Force Heretic #1 Remnant

    After a bit over half way through I'm at last sold on the New Jedi Order Series! It's turning out to be pretty awesome! Sadly, I'm also missing the next book in this trilogy, Force Heretic. Since I have been unable to get my hands on the next one I have gone back and reread parts of a number of books. Where I am now, really makes the past books much more interesting. They did a really good job on this series! Unlike a lot of the novels before were stand alone and written in a somewhat random order. The New Jedi Order is obviously planned out even though a number of authors were involved. This makes it possible to keep a coherent story going! THANK YOU! Actually they are bringing a number of story lines from pass books into The New Jedi Order, tying up lose ends.
   Force Heretic is written by two authors Shane Dix and Sean Williams. Have not seen that done before in the Star Wars EU.



Spoilers/Thoughts:

   As for story: As it is now something is happening to Tahiri, nearly a member of the Solo family due to her relationship with the youngest Solo, Anakin. You can clearly conclude that she in her dreams is being chased by two beings.

 Questions: Who are they? Or more like who and/or what do they represent and how real are these dreams? Do they represent the past, future, or actually happening for real?

   The best I can come up with is the being with a face that is her face is her but a changed her, possibly the person the Yuuzhan Vong created for her to be..... the lizard... well, hmm... Anakin? Could some part of Anakin still be around? When she talks to Jaina she tells her he is trying to kill her... what?! I've read and read over again and can't figure out where they are going with this.

    We do know as I noted with Traitor that Jacen sees Anakin in a much higher pain level then he is. That made me wonder if Anakin in some way still being held by the Yuuzhan Vong. But why he would be chasing Tahiri in her dreams wanting to kill her I don't know. In Traitor Anakin (real or not) keeps showing up to save his brother. We are also seeing there is a way to sense the Yuuzhan Vong through the force but not through it... In Destiny's Way Jacen actually tries to show Tahiri how to do it being she had a slave implanted in her as well. He believes that perhaps it is the reason he has this ability. The result is not what he hoped. Tahiri feels nothing... or did she and denied it? In Remnant she feels that she will be hated for what is happening to her. She knows Jacen can sense them as well so why would it scare her since that is what Jacen was trying to do. So many unanswered questions!!!


Solo children's last mission

   Then there is Jaina. This girl has issues. It's understandable that she lost it when she believed both Anakin and Jacen were dead. Before it was known that Jacen was alive she went into a state of despair. Being shocked when learning he was alive she feels guilty that she was responsible for losing contact, blocking him of a way to reach her as she tipped to the dark side. Jacen has a much better reason for not reaching out to her. She would have looked for him if she had known he was alive which is what the Yuuzhan Vong wanted. But Jacen has reasons other then this for not contacting her, as she is, he's ashamed as well at how close he got to losing it. These two have some healing to do.

Destiny's Way

 

 

 

   The Theme of The New Jedi Order is can we kill at least one important character a book? I'm going to have to test my theory and make a list!
 

   I will spare you the spoiler. This book compared to Traitor it is really not good. But being Traitor is the best Star Wars EU I have read... it's a hard book to follow. I don't understand why most of the books published in hardback are not the best ones in the series!

 

   In this one we do learn more about Vergere and at last Jacen is reunited with his family. But emotional depth is an afterthought to this author which is such a disappointment.

    At one point they decide to "Knight" the younger Jedi. What is the point in this?! They have been listing them as "Knight"s the whole time... they just up and say, hey we should "Knight" these kids? What about the older Jedi like Corran and Kyp? They don't get to be knighted?!

   Second, why is Luke saying things he doesn't even know what they mean himself... it's kind of weird/creepy... Sounds like Jaina's going to be having a hard time ahead of her by what Luke said at her Knighting.

The New Jedi Order: Traitor

   I have been looking forward to reading this one. Not because of the author but because I wanted to read what happened to Jacen. He's been missing for a while now.

   After reading a few pages I put the book down and in awe wondered, "who wrote THIS?!" It was completely different then any other New Jedi Order books I have read thus far. But, I slightly recognized the style, but could it be... I couldn't remember the name. It's been a number of years since I read The Revenge of the Sith. But I recognized the ability of this author to take a story to another level. I was right the author is Matthew Stover.

   Most of this story is about Jacen. I read on Wookieepedia that it was the first Star Wars EU to not have an appearance of an original character. It also claims this is the shortest. My paperback copy is 292. Dark Journey is close at 301.

    We are now learning more about this bird like alien named Vergere. Vergrere now claims she met Jacen's Grandfather when he was a child. But did not know of his fate with the dark side.

  Some ideas she shares with Jacen sound Jedi'ish but some stuff she comes up with sounds like it came straight from the darkside and is confusing the day lights out of Jacen. She seems to want to save one minute and turn him over to the Vong the next!

  The Jedi who has a history of reckless adventures Ganner enters in the story with rumors that Jacen Solo is still alive and takes on a personal search to find him believing if he is still alive it could make a differance in the war and help turn Jaina around from her Dark Journey.

   I don't understand why he goes to Jaina about Jacen. They had all been together when Jacen's death supposedly happens. Jaina does admit that she never told her mother what the Vong put him through before he died. She believes that they kept him alive just to hurt him and does not want to hurt her mother who still has hope that her son is still alive. So Ganner goes out on his own.

   One interesting point struck me. Is Anakin really dead? I mean, I think he is and at one point Vergere remarks that it is unknown if the dead can still feel pain after thier death... In the beginning of the book Jacen sees his brother in a much deeper level of pain then he.... He also knows about Jaina's slip into the dark side before he is cut off from the force. So... is Anakin really in pain... dead, and/or capture in someway by the Vong and being held by them. Where was the author trying to go with this... I don't have answer.

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....