Customer Reviews

Star Wars: Crosscurrent

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for this.

Yes, I'm a faithful Star Wars reader. I am a Star Wars freak. I own every Expanded Universe novel, have read them cover to cover. And for some reason, my passion for Star Wars - regardless that I have spent my money on them - has waned. Perhaps it is because the Star Wars line has ALWAYS been about Luke, Han, Leia and the kids, and the same enemies (I have to say I'm not really that impressed with the Fate of the Jedi series, but I will continue to read it because, well, I'm a Star Wars fan).

But I admit this today: Paul S. Kemp has re-affirmed my love for Star Wars in his debut EU release, Crosscurrent.

Kemp takes a fresh look at the Star Wars EU, mixing in names we've heard about and have loved and adds strong pacing that leaves the reader wondering how he got to page 153 when it seemed he was just on page 32. He takes a little-known Jedi by the name of Jaden Korr and mixes him in with a pair of scavengers -- one who was born during the time of Outbound Flight, the other a Cerean with light Force-sensitivity -- as well as a Jedi transported through time 5,000 years from the time of Naga Sadow (a living Holocron, if you will), and turns the tale into an instant Star Wars classic.

This is my first novel by Paul S. Kemp and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He writes beautifully, articulately, and visually descriptive. All the characters, locations, and action were well described. I really enjoyed his writing style.

As far as the story is, this book is supposed to be a "stand alone" storyline; that is, it is not part of a series. Though, I just read that in 2011 or 2012 there will be a follow up to this book. Nevertheless, the story stands on its own with "some" finality to it.

I like that Paul S. Kemp sheds light on an EU character from the video game "Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy" - Jaden Korr. Along with some other interesting characters and fantastic situations that make for an interesting read.

Overall, I liked the book and its story, characters, and events. On a scale from 1-10, I give it a respectable 7. Worthy of a read.

A SW Legacy Era book by Paul S. Kemp:
What happens when Jedi, scavengers and an assassin meet ancient Sith near an ice moon in the Unknown Regions of space?
This book has a fast moving plot, alot of action and interesting characters. The sub-plots were well thought out and support the main plot. I have to give the author credit for the selection of character species in this book; Massassi, Anzat and Kaleesh are all accounted for. Especially the Anzat character Kell Douro, a species featured in the SW book 'Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina'. The author expands the anzat species nicely. Also, A few nice threads of EU history where added for good measure.
CAUTION: I do not recommend this book for children or squeamish adults. More graphic images of violence than most Star Wars books.

Let me start by saying I'm a hardcore Star Wars fan, especially of the Jedi Academy game. Last year, when this was announced, I was exited about a new Jaden book. But after finishing this, I am left unsatisfied.

Paul Kemp's choppy writing style was different the other novels. It seems he doesn't like to describe, or at least the important moments. He will not tell us anything about the captain character when we first meet him as he's repairing his ship, but Paul will spend a page and a half telling of his adventure from one end of town to another. There's too much real-life items, phrases and sayings in this novel, a current "trend" for new EU books.

I don't think he pulled Jaden off right. I'm glad he didn't give him a defined face, but did tell us about his hair, a beard, eyes, ect. Maybe it's just me, but I would have preferred the Stephen King approach, telling us a few things about him and letting our minds come up with the rest.

The main villan, Saes, is, I'm sad to say, boring. Generic. Forgettable. I did not care about him. Nor was I afraid or pitied him. Though his former master, Relin, was interesting and complex. And the two junk scavengers were interesting at times too.

This book is NOT for new fans. Especially ones who are squimesh. The book is loaded with spoilers and references from other works, including events and deaths. Also, he just assumes you know what every species in the galaxy looks and sounds like, not bothering to explain them.

What really gets me is that Paul didn't play Jedi Academy. He has posted this numerous times on his blog. The fun adventure where we first met Jaden is barely even mentioned in the book. And Rosh, unfortunately, doesn't even get a mention. Sometimes it felt like Paul never really read any of the books, the bland lines and scrappy details at best implying that he simply read it out of a source book and put it into the novel. And there are little EU "bumps". In this, Jaden still has his original lightsaber, when in the game, it was destroyed and buried under rubble. Again, a testament to him not playing the game or reading up on the character. I'm sorry, but when you're playing in someone's other universe, you do the research, not just pull it off a source book and pretend to know it when you barely understand what happened.

The time-travel was done quite well, I will say. But I don't think there's enough "meat" for lack of a better phrase, on the bone for a sequel.

It's not a BAD book by any means. It is, however, DISAPPOINTING. It felt like just another Sci-Fi novel with STAR WARS slapped on the cover. Another growing trend with Del Ray and the new novels. I suppose if there's nothing else to read, this would be alright, but I'm going to persue better works by other author's. I will not be picking up the untitled sequel.

Star Wars: Crosscurrent, by Paul S. Kemp

Let me start by saying that I am a fan of Paul S. Kemp - I love his Forgotten Realms Erevis Cale series, and couldn't have been happier when I heard he was going to write a Star Wars Extended Universe book. I ran out to pick up "Crosscurrent" the day it was released and devoured it in the same day.

"Crosscurrent" takes place near the end of the EU Legacy of the Force series and features Jaden Korr, a relatively obscure Jedi Knight. Jaden is suffering from uncertainty, questioning his life as a Jedi, and the role of the Jedi in the universe. When he's sent a Force vision, Jaden feels he must journey to the place in his dream, where he's sure he will find the answer to his uncertainty.

Also starring in "Crosscurrent" is Relin Druur, a Jedi Master fighting in the Great Hyperspace War against the Sith...a war that took place 5,000 years ago. Relin and his Padawan are shadowing a Sith ship, looking for intelligence that will tip the next battle. Kemp entwines the stories of Jaden and Relin skillfully, creating characters that you care about instantly.

One thing I really like about this book is it doesn't have any big-names in the EU - there's no Luke, Leia, or Han. I had no clue who was going to live or die, and I loved it. Kemp's Jedi aren't goody two shoes who know everything, but instead are real people, questioning their place and purpose, balancing on the fine line between light and dark. They are supported by a grimy cast of characters: two junk scavengers and an Anzat villain. I liked Khedryn and Marr, the scavengers, just as much as the major characters of the novel, and hope to see more of them in the future. For me, I often enjoy the minor, normal people of the Star Wars EU, and Kemp gives a great picture of some mostly normal guys trying to make a mostly legal living who are drawn into a dangerous situation by Jedi.

If you've been disillusioned by recent Star Wars EU novels, I encourage you to try "Crosscurrent." Kemp brought back some of the magic that has been missing for me in recent SW novels, and I know that "Crosscurrent" will be a book I reread with enjoyment. I cannot wait for his next EU book!

5/5.

Decent book. The story is fairly narrow in scope, but it seems that it may be expanded upon more in future books.
I really liked all of the characters, although they don't use contractions as often as they probably should have which read a bit weird.
I really hate the idea of Lignan enhancing only dark side powers. It is almost as stupid as the idea of midichlorians.

It used to be that I actually looked forward to a Star Wars novel, now I find that the only place to go for a proper Star Wars experience bookwise is in the graphic novels and comics. That sense of adventure just doesn't exist anymore in most everything in the NJO.

Every time the post Luke generation has looked interesting, something has undermined them. Either no one touches them again, or someone ruins all the fun with inexplicable story decision. The Jedi Knight franchise has not been revisited since 2003, people like Jacen Solo who looked interesting during the Vong War are killed off or turned into bad guys.

With Crosscurrent one of the starring characters in the stellar Jedi Knight franchise gets to play protagonist for the first time in a novel.

Positives:-
1) Jaden is like one of the ancient Jedi Watchmen, it's like reading about Obi Wan for the first time.
2) Tension.
3) You'll care about the new characters.
4) Descriptive dialog lends the universe a very visceral vibe.
5) Jaden's battle with Alpha.
6) The captain of Junker and his co pilot Marr - both have some depth to them.
7) Relin, the ancient Jedi.
8) The clones, proper maccabre psychopaths, rare in Star Wars.

Cons:-
1) "There be dragons!" - I hate this phrase, somehow feels out of place and even if it was used in the appropriate place, it's still a terrible phrase to use. It wasn't used much but every time I saw it, I got a little annoyed.

2) Jaden's search in the abandoned facility - could have been better, some descriptions could have been skipped. I felt that some of the descriptions were just filler - probably the least fun little section in the book.

3) Saes - the Sith Lord was somewhat of a shallow character. He's the same species as Grievous but that's as interesting as he gets.

"Crosscurrent is set some 41.5 years after the events of A New Hope...and some five thousand years before that. Crosscurrent is told through a series of flashes from the past and the "present". It's very much about threads of fate, plots and events of the past coming to fruition in the future. Now most of the time this way of storytelling can be jarring. I've put books down and left them on the shelf because of this. Usually it's hard to keep the flow of interest going on two simultaneous stories. The author does a masterful job in tying the two together as well as keeping both halves of the story exciting. He makes it really work. I do love being surprised!

"Without spoiling anything I can say that the story (stories) definitely nail the Star Wars vibe. Sith vs. Jedi showdowns, space battles, star fighter chases, smarmy cantinas, cryptic force-visions and how they play out...all really well done. You can certainly see a difference in the Jedi of ages past versus Jedi of "The New Order" but you can see similarities too. They are still Jedi. I think in a lot of ways "The New Order" Jedi have to be a bit more contemplative: seeing more shades of gray than the Jedi of old (which I think led to their fall).

"Crosscurrent is a stand-alone novel. You don't need to read anything else before reading it, which is nice. This is a great book to give to people that haven't read a Star Wars novel before, or if they've read them all: I think the story stands up nicely. I did have to go back and re-read a few bits. Occasionally I got confused on whether I was reading X's story or Y's story. This is to be expected, especially when the whole thing is a series of flashbacks (and flash forwards.) I did get a bit confused on names too, but I think that is because I'm reading the PDF version and not a paper book where I can easily flip back to the "Cast of Characters" page for handy reference.

"The author does a fine job of keeping the reader on their toes. I wasn't sure where the story would lead or who would die or not. I think that's a great thing in storytelling (something many authors don't seem to achieve). I love to be kept guessing as well as being wrong in my assumptions of where the plot is going. Granted there were a couple groaner events, but still...a really great story. One part in-particular wraps nicely around a card game. Beautifully crafted scene. Very well done. That is one of the best negotiations I've seen in a long while. There are funny moments and great dialogue and some full-stop moments that will have you scratching your head. About halfway through the novel you have an "Oh Crap" moment and everything starts falling together. At this point if you weren't snagged by the author's hooks, you are now!

"Overall, it's a fun ride with lots of bumps, twists and turns. Good sci-fi in general, smart Star Wars fiction in particular. Star Wars has a New Hero: Jaden Korr and Paul S. Kemp."

I thought this looked really cool, with the sort of General Grevious guy on the cover.

It wasn't good.

The story is essentially: two force users get stuck in space warp for 5000 years, leave space and meet up with a jedi and some goons who are there following a force vision of something "dark" while the two force users fight each other at the end.

The plot device, the Lignan, are rarely mentioned, and are only referenced a few times, which is weird because you start off thinking it was supposed to be super important. They're not.

I really enjoyed this book. The author wrote in a different format from what he typically pens, and I found it refreshing. His insight of the ways of The Force are spot on, and he delivers a well rounded romp through the Star Wars universe.

The concept of The Force often trips up some authors, but not this time around.