Dark Journey: Worst NJO book yet!

I don't get why people don't like DJ. It was different style, which should have satisfied all the ppl getting bored of "the same old stuff", it got to explore what was going on in a character's head (a character who, let's face it, has just been background filler so far) and for me that's always a good thing if done well and this was, it included Jaina heading towards the Dark Side in a reasonable fashion.
After all, Luke and Kyp seem to be able to just flick a switch and go to the DS. Flick another switch and go back to the Light. Ulic has been the only decent DS/Light conversion so far (Vader can't count in this discussion as his story is still in progress), and his story was in a comic, a medium which suits action a bit better than character development. And Zekk, well we missed most of his DS initiation and exit. Until DJ came along, we still hadn't really seen a person go into the Dark Side in a reasonable, understandable fashion. It's not just, oh look i'm angry, now i'm a Sith Lord. With DJ, we get to see Jaina go further and further across the line, separate her thoughts from her friends and family, instinctively bag the guy she has formed a connection with without realising.

For those of you who just wanted to see a Dark Jedi ripping up the place and turning people into jelly before breakfast, go read Darth Maul. DJ provided a very good, sort of realistic journey into the Dark Side.

More scores for character development : Kyp and Jag. Jyp really stands out in this book. He starts of further down the road than Jaina, a reluctant ally with no respect for Luke or his methods. As he observes Jaina crossing more and more lines, he begins to realise what's happening in himself. Jag, despite the significance of his existence, had no character until this book came along. He too was a background filler, far more so than Jaina, and he was really expanded in this book, we got to see a bit of his motivations, his personality and his status within Chiss and NR society.

Jaina/Jag shippers should have been satisfied by the real possibility raised for a future relationship with Jaina and Jag. They should take hope from Lowie : his observation that Jaina and Jag are merely "complicating" the issue, the potential on both sides is there and will be used. I couldn't stop laughing, with one sentence Lowie has managed to trivialise ALL "relationship angst", especially teenager ones.

Those looking for humor, it was there but not in large proportions, but then they should never have had their hopes up for a book dealing with descent into the Dark Side.

Finally, those unsatisfied by the conclusion : Jaina realising in a way how far she's gone and pulling herself back. I would like to point out that everyone who has returned from the DS influence until this point HAS NEEDED HELP. Luke needed Leia to bring him to his senses, Kyp needed Han and later Jaina, Ulic needed Nomi, Anakin needed Luke, Zekk needed Jaina. Whilst Jaina has been influenced by the actions of those around her, her worth has been highlighted by the fact that she was able to pull herself without much assistance. The ending made it clear that she is a special person and ceded to her an achievement that none in SW have got. I think that this ending is great.

 

Wouldn't necessary say that it's the worst book yet, I haven't decided on that since I find all of the NJO bad, BP excluded.

EC did an almost good job in writing considering she had to write about Jaina, the girl who I'm gonna quote MariahJade2 on this, is apparently on permanent PMS.

I also didn't enjoy it from a philosphical stand point, but that's just me. Here we have Jaina who suddenly thinks that maybe the darkside aint so bad and I think she puts down both Luke and Kyp about their views on the darkside, two people who have actually been there and turned back, but ah well, you get what you get. Hopefully, RD and RS will be better, but if it's gonna show more Solo kid nonsense I'm going to scream.

And this is just stating my opinion people, if you're gonna get riled up about one measily opinion then just don't bother posting anything because I'm most likely going to ignore it.

 

But Jade, you said nothing I could complain about. I mean, I disagree, but there's nothing I can argue with

 

IMO Dark Journey just felt labored to me. I didn't manage to become interested enough to enjoy it, but I still felt that I had to read it so as to not miss any important revelation (which never came).

I think that I really would have prefered the Danni Quee books instead. I hate the fact that they have introduced what I consider to be, a potentially very interesting character and have stalled out on using her!!

 

When making these sort of judgements, keep in mind that expectations mean nothing if the book was DIFFERENT than you EXPECTED. I don't agree with a few things in DJ, but that doesn't mean i slowed down in reading it. DJ has enough to sustain my interest so that i finished it the day i got it.

On a side note : do you really think that someone whom is under the influence of the Dark Side and with a burning desire for revenge fueling it, is going to listen to reasonable, experienced viewpoints? I enjoyed that part of the book quite thoroughly ; except for a few short sections with the other characters, the entire book was written as if it was been seen through the eyes of a person who cared about nothing except revenge.

 

Dark Journey suffers a bit because it can't be much than an epilogue to Star by Star. It begins, litterally as the previous book ends and deals with the immediate aftermath of the strike-force's actions. It really can't be much more than it is.

But what it is is rather good. It gives Jaina some characterization that she's really needed in this series. Even Ben Skywalker(how many times did I predict that'd be Luke's kid's name?) has gotten more than she has so far, and he's only been around for two books.

All around, Dark Journey is not, nor can be the greatest of the New Jedi Order series. It is, however, far from the worst.

BTW, did anyone else notice that with every book, there's at least one thread going "____is the worst book in the NJO yet!"? Gets kinda repetitive.

 

Well said. Yes, i have noticed that people quite often post threads nowadays to shout to the world how much they hate the most recent book.

 

I would have to agree with everything Grand Admiral Reese stated. Dark Journey served its purpose well and brought some well needed development to a number of characters. I love how people complained that there was no real epilogue to Balance Point (at least at that time) but now complain when there is one for Star By Star. My only substantial complain with the novel was that it could have used some more pages at the end to further explain everything that took place.

 

It did feel sort of crowded by the end, could have taken another 20 pages and brought the story to a good halt, rather than a sudden brake.

 

I liked it but it left me wanting MORE. So much more. The last 5 pages were crap . Very hurried. I WANT DARK JANIA. She is more fun that way.

 

NJO BOOKS
VP: Good book, but some things like the shieldship "reflecting energy" at the end and the yammosk put me off BIG TIME.

DT: I love these. A tad simplistic but good.

AoC: Not as skilled as DT, but still good.

BP: its crime was mediocrity.

EOV: I loved conquest, was iffy on rebirth, but overall, a quality entry.

SbS: A revelation not only in the NJO but in EU and literature as well. bravo.

And then came Dark Journey. By the time I'd read star by Star, i considered VP and BP to be bad books and the low points in the series. Then I read this piece of crap and totally re-evalutated my viewpoint. At least VP and BP were well written. Had plot. had a point. horrible books like this make me appreciate the rest fo the series that much more.

adious amigos

Communista

 

I thought DJ was pretty good, mostly because of the Kyp parts. If Kyp had not been in it it would probably be one of my least favorites. Vector Prime is my favorite NJO book and favorite Star Wars book. It might just be that i like Salvatore's writing style, but VP is the most interesting and exciting Star Wars book i have read.

 

neimoidian_85:
Oh wow, Jaina was in the Dark Side for like 50 pages! Neato! Face it, the ending was retarded, just like the prior 10 endings and the 20 endings to come.

Question... if you're so disappointed in every NJO book to date, as you seem to be saying, why are you wasting time and/or money on these books? Just because something is Star Wars doesn't make it automatically buyable, no matter what Lucas Licensing would have you think.

 

I think Star By Star is the best NJO book so far. Dark Journey was well written, but Jaina came off as a little too bitchy for my taste. She and Jag went nowhere (I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I'm about ready for some romance!), Tahiri and Anakin are obviously no longer an item, and Han and Leia are just, well, Han and Leia. Luke and Mara - don't get me started there. I like them both as individual characters, but Mara especially has really started to get on my nerves. Everything is Ben this, Ben that, Luke don't get angry that Anakin died 'cause Ben might feel it, let Coruscant go under as long as Ben is safe... You get the idea. I'm beginning to wish those two had never gotten married. Ugh...

 

Okay here are my problems with Dark Journey, which i do think is the worst NJO novel ever btw.

Problem #1

Character #1 enters stage(docking bay, bedroom, etc.) and walks up to Character #2. Character #1 is mad at Character #2 for some reason, and Character #2 is mad at Character #1 for some other completely different reason. However they start talking trying to be nice but end up fighting and Character #2 walks off angry.

Then POV change in the middle of the chapter without a break, Character #2 sits for a while brooding over Character #1. Character #3 comes in and talks with Character #2 talking pure reason about whats going on but Character #2 gets angry and leaves Character #3 to their thoughts so they can think some one sentence line that can end the chapter.

This scenerio happens so many times in DJ, i can't believe the editors didn't say something about it. Really that is how the last half of the novel is written over and over and over, until i wanted to curl up in a little ball so the horrible writing would stop.

Problem #2

The book needed to be longer, not the story, the book. It needed about 150 more pages so that EC could cover some of the story in more detail. There really wasn't any true character development in this novel through character thought, it was all through actions taken by the characters. EC left alot unsaid and even more unthought. An example would be Kyp, he really thought long and hard about his squad getting killed off like that didn't he? I know it's war and i know it's Kyp but there could have been more to that and if the author would have had more than 300 pages(and large print pages at that) to tell the story i'm sure it would have been better.

Problem #3

The book was just written weird. I learned long ago that you can't pick up a NJO paperback novel with any thought of how it's going to be and that when you pick up a NJO hardcover a main character will die, but this novel was very strange to me still, i can't put words to it, maybe later i'll think of them.

There were a few minor problems, but all novels have those.

 

Without a doubt, Dark Journey is the worst NJO book to date.

It had a weak plot, undeveloped characters, and general crap filled those 302 pages.

Lets hope Behind Enemy Lines are better.

 

undeveloped characters

Was Kyp developed any more, it would have been his book

 

I just finished reading DJ and I must say I liked it. It is pretty hard to follow up after SBS but it did an okay job.

This book was basically all about character development, that of Jaina and Kyp which it did so well.

It lets them change and get ready to be a better and bigger part of the NJO and also sets up Jaina for her attempted saving of her brother. Without this development her attempted rescue would look silly.

Over all not one of the bast NJO books but it was still good and I liked it.

 

I didn't think it was the worst (it'd have to be bad to knock off Jedi Eclipse), but it did exceed my expectations (which were really low going in).

For me, the only real highlight was Kyp Durron. ESPECIALLY the part when Jaina hit him with some of that force lightening and he just dispelled and was like "c'mon, seriously...i've been doing that since I was 16. You think I can't counter it?"

I thought Cunningham also might've had the best line since an Allston book...
"Is every third human in this galaxy named Solo?"

However, I have to agree with whoever mentioned the POV switches during paragraphs without breaks. That got annoying. She also really glossed over details in battles, which took away from it. She could skip over an entire battle with like two lines.

Khalee Lah couldn't have been more pointless. He was hardly in the book at all and did NOTHING.....well, except beat up some Peace Brigaders. Being related to Tsavong Lah really served no purpose in the story. Heck, relating this to her not writing battles......If I remember right, we didn't even get a POV from him or the Vong during the final battle, did we? It's like Khalee Lah doesn't get to do anything the entire book, then at the end he kills himself because he's disgraced.

Harrar was good, but was in it so little he really didn't serve much of a purpose either.

And the part on Gallinore was confusing. I can't figure out why she wouldn't have written in that short story into the book.

And, uhh......why was Jag tangled in the X-wing's circuitry or something?

But like I said....despite all of my complaints (and i didn't list them all), it was still better than I thought it would be. That should show you how low an opinion I had going in...