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"Vision of the Future," by Timothy Zahn [Bantam, 1998]

Discussion in 'Archive: Literature Review Forum' started by dp4m, Feb 7, 2003.

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"Vision of the Future," by Timothy Zahn [Bantam, 1998]

Poll closed Mar 25, 2012.
  1. 10 (Excellent)

    55.4%
  2. 9

    11.5%
  3. 8

    15.5%
  4. 7

    6.8%
  5. 6 (Average)

    0.7%
  6. 5 (Average)

    2.0%
  7. 4

    1.4%
  8. 3

    2.0%
  9. 2

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  10. 1 (Poor)

    4.7%
Thread Status:
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  1. StarRings75

    StarRings75 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    May 13, 2003
    This is one of my favorite SW books. Whenever I can I read it, but right now I'm not cause I just finished reading Refugee.
     
  2. Lank_Pavail

    Lank_Pavail Jedi Knight star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 26, 2002
    I gave it a 9 out of 10. It was , IMHO, well executed, with a very refreshing angle on Luke. In previous stories, Luke had been built up as the one that does EVERYTHING. However, tying together Mara's lecturing, with two important pieces of history for our boy Luke; the warning of Yoda "Once you start down the Dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny" and the fact that Luke did turn to the Dark Side for a brief time, I felt her 'lecture' was a reality check Luke needed. Plus, we finally see Luke settle down! :D Of all the women that he's been associated with, with the possible exception of the late Gaeriel Captison-Thanas, Mara is the best of the bunch, IMHO.

    The use of Karrde and Shada was a nice touch, showing what Star Wars is about: redemption.
    While I do have a few niggling points I would have preferred about, it was a very enjoyable book. :)
     
  3. J_K_DART

    J_K_DART Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 31, 2001
    Personally, I wasn't too impressed with VotF. I didn't like 'the lecture', and - much to my surprise - didn't enjoy the plot. The fake Thrawn felt mildly ridiculous, and I have to admit I got bored and actually had trouble finishing it...

    6, I reckon.
     
  4. AmeiaSkywalker

    AmeiaSkywalker Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 28, 2001
    This book is great!
    I love the Luke and Mara parts.
     
  5. Tracer_Bullet

    Tracer_Bullet Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2003
    Overall, Vision of the Future is a fairly good book--I'd probably give it a "seven." I really liked the fact that the Imperial Admiral, Palleaon, was shown in a good light. However, I'm not sure if I like the idea of Luke falling into the Dark Side, and having Mara more or less bring him back. Something about that just disturbs me.
     
  6. neeldawg66

    neeldawg66 Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2002
    10

    Excellent novel, one of the best in Star Wars EU. Had a couple bad points (such as too many coincidences-but it's Star Wars, there's always coincindences) but overall it gets everything set up very well for the NJO.
     
  7. scrotus

    scrotus Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2003
    I really liked this one also. I read the entire TTT and the duology in about 10 days. I really should get that Reader's Advantage card from Barnes and nobles.

    This set of books is my first step into the EU. And I really enjoyed them.

    For VoTF, I enjoyed the many different plot lines and was surprised at how some of them tied together. I really like the way Zahn sets up the political backstabbing throughout the series.

    I see some people chide Mara for blowing up the hand of thrawn's hangar. Well, at the time, they had no idea what was going on in the rest of the galaxy and she had no idea of Palleon's ideas. And at that point, the HoT was gonna be given to the Empire. They just couldn't let that happen. Plus, she finally took that step to becoming a Jedi. I really liked the Luke/Mara parts of the book.

    I also have to say, probably might favorite character fleshed out is Karrde. I love the character. And yes, Shada was just a device to fill the spot left by Mara, but she also had her own struggles.

    Course, with Zahn, I still have my same gripes. His repetitive use of phrases like "shiver down her spine" and "stars into starlines" are almost unbearable. It's like the shivering is the only way they show emotion. You'd think he could at least come up with a couple of phrases.

    All in all, I'd give this one an 8, and the series a 9. Loved them and a good foundation on the EU matter to follow.
     
  8. Grand_Duchess_Olga

    Grand_Duchess_Olga Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2002
    I give it a 7. just some plot points I just wondered about. For example, Luke and Mara break in by a door. It didn't seem to be such a secret door to me. How come no one else noticed this door and staircase before? Also, it is kind of funny that Ghent and Ibis are trying to get into that information vault, and if the two different parties had just talked to each other....but then Karrde just happens to get the info. I wondered if Ghent got out alright, (did I miss that?).
     
  9. Gillespee

    Gillespee Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 5, 1999
    My main gripe with this book was the bizarre tangent at the end when Kardde finally catches up with whatever his name was. The whole force rainbow rather than dark/light as well as his teleportation of a cup of tea seemed a little odd to me. I didn't have a problem with most of the rest. There was no castration of Luke, he was brought on par with where he should have been all along, but was ruined by other not-as-good-as-Zahn-authors. Overall I liked the book. Not as good as Zahn's original foray into the SW universe, but better than any other post-ROTJ novel.
     
  10. Sam_Skywalker

    Sam_Skywalker Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2003
    9. Not as original or engaing as Specter of the Past, but an incredibly enjoyable novel. Worthy addition to the EU
     
  11. Estelita

    Estelita Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2001
    Nothing wrong with Luke and Mara getting engaged before they kissed. If they got engaged before realizing they were in love, then I'd be weirded out.
    I didn't like Zahn using Mara as a mouthpiece for all his complaints about the other authors. Too blatant. I think he is the best SW author of all, but no one, no one, has any right to such an ego, no matter how good his writing is. I was fine with Zahn as long as he didn't let that ego show through into his writing, so this was one problem.
    The sub-plots were many and were weird, but to me they kept the book interesting. Zahn had to focus on what he knows how to do, because honestly, his romantic scenes are pretty awkward. I can see now why he tends to stay away from them. He's much better with long-standing relationships such as the Solo marriage, than the beginning of a relationship.
     
  12. Bib Fortuna Twi'lek

    Bib Fortuna Twi'lek Jedi Youngling star 10

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 1999
    10

    The setup is a bit slow and awkward at times, but it pays off at the end. Zahn does a great job at wrapping up old plot lines from the previous Bantam novels, including his own. Very well done.
     
  13. Stormtrooper_Shrink

    Stormtrooper_Shrink Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2004
    I'm just glad we got such a great book before the NJO set in. 10.
     
  14. KWagner

    KWagner Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2004
    I gave this book a 10 for two reasons: I've always been a big Mara+Luke fan since TTT, and Zahn was successfully (IMO) able to tie up a lot of the loose ends of the "Bantam" era, making a lot of the other authors look better in the process. Some people complain that Zahn has a tendency to put his own storytelling agenda ahead of his fellow SW authors, but given the quality of a lot of the Bantam era books I find this to be a plus rather than a minus.

    Kyle
     
  15. Darth-Seldon

    Darth-Seldon Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 17, 2003
    10
    A great novel by Timothy Zahn!
    The character development for Luke and Mara was great!
    The Chiss were great!
    For the first time since ROTJ, I loved seeing R2 around and the fact that he saved the day!
    I loved the work of Leia and Elegos....great characters.
    To have bel Iblis and Booster working togehter was great!

    and to see the three liars fall in the end was great!
    This was a great duology...It had great characters, and did I mention that the Talon Karrade plot was a work of genius as was the new character of Car'das.

    Great works!
    If you read any SW literature read the Thrawn Trilogy
    If you read anything else, read the Hand of Thrawn Duology.
    Works of genius!

    a 10 out of 10

    -Seldon
     
  16. OtakuG

    OtakuG Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jun 11, 2004
    I thougth that it was all right, not as good as the Thrawn trilogy but it had its moments. Especially when i got hopes the Thrawn might return. The end was disappointing though.
     
  17. LukeSkiwalker

    LukeSkiwalker Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2004
    I got one word for you, Timothy Zhan. Wait a Minute?
     
  18. Tiershon_Fett

    Tiershon_Fett Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 25, 2000
    0

    This is the book where Luke officially died after being forced into an arranged marriage by meglomaniac Zahn.

    LEUke, the ball-less, mindless, hen pecked, Butt-kisser-of-Mara podperson came weakly alive. Complete with sappy hairbrainedness, and his stature as a hero died until TUF, (which was a 70% revival at best).
     
  19. Darth-Seldon

    Darth-Seldon Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 17, 2003
    Tiershon_Fett: Don't blame Zahn for Luke's character in NJO.
     
  20. Koohii

    Koohii Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 30, 2003
    It was better than anything Kevin J Anderson wrote. Unfortunately, Zahn had to reference all the crap written by others in order to write this capstone to NewRepublic vs Empire era.

    I enjoyed Mara Jade yelling at Luke for not doing anything about the 5 kidnapping attempts made on the Solo children. Otherwise, it was pretty "eh, so what".

    I feel sorry for Zahn for having to write this.
     
  21. master_organa

    master_organa Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 5, 2004
    9. Very good, but a little tedious.
     
  22. Susimetsa

    Susimetsa Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 2004
    For one who has been waiting for Luke and Mara get together since the Thrawn Trilogy, where, at the end, Zahn clearly intended them to start a relationship in the near future (but this plot point was of course completely missed by KJA, who had to bring in his super-Jedi and super-weapons and forget about real character development), this book was the answer to one's dreams.

    I did not like the plethora of references to worse books (since I've avoided many of them as crap anyway), but I think Zahn dashed the other writers a bit more gently and unnoticeably than Stackpole did in his book "I, Jedi".

    All in all, this book was one of the peak performances of the SW extended universe.
     
  23. Darth-Seldon

    Darth-Seldon Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 17, 2003
    I was just looking back on this thread and realized how silly my first post looks. All that "great" stuff. I was really excited after I finished the novel. Looking back on it, the plot drags a bit in the middle. However it makes up for it in the build up of the climax. Luke and Mara venturing into the Chiss occupied areas were all excellent scenes filled with mystery and suspense. It was the reunion of some very special characters before NJO destroyed them or changed them forever.

    -Seldon
     
  24. ObiWanZ3

    ObiWanZ3 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2004
    I find that there are a fairly large amount of mixed opinions on the Hand of Thrawn duology, this book especially. Personally, without any biases for characters, I loved this book. It is probably the best SW novel I will ever read. I loved how it showed Luke in a completely different light. Plus, the other subplots were very interesting to follow. They kept me hooked the whole time.

    The Thrawn clone at the end was a welcome twist as well as the hinting of a new race that could threaten the galaxy.

    Overall a 10 out of 10, but then again that's just my opinion. You all have made good points.
     
  25. GRAND_MOFF_KEVIN

    GRAND_MOFF_KEVIN Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 2004
    9.5 extremely good but not on the level of my only ten book, Star By Star.
     
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