I really like Dark Journey - even a weaker NJO book is still a decent read, and like people have said it's good to get a focus on Jaina.
If nothing else the Force Heretic trilogy gave us the now classic one-liner: "The Empire will always strike back." As to DJ - I think it suffered by having to follow the big, cataclysmic act that was SbS. I think it would have worked better to do Allston's duology after SBS then the two more introspective books, with them acting as a mirror to each other, as each focussed on one of the twins. They could have done this easily too, as unlike the previous paperbacks, where there was a strict chronological progression, all 4 of those between SBS-DW, took place at the same time.
I love FH: Remnant. That was when I got into the series and followed it to the end. Read Vector Prime and Dark Journey and 1 or 2 others over the years but that was when I joined the series to the end. The blurb on the back of the book was so intriguing. And Nom Anor's role in the trilogy. That was amazing arc in the trilogy.
It does seem the way that any novel following one of TD's super battle-to-end-all-battles always falls short of satisfying - because they're hemmed in creatively, or whatever. Per Jedi Ben, I agree that with DJ a direct parallel to Jacen would have lifted the book up easily. I don't know the authorial intention. Perhaps it ran on simpler lines of thought. Force Heretic has a neutral status with me - I'm not going to criticize it aimlessly - I'll admit the points above.
I'd say the problem was that SbS ended on too effective a cliffhanger that really required a big, immediate follow-up. That worked against DJ for me. Plus, at the time, it was months between volumes, so read SbS, want a big follow-up and two months later DJ turned up.
Ah. I read them out of order, so I read DJ before SBS. The worst. Spoiler. Ever. So I kind of have a soft heart for DJ despite it being the first book I've ever thrown against the wall and sobbed over. We'll see how I do with it after SBS this time around.
You probably picked the worst series to read out of order. You should 100% read it again if you want the full context/experience (and the pages the right way round and all that ...just kidding)
I know. It was realy just what was abailable at bookstores. Doing it now and I'm being super slow with SBS
I never really liked the Hapans. They seemed like a good one-off group to look at in Courtship of Princess Leia and Tenel Ka appearing is just a reminder they're still around and allied to the New Republic. Their overuse since then (particularly in DNT, LOTF and FOTJ [was never a fan of Jacen/Tenel relationship]) really drove home how they became too much of a favourite of later Legends writers.
I'd say it was definitely the authorial intention. I mean, the book covers are exactly the same, but with the perspectives flipped so that the twins are looking at each other.
I've long been considering a reread of NJO as it was one of my favorite points of the EU. Maybe this thread will push me into it. (And I heartily agree with including Mercy Kill as an epilogue. It is one of my favorite SW novels...) I also agree with Noash-Retrac. I loathe the Hapans with the fury of a thousand suns. I think if used sparingly, they could have been great. I really liked Tenel Ka. But the Hapans were overused to a ridiculous amount in the EU.
I never minded the Hapans per se, but the way their society is portrayed makes no sense. They're written as feudal and almost clan-like in behavior, but have a fully-functioning society. It really doesn't work that way. One cannot be a consortium of 60-odd planets and still be a feudal. There has to be a fully independent and functioning civil service sector to govern a system like Hapes.
^I never thought of it that way, but you're right. Still, I just take it as yet another oddity in the 'verse. Spoiler for super large image that I can't figure out how to minimize. I bloody hate Star by Star. I have read 80 pages in 3 days because of how much I procrastinate with this. I just...it's so damned depressing. Spoiler
Fascinating how the depressing and disastrous can make compelling reading, though. That's the mystery of Tragedy. SBS is always talked about in terms of its climax but I thought it was a great read throughout. It has the odd ability to constantly build on the scale of disaster even when you feel the apex has been reached.
For me SbS is the perfect representation of the NJO in its entirety - the good, the bad and the ugly. TUF is the perfect version of how great it could be.
What happened with Alema Rar so extremely preventable, as was the fate of Raynar Thul. But again, Troy Denning did it and we suffer for it.
I hate the Hapans. Their entire sexist, backstabbing, scheming culture is repulsive. In Dark Journey they were faced with an existential threat and still could think of nothing but court intrigue. I think Denning, more than anyone, made a mistake by overusing them and turning them into a galactic superpower, instead of a relatively backward, wealthy but small state. I also never liked Tenel Ka.
Hm. Maybe I'll edit my thoughts when I get to that part in SBS. Noash_Retrac - I like Denning's style; I honestly forgot why he got so much hate. But then I remember he did indeed do the Dark Nest trilogy..... bah
The rescue of the Talfaglio hostages, which is early/midway through the book, was one of my favourite space battles of the entire series. Thirteen years later and I still remember the word "Talfaglio."
Finally got an internet connection, glad to see this thread is still going. Thanks! Since I was last on I finished Vector Prime. I thought that overall it worked really well as the opening book for the series. It was a very action packed exposition, introducing us to the state of the galaxy and a brand new big bad. There were some plot holes, I am still unsure when Mara was exposed to Nom Anor's coomb spores. Must have been in another work I've not heard of yet. But overall, pretty good and enjoyable to read once again. Last time I think I started with Stackpole's duology and then went back to VP. Started Onslaught. I remember really liking this duology because I liked Stackpole's work in the X-Wing series and enjoyed Corran's character transformation from police officer to fighter jock to Jedi. It's weird being reintroduced to The Ganner. I just can't get that awesome scene in Traitor out of my mind while being introduced to the Jedi foil he started as, but that's still pretty cool, like I know something about his destiny that no one else knows. Appreciated the introduction to the Bothan Assault Cruiser much more this time. Sweet vessel, don't think I acknowleged how awesome it was before. Might have to check out the fleet junkie thread, read up a bit on the fleets from our resident experts.
I like this, "...Jaina is a very self-reliant person who doesn't open up to others or rely on them, whereas Jacen's this big empathic mess who has trouble figuring out where he ends and others begin sometimes." Twins with opposite characteristics worked well with those two, never really liked that the twin duel eventually happened, but oh well. Jacen finally overcame his issues with Vergere, choose and act put his character in motion and it was fantastic right up to the end of NJO.
I am curious how it will go when I get to AoC. I remember skimming through them as I wasn't terribly interested in them, hoping it is different this go around. What did you all like/dislike about those books?
It's never been told, just referred to. You hear what actually happened in Balance Point where it's revealed she and 100 others were infected whilst seeing the coronation of their priest-king and Nom Anor happened to be there. The incident occurred before Vector Prime but has never been told.
