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Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: THE FINAL PROPHECY (TFP spoilers)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Mastadge, Sep 26, 2003.

  1. jawajames

    jawajames Former RSA // stawars.com contributor star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2002
    meh.. i realize i hadn't rated this book yet... and now my mind is a bit foggy on it since i read it so long ago... when it came out.

    i will give it an 8.5/10. I liked the characters that were used, how they were portrayed... esp Nom Anor, Nen Yim, Harrar, Wedge and Tahiri. I always like to get into the minds of the 'bad guys'. The whole Jaina-space station thing was a little contrived...

    the writing style must have been good.. i flew through the book with joy and attention!

     
  2. Wraith_18

    Wraith_18 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 23, 2003
    Solid, but not spectacular. 7/10

    When something gets up to Zahn, Allston, Stackpole or Star By Star level, I'll let you know.

     
  3. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 1999
    Counting 54 reviews: 417.05/54 = 7.72/10
     
  4. Pelranius

    Pelranius Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2003
    9.0, that's all I'll have to say for now.

    (I'm pretty sure I didn't vote).
     
  5. ElegosAKla

    ElegosAKla Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2003
    9.75/10

    i loved Keyes' work with harrar and corran, particularly their discussion about Ithor. Bilbringi was good, but I think the book could have been just a little bit longer. Other than that, no problems.
     
  6. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 1999
    Counting 56 reviews: 435.8/56 = 7.78
     
  7. Jedi_Rhysode

    Jedi_Rhysode Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 15, 2004
    9/10. It was great. One problem I had with it though was that I found it hard to believe that Harrar and Nen Yim could come around so quickly. I guess thats not Keyes fault though. So much effort was made durring the NJO to make the vong seem totally depraved and dispicable. Any sign of a change would be understandably unbelievable.
     
  8. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 1999
    Counting 57 reviews: 444.8/57 = 7.8
     
  9. J_K_DART

    J_K_DART Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 31, 2001
    One of the best of the NJO. 10/10.
     
  10. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 1999
    Counting 58 reviews: 454.8/58 = 7.84
     
  11. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Unlock and bump.
     
  12. MistrX

    MistrX Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2006
    Gracias again, Havac.

    Wow, I flew through this one. Generally, I tend to see my reading speed of a story to be pretty proportional to my enjoyment (like, for example, the terrific LoE).

    It's wonderful to get another Keyes book one more time before the final segment of the NJO (final NJO. Strange for me to think about). I loved the first EoV, and while the second was disappointing, it had its moments, too. I'm happy to say that this book definitely sits closer to the former. For one we get the return of Corran Horn, who I think has been gone for far too long. Keyes makes the most with his appearance here, giving him wonderful scenes with Tahiri and Harrar especially. Taking on Tahiri as his apprentice opens up possibilities, something I hope they continued into the future books. If anything, it makes me interested to see his reaction to her decision 11-12 years down the line.

    Bringing back a couple of recurring YV in Harrar and Nen Yim also provided for some very interesting scenes as both become very open-minded to the idea and existence of Zonama Sekot. I like that like our he did previously with Anakin and Vua, we get some human/Vong interaction and even common ground with Corran's discussions with Harrar and Tahiri's with Nen Yim. The revelation that Riina's memories were Nen Yim's was pretty surprising, but a nice development.

    Nom Anor reaches a turning point here, and it was good to see. I kind of like that he's really staying true to himself, not "seeing the light" so to speak, and as usual putting Nom Anor first. Before I wondered how they might wrap his story up in two books. Now it seems time for his comeuppance. I'll look forward to seeing it.

    The other big plotline in this one, the Battle of Bilbringi, was a lot less interesting to me, feeling much like a side note. Still, it had its moments and I like that it gave Han some time to shine, something I feel we haven't had as much of late. His surprise to find he had an admirer in the Empire was good and, in spite of never seeing his face, I was also a bit sad to see Devis' death, as inevitable as it was. Learning that he was Pellaeon's son was a little sad, though the unexpectedness of it threw me off, too.

    Overall, a good, solid character-driven piece. 8/10

    Edit: BTW, I liked the cameos. Pash, the Wraiths, Luke, Mara, Jacen (wonder why Zonama couldn't tell them about Corran's group, though), and Lando! I missed you Calrissian.
     
  13. Jeff_Ferguson

    Jeff_Ferguson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2006
    Well, since it's unlocked, why not? I haven't read this book since December 2005, but I do tend to remember a good deal about things, and I have the thoughts I posted over on the official site forums to peruse, so I think that this will be a fair score.

    After finishing it, I called it "A bootstrapping adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed." Even after seventeen books, the idea of a Jedi and a Vong teaming up is pretty unbelievable, but when Keyes writes it, he doesn't continuously draw attention to the fact that it's unbelievable. Thus, the reader is shocked and intrigued by it, rather than: a) Saying "This is too unbelievable" or b) Saying "OK, I get it, they're doing something crazy!" When I was reading The Final Prophecy, I kept wanting to read more about the interactions of Tahiri, Corran, Nen Yim, Harrar, and Yu'Shaa. The philosophical debates between Tahiri and Nen Yim, and between Harrar and Corran were very interesting to read --- Having a Jedi speak one-on-one with a Yuuzhan Vong is a rare opportunity, and Keyes took advantage of it to give us delicious dialectic.

    One might expect the penultimate chapter in a nineteen-book series to wrap up some of the loose ends and set the stage for the finale (particularly when the word "final" is in the title), but this book was more of a side adventure, with Nen Yim's story being the only one really wrapped up. But I ended up liking it a lot better that way. It allowed the first half of The Unifying Force to be a wonderful setup for the finale, and allowed TFP to be a standalone, "bootstrapping" adventure. :) What I loved about the Battle of Bilbringi was that even though it spanned most of the book, it didn't seem like it spanned most of the book. There were often two or three consecutive chapters on Corran and Tahiri, unlike in Force Heretic III: Reunion, where we were brought back to the battle of Esfandia every three pages for three hundred pages, making it the most long-drawn out battle in the history of the EU. The Battle of Bilbringi, despite ending two-hundred or so pages after it began, was still exciting every time the reader was brought back to it.

    While I was reading The New Jedi Order, I loved Nom Anor as a character. I loved him because I loved to hate him! While reading TFP, I wanted the heroes to catch him at every turn, but he kept eluding them. Here's what I said about the ending of the book back in 2005:

    "The ending was a cliffhanger in so many ways. Did Nom Anor's attack have any effects on Sekot? Does Pellaeon really have a son? How does the Galactic Alliance stand since Bilbringi is still held by the Vong? And most importantly... WHAT IS THE SECRET OF ZONAMA SEKOT? I was so upset when Nom Anor killed Nen Yim (which is positive points for Keyes, as he was able to cause catharsis)."

    I also loved Harrar's characterization. Though Keyes gave his pet characters prominent roles in this book (Tahiri, Corran, Nen Yim, and to a lesser extent, Wedge), he got Harrar --- a Luceno-invented character that he hadn't previously used --- spot-on. This was a Harrar who's had nearly two years to consider the epiphones regarding the Gods that he had back in Dark Journey, and I was very impressed with it.

    The book deserves a solid 8.5 from me. The more I think about it, the more I really want Greg Keyes to return to write more SW fiction.
     
  14. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Average score: 471.3/60 = 7.86
     
  15. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    You know, I should re-read this novel. I remember really enjoying it. The battle of Bilbringi was one of the best battles in the NJO. Wedge commanding in all his glory, wishing he was in a starfighter (foreshadowing TUF), etc. I seem to remember Keyes doing a great job detailing capital ship combat. There was one scence where the heavy Mon Cal cruiser Vortex Wind and the Mon Mothma work in tandem to destroy a large Vong warship. The description was great. In fact, the last time I saw a captial ship engagement that well described with in Isard's Revenge. :)

    --Adm. Nick
     
  16. blackmyron

    blackmyron Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2005
    Not only that, but it ended with a classic "cliffhanger"... one of the reasons I was dissapointed in Revelations is that I was expecting more of the old serial style "MOTHER O' MERCY, HOW ARE OUR INTREPID HEROES GOING TO GET OUTTA *THIS* ONE?" end for the pentultimate book in the series.