Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: THE UNIFYING FORCE (TUF spoilers)

Counting 30 reviews: 281.283/30 = 9.38/10

 

Almost perfect.

It almost seemed like Luceno had been stalking the boards here, the way he addressed so many concerns the fans/readers had with different things. Most everything got resolved fairly well in the space allowed, but the future is still fairly open as well.

Boba Fett was tastefully included, rather than plastered into some ejaculatory fan-boy moment. To me, at least. And even though I wasn't really Fett's biggest fan his little commando unit makes me really interested in seeing some Mandalorian action in the future. Maybe he could go legit since he's helped liberate several worlds? With the Jedi not actively propping up the GA like they did the Old Republic, somebody's got to do the dirty work, and if I were the GA I wouldn't want trigger-happy Fetts wandering around the galaxy willy-nilly. Sort of a cadre of elite guardsmen. "The Mandalorian Guard"... I like the sound of that.

That's a perfect example of why this book is good, though. It resolves all the major issues but still allows your mind to wander toward possibilities for the future.

But TUF gets a .5 knocked off for me, because as good as the end game was, it could have been fleshed out a bit more. Nothing against Luceno, but Del Ray could have given him another 50 pages or so.

It wasn't clear enough on where he was going with the fate of the Jedi's Sekotan ships, and for all the effort put into growing them they didn't seem to do very much. And for Onimi to be the "big bad" after all this time, he should have had a little bit more time to emphasize his "big badness". A little bit rushed toward the end of the conflict, like I said.

It seems like a rule regarding Zonama Sekot and the Sekotan ships (NJO and Rogue Planet both) - for every 10 pages spent discussing how this living planet can grow ships, show only one partial page with the actual ships in them. And no one ever gets to scamper off with the goods at the end.

So 10/10 for a good book, but I've got to knock off a .01 for each extra page DR should have given Luceno to explore some of the elements in the ending a bit more.

Total: 9.5/10

 

i thought that was funny too, its almost like luceno has been reading these boards, they way he went down and addressed every single concern that people had expressed on the boards

 

I am not going to go into too much detail about my rating.

Just a few things. This book solidified that the NJO was overall a good series. I have said to my friends, when they asked if the NJO was good, I would give them my answer after TUF. Now I can say it was a good series.

I felt Luceno did a wonderful job in tying up most of the loose ends of the series. I felt the war was ended believably, and not just thrown in their. Characterization was better in this book than any other NJO book.

My rating is a 9/10, only SBS was better in the entire series.

 

I give it an 8.7 out of 10.

I thought thru the first 150-200 pages it was deserving of a 10.0, but I think the 3rd part of the story took some things away for me.

Jacen's transformation seemed a bit of a rush and a stretch. I couldn't understand why he could make such a transformation in this novel, rather than the last 3. Also, it seemed awfully reminiscent of the transformation in Transformers: the Movie (arise Jacenus Prime!)

Jacen (along with many other characters) also was able to reach conclusions much faster than most NJO/EU characters have done in the past. From one perspective, that is a good thing, but it just seemed a change from the norm.

Also it seems that Sekot knew a lot of things that had happened and were going to happen. It seemed from Sekot's actions and instructions, pretty much the planet knew about everything that was going to happen from the time the novel opened to when it ended. That just doesn't sit well with me, with all I'm supposed to know about the Force.

Also it didn't make sense for me how easily Luke, Jaina, and Jacen were able to dispatch the slayers. It seemed up until that fight scene, the slayers were being perceived as really formidable fighters. Kyp, Leia, Han, along with others barely wounded 4 of them. But those 3 were able to take out 15, and relatively easily.

But I did really enjoy the novel, and other than those 4 things, it was as close to a perfect closer as I could have expected.

I really liked that one scene when the slayers first showed up against the hostage convoy. Luceno did a great job portraying the characters fear and excitedness.

I liked how Nas Choka survived. From this novel alone, he had become my favorite among the YV characters. I was a little disappointed that Nom Anor didn't get away. I think one of the few positives to come out of the FH trilogy was that I actually like Nom Anor now. I hoped he would live to scheme another day, but I guess his sin list was a little too high.

I'd say one of the best novels in the NJO and in many aspects, THE best.

 

Also it didn't make sense for me how easily Luke, Jaina, and Jacen were able to dispatch the slayers. It seemed up until that fight scene, the slayers were being perceived as really formidable fighters. Kyp, Leia, Han, along with others barely wounded 4 of them. But those 3 were able to take out 15, and relatively easily.

That bothered me a bit, too. I think the intent was to show Luke's (and the twins') badassitude, but the way it was written it seemed more like the slayers were just suddenly only a step above the normal YV.

 

Well Luke, Jacen, and JAina had advance warning about how advanced the slayers were and also both Jacen and Luke were winded and beaten when they beat the slayers and the movement of the room also helped Jacen and Luke.

 

10/10
i dont like how quickly the war ends, but it kept me reading the whole time and i couldnt put it down
i think jaina was portrayed perfectly
which is to say that she really is just a whiny brat
the whole thing where she kept snapping and complaining to everyone about how she wasnt flyinhg her ship "can i fly now?" is the perfect tone for her in my opinion
also how she seemed to be upset that no seed partners picked her
she was upset because she thinks shes the greatest thing ever
im real glad she didnt get to kill either shimmra or omini
i would have not liked the ending at all if that had happened
how are all the vong gonna fit on one planet?
kinda crowded
i like that ending though, being exiled
nice ending to the njo

 

8.9

The book was good, but i wasn't thrilled with fett's reapperence. I also think 15 slayers was a bit much. What i really did like was how it tied in so many things from the other books especially TG.

 

Oh come on, Luke gets the biggest most ass kicking fight of his NJO career and now people are saying it's TOO much?

Yeah, against "normal" people and Jedi, the Slayers are UNSTOPPIBLE. This is show by Kyp, Leia and Han being unable to defeat four of them. Luke, Jacen and Jaina, the stars of the NJO, are the only ones that can take them on and win.

 

Not finished yet, but just dropped in a comment (so as I can find this thread easier thru my recent posts as much as anything!)

...

I have to say I'm of the opinion Luceno probably HAS been keeping an eye on reader/fan response

 

10/10
Easily the 2nd best book in the NJO, behind Traitor. I didnt think i could be pleased with and ending to the NJO in only 529 pages, but Luceno did a good job.

Pluses

Luke kicking A$$ and taking names, nice to see him in good form.
A nice balance between old school and new school characters.
Nice to see almost all the characters who mattered in the novels in one book. (kaarde, lando, boba, kyp, etc etc)
Also the way they ended it with shimmara and omini, that luke started the ending and then Jacen brought using the force to a whole new level.
Also a big plus for me was some of the NJO brass survived, Nas Choka, Harrar, etc.
Oh and HAN SURVIVED (threw that one in there for WK)

Minuses

I wish the book was a lot longer. It was a nice length and got a lot of things taken care of, but I didnt want it to end.
The only other thing I "disliked" were a few characters such as Boba, and Kyle Katarn needed a little more action.

 

10 / 10

Wow. I've just finished reading TUF, and the first thing I did was turn on the RotJ celebration music and blast it out as loud as it would go. That's what the book made me feel like.

The first 350 or so pages of the novel read like a solid NJO adventure, reminiscent of Luceno's earlier books - several different subplots following both the heroes and the Vong, and a huge battle to top it all off. If the book had ended there (say if Del Rey had wanted to spin the series out a bit longer) I don't think anyone would have been dissapointed.

The remainder of the book is given wholly to the assault on Coruscant. This sudden change between plots could potentially have ruined the novel, but no, it comes off as effortless and barely noticable. The actual battle is fast paced and shown from many different viewpoints, never becoming stale. Luke, Jacen and Jaina's confrontation with Shimrra was nothing short of epic, and Luke going Yoda-style on hordes of Vong warriors was something special, as was the way he took out Shimrra. The revelations about the Vong were handled very, very well. Even though most of them came in the last 50 pages of the novel, they weren't rushed or hastily-shoved in there. The actual conclusion of the novel rounded the series off well, closing long running plot threads and not shamlessly opening more in a "buy Denning's trilogy" ploy.

To cap all this off, we not only have Page and Cracken back but also cameos from Boba Fett and Kyle Katarn! However Luceno doesn't rely on these crowd-pleasers to give the finale success, but instead delivers a perfect book.

Good work!

 

Before I get to my review, let me first say that it is great to finally be back in Lit. after my self-imposed exile since FH3. Im happy that Ill finally be able to catch up with all of my friends here. Its been waaay too long.


Anyway, I will echo many of the sentiments here when I say that I absolutely loved this book. IMO it was the perfect blend of the 'classic' SW and the 'new' NJO-style SW. As many have said before me, its obvious that Mr. Luceno has done his homework when it came to researching the NJO prior to writing this book. The characterizations were top notch and there werent any continuity errors that I picked up on. The Vong were arguably written the best that they have been since the series started, Nas Choka especially. I also loved how Luke finally became a badass again and that Jacen (not Jaina) was responsible for destroying Onimi. Its almost as if Luceno and DelRey tried their damndest to fulfill everything on all of the fans wishlists. Hell, even Kyle Katarn and Fett showed up, in cameos which probably werent necassary but werent forced, either.

The one thing that really stood out to me, though, was the fact that there werent any major character deaths, save Ackbar, which happened off screen and was given barely a mention. But what really surprised me was the fact that I didnt care. I didnt want these characters to go and Im glad that they didnt. I dont know, maybe Im just getting sentimental since I knew that this was the last book in the series.

Overall it was a great book and a worthy ending to the NJO, a truly ambitious series that tested and forever changed everything we know about SW. I look forward to the future...


10 / 10

 

"Wow. I've just finished reading TUF, and the first thing I did was turn on the RotJ celebration music and blast it out as loud as it would go. That's what the book made me feel like."

I actually reread that scene with that same peice of music playing. Ah... bliss.

 

Oh, yea, I almost forgot to mention how elated I am that Kyp managed to make it out of the NJO alive. I thought that he was bantha fodder for sure.

 

I will concur with what many have said here.

I didn't think it was possible for SbS to be topped. But it was. Luceno stepped up to the considerable challenge of tying up this 4-year-long storyline in a complete and satisfying way.

The characterizations were more consistently good across the board in this book than any other, IMO. Shimmra's growing insanity was absolutely perfect, and what more can you say about the final battles. Everything I hoped for and more. Thank you, James Luceno for a wonderful book. You are welcome in the SW Universe anytime

10/10

 

Wonderful conclusion to an excellent series, TUF was.

The battles were epic, especially on Coruscant, the Vong were actually and finally characterized so that we got to know Shimmra, Choka, Drathul, etc. Luke back in true form kicking butt was magnificent, as was Jacen taking action and not whining at the end. The Fett scene was a nice touch, as was Alpha Red playing a big part near the end of the story...poor Malik Carr. The ending itself was powerful and well-written. In addition, there was plenty of witty dialogue, especially between Han and Leia, despite the overall dark nature of the book.

I had some minor gripes with the story, which are trivial actually. For instance, I wanted Nom Anor to die, but I thought that his death was somewhat anti-climactic. It had its significance and developed his character, but I guess I was really looking forward to Mara killing him (though she did beat the crap out of him earlier). I would had liked to have seen another big-Alliance type die, since several high-profile Vong did...not Han, or anyone like that...maybe Kre'Fey or something; I'm a stickler for the bad guys winning. Also, the book made unnerving parallels in my mind to Oedipus Rex (going against the gods) and Macbeth (Nom Anor's character swings brought about by ambition)...yeah, we read those two books in school and those parallels just jumped into my mind-freaked me out.

Anyway, 9/10 for TUF. I only liked SbS better.

 

yeah i suppose u could say that the slayers went down a little too easy to luke and jacen, but if a few slayers going down is what it took for luke to get his mojo back, then so be it. one of the best scenes in the book is when luke is hacking his way through like 100 vong going up the stairs and jacen is just standing there with his jaw down by his feet LOL plus, at least they said jacen was badly hurt fighting the slayers, in a way it was reminiscent of anakin's last stand in SBS

 

I really like it, but it´s not the best NJO-book imo.

I give it a 8,75

 

Counting 41 reviews: 385.133/41 = 9.39/10

 

A 10/10 most definitely.

To tell the truth, I was initially let down by the entire book. It didn't seem that much of big conclusion for me.

Then I re-read it. Now, I think it's one of the best of the NJO (The Enemy Lines Duology is still my favorite, don't ask me why). I was a little disappointed by Fett's appearance. I originally thought he was gonna have some big, pivotal action scene...but then again, I guess I set my hopes up too high.

No other gripes, 'cept that the whole Onimi thing was a bit predictable.

All in all, a superb read and a great conclusion to the NJO.

 

OMG what a great book. Seriously one of the best of the series, if not the best. I loved every moment of it. Fett's appearance was awesome, and he had the best line in the book: "I have one of those faces that used to be familiar."

what a great book.

10/10

My preciousss...

 

9.5/10

Traitor and Star by Star are the only NJO books that can beat it.

 

sorry guys, but i'm giving this book 2.5/10

i've known this was going to happen ever since traitor, known i would be profoundly dissapointed by the ending of the njo.

i only wanted one thing from this book,and i didn't get. all i wanted was that jaina would do something that would make me say cool . but it didn't happen in this book, it didn't happen in the whole series.