Are the NJO books *that* bad?

Hello fellow StarWars freaks!

I heard and read many bad critics on the NJO books and I wanted to know if they were that bad.

I'd like to know what you think about those books, because I haven't read them yet.

 

I think they are the best crop of books ever. It is nice to see the people are mortal. And it is refreshing to see a new emerging set of core characters, you get tired of seeing the same people having hundreds of adventours within the space of 25yrs

 

They're the best Star Was books that have been published in years. Not one of the books released thus far is bad at all.

 

depends what you like. If u like jedi, its definately for u. If you like combat, read the Dark Tide and Agents of Chaos series. If you like brutal aliens and death; it rocks.

 

Thanks guys!

 

The New Jedi Order books are some of the best! I love them. It's Star Wars at it's best. You will love them.

 

"If you like brutal aliens and death; it rocks."

And there, ladies and gentlemen, you have it in a nutshell. Couldn't put it better myself ;-)

IMHO, the overall storyline is a disappointment and one not suited to SW. The individual books range from the eminently forgettable to the very well-written - but even the best, Balance Point, is still constrained by the overall storyline. The NJO books are not as bad as the worst of the Bantam books, but they do not even come close to the best of Bantam books.

But really, only you can make up your own mind. Check them out of the library, borrow from someone here or raid a used books store if you don't want to make an investment.

 

The only one I reallly didn't care for was Jedi Eclipse, but the rest were awesome.

 

I like them. They're not really in the spirit of the films, but the writing is a far cry better than the typical bantam novels and I've always liked epic fantasy war series.

 

It depends on what you're looking for and expecting (plus how much you've paid for them )

If you are looking for a continuation of SW that is generally true to the films, then you may be disappointed by the first five books of NJO in regard to the explicit violence and lack of attractiveness in the villains. Both aspects point to SW being for a general audience with a certain view of good and evil, NJO breaks with both, for me, not in a good way. You won't be disappointed by the action and battles, though the rationale may be lacking, along with logical coherence.

If you are looking for a story that takes SW in a 'new direction' that is, away from the films but using the old characters, NJO fits the bill.

(I'm becoming inclined to view talk of new directions as meaning the story is clapped out and should be ended, rather than needlessly continued but this is a separate issue)

The only way for you to know where you stand, like the Dark Empire, Jedi Academy and other discussions is to read the material.

Note though, none of NJO is terribly bad, for those critical of it, NJO just is not as good as it should be given the name it is linked to, that is, Star Wars.

Jedi Ben

 

It is a great change from " The Jedi and the Republic always win regardless" to " Im not so sure". They are a great crop of books.

 

IMO It's a great series. I liked every one.

 

I liked all of them- the series isn't perfect, but there has been no book that I would consider truly bad, and a few, like Balance Point, are some of the best Star Wars stories ever written.

 

I think Aleja summed it up best: "The NJO books are not as bad as the worst of the Bantam books, but they do not even come close to the best of Bantam books."

Well put. >:^)

Most people who really like the NJO are younger, haven't read the better previous (Bantam) books and/or the type of fan who liked TPM better than the original trilogy.

I see the NJO as Luke & Co. along with some X-Wings and the Millenium Falcon were teleported to the set of Star Trek or maybe Babylon 5. The character's names are familiar but in some books, that's about it.
<:^(

 

So, you mean that the books are well written, but don't really fit the Star Wars Universe?

 

I think it's because the NJO books are going in a new direction. They're not following the tried-and-true of the SW universe. That makes it a risky proposition. Some people really like the new EU while others don't much care for it. You should read the books and decide for yourself. I like the NJO.

 

I love reading the New Jedi Order. Balance Point is the best book in the series.

 

To me, they gave the movie feel back to the books. The books are touching and make you think and feel for the characters. I really have enjoyed the series for the most part. It does have some sour parts, but they are tottaly outweighed by the great, exciting, wonder evoking parts.

Read them, see what you think, thats always the best way to find something out: doing it yourself.

Enjoy.

 

Ugh..I thought the first two books following Vector Prime sucked bad. But the next two weren't so bad. And I am only half way through Balance point, and I like it so far.

 

Jedi Ben had a good point
" It depends on what you're looking for and expecting (plus how much you've paid for them ) "
Those of us looking for something to continue that wonderful reading experience of VotF were deeply disappointed in VP. I personally was doubly disappointed that I'd spent a ton of money on a so-so book. At least the dreaded Crystal Star only cost me $4.50. I won't be buying another SW hard cover sight unseen.


Readers with little or no previous SW reading experiences often think that VP was great. and love the NJO. Younger readers ( the 13 to 25 crowd) seem to like it better than the over 25 group.
The age gap may be a function of previous reading experience. I've been reading SciFi for nearly 40 years, I can see how derivative a lot of the NJO is, to someone just starting to read SciFi, the NJO is new and so much better than SciFi from movies and TV. Or the difference mat be a "life experience" one. Many of the older readers have seen enough violence and suffering in real life that they really don't care for it in their leisure reading.

Overall, I'd say about 1/2 of the NJO books have been as good as the better Bantam books. But none of them, even the wonderful BP, are as good as the "top shelf" Bantam books. On the other hand, none of the NJO books (so far) have been as bad as the bottom tier of Bantam book.

But that's all just my opinion You really have to read the books yourself and make up your own mind.
When you've read a few, let us know what you think.

 

Yanksfan,
a fan after my own heart. I also thought the Dark Tide series was incredibly weak. Just thought I'd share

 

I would say Dark Soldier in answer to your Q that the NJO SW books do not fit my view of the SW universe.

They do fit other peoples, which in turn generally explains the huge amount of discussion over NJO.

As for the why:

Let's say there are 6 elements to SW.

The Bantam line, it was felt by one section of SW fans, neglected, say element 3. Del Ray sought to correct the neglect with NJO. To the NJO critics by focusin on a supposedly neglected element, DR neglected other, equally important elements while adding elements that were new and may not be true to SW.

OK, I've just attempted to compress hundreds of posts, on numerous threads into a nutshell summary of the NJO debates.

You really need to read the books DS, then the reason for the amount of talk should become clear.

jedi Ben

 

Yes they are.
If you want to safe youself emotional pain and money, don't read them. They just arn't worth it.

LadyCallie

 

i havent read many SW books but i do enjoy the NJO so far but im only at the end of onslaught! they are well written and you care for the characters! but...

the vong invasion thing this is not star wars the 1977 box office smash its more inderpendance day meets star wars! IMHO

the new threat are aliens from another galaxy who get pleasure out of people in pain! they HATE machines and they use bio tech (living machines) they are nothing like the imperials. it takes some getting used to and is quite hard to accept if you are more of a movie fan then EU fan its ok up to the point where you have vong spies undercover in the prrequel era! thats taking it a bit far!

bascly aliens are going to trash the GFFA

my advice to you is to read vector prime i found it abit boring in the middle but you gotta give this one a fair chance and if you dont know about chewie then you might wana try onslaught as well!

now dont spoil it for him!

 

I am a little more then half way through Balance Point, and I must say I am completely unimpressed.

BP spoilers!





Mara, and Jaina totally screwed up their encounter with Anor. That whole scene reminiesced of those cartoons where the villian would run away, and after a few seconds the good guys would say "Hey! He's getting away!"

Jacen is the winniest crybaby ever. What does he think the Force is for? Just being at peace with ones' self? He is a JEDI! Not, a regular kid.

Tyers totally ruined Randa's characters. In JE, he seemed genuinely upset and concerned over Wurth's death. Now, he has reverted back to being a regular traitoruous Hutt.

Lando isn't here.

All the characters seem to think the Vong can be taken at face-value. That they don't have any plans going on.

Nothing exciting has happened! No lightsaber fights, no space battles, no chases.

The scenes which spark my interest the most are the ones with Sheesh. but because of that other thread about her being a traitor is running around, I know she gets away at the end of this book.

I think that in JE, her character's setting was arranged in a more triple-cross manner, but Luceno, and Tyers hopefully worked out her future plans so that wasn't going to happen. I don't understand how she can possibly think that the Vong will keep their word with her, or spare Kuat.

This book is rather boring so far.