Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: TRAITOR (Spoilers)

JK, both of those links are in the very first post of this thread.

 

{For reference, on a new page}

Counting 81 reviews.

JC Lit Average Rating of Traitor = 743.54/81 ~ 9.18/10

 

I just finished reading the book. Very disturbing. I both like and loath this book. It is well written, but as a SW book the effect it may have on future books is worrisome. As most people know, it is no secret that I don't like the NJO, and the elements that I dislike about the NJO are still there, plus I have some problems with the revelations that Jacen gains about the Force . I have to give it a 4 as a SW book. If this was a story separate from SW I would give it a higher rating, even though I could have done without the lingering on descriptions of torture and vong ickyness. As a non SW book I might have rated it a 7.5.

 

I Give this book a 10/10!

 

I give it an 8/10.

 

Counting 84 reviews.

JC Lit Average Rating of Traitor = 765.54/84 ~ 9.11/10

 

from Mastadge's review: the stunningly awesome climax (featuring one of the coolest lightsaber fights ever) to the outstanding three-against-the-galaxy ending (and you?ll NEVER guess who the third one is)

lightsaber fight?
and who is the third one?

 

I believe the third one is the World Brain that Jacen strikes a deal with in the end.

 

I give it an 8.5/10.

I loved it in many ways but it was at times too dark for me. I would have to put it down & take a breather before I got too depressed! I remember some folks saying DJ wasn't dark enough (which I actually agreed with to a point). . . we got a whole lota dark now!

I was beginning to get disappointed in the book at first until Jacen's line "I'd like you all to meet some friends
of mine" refering to his amphistaff armor (one of the coolest things in the book) at which point I actually cheered & pumped my fist so happy was I for some encouragement & small sense of victory on Jacen's part.

I have always liked Jacen & storylines about his struggles with his place as a Jedi & the nature of the Force. So I was very happy to see a deeper character development of him in this book. And I think I like where it is going . . .

I have always enjoyed the character of Vergere because she was enigmatic enough to excite me with the possibilities of where her character could go. I enjoyed where they started to take her character & was so
glad they started to tell us more about her. Although I alternately hated her & liked her for what she was
doing to Jacen.

The whole Ganner thing - excellent. So bummed he had to die but the ending was incredible. I do, however, echo a criticism I saw posted here that he seemed to too quickly "get" what it took Jacen so long & so much pain to learn . . . . That was a bit of a distraction for me but I had no choice but to get over it (!) with all the action happening at the end.

I must say I am also a bit confused with where they are going with the new idea of the Force. I also always assumed that the Dark Side was only manifesting itself through the negative emotion that already existed in a person. So I "get" the idea
of what Vergere is teaching Jacen but I am more confused & have a bit of trepidation about where they are going to take it in the story arc. What will this mean to the Jedi & the GFFA & how well will the future books/authors handle it?

I very much look forward to the next book! I think they will have to VERY CAREFULLY handle how Jacen gets back in touch with the NR - Jaina, his parents, Luke & the rest of the Jedi in particular. I am so afraid they will gloss over it, tie it up in too pat of an 'ending' or rush through it (like I feel they did with Jaina's return from
her dark journey). This is too momentous of a shift to gloss over or rush through!

But, after struggling with the very dark & sometimes confusing tone of the book at first, I now think it is one
of the better NJO books.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed the novel, Traitor IMO is best read in the NJO thus far, 9.5/10. I was totally engrossed throughtout, it is thought provoting, (you can't switch off and flick through the book) and intense. Its great when you have to re-read a passage to confirm your understanding of what has transpired.

Minor comments:

On "the Ganner", while I have no concerns with Ganner becoming enlighten (so to speak) so quickly (IMO it depends on the individual character, their thought process and internal complexity), I would have enjoyed an expanded passage or two further detailing how this occurred (mentally for Ganner).

While I understand the scope of each novel is limited to a degree by Del Ray, I wish the uncovering of Force Well had been explored.

Its great when a book ruffles a few feathers...

 

i personally think traitor is the worse book i've EVER read. i never even had to read anything this bad in skool. can i give it a negative rating???

~NiKe, DaRK LaDy oF THe SiTH~

 

Being as it is out of 10, obviously not

 

Using a 1 for NikeSkylark...

Counting 87 reviews.

JC Lit Average Rating of Traitor = 784.54/87 ~ 9.02/10

 

Anyone else nervous Nike spelled school "skool"?

 

9/10

I will write a review for TF.N Books soon.

 

I give it a 6/10. The writing was excellent, the story was excellent. It was a little lacking in substance, something I blame DelRey for, but it reflects on the book. I didn't like a lot of the violence, which was a little much sometimes for me, but it was a good read. As far as Vergere goes; I am going to give the NJO the benefit of the doubt and assume that she's a)wrong B)lying c)misguided. If she is telling the 'truth' and the NJO goes with the no Dark Side theory, then my rating drops to a 1 for this book and the NJO as a whole.

 

Um, JediStryker . . . ?

I've noticed that the "evidence" you cite for your Force dogma has two main sources: one, rpg source books (which, frankly, I find hard to believe should be considered more authoritative than authorized titles of the EU), and two: notes from early drafts of the ANH screenplay.

Is it lost on you that those are "early drafts" precisely because they contain things GL decided NOT to put in the finished films?

If we're talking about the films, let's just talk about the films, huh?

 

Even in the films it doesn't really make clear exactly what the "dark side" is.

I never really understood how an "energy field" could be good or evil. It makes much more sense if the energy feild, the Force, just exists as it is, and the light side or dark side depends on who uses it, how, and why.

 

Here's my belated review.

10/10

Three words
Very.
Awesome.
Book.

I loved it.

 

OK. I've read Traitor...twice, and I'm worried. Why? Because the NJO can only go downhill from here. They should have let MWS finish the series off! This book was a great relief after the Enemy Lines duology which took the NJO down a path I didn't like. Traitor brings the NJO back on track - but on a path that I don't think the following authors are going to stick to.

This book is easily the best in NJO - not only is there cool action, well-written dialogue and interesting characters, but it also makes you think... this book has probably had the most impact on me out of all the Star Wars books I've read... occasionally, I've hated this book for giving me these new ideas, and I still don't agree with some of them, but I think they fit the storyline.

So yeah, I loved the book, fantastically written, and the writing in the present tense didn't annoy me like I thought it would. My only complaint is that the book is too short, and that the next authors probably aren't going to portray Jacen the way that he's set up to be portrayed at the end of Traitor. Just as long as they don't revert to pre-Traitor Jacen.

Anyway, I give Traitor 9/10

 

Anyone else nervous Nike spelled school "skool"?

i always spell school as 'skool'... it's a nike thing

~NiKe, DaRK LaDy oF THe SiTH~

 

Counting 91 reviews.

JC Lit Average Rating of Traitor = 818.54/91 ~ 8.99/10

 

i personally think traitor is the worse book i've EVER read. i never even had to read anything this bad in skool. can i give it a negative rating???

Considering that this is from somebody who likes Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, that has to be the best review given yet!

~PAd

 

Liked the writing style, liked the story, liked the characters, and, above all, liked the philosophical discussions between Jacen and Vergere -> I give 'Traitor' 10 out of 10.
And it is now my favourite 'Star Wars' novel ever (which was pretty hard considering that I'm an avid Corran Horn fan and that I,Jedi was my favourite before Tr came along).

(is this really my first posting since November 2000? wow.)

 

Um, JediStryker . . . ?

I've noticed that the "evidence" you cite for your Force dogma has two main sources: one, rpg source books (which, frankly, I find hard to believe should be considered more authoritative than authorized titles of the EU), and two: notes from early drafts of the ANH screenplay.

Is it lost on you that those are "early drafts" precisely because they contain things GL decided NOT to put in the finished films?

If we're talking about the films, let's just talk about the films, huh?

I responded to this here.