Rebirth Reviewed! (spoilers-Major!) or NJO: Becoming What It Ought To Be

It's good to see RAS back on the boards.

What I wanna know is, is Lando in Rebirth and if so, what does he do?

 

Hmmm when does Star By Star come out anyway? I don't really see what's to look forward to after I read a few spoilers for that one... I foresee a dark and depressing book and I've had enough dark and depressing stories. I hope that Rebirth is a tad lighter, like BP was, Conquest was even lighter. From what I know, the first couple of books of NJO are supposed to be dark and then it gets better from there. I really hope so because I'm almost at the brink of throwing all of my NJO books into the back yard and burning them.

Of course the above said really had nothing to do with Rebirth, I think I'll swing by Chapters on Monday and see if they have it out early. If not then I'll have to wait an entire week or convince my parent so take me to the Mall on Tuesday, which seems highly unlikely.

MJ2: I totally agree with you on the whole End of An Era and about characters being pushed aside, but it's only been eight books and there's many more books coming? Maybe if we wait long enough we'll get a book we'll like. I don't really like the Solo kids, they're too unbelievable for kids their age, even if they are Jedi... well Jedi apperentices. Of course I suppose children in the GFFA reach maturity at a younger age... *sighs* TPM Anakin, Queen Amidala, Luke, Leia...

 

Wow, the neats foot oil tasters are out in force! (pun intended)



RAS:
Hmm, looks like a good time to boycott the NJO to me....

Oh, lookh! How subtle!!

"Frustration has hijacked my lips."

Okhay, frustration has been paid off.

I just don't know what to say....

Yes, it is a very good time! In fact, a good time would have been six months ago. No, I take that back, 18 months ago. Just think, I could have read the best SciFi novel (CH) I've ever read, that much sooner. Oh, but my fun as a satarist would never have been realized. And I never would have met some wonderful people. Ah, the trade-offs.

Reviewed any good Dune books lately?

 

This latest thread, about the dark in the beginning? Does anyone remember the interviews in front of the video's after the re-release? Lucas says, pretty clear:

In the first part you introduce the characters. In the second you throw them in the most gruelling advntures. In the third they climb out. It's the same with these books, I imagine. It's just in installments of 5 or 6 books at a time.

Another thing that (I think) is overlooked:
In Dark Tide II-RUIN, there's a setup for a Jaina/Jagged Fel future. I think Elaine Cunningham's book might explore that further because she's one of the best "emotional story" writers.

And even if this is not the case...a future for Jaina/Kyp is not that bad. I can easily imagine a dark path for Kyp and Jaina trying to save him, just like Leia did with Luke in the Dark Empire comics. Only not brother/sister style....lovers can be the same if not better suited for such a storyline.

I think...but those are just my 2 cents. )

 

Ok, ive read the book twice now, especially keen on the shimmra bit and the vergere bit

Vergere i think is working FOR the jedi, mainly becuase she has already been around the gffa for a year, and has knowledge of solo, and knows that jacen is his son. If she wanted to work with the vong, she could have easily double crossed the jedi.

Shimras scence with Nen Yim at the end was amazing. If you dont know, basically Nen Yim is still doing her heresy shaping, and shimra finds out. But instead of killing her he lets her carry on, because the vong dont have all the knowledge from Yun-Yuuzhan, and all they have is what Yun-Harla gave them. So seeing as Nen-Yim has found out new shaping techniques, (the eight level or something, so far the vong have only got to level 7) he allows her to carry on, which i think is how they create the vronskr-vong in SBS.

Nom Anor was in it again. I used to think he was the traitor in Stovers book, but know i think it might be Nen Yim....

 

Could someone that has read it tell us about Anakin. What was up with him in this book? How was the kiss written?

 

Lando? Anyone??

 

Sorry technical glitch.

 

Well to be honest with you, when I first started reading the NJO I didn't know it was going to be one long story arc. I only found out later after reading an article somewhere. What can the publisher do to change that, probably not much I'm sure. Longer books and more attention to characterization might help. Just a small example. Did we ever get to see Han and Leia find out that L/M were expecting? Such an important event in the family, a small detail really, but I think it makes a difference. How did they find out? In Rebirth are they their for the birth, do they even know it is happening. They are supposed to be twins but they never seem to appear together in books. Did we ever see Luke discuss with Han the rotten way he was treating his sister and nephew? From Bantam all the way through the NJO, it is the same old formula. H/L off somewhere doing one thing, and L off somewhere else. It's getting tiresome. Allow them to behave like a family once in a great while. In fact your's is the only NJO book that I can think of where Han and Luke even talk much at all.
Can't remember the last good Luke and Leia conversation.

About the name Ben. Well that poll was pretty awful if I remember correctly. I think there were ten names, but the other 9 were so bad, even I would have to pick Ben by default. I don't think that that was a very helpful poll. I can't help finding Ben boring and uncreative. I just would have preferred he have his own unique name. I think I will have to call him BJ, for Benjamin, so I don't taint my feelings for the character.

 

Well, I was able to find an audiobook of Rebirth today. The Vong sound hilarious! I'm only a couple of minutes in. I like the SW music though. But the Vong... hahahahaha!

 

I haven't read it yet, but I can tell that I'm going to love it. Mara being cured, the birth of the "Skycrawler", and Anakin and Tahiri kissing are enough for me to enjoy it.

As for Kyp, I think a lot of people are misunderstanding him, but are right to be concerned about him. I think he's obsessed with clearing his name. Many people remember him for what he did in the Jedi Academy trilogy, and he wants to be remembered as a Jedi and not as an evil individual. Sort of like Luke and Leia remembering their father as a Jedi, but many people remember him as Darth Vader, not Anakin Skywalker. He sees the Yuuzhan Vong as a way of redeeming himself in the eyes of the people. Now I see two explanations to the problem that I have with Kyp's actions.
1) He's so obsessed with this prospect that he doesn't realize that his obsession is drawing him back towards the dark side.
2) Or, and this is more frightening, he does realize, and hopes that the ends justifies the means.
Either way, I can definitely make this prediction. In Star by Star, they say a team of Jedi will infiltrate the Yuuzhan Vong, like Wurth Skidder did in Jedi Eclipse. If Kyp joins the team, I think he might be the major character they say will be killed in the book. If he's not the one, then I know that there's going to be showdown before much longer, because Kyp will have come close to becoming a Dark Jedi again at that point. Whether he faces off against Luke or Corran is up to LFL, but I know it'll be one of those two whom Kyp will face. Whether or not Kyp survives that faceoff is again up to LFL.

Also, as for the politicians, I think the Jedi should have no association with most of the politicians from this point on. What they did to Leia in Onslaught, their threat of another purge in Balance Point, and what that @$%@%$@#%$@ did in Conquest are reason enough for the Jedi to have no respect for them or to respect their wishes. There are exceptions. Luke knew he could count on Triebakk's and Cal Omas' support for establishing a Jedi Council in Vector Prime, so the Jedi can trust them. Elegos A'kla was another one whom they could trust. If they make an appearance in the next few books, then the Jedi can trust Ackbar, Garm Bel Iblis, Carlist Rieekan, and Mon Mothma. The Jedi can also trust those politicians who sincerely want to help the Jedi, and Viqi Shesh isn't one of them.

Personally, as far as Traitor is concerned, I didn't consider Nen Yim or Vergere to be the one the title was referring to. I was thinking of Viqi Shesh and/or Nom Amor. Anyone can understand my thinking of Viqi Shesh. As far as Nom Amor, I was thinking of Tsavong Lah or Shimrra learning about Nom Amor's political ambitions and executing him because those thoughts are probably heresy to the Yuuzhan Vong way. As much as I like to have this scenario happen, I think it won't. As far as Nom Amor's concerned, he's a dead man, and it'll be Mara Jade Skywalker who'll deliver the final blow.

 

Okay enough of this!! Will somebody please tell me if Lando is in the book??? grrrrr

Don't make me beg! Cause it won't be pretty.

 

Well, he hasn't been mentioned in the audiobook yet. I just started side 2 of the first tape.

 

I agree that there should be more scenes of Luke, Han, Leia, Mara, and the kids acting like a family. SW is a family saga after all, and that is why so many people can relate to it. The importance of family, friendship, and loyalty that was emphasized in the films is what gave them such a cross-cultural and cross-generational appeal. There have been many opportunities for family drama that some EU writers have glossed over in favor of action/adventure. Most of the fanfiction that I have read takes the exact opposite approach, focusing on the relationships between characters, and I would like to see more of that in the NJO books without sacrificing the action/adventure elements. Some of my favorite moments in the EU novels are the romantic, affectionate, humorous, and tragic moments in the personal lives of our family of heroes. We love these characters because even though they have fantastic adventures in that GFFA, they are still flawed, emotional human beings like all the rest of us. (I think of Chewie, Artoo, and Threepio as being just as "human" as the other members of the Skywalker/Solo clan.) I'd really like to see each character's first meeting with little Ben, especially Aunt Leia and Uncle Han. I wish Chewie could have lived to know Luke's son. It makes me miss the furry guy even more!
Regarding spoilers: what's Lando been up to lately? And please, somebody tell us more about Anakin and Tahiri's relationship. I'd really like to see these two together.

 

Well, Tahiri insisted on accompanying Anakin and Corran on a supply run. No kiss yet, but it's there, somewhere. I guess it's farther on.

 

The kiss happens towards the end of the book. It was really really sweet. They're definitely on their way to couple-dom.

As for the baby...the whole thing made me so happy, the way it was handled, etc...that at the time I was reading it, the name didn't even bother me. Of course I felt it was lacking in some areas, e.g. the fact that the "family reunion" will most likely happen "off screen," kinda bothers me. But all in all it was great. The touch of humor at the ending was fabulous as well.

Yes, Lando was in the book, though not much. I believe he was the one fixing the Falcon (someone who didn't read as fast as I did, LOL, feel free to correct me)?

 

Well I guess I'm more than halfway through. I'm probably halfway through side one of tape 2. In the cantina on Tatooine.

 

I went to B.Dalton and couldn't find the book. (I didn't ask because I knew the answer would be "Tuesday July 31st.") Thanks for the details on the book. I don't mind spoilers. Ugh, I just don't like Lando. I think I'll skip all Lando parts. I still blame *him* for Chewie's death. (He sent Han to that planet with the delivery.)

Less 42 hours to go!

 

I think the Yankees are about to even the odds with your Sox. Clemens got pulled out yesterday due to injury. I have no idea how bad it is....but we'll keep winning. We're the Bronx bombers, it goes against our very nature to lose. I think we have forgotten how.

Now..must...quietly...exit thread...before I get 'spoiled'. I'll rejoin this conversation after reading "Rebirth".

 

Bob - thanks for returning to the forums!

 

I have so many problems with these statements by MariahJade2:

<<<As much as I would like to make comments about the Rebirth spoilers, I will withhold judgment until I can see the book for myself, though I must say that the name Ben is a big disappointment, though not unexpected. It would have shown me something to give the child a name all his own, and it saddens me as a woman that Mara has little input in naming her own child, and he is named after someone who means nothing to her, and spent such a short time with Luke.>>>

Gimme a break. I'm named after my father's late brother who passed away a few months before my birth. My father wanted to pass the name along. Do expect the woman to cause a ruckus in a situation like that? No, she respected that wish and got to name my brother what she wished. Of course my middle name is also my mother's late father's name, so perhaps it goes both ways. Should Mara not respect Luke's wish? And I'm sorry but there is no name Mara could conjur up at this point that would mean enough to her that she would name her child that. More on this stuff in the later comments.

<<<A man who lied to him, allowed him to form a hatred for his father.>>>

And did that not eventually allow Luke to save the galaxy and return his father to the light side of the Force? Do you really think that if Luke were told the complete unabridged truth that he would have went along with it all? Could Luke truly believe all of that when he was a simple 18 year-old farmboy on Tatooine who had been completely sheltered his entire life? I think not.

<<<Who supported his training in order that he could become a weapon.>>>

A weapon that killed tyrants and brought peace to hundreds and thousands of oppressed planets. A weapon that almost single handedly brought down the Empire. Luke was their last hope (Leia is debatable). Did you want Obi-Wan to just sit back and wait for Luke to go save the universe on his own? Luke needed prodding and he had to be helped along and essentially 'brought up to speed' in order to face Darth Vader. As a side note, a lot of these points can be made with Colonel Graff and Ender's relationship from Ender's Game.

<<<Who had no faith that Luke?s father could be saved and should therefore be destroyed by his own son.>>>

Luke had to learn to see the light inside Vader on his own. I think it was made rather obvious that Obi-Wan couldn't do everything for Luke. Paraphrasing Morheous' quote from The Matrix, "I can only show you the door. You must choose to open it." And in the end it was only Luke's pain that could bring Vader back from the dark side to destroy the Emperor. Again, Obi-Wan HAD to tell Luke half-truths in order to get Luke to do certain things. But in the end it was Luke who pulled those things off.

<<<Who abandoned Luke at cloud city.>>>

What the heck did you want Obi-Wan to do at Cloud City? Talk to him? Luke definitely had to go through that alone. That was the point in time where Luke crossed the line into maturity and understood what was required of him. Luke had to feel that pain for himself and Obi-Wan would only have done temporary good by helping Luke yet in the long term would have hurt Luke. Luke had to learn to do things on his own at some point.

I'm sorry that these comments aren't really related to Rebirth but I had to say something.

 

Nice post, Bogga. I agree with you. And as for Cloud City, dude, Obi Wan *warned* Luke not to go. Not that Ben is the type to be like "I told you so.." but you know, Luke sort of made his own bed in that situation, so he had to find his own way out of it.

 

O.K. I just came back from checking Barnes & Noble and Borders, and Rebirth's not in yet. I checked Waldenbooks on Friday, and I got the same result. What I want to know is: for all of you out there in the U.S. who have the book, which bookstore did you go to?!

 

Waldenbooks employees where I live must not be in the know about the release date, 'cause they had tons of them on the shelf.

 

I got a copy at Waldenbooks today too.