I started this, but unfortunately can't complete this as I am work. I went into the latest review thread (Death Star), and started going down the list of reviews, finding the last average ranking, then placing it in order. Here is what I have so far. Anyone keen to go on with this? 9.52 EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH 9.26 Republic Commando: Hard Contact 9.03 LABYRINTH OF EVIL 8.96 YODA: DARK RENDEZVOUS 8.79 Shatterpoint 8.14 MEDSTAR I: BATTLE SURGEONS 7.7 MEDSTAR II: JEDI HEALER 7.63 The Cestus Deception 6.13 JEDI TRIAL --- Keralys edit: Master List as of 3/2/09: 9.52 EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (Stover) 9.32 X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar (Allston) 9.26 Republic Commando: Hard Contact (Traviss) 9.20 Heir to the Empire (Zahn) 9.19 X-Wing: Solo Command (Allston) 9.18 Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream (Allston) 9.13 The Unifying Force (Luceno) 9.12 Outbound Flight (Zahn) 9.09 Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor (Stover) 9.04 Dark Force Rising (Zahn) 9.03 LABYRINTH OF EVIL (Luceno) 8.96 YODA: DARK RENDEZVOUS (Stewart) 8.92 Traitor (Stover) 8.91 X-Wing: Wraith Squadron (Allston) 8.90 Star by Star (Denning) 8.89 Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter (Reaves) 8.84 I, Jedi (Stackpole) 8.79 Shatterpoint (Stover) 8.79 X-Wing: Iron Fist (Allston) 8.78 X-Wing: Rogue Squadron (Stackpole) 8.73 Episode IV: A New Hope (Lucas) 8.71 The Han Solo Adventures (Daley) 8.70 The Last Command (Zahn) 8.65 Tatooine Ghost (Denning) 8.64 X-Wing: The Bacta War (Stackpole) 8.63 Legacy of the Force VI: Inferno (Denning) 8.60 Cloak of Deception (Luceno) 8.59 Specter of the Past (Zahn) 8.57 Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight (Reaves) 8.56 Vision of the Future (Zahn) 8.49 Episode I: The Phantom Menace (Brooks) 8.48 Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Kahn) 8.48 Republic Commando: True Colors (Traviss) 8.46 Edge of Victory I: Conquest (Keyes) 8.45 X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble (Stackpole) 8.43 Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand (Allston) 8.43 Republic Commando: Triple Zero (Traviss) 8.38 Dark Tide II: Ruin (Stackpole) 8.36 Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Glut) 8.27 Legacy of the Force I: Betrayal (Allston) 8.27 X-Wing: The Krytos Trap (Stackpole) 8.25 Legacy of the Force VII: Fury (Allston) 8.21 Shadows of the Empire (Perry) 8.20 Survivor's Quest (Zahn) 8.14 MEDSTAR I: BATTLE SURGEONS (Reaves, Perry) 8.12 Destiny's Way (W. J. Williams) 8.09 Dark Tide I: Onslaught (Stackpole) 8.07 Dark Nest I: The Joiner King (Denning) 8.05 Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Luceno) 8.05 Force Heretic I: Remnant (S. Williams, Dix) 8.05 The Clone Wars: Wild Space (Miller) 8.03 Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Salvatore) 7.90 Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen (Denning) 7.89 X-Wing: Isard's Revenge (Stackpole) 7.84 The Final Prophecy (Keyes) 7.82 Legacy of the Force IV: Exile (Allston) 7.80 Legacy of the Force III: Tempest (Denning) 7.76 Vector Prime (Salvatore) 7.73 The Clone Wars (Traviss) 7.72 Legacy of the Force II: Bloodlines (Traviss) 7.70 MEDSTAR II: JEDI HEALER (Reaves, Perry) 7.67 The Lando Calrissian Adventures (Smith) 7.63 The Cestus Deception (Barnes) 7.62 Coruscant Nights II: Streets of Shadows (Reaves) 7.56 Force Heretic II: Refugee (S. Williams, Dix) 7.42 Force Heretic III: Reunion (S. Williams, Dix) 7.38 Edge of Victory II: Rebirth (Keyes) 7.30 Darth Bane: Rule of Two (Karpyshyn) 7.26 Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (Karpyshyn) 7.26 Republic Commando: Order 66 7.20 Death Star (Perry/Reaves) 7.17 Millennium Falcon (Luceno) 7.05 Legacy of the Force V: Sacrifice (Traviss) 7.00 Legacy of the Force IX: Invincible (Denning) 6.96 The Courtship of Princess Leia (Wolverton) 6.96 Jedi Search (Anderson) 6.90 Tyrant's Test (Kube-McDowell) 6.87 Showdown at Centerpoint (Allen) 6.81 Ambush at Corellia (Allen) 6.72 Allegiance (Zahn) 6.72 Assualt at Selonia (Allen) 6.72 Dark Nest III: The Swarm War (Denning) 6.70 Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial (Luceno) 6.70 Dark Journey (Cunningham) 6.64 Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse (Luceno) 6.63 Before the Storm (Kube-McDowell) 6.62 The Truce at Bakura (Tyers) 6.60 Champions of the Force (Anderson) 6.60 Rogue Planet (Bear) 6.50 Balance Po
Master List: 9.52 EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (Stover) 9.26 Republic Commando: Hard Contact (Traviss) 9.18 Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream (Allston) 9.13 The Unifying Force (Luceno) 9.12 Outbound Flight (Zahn) 9.03 LABYRINTH OF EVIL (Luceno) 8.96 YODA: DARK RENDEZVOUS (Stewart) 8.92 Traitor (Stover) 8.79 Shatterpoint (Stover) 8.65 Tatooine Ghost (Denning) 8.63 Legacy of the Force VI: Inferno (Denning) 8.43 Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand (Allston) 8.43 Republic Commando: Triple Zero (Traviss) 8.27 Legacy of the Force I: Betrayal (Allston) 8.20 Survivor's Quest (Zahn) 8.14 MEDSTAR I: BATTLE SURGEONS (Reaves, Perry) 8.12 Destiny's Way (W. J. Williams) 8.07 Dark Nest I: The Joiner King (Denning) 8.05 Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader* (Luceno) 8.05 Force Heretic I: Remnant (S. Williams, Dix) 7.90 Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen (Denning) 7.84 The Final Prophecy (Keyes) 7.82 Legacy of the Force IV: Exile (Allston) 7.80 Legacy of the Force III: Tempest (Denning) 7.72 Legacy of the Force II: Bloodlines (Traviss) 7.7 MEDSTAR II: JEDI HEALER (Reaves, Perry) 7.63 The Cestus Deception (Barnes) 7.56 Force Heretic II: Refugee (S. Williams, Dix) 7.42 Force Heretic III: Reunion (S. Williams, Dix) 7.31 Death Star (As of this post anyway) (Reaves, Perry) 7.26 Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (Karpyshyn) 7.05 Legacy of the Force V: Sacrifice (Traviss) 6.72 Allegiance (Zahn) 6.72 Dark Nest III: The Swarm War (Denning) 6.13 JEDI TRIAL (Sherman, Cragg) 5.95 Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine* (Whitney-Robinson) *-means I added on reviews not counted in last "official" posted score. Breakdowns by series: Legacy of the Force: (Series Average: 7.88) 8.63 Legacy of the Force VI: Inferno 8.27 Legacy of the Force I: Betrayal 7.82 Legacy of the Force IV: Exile 7.80 Legacy of the Force III: Tempest 7.72 Legacy of the Force II: Bloodlines 7.05 Legacy of the Force V: Sacrifice The New Jedi Order: (Series Average: 8.29) 9.18 Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream 9.13 The Unifying Force 8.92 Traitor 8.43 Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand 8.12 Destiny's Way 8.05 Force Heretic I: Remnant 7.84 The Final Prophecy 7.56 Force Heretic II: Refugee 7.42 Force Heretic III: Reunion Dark Nest Trilogy: (Series Average: 7.56) 8.07 Dark Nest I: The Joiner King 7.90 Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen 6.72 Dark Nest III: The Swarm War Clone Wars Novels: (Series Average: 8.05) 9.03 LABYRINTH OF EVIL 8.96 YODA: DARK RENDEZVOUS 8.79 Shatterpoint 8.14 MEDSTAR I: BATTLE SURGEONS 7.7 MEDSTAR II: JEDI HEALER 7.63 The Cestus Deception 6.13 JEDI TRIAL Republic Commando: (Series Average: 8.85) 9.26 Republic Commando: Hard Contact 8.43 Republic Commando: Triple Zero Author Averages (three or more minimum): Matthew Woodring Stover: 9.08 James Luceno: 8.74 Aaron Allston: 8.42 Karen Traviss: 8.12 Tim Zahn: 8.01 Troy Denning: 7.96 Michael Reaves/Steve Perry: 7.72 Sean Williams/Shane Dix: 7.68 EDIT: Thanks to Kol_Skywalker for starting it off. If I missed anything (besides the new RC book which is too fresh to add right now IMO), or if I made a mistake, lemme know.
Nicely done! Nice to see this that these numbers paint Traviss in a positive light, despite the vocal minority that seem to hate everything she does. Nice to see the Ruins of Dantooine in its rightful place as well.
Its an excellent novelization and doesn't exclusively retell the movie from the same perspective. I love the Dooku vs Obi/Anakin told from Dooku's perspective. Much better than the AOTC's and TPM novels.
Revenge of the Sith does an excellent job of telling a story that just happens to also be a movie, instead of telling us what happened in the movie, if that makes any sense. It's faithful to its source, but not bound by it. One of my favorite SW books actually, right there with Outbound Flight.
I like Karen Traviss, and her books, but do WE really think it is the second best SW novel (Hard Contact)? BTW, thanks for putting this together!!! And also thanks for creating series averages; I was going to do that, forgot to mention it, but wow... it was done! Of all the criticism, NJO fairs pretty well...
On the contrary, the ratings for Ms. Traviss's 'Star Wars' novels have been deteriorating. I'm, on the other hand, am glad that Stover and Luceno ranks so high. I would've preferred Luceno's Darth Plagueis novel before a follow-up to the Darth Bane novel (not that it's going to be bad or anything).
A good idea, you should do one for comcis too. Dark Rendezvous's rating is too high, though. Constructicons: unite.
*Part of the vocal minority* (Remember..."If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything!") (Okay... whew) (This is tough) RC wasn't bad.
On a sidethought after looking over that list- is it me, or was there never a paperback release of ROTS?
Yeah that's one flaw about this, is that it only goes back to about 2002 (when we started these review threads). But it's still a good resource for every novel post-2002. Plus it reveals some interesting stats, like that for all the complaints, the NJO has a rather high series rating...
Despite NJO's rating, it skips books like Dark Journey, Vector Prime (which I personally hated, whether or not I'm in the minority I'm writing it). And yes, without the X-wing series, Thrawn trilogy, thrawn duology, I,Jedi, and a few others, I think the rating is hard to really take properly.
There are reviews for a lot of those older books in the Literature Review Forum. Edit. For Example Heir to the Empire - 3158/343 = 9.21 Vector Prime - 916/108 = 8.48 I, Jedi - 1883/213 = 8.84 Jedi Search - 939/135 = 6.96 Star by Star - 881/99 = 8.90 X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar - 1062/114 = 9.32 X-Wing: Rogue Squadron - 1238/151 = 8.20
I'd only hesitate on adding those as those are not "fresh" reviews like the Lit Forum Reviews are, but I'll probably get around to adding them soon.
Yes, though, I did the math differently and therefore came up with different answers (primarily because if you take the point value and multiply it by the percent that voted for it, you get a less accurate number) (sorry, less messy version) Last command-8.89 Jedi Search- 6.64 Heir to the empire- 9 Shadow Hunter- 8.74 Dark journey- 6.47 darksaber- 5.67 I, Jedi- 8.62 Children of the Jedi- 3.94 Dark Force Rising- 8.77 This was done within the hour. It gives Thrawn's trilogy a 8.9, or 8.8 if you just truncate. Using your figures for Vector Prime and Star by Star, and mine for Dark Journey, NJO-8.20 Zahn moves up to an 8.85.