Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: YODA: DARK RENDEZVOUS (spoilers)

It's tunnel vision, DVader. A slap with a particularly wet fish ought to resolve this fascination with ridiculous immaturity Del Rey delights in.

 

I love it. I blast a book I don't like, and am accused of being "grossly typical," but when I laud one that I do enjoy, I've got "tunnel vision."

 

Wellthey simply hate you because you're not your usual critical self and thus they have no one to pick on

Book reviews are pick on grumpy Mastadge day

 

Who's knocking anyone ? You're entitled to your opinion, Mas, just like I am. I was just pointing out how honestly shocked I am to still see such rave reviews. If I was knocking anyone its the author for writing such a craptacular book in the first place.

 

Who's knocking anyone ? You're entitled to your opinion, Mas, just like I am. I was just pointing out how honestly shocked I am to still see such rave reviews. If I was knocking anyone its the author for writing such a craptacular book in the first place.

It just means you continue to be wrong.

 

I've a feeling some of of you are anti DR just because Mastadge liked it.

 

It's tunnel vision, DVader. A slap with a particularly wet fish ought to resolve this fascination with ridiculous immaturity Del Rey delights in.

It can't have been that bad if I liked it. I mean I blasted Jedi Trial and even more so The Cestus Deception.

 

That doesn't mean anything. Some people liked The Cestus Deception and people liked Jedi Trial, just like some didn't like The Cestus Deception and some didn't like Jedi Trial. Some people like Dark Rendevouz and some don't. Meh. This board is about 15% of Del Rey's Star Wars novel market, I'd bet. On a good day. A REALLY good day.

 

This board is about 15% of Del Rey's Star Wars novel market, I'd bet.

Oh, come on. There are fewer than a hundred regular posters here. We're under 1%. Maybe on a really good day we get within spitting distance of 1%.

 

Counting 42 ratings: 387.3/42 = 9.22

 

The sheer gall to publish such bullsith has me astounded. It's what Shrek should have wiped himself with at the beginning of his movie, not that fairytale book.

Just remember, Del Rey has no qualms publishing a mainstream novel penned with such childish simplicity it rivaled even Allston, ridiculous plot, and full character names . . . and called it a real book. But it would not have gotten past a real editor in the real world.

This is their respect for their readership. That fine, I don't need to buy Star Wars books, have purchased just two this year, and see little reason to buy more.

I would, however, like some bloody one to tell me why there was full character names all book long? Seriously. It's no joke.

Ok, I understand the NJO is designed to be blatant milk-the-cow-product, little depth or storyline creativity; but DR had potential. Ha! Two lethal Jedi Masters fight it out, and what do they do? A mere sword fight, no CREATIVE Force abilities. Now, ask yourself how many times in say 12yrs you've seen simple sword fights, mmmmm?

 

Just remember, Del Rey has no qualms publishing a mainstream novel penned with such childish simplicity it rivaled even Allston, ridiculous plot, and full character names . . . and called it a real book. But it would not have gotten past a real editor in the real world.

Um . . . it did get past a real editor in the real world. And it is a real book.

This is their respect for their readership. That fine, I don't need to buy Star Wars books, have purchased just two this year, and see little reason to buy more.

You seem to have a knack for picking out book you know you're not going to like, and then getting all nitpicky on them. It's quite amusing.

I would, however, like some bloody one to tell me why there was full character names all book long? Seriously. It's no joke.

Like Yoda? Whie? Scout? Dooku? What do you want? Has it occurred to you that, just perhaps, at least some of the characters who have two names have different naming conventions, and their name comprises both names, rather than the personal/family name system to which we're used? And why does this tend to be your number one complain about books? It's getting hard to see it as anything other than a joke, given the frequency with which you raise the point.

Ok, I understand the NJO is designed to be blatant milk-the-cow-product, little depth or storyline creativity; but DR had potential. Ha!

I don't think you understand things as well as you think you do.

Two lethal Jedi Masters fight it out, and what do they do? A mere sword fight, no CREATIVE Force abilities. Now, ask yourself how many times in say 12yrs you've seen simple sword fights, mmmmm?

Are you referring to Yoda and Dooku? If so, you may want to note, too, that the saber fight was not the point. That was done (however badly) in the movie; there was no need to do it again here. It seems to me, and I could be wrong, that you get so caught up in what you think a book should be (or at least should have) that you forget to take a look at what it actually contains. No, there wasn't an epic lightsaber battle between Yoda and Dooku. Nor was there intended to be. That wasn't the point of the scene; that wasn't the point of the book.

 

Oh come on, Mas. That was silly, even for you! Those names you cited as examples weren't called by their full names because we only know half their names, as you very well know.

You've only remembered half my complaint, Mas. That is, the author mentioned in his thread about always wanting to write a killer saber duel. I was scoffing at the mundane and simplistic nature it turned out to be---not the point of the whole novel, as you said.

I forgive you, anyway.

 

I'll give it a 7 out of 10. For a Clone Wars novel, it was okay, and I think everyone here knows that the Clone Wars aren't exactly the most interesting era for me. I think it suffers from the same flaw I found in every single CW novel I read so far (with the exception of Shatterpoint, the only really good one of them): it starts promising, and then i drags on like an old chewing gum. In this case, it was the journey to Vjun. Nothing really happened, and how many pages were wasted for this?? I didn't count, but definitely too many. You're waiting for the big meeting of Dooku and Yoda, and for what seems like ages, nothing happens. After a while, I really wasn't interested in it any more. The promise of Dooku and Yoda meeting was what kept me reading, and in the end, I was kind of compensated for the long wait, but when I read a book for the second time, I don't want to have to skip that many pages.
The other thing I didn't like was this "invincible Yoda" portrait. I always asked myself: If he's really that powerful, why does he send Luke to deal with the Empire, a half-trained, inexperienced Luke?? Why didn't he seek out Palpatine himself (or why didn't he do anything to save the old Jedi Order)? It just doesn't fit somehow.
What I really liked were the two Padawans, especially Scout. But why on earth did they have to give her the last name, Esterhazy?? If I'm not mistaken, there is (or was, I'm not so sure about this) a noble family with exactly this name in the real world, so it was a little distracting reading it. Apart from that, she was a really cool character, and the way the other Jedi dealt with her showed their arrogance and detachment from the world around them. I also liked the mentioning of the shift of public opinion towards the Jedi - exactly what was needed to show the slow rise of Imperial propaganda. The Jedi really made it easy for Palpatine in some things.
I liked the characterization of Dooku, and in some scenes, I really felt for him and hoped he'd come back to the light. This book really made me understand the saying "the more powerful and strong a Jedi is, the greater the temptation of the Dark Side will be".
What I did not like: I'll make it short. Asajj Ventress. I don't really know why, but I hated her character from the beginning, and nothing any author did with her could change that.

So all in all, the book had some (unnecessary) lengths, but it also had some great moments - just, as almost all of the Clone Wars novels, simply not enough of them.

7/10

 

Excellence,..the book wasn't good because you didn't see any fancy force powers?

Why the hell do I want to see that? WE've been thrown dead wit hat crap for years. Also, why should it bother me that their full names are used?

These are your obsessive compulsive little quirks, no one else's. Right now you seem to be acting like you're the majority oppinion on this, but you're not. It's...smusing.

You have a bad tendecy to grasp on to little problems at the expense of a larger picture.

 

Sorry, Trias. My 2070 word review was more than just "fancy Force powers."

You can find it a page ago, I'm sure.

I don't know what you mean by majority opinion. I thought I was expressing my own, which you were too. Perhaps you could show me a post of mine---any---that's tried to convince anyone otherwise?

 

Excellence,..the book wasn't good because you didn't see any fancy force powers?

The book wasnt good because of a lack of lightsaber battles or other fancy Jedi shenanigans. The book wasnt good because, IMO, because it was very poorly written, very poorly structured and ran in circles from beginning to end. The characters were generic, and with the exception of Dooku, none were fleshed out in any real way. I couldnt care less about Whie, Scout or the two Jedi Masters who were killed. I also felt that Yoda was portrayed almost as a caricture, especially during the debacle with the R2 unit and the never ending nonsense on the transport to Vjun. I also didnt like the inclusion of Obi-Wan and Anakin in all of this, too. It was because of those reasons (and a few others) that I kept thinking that I was reading a YA book.

And yes, I know that you didnt ask me this question personally, but since I feel the same way about DR that Excellence does I figured Id thrown in my two creds.

 

I don't know what you mean by majority opinion. I thought I was expressing my own, which you were too. Perhaps you could show me a post of mine---any---that's tried to convince anyone otherwise?


Okeday


This is their respect for their readership. That fine, I don't need to buy Star Wars books, have purchased just two this year, and see little reason to buy more.

It's the way you come into a thread acting as if the majority is on your side. It comes off as being somewhat humorous. Granted it's nothing you've said outright, but it is your actions. It's somewhat like a blind man walking into a lion cave holding raw meat while simultaneously poking all the lions with his cane for the sole purpose of annoying them.

Anyway, what Star Wars book do you think deserves a good review from yourself? Just out of curiosity.

 

BTW, Whie isn't a name theauthor invented but is a small character in RotS, his picture is up on Hyperspace. Probaly the same with Scout.

As for them being childish names...I really don't see it but okay.Can you tell us how they strike you as being childish?

Also do you really want to see inside Yoda's head? You can't judge Yoda by his actions?

How is the writing simplistic and what constitutes "advance" writing to you, and how is that better than simplistic writing? It's not whether or not one style is better but how it's used. Lots of books are simplistic and lack detailed description of things but are considered classics. On the other hand some books can be completely bogged down in description. War of the Worlds would be one; a book I enjoyed but that could get a little to "wordy".


This was a first in SW books: the rampant usage of Earth similes, metaphors, expressions. I had a quite a mental tally, but you?re dreaming if you think I'll repeat them. Does SW have matadors, various Earth animals and figure of speech? I thought it was sci fi, another galaxy, where you could make up your stuff. Earth examples are just . . . well, an Versace-class suit to a kindergarden. It sticks out.

Right because Earth terms and metaphors are fandeliciously tastic when you star wars ize em. Leep jump (hip hop) Heavy Isotope(Heavy metal) Shavit, and some others I can't think of nor do I particularly want to. Actually they did try to Star Wars ize one of our sayings in DR and it was horrible. Rancor in nerf's clothing. I'm glad he figured that was abad idea for the rest of the book.



As for everything else in the review it's more obsessive compulsiveness which I can sympathize with since I've been diagnosed with OCD. Though I have obsessive thoughts, not necessarily an obsession with things having to be a particular way. Whatever. Listing particular aesthetic quirks doesn't necesarily make a great review.

 

Nice icon, DVader. Who is it, can I ask?

I love the refreshing way you post, Trias: to the point, and straight to it.

I've reviewed Hard Contact, here or at Amazon. It was commendable. I like plenty of SW books, they're just getting rare.

I tend to review comics, not books, so you won't find too many books I've reviewed. And unlike others, I actually talk about it at length, not just a one paragraph impression. Maybe that's why you zero in on me? Or is it because I could never beat Mike Tyson's Punchout on the NES?

What SW books would I review favourably, you ask? I dunno, there's so many . . . The Thrawn, Jedi Academy, Black Fleet and Corellian Trilogies. Hard Contact. I, Jedi. Courtship. Children of the Jedi. First X-wing quartet. Wraith Trilogy. Cloak of Decept. And more . . .

I want a mature read like Hard Contact, not breezy adventures penned in a young adult, endless X-wing dogfights, Force philosophy and cloned cloned villains. Even after writing an extra X-wing book, Michael wouldn't say he killed Isard yet again. Her demise is deliberately left vague. You want to see Isard III appear again, Trias? I don't.

What non-SW books do you like, Trias? I wouldn't mind knowing. PM me?

 

Nice icon, DVader. Who is it, can I ask?



According to the icon page its a picture of Natalie Portman.

 

And here I was thinking it was a KOTOR 2 or Alias pic.

 

I thought it was a decent book. I didn't like how Dooku was portrayed, nor the character of Scout, but Whie was awesome, and Yoda's antics were just hilarious. I especially like the scene where the droid tries to take Yoda's food away and Yoda goes berserk.

 

Counting 43 ratings: 394.3/43 = 9.17

 

10/10
i loved the ESB impish yoda he always fun when he acts like that,the fight with the droid in the temple cafeteria and the about the tournament cool,as was the fight with the droid in the fresher.

there was enough of other characters and interaction to make this a very good and enjoyable novel,the interaction between dooku and asajj was a good read too.