Vector Prime

The New Jedi Order

Published by Century 1999 (hardback)

Set 21 years after RotJ, 6 years after 'Vision of the Future'

Story -- Luke and Mara are married and over-seeing the Jedi training of the Solo kids. Luke trains Jacen (now 16) and Anakin (15), while Mara trains Jaina (16). There are now dozens of Jedi all over the galaxy, and Luke is considering re-establishing the Jedi Council to exert a bit of control over them. He is distracted, however, by a serious disease which is threatening to kill his wife. Enter stage left (Outer Rim, actually) new, horrible baddies, the Yuuzhan Vong, a warrior race that use genetically-engineered, organic weapons and technology. They've already got at least one of their own (Nom Anor - anyone read 'Crimson Empire'?) in a position of power, and now they intend to start a full-scale invasion of the Star Wars galaxy. As usual, the government of the New Republic fail to see the threat, so it's up to the gang to save the galaxy one more time...

Characterisations -- I found the characters to be more 'real' than in some of the previous novels. The Jedi are not omnipotent (otherwise, how could Vader and the Emperor have wiped them out?). The Solo kids are young adults/individuals, not precocious little darlings. Leia and Han have some 'parenting' dilemmas; Han, in particular, is having a hard time with Anakin. Chewie is an important member of the team, not just a baby-sitter. Even Lando seems to be back to his old self, worrying about his business and responsibilities.

New characters -- the baddies are really scary; not just ugly (although they are very ugly!), but powerful, intelligent and politically aware, with technologies the good guys have no defenses against, and they have no Force presence. Another new character is Danni Quee, a bright, young scientist.

Cover art -- okay, we've gone from one extreme to the other. Most of the Bantam books have covers depicting our heroes as they looked in the movies, ie. not aging much at all. Now Del Rey have the franchise, and Luke (who is supposed to be 43) looks about 60. Come on! Apart from that, the cover is pretty good, if a tad gruesome.

Chicks -- Mara and Leia have some nice interaction; they seem to be real friends. Jaina (along with her brothers) is now a 'personality' and not just 'one of the Solo kids'. Danni Quee is an excellent addition to the SW cast; we like strong, resourceful chicks!

Any good? -- the book is well-written, although the style is much 'darker' and more grown-up than the previous novels. Bad things happen (you've probably heard that a well-known character dies) and you can no longer assume that the good guys will always win. The characters are more 'human'; they fall out, get sad (and happy!), they even do stupid things. I would have liked more interaction between Luke and Mara; apart from a couple of short scenes, it's all very business-like. And the supporting cast (eg. the Rogues, Karrde, Pellaeon, etc.) are all notable by their absence. (It's hard to believe Borsk Fey'lya is now Chief of State - I hope he gets what's coming to him in future novels!) But, overall, this is a good read, if a slightly dark and foreboding one.

Read it? -- I'll be blunt. You will love this or hate it. If you think the good guys should always win and go sailing off into the sunset to live happily ever after, then I would give this a miss, or seriously adjust your outlook before you read it. Personally, I liked this novel, as it has brought suspense back to the SW galaxy, and I felt a lot of emotion when I read it (I can't say the same about several other SW books). And remember, this is the first in a series of novels; it's a story in itself, but also think 'cliffhanger'. NB - the plot was sanctioned by Lucas himself, so don't go flaming Mr. Salvatore if you don't like it.

Rating -- 7 out of 10

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