Traitor, the best of NJO or is it?

I have not read any of NJO. I have some basics known and I know a lot about fan opinions of certain books.

On the boards I have heard too opinions
"Traitor is by far the best of SW Literature"
"Traitor is pointless, there is no need for another Jedi and everything in it is summed up in Destiny's Way"

While I have not read it, I find that I agree more with the first opinion.

I have read Shatterpoint by Stover and it was by far the best Star Wars book to date, that I have read.

I have also read the first few pages of Traitor, and it seemed very good. I also know it is about Jacen and Vergere, who both seem to be very interesting.
I also know that Stover is an amazing author.

So I'm about to begin reading NJO, the main reason is due to the fact that Stover is the author of one book, and Stackpole is the author of two others.

So what do people who have actually read Traitor think?
I find it hard to believe that it was a bad book.
Stover is too good of an author, and Traitor sounds to have a great story.

-Seldon

 

Im of the opinion that it is easily the best book of the NJO, no question. Nothing even comes close, IMO.
In fact, both Traitor and Shatterpoint are easily the two best EU books Ive read to date.

 

I'd say it's the best written. But best story-wise, I wouldn't agree.

 

IMHO Traitor is totally different from all the SW I've read before and after (didn't read PT era books and most of the comics). The writing is more challenging and interesting than in the other books as well.

But I don't like neither Jacen nor Vergere that much and the death of one character isn't satisfying IMHO as well. Still a good read.

What really bothers me about traitor is that IMHO it would have been an outstanding book if the roles of Jacen and Anakin hadn't been switched. Anakin and the world brain would have been logical after Anakin and the lambent (sp?)crystal and Anakin and Vergere would have had more conflict potential as well.

 

In a word: yes.

In three words: yes, it is.

 

Mathew Stover wrote a very good book in my opinion.

However summarized Jacen doesn't really accomplish much and his insight into the Force isn't completely right nor particularly groundbreaking.

It did DEAL with the Force, which was a nice change from the philosophy less books out there.

However as Star Wars goes, it lacks any major developments in the war.

And more or less on its own would be like a book solely about Luke's time on Dagobah

Hence Unifying Force is the best

 

Stover writes a good book.

I enjoyed shatterpoint much more and it has made me interested in his other books, but it didn't really add much to the NJO as a whole, other then as an example of what a good author can do with a bad situation(as compared to Dark Journey, but lets not get started on that).

 

Traitor was the best NJO paperback (followed by Stackpole and Allston's). I started reading it at 10:00 at night and couldn't put it down for more than two or three minutes. I finished it that same night at 2 in the morning. No other NJO book did that.

 

If you are looking for a harsh, well-written book, nothing in the NJO can touch Traitor.

If you want something in the NJO that has a bigger scale and moves the plot along better, Star by Star and The Unifying Force are tops.

But IMO, those are the 3 crowning jewels of the NJO. And Shatterpoint is better than all of them, but I digress

 

I'm not a fan of Traitor at all. It was too dark for me. Jacen's charcter, I think, was changed completely (his outlook) and then just dropped and continued on with his old self. To me, it was pointless. A filler. They needed a book that mainly focused on Jacen so they made one. I don't do the whole Embrace of Pain thing either. And Featherbag scares me. And Jacen bores me. So yeah, to make a long story short (too late, huh? ) I'm not a big Traitor fan.

~Gloria

 

Traitor is simply a wonderful bit of literature. I've gotten one of my good friends hooked on Star Wars books (mainly by way of having her read Shatterpoint), and she's up to Traitor now. I don't have it here, and truth be told, you really can skip it and go straight to Destiny's Way. But why anyone would want to skip this book, I don't know. It does little for the plot, but it makes you think. I got it before I went on a college visit for the 6-hour drive, figuring I'd read it at intervals, and maybe be finished by the time I got there. After I picked it up, however, I could not put it down, and it was finished before I hit Toledo.

In short: yes, it is my favourite NJO book. And Shatterpoint is my favourite EU book in general. Stover just rocks.

 

It is the best NJO book. I liked it because it focus's on the character development of Jacen Solo, which he badly needed. Stover did an awesome job with it. It is the only SW book I read entirely in one sitting.

 

There is no doubt that Stover is a fine writer and has a very engaging style. Did I like it? No. I disliked the content. It did not seem like a Star Wars book to me. It was something other. I didn't like the way it lingered on the violence, nor did I like the philosophy and torture. The chicken had knowledge that she had no right having based on who she was in Rogue Planet. Jacen continues his annoying ways as well. If you're going to read it, read Dante's Inferno first because much imagery is taken from there.

 

IMHO, Traitor's the best, But it does not deal with the "Big Picture" which some people don't like.
Joey

 

What really sticks in my craw is how all of the continuity in Traitor was simply tossed out the window with DW and other subsequent novels.

 

i havnt read it yet, is it better then Star by Star?

 

For raw philosophical discourse on the Force, Traitor is the best. I, personally, feel that The Unifying Force is the best NJO book because it balances excellent characterization, a well-paced plot, good style, philosophy, battles, and destiny. All the threads that the NJO built up came to a fever pitch in the end, and it worked beautifully, with just about the damned most emotional last 100 pages in all of SW literature.

 

It's not only one of the best NJO novels, it's some of the greatest EU material(not just books; all EU material).

 

For purposes of your question, all you really need to know is that you'll like TRAITOR if you liked SHATTERPOINT, but it has less action.

 

Certainly less action, but that doesn't make it any less compelling. Traitor's without question the best of the NJO, though I'd have to go with the Thrawn Trilogy for the entire EU.

 

Traitor had a very unique writing style that made it very intriguing.I especially like the way the death at the end was handled.

On the other hand,I have no clue why everyone is raving over Shatterpoint.That had to be one of the most god awful Star Wars books I've ever read.I'd rather read the JAT or Balance Point than Shatterpoint.

 

I liked Traitor, but I didn't like Vergere's theory of the Force one bit, nor the controversy (not the right word, but for now it'll do) it's caused on the board.

Basicly, I liked seeing things go wrong for the Vong and to see a whole bunch of them get slaughtered at the hands of a Jedi.

 

I'd rather read the JAT

Yeah, Teh Ganner was awesome. Certainly a good way to wrap up his story.

 

I was torn on Traitor.

At some points it read slowly; at others very well. I never really cared for any of the Young or Junior Jedi Knights, so I didn't really appreciate having to read a Jacen-only story, but it was well-written. I hated Vergere's theory and how it was quickly eaten-up by many of the readers, but it did lead to some of the more interesting discussions we've had here. I also ended getting to go back-and-forth with Stover a little bit, and I found that I liked him a lot even though our opinions didn't quite mesh.