Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: DARK NEST II: THE UNSEEN QUEEN (spoilers)

I know Sovv died, but where's Kre'fey? I loved that guy!

 

7

My main problems:

Lack of Ben. He got a lot of pagetime in TJK and then almost nothing here. I did like the show of power though. He is going to be an extremely powerful Jedi.

The Bothan admiral. He was OK for a Bothan. But the arrogance was disgusting. Letting his officers hang busts of him and say he is better than Ackbar. And the "Thrawn sim"? What a joke. If Thrawn were alive he would be disgusted that someone who beats a simulatation named after him would lose a Imperial Star Destroyer to a bunch of bugs.

The Jedi. Kyp seemed likable. Jacen was intelligent. Something is wrong.

 

Don't worry. Supreme Commander Sovv was replaced by retired Grand Admirial/leader of the Empire Gilad Pellaeon.

Yes an Imperial is now the Temporiary leader of the Alliance Navy.

SWEET!!!

 

As for the book itself, not bad. Better than JK I'd say. However we should have seen more of Jacens side of the story since it compares to Anakins. I mean that's a nice size plot point to be looked into. But what can you say, in only one movie we got most of Anakins fall. So hopefully Swarm War will be enough to make a nice conclusion to the Jacen part of the story.

So from what I understand Lomi Plo has bug eyes, a mandible jaw, and a scarred face. All I can say to that is... 2ndQuest your soul mate has finally arrived.

And did I say Pellaeon is the Temp leader of the Alliance Navy?

SWEET!!!

 

Jeez, those military leaders. Always going out like punks.

Gree - decapitated by a troll
Tarkin - blown up after refusing to evacuate
Ozzel - choked to death
Piett - hit by a spiraling A-wing
Thrawn - stabbed in the back
Sedriss - annihilated by a tree
Numerous warlords - asphyxiated by Daala
Madine - shot by a gangster
Dodonna - died of old age offscreen
Tsavong Lah - lazily skewered like some average redshirt
Ackbar - got sick and died offscreen
Sovv - got sick and died offscreen

Can't one of them die in a blaze of glory in some hopeless assault turned into a success by their valiant sacrifice? Well, Ossilege...there's a blaze of glory! Why couldn't they have done that with Ackbar?

 

I'm sure Pellaeon will be the one who goes out in the blaze of glory. He will have to..well he will if he dies in Swarm War.

If he doesn't Zahn will just bring him back.

 

Thrawn - stabbed in the back

Actually he was sitting in a chair when he died. Making it impossible to be stabbed in the back.

I think that's the first time I've used that face.

 

He was stabbed through the back of his chair, actually, by Rukh's long knife. The tip protruded out through his heart; so the blade went through the chair back, through Thrawn, and poked out the front. Long knife. Sharp knife.

 

It would have to be. Those commandchairs look both durable and quite thick in the back.

 

Counting 15 ratings: 111/15 = 7.4

 

I'll go with a 7.5 write a review later..

 

Counting 16 ratings: 118.5/16 = 7.41

 

I give it a 8.5 out of... what is it out of again?

 

Hmm...I'd give The Unseen Queen a solid 8.5 out of ten. I don't think it was quite as good as TJK.

I thought that TUQ, just like TJK, started off a little slow, but by the half-way point, it was difficult to put down, especially once the Falcon is captured in the Murgo Choke.

One of the highlights of this book, like TJK was the humor. There were several really funny moments in this novel, including a homicidal Ewok madly swinging a lightsaber. Han had a plethora of one-liners, too. I'm not sure that TUQ had as MUCH humor as TJK, but that doesn't really matter, I don't suppose.

Another thing I enjoyed was Luke seeing more scenes with Anakin/Padme, though this time around, Luke's reaction to what he just saw wasn't explored as much as it should have been. He witnesses Order 66 in the Jedi Temple, a brutal atrocity, and yet he seems unphased. Now, I realize that soon afterwards, the Saras nest evacuates the planet and all, but I mean, something that important should have been placed elsewhere in the book or saved for TSW.

It was great to see Leia as a Jedi, she has progressed nicely, and her fight with Alema was great!

Moreover, Luke's fight with Lomi Plo was very inventive and interesting to read also. I feared for Mara at certain points, what with an invisible Lomi lurking on her Stealth X.

And, one more thing I loved was the battle at the end. It was really exciting, and this new admiral seems very interesting indeed...

Now, to some of the more negative points...

As Rogue_Wookie said, I would have liked to have seen more of Ben, who was awesome in TJK.

Jacen, Jacen, Jacen. Ugh. I did like him in Traitor, I really did like him for the first time. But now, now I can't stand him. He's so arrogant and selfish, especially. He wants to wipe out all the Killiks just to save his daughter? Who does he think he is? What he did to Ta'a Chume was ridiculous. Sure, she's a nasty wench, but how can Jacen not see his actions as greedy, selfish, and barbaric? He reeks of Sith, that is clear to me now. I worry more about him plunging the galaxy into eternal war than the Dark Nest. His attack on the Chiss was foolish as well.

I thought some of the character interactions weren't as tight as they were in TJK, either, like sometimes I thought Luke/Han went too harsh at each other, for instance.

 

Are you kidding?

Luke had pretty much the best reaction possible, given what he just saw. I thought that was the one note-perfect scene Troy laid out!

 

8.5/10

I loved almost everything about this book (and series). Luke finding about about Anakin killing the younglings, the Leia/Alema fight, the whole Lomi Plo battle and the fleet battle. Jacen getting sithy is also bringing the series along. Only bad thing I can think of is the abrupt ending. (This is the reason it's not a 9)

All in all this book has a nice ESB feel.

 

Yes i was thinking ESB also for the feel of this book.

 

OK, first post. Here goes.
I really enjoyed the TESB feel to the book. Enjoyably dark, sets things up real well for TSW. As to specifics, I liked the Bothan admiral for what he was -- a complete ******* "good-guy" you love to hate. AKA Borsk's successor. He's coming around, but it's good to have someone on the right side who isn't a perfect hero. Most of all, he's a new character in a universe that's too content to have the same 12 characters do everything.
On Jacen, I really like what Denning's doing with him. This is post-Traitor Jacen. He's on the way to darkness, but we really have no clue whether he'll go over the brink or pull himself back.
As usual, Denning nails the characters. There's an awful lot packed into this book. Dark Nest is shaping up as one of the highlights of the EU. Bring on TSW!
Overall -- 9.8

 

Counting 20 ratings: 153.8/20 = 7.69

 

I just thought we'd get more inside Luke's head. OK, so in my original post I said Luke was "unphased" by it, that was hyperbole to say the least. My take on it was that I wanted to read what exactly Luke was thinking in his mind. I guess I was just expecting to get a few paragraphs of internal 'monologue' if you will, especially in relation to Luke's view on the nature of the Force right then and there.

 

A lot of people seem to be giving the book a hard time because they dislike the actions of some of the charcters [cough*Jacen*coughcough], but really, it makes for a great storyline. The book is quite well-written, especially the characters, no plot holes, and TSW is looking really exciting. Seriously, what's up with the sevens?

EDIT: Where did everyone go? [Han]It's not my fault![/Han]

 

He was stabbed through the back of his chair, actually, by Rukh's long knife. The tip protruded out through his heart; so the blade went through the chair back, through Thrawn, and poked out the front. Long knife. Sharp knife.

You're right. I don't know why, but whenever I read that scene in the past I pictured the hilt sticking out of Thrawn's chest.

 

Just finished reading it this morning and just had to write up my thoughts.

Overview: This book defenitly has that ESB feel to it. You just know that there is going to be one big gigantic fight and it's going to be the GA/Chiss versus the Bugs. Who will live and who will die and what will happen to all of the Joiners?

The Good: Lot's of action. Lot's of space and land battles to keep the story going along. For some reason I am really starting to take a shine to Leia in this series. Normally I could care less for her, but the training of her has really started to open her up as a character and suddenly she is taking orders and doesn't get her way every single time. Plus the argument over the fizz container between her and Saba was a highlight. Also Kyp, good ol Kyp. He continues to be headstrong jedi that everyone loves to hate. And his solution to the whole Killik problem is the best that I have ever heard. The Gorog continue to surprise and you get the feeling that they have a ton more aces up their sleeves, or arms, or whatever. Plus the fact that you can't reason with them makes them a better villian for the series. Jacen is also starting to get more and more interesting as a character and I never thought that I'd say this but I am starting to take a shine to his growth. He is starting to become a Anakin-2.0 and is doing everything that he can to prevent his visions from continuing to come true. The question is, how far will he go now that he has a kid? The fact that Plo isn't the Unseen Queen is also a nice touch and a great slight of hand. The fact that it's two women from Mara's past makes you wonder what else is going to crawl out of the woodwork and bit everyone in the next book.

The Bad: Jaina and Zekk. st*u! I am officially sick and tired of them finishing each other's sentances, throat-clicks, and feeling sorry for the Killiks. Why hasn't Luke or anyone else put them under house arrest and just leave them to rot until the whole Killik affair is over with? Clearly they aren't to be trusted and this just may end up biting everyone in the arse when it's all said and done. Also Raynar Thul, I understand that they have a blind spot to the Dark Nest, but this is starting to get ridiculous. You have the Night Herald KISS HIM ON THE LIPS and not five second later denies that she even exists or even kissed him. What's next? He will deny that he and the Dark Nest took the Ackbar and say that it's all an Alliance trick and that they gave it to him? Unfreakin' belivable. The Dark Nest could wipe out the entire galaxy and he will still think that it's a jedi/Alliance trick. He just made himself the most useless character in this trilogy. I'll be happy when he dies in the next book.

The WTF?: Besides the whole Killik/Dark Nest blindspot, I have to got to wonder what else R2 has seen and got's recorded in him. It just seems a little too unbelievable that whenever there was something big happening R2 was there recording it. So did R2 record the final battle between Yoda and Palpy as well? Yeah, I know that he wasn't there, but it doesn't mean that he didn't jack himself into the cities system and recorded it. It's just a little too coincendental for my taste.

All and all it was a good book... but not as good as the first. 7 out of 10

 

10. Luke, Han and Leia continue to be the only people with any sense as the galaxy devolves into chaos around them. Jacen's really, REALLY, scaring me. Kyp, Corran, and Saba are still great. Did I mention Jacen needs a slap? Enjoyed the "invisible" duel, and the Bothan Admiral was...well, he grew likeable after a while. Personal highlight: the "battle" between the Jedi in the hangar bay.

 

My Score: 9.5
Great novel!

This book didn't fail to dissapoint - I knew from spoilers I was going to love it.

The Good: Leia and Saba. I loved every Leia/Saba scene in the novel, and the one on Ossus was priceless. The new Admiral was good, and the Leia/fleet scenes just take the cake. Leia got ALema damn good - but she chopped off her brain tails, should she be dead? lol. Saba was enjoyable throughout the book as well - I loved the line in the Jedi Temple Comm centre when Saba thought Kyp was talking about eating Gorog.

The Jedi and Cal Omas. The Jedi argument(s) and discussions were great, and gasp, we even see Woneton, Izal and Kirani Ti for once! Cal Omas is a rather intriguing character, but he's not Palpatine - he's a politicion.

Jacen and Ben. Jacen was worrying and I liked Ben throughout the novel. Tenel Ka got what she deserved though. Denning wrote it well.

Luke, Han, Raynar, Battle with Lomi Plo etc - all great. The Luke crushing Alema Rar's lightsaber crystal was great, as was the Luke/Han banter and the talks/arguments with Raynar. The Nests were annoying as usual. THe battle on Mara's X-Wing was...odd, but atleast something new.

I also enjoyed the new Admiral and everything to do with the space battles throughout the novel - not much I didn't like.

The Bad::

Uhhh, the bad? Few typos, and my own dispute with Jaina and Zekk still being Joiners It's also bad The Swarm War won't be out for awhile...

Good work Mr Denning!