Star Wars: The New Myth by Michael J. Hanson and Max S. Kay
3.8 out of 4

Good:

Bad:

The authors, as of the original publishing, are 20 and 22 years old. While their ability to publish a book at about the same age as I is more than commendable, their own, shall I say, lack of experience shows through in fairly frequent editing errors. While understandable and in no way detracting from the overall quality of the work, they can definitely interrupt the flow of things for the more grammar-sensitive.

Ugly:

The looks on the faces of some fans when they discover Jar Jar actually has a purpose in this saga.

Star Wars on Trial edited by David Brin and Matthew Stover
3.4 out of 4

Bravo. Bra-freakin'-vo.

As great as Traitor was, I suppose Stover was bound to do even better with Shatterpoint, as here he was able to formulate the entire story himself.

And better he does. I find myself struggling to even find the words to explain why this book is so good. Essentially, Stover's Star Wars is beyond anything that's ever been done before. Beyond Zahn, Stackpole, in some ways beyond Lucas. This book reads like a genuine action movie. Like a good action movie, I should say. Maybe I'm just not used to reading SW material free from the typical Luke-Han-Leia baggage. Don't get me wrong; I love those characters, but no matter how good post-RotJ EU is, you can't escape the fact that mythologically, their story is over. I'm the last person you'll see claiming Lucas' superiority over EU writers, but this is a very specific type of story we've all invested our time in, and because of the films' archetypal plot elements, there will always be something about books like this or Shadows of the Empire that the NJO will never have: mythological relevance. Maybe I'm overstating a bit, but I'll always have a place in my heart for filling-in-the-gaps EU over what-happened-afterward EU.

Nick Rostu is officially one of my favorite characters to come out of the EU. Comparisons to Han aside, the only other time someone like this has been done right in SW is Lorn Pavan in Shadow Hunter. I read a review of the new Tomb Raider movie a while ago, and to illustrate one of the main problems with the movie, the author drew a comparison to Indiana Jones as a better example of the adventurer. While Lara Croft always remained cool and collected, he said, Indiana Jones really believed he was doomed every time he got into trouble. That "oh crap, I'm in trouble" attitude is what made him such an endearing character, and it works now with Nick. We even get to see the contrast between both types of "adventurers", since Nick is pretty much glued to Mace's side the entire novel. This book would have been enormously less fulfilling if Nick hadn't been there to let out a string of expletives as accompaniment to Mace's "everything's gonna be fine" attitude.

Speaking of which, this book is a shining beacon in the history of handling profanity in Star Wars. No offense to Denning, but I'd much rather see something like "Joe cursed" over "'Bloah,' Joe said." While using virtually no actual naughty words (aside, I suppose, from "crap" and "hell"), Stover has managed to write a very vulgar book, befitting the nature of the story and of the characters themselves. The sheer number of oblique references to the F-newmythe-inspiring. While this may not match your personal taste, or what you like to expect from Star Wars, for me it's a welcoming touch of reality; you can't escape the fact that people swear, and goofy made-up expletives in a moment of tension only detract from the serious nature of the scene.

It's funny to see Scott bothered by the fact that so many people survived the novel; one of the biggest and longest-running complaints about the EU I've encountered over the years is that every big event is so self-contained; never-before-seen bad guy and secondary characters are introduced, then killed off or otherwise banished into limbo. While I'm skeptical that Nick Rostu and Lorz Geptun (a brilliantly handled antagonist, incidentally) will actually be seen much in upcoming Clone Wars material, I'd very much like to see them again and I'm grateful that Stover at least left the door open to the possibility. On a related note, it was also interesting that Depa didn't exactly "survive" the story, in that she wasn't taken back to her default position by the end. It'll be an interesting thread to tie up down the road, especially if she ends up appearing in Episode III.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Here's hoping Stover gets many more opportunities to blow me away like this in the future.

The best thing about Karen Traviss' Star Wars work, I think, is that it really feels like she cares about it; and not just in the way that Star Wars authors generally care about their creations (which they do, of course; I don't want to suggest otherwise). With Traviss, though, you get the feeling that she's as interested in seeing what else will happen to these characters as we are. The events depicted in A Practical Man serve a real function in catching you up on Boba Fett's life since his final chronological appearance (since which a long time has passed here on Earth), as well as establishing what all the things we've learned about Fett's early life have meant for the development of the preexisting, older Fett (confused yet?).

It doesn't seem, though, that that's why the story was written; Traviss could easily have related all the necessary information in only a handful of lines once we catch up with Fett in Bloodlines, her first Legacy of the Force novel. Instead, I think she was just plain interested; she wanted to explore who Fett was at this point in his life; how he would've interacted with the traditional Mandalorians she's spend so much time developing, and how he'd have handled the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. It's been well-established that she likes to create outlines of her characters' entire lives before delving into a particular story, and as prominent as Fett is in the canon, real character development moments have been few and far between (which is probably why some of us have had to hold up the occasional nuanced depiction in stories like No Disintegrations and The Last One Standing as signs of the character's evolution over time), so it's more than welcome now.

As for the story...well, it's fine. Traviss is good at what she does, and as a reviewer I tend to have more to say about what a given story means to me as an EU fan than what my reactions were to particular things that did or didn't happen in the story itself, especially with more tangential material like this (hooray for more Nom Anor, though). The most complementary thing I can say about A Practical Man is that I want to see more like it; both from Traviss and otherwise.

Denning did a great job of taking a couple little important bits of necessary plot and merging them into a coherent, and enjoyable, story. Here we get to witness the continuation of Han and Leia's reconciliation, which should be a big treat for the reams of fans who were more upset about this infamous bit of fallout from Chewie's death than about the death itself. Denning's definitely one of the better NJO authors when it comes to Han and Leia, so it was good to see him tackle this.

Moving on, Recovery also introduces us to Saba, Tesar, Krasov, and Bela, the Barabel Bunch who go on to play a big part in Star by Star and the rest of the NJO (oh yeah, and Izal Waz is there, too). One problem that can arise easily in a story arc like this is the quick introduction and departure of secondary characters as the author changes. Luckily, letting Denning fill in a story that happens way before SBS gives him a chance to prove that these people didn't just appear out of thin air a year later. In the same vein, this story is, I believe, the only time we've actually gotten to see Eelysa, the Master whom we discover trained the Barabel Bunch years ago. The whole bit with them convincing Thrackan that she's Jaina was pretty amusing (and helped to set up his role in Ylesia later on).

Come to think of it, handling large casts seems to be one of Denning's best characteristics. SBS had pretty much the most plot and characters of any single NJO book to date, and this story proves he was the guy for the job. Even throwaway characters like the merc group at the beginning are fleshed out and made memorable characters in their own right. As many times as people have been hired to kill/assault/kidnap a Solo, making one stand out is definitely a praiseworthy feat.

Our heroes' arrival on Coruscant serves as the bulk of the story's action, and it's surprising how much trouble they had to go through just to get home unnoticed. The whole sequence actually had a kind of eerie parallel to the post-invasion insertion of Luke's team in Edge of Victory (and the insertion of Corran's team on Garqi waaay back in Dark Tide).

I really liked seeing all the stuff with Leia's recuperation toward the end. Too often in the NJO a character is dealt a horrifying injury for the sake of drama, only to have the story skip months ahead to when they're fine again. Seeing everything Leia had to go through in order to walk again, with Han at her side, was very touching and gave us a level of intimacy we don't get often enough in the NJO.

Bad:

I know better than to expect spectacular covers from an NJO eBook (oddly enough, Saboteur's and A Forest Apart's were pretty decent), but this thing is just hideous. There are probably fifty redone color schemes they could've used that would've been better than this. There's a reason comic books only use green and purple for villains. In fact, the overall assembly of this thing is just awful. I've seen fan book covers Photoshopped from scratch that came out better. The fact that this is all I have to point out, however, speaks well for the story. The only real issue I have with it is the overall utilitarian feel things of this nature tend to have. Though Denning did quite well, it's hard to completely convince myself that Del Rey didn't just hand him a list of plot points and say "tie these up for us."

Ugly:

Dirty bacta. Not a fun concept.

Traitor by Matthew Stover
4 out of 4

Good:

Where was I? Oh yeah; Traitor.

There's a name for experiences like this book, but sadly, this isn't the appropriate forum for it. Let's just say it starts with "mind", and ends with another four letters. In other words, this book is the greatest thing that's ever happened to the EU. Sadly, there are a lot of people that won't enjoy it at all. There are fans out there who want nothing out of Star Wars but entertainment, and if that's what does it for you, you might be better off re-reading Enemy Lines (don't get me wrong; those are fabulous books, but they're just pure entertainment). Traitor, on the other hand, is enjoyable on a multitude of different levels; it shatters the entire idea of who the Jedi were; of how the GFFA works. Stover may not think any of the book's content should come as a great surprise to fans, but it will. The whole midi-chlorian mess proved that fans have a very dogmatic idea of how the Force works, and anything that forces them to look beyond that is dangerous to them. This book opens the door to all kinds of possibilities: Will Jacen continue using the "dark side", given his new understanding of it? How will the other Jedi react to his new philosophy? Could this change the way everyone, even Luke, fights the Vong?

And on top of that there is, of course, the pure entertainment factor. No matter how Earth-shatteringly philosophical a tale is, if you can't enjoy getting from point A to point B, the philosophy isn't doing anybody any good. Luckily, Stover shares Ganner's penchant for the flamboyant. Every single action scene had me at the edge of my seat. Every debate between Nom Anor and Vergere (or between Nom Anor and Tsavong Lah, or Nom Anor and Ch'Gang Hool...) had me beaming at such expert usage of my all-time favorite NJO character. I'm truly terrified to think of what might happen to him in Destiny's Way. Speaking of which, that was another high point for me; this is the biggest role Nom Anor's had in a book since Balance Point.

To reiterate, this book isn't for everyone. It's the nature of such monumental work to have a polarizing effect on those who take it in; you can't say anything of real quality without upsetting certain groups of people. But if you're the type of person who doesn't mind a romp through the fields of existentialism, who's willing to have their perspective of the GFFA rebuilt from the ground up like the Vong are doing to Coruscant, hold onto your hat. It's a damn treat.

Bad:

They left Nom Anor on Coruscant!! As many times as we've heard Nom mention his secret escape-to-NR-space-and-plead-for-his-life plan by now, I was dying to see it finally happen. There's no way Lah will spare him this time; the only plausible way for his character to move forward now is to force him to work alongside his enemies, if only to protect his own hide.

Ugly:

The cover. Oh yeah, and the amphistaff grove - great vacation spot, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Destiny's Way by Walter Jon Williams
3.8 out of 4

Good:

The hits just keep coming, folks. I was a little worried heading into Destiny's Way, largely because of how much I loved Traitor. When you like something as much as I liked it, the next thing in line not only has to stand on its own, but for many people, it has to measure up to what came before it; they figure there's no place left to go but down. Walter Jon Williams manages, however, to pick up Stover's coattails and not miss a beat. Well, maybe a 1/16 beat, but I'll get to that later. DW seamlessly continues the tradition of huge, sprawling ID4-esque (I like that movie; so sue me) hardcovers. DW also lives up to its hardcover predecessor Star By Star; the War & Peace of Star Wars, which is another big accomplishment. And considering the book is 200 pages shorter than SBS, Williams packs in a hell of a big plot. (Now would be a good time to mention that I took the liberty of waiting to read the eBook Ylesia until I reached its appropriate place in the middle of DW, which further stretched out the plot, not to mention delayed my completion of DW 2 months or so.) Oftentimes toward the end of the book, I found myself reflecting on related events from earlier in the NJO plotline, and was surprised when I realized they'd been in the same book. Much in the same way I, Jedi had two very disparate acts, DW almost seemed to be two smaller stories in one book: the reestablishment of a government, and the battle of Ebaq. Plus, of course, a thoroughly enjoyable subplot in between featuring the shining acme of Thrackan Sal-Solo's career as a Star Wars character.

Let's see, what else?

My comment on Thrackan pretty much reveals one of (if not the) best things about this book; WJW's handling of all my favorite characters. Vergere is every bit as mystifying as Stover wrote her, Lando and Karrde are running around being the kind of suave scoundrels only they can be, and Nom Anor completes (hopefully) his long, downward spiral into the depths of heresy; hopefully now that Shimrra himself wants his head, he'll finally be free of the shackles of his species and will start playing a more interesting part in the overall storyline. Oh yeah, and he outlived Tsavong Lah. So there!

Bad:

Ugly:

Okay, the regular grutchins were bad enough. Now we've got 6-meter long grutchyna? Give me a voxyn any day.

Force Heretic I - Remnant by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
3.8 out of 4

Good:

I knew it was coming. Ever since Ithor --and in many ways, since Thrawn-- I’d been waiting for Pellaeon’s shining moment, and it finally came. Single-handedly lighting a fire under the Remnant’s collective rear, he at long last gets to put some Moffs in their place, unite the entire Empire under one leader for the first time since Palpatine’s “resurrection”, and displays a tactical competence not usually seen in Imperial fleet officers. Even in Hand of Thrawn, ol’ Gilad never really got to show just how hardcore he can be. And few things are as hardcore as directing a battle from inside a bacta tank. Just imagine what things might’ve been like if this guy had been on the other side of the Galactic Civil War (although it remains to be seen just how much of who Pellaeon is today is owed to Thrawn’s influence). Here’s hoping he plays a much larger part in the war effort now that the Empire’s officially a part of the GFFA.

Nom Anor, Nom Anor, Nom Anor. As depressed as I was to see him abandoned on Yuuzhan’tar in Traitor, now that Shimrra himself is on Nom’s tattooed tail, he’s finally free to develop beyond the develop-plan-that-fails, apologize-and-start-over rut that he’d been stuck in since Vector Prime. And develop he does. Even I never really thought Nom had much chance of redemption as a character; the most I’d hoped for was that he would survive the NJO and become a pirate or something. But true to his nature, he’s surprised everyone and gone in a brand-new direction, the ultimate result of which I can’t wait to see. Something tells me he’s still not likely to survive the conflict, but could he possibly be headed for martyrdom instead of prosecution? Or at the very least, could he be responsible for the defeat of the Vong from within, as foreshadowed (in my estimation) by that quote at the start of the book? I’m giddy just thinking about it.

Finally, and though it probably wasn’t even the authors’ decision, I’m thrilled to finally see a NJO tale told in the most perfectly crafted of all story structures – the trilogy. Not that an enjoyable story can’t be told in two parts (or four, even), but there’s just something about having a distinguishable beginning, middle, and end that makes things flow better and seem so much more epic. Take, oh, the Classic Trilogy for example. Or the Thrawn Trilogy; which most consider the best EU story ever.

Bad:

As is often the case with the NJO, I have but minor nits to pick. A rare thing for Star Wars authors (to the best of my knowledge), the originators of this particular drama are from outside the United States; Australia to be precise. They make a laudable effort to write for American ears, but I nevertheless spotted a few instances where the language seemed off to me (most notably the frequent usage of the expression “get on”). I clearly can’t fault them for this, as it’s very much a personal issue (“get on” might even be used in some parts of America for all I know), but it was worth bringing up for the sake of Americanized readers.

Ugly:

The chuk’a. Think, anatomically speaking, about just where Nom Anor had been living. Better yet, don’t think about it.

Force Heretic II - Refugee by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
3.8 out of 4

Good:

First I'd like to mention that Refugee was unique for me, in that it was the first book in the entire NJO that I read without knowing a single thing about it beforehand. And if ever I was gonna go into a story that way, this would be the story to do it with.

Force Heretic, so far at least, has been very different from the majority of the NJO in that the Vong aren't really the big villain. Sure, everything our heroes are up to is for the benefit of the overall war, but in Refugee (and to a lesser degree in Remnant), there's nary a skip to be found. Instead, the gang is doing some old-fashioned detective work, and it's a very interesting change of pace.

Through the Luke/Mara segments, we finally get a real look at Csilla, the Chiss homeworld. The conditions in which their species finds itself make their culture very understandable; stick a couple human families in Antarctica and see how their kids grow up. Chances are they'd mature faster than regular kids, and they'd have very little tolerance for goofing off. And who knows; maybe if that group was left to its own devices for a thousand generations or so, they might even evolve blue-tinted skin and glowing red eyes...but I digress. I was also thrilled to finally witness the return of Baron Fel to the EU (and what I'm pretty sure is the first-ever non-flashback appearance of Syal Antil - er, Fel. For the sister of a guy who had an entire series (two if you count comics) dedicated to him, it's surprising how well she's managed to avoid the EU spotlight all this time. Then there's Jacen and Danni. I've always adored Danni as a character, and after their first little quasi-romantic encounter at Helska way back in Vector Prime, I'd been starting to worry that the editors had forgotten about this particular coupling. Luckily, Destiny's Way put those concerns to rest (take that, Tenel Ka fans!), and I now get to watch Jacen, Big Hero of the NJO whether you like it or not, finally get what he deserves: some affection from someone other than Luke. I was understandably perturbed by the interruption of their conversation at the end of the book when Jacen had his revelation about Zonama Sekot, but hey, that's what Reunion is for. I can't wait!

Another interesting point is the addition of (gasp) regular books as an obstacle in the heroes' path. As eBooks and PDAs become more and more common here on Earth, the concept of a society whose members don't even recognize a book when they see one is both fascinating and eerie.

Then there's Bakura. This would be a good point to emphasize one of the Williams/Dix team's biggest selling points: research, research, research. These books have had an impressively Luceno-esque level of incorporation into the fabric of the EU. Frequently the savvy reader will stumble across obscure little bits of info that the authors had no business even knowing in the first place; the story of Valara Saar and Yashuvhu being a great example. Taking the throwaway drunken bigot Cundertol from the Black Fleet Crisis and making him a main character with an important role in the unfolding mystery was a great touch. And boy, was that mystery an interesting one. The Bakura/P'w'eck situation as it's revealed to us is really a work of art. The complexity of the Keeramak's plan, double-shifting alliances, and the enormous amount of players (no two of which seem to be on the same side) all manage to keep things riveting throughout what is by far the biggest storyline in the novel. And then there's the out-of-nowhere reappearance of the HRD droid as a plot device. When I first read Shadows of the Empire, I was worried that the idea of a droid who could pass for human could become a fallback for anyone who wanted a plot twist (Winona Ryder, anyone?), but surprisingly, this is the first time since Guri (I believe) they've ever even come up. And the entechment technology adds a whole new level to the concept; who's to say that Cundertol, enteched life force operating a practically-organic-yet-drastically-improved frame was truly any less human than anyone else?

Nom Anor. I really don't think I need to say much more on his role in this trilogy than I did in my Remnant review; especially since here his role is reduced to only a handful of scenes (all absolutely riveting, despite what Scott says). I do feel obligated to mention the confrontation with Ngaaluh, however. From the moment her scene began I had great hopes for what she could mean for Nom's development as a character, and when it looked as if she was about to die, I was glued to the page to a degree that few Star Wars books have managed in the past. It was all I could do not to cheer out loud when Nom revived her. Keep up the great work, guys!

Lastly, I have to disagree with Scott one more time and say that I love Jon Foster's work with these covers. They may not be neat and tidy interpretations, but they're alive with a gritty energy we never usually see on SW paperbacks; let's not forget there's a war going on. Jaina can fix her makeup later.

And let's also keep in mind that this is the guy responsible for getting Aayla Secura in AotC. We EU people owe him big time.

Bad:

There is literally only one thing in the entire book that bothered me: large as they may be, I find it very hard to believe that a Vong could really pass himself off as a Ssi-ruu. Not only do their extremities look a little too small in places to properly conceal a Vong arm or leg, but just imagine trying to mimic a Velociraptor-like walk and posture all the time. You'd have to be a very small (and patient) being to pull off something like that.

Ugly:

What's with every name in the Fel family coming from Syal's side? Jagged is her father's name, and Wynssa was her stage name; even their yacht was called the Starflare, the other half of her stage name. I'd say it's pretty clear who wears the Corellian bloodstripes in that family.

Force Heretic III - Reunion by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
4 out of 4

Good:

If anyone out there actually pays enough attention to my reviews to notice patterns, you may have realized a common element of my reviews lately. Starting with Destiny's Way, I've given all the NJO Books 3.8s; better than 3.5, but not quite 4. The reason for this is my rating for Traitor: 4. I figured it to be pretty much a perfect Star Wars book, and so from then on, if a book wasn't as good as Traitor, I couldn't in good faith give it the same grade as Traitor. Then somewhere around the middle of Refugee, I thought to myself, "self, this Force Heretic trilogy is shaping up to be pretty darn good. Maybe not quite as enjoyable as Traitor, but mostly flawless nevertheless". As a result, I decided that if, at the conclusion of Reunion, I hadn't found anything downright objectionable to report, I would give the book a 4, thereby giving the whole trilogy a sort of unofficial 4. And that's what happened. This trilogy wasn't as good as Traitor, but it's solid, consistently entertaining, occasionally spectacular, and to paraphrase Carolyn Burnham, it didn't screw up once. Moving on to Reunion in particular...

Zonama Sekot: the best thing about this whole part of the book was the great lengths it went to to say "So, you fans don't know what Sekot's supposed to contribute to the war? Funny, neither does Luke." The idea was always simply that Vergere said it was the key, and Luke and Co. were going on her word, without specifically saying what its purpose would be. Unfortunately, some people never quite got that, and spent the entire trilogy asking what the point of their quest was. Finally, that very question gets some real coverage. Granted, we still don't know what Sekot's purpose will ultimately be, but we're in the same place our heroes are, and isn't it more fun that way? Seeing Jabitha again and getting a refresher course in the events of Rogue Planet was nice, too, as I'd pretty much forgotten the entire story beyond "Hey, didn't they have the Death Star in there somewhere?" Funny that Lucas ended up having the same idea.

Esfandia: for starters, I loved the Cold Ones. Williams and Dix have given us one of the most unique and interesting cultures in the history of the GFFA. Here's hoping Leia was right about the battle triggering an outward surge in their culture. I can see it now: Tales of the Brrbrlpp Commandos, coming in 2006!!

As always, Pellaeon was great. His little chat with Vorrik in Remnant was easily my second favorite moment in the trilogy, and it was cool to see he'd still been screwing with the poor guy. The concept of gaining an advantage over the Vong by, essentially, pissing them off is a very entertaining one to witness, and I do believe this is the first time we've seen it since Lando's droids at the beginning of Rebel Dream ("We are machines! We are greater than the Yuuzhan Vong!"). Alas, Vorrik's rantings will be missed.

Nom Anor: great at always. Although his role in Refugee did include my favorite moment in the trilogy, overall he didn't have nearly as much going on then as he did in Remnant, and does again in Reunion. While they didn't take him in quite the direction I was expecting at the conclusion of Remnant, Williams and Dix do probably the best rendition of Nom since Greg Keyes. While I saw Ngaaluh's death coming, it was a shame to see her go so soon, especially after her fantastic introduction in Refugee.

Another thing I saw coming: Droma being in charge of the Ryn network. Very cool idea.

All in all, this has been a great trilogy; taking the characters beyond what we've seen before (Tahiri and Nom in particular), yet meshing flawlessly with the rest of the universe, and with the Star Wars feel. We've seen some great new cultures, learned about pre-existing yet lesser-known cultures, and gotten updates on cultures we just haven't seen in a while. We've visited the boundaries of morality, conduct, and ethics, from the points of view of the Jedi and others, and we've had some moments that just plain kick ass. We've also had three unique and powerful covers by Jon Foster, despite what Scott says. Just goes to show you; you may score the occasional victory against it, but the NJO will always strike back.

Bad:

Ugly:

Wonder who had to clean the Brrbrlpp remains off the Falcon...

The Final Prophecy by Greg Keyes
4 out of 4

Good:

Let's go back to the Galactic Civil War for a minute. Say it's about a month before Endor, and we throw Darth Vader, Thrawn, Bevel Lemelisk, Luke, and Han (out of the carbonite) in a ship and send 'em on an adventure together, over the course of which they engage in several coffee shop-esque discussions on the philosophical issues the war has brought up. All without attacking each other. If that sounds interesting to you, you'll enjoy this book. Seeing as how this book introduces, to Nen Yim at least, the solution to how we can all just get along, it's fitting to pepper it with GFFA/Vong debates on the ethics of everything that's going on. Forgive the misnomer, but the Vong are finally starting to look human after all. Harrar, after fading in and out of the plot for years, finally gets some real dimension. His talks with Corran were the best parts of the book; especially concerning Ithor. That Keyes could take a B-level villain with all of three or so appearances in the NJO before now and, in the span of 300 pages, make me like him and mourn his loss, is truly impressive.

That seems to be one of the things he's best at; really giving his characters, well, character. His Corran is a logical progression of Stackpole's Corran. His Tahiri is completely in line with the Force Heretic Tahiri; even down to her calling Han and Leia "Anakin's parents", which to be honest, is something anyone with their relationship would do; whether Anakin had died or not. Poor Nen Yim!! I was downright giddy by the time she died; her budding friendship with Tahiri was the first credible such hero/villain relationship yet to be seen in the NJO. When she rushed off to ponder what she'd learned from the qahsa, I was filled with outright "everything's gonna be okay" glee. She knows the solution! Hooray! And then...

Ah, Nom Anor. As anyone who follows my reviews (as, it turns out, some people do) knows, this guy fascinates me. A race of fanatic warriors as villains is all well and good, but Nom's the one character who's really kept the Vong interesting all along. Simply by being a different kind of evil, he was the first sign that the Vong were redeemable, that it was possible to tear them away from their religious fury. I'm actually starting to tire of praising this guy, so I'll just take another moment to register my continued approval of his role thus far, and to day I'm looking forward to seeing how the comeuppance I assume he'll be getting in TUF is handled.

The Bilbringi plotline proved that space battles in the NJO can still be interesting; it also proved that Keyes knows his EU history. Or should I say his revisionist history; Thrawn had a cloaked Golan II, Pellaeon had a son, and most shockingly of all, Lieutenant Page had a first name. Very interesting. Here's hoping he and Pash Cracken are still kicking somewhere.

I could say more, but with TUF right around the corner, and this being very much the first half of the NJO's final story a la Empire or Matrix Reloaded, I'm gonna hold off a bit for my next review. Bottom line is, I enjoyed the book tremendously, and I can't wait to finally find out what the story is with that damn living planet.

Bad:

Can't really think of anything. A lot of the suspense was taken away by my having read the TUF excerpt a while back and seeing Nom still alive and back in Shimrra's relatively good graces, but that's hardly Keyes' fault. Before seeing that, I was really expecting this to be Nom's end.

Oh yeah; there's still the matter of the Ikrit prophecy. Weren't we finally gonna find out how that worked out? I'm happy as long as Anakin stays dead, but whatever the answer is, we'd better get it in TUF.

Ugly:

Everyone seems to be talking about Nen Yim and the rock, but I personally cringed a lot harder when Harrar slipped off the cliff like a punk. "Remember the fight", my butt.

The Unifying Force by James Luceno
3.8 out of 4

Good:

I have a big post-NJO dissertation-type piece in the works, so I'm gonna spare you readers the fancy composition here and just get down to it.

First things first: The title; my favorite of the series. It has everything; relevance (on a number of different levels), dramatic flair, and a Star Wars feel (of course). It gives a sense of tying up not only the NJO, but the SW saga as a whole.

Boba Fett: If you follow this site enough to be reading our reviews, you've probably heard of the Sernpidal Theory. If not, basically it goes like this: years ago, right after Vector Prime came out, a guy at our message boards named Darth Ludicrous got it into his head that it would be pretty funny if that old crazy mayor guy on Sernpidal, the one who jumps down the hole to kill the dovin basal, was a retired Boba Fett. Though almost no one really thought that that was what Del Rey and Salvatore had intended, the theory found a surprising resiliency through JC in-jokes, people asking VIPs about it, etc. This was also boosted by the fact that Fett was nowhere to be seen for basically the entire NJO. I was one of the biggest supporters of this idea, so you'd think that his finally being included in the NJO through TUF would irk me, or at the very least not be a positive thing, but it turns out to be one of the best parts of the book. The main thing I loved about the Sernpidal theory was the idea of Fett having given up hunting and basically become a kind-hearted hermit type who actually ends up helping Han out. This sort of end was supported, in my mind at least, by some of his final (timeline-wise) appearances before now that seemed to indicate Fett had moved beyond his grudges and was getting on with his life. And now, TUF has basically taken that idea (though I guess I wouldn't technically call him retired) and confirmed it, with the added bonus of him still being alive, as opposed to dying on Sernpidal (though Fett meeting his end due to another monster in a pit did have a nice bit of irony to it). It's a shame that the NJO is over now, because TUF's Fett was exactly the Fett I've been hoping for for the last four years. Bravo.

Kyle Katarn: Finally! With his first "official" EU appearance and by uttering his first "official" EU line, Luceno has ushered Kyle into the mainstream continuity once and for all, taking the next step past his first "official" mention in Force Heretic. No longer can people call the Dark Forces series infinities, or "below" the novels. Yet another great way to begin a new era.

The Selvaris escape: I never expected the most important story in the entire war to begin with fifty pages following the exploits of a Jenet named Thorsh, but it made for an exciting and unique first act. Very cool.

Deaths: Now I see once and for all why they killed so many people off in this series. The only prominent good guy to die in this entire book is Ackbar, and that's not even on-camera. As for the bad guys; Shimrra, Onimi, and *cough* Nom Anor aside, there weren't even all that many big Vong deaths. I liked seeing Nom strangle that punk Drathul, though. Did they plan on killing anyone major in TUF? Personally, I doubt it. Were there moments I honestly thought that Luke, Han, Leia, or Mara might be about to die? Damn right there were. This is exactly what they wanted; the NJO wasn't about half-assedly wiping out popular character for cheap suspense as lots of people complained; aside from Luke at the very beginning, I'll bet they never had any interest whatsoever in killing off the big guys. They just wanted us to think they might. And it worked beautifully. I just hope they continue this policy in any post-NJO stories.

Maybe this is my intense love for the character seeping through, but is anyone else not counting Nom Anor out just yet? If that was in fact his end we witnessed, then it was exactly what I hoped it would be; Nom finally giving up and saying "Aw, the hell with it." The best part is how it happens at a couple different levels over the course of the story; beginning with him deciding to become the prophet again and lead the Shamed revolt; not because he's absolutely convinced they'll win, but because he just can't take Shimrra's BS anymore. And when he finally does meet his "end", it's his own decision to do so; the heroes give him a chance to escape the coffer and he declines. Like Viqi Shesh, some antagonists are just better served by doing themselves in. Like I said, though, I'm not ready to close the book on him just yet, especially with that Denning trilogy coming up. We all know the "no body" rule.

Harrar: There's your proof of the "no body" rule right there. Harrar was the perfect character to redeem in light of Nen Yim's death. His turnaround in the last two books is one of the greatest things about a huge arc like this; he's been around, if not terribly prominent, since almost the beginning, and though the first seeds were planted as far back as Dark Journey, did anyone really see this coming? I definitely didn't.

Alpha Red: AR's ultimate role was quite well done. Not only did it end Dif Scaur's career, but it presented the only real challenge to Zonama Sekot in the entire story. From a story point of view, I admit I never really believed it would get to the planet, but it was nice to see a plausible threat as least present itself.

The Vong's backstory: while there were issues to be found (see below), I generally got what I wanted out of the origin. I think everyone was pretty sure ZS was gonna turn out to be Yuuzhan'tar itself, so the curveball of it being Yuuzhan'tar's offsrping, if minor, was a nice touch. In light of the new information, anyone else think that Yuuzhan'tar's ultimate fate might have been that of Sernpidal's? They seemed to be big on the Yo'gand strategy back then.

Onimi: like Yuuzhan'tar and ZS, this wasn't exactly an enormous shock, but it was nevertheless a well-executed twist. The final confrontation between him, Jaina, and Jacen has incredibly cool and chilling to read. The Vong religious system has lent itself to some fascinating interpretations among the more prominent antagonists, from Nen Yim to Shimrra to Nom Anor, and the fact that Onimi genuinely did believe in the gods, in his own way, was an appreciated touch.

Lastly, I have to applaud the completely unexpected inclusion of Kilik Twilight at the end. My biggest complaint with Tatooine Ghost was that they didn't get away with the painting at the end, and while certain aspects of that complaint aren't really negated here, it was a spectacular way of capping off Han and Leia's role in the EU, and is a perfect example of Luceno's ability to pick out obscure (albeit recent) details and make them matter in the story at hand. The more I think about it, the more important it is to me that TUF is the end of Han and Leia's story. I can live with a cameo or two in the post-NJO material, but we couldn't possibly leave these characters in a better place than the one they're in right now. Ditto for Luke. That's pretty much the best way of describing TUF as a whole for me; it does a flawless job of wrapping things up. Well, almost flawless...

Bad:

So Jaina and Jag get their big conclusion. So do the Jedi, the smugglers, the military, the Vong, heck; even the droids. But what do we get from Jacen and Danni? Squat. Would I have liked to see them together? Yes, especially after the few teases we got in Force Heretic. Can I live with them not being together? For now, sure. But theirs was a plot thread that deserved more than "we thought there might be something, but we changed our minds". I went to the last page still praying for a scene between them, or at least an offhand mention of Jacen deciding to stay on Zonama Sekot, or something like that. I'd been waiting for a payoff on this since the rescue scene in Vector Prime, and I was quite irked to see it just fizzle off into nothing. In fact, I don't recall Jacen and Danni even speaking to each other once in the entire book. Moving on...

So the Vong were stripped of the Force by Sekot. Okay, that's cool. How? Who knows. Will they return to the Force now that they've been redeemed? Couldn't tell ya. How did Onimi get the Force back? I seriously doubt implanting Yammosk tissue into his brain would've done it, so I don't know that either. There really should've been some more specifics at the end; at the very least, a throwaway line that said these were things Luke and Sekot would continue to look into. I was even hoping we'd get to see the first Vong Force-sensitive by the book's end. Like the Jacen/Danni thing, this would be a much bigger problem if it weren't for the Denning trilogy coming up. Hopefully we'll get some more answers then.

Last, and definitely least, I have to bring up the incredibly large amount of typos I noticed. It didn't hurt the experience any, of course; this is The Unifying frickin' Force we're talking about. But it was very strange to see in such an important book.

Ugly:

The typos. Oh, and the roughshod nature of this review. I promise something much more tasteful coming up.

Dark Nest I: The Joiner King by Troy Denning
3.2 out of 4

There's one thing I can't handle. C-3PO, at the top of page 40: "I do wish you would stop doing that, Princess Leia. It's most disorientating, and one of these times my file allocation table will be corrupted."

The only thing worse than seeing "disorientating" (which, for anyone playing along at home, is not a word) out of a professional writer is seeing it come from a character who's fluent in SIX MILLION FORMS OF COMMUNICATION!!!

Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen by Troy Denning
3.5 out of 4

Bad:

Ugly:

Legacy of the Force I: Betrayal by Aaron Allston
3.8 out of 4

And it begins. If my hopes, and the promise of the first book, come to fruition, Legacy of the Force will go down as the absolute apotheosis (I really like using that word) of the EU. With full knowledge of the Saga to work with, and thirty-five years of novels to build off of, this series could be the perfect capper to everything that's come before. Already the echoes of the past are unmistakable: everyone could see the connections between the choices Anakin faced in Episode III and the ones Luke faced in Episode VI; those of us who've been clamoring for a third trilogy need look no further than this series. Maybe it's not movies, and maybe Lucas didn't write it (a horrible notion, isn't it?), but I for one can't think of a better conclusion to this trilogy of trilogies than one in this era, written by these people, and featuring characters we've come to know, arguably, even better than the Big Three.

But enough of that; I should be talking about the book itself. It's really nice to see Allston get a crack at the big event stuff for once; sure, Nyax was pretty weird, but he's long since paid his dues as a Star Wars author, and I think he does just as good as Denning or anyone else when it comes to relating this universe and these characters. And his writing is, of course, quite funny. One thing I particularly enjoy, though some could argue that it gives the book fourth-wall problems, is the way he plays with the line between in-universe and out-of-universe material: joking about Leia's buns and making "you're my only hope" references on one end of the spectrum, and manipulating the Dramatis Personae in support of the narrative on the other - I don't think anyone else would go so far as to include entries for both "Lysa Dunter" and "Syal Antilles".

Is it me, or is Jaina getting just worse and worse? As a person, I mean; not as a character. Yes, she's cranky, and can be tough to sympathize with, but I like that about her. Considering how logical Jacen is, and who their parents are, all those ill-tempered genes had to go somewhere. It's really quite amusing that Jacen's ended up being the evil one - for no greater a crime than wanting to expand his horizons. That's really my greatest concern about this whole mess - what exactly are they saying by bringing Jacen over?

While I'm in that neighborhood, I should say that I am generally pleased with what's transpired with regard to Jacen, Lumiya, and Vergere. I was sorry to see Nelani, one of the book's many interesting new characters, get the axe so soon, but even a Gorax could've seen where that was going. I particularly like that, despite the big influx of divergent Sith thinking, Vergere is essentially the same being she was before. Assuming everything Lumiya says is to be believed (which is quite a large assumption, I admit), Jacen's reaction to the information mirrored my own: it all made complete sense. I'd love to get a short story on her going after Palpatine, in fact. The largest of my old questions, however, has yet to really be addressed: what was Lumiya doing all this time? The most plausible answer is that she had some inkling of Jacen's destiny, and was waiting for him to be ready, like Obi-Wan and Yoda were for Luke and Leia, but if she's not completely on the up-and-up, and conquering the galaxy (or some such) really is her goal, is seems weird that she would bide her time for so long. For that and other reasons, I'm really hoping that Lumiya really is what she seems. I'm comfortable with them taking Jacen in this direction, despite my general support of the Vergere school of thought, just as long as they don't undersell it. I don't want the whole Darth Vectivus thing to turn out to be a trick - "Muahaha! Now Jacen is evil like us!!" - if the final word here is going to be that the Dark Side is inherently bad, I want to be fully convinced of that. As long as that area is handled well, and I suspect that these authors are up to the task, there's little that could spoil this series for me.

The best part, though, is still the war itself. The real tragedy of the prequels is that so much good work was being focused in the wrong direction by one all-powerful malevolent force. Lumiya and Jacen notwithstanding, the Corellian War (as I'm preemptively dubbing it) is the GFFA's chance to really work out all its issues and start functioning like a united government again. The NJO was great, but I really like the prospect of seeing a genuine Clone Wars-style civil war in the post-Endor galaxy; the Galactic Civil War of the OT and the Vong war were exciting and, of course, necessary, but in both cases, one side was really obviously the bad guys. Now, as Leia says near the end, both sides...are "us". That makes the drama far more interesting.

Legacy of the Force II: Bloodlines by Karen Traviss
3.8 out of 4

Maybe Jacen killing Nelani Dinn in cold blood should've been enough, but it wasn't until now that I was completely convinced that the Chewbacca bubble remained burst for the post-Endor EU; in other words, this remains very much a universe where Things Happen. The visceral blood-and-guts atmosphere of the NJO may have taken a backseat to the more traditional swashbuckling what-have-you, and the shockingly alien Yuuzhan Vong may have given way to a good ol' Jedi-cum-Sith story (but, y'know, intelligent), but Kyp Durron this ain't: what's happening here, even in the theoretically "peripheral" paperback material, will Change Everything From Now On.

And not just with Jacen. The most shocking part of Bloodlines, and the pivot upon which the second half of the book turns, is of course Ailyn Vel's death. And it's not even the nature of her death that makes it such a big deal - it's important, of course, and it's certainly the beginning of the end for the fragile Solo family, but that's not what I kept coming back to in my head as I completed the book. What I couldn't stop thinking was "Han's son killed Fett's daughter! Han's son killed Fett's daughter!!"

Until The Unifying Force, Boba Fett's final chronological appearances were in the short stories No Disintegrations, Please and The Last One Standing (okay, there was his ultimately-retconned appearance in the YJK books, but let's just be glad they fixed it and move on with our lives). Both stories depict an aging Fett seemingly ready to cast aside his old grudges, or at least too old and tired to bother with them. When we eventually saw him leading a group of Mandalorian warriors into battle against the Vong, things fit quite well: he'd clearly gotten tired of the same old bounty hunting shtick and had returned to his roots. That, of course, laid the groundwork for his status in the Legacy era, where everything seemed to imply that the "Whose side are you on?" mentality (apologies to Marvel comics) of the Corellian War was going to leave Fett working grudgingly alongside Han Solo for one reason or another.

It was a tantalizing notion, and sure enough, we get to see it to a limited extent, but Ailyn's death took a barely-existent plot thread to which I've been clinging hopefully for several years - the mellowing out of Boba Fett - and smashed it all to pieces. And I couldn't be happier for it. It would've been so very easy to bring Fett and his Mandalorians into the war on the side of the Corellians in some fashion, and it would've been interesting to see, but once the novelty wore off, to be honest, it would've taken all the life out of Fett's character. The jarring death of his daughter sending him back to Mandalore to pick up the pieces of his family may take Fett back out of the spotlight for now (until Traviss' next book, I'd imagine), but it's what the character needed, and more to the point, it's real. A lot of authors, Traviss included, refer to their writing less as crafting a plot than as setting a situation up and simply letting events unfold of their own volition, and Ailyn's death is one of the rare instances in the EU where it really feels that way; where it feels like an unfolding reality instead of "wouldn't it be cool if this happened". Now if only we could get them out of this "every five years" kick...

And speaking of Ailyn, her involvement in this story in and of itself is another thing I like a lot about it, and another example of the trend towards Star-Wars-as-a-reality. For the first time, we're seeing real development going on in the cracks of this universe; development that affects the major literature. Ailyn started life in a Tales story, after all; one that, thanks to the Infinities label, could just as easily have been disregarded entirely. Ailyn's life (and name), instead, was then fleshed out by Abel Peña, an author who, as rightfully beloved as he is by us internet people, couldn't be more on the periphery of the Star Wars franchise if he tried. Nevertheless, Bloodlines, Ailyn's first genuine, non-retconned role in a book, couldn't have been what it was were it not for his work.

And Traviss more than proves herself capable of handling these disparate sources with ease. Boba Fett's history is related to us in a completely authentic fashion, leaving no stone unturned, from Peña's History of the Mandalorians article to A Barve Like That, to the Boba Fett young adult books, and naturally, to Traviss' own recent e-novella A Practical Man. And this breadth of source material is further proof that Star Wars is becoming more like a reality than the series of self-contained Events so much of the post-Endor timeline represented. In other words, these characters are constantly living their lives, having children, growing up, falling from grace, dying, and so on, whether we happen to be observing it or not. What more could a continuity fan want?

Legacy of the Force III: Tempest by Troy Denning
3.6 out of 4

While reading Exile the other day, I finally realized why i'd had such trouble figuring out what to say about Tempest.

It's not a bad book. It's a good book. Or rather, the plot is good. I liked everything about it as far as the development of the story is concerned; Alema defies all reason by continuing to be an interesting antagonist, Aurra Sing makes an intriguing return (well...briefly), and Jacen - well, he opens fire on the freaking Falcon! It's intense, gripping, and coming along nicely.

What I realized is that, well, Aaron Allston is the master of humor in the EU. Likewise, Karen Traviss (okay, depending on whom you ask) is the military expert, Luceno is the continuity guy, Stover is Mr. Grim & Gritty, et cetera. I can't think of anything that Troy Denning does so well as to stand out in any way. I have found some things about his books that are unique, but not really in a good way - overly stereotypical alien characters, for example. He's a fine writer, and he's produced some great books, but that greatness has been entirely dependent on plot, whereas certain other SW writers can (and have) made interesting books out of premises that are only so-so.

I guess you could look at it as a good thing. Again, I'm not really saying anything bad about the book, I'm just explaining why it was hard for me to review. The current crop of Star Wars authors is nothing if not diverse, and while some have caused their fair share of controversy, no one will argue that they all stand out. Denning's narrative voice, on the other hand, almost seems to be the EU's "Default" setting these days. Not bad, just...standard.

Legacy of the Force V: Sacrifice by Karen Traviss
3.8 out of 4

Well, after a little over five years, this will be my last TFN book review. That Sacrifice came out in May, and it's now October, should be all I need to say to explain why that is. And since it has been a while now, I have no need to shy away from the big spoilers (not that I would anyway, I guess) in the book...

People change. I've always been very lenient when it comes to characterizations of the main characters in the EU, because while it is possible to write Luke and Co. poorly, there are also many different reasons why they would act differently in different books - people change over time, obviously, and even when looking at a short amount of time, you probably don't act exactly the same around your parents as you do around your friends. Or at school/work compared to at home. Or in a comfortable environment compared to when you feel threatened. And so on. And there are probably days when you wake up in a weird and uncharacteristic mood for no particular reason whatsoever, simply because we're complex beings.

Applied to the EU, this means that just because Mara doesn't act in Legacy of the Force like she does in the NJO like she does in the Thrawn trilogy doesn't mean it's bad writing. Just because Luke doesn't treat Lumiya the way he'd treat Raynar the way he'd treat Vader doesn't mean the authors don't understand him. And because this wonderful continuity of ours is maintained by a team of caring and intelligent folks (even if we don't always agree with them, either), when confronted with stories where hindsight reveals characters doing things that, let's face it, really are completely unbelievable, we can always come up with a nifty in-universe retcon for it.

With all that in mind, it's safe to say I didn't enjoy Mara's softening up in the NJO. I'm more interested in her as a fierce and clever secret agent-type - special forces/espionage training isn't inherently evil, and there's no reason to assume it'd go away just because she's become a "good guy". I didn't complain about it during the series because even though it doesn't suit my personal taste for the character, it is a logical development for someone entering middle age and starting a family. The training would still all be there, though, and it's been great to see that aspect come back to the forefront in response to a serious threat to her child's well-being. The nature of this series, and of Jacen and Ben's relationship, meant that this development would probably have been inevitable in some fashion, but Karen Traviss really seems to be approaching her novels from this perspective, and she makes a noticeable effort to push that interpretation rather than acting as if she's always been the way she happens to be in this story, and I'm really happy to see it. Sadly, the nature of this series also means that...she had to die. She's too competent to not have gotten quickly to the bottom of the threat as soon as she really became committed to it, and Jacen's too powerful (whether you're willing to buy him as a Sith Lord or not) for her to take down on her own, so when you put the field into play the way they've chosen to do so here, this was pretty much inevitable.

And the best thing about it is the Sith threat, and Mara's death in particular, will now allow Luke to change a bit as a character as well, which Traviss also handled (to the extent it was possible within this chunk of the story) in a similarly self-aware fashion. Yes, Luke has become a very hesitant and dispassionate character lately. Does it irk you? It should - it makes him less effective as a character because his strength lies not in management and order, but in making bold decisions and striking out on his own to do what his heart tells him is right. But that's not the same as him being out-of-character, and the evidence of this is seen in Luke's own reflection upon this very issue - he knows he's changed, and he doesn't like it, either. The sad truth is that the Luke of the Thrawn Trilogy era wouldn't have let Mara go off alone and get killed, and if it takes Mara's unfortunate demise to point that out - to him as much as to us - then it's fine by me. I just hope the rest of the series lives up to that realization.

On the actual logistics of the story, though, I was a little annoyed that the book closed without Jacen's guilt officially known by his family. Ben seems to have a pretty good idea, and I'm hoping that will play itself out promptly, I wouldn't be surprised if Inferno backtracks on that a bit and gives us a Ben who's only slightly suspicious of Jacen, rather than half-convinced of the truth. It's a forced playing-for-time strategy that I've seen in a lot of stories, and I'm hoping they'll prove me wrong here.

Similarly, I feel like the unanswered questions about Lumiya's past (what she was doing for forty years, how she got involved with Vergere) are being neglected here, and while I can't imagine the authors have genuinely forgotten to resolve that issue, Lumiya's apparent death doesn't make me terribly confident that we'll be getting answers anytime soon.

I've made an effort in the past to mention that I'm a fan of extraneous and digressive material from time to time - the security monad in Yoda: Dark Rendezvous being the best example. I'm not seriously expecting Traviss' big Mandalorian plot to have no relevance to the greater story down the line, but the point I want to make here is that even if it didn't, that doesn't make it inherently worthless. One of the things that was most lacking in the NJO, something that I think a lot of people still want to see today, is sideline details. All the NJO really had was the occasional plot bunny that was intended to become important later, but fizzled out; the result is that now we know very little about what things were like behind the scenes during the Vong war, and we're having to get filled in on a lot of it long after the fact, like with Traviss' A Practical Man eBook. Granted, some of you apparently could give a crap what the Mandalorians were doing during the war, but I like stuff like this, and I personally feel that their arrival in The Unifying Force would've been more satisfying in we'd seen the events of APM beforehand.

Getting back to characterization for a second, I like how Traviss handles Boba Fett, but he's a fundamentally different kind of character from Luke and the others, so the traditional rules of development and evolution don't necessarily apply here. Fett, essentially, is the GFFA's Batman. If you were to look at real-world examples of people who suffered some horrible trauma in early childhood, you'd probably decide that even though it can affect the way you grow up in interesting ways, seeing your father eaten by an alligator at the age of twelve will not make you put on a costume and spend the rest of your life fighting reptilian aggression as the Astounding Anti-Gator. If anything, the younger you are when such a thing happens, the less of an effect it has on your adult self.

Batman, of course, is still a compelling character, and the fact that "dead parent = lifelong obsession" is an unrealistic assertion is just part of the necessary suspension of disbelief. The same goes for Fett being motivated by Jango's death the way we see in Traviss' work with the character; it's not realistic, per se, but neither is a human being the best bounty hunter in a galaxy filled with species who are physically and/or mentally superior to him in a variety of ways, so I'd much rather take that pill along with an unrealistic motivator than with something more pedestrian - before AotC, as far as anyone knew, Fett's whole deal could've been that he just really liked money. And/or killing things. Faced with that, I'd much rather accept "I need to be the best or ghost daddy won't approve of me". The interesting part here is that Star Wars doesn't work the same way that Batman works - there's a real timeline at work, and a finite beginning and end to this character's existence. That means that it's still possible for realistic development to occur, it's just a little harder, because it has to be chained to his original motivator in some way - if Boba Fett's going to start running the Mandos, or adopt Mirta, or whatever, it's got to be because he's convinced Jango wants it. It's a different way of looking at things, but it's no less interesting, and I'm anxious to see how it continues, especially when it inevitably collides with Jacen's development. And it will.

Since I'm on the Mandalorians, I can't help but comment on the implicit Goran/Medrit relationship. Part of me really wants to make a big impassioned statement here, because Star Wars' relationship with homosexuality has been one of my bigger axes to grind for a while now. I've thought about it, though, and everything I might say on the matter can pretty much be boiled down to one sentiment - ignoring homosexuals is making just as much of a statement about them as is showcasing them, whether positively or negatively. When a debate concerns the very nature of the species at the center of your fictional universe (which is another of my GFFA axes, but I won't get into that now), there is no avoiding it - even if you think homosexuality is a choice, that doesn't negate the fact that people are making that choice, and in a body of work that includes literally thousands of separate human characters, LFL producing fifteen years' worth of stories (charitably) without a single gay human is not neutrality; it's cowardice.

Lastly, I guess I'd just like to say that for all the debates that have arisen since Karen Traviss got involved in this universe, and in spite of whatever failings she might have as an author overall (though some of you see way more of them than I do), she is an example of the kind of creator I want to see as much of as possible from Star Wars in the future. Being truly invested in this universe should mean having points of view, axes to grind, and, yes, agendas. You can disagree with the particulars, but I've never seen anyone suggest that Traviss doesn't care, and as long as she's bringing that passion and insight to her SW writing, along with people like Aaron Allston, Michael Reaves, Michael Stover, and God willing, Sean Stewart, I'll always take that over another lifeless Denning novel. There, I said it.