Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: THE RUINS OF DANTOOINE (RoD spoilers)

Chiss_man, I think that RoD would be worth your money. It's a pretty good book and a break from what has been the norm over the last few years with the New Jedi Order and even the Clone Wars. There aren't epic battles, but it has its moments.

 

Anyone else read it yet?

 

I give it 4.5/10

 

Counting 13 reviews: 80.2/13 = 6.17

 

"was under the impression that holocrons were only used by the Jedi and the Sith to record Force-related information."

I hear that WOTC, and Shadow Hunter actually retconned the Holocron technology into two types. They apparently created the "Jedi Holocron", and the regular "Holocron".

A jedi Holocron is force related, almost alive, you need the force to be able to access it.

While a regular Holocron is just a Holographic Chronicle, that anyone can use..

 

8.5/10

Overall a very fun read and a break from clone wars and NJO.

 

Counting 14 reviews: 88.7/14 = 6.34

 

I finished reading it over the weekend and I wasn't too impressed. I would give it a 3.5 out of 10. I didn't like the two characters, Dusque and Finn. I didn't like the plot or dialogue. The cover was terrible. What a waste.

 

Counting 15 reviews: 92.2/15 = 6.15

 

Anyone else read it? Any other thoughts?

 

I hear that WOTC, and Shadow Hunter actually retconned the Holocron technology into two types. They apparently created the "Jedi Holocron", and the regular "Holocron".

A jedi Holocron is force related, almost alive, you need the force to be able to access it.

While a regular Holocron is just a Holographic Chronicle, that anyone can use..

Interesting... Thanks for the info, Val.

 

Whoever said this felt like a videogame was right, and in my mind that's not good. Also, some things just didn't make sense to me: why didn't Nym get the Nikto himself? If a scientist can do it why can't he?

What does a bioengineer actually do? It seemed like Dusque (cool name, BTW) just collected animals. She seemed to be opposed to genetic engineering, so I'm not clear on what she did.

Why did they need to get a ship from Nym if Han was on Lok anyway? Surely Han could give them a ride to Corellia, and I would assume the Rebellion would have a ship they could spare on Corellia.

For that matter, if Dusque and Finn (dumb name, BTW) were claiming to travel to Dantooine on official business, why couldn't Dusque just travel however she normally does, on Imperial shuttles or whatever?

Why did Finn need Dusque? His fake ID seemed to hold up fine.

Overall, I was not impressed. 4.5/10

 

Counting 16 reviews: 96.7/16 = 6.04

 

up

 

I just read this book and I thought as a story it was pretty good. I would have liked that that hammerhead guy to be anything else but hammerhead, preferably human. The book was not written well at all, but it satisfied me in it's adventure. Oh, and the summary on the back gave away the entire plot. And I would have liked if major characters had not been tied into the story. There, I'm done.

 

7.5

 

Counting 17 reviews: 104.2/17 = 6.13

 

Thanks, Quest.

Ruins of Dantooine is, in one word, weak. It?s a contrived, gamey story, with one-dimensional characters and an unbelievably stupid plot. Thing is, the potential for so much more is right there. Dusque and Finn could easily be great, deep characters, but instead they?re cardboard cutouts. Nym could be a great presence in the story, but instead he exists just to give the characters a sidequest. Movie characters are thrown in in ways that could be interesting, but come off as contrived. Instead of actual meat, we get not even 300 pages of When Wildlife Attacks. Oddly enough, I didn?t actually mind the book as much as this sounds like, because it read fast, as opposed to, say, the Crystal Star, which isn?t really any worse writing-wise/story-wise, or anything, but just drags on and on and on. This at least reads like a lighthearted adventure romp, and it makes up for a lot.

The most annoying thing, however, is the main character, Dusque, who buys into a particularly stupid, obnoxious, and misplaced brand of feminism. The Empire discriminates against her because she?s a woman. Fine, we have precedent. If she has to deal with that, it can make the storyline even better. But instead, she projects it everywhere. Anytime a man attempts to help her out, it?s because he?s an evil male chauvinist who thinks she is incredibly weak, not because he?s nice. When Finn doesn?t bow down before her and make her the leader, it couldn?t be because he is an experienced agent and she?s a total n00b. No, he must mistrust her. He?s denying her authority because she?s a woman. Now, I could put up with it if it were a character trait built by Imperial discrimination, and she slowly learns that she?s overgeneralizing. Not so. Unfortunately, Voronica seems to buy into the same thing, so Dusque is never really presented as anything but oh-so-right and oh-so-competent. By the end, I lost any sympathy for her character.

Now, knowing all this, my next statement might surprise you: this book needs a sequel. Why? Because it?s the only way to redeem it. Pick up the characters of Dusque Mistflier, Commander Finn Darktrin, and Inquisitor Loam Redge, and capitalize on the incredible potential they have. Get a decent author and a decent storyline, and you?d actually have something.

Final score? 6.85

 

18 reviews -- 111.05/18=6.17

So, did nobody ever read this? This is the smallest review thread I've ever seen.

 

Well, I read it.

I did not have high hopes because of the cover, but
it really wasn´t that bad a book. It seemed
to be quickly written, the main hero has
an annoying name - why she can´t be just Dusk
instead of Dusque? - but still it´s better
than JAT. I don´t regret that I
read it, at some points I even recall enjoying it.
I give it 6.

 

I'm concerned people can and will just buy anything. You're allowing them to publish whatever quality they want. Dusque Mistflier . . . I'm not even going to bother saying more. Anything. Look, if you bought this you don't much right to complain. You got exactly what you paid, right?

 

It was OK. There were a few plot holes, but I forget the details and the main female character was annoying. I'd give a 5 and say I'm glad I read if for free from the Library.

 

3 out of 10. Possibly the worst Star Wars novel ever, although it could tie with one of Hambly's. Everything felt planted and fake, Nym's appearance and all. The polar opposite from RC: HC as far as SW videogame-based novels go.

 

Bumped by request.