Vector Prime - The New Jedi Order

  I have finally reached The New Jedi Order! While Luke and Leia and the bunch are getting older. Now in their 40's, I think they went a little overboard in ageing Luke on the cover! (Just saying...)

  I have wonder a long time why these set of books fall into something called The New Jedi Order and in case you are wondering too in Survivor's Quest Zhan eased us into it. Luke has doubts that the way he has been training his Jedi and decides to make some changes. Vector Prime begins a few years later where Leia and Han's children Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin are now teenagers and under the apprenticeship under Luke and Mara. Becoming more like Jedi Padawans.

  I've never read a book by R.A. Salvatore. He's ok. Kinda has a style like Zhan. As for the amount of characters... Ah! There was a point when I was happy when they started knocking people off so I could take them off my list of people I had to keep up with and I was still confused a little but it got better. It wasn't till the end of the book where I realized Danni was human and not a Twi'lek. I guess someone that got knocked off was a Twi'lek and I got them confused... anyway...



Danni

 This book came out in 1999. I do see parts of the pre-quells peaking through.
  I started this little mission of reading through the Star Wars Novels a number of years ago. 2010, I think. Way before the announcement of the next 3 movies to be made. So at the time I thought basically that these books were it... Now though, it almost makes me nervous cause I have to wonder how much of what I'm reading is going to play into the movies or are they just going to scrap them and totally rebuild. I HOPE that will not be the case and I'm sure there are a lot of fans out there that feel the same way. A lot happens in these book. Like I said in my past post HERE that there were guidelines and approvals on what authors could do in the books so, maybe...

  A lot happens in this book in it's self... so....

  There are spoilers ahead.... BIG ONES... so fair warning

  Mara Jade has been infected with a very deadly illness in which is a total mystery to what it is and where she got it. That isn't really a spoiler due to that is a fact you are given that fact from the very start of this book. I found that rather abrupt. Did someone plan to write a book about the backstory on this or did I miss something? But what really bothered me was after reading Visions of the Future and Survivors Quest both by Timothy Zhan, Luke and Mara's relationship and how their personalities interact with each other this book just is OFF. So, Let me get this straight... Mara has something that may kill her. She refuses anyone, including her husband to treat her as such. While I might can buy the latter but not with Luke. If they can be stronger together then apart then I would think Luke would at least try to help her with the healing. Doesn't seem like this even cross the authors mind as it is never explained. Plus, we know Luke is highly over protective. I think you'd have to knock Luke over the head with a light saber to stop him from worrying excessively! Sorry, just not plausible. As for Mara being that hard headed... yeah, maybe, but the rest... nope.

  In this book we are introduced to a new enemy, the Yuuzhan Vong. It leaves me thinking of the Yevetha from The Black Fleet Crisis by Michael P. Kube-McDowell Which is one of my favorite trilogies in the expanded Universe. It feel like the author was trying to make a ruthless enemy without coping the Yevetha. The name Yuuzhan Vong is obviously in homage to Timothy Zhan. Not sure how I would feel to have a enemy named after me, haha... anyway... I though the Yevetha was more intriguing then these Yuuzhan Vong are but they do have some unusual points like not using any electronics, which again sort of brings you back to The Black Fleet Crisis again with Lando aboard the Vagabond, a ship that seems to be alive.


Solo siblings
connect through the force

  This is the book where the new Jedi Generation of the Solo kids become main players. While every once and a while they were featured in books but this is the time their permanent personalities are going to be formed. (not including the book written for younger readers. I have not read them.)

(Click on names to see who was voted best to play them on film via TheForce.Net )
 Jaina: not a young version of Leia. She inherited all the good piloting skills that run in both of her parents and courage as well.


 

  Jacen: portrayed by this author to be in some type of war with his younger brother about being a Jedi. Jacen seems to be a little more calm in nature then his other siblings.

  Anakin:  This poor kid is a little bit of a mess... I should note that this author has seemed to drop the part about Anakin having amazing abilities with electronics that you see in earlier books like The Corellian Trilogy when he was still a young child.

 But going back to the Luke and Mara subject. The author actually uses to minds merging like Mara and Luke did in Zhan's books but he used the three siblings to do it!


  The biggest event in this book came as a surprise to me cause I honestly did not see it coming! I knew Chewy dies in The New Jedi order books but I did not think it was the first book! Wow...
  I honestly think it wasn't that bad of an idea to kill a main character off due to the fact that it puts readers on edge a little in not thinking everyone in the stories are safe just because they are a main character. Think of the Star Trek joke of the guy you don't know in the red shirt is about to die... I think the author managed a very honorable death for Chewbacca and Han putting his death on Anakin was a very interesting twist as well.





  I'm a bit late getting this review out due to the death of my Grandmother who died during the time I was reading this book. The loss of a family member can knock your brain for a loop for a while. So on a more serious note, in Memory of my Grandmother Irmalene Pierce Howell Parker....

Assault at Selonia

 When I first saw this trilogy I feared it would be boring cause Han is just not my favorite character but turns out that was not the case. The thing that gets me is the story isn’t boring nor do I dislike the author… but something about this one is just not incredibly exciting or compelling. There are things that seem rather silly and far-fetched. I mean while having Anakin have a special talent in electronics I feel like it’s a quality being totally taken overboard just to keep the story going…

Han Solo fighting a Selonian
Art by Joe Jusko

 And then putting a shadow of a doubt on Mara Jade doesn’t seem quite right as well! She has been around too long to be the first person looked at when something is amiss! Han may have had some doubts about her in the past but not Leia!

 And then we have a war where nobody seems to know who is behind it or really who is fighting who! And I mean, a ragtag group made to look like 2nd rate Nazis led by Han's evil cousin...

 I’m just at a loss at figuring out what is lacking and basicly going on in this trilogy… It's a bit all over the place! Well, let’s see if it picks up in book 3... then I can make my final statement on this!

 At least there were not nearly as many typos in this one as there was in Ambush at Corellia!

Ambush at Corellia

 This is a slower pace novel. I won’t complain about the author’s ability to write because it was written well unlike others where the sentences are constructed so strangely I’m reading it over and over trying to figure out what on earth the author said just happened or it's so simplistic it reads like Dick and Jane reader.

 

In this one the Solo family decides to take a family vacation on Han’s home planet Corellia. While they are gone Luke goes on a mission with Lando completely unconnected to Leia’s trip. The way it is written it sounds that there is a time lapses since the last novel but I’m unsure how much but they talk of there being peace for a while.

 My overall review is that it’s entertaining enough to read but slow and kind of non-eventful. I was disappointed in the author’s ability to make characters likeable. I mean the children come across as out right brats!

(YouTube Video of what the begaining of this book would look like if it was a movie. Thought it was kind of neat!)

 

  The following is spoilers so fare warning….

 

  Ok, this is some of the problems I noticed in this book… Luke gives Leia a light saber cause… well, why did he give her one when she already has one? And evidently she didn’t build either of them when a Jedi is supposed to… plus he gives her a red one at that… RED?! Was it not known at the time that only Sith have red sabers? What is going on with this? And also Leia says she doesn’t carry her old one anymore! That is hard to believe since she has in the past used it quite a bit!

 Then there is this scene with Mon Mothma that I believe happens before he gives his sister the lightsaber where she is giving him some strange lecture… what is that about?! You think her strange behavior must have a reason but then it never does!

 And then there is Lando… now this story was kind of amusing but I have a hard time seeing Luke going along with this but... whatever, it was funny :-)

 On a technical note, you know I never notice typos that much in a book, even when other people do but I found quite a few in this one! I think they slacked a bit on the proof reading on this book! I even started taking pics of them cause I just never see quite that many! (and this isn't all of them...)

Re-reviewing Return of the Jedi

Inside my paperback copy of Return of the Jedi

The weird thing about this book is the first time I read it I was like... "What movie did this man watch!?!?" BUT, after reading what, about 20 SW novels now? After completing Revenge of the Sith and Dark Lord I pulled out my copy of Return of the Jedi and started reading bits and pieces here and there mainly reading through my favorite scenes. I discovered a WHOLE new depth to this novel!!!

Movie Poster

My Copy

 Amazingly a lot of the newer movies played into this one but they weren't even made then! There were a few things that wasn't right, but most was... down to the thoughts going through Vader and Sidious's mind! It's amazing back in 1983 so much of the story was kinda already there! I have to read the first movies to understand last book! Really weird and that depth is really what has made Star Wars what it is... laugh at it if you like but honestly it was a modern work of art in story telling!
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 Another interesting bit of info about the movie I came across tonight Click Here
I for one think the right chose was made for the ending. I gives a since of hope to the out come of everything that had happened. The light side won! Uh... Plus... who would have Leia ended up with in the next 100 novels to follow! As much as I dislike Han when I was a kid he has grown on me through the years... :-)

Labyrinth of Evil

This comes between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I have mixed feelings about this book. I know James Lucendo has written other Star Wars novels but this is the first one of his I have read. Some of his way of putting down thoughts I find hard to follow, but that could just be me.
This is a post 9/11 (published in 2005) book and I was surprised at the fact that you could tell! The author clearly used current events and political topics in shapeing and telling his story. It seemed odd for a Star Wars novel and this is part of where my mixed feelings about this book start. I lived in AL in 2001 but today can walk out my front door to the end of the street and clearly see the New World Trade Center. That fact alone unnerves me, so reading something that was clearly inspired by the event brought back bad feelings as I can clearly remember the day watching it on my TV set.
As for the Star Wars Universe part of the book I would say it took reading about half of it to truly get into the story. I find this prequel era confusing as it is... so that didn't help... but in a way reading this may have helped me get some of the story better. I'm looking forward to going on to Revenge of the Sith!
The character of Anakin must be a hard one to write... as I grew up with Han, Leia, Luke... and all (as that was all there was) I have not figured out the personalitys of the prequel movies as well. I appreciated the attempt of the writer to show the soon to be Dark Vader's conflicts with himself and the Jedi way.
So like I said, I was mixed on how I felt about this one and I will leave it at that...

Children of the Jedi

I really liked this one! It was what I would deem a classic continuing story novel much like the ones I read as a kid for movies like Aladdin... ok, yeah those were written for children and this is for an older reader, what I mean is it is a fun adventure in the spirit of Star Wars.
I applaud the author! She did not portray Luke as a superman type in the way many have been in the last few novels. One of the reasons he was so endearing in the movies was his under dog status and human emotion. Reading this you might feel after a while that this is a, lets beat up Luke book! Poor Luke :-( but I was glad this was a step back to him being a human and not a Super-Jedi.
The other charictors where also true to the originals.
This author's writing style is a little different and took a little while to get the hang of her way of phrasing. This has to be one of my favorites. I hope the next author can continue doing justice of the direction this book has taken the Star War Universe.
I am always thrilled to see a Star Wars novel written by a women. Partly cause Star Wars is more often than not are marketed to guys. I have been a fan from around the age of 10 when my mom recorded it on TV on a VHS tape I watched over and over again which I still have... remember those. Ah, the good ole days... :-)

I, Jedi

My copy

For the past 6 months I have been writing reviews on Pinterest on each book I read in the Star Wars series. Since using pinterest is a bit hard on my phone and I have now discovered they have put a limit on text! I found this blogging app for my new Android so... hi blogger world :-) I'm not much of a blogger btw, I doubt few are even gonna read this.... but here goes... ;-)
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I, Jedi was quite a change from the past books I have read in the SW Universe. Mainly because it was writen in 1st person through the eyes of Corran Horn who throughout the book changes names quite a few times!
I'm skipping over the X-wings books right now. I may later go back and read them but I'm sticking to the orignal charictors right now (plus stories about X-wings sound so boring... I could be wrong, I haven't read them yet) this book seems to be a mixture of both. oddly and I was surprised by this, the book back tracks in time retelling the story of Champions of the Force through Corran's eyes. Then continues on from there with Corran's story. I had a bit of a time keeping up with it at points, mostly when they strayed from the main charictors but that may be due to I have not read the X-wing books and not that farmilar with all the charictors in those. I may have to return to this book again one day after I've read them.
Biggest complaint, LUKE why do some of these authors have such a hard time capturing the personality? This author did better then the last but not much.
This book was also the longest I have read at around 600 pages. I have to wonder why the author dwelled on some events in the story and skipped quickly over others. I couldn't quite figure it out.... Lastly this author is more based in reality... haha... which was a tad annoying because I enjoy reading to leave it and join another. Questioning things in the SW world that I hadnt thought about in a realistic way. Some things were thought provoking... I like the one about looking at yourself in the mirror....

 

My copy with my SW bookmark

Champions of the Force

  At last the last of the Jedi Academy Trilogy. This is the book that never ends…
 Haha, ok It’s not that bad :~) It’s just different that this author finishes off his story rather then having an abrupt ending which does kinda bug me when a story just stops like they ran out of ink :-/I don’t think this author is great with characters. He seems to get some yet others are one dimensional. He did better with Luke then in the last book but still some of it I just had a hard time visualizing some of the stuff said. I think the title of this one is a bit cheesy.
  All in all I would recommend someone read these three. Though the middle book was slow the third made up for it.

Dark Apprentice

  Don't understand why the cover art on this novel is not as good as the first in the series but done by the same artist. Luke and Han look like prunes on the cover of Dark Apprentice Vol. 2, they don’t on Jedi Search Vol. 1. I did not like this one as much as Vol. 1. I read the first one again before reading this one cause it had been so long since I read it and I enjoyed it the second time maybe more so then the first! But Vol. 2 as I noted about Vol. 1 that this author just doesn't capture Luke Skywalker and since Luke is in this a lot it bugged me :-P

Vol. 1 was more about Han. I also felt the author was trying to stretch out this story out to make it into a book. The part about the twins seems a bit pointless and the way they return makes even less since :-/ Maybe it will tie in in Vol. 3. The main story did pick up at the end. Now on to part 3...

The Last Command

The final book in the Thrawn Trilogy is the BEST. I’ll partly remember this as the book I read coming home nights on the train from Asbury Park. Timothy Zahn is really good. But I wish he’d stop saying people are frowning… that gets annoying after a while but otherwise I was surprised by the twists in the story and the characters were well written and true to the originals. I was sad to finish this one! But Zahn has written others so I look forward to reading them :~)

In Asbury Park where I was a cast
member in Scrooge at the Paramount

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Dark Force Rising

  Dark Force Rising is the 2nd in the Thrawn Trilogy.  Dark Force Rising is the 2nd in the Thrawn Trilogy. I had a hard time keeping up with this one but that partly might have to do with how busy I was while I was trying to read it. Being an actor I have found myself reading on 40min train rides and sitting on train platforms waiting for them to arrive or in bed dead tired from the day. Not sure how people read on noisy subways and such and get much out of what they are reading... I like it fairly quiet, but if it works for them...! Now on to the last... I like the way the writer is setting up stories for furture books to be writen after this set.

Phantom Menace

When waiting to find the next book in the series I will go back to the prequel books which I already have a copy of...
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When I first started reading this I really hoped the whole book would not be about a bunch of pod racing :-~) But I ended up enjoying reading this. The confusing part was I have seen this movie, though quite a while ago and I just didn’t remember hardly any of it! 8-/ I don’t like to read reviews till I have read a book cause, I just don’t want to be swayed one way or the other. I just read Wookieepedia’s write up about the book and it seems I shouldn’t remember some of it cause three chapter’s weren’t even in the movie!