Customer Reviews

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Traitor

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After decades of books, movies, cartoons and all the other incarnations of Star Wars we finally get a grown up intelligent book that explores the Force. Don't get me wrong I love epic battles and lightsaber snap-hissing but I have been waiting ages for someone to sit down and delve head first into the mystical power that surrounds everything. Adding in a compelling storyline with Jacen and his teacher/tormentor, Vergere, Stover produces and incredible tale.

After living through the Embrace of Pain, Jacen must find a way to regain himself and also mature into the person he has to be in order to survive. As his story progresses Jacen becomes ever stronger in the Force and uses his new understanding to free himself from his burden. Coming through on the other end the reader is left wondering which path Jacen will follow. Will he become the savior of the Republic or will he bring it to its knees. As the last words touch the page, Stover leaves us wondering if it could be both.

New Jedi Order was probably the hardest Star Wars series ever to conclude. There were a lot of characters and plots that needed resolution, as well as the war. Moreover, it needed to be convincing. Fortunately, James Luceno proved up to the task and made Unifying Force not only an epic conclusion to the series, but one of the best novels in the series. He manages to keep the suspense and drama of the war whilst providing a believable resolution to the conflict. I thought everything fit together well in retrospect, but not in ways I'd predicted!

The best parts of the novel are the character dialogues. Unlike some books in the series (I'm looking at Star by Star), Unifying Force provides ample time for dialogue. All of our favorite Star Wars characters really sound like themselves, but with the added toll of years and constant fighting. I love Han's reaction to the proposal that somebody should erect a statue in his honor. The best bits come after the war's conclusion, a 60 or so page denouement that really evoked war weariness and hope for the future (sadly, spoiled by my knowledge that there were more Star Wars books published after NJO destroying that illusory sense of peace).

My only complaint - if I have one - is that Luceno spends a lot of time early in the book with relatively minor characters like Pash Cracken, Judder Page, and even Yuuzhan Vong commander Malik Carr, but all these are forced to take a back seat midway through. The grande finale of the NJO series just isn't the time to introduce too many new characters. It's almost like Luceno started writing another NJO book, then realized he needed to focus on the main characters for the grand finale. Overall, this doesn't hurt the book much at all, and in times helps, but I worry that time spent with some of those characters would have been better spent with Nom Anor or Lando Calrissian (who, incidentally, seemed almost absent throughout the whole NJO series).

Overall, I'm glad NJO ended with such a bang. Unifying Force captures the best in character development and action, as well as drama, in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

Destiny's Way brings a lot of what's good in the New Jedi Order series into one package. While not all the characters receive much attention, those that do are done well. The Jacen-Vergere relationship continues in all of its twisted glory. Williams picks up where Stover left off and does a good job keeping true to Vergere's character. The Yuuzhan Vong come across as more than a bunch of religious madmen. I love the image of Nom Anor trying to ignore a burning itch. It's also the first time we see Shimrra as more than just a distant godlike figure. Meanwhile, Williams introduces the first Star Wars politician who isn't a sniveling crook or a saint. Cal Omas, the New Republic Chief of State, sounds and acts like a genuine politician, but is also a "good guy" in that he supports the Jedi. It's a relief to see a politician being portrayed realistically and intelligently.

Now, the bad. First, Vergere didn't have to die. She was easily the most interesting character of the series and there was a lot of room for her further development. I don't know if this was Williams' choice or LucasBooks', but either way it was a horrible decision. Also, Tsavong Lah's death is a bit overly dramatic. Again, it felt like somebody in the licensing department said he had to die in hand-to-hand combat with Jania, even though it doesn't really make sense given what happens to the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong troops stationed on Ebaq 9. In fact, Williams seems to have had to go out of his way to make Tsavong Lah the only surviving Vong yet also make sure Jania and the other Jedi weren't TOO much of a challenge for him. Neither of these death scenes really destroys the novel, but they should have turned out differently.

Overall, this was probably one of the better books in the series. Probably worth the read just to learn about Admiral Ackbar's last command.

During the 1990s, the Star Wars Expanded Universe was dominated by a bunch of no-name, clownish Imperials or Dark Jedi who always seemed like a dire threat, but then were always overtaken quite easily. Aaron Allston resurrects one of this motley crew, Irek Ismaren from The Crystal Star (Star Wars), with predictable results. The villain is a super-duper evil Dark Jedi - over 3 meters tall! - and makes Luke look weak. However, it's just laughable and reminds me how much better villains like the Yuuzhan Vong are. At least the Vong have personalities and actually do pose a threat for more than a single book. Also, in focusing on Luke and his battle against the Dark Jedi, Allston only gives the other characters superficial roles. Han and Leia go on some diplomatic mission, but it seems like it was thrown in there just to give them something to do (it's actually surprising that they're on the cover at all). The Tam and Tarc relationship was becoming interesting, but again I felt like there should have been more. When Allston gets in the starfighter scenes, especially at the end, he's brilliant. But overall this book seemed like a deviation from NJO back to the 90s.

I'd been looking forward to Star by Star for a while as the next "big" installment in the New Jedi Order series. However, I was disappointed - and NOT just because a certain lovable character dies. I started to like NJO because it took a deeper and more intelligent approach to developing the main characters. It was great to see their emotional ups and downs, not just yet another firefight. Star by Star feels like a step back. The book is around 600 pages (the first 80 or so are actual the short story Star Wars: Recovery). Yet, the plot is surprisingly thin, with even less character development. It just seems like one battle after another. Every good war story has at least one scene where the characters get into deep conversation or express their fears, and while there should have been many great opportunities for the protagonists to have a deep conversation or reach some greater insight, they just don't. I was particularly disappointed that there wasn't much dialogue between Anakin Solo and Lowbacca, especially given Anakin's presence during Chewbacca's death. By the time the Vong invaded Coruscant, I was already feeling battle-fatigue. I felt Denning did a much better job with some of the smaller characters, like Borsk, Vergere, and Tsavong Lah. Each has memorable scenes and shows real growth. I only wish he'd added more scenes featuring these characters rather than endless battles. It was also nice to see Han and Leia supporting each other. Overall, I was disappointed because the book covers so much important ground in the Star Wars universe but as a book it could have been much more than just fighting.

Matt Stover is one of the most unique Star Wars authors out there, and he's delivered his style to the New Jedi Order series. Traitor is appropriately dark as the book focuses on Jacen's time in captivity with the Yuuzhan Vong. The torture Jacen undergoes is both cruel and subtle. Stover shows us the outcome of this torture in the choices Jacen makes throughout the book. Needless to say, some of the scenes are very "un-Star Wars-like." .. However, the real star of the book is Vergere, whose twisted views on the Force make her the most compelling character of the series. Her dialogue is clever, but never seems too clever, as if Stover was patting himself on the back. Overall, this is probably the best book of the series, and really takes advantage of NJO's darker aspects to explore our favorite characters in greater depth.