plots. In the Star Wars Universe, I have given 5 stars only to I Jedi (also by Stackpole), Vision of the Future, and the uproariously funny Star Fighters of Adumar. Onslaught isn't quite in that category. Mr. Stackpole is adding to an established story arc and must work within the confines of the arc. He does a tremendous job of making the plot and characters become true to the Star Wars name. This book focuses mostly on Luke and Mara, the Solo Children, Corran Horn, and Princess Leia. For those readers who missed Han Solo in this book, be patient. Han gets two books of his own soon. Jim Luceno (former writing partner of the late Brian Dailey, author of the Early HS trilogy) will be writing books 4 and 5 of the New Jedi Order. Han will get his day.

In Onslaught, Stackpole shows more about the new villains, and makes them seem very alien and threatening. These guys are really BAD! Even Corran Horn is astounded by their ruthlessness, and he's seen the dregs of the Galaxy. When Stackpole writes of Luke and Mara, we can see the depths of their love of each other. And Luke fans will find the Jedi Master at his best. The Solo children continue to blossom into real people in Onslaught. Stackpole does a marvelous job of combining the Solo children, as seen in the Young Jedi Knights and other books, with the almost grown up Solos of Vector Prime. He continues the growth that was started by Salvatore and adds the connections to previous works that was missing in Vector Prime. Corran Horn fans will will love Onslaught, he is well represented in Onslaught. Corran has "grown up" some since his Rouge Squadron days, but still has that delightful arrogance that only a former CorSec officer could have.

To sum it all up, Onslaught is not Stackpole's best work, but it is what was needed to bring the New Jedi Order to ALL Star Wars fans, old and new. Stackpole skillfully blends the best of Vector Prime and the New Jedi Order story with the Star Wars that so many of us have know and loved for so long.

That the pages be turned slowly is important, as this is much briefer than previous books, carefully, because if 2 pages stick together you could literally miss an entire appearance of a long time mainstay of the Star Wars History.

The additional time spent on the organic weaponry of The Yuuzhan Vong, is brilliant. I don't know where the credit should be given, but whether from one author, a collaboration, or Mr. Lucas, this part of the new series I find fascinating.

This book opens a variety of issues that are going to need to be resolved. To the extent these details are shared, I believe the reader can get a better idea of where this whole new series that started with Vector Prime may be heading. The book resolves very little if anything, and really sets the stage for a variety of future plot lines.

Additionally it strongly reinforces the mood that Vector Prime began. This is a more violent, more graphically depicted part of the Star Wars Saga. It also introduces conflict where you would least expect it, on issues as basic as what a Jedi Knight was, is, or should be.

So far these two books offer no moments that are light, the whole experience is burdensome, painful.

The quality in this new series is present and abundant, the issue is making the adjustment from the previous mood that was Star Wars, to the new experience it has become.

Other than the brevity I have one complaint that may be considered nit picking, but I believe Star Wars Fans tend to be demanding, and I am glad they are. The artwork on the book is weak. I don't like the style and unlike Vector Prime it is almost generic.

When Chewbacca was portrayed as a constellation on the Vector Prime Cover, you either knew something was coming, or after the reading was through, the image on the book was exceptional, regardless of whether or not you cared for the storyline.

My complaint is hardly large, as I would read these books if they had blank covers. Since there has been such outstanding artwork, i.e. Dave Dorman, I have come to expect it, so it was glaringly missed this time around.

The book is very well done, and the shortcomings like the length are minor, all in all buy it.

Just take your time reading it!

Michael Stackpole is a great sci fi writer. 'I, Jedi' was great, and this novel solidifies him as a boneafide Star Wars novelist. His descriptions of landscapes, alien worlds and technology vividly paint pictures within your head without going overboard like other authors.

What makes Onslaught a unique book is: 1) This book begins a story arc that seems to fit in between Vector Prime's overall story arc. Though it can be read alone, probably best if you read Vector Prime first to understand some events. 2) It is hard to describe, but this is a great novel with no real plot resolution or end. This novel seems to almost to be a prelude to an actual novel not yet out--meaning that there are numerous events taking shape all across the Star Wars universe, almost shot like small vignettes, and only towrds the physical end of the novel do things start shaping up getting ready for hopefully the next one. 3) The Vong (enemies) here have no central characters unlike the one's in Vector Prime. They are treated as this overall imposing threat and we learn more about them through their actions and culture, but no one Vong character is present....until the Epilouge. 4) Some of your main SW chracters you have learned to love aren't here or play very MINOR roles....Han is only around very briefly in the beginning, Lando has a 'few' moments, there really is no 3PO, Ackbar, Mothma, Antilles, etc.

5) <I seperated this for a reason> Another character dies. This lends some believability to this New Jedi Order of novels. The characters we love, aren't invincible anymore, and neither are their friends. A great plus!

6) Most importantly, I beelive this novel truly does usher us into the next generation of Star Wars. We see some returning Jedi from other novels playing a more prominent role, you see less of the standard characters, we are seeing new enemies with little of the Imperial Remenant. However, this is the deciding novel where the Solo children are finally given their own identities. We were always treated to Jacen and Jaina as twins and whenever they were written about it was typical twin stuff. Anakin Solo was just the cute little kid who was strong in the force. But here is where Stackpole shines....We now see the individual strengths, fears, and dreams of these children. Jacen is very insightful questioning his own role as a Jedi, Anakin full of Pride (never wants to let Luke or Mara down), Jaina full of adventure (the next Rouge). It just gets better and better.

I think one of the best scenes for me was when Jacen and Anakin were side by side, new Jedi's in trade, taking on the Vong. It was a real page turner and I felt as if I was there with them, adrenaline pumping. When a writer can do that, it's a good novel!

When the new publisher decided to take the Star Wars story in a new direction I was initially intrigued. That optimistic curiosity dissipated about halfway through the first book, Vector Prime. That novel disappointed me greatly to the point where I decided to put Star Wars books on probation. If Vector Prime was going to set the standard and they didn't get better really soon, I would find something else to spend my `disposable' income on. I don't promote mediocrity, especially considering some of the excellent Star Wars books that have come before.

Well Onslaught, the first installment of the Dark Tide duology, brings back a lot of my old enthusiasm for the Star Wars saga. The characters are portrayed in a manner more befitting their development, the story is interesting and the aliens' bio-tech weapons are presented with much more believable descriptions. The level of technical detail falls somewhere between Stackpole's previous X-Wing novels and the more mainstream Star Wars novels. Long time fans of the "Expanded Universe" will find plenty of references to past stories that make this story feels as though it `belongs' but new readers won't feel left out. This is how it should be.

The one downside to this book is that it is not able to completely make up for Vector Prime's shortcomings but realistically fixes them and fills in as much as possible. Personally, I would like to have seen Mike Stackpole write the first NJO book as he is really familiar with Star Wars but the publisher wanted to use their better-known author as the book would probably sell better with his name on the cover. The resulting story, though it seemed to sell well, was controversial for a number of reasons and has chased a number of fans away. Hopefully, word that Onslaught is really good will bring some of those folks back.

I'm really looking forward to the 2nd installment of this series, Ruin, due out in a few months.

I will start out by saying this book was really good and while it was better than Vector Prime it was only marginally so. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed this book very much but it just seemed lacking in some ways. While Stackpole has a good grasp of his characters from his x wing series( not to mention great understanding of the Solo kids) he seems to be lacking when writing about Luke, Leia, and an absent Han. It wasn't horrible I just feel his stronger characters were of the x wings series, which is understandable but star wars fan love their Luke. That said I feel this was a good addition to the new major plot line and is very entertaining. It reads well and that good old star wars universe feeling is always with you even if it is somewhat darkened by the current story. My only real complaint is the book's length which left a lot to be desired. I had read that when Del Rey got the licsense they wanted to focus on longer novels but this one is way off that mark with only 290 something pages. Hopefully the next one will be lengthier and will have more Han. Where was he? That said, this is a good one for star wars fans and should fill that empty void till the next one hits the shelves. Hopefully longer and with Han.

This is the second book in the New Jedi Order storyline. The first, Vector Prime, was fantastic though I wondered if the ambitious story could be maintained over the several dozen books that Del Ray has planned, but my concerns are mute now. This book actually ups the anti of the story and delivers several new elements that are very welcome. Michael Stackpole has written his best Star Wars book yet and retains his place in the surprisingly small group of authors to have successfully tackled the Star Wars universe and come out with a really bright gem. High points of the book include Stackpole's Corran Horn as an older, more mature Jedi, the introspective examinations of The Force, the characterizations of the Solo children, and the strong relationships between the characters, particularly Luke and Mara (Stackpole being one of the few who can actually write Mara well, apparently it's harder than you'd think!). The only complaints I have about it is that Lando seems to only be along for the ride, Lando is NEVER just along for the ride, and also I would have liked to see Leia using more Jedi skills, but I understand why she doesn't in this book so that's not so much a complaint. All in all, one of the best Star Wars books written.

I've got to be honest. I was starting to get weary of the continuing adventures of my favorite characters. I picked up Vector Prime and thought it was all right. There was more potential there and I wanted to see how the story continued, so I picked up Onslaught. Wow! I'm exited about Star Wars books again!

It's great that the Empire isn't the enemy, but a far greater threat. With the Vong, you actually expect something bad to happen to our heroes. It's edge of your seat and has you turning the pages.

I'm glad that we see other characters get some of the spotlight, instead of concentrating SOLEY on Luke, Han and Leia. We get to see Jacen, Jaina and Anakin come into their own as true heroes of the Republic. But, before they can let their heads get to big, they get to see why the older generation are legends. I got chills when Luke finally got to whip some butt again. Wielding TWO lightsabers? That's almost too good to be true!

Anyways, the action flows, the story is interesting and the characters are great. Some complain about Han not having enough page time, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing Han Solo back sometime soon.

Simply, Michael A. Stackpole delivers the most entertaining literary Star Wars tale in a long time... a long time.

Having missed out on Vector Prime (I don't pay extra for hardcover), I came into Onslaught kind of flat-footed. While the Yuuzhan Vong were fascinating (Star Wars really needed a new villain), the battle scenes were good, and most of the character development was beneficial, there were what I would consider some holes in the plot. The most glaring one was Han Solo going off on a drunken binge while his wife and children are risking their lives on the other side of the galaxy. You'd think after 25 years of being a family man he'd have grown up a litle more than that. Especially the part about Anakin and Han both blaming themselves for Chewie's death seems kind of stupid. People who live so dangerously really shouldn't be so surprised when somebody doesn't make it back, as if they were all invincible. So in short, I think the characters' reactions to Chewie's death should have been handled differently. On the other hand I liked the development of the Jedi ethic of self-restraint learned by Anakin. It seems very consistent with Yoda's teaching/example (What Would Yoda Do?) and gave the story more background continuity to the Episode I era Jedi. I am looking forward to seeing how the new Jedi finally settle their differences. I think Luke needs to preach a little more about the dark side.

Onslaught is certainly an improvement over Vector Prime. Considering the amount of time Stackpole has already spent in the Star Wars universe it should be. I was still dissapointed though. The Jedi's internal conflict feels forced, and the Vong are still rather flat though the epilogue was encouraging. My biggest complaint is the character inconsistencies. By Visions of the Future Leia was a Jedi if also a diplomat, and now she's not? Kyp is completely unrecognizable. And what *is* Danni's purpose? Han I believe is being set up for his own parallel books, but I think that is a huge mistake and a cop out. Stackpole's normal problems with weak dialogue and hollow supporting characters were there, but he is the action king. The action was good when he finally got around to it, and he handled the Jedi very well in respect to their fighting abilities and ingenuity. I think that the New Jedi Order over all is missing the elements of grandeur and wonder. And without them, it just doesn't *feel* like Star Wars.

After reading Vector Prime, I was seriously considering not reading anymore Star Wars novels; then I found out Stackpole was writing the Dark Tide Duology and I fugred that this story-arc deserved one more chance.

Stackpole hasn't failed to disappoint me. The major problem I had with Salvatore were all the continuity errors strewn throughout his novel and the lack of explanations as to why characters were doing things they wouldn't be expected to (Mara and Luke acting so cold and aloof towards each other; the character assination committed against Kyp) or getting equipment they shouldn't have (Lando having T/A x1s for instance).

You don't even need to read Vector Prime in order to understand what's going on in Onslaught; if you're reading this review and haven't read VP: don't bother. Salvatore doesn't know a thing of what he's writing about in the first place.

The part of the plot that strikes me as being most interesting concerns the Jedi. Kyp's always been head strong and tempermental; Luke had best be on his guard. Unfortunatly, Luke has been scared to death of the dark side thanks to Ben and Yoda, and he preaches on and on its dangers to his students.

Kyp wants to take these Vong on--good for him! I'm hoping Kyp'll get sick of Luke's whining, sever all ties with Skywalker and take his followers and take care of the Vong themselves (and it looks like that's exactly what will happen in Ruin). Of course, Luke wouldn't be pleased with this develeopment. He'd probably chew Kyp out and then Kyp would get aggitated and leave.

Kyp's anger could be focused upon Luke for taking such a whimpy approach to handling the Vong and the New Republic Senate for failing to act forcefully enough.

To sum it all up, I believe Kyp's heading down the path to the dark side again. I can't wait to see if I'm right.