Agents of Chaos 1: Hero's Trial

Hero's Trial by James Luceno offers us a refreshing change of pace in The New Jedi Order, narrowing the focus from our galaxy-spanning cast of heroes to just one: Han Solo.  Made inconspicuous by grief over the death of Chewbacca for the last two books, Han's four-month spasm of drunken denial comes to an end when a figure from his past appears with information on an old colleague turned traitor.  Meanwhile a Yuuzhan Vong priestess stages a defection as part of a covert operation to assassinate Jedi, and the New Republic braces itself for the next round of conquest.

Hero's Trial gave me exactly what I was looking for after finishing Ruin. After two books of multiple points of view compressed into too-few pages, Luceno lets things breathe a bit by shifting the narrative from a host of Jedi to just Han.  In his freshman effort, he takes up the mantle of resuming the story of Han Solo and leaves me wanting more - more of wisecracking Droma, Han's new foil and emergent partner, more of the enigmatic Vergere, whose story began for me in Outbound Flight, and more of Han rolling his way into situations on the back of a dice.  

Dark Tide 2: Ruin

Stars Wars, The New Jedi Order, Dark Tide 2: Ruin, by Michael A. Stackpole is a book that didn't thrill me.  While the action consistently hits all the right notes and there are a few legitimately touching character moments, I felt overall that it was compressed and rendered flat by an over-reliance on what I'm going to call "emotional exposition".  I can't count the number of times I found myself uttering, "Show me Michael, stop telling me!"

Okay, so what do I mean?  Wikipedia tells us that exposition used as a literary technique is the conveyance of information to the reader.  What I am proposing is that in both Onslaught and Ruin, Stackpole goes to a technique of "emotional exposition", in narration but especially in dialogue, wherein we find our beloved EU characters constantly explaining themselves and their motivations for the benefit of the reader.  It feels unnatural, and it makes many characters appear rather stiff.

Jacen Solo is hit hardest.  The young Jedi Knight sees some action in Ruin, which is great, but it was all ruined for me by his incessant introspection.  There are ways of conveying uncertainty and doubt without referencing them directly through dialogue or thought italics.  Show me with his actions!  Show me with observation from other characters' points of view!  Or better yet, let the reader figure it out.  Yeah, you heard me.  I will believe in the doubt of Jacen Solo, the heroism of Corran Horn, the nobility of Gilad Pellaeon, the duplicity of Borsk Fey'lya, the disposition of the galaxy towards the Jedi, and the desperation of the galactic situation without having it referenced to me ad nauseum.

*breath*

Dark Tide 1: Onslaught

Dark Tide: Onslaught is the first of two books by Michael A. Stackpole following up R. A. Salvatore's Vector Prime, series starter of The New Jedi Order.  Of all the places in the Expanded Universe timeline I picked here to resume my journey because the previous trip thoroughly covered the 25-year period following the movies and I'm ready for that generation of heroes to age.  I'm ready for Star Wars to take the next step past the story of Luke, Han, and Leia saving the galaxy.

Vector Prime did a great job getting us started on that new story.  An alien race invades from outside the galaxy, and a maturing new generation of Jedi including the Solo children form the vanguard of galactic opposition.  New Republic forces are tied down by political infighting, and its up to a combined cast of heroes old and new to carry the day.  I loved it.

I'll admit that Vector Prime was the first Star Wars book I'd read in about 10 years.  Dark Tide: Onslaught was my 12th, and I've dined on a lot of lightsabers and turbolasers in the meantime.  While it may have been impossible for me to dislike any Star Wars selection after 10 years withdrawal from the Expanded Universe, today my expectations are bit higher.

Survivor's Quest

Let me start off by saying that I may have spoiled Timothy Zahn's Survivor's Quest for myself by reading Outbound Flight first (my review).  Even though Survivor's Quest comes later chronologically, it poses many questions that Outbound Flight answers.  Any sense of mystery I would have felt reading this book was replaced by a sense of frustration, as I watched its characters stumble around looking for answers I already knew.

That said, Survivor's Quest is a standalone book centered around the discovery of the Outbound Flight crash site deep in territory controlled by the Chiss Ascendancy.  A call goes out and a motley crew is formed consisting of Luke and Mara (now married), a Stormtrooper squad from the Empire of the Hand led by the son of Baron Fel, a technician masquerading as a New Republic ambassador, a diplomatic contingent from an alien species, and the Chiss military..

Catching Up - The Bad

As I continued my quest through that galaxy far, far away I would soon discover that they can't all be winners...

Hand of Thrawn Duology by Timothy Zahn

Specter of the Past / Vision of the Future

The Empire embarks on a mission of peace, while the New Republic crumbles around a political crisis that divides the galaxy.  Covert elements resurrect a threat the likes of which has not been seen in years.  And man, am I the only one completely turned off by the trope of obstinate politicians in Star Wars literature?

This two-book series extends the story of Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy 10 years into the future, opening the book that much more on his original characters - notably Mara Jade and Talon Karrde - while Luke further explores Jedi philosophy and Han and Leia embark on parenthood in their unique swashbuckling way.

In this story, I loved the Imperial angle: reconciliation with the New Republic, a disgruntled Moff taking matters into his own hands, and organized Imperial terrorism!  All new, all interesting, enjoyed every minute.  On the other hand it was difficult to read Zahn's consistently one-dimensional, stubborn, and unsympathetic portrayals of the story's New Republic political elements.  I'll admit that it may be tipping its hat at the real world, but I want to enjoy my Star Wars.  Give me politics as it ought to be, not as it is: boring, biting, and offensive.

Catching Up - The Good

Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Greg.  Star Wars has been a life-long fascination for me, although my journey through its story halted abruptly 10 years ago.  That tale I shall perhaps recount another time, for now let it be said that the journey that began at that time has now ended, and once again I have found myself exploring the mystery, the drama, and the magic of that galaxy far, far away.

It began four months ago, when I blew the dust off of a sealed box in my parents' attic: my Star Wars library.  I will now recount in brief my re-immersion into that story of Skywalkers and Solos, lightsabers and lightning, of light and of dark...

What follows is roughly three months of books packed into a post.  Pace yourself!

Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore

As I cracked that ancient case, the first face to stare back at me was that of a grotesque Yuuzhan Vong warrior, daring me to take up the challenge of his story.

And indeed I saw it as a challenge.  Though I had previously read Vector Prime, it took me no less than 3 tries to finish it first go-around.  I had no such trouble this time.  What an incredible story!  I exalted at the promise of a new generation of heroes and grinned in fond recollection at the exploits of the previous.  Every single character took on new depth and I was hooked.