| Title | : | Edge of Victory II: Rebirth (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, #8) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0345446100 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780345446107 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 292 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2001 |
The brutal Yuuzhan Vong are scouring the universe for Jedi to slaughter. With no help from the divided New Republic, the Jedi stand alone against their seemingly invincible foe. Han and Leia Organa Solo risk deadly consequences with their controversial tactics to bolster the Jedi resistance. After uncovering a new Yuuzhan Vong menace, Anakin and Tahiri find themselves wanted for murder by the Peace Brigade. To avoid capture, they jump into hyperspace . . . and into trouble far graver.
Hunted by the Yuuzhan Vong, wanted as criminals by the New Republic, and with unrest stirring within their own ranks, the Jedi find peril everywhere they turn. But even in the midst of despair, while the most fiercest battle of all looms on the horizon, hope arises with the birth of one very special child. . . .
Edge of Victory II: Rebirth (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, #8) Reviews
-
Continuing the improvements to the New Jedi Order series that he made with his first entry, Greg Keyes tells another intense space opera story. I actually liked the first one better...but only by a bit. These two have to be the best in the series so far. If only they hadn't come before a Troy Denning novel; his writings--for me, at least--have always proved difficult to finish.
-
Another solid New Jedi Order book. Probably not as great as the first in the duology, but a very good one nonetheless.
I’d say I enjoyed most aspects of this book. The characters are, as usual for NJO, well done. Luke, Mara, Jacen, and Kyp were standouts. The plot was also decently interesting, and the Yuuzhan Vong are great villains as always. There are some really engaging and interesting events that happen in this book that I really enjoyed. Lots of great action scenes, as well.
As far as negatives, I would say the book lost me a little as it went along when it comes to the plot. It wasn’t a bad plot by any means—I just wasn’t quite into it at times.
Overall this was another good entry. I’m really impressed with this Edge of Victory duology—they collectively may be my favorite book/duology of NJO so far. Good stuff.
Rating: 8/10 -
Greg Keyes's second book in his Edge of Victory duology, "Rebirth," suffers the same problem that many previous books in the New Jedi Order series suffer from: way too many story lines going on at once.
Part of the problem is the vast---and growing---dramatis personae of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Each new author in the series seems to bring a new character or two to the mix, which is great, except one almost needs a character chart to keep track of them all.
In this book, Keyes has storylines involving: Corran Horn, a character created by Michael Stackpole; Kyp Durron, a character created by Kevin J. Anderson; Mara Jade, a character created by Timothy Zahn; and, of course, several Yuuzhan Vong characters created by R.A. Salvatore. There's also a new character added to the mix: Ben Skywalker, the newborn child of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, who plays a significant role in later series.
I don't envy any reader trying to jump into this series in the middle, without reading all of the prior 15+ books. I don't think it would make much sense, as there are simply way too many major events that are referred to in passing and way too many characters with complicated backstories.
Not that Keyes's book isn't still immensely entertaining. He can write a damn good space battle scene, and this book ends with a whopper of a climactic space battle involving Kyp Durron's X-wing squadron, General Wedge Antilles's Rogue Squadron, Jaina Solo, and an alleged Yuuzhan Vong super weapon the size of the Death Star. (I use the word "alleged" because the purpose of the super weapon is an integral part of a major plot twist within the story.)
It behooves me to mention the KISS between Anakin and Tahiri, a relationship that readers have apparently watched grow in the Young Jedi Knights series of books for young adults (roughly 14 in that series alone), a series I have not read yet. In keeping with the whole cheesy space/soap-opera feel of the series, I have a feeling that this kiss is as significant an event as any other in this book. -
This entry in the New Jedi Order is a bit more difficult for me to rate and review than the others have been. One the one hand, I enjoyed it. On the other hand, it disappointed me in many ways as well.
Conquest (Edge of Victory, #1) was one of my favorite books in this series thus far because of its focus on Anakin Solo, who is easily my favorite character in the New Jedi Order, and how well his character arc was executed. It also happened to introduce two Yuuzhan Vong characters who I really liked: Nen Yim, who was promising, and Vua Rapuung, who was fantastic.
Rebirth may have actually had plenty of interesting stories going on- but *stories* is the key word here- and I will elaborate further after I summarize the plot below.
THE STORY: The jedi continue to be hunted across the galaxy by various galactic entities in hopes of appeasing the Yuuzhan Vong, who have promised to end their planetary conquests if the galaxy turns the remaining jedi over to them.
Following the events of "Conquest", Nen Yim is trying to redeem herself after her failures on Yavin 4. Anakin and Tahiri are on the Errant Venture, Booster Terrik's rogue frigate, with the other jedi children that escaped the Peace Brigade in the previous book. Tahiri is still dealing with the effects of being a vong captive in the last book had on her. Anakin doesn't like sitting around doing nothing, so he and Tahiri join Corran Horn on a supply run.
Meanwhile, Mara Jade and Luke must leave Coruscant because they have been placed under arrest, with the former both beginning to succumb to her mysterious disease and about to give birth to the next Skywalker.
Han, Leia, and Jacen set up a... galactic underground railroad? of sorts that will allow any remaining jedi on the run to find safe passage to a planet of refuge being set up by Tionne and Kam Solusar.
Jaina, after helping Luke and Mara get to the Errant Venture following their escape from Coruscant, joins forces with Kyp Durron and his rogue jedi faction to take out a yuuzhan vong bio-superweapon.
THE BAD: Notice how only one portion of my plot summary actually touched on the storylines with Anakin/Tahiri and Nen Yim? Well that is the biggest problem I have by far with this book. Despite being part of the Edge of Victory duology, this feels more like your standard ensemble novel in the vein of
Vector Prime,
Balance Point, or the
Dark Tide duology than a continuation of Anakin's story from the previous Edge of Victory novel. This one may be building on the plot points set up in Conquest, but it no longer focuses on Anakin. Anakin may have gotten some character development, but he's no longer the star, instead being just one of many players who take away attention from him.
And I know what some people might try to tell me- "you're complaining about nothing, the New Jedi Order isn't just about Anakin. Don't you want to know what Luke, Mara, Han, Leia, Jacen, Jaina, and all the other EU characters you love are up too?" Well, setting aside the fact that I haven't read most of the EU before this so I don't have a big investment in Corran, Kyp Durron, Gavin Darklighter, etc., the lack of focus on Anakin would still bother me. Both because Anakin and Tahiri (as well as Nen Yim) are the characters I actually like and I want to follow, but this is isn't just another cog in the New Jedi Order- it's EDGE OF VICTORY. This storyline was specifically intended to really narrow in on Anakin Solo and develop his character. The creative team specifically scrapped the Danni-Quee centric Knightfall Trilogy and replaced it with Edge of Victory to make sure Anakin got a chance to shine because of where they were planning on taking his character. And while this was a definite success in "Conquest", I think it failed in "Rebirth".
So it didn't matter how interesting the storylines with Luke/Mara, Han/Leia/Jacen, and Jaina/Kyp ended up being (and all three of them have their own problems). I simply didn't care because I found myself wishing that more page time was devoted to the stories centered on Anakin and Tahiri, as well as Nen Yim.
Starting with Luke and Mara, I found the way Greg Keyes handled Mara's disease to be pretty contrived. I'm not going to spoil anything beyond that, but I'm left wandering why Luke hadn't tried this before? His solution came right the kriff out of nowhere.
With the Han/Leia/Jacen storyline, the problem there was Jacen. His pacifist philosophy became grating and annoying in this book. I found it interesting as a foundation for his overall character arc in this series as a whole, but he hasn't really gotten any development since the first Dark Tide Book- the only thing that prevented me from throwing the book at a wall during his scenes was that the book actually calls him out on it.
When it comes to Jaina's story, its just more of the same from other New Jedi Order books- some good ideas that are set up, but I can't be bothered to take it seriously because it doesn't build upon any other setups. And even though this book is better with Jaina than the other novels so far in that there is some payoff and progression by the end, I still don't care for two reasons- first in that I still don't have any sense that Jaina has a consistent through-line in her character arc throughout the series thus far, and second, it's a story in what was supposed to be an Anakin centric duology and it's not focusing on Anakin. So once again, I struggle to care. . Oh and it's another space battle superweapon plot, so yay for repetition (wasn't the New Jedi Order trying to do something different after all the complaints about repetitive superweapon plots in the Bantam Era?).
Finally, the storyline with Anakin doesn't really have a consistent setup and a payoff. I still found him interesting and he did get some really good character development, but unlike either of the Dark Tide novels or "Conquest", there isn't a consistent setup and a payoff with his development in the book. I understand the idea that his arc isn't over yet and people could tell me "don't worry, it was saved for
Star by Star", the other books had their own little arcs for Anakin, and they just explored new arcs each book that tied in with his overall journey about what it means to be a hero... so why couldn't "Rebirth" do the same? An interesting setup was established that also tied in thematically with the other subplots and story arcs, but there was no payoff to the setup that began in this book. And before you mention "Star By Star" again, there was a good tease introduced in this book that followed up on events from "Conquest" . Everything was there to finish the mini-arc in Rebirth, , so why not just finish it, strengthen Anakin's already very consistent and compelling story in the NJO, and then use the tease that this book introduced as a foundation for Anakin's next arc, which also can potentially tie into his overall story nicely? I know this all sounds like nitpicking, but other books in the series have pretty consistently done amazing stuff with Anakin Solo (even the otherwise boring slog that was
Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial)- so when a duology of books that was specifically intended to feature Anakin Solo as the protagonist comes out, I expect far more. And while I was overall quite satisfied with "Conquest", "Rebirth" fell short.
Oh yeah... and I almost forgot. Nom Anor is in this book. And he's still not doing anything useful. Yep, sounds like Nom Anor to me.
THE GOOD: Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. And despite not being as good as "Conquest", it is still in the upper tier of the eight New Jedi Order Novels that I have completed.
Starting off with Anakin himself, I can at least say that this book succeeded in developing Anakin. I still thought he was compelling and handled pretty well in the disappointingly low percentage of the page time he was given in this book. Whenever the book finally manages to cut back to Anakin, Tahiri, and Corran Horn, it is the best part of the book, and I liked it almost as much as his storyline in "Conquest". Adding onto that, I really liked Tahiri in this novel. It was interesting to see her process the trauma she suffered in the last book, and I found the way her friendship develops with Anakin to be excellent. I found to be compelling, but also just the right amount of sweet while not excessive. Finally, Corran Horn was used perfectly- he's still consistent with his portrayal from original creator Michael Stackpole's Dark Tide books, but unlike in
Dark Tide II: Ruin, it doesn't feel like he's taking over the story (even just in the context of Anakin's adventure). It's exactly as it should be- fans of the character get to have fun reading about Corran being an entertaining badass, but he stays in a support role while Anakin and Tahiri get to be the leads.
Even though I didn't really care about what was going on in the associated subplots, there was some nice development given to Han, Luke, and Mara. The exchanges between Han and Leia are nice and wholesome as Han starts to get fully adjusted to having a new copilot. He's past the point of grieving and he is back with his family full sale, but he still needs to get used to a new normal as he resumes his role in the war- and I think Greg Keyes handles this well. Luke gets a nice little arc as he figures out how to help Mara by properly applying his skills and his relationship with his wife. And Mara Jade is at the best she's been since Dark Tide I. I like seeing the character arc about her learning to accept help when she needs it despite insisting on being strong and independent. I just hope the rest of the books in the series can actually build on this and show how the events of Rebirth change her instead of just pushing her to the side like what happened between "Ruin" and "Balance Point". Mara Jade still hasn't impressed me as a character in these books, but this is the first time in a while where I felt like they can ultimately win me over.
Although I must say.... Ben Skywalker is a perfect name for Luke's son. I love it.
Last but definitely not least, Nen Yim continues to be an interesting character on the Yuuzhan Vong side. No longer is her presence in the story primarily defined by the audience's discovery of the inner workings of the shapers- she is finally her own character first and an audience surrogate second, just like Vua Rapuung was in
Conquest. That said, we still get to learn new lore about the Yuuzhan Vong and get introduced to another big bad who has only been mentioned in past novels but will amost definitely become more important by the end of the series. She also is more fleshed out than Shedao Shai was in Dark Tide, having her story arc continued from Conquest, and teasing a continuation right after her current arc reaches a conclusion here. I'm not sure I like Nen Yim as much as Vua Rapuung yet, but Greg Keyes put her on the right path to surpass him in my view. If only she was given more page time instead of all the wasted pages on Jaina/Kyp, Han/Leia/Jacen (OK, I already ranted about that, you get the idea! moving on!).
The one aspect of Rebirth that was as consistently good as it was in Conquest was the writing. Greg Keyes still manages to write fun action sequences and great dialogue, ensuring that the inadequate time with Anakin/Tahiri and Nen Yim is extremely well spent, and the otherwise pointless subplots with Jaina and Han/Leia/Jacen at least enjoyable enough to tide me over until the POV shifted back to Anakin/Tahiri and/or Nen Yim.
THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 3.5 stars, but I'm going back and fourth on whether I should round up or down. I want to round up because we got some really good development for Nen Yim and the book still achieved the overall goal of Edge of Victory in developing Anakin Solo. But the case for rounding down is strong too- it's noticeably inferior to "Conquest" (which I rated a 4 on this site), and I was very disappointed in how it moved away from tightly focused Anakin Solo story from Conquest and just turned into another run-of-the-mill ensemble outing.
I guess for now I will round down because I did so with "Dark Tide II: Ruin" and I see this book on about the same level. Overall I enjoyed reading Rebirth more, but Ruin did a better job delivering on what it set out to do. What's funny is that Rebirth was part of a duology of books that was supposedly about Anakin but told a better ensemble story than Ruin- while Ruin was in a duology that was set up as an ensemble storyline, yet delivered a better character arc about Anakin than Rebirth. Additionally, I liked the first half of Rebirth more than its second half, while with Ruin I enjoyed the second half much more than its first half.
All the pieces were there for me to love this book- it opens by building upon the plot from the first Edge of Victory, and it even takes a moment to catch up the uninitiated on the significance of Tahiri and Ikrit from the
Junior Jedi Knights books (seriously Conquest, why the kriff didn't you do this yourself???). But the focus needed to be tighter, and if either Keyes or the NJO creative team wanted to include stories with Luke/Han/Leia/Mara/Jacen/Jaina in this book, they needed to tie more directly into Anakin's story. Either that, or they should have been cut out completely so we could have gotten more time with Anakin and/or Nen Yim- she should have continued to be the villain central to Anakin's adventure.
Well, that just about sums it up for Edge of Victory. Despite my flaws with the duology, Rebirth in particular, I'd say scrapping Knightfall was worth it. Overall I was pretty happy with how Anakin Solo was developed between these books, especially "Conquest", but it also turned me into a Tahiri fan. It also introduced two Yuuzhan Vong characters (Nen Yim and Vua Rapuung) that made me appreciate the Vong on a new level. Let's see what the insanely hyped
Star by Star can do with the renewed sense of good will that
Edge of Victory has given me for the New Jedi Order as a whole. -
"Part of being a Jedi is setting an example"
A lot is happening in this book. Luke and Mara are forced to flee Coruscant; Jaina is on the hunt for Kyp and both learn some devastating news. Jacen, Han, and Leia are busy trying to find a new home for the young Jedi on the Errant Venture, and Anakin, Tahiri, and Corran are buying supplies and stumbling upon a clue leading to Yag'Dul. Then, we have Nom Anor's mischief and Nen Yim's attempt to save one of the Yuuzhan Vong creatures.
NOTE: Based on audiobook and novel. Spoilers may be sprinkled throughout.
After the excellent Conquest, this book just doesn't live up, much as Ruin in the Dark Tide duology didn't quite live up to Onslaught. It certainly is far from a terrible book and is enjoyable in its own right, but it just never quite keeps that same level of "win".
Part of the problem is the bajillion storylines that were added. Much like the Agents of Chaos Duology, this time around we don't just see Anakin, Tahiri, and Nen Yim, but also Han, Luke, Leia, Mara, Jacen, Jaina, Nom Anor, and more. In a bigger book, it might work, but with the slim 292 pages, it is pretty scattered and hectic.
The stories that work the best are the ones with Jaina/Kyp and Anakin/Tahiri/Corran. Jaina seeks out Kyp and learns about a "superweapon" the Yuuzhan Vong are making. She then enlists Rogue Squadron to take care of it. This was pretty well done and showed some interesting aspects of Jaina. The Anakin/Tahiri/Corran aspect was great. I loved seeing Anakin and Tahiri grow close, and Keyes did a marvelous job inheriting Corran. Plus, I love seeing non-major characters do stuff.
The other side stories range from mediocre to terrible. I still don't get the point of the Han/Leia/Jacen story, and I think Han was written pretty badly. While I liked Luke and Mara on the run (even though not 100% sold on their characterization), I think the end of Mara's disease was handled terribly (Luke and Mara basically hold hands and join in the Force?!). I still don't get how she is good for four books then is back to near death in this book.
Adding to the "Too Much" are the plots with the Yuuhzan Vong. While I 100% believe we need to see them in the story, with already so much other stuff going on, they cluttered the story and contributed nothing. Nom Anor, once again, is defeated, and Nen Yim doesn't move the plot in any way (though I was personally glad to see her, as I liked her character).
And really, wasn't the whole point originally of the hardcover-mass market scheme to have the hardcovers detail the "big" events with minor background/filler with the mass market? Why not have the mass-market books be focused character books like Hero's Trial (Han only) or Conquest (Anakin only)? I would prefer that to a scattershot entry like the one we got.
As for the audiobook...I normally don't say much because they are generally good, but this one took the cake. For the last half, I could barely hear the narrator over the blaring music. I love it when music and sound effects are added in audiobooks, but for this one, I was considering strangling my poor iPod. I am listening to the book, not the movie soundtrack. Ugh.
Keyes is still amazing, and Conquest is still the best thus far of NJO; this could have been amazing too if half the storylines had been chopped and one character (or a couple) been made the focus. Oh, and if the sound editor had turned down the music. -
This is going to out my absolute nerdiness, but...
The New Jedi Order (so far) is my least favourite series of Star Wars EU books mostly because they crap all over what some good authors took the time to build. They've killed Chewbacca, shoved a giant wedge between Han and Leia and twisted Luke, and Han and Leia's three kids into pale imitations of themselves. That said, there were things I enjoyed about this book and things I didn't.
As always, I shook my fist and thought, "WHY YUUHZAN VONG?", because an unbeatable alien enemy sounds cool, but they are just so fucking weird. There was also a short scene between Luke and Mara about the significance of naming their baby, and the influence that has been exerted over Han and Leia's third son Anakin by naming him after his grandfather that just rang out as MASSIVE FORESHADOWING for an event that Del Rey changed their minds about a book later. The scenes between Luke and Mara were sweet, but sometimes they're like Han and Leia light with their banter. Jaina was the only of the three Solo kids that I remotely liked in this book. She's always so kickass and ready to go, whereas her twin is a whiny bitch who doesn't want to use the Force because it'll turn him to the dark side. (CONFLICTING FORESHADOWING!)
Even though it wasn't a book written by Michael Stackpole or Aaron Allston, the banter between the members of Rogue Squadron (past and present, Wedge and Corran are ALWAYS included) was pretty spot on and funny, and although it at times seemed cloying, Han and Leia relearning how to be with each other was sweet and realistic. It could have done with a few less callbacks to the original trilogy, but it was still sweet.
All in all, the New Republic won a few victories over the bad guys, Anakin Solo had his first (sweetest ever) kiss, Mara beat the disease that was slowly killing her (through the power of the Force, deus ex machina much?) and had baby Ben safely, and Han and Leia seem to be reconciling. It was a short moment of optimism in a series where the reader seems to be bracing themselves for the next bad thing that will happen, and that is NOT how a widely successful franchise should be treating their readers for their support and loyalty. -
This isn't really a four-star book on its own (3.5 stars, really), but I felt the same way about the first book in that series and rounded down, so I figured to even things out, I needed to rate this one four stars.
That being said, I wouldn't recommend picking up these two books and reading them without reading the ... six? seven? ... books that precede it, because you're not going to know enough about what's going on. It'd be like trying to read Stephen King's Insomnia without knowing anything about the rest of the Dark Tower series. -
-Maaaaaaaaaaaa I finished another one
-good for you -
This was more fun than volume one: more characters, more epic moments, more chances for Han to show off his snarky humour...this was ultimately a very satisfying adventure, with one hell of a hopeful conclusion.
-
This was a wild ride
Reading thread on my twitter
https://twitter.com/lazynazyalensky/s... -
For 2021, I decided to reread Del Rey’s first attempt at a multi-author book series in the Star Wars universe: The New Jedi Order, which was published between 1999 and 2003. This shakes out to 19 novels, two eBook novellas, three short stories, and a tangentially-related prequel era novel.
This week’s focus: the second book in the Edge of Victory duology, Edge of Victory: Rebirth by Greg Keyes.
SOME HISTORY:
Greg Keyes loves research. For his Age of Unreason series, which takes place in an alternate 18th century in which Sir Isaac Newton discovered the basics of alchemy, Keyes looked up everything from pre-Revolutionary War Boston to 18th century fashions and recipes. In writing the Edge of Victory duology, Keyes extensively utilized the first generation of the Essential Guides--seven books that detailed the characters, vehicles, technology, planets, alien species, and droids of the Expanded Universe up to that point. (He also read all the previous NJO books, which is more than you can say for some of the authors: *cough*Walter Jon Williams) Edge of Victory: Rebirth made it to number eleven on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of August 26, 2001, and was on the NYT list for two weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
I was surprised by how little I remembered of the actual subplots! I remembered Jaina and Kyp, but that was it. The imminent arrival of the Skywalker baby overshadowed everything else in my memory.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
With no help from the divided New Republic, the Jedi stand alone against the Yuuzhan Vong. As Han and Leia take controversial risks to bolster the Jedi resistance and Jaina Solo attempts to bring Kyp Durron back into the fold, Corran Horn and his teenage companions uncover a Yuuzhan Vong plot against the planet Yag’Dhul...
THE CHARACTERS:
Just in Edge of Victory: Rebirth alone we have 1) Corran Horn, Anakin Solo, and Tahiri Veila off on a simple refueling mission that goes very wrong; 2) Luke Skywalker and his wife Mara Jade dealing both with the New Republic government as well as Mara’s illness and her pregnancy; 3) Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, and their son Jacen off on work for Luke's Great River movement; 4) Jaina Solo unable to rejoin Rogue Squadron, so her uncle dispatches her to find out what Kyp Durron's been up to; 5) we have the aforementioned Yuuzhan Vong plot against the planet Yag’Dhul; and 6) we have a subplot with the shaper Nen Yim. That’s six main subplots, and then other stuff going on as well.
Tahiri is still dealing with the aftermath of the torture she suffered at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong shapers. She feels that the other Jedi kids distrust her and are wary of her, so she forces herself along on a routine refueling trip with Corran Horn and Anakin. While on Eriadu, Anakin and Tahiri do not stay on the ship as Corran tells them, but instead head off in search of a Jedi in need. The Jedi dies, but with his dying breath he says one word: Yag’Dhul. So they make their way right into the middle of a Yuuzhan Vong fleet; their ship is destroyed, and they end up commandeering a Yuuzhan Vong spy vessel.
We get the first hint that what Anakin and Vua Rapuuung and Tahiri did on Yavin IV has spread to other Yuuzhan Vong, particularly the Shamed Ones, as they meet a shamed one who's perfectly willing to work with Jedi because of this mythology that's been built around their escapades on Yavin IV. There's some shenanigans where the station loses atmosphere and Anakin and Tahiri are stuck in a locker for a while and behave as you might expect teenagers to do. But ultimately the Yuuzhan Vong are repelled at Yag’Dhul and the planet is, for now, still safe.
Anakin thinks a little more about how—for better or worse—he influences the younger generation of the Jedi; Corran Horn learns that teenagers are difficult to deal with; and Anakin and Tahiri take their first steps toward some kind of relationship, although it's still in its preliminary stages at this point.
Meanwhile, back on the Millennium Falcon, Han, Leia, and Jacen are trying to drum up support for Luke Skywalker’s Jedi resistance. They've made a temporary base within the Maw where the former Maw Installation was, but a lot of their plotline is them acting like pirates or privateers attacking Peace Brigade ships, Jacen has some initial difficulties with the track that his father's chosen (which honestly, I don't blame him—piracy is a little extreme even when you're doing it against people who are not working in your best interests) but he comes around to their plan.
And as in
Balance Point, Jaina is still struggling with anger and frustration—in this case that she hasn't been allowed to rejoin Rogue Squadron. Instead, her Uncle Luke dispatches her to discover what Kyp Durron and his Dozen are up to. Remember how in the Dark Tide duology by Stackpole, Admiral Kre’fey went to the remains of the Sernpidal system to scout out what the Yuuzhan Vong were doing? And it very much looked like they were creating a shipyard? Well Kyp has proof that they are constructing a superweapon—a superweapon that, like the Sun Crusher, could destroy entire suns. He has video from a reconnaissance mission to back up his claims, which Jaina takes to Colonel Darklighter, who takes it to Wedge Antilles, so it is now almost a New Republic Military-sanctioned attack on the Sernpidal shipyards.
Kyp is also really confusing to Jaina; he's constantly flirting with her, he offers that she become his apprentice because her aunt is busy right now, and Jaina doesn't know what to think. Of course as it turns out Kyp was lying: it was not a superweapon at the shipwomb, but a new worldship that would have housed civilians. And if Jaina and Colonel Darklighter and Wedge Antilles had known that, they would have never sanctioned that attack.
This is part of what frustrates me so much with Kyp Durron! (Luke frustrates me as well, and I'll get into that a little later.) Kyp is constantly urging action, but for most of the books thus far his squadron hasn't been thinking very strategically. They've been attacking the Yuuzhan Vong, but it's more like flies bothering a giant beast—they’re not actually accomplishing anything, it's action for the sake of action. With this threat at the Sernpidal shipwomb, it looks like he's actually accomplishing something and that he's actually thinking strategically now. If it was a superweapon, I would 100% condone what he did; you need to take something like that out, because it gives the Yuuzhan Vong an unfair advantage that would cause irrevocable harm to the people of the galaxy. But as we learn in the subplot with Nen Yim, the Yuuzhan Vong worldships don’t just house their warriors, they also house their civilians and Shamed Ones. And more importantly, they’re dying. They’re thousands of years old at this point and their living systems are shutting down. So in destroying the worldship, Kyp has essentially said that he doesn't care about civilians, he doesn't care about “the women and the children” to quote Anakin from Attack of the Clones, he wants to wipe them all out. And now Jaina and anyone else who feels remorse from that mission has those potential future deaths on their conscience.
Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade are on Coruscant awaiting the birth of their son when they learn that the Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya has put out a warrant for their arrest. Borsk has been rather frustrating in the New Jedi Order thus far because he doesn't want to commit to anything; after the ultimatum that the Warmaster Tsavong Lah issued at the end of
Balance Point, he doesn't want to support the Jedi, he doesn't want to condemn them, but he wants to arrest Luke or at least make it look like he tried to arrest Luke. So Mara and Luke have to escape Coruscant, and at the same time they find out that Mara's illness has returned. So Mara goes downhill really fast—she’s essentially staying alive to keep her baby alive. Luke is very upset about what's happening with her, but doesn't really do anything until the end when she particularly asks for his help.
And this is what I find so frustrating with Luke in the New Jedi Order! If Kyp’s approach is too aggressive, Luke's approach is far too passive. He comes up with this plan for a Great River, to move the Jedi to safety, but then he doesn't do anything about it. It's all Han and Leia and Kam and Tionne and the characters we encounter in the
Emissary of the Void short story. So what is he doing with his time other than lollygagging around, being like, “I can't take action, I just have to sit this out”?? This is the man that destroyed the first Death Star; who was willing to turn himself in to save his father…But here in the New Jedi Order series, when the threat is galaxy wide, he just sits there and does very little.
On the Yuuzhan Vong side we have the attempt on Yag’Dhul: the Warmaster sends his relative Qurang Law to work with Nom Anor to take over the planet. We learn that Nom Anor has got the Shapers to make himself another disguise (this one makes him look like a Givin). We also see the extent to which Nom Anor is willing to kill his own people to keep his secrets. He turns on the warriors that are accompanying him, and he uses a blaster (which should be completely against his beliefs!) to make sure that no one knows what happened with the Jedi there.
And in a separate, other Yuuzhan Vong subplot, we have Nen Yim, the Shaper Adept from
Edge of Victory I: Conquest. She’s been sent to one of those dying worldships in disgrace after her master’s actions on Yavin IV. She wants to save the worldship, but she doesn't have the knowledge base to do that—so she once again turns to heresy. I like Nen Yim, I like learning more about their culture, but I also wondered how needed her subplot was here. A lot of it features her being frustrated, her trying to work within these constraints. And it turns out to have all been a test: Kae Kwaad the Master Shaper was actually Onimi, the jester of the Supreme Overlord. Shimrra is going to make her a Master Shaper now, and she's going to be working outside of the Shaper tradition as an officially, secretly sanctioned heretic.
ISSUES:
Like the Agents of Chaos duology, the Edge of Victory consisted of one book tightly focused on a character (Han in
Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial; Anakin in
Edge of Victory I: Conquest) and then a second book that opened up the story to more characters and subplots. And as with
Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse, I found that Rebirth lost that close focus on our initial protagonist that I loved so much in the first book. Keyes doesn’t delve as deeply into Anakin’s Jedi journey, and instead broadens and redirects his attention on other characters--which is fine! It’s nice to check in on Han and Leia after their ordeals, and follow Jaina on her mission. But I felt like Anakin went back to being a side character, and most of his plotline revolved around his burgeoning relationship with Tahiri.
I also felt like apart from Jaina and Kyp’s subplot, the others weren’t wrapped up in a satisfactory manner. Han and Leia become privateers despite Jacen’s protests, and actively harry the Peace Brigade. They uncover information, arrive to find it’s a trap, and...that’s it. Part of their mission was finding a new secret base for the Jedi, but that’s accomplished by Kam Solusar and Tionne offscreen! Likewise, Corran and Anakin and Tahiri uncover a possible Yuuzhan Vong military action against Yag’Dhul, but they’re stuck on the station for a key chunk of it. On the Vong front, Tsavong Lah seems to be thinking more revengeful than strategical in ambushing the Solos--and the bulk of the action is actually undertaken by Nom Anor and Lah’s relative.
And the conclusions of two subplots felt rather too deus ex machina-esque for my own taste. First, the Millenium Falcon (or the Princess of Blood)’s escape from Lah’s trap. We got a scientific explanation from both Han and Jacen as to how and why it worked, but it felt closer to
Vector Prime’s bizarre science than the usual stuff encountered in a Star Wars story.
Second, Mara’s illness: I haven’t been hugely keen on how her illness plays out, from hugely debilitating (the Dark Tide duology) to normal again thanks to Vergere’s tears (
Balance Point). Here, we learn that she has to stop taking a synthetic version of Vergere’s tears because it’s built up this toxic reaction that’s affecting her baby. She quickly goes downhill, and devotes all her energy to protecting the fetus. Near the end, she lets Luke in with the Force, he sees a vision of their son’s possible future, the three of them join together, and….I guess she’s cured? We’re told by Mirax Terrik that her illness is gone and her baby is safe, but we don’t actually see anything of that! True, the Force is a mystical energy field and so much about it cannot be explained, but I would have liked a teeny bit of explanation here--or at the very least, to not have found out about her recovery offscreen.
My usual prescription for a book that feels scattered and incohesive is more editing, but I feel like Rebirth required the opposite approach: more time to develop these concepts and linger with these characters. The paperback is only 292 pages, and I would have been fine with more pages spent on each of these subplots. (And maybe a glimpse at what Kam and Tionne were doing as well?)
IN CONCLUSION:
Edge of Victory: Rebirth introduces some developments that will be important in subsequent books: the Jedi heresy among the Shamed Ones, Nen Yim’s shaping discoveries, and the birth of Ben Skywalker. Unfortunately, the plot as a whole felt messy, and I wish that the book was longer so that some of the ideas could have been expanded and further fleshed out.
Next up: another short story! This one was released in six parts from both Star Wars Gamer and Star Wars Insider:
Emissary of the Void by Greg Keyes.
My YouTube review:
https://youtu.be/sZzjzOHkGEw -
I like when books make me think and that was the case with this one. After finishing it there was this bright, crystal-clear thought going through my head: "Well, that was a piece of shit. And a huge waste of time". After that I decided that it’s time to give up on Star Wars books. I don’t feel bad.
A little heads up: this is not actually a review of this particular entry in the series. More like a personal reflections that I have after reading eight of those books. I don’t want to go and review every single one of them separately, because let’s face it: they’re all practically the same. And unlike their authors I don’t get paid for copying and pasting text with just little changes along the way.
I would probably enjoyed this series if it was a trilogy. I would be okay with it if it had five books. Heck, I would understand if there were seven. After all, Harry Potter has seven books and it’s not really a problem, right? But in this case after painfully going through eight really terrible volumes I was struck by a terrifying realisation: I’m not even half-way through. These series consist of NINETEEN BOOKS. And it’s not getting better in terms of quality. Quite the opposite.
Every single one of those books have basically the same premise. There is a looming threat of Yuuzhan Vong conquering another part of New Republic space. Our protagonists are usually travelling all over galaxy going on different "dangerous and crucial" missions giving a reader a false sense of some stakes. Some minor difficulties occur. Some characters may or may not die, but we don’t really care, because all those Star Wars books are just overpopulated by hundreds of second rate characters that the reader doesn’t give a damn about. At the end of each book all the heroes conveniently end up in the same place, no matter how scattered they were, just so there can be a space battle that ties up all the loose threads. And then we repeat the same patter in the next book. What is okay in one or two books quickly loses it’s charm and becomes extremely painful to read (or listen to, as it was in my case). It doesn’t really help that those series are just filled with space politics, diplomacy and Force philosophy. Because THAT’S what make Star Wars fun right? Forget the action, witty dialogues, likeable characters and sense of adventure - people really wanna read about governmental power plays and mind-bogglingly dull debates regarding the nature of the Force and its use. After all this is what made the prequels so universally loved, right?
But you can go through the repetitiveness, bad writing and general boringness when you like the characters. And here is where those books drop the ball completely. There is not one character that you like (maybe except Chewbacca, but… you know). All of them are bland, boring and completely indistinguishable from one another. It hurts the most in case of heroes that you actually know and love - Luke, Han and Leia go from realistic, wonderfully diverse characters in the movie to those bland, dull, mediocre dummies that have no real personality whatsoever. All of the other protagonists created for the purpose of those books are definitely no better, with a terribly boring and irritating Jacen Solo being the worst of them all.
There is no point in continuing this review, just as there is no point for me to continue with those books. I really tried to give it my best. As a kind of completionist I feel slightly bad for just leaving it without seeing how it ends. But that’s my point: after going through eight of those things I realised I don’t really care HOW it will end. I just want it to end so I don’t have to go through it ever again. It’s never a good sign if you treat something that should give you pleasure as a chore. So with all due respect to all of the Star Wars fans out there, I for one, will not cry after the Expanded Universe. It is mostly a piece of crap, and nobody should have to go through it. If you are so interested in what happened, just save yourself a lot of time and read a Wookiepedia article.
One last thing: if you really feel that you just HAVE TO go through it, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook versions. It does not raise the quality of the books, but the lector trying to change his voice and make up all those weird, alien noised is so absurdly hilarious that it will slightly lessen the pain of dealing with this poor excuse for literature. -
Primeira leitura: 2011
Releitura: 2023
Primeiramente: capinha sofrível essa viu
Muita coisa acontecendo ao mesmo tempo nesse livro mas surpreendentemente funciona? Enquanto o livro passado tínhamos apenas dois núcleos, nesse temos no mínimo uns 5, tudo se passando ao mesmo tempo.
Um dos núcleos é Luke e Mara. No oitavo mês de gravidez, Mara descobre que a doença causada pelos yuuzhan vong (cuja ela é única sobrevivente) está voltando e as lágrimas que Vergere forneceu como tratamento estão querendo atacar o bebê. Sem alternativas, Mara resolve deixar a medicação de lado de modo a salvar o filho. Eu sabia que tudo dava certo no final mas misericórdia. A aflição que esse arco me dá é absurda. Realmente fica aquela sensação de que tudo pode dar errado a qualquer instante. Pra piorar ainda mais a situação, Borsk Fey'lya ainda acha que é de bom tom emitir um mandado de prisão pro Luke.
Enquanto isso, Luke encarrega Jaina de ir atrás do Kyp Durron, que continua por aí com um esquadrão de jedi bancando o vigilante. Kyp é um personagem que por enquanto ainda é bem irritante. Ele é o único que está certo e pronto, só a opinião dele importa... A Jaina desenvolver um crush nele eu até entendo mas ele se oferecendo pra tomar ela como aprendiz e mencionar como ela é atraente... ALGUÉM INTERVÉM PELAMOR. Não basta a diferença de idade (16 anos!!!!!) e o desequilíbrio de poder na relação,
Jaina finalmente está de volta no Rogue Squadron depois de finalmente ter recuperado a visão, mas agora tá tendo que lidar com toda a politicagem envolvida. Levando em conta ela ser filha de quem é e o fato dos jedi estarem sendo caçados no momento. É muito interessante ver ela tentando achar um equilíbrio entre jedi e piloto(assim como o Luke em o Império Contra Ataca).
Anakin e Tahiri são uns fofos e meu coração já tá sofrendo por antecipação com esses dois. O desenvolvimento do relacionamento adolescente é lindinho e não deixa de lado a bagagem que eles carregam, principalmente depois de tudo que aconteceu no livro passado. Só tive pena do Corran tendo que bancar a babá deles e lidando com os hormônios kkkkkkkkk
Han, Leia e Jacen estão tentando encontrar um lugar em que as crianças jedi possam ser mantidas em segurança e pelo meio do caminho, acabam virando piratas espaciais kkkkkkk Não vou negar, amei demais esse núcleo. Han dando uns esporros e tentando botar um pouco de juízo na cabeça do Jacen (que finalmente parece estar escutando as pessoas ao seu redor), Han e Leia voltando com a implicância natural deles, C3P0 sendo apocalíptico como sempre e a melhor parte: Han e Leia se dando conta que foram pais ausentes e assumindo os erros que cometeram na criação dos filhos. Adorei que não tem uma passada de pano sob a desculpa de que "estavam ocupados salvando a galáxia".
Já o núcleo dos yuuzhan vong é meio abstrato. Temos mais informações sobre os Shapers e a religião mas ainda restam muitas perguntas. Tô esperando a maior trambicagem religiosa kkkkk
No fim, temos Ben Skywalker chegando e sendo um bebê super fofinho. A escolha do nome do bebê é muito acertada e jamais perdoarei a disney por ter dado esse nome ao fajuto do kylo ren lá. Me preparando psicologicamente pro próximo livro pois sei o que me aguarda. -
People died. You got used to it.
It still hurt.
I've come to notice a certain pattern with the New Jedi Order duologies. Whereas the first novel would be a tightly focused and plotted affair, usually with one central character (Hero's Trial, Conquest) or at least a central idea (Onslaught), the latter book would, for whatever reason, bring attention to multiple plot threads at once and become a more muddled work as a result. After Edge of Victory I: Conquest quickly rose to the top of my NJO rankings, I was naturally interested in finding out whether Greg Keyes would indeed fall into the same traps as his predecessors have with its sequel, Rebirth. So how does it fare? Well...
Threshold
I'm not going to beat around the bush here: Rebirth's biggest failing is that it does, indeed, do exactly what I criticized Ruin and Jedi Eclipse for doing. I count six separate storylines which is simply too much for a novel as short as Rebirth - 290-ish pages on a very generous typesetting. What makes it truly baffling, though, is the fact that I honestly couldn't tell what the A plot is supposed to be. Taking the series as a whole into account, I suppose it's Luke and Mara's plot line...? After Kathy Tyers introduced the idea of Luke and Mara expecting a baby, Edge of Victory II attempts to finally give a close to not just that plot point, but also that of her ongoing disease. It's a decent read but given so little page time that it doesn't ever feel like the main attraction, which is only magnified by its lack of tying into the other (sub)plots. This lack of a clear overall direction ultimately makes Rebirth feel like it is the mortar holding together individual NJO volume bricks, rather than one of those very bricks. It's a lot of fun stuff that doesn't ever form a cohesive unit of its own.
Passage
Thankfully, the different subplots themselves are a joy to read. My favorite has to be Anakin and Tahiri's. Though, as I've established, no longer the main focus, their scenes nevertheless have to be the highlight of Rebirth. I already mentioned in my Conquest review that their dynamic together is one of the very best in the Expanded Universe, and since they have a lot more time together in this one it gets to shine even more. There's one scene near the end that especially sticks out - if you know, you know. Rounding out their dynamic is a returning Corran Horn, who acts as their teacher (read: babysitter) throughout the adventure. Corran's my favorite Bantam era character so naturally I enjoyed getting to see him again. He pretty much falls in line with his Dark Tide self, which is a plus. Seeing him lose all hope as he has to deal with both of these teenagers is absolutely hilarious, and I want more of them together. The other two Solo kids get some stuff to do, too. Jacen, currently at his most sensible since Dark Tide, is on a trip with Han and Leia that takes... multiple unexpected turns. Hijinx ensue. Hidden beneath all that, though, is perhaps the best depiction of his relationship with his parents. They fight, they bicker, but in the end they're still there for each other. I really enjoyed Jacen's subplot. Meanwhile, it is Jaina's subplot that furthers the jedi order's inner struggle. Upon meeting with Kyp Durron, he informs her of a Yuuzhan Vong superweapon that could spell the end for the galaxy's freedom. In the end, she sees no other way than joining up with Kyp and attempting to destroy it. What this results in is a scene which gives more insight into Kyp's mind and personal philosophy than any other NJO work before. There's a good reason why he is as controversial a character as he is. I stand by my criticism of Rebirth's structure, but there's no question that the different subplots are still gold in of themselves. Sure, they might just serve to move from Conquest to the next novel, but they're entertaining nevertheless. Jedi Eclipse is a somewhat less messy novel in that sense, but in the end I still have to give Rebirth the edge between the two. Despite its structural problems, the different subplots remain great in of themselves. At the very least, nothing here ever stoops as low as Jacen in Agents of Chaos II*.
*Well, apart from these creepy Jaina x Kyp moments. Seriously, what where Keyes and/or the New Jedi Order creative team thinking? Nevermind the fact that Jaina only just turned eighteen and that Kyp should be in his 30s by this point, the dialogue here is just awful. Certainly the worst part of the NJO so far and the first time a Star Wars novel made me physically cringe in some time. Impressive stuff.
Descent
Besides the SkySolos, the Yuuzhan Vong were granted two subplots of their own, too. First we once more have Nom Anor, who's working with the warrior caste to infiltrate and ultimately subjugate Yag'Dhul, the home of the Givin species. This is Nom Anor at his absolute best. Spying and scheming as usual, the Executor just gets better with his every appearance. What stood out to me most in this B plot was one key scene involving him and three warriors. Not to spoil anything concrete, but it becomes increasingly obvious that Nom Anor is willing to go to any lengths in order to save his hide and reputation, even if it requires him to go against his own culture. What a delightfully irredeemable villain he is. Similarly on a descent, though for completely different reasons, is the shaper Nen Yim. After her dabbling into heresy in the previous novel, she continues to subvert the old teachings for her people's benefit. Assigned to an old world ship on the brink of death as punishment for her previous heresy, she struggles to help it through conventional means and instead once more commits heresy behind everyone else's back. In order to "help" her with the shaping, the elderly master shaper Kae Kwaad is sent to oversee her attempts. Only problem: the master shaper is completely insane and obscene, constantly calling her "Nen Tsup". "Tsup" being a YV word I do not wish to translate the meaning of. However, as with Kyp Durron's plan, things are not as they initially seem. Nen Yim remains a truly great character. Greg Keyes' duology is usually praised for its depiction of Anakin Solo, and rightfully so, but I do think that his Yuuzhan Vong characters are just as laudable and important. I liked them as an antagonistic force from the very beginning, but it wasn't until Conquest and Rebirth that the Vong became truly three dimensional people.
Rebirth
Though certainly not one of my favorite NJO installments, Rebirth is not quite my least favorite, either - I would rank it above Jedi Eclipse and Recovery at the very least. What I find interesting is how it compares to Balance Point: Whereas NJO 6 is a deliberately paced novel with solid structure, NJO 8 is a structural mess with ideal pacing. Though they seem like direct antitheses, I would nevertheless rank them at about the same spot. Balance Point is perhaps a stronger experience looking back, but Rebirth is more fun to read in the moment. I recommend both. Next up: the big one. Star by Star. Yun-Yuuzhan help me. -
(NOTE: At the time of this review, this is the twelfth "STAR WARS Legends" book I have read that takes place post-Return of the Jedi, with the others being the "Heir to the Empire" trilogy, "Darksaber" and the seven books that introduce the Yuuzhan Vong, "The New Jedi Order". This review will only focus on this book; should I complete the series, the final review of the overarching series will be found in the nineteenth book.)
"War has engulfed the galaxy as the Vong continue their attack."
SPOILERS:
I will be honest, parts of this book were memorable for the story moving forward, other parts were very forgettable.
The following review is mostly based on my memory (goes to show how much I thought about the impact of this entry).
—PART 1: THRESHOLD—
Vegere, the one who gave Han the tears needed to help Mara fight against her disease, is found by the Vong...
Luke and Mara are vacationing on a Crusie ship owned by Lando when they are approached by Hamner that Fey'lya has issued an arrest for Luke Skywalker.
I get that Mara is pregnant and all, but I just find it so weird that while the galaxy is being invaded by outsiders, Luke was sunbathing.
Yes, I get that war is hard, and yes, I get that Luke needs time away from it, but based on the map shown at the beginning of the book, the Vong are encroaching the Core Worlds from all sides.
This isn't Luke trying to prevent himself by unleashing something worse on the galaxy; this is a Luke that could do more, but directs others to do so on his behalf while he twiddles his thumbs.
The part when he comes to his senses, realizing the Jedi were not part of the government was a good moment though.
But with the warrant for his arrest, he and Mara leave. Honestly, this was a move from the New Republic that should have happened during "Balance Point".
Anyways, there is a skirmish with some sky-cops, Jaina enters and helps them out.
Gee, I'm really curious to see if this sky-cop battle is going to have consequences when the Skywalker's inevitably return to Coruscant...
After giving Jaina the task to find Kyp Durron and form an alliance, Luke stays with Mara because she is close to having her baby. Mara has run out of Vegere's tears, the key to her being cured, but upon learning that a synthesized version of those tears is slowly killing her child, she risks her disease returning.
We will get back to the conclusion of that later.
Elsewhere, the Solos, Han, Leia, and Jacen are tasked with setting up a network for Jedi refugees to use to escape from Peace Brigade, Vong, etc.
The Vong have set-up dovin basals that can pull ships out of hyperspace across hyperspace lanes, and apparently, the Solos were knocked out from the abrupt stop.
I don't remember much of the story at this part, but I remember that after a slight skirmish with the Vong, Han sees some ships that are fleeing towards Han space. He knows that he needs money to set up Luke's "river" for refugees to use, and so he resorts to piracy.
Jacen, being the Jedi/philosopher he is, disagrees with his father's methods. Han gets snappy though and though Jacen fumes, he goes along with his old man.
I did not like Jacen in this book. Not so much that he disagreed with Han and his methods, but just how....useless he seems as a Jedi. Now, of course I don't want him to solve every problem using the Force, nor do I want him to agree every time his parents tell him something, but he just came off as a whiny teenager with Force powers.
To be honest, I think the Solo family subplot was informative, but not very critical to the story being told.
—PART 2: PASSAGE—
Fortunately, Jaina was there to bring back my interest
.
She finds Kyp and his squad, and Kyp reveals that the Vong are building a huge superweapon (which was first referenced in "DARK TIDE II: Ruin", the second book of this series). Through her connections with Rogue Squadron, Jaina convinces them to help Kyp blow up the superweapon.
It is within these pages that the title "The New Jedi Order" finally has meaning; during a monologue about the war, Kyp tells Jaina:
"The old Jedi order died with the Old Republic. Then there was Luke, and only Luke, and a lot of fumbling to re-create the Jedi from what little he knew of them. He did the best he could, and he made mistakes. I was one of them. His generation of Jedi was put together like a rickety space scow, but from it something new has emerged. It's not the old Jedi Order, nor should it be....We, Jaina, are *the new Jedi Order*. And this is our war."
Now, how exactly this new Jedi Order will operate is left untold (even if I have my guesses based on information of EU lore I knew prior to reading this book), but Kyp nailed it on the head as far as Luke and the Jedi Order of old.
This part from Kyp ALMOST wants me to include this in the necessary to read books in this 19 book Saga, but I still need to finish the series itself before making that decision...
—PART 3: Descent—
Jaina is asked by Kyp to be his apprentice, and she says she'll think about it.
Back to the other Solos:
Han and Jacen go to a cantina to meet with Shado for some reason I can't remember...and wouldn't you know it, it's the EXACT cantina Luke, Han, Chewie, and Kenobi met during "A New Hope"?? On TATTOOINE??
(facepalm)
Anyways, Shado had worked with Durga the Hutt from "Night Hammer" (facepalm).
Shado acknowledges that Jacen is one of the most wanted men in the galaxy because of the Vong (and yet Han and Jacen appear as themselves in this meeting anyway so and NOBODY save Shado and his men care) and then Kardde shows up to help Han out of a bind.
Back to the Vong, Vegere tells Tsavong Lah that if he finds the Millenium Falcon, he can find Jacen Solo to gain revenge.
—PART 4: Rebirth—
Now, the characters of Anakin, Tahiri, Corran, and Nen Yim were part of the previous three parts of this story. It's just that what they really did was more memorable here.
This is where knowledge of the first part, "EDGE OF VICTORY I: Conquest" really starts to develop.
Anakin Solo, Tahiri Veila, and Corran were on a mission to restock supplies (quick flipping says it was Eriadu). Corran tells Anakin and Tahiri to wait on the ship, but Anakin and Tahiri go to rescue a Jedi they sense is in danger. The Jedi in question is killed by Peace Brigade, but Anakin and Tahiri are told that the world of (Yag'Dhul) is in danger before the Jedi dies.
And so Anakin, Tahiri, and Corran (after a quick arrest and breakout) get away in their ship, but then hyperspace to a location surrounded by Vong, but luckily the Vong don't notice and so they hijack a Vong ship where Tahiri's skills are put to good use in order to warn the planet's inhabitants, the Givin, of the incoming invasion.
Nom Anor is on the planet though, and up to his usual no good schemes.
Personally, I like Nom Anor as a villain, even if he has gotten away with most of his failures without serious Vong consequences...still, his firing a blaster to kill Vong warriors was a good moment.
Due to the loss of air, Anakin and Tahiri are forced to be placed into a locker of some sort so they can breathe while Corran (in some kind of astronaut space suit) goes to find more suits. Anakin and Tahiri share a kiss, they escape, blah blah blah....
....oh, and Mara's disease returns and starts killing her, but she and Luke and the baby unite through the Force and somehow cleanse it entirely through the power of love or something like that.
Needless to say, this book is important for the knowledge of Vegere from "Hero's Trial" Anakin and Tahiri, Kyp and Jaina, Nen Yim being recruited by the Overlord (loved that part by the way) and Ben Skywalker's birth. Even knowing the Solos are starting to build a new Jedi base at the Maw was kinda filler "meh".
In fact, were the cover not to have a pregant Mara and the Vong ship behind them and were it not connected as a duology to Anakin's previous book, I'm pretty sure I'd remember little to nothing about this book.
Overall, I'd give it a 5/10;
it's 50/50 for me because half is important moving forward and the other stuff is just not really necessary to see develop.
The duology itself while it has information about Vong and develops the relationship between Anakin and Tahiri feels more like an Anakin Solo spin-off ".5" series rather than a mainstream story.
MY NOTES:
PART 1: THRESHOLD
- Lando's Cruise Ship (pg 11)
- Luke and Mara on the beach
- Hamner warns Luke about his arrest.
- Jacen, Han, Leia, and Nogri "tractor-beamed"
- Rikyam dying
-Luke finally comes to his senses (pg 38)
- typo? (pg 50)
- sky-cop battle over Coruscant.
- Luke's "river"; Han @Maw
- Rogue Squadron; Luke sends Jaina to find Kyp w/encryptions...returning to Sernpidal...
PART 2: PASSAGE
- THE NEW JEDI ORDER (pg 140)
PART 3: DESCENT
- Kyp asks Jaina to be his apprentice (pg 184)
- Tattooine. Jacen. Shado (worked w/Durga ["Night Hammer"]) (pg 192); Kardde.
- Vergere tells Tsavong Lah about the Falcon, Han, and Jacen.
PART 4: REBIRTH
- Nen Yim finds an eighth cortex
- Nom Anor (Givin) lies about challenge.
- Anakin VS Shok Choka
- Kyp lied about worldship
- Nom Anor kills w/blaster
- Mara's disease vanishes. Ben is born.
- Nen Yim is recruited.
-Epilogue-
- Feyla rescinds Luke's arrest. -
My rating is 3.5 stars. This novel continues the story in the New Jedi Order and of the Vong attacking the galaxy. In this book, there are several storylines that the author juggled nicely. It contained storylines with all members of the Solo and Skywalker families.
The pace is constantly moving because of all the storylines. The author also gives us a more in depth look at the Vong which I think was needed in the overall arc. As of the overall arc, this book doesn't do much to move that along. It is basically in a holding pattern besides the birth of Luke and Mara's child. All the other storylines provide character development.
This novel was a nice addition to this universe and if you have read this far into this series, I recommend you continue with this one. I am assuming Luke's child will play a big role of things to come. -
The new Jedi order completely outpaces anything in the Starwars genre. This series was Dark, exciting, fast paced, and inspired. The writing was fantastic and the level of philosophy and force history was unparalleled. If your a fan at any level of the Starwars Universe than this series is a must read. It is on my top 5 of all time for a series and I treasured every moment I spent in that time. But beware, this isn't your typical Starwars book, be ready for a level of intensity that you've never seen. May the force be with you.!
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Like many of the books preceding it, there are just an over abundance of plot threads that ultimately don’t matter.
The only memorable thing in this book is Mara Jade finally has a baby in the last few pages.
2.5/5 -
Another fantastic addition to the SW universe. Anikin Solo kisses his crush and she loved it. Mara Jade survived her Yuuzong Vong disease and gave birth to Ben Skywalker.
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It only took 8 books before they title dropped the name of the series in story lol
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After finishing Conquest I proclaimed it my favorite novel of the New Jedi Order Series so far. Now that I’m also through with Rebirth I have to correct that statement in saying this one is the best novel yet.
It is surprising how much I liked both of these books considering how different they really are. Conquest focused heavily on Anakin, which left little room for the rest of the main cast. What made this novel great was the close personal interaction with the Vong that gave us some novel insights into their psyche and made some great progress in fleshing them out as a sentient species rather than random, mindless aggressors.
Rebirth is completely different. The Vong are pushed back towards the sidelines. Now, instead of following a singular plot revolving around one of the main characters, we are back at the classical SW novel structure: many characters are scattered all over the galaxy, all of them absorbed in their own plot lines that are more or less connected to each other. In my opinion this works extremely well here.
This second novel of the Edge of Victory series takes stock of where the characters are at both physically and emotionally. In doing so, it does not really further the overall story revolving around the Yuuzhan Vong crisis. Of course, this does not mean that this novel is dull or that nothing happens. Really, there is a lot going on. It is a swift back and forth between the individual battles the characters are fighting, be it with the Vong, the Peace Brigade, or the resurgence of a mysterious disease. Nevertheless, considering the crisis, in the end we have not really digressed from the status quo (which arguably is true for both Edge of Victory novels): the Jedi are still persona non-grata across the Republic and hunted by the Vong, they are still trying to set up a safe haven without having made any apparent progress, and the Republic as a whole is still at the Yuuzhan Vong’s mercy.
However, the profound discourse on the characters more than compensates for this lack of progress. Keyes really neglects no one here, the entire Solo clan, Luke and Mara, as well as a good portion of important secondary characters (Lando, Kyp, Tahiri, Corran, Karrde, Wedge, Cilghal, …) play a relevant role.
Some conflicts that were left in limbo are finally addressed: Han sees the damage his withdrawal from his family has caused and how it almost cost him everything. Also, he and Jacen come to terms with some of the differences between them. Luke realizes he needs to make amends with Kyp, no longer simply dismissing the latter’s point of view. Finally, Anakin and Tahiri grasp they are no longer just friends in an awkward, befitting-to-teenagers kind of way.
On top of that some characters’ bullshit is finally being called out and I’m definitely here for it having been exasperated more than once that terrible behavior is often just ignored or even accepted. For one, Leia finally calls out Jacen on his tendency of believing the whole galaxy revolves around him and that anyone cares what stance he personally harbors towards the Force. For another, Wedge calls out Kyp for his past mistakes which were substantial but many people choose to ignore. That Wedge should be the one to do this is unexpected, but welcome nevertheless and I think it is about time Kyp realizes how much he really owes other people, most importantly Luke and Han. Plus, I really enjoyed seeing an older, time-hardened version of Wedge in this context.
However, while I like the overall tone of this novel and think the story lines all have interesting qualities, I do think the resolution to Mara and Luke’s arc is a little too corny and Mara’s prior stubbornness to me just seems blatantly stupid rather than heroic. Also, Borsk Fey’lya’s incompetence at his job gets more and more annoying the further we progress in this crisis. I just cannot help thinking that a different chief of state, i.e. Leia or Mon Mothma, would have handled this situation so much better. His being in office at the time of this war really is an unnecessary complication of the situation.
As stated before, in my opinion this is the best novel of the series so far. I think Keyes did a tremendous job with both of the Edge of Victory installments. This book is fast paced, action packed, and offers some deep insights into the emotions of the main characters. It hints at potentially very interesting future plot developments, e.g. a budding revolution within the Yuuzhan Vong society ignited by the lowest caste. I really hope the next installments are able to continue on this high note. -
The editors of the New Jedi Order series had this odd habit of labeling certain books as pairs, just because they were written by the same author and tell stories that come in roughly chronological order. But this, the second book of the Edge of Victory duology, has very little to do with the first one. Author Greg Keyes focused primarily on one planet and one storyline in his previous book - detailing Anakin Solo's daring infiltration behind Yuuzhan Vong lines on Yavin Four - but here he tackles several threads at once, bouncing back and forth between them.
The plot that takes up the most time follows Anakin, his Jedi friend Tahiri Veila and disgraced Jedi Knight Corran Horn as they make a seemingly innocuous supply run which turns into something much more sinister when they receive a cryptic message from a dying Jedi. Meanwhile, Jacen grudgingly decides to help his parents, Han and Leia, fight the Yuuzhan Vong as they work to set up an "underground railroad" for hunted Jedi across the galaxy. Jaina Solo is elsewhere, working with Kyp Durron and his renegade squadron to eliminate a purported Yuuzhan Vong super-weapon, while Luke and a very pregnant Mara Jade must flee from Coruscant as orders are sent out for their arrest. There is a LOT going on in this book.
Keyes handles all the characters and situations well enough. The pacing of the novel is decent and the action and plot twists are handled deftly. If I have any serious complaint here it is that so much of this book feels redundant to what has occurred in other books in this series. The arguments the characters have, the dilemmas they face, the threats internal and external, are starting to blur together. It's almost as if the publishers were trying to milk this series for all its worth. Or perhaps it's simply that every author who put their hands on the story wanted to put their own spin on everything and are thus forced to revisit the basic tropes for themselves.
All in all, an adequate, but unoriginal entry in the series.
P.S. What does the title Edge of Victory mean? There is no edge nor victory anywhere to be seen in these two books; Middle of Nowhere might be more apt. -
It's very ironic that I praised the last book for not having too many characters or plot lines because this book had that exact problem. Until the very end I don't think there were any two chapters in a row that took place in the same corner of the galaxy and it was often very jarring to constantly go from one subplot to another almost entirely unrelated. In a relatively short novel of 280-something pages it felt particularly hectic
That being said, there was still a lot to like about this book even if it wasn't as strong as its immediate predecessor. The relationship between Anakin and Tahiri was still very sweet and compelling and it was great to have Corran Horn back after he had been absent since Dark Tide: Ruin. Likewise, the scenes between Luke and the pregnant Mara were quite strong and emotional. Too bad they weren't in all that much of the book. Also, the Jaina/Kyp Durron-plot ended in one hell of a space battle and gave some valuable insight into both my favorite Solo-twin and Kyp as characters.
The plot with Han, Leia and Jacen felt a little superfluous, but it was nice to see Han be back to his old swashbuckling self and it never really bored me. However, kinda like Han, I don't really get Jacen. He overthinks the consequences and philosophical implications of every single cause of action to an extent that I wonder how he gets anything done at all. Also the plotline with Nen Yim on the dying worldship didn't really grab me while I was reading it, but it ended on a solid cliffhanger so, there's that.
Overall a bit chaotic but by no means a dud. -
I really enjoyed this book. I love how all of our hero’s are off on their own, yet somehow it all comes together at the end. The Yuuzhan Vong are unique race. The warriors are pretty simple. Win, take. There is no failure. Nom Anor has something coming his way for all his treachery. The Shapers are a unique part of their society. I’m intrigued to learn more about them. It’s also becoming evident that their Gods may not be all in for this conquest.
Jason spending time with Han and Leia was amazing. We get a glimpse into life at the Solo’s: pure chaos. I love that they work through their issues a bit. Also that Han is able to start getting past Chewbacca’s death. You never get over it, just past it. This also lets him and Leia return to how they always have been.
Jaina’s off with the Rogues after aiding Luke and Mara’s escape from Coruscant. Kyp comes to her for help when he needs to get help from the New Republic. That doesn’t go as well as planned.
Anakin, Corran and Tahiri head off for supplies for the Errant Venture and end up in a mess like always.
In the end, they all come together, not for a battle, but the birth of Luke’s son. -
Despite the horribly drawn cover of a half-baked Luke Skywalker and, who I presume to be, Mara Jade, looking like a ginger Ellen Ripley, Rebirth is proof that there is some merit in the NJO series after all.
After 8 books and 8 other reviews that basically state the same thing, I’ll just leave it at the fact that Keyes actually seems to “get” Star Wars. There’s no attempts to try and over-write or try to wow his audience with flowery language. Instead, he tells it how it is and makes this series fun again.
Just like Conquest the story was halfway exciting and Unlike previous attempts in the NJO Keyes is easily able to combine multiple plot threads into a coherent storyline.
I know this series supposedly kicked it up a notch after Conquest but I had to read it myself to believe it. Fingers tightly crossed that Star By Star keeps the good vibes flowing cuz I’m actually starting to enjoy the Solo kids and the whole Yuuzhan Vong Invasion all over again. -
Rating: 5/10
It's Readable Sure...But Not Memorable
Warning: This review may contain spoilers.
Whilst Edge of Victory II: Rebirth is certainly one of the better novels inThe New Jedi Order series, it still suffers the same problems as it's predecessors. A lackluster story, a story that is very short with no real depth, sense of excitement and with villains that neither excited or interest you. Thankfully there is a different Audible Narrator for this novel to the earlier books - and whilst he not in the same leagues as Marc Thompson when delivering Star Wars books, it still is a massive step up from the previous narrator. At least I try and enjoy what the story is without being taken out of the story every sentence because of the narration. I am going to keep reading the Star Wars: New Jedi Order series, and whilst the later books are certainly better than the first books I sadly can't see it improving. -
Pushing the story along on five fronts, including an interesting angle on the workings of a Vong 'shaper' trying to save a world ship. Also, Jaina is tricked into helping Kyp Durran (and bringing in Wedge and Rogue Squadron along with her) to destroy a superweapon that wasn't a superweapon. Meanwhile, Han, Leia and Jacen play the role of pirates, grabbing supplies from the Peace Brigade. Anakin, Tahiri and Corran stumble onto an attack of a planetary system by the Vong, and they get there in time to provide a warning. And through it all - Mara fights off death while protecting her unborn son.
There was a lot of quick bouncing from storyline to storyline, but I didn't mind. It made turning the pages go that much faster. I still don't really understand what Mara and Luke did to save her life when their son was born, but I'll get over it. Another enjoyable book in the series -
This novel would be four stars if the author could have restrained himself from delving into Han Solo's deepest, innermost feelings in the MIDDLE OF A FIGHT.
Also, I'm a little weary of the Jedi hand-wringing whenever there is a question of whether or not this fight for the life of an entire galaxy is wandering too close to the dark side. (Spoiler alert) I was completely unconvinced that Jedi would have to be fooled to attack and destroy a worldship, because after all, that's how the Yuuzhan Vong got to their galaxy, and how they will need to move their populations to those conquered worlds. If destroying the means by which invaders can successfully invade is just too aggressive, then what a Sith I would be.
On the other hand, great fighting scenes, especially in physical clashes between the Yuuzhan Vong and Anakin and Tahiri. -
I've enjoyed the Edge of Victory series more than the rest of NJO so far, as I think it had what the previous books lacked: something of interest going on. I assume that it's part of being a 19+ book series, but these books are the first two to have action more-or-less throughout instead of tons of build up to two or three chapters of action. One issue I still can't get over, however, is: if the Vong ships create black holes to absorb laser and torpedo fire, why don't they just center the black hole on the enemy ship and just destroy the ship? (I realize that the organic nature of the Vong makes it all a stretch, but Luke used the black hole to destroy the controller vessel during the attack on Dubrillion.) I guess the main answer is: because then they'd be impossible to defeat. Oh well, I suppose... Still, I've enjoyed the Edge of Victory section of this series.
