Beginning the day after 'Return Of The Jedi', this book is one of those upon which the Star Wars Expanded Universe was built.  It was the first time I really thought about the fact that then end of 'RotJ' couldn't possibly be the end of the war, as here the Rebel heroes travel to the remote planet Bakura to aid an embattled Imperial garrison and gain a political victory.  The enemy the Rebels and Imperials face is an interesting new one, the Ssi-ruuk, a reptilian race who use human life-energies to power their machines.  I had watched a lot of Star Trek before reading this book, however, and as such the Ssi-ruuk came off looking like a lacklustre imitation of the Borg.  The battle scenes are well written and Luke's attempts to win the affections of a girl who is morally opposed to his very existance make for entertaining reading.  What I liked most about this book is Han and Leia's relationship.  It's before they drift apart in Dave Wolverton's 'The Courtship Of Princess Leia' and even further before they become the married couple of the Thrawn trilogy and beyond.  Here Han and Leia are still exploring the passion and love that they can finally admit to themselves and each other and this makes for some compelling moments for these two classic characters.  Leia gets a brilliant scene on her own too, where Anakin Skywalker's ghost visits her to beg her forgiveness, but she still thinks of him as Darth Vader and is incapable of accepting that she is his daughter.  Generally a fairly good book and an important read for anyone just setting out in the EU.

4 out of 5

 

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order - Balance Point

The sixth book of the NJO series.  I didn't really enjoy Tyers' return to the Star Wars universe much.  For starters, it doesn't develop the characters much.  Jacen is supposed to be undergoing some sort of self-discovery, but ultimately he ends up back as square one.  I was pleased to see Han and Leia finally get back together, simply because I was finding their marital breakdown to be boring, unlikely and frustrating.  Speaking of unlikely, that word sums up the book's plot problems.  Han and Jacen are on Duro where they are joined by an injured Jaina, all well and good.  But then it turns out that Leia is on Duro too, overseeing the refugees.  And then Luke, Mara and Anakin travel to Duro on a completely unrelated mission.  So by a ridiculous series of coincidences, all the main characters find themselves together, stretching plausibility to breaking.  The action here is pretty unremarkable and the political maneuvering is transparent at best.  It's not all bad, as we are introduced to the psychotic Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster, Tsavong Lah.  Another good bit has Anakin and Luke fighting a public duel.  Ultimately, however, this book just isn't up to the high standards set by the previous NJO novels.

3 out of 5

'Lieutenant Jaina Solo rolled her X-Wing fighter up on its port S-foil and shoved her throttle forward.'

Then you might want to read the Corellian Trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen or 'The New Jedi Order: Refugee' by Sean Williams & Shane Dix, which tell the further story of Gaeriel Captison and Bakura.

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