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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Story but Rushed + Bad Characterization, October 17, 2002
This review is from: Destiny's Way (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 14) (Hardcover)
This is not a bad novel, but one that will probably disappoint the NJO fans - like myself. If you are following the series, then you have to read it - or you 'll miss a lot of important plot points. But even though the overall NJO story-arc is served very well, the Expanded Universe in general, is not. The problem seems to be that this should have definatelly been a much longer novel - perhaps even a trilogy. As it stands the book feels very rushed. The story begings strongly, from where Traitor left off. Indeed, the first half does an amazing job of tying up a lot of lose ends, both in particular subplots and the more abstract aspects of the NJO series: We learn Vergere's story; we find out what happened to Bel Iblis, Kre'fey and Wedge Antilles after Star by Star and the Enemy Lines duology; we witness the developing situation on Coruscant (Yuuzhan'tar), Nom Anor, Chavong Lah, Nen Yim and the rest of scarhead gang; and finally, after four books (since Star by Star) we catch up to the larger state of affairs in the New Republic. Also, the war seems to reach equilibrium: for thirteen books now I 've been thinking that , the element of surprise aside, there is NO way that a small extragalactic force can beat a galactic scale republic; in all warfare, resources will ultimately determine the outcome, unless the bigger of the two combatants is swiftly eliminated right on the outset. (see WWI, WWII etc.) In Destiny's Way the story finally reaches this rational stage. The New Republic is pulling itself together and switching to war footing, swinging the momentum back. So the first 200-or-so pages are great. However, after that the story falls apart; or, rather, it gets too rushed, even with the two chapters that became the eBook "Ylesia" ending up being cut. The story seems to get pushed to its predetermined conclusion and the play-by-play becomes color commentary. Diverse characters are used briefly to facilitate the needs of the action and then dropped without explanation. Williams switches from a day-by-day narrative to an event-by-event one, skipping between places and situations with dizzying speed. The final 200-odd pages should have been 200 + a 400 page Dastiny's Way II. That would have made this a 5-star effort, on par with Star by Star. The other big disappointment with Destiny's Way (probably related to the lack of space) is that A LOT of the best characters, suspiciously almost all of them having been created by either Timithy Zahn or Michael Stackpole, are portrayed very badly. They following favorites are all out of character: [ SPOILERS ] - Grand Admiral Pellaeon, acting like a stiff Imperial biggot all of the sudden, even though he is already Leia' s friend.
- Soontir Fel, who is momentarily referrenced as Jag Fel's father, "an Imperial Baron". Surely, there is waaayyy more to Fel than that! How about the Chiss and their part in the war? the relationship to Antilles? to Garnd Admiral Thrawn and his views on the galaxy?..
- Bel Iblis is asked by Luke to save the day, in a final titanic battle, as the New Republic is still short on ships. He shows up, gets not a single line and seemingly hands control of his entire fleet to Luke. I had to read it twice to try and figure out whether he was present at all.
- Antilles himself, the hero of Borleias, who has more or less singlehandedly changed the momentum of the war, is completely left out. Apparently he is in Kuat with Tycho. He is not recalled for the final battle, despite the fleet's shortages.
- Wraith leader Garik "Face" Loran makes a cameo, says "understood, Major" over his com unit and fades back into annonymity... .. which brings me to the final (perhaps minor) problem. The technical details of the Expanded Universe, which authors like M. Stackpole use so artfully to bring their stories to life are way off and inconsistent. Here Williams didn't do enough research.
- Fleets are called "squadrons", squadron flights are called "sections", warships are generically "cruisers" or "frigates", the Wraiths are flying "super fast snoopships", whatever that is and the author becomes infatuated with A-Wings.
- Apparently, two (!) new Super Star Destroyers are in existence, yet they are NOT used for anything, inspite the aforementioned ship shortages. Thank God for Booster's Errand Venture, the only Destroyer-class vessel that sees any action.
I realise that these are rather esoteric points, yet consistency and continuity are what has made Star Wars' Expanded Universe so addictive. This novel felt strange and a bit alien, like a PC user experiencing a Macintosh for the first time - to uncomfortable to be fully satisfied. I would still recommend this any Star Wars fans, but I do wish the editorial staff at DelRay would do a more thorough job in the future.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Bother Reading this book, October 11, 2002
This review is from: Destiny's Way (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 14) (Hardcover)
Review Destiny's Way by Walter Jon Williams First off, would it not have been possible for Del Rey to have found an author that knew more about Star Wars than snoozing through the movies, and getting a friend to tell him about the EU. I mean HELLO...I think RA Salvatore had a better grip on the characters than this guy, and Vector Prime was the third worst book of the series. This guy did not even know that Winter was married to Tycho, and had to add a blurp in after the fact that made the story become choppy. He portrays Jaina as a `Damsel in Distress', having her in a total panic in the middle of not one but four furballs. I mean HELLO, I am married to a Fighter Jock, and I know from his history and common sense, that you NEVER panic in a furball, if you do, you die. Also the man can't write a space battle to save his life, `Extend foils'? Did this man even see Star Wars? Extend means to move out, and the S-foils on an X-Wing do not extend they separate. As for Mara in this book, well he has her closer to her personality, her personality from the Thrawn and Jedi Academy Trilogies. Since the birth of Ben, she has shown a lot more restraint in her actions, so as NOT to make him an orphan. I just don't see her ramming a Vong spy's sub with hers, I see her keeping them occupied while someone else gets there with weapons to destroy the Vong sub, but ramming? Also, I'm sorry, but having been married to a Sub Jock (Yeah been married a couple of times) it takes YEARS to be able to pilot a sub to the point of getting a missile on your arse to think your opponent is you. Also where all of a sudden did Luke acquire all this information about the old Jedi and another Holocron? When Luke is talking to Vergere, he knows entirely too much about the old order, information that had been destroyed by the Emperor, and lost for all eternity. He would not know that Jedi were not allowed to marry and procreate, nor that they were taken from their homes as infants. Also the last Holocron was destroyed by Exar Kun in the Jedi Academy Trilogy. Now onto Leia, in the other books, (Dark Journey, Rebel Dream and Rebel Stand), Leia approved of Jaina's parrying with Jag Fel. Now all of a sudden she does not, thinking that having an Imperial Baron in the family would be just to confusing (paraphrase from the book). Leia would not think that way, mainly because there are too many ex-Imperials that have joined the New Republic. Also he is Wedge's nephew, and is much more like his uncle than his father. I just cannot see Leia wanting to daunt her daughter's happiness for the sake of protocol. If she were going to do that, she would have married Isolder not Han. Then at the end of the book, there is a scene in which Luke is trying to encourage Han to rejoin the military to lead the group from the Smuggler's Alliance (which had been disbanded before the end of the Thrawn Trilogy). During this, Leia is attempting to convince Han NOT to do this. Now if this isn't out of character for Leia, I have no clue what her character is like. Also there is a scene in the book where she tells an Imperial Commander "Wisdom is knowing when you've given all you can." Sorry but this is not Leia like. Leia would be back in the heat of things, as is her personality. Now here is one I really like. Mr. Williams has written Tsvong Lah as a sniveling idiot, not fit to command a garbage hauler much less be a warmaster for the Yzuuhan Vong. I was extremely disappointed in the Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord Shimrra. He is a whimp. HAS MR. WILLIAMS EVEN READ THE NJO? The Vong are so caught up in courage and bravery that they take it BEYOND the extreme. There is no fear of death or pain, they EMBRACE it, they WELCOME it. I mean these people relax in the `Embrace of Pain' this is their form of recreation. Personally I feel that this book though written well, was written by someone who has no clue what Star Wars is. I would definitely suggest to anyone wanting to read this book, that they just check it out of the library and save your money for more meaningful things, I sure wish I had.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What a letdown, October 14, 2002
This review is from: Destiny's Way (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 14) (Hardcover)
To be sure, the books of the NJO have been a mixed bag. But, for the most part, the hardbacks have held their own and a few of the paperbacks, like Traitor, have been extremely enjoyable. Destiny's Way changes all this...and not for the better. Why oh why did the editors think that Williams would be a good choice for such an important book? His writing is so simple and blase you'd think he was turning it in as a junior high homework assignment. Entire chapters consisted of narrative dribble: "Jaina got up and went to work. Jacen went swimming." Indeed, simple writing concepts such as climax and plot twists seem as alien to him as the Yuuzhan Vong do to our Star Wars family. Of course, what is truly unpardonable is his obvious lack of familiarity with the characters' personalities. Not a single character is well written and some of them, like Luke and especially Vergere, are just plain terrible. Apparently, Williams believed that the better strategy was just to throw in as many characters as he possibly could, include a few who have been absent for far too long, and then hope the readers would love him for it. Clue in, Walt: lots of characters don't make a good book--truly understanding your characters and helping the reader to does (see Traitor). In the end, you have to read it because it's supposed to be "the turning point" of the series. But, don't expect too much. It's a simple story written by a simple author.
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