Reviews

Odrodzenie by Greg Keyes

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crystalstarrlight's review against another edition

3.0

"Part of being a Jedi is setting an example"

A lot is happening in this book. Luke and Mara are forced to flee Coruscant; Jaina is on the hunt for Kyp and both learn some devastating news. Jacen, Han, and Leia are busy trying to find a new home for the young Jedi on the Errant Venture, and Anakin, Tahiri, and Corran are buying supplies and stumbling upon a clue leading to Yag'Dul. Then, we have Nom Anor's mischief and Nen Yim's attempt to save one of the Yuuzhan Vong creatures.

NOTE: Based on audiobook and novel. Spoilers may be sprinkled throughout.

After the excellent Conquest, this book just doesn't live up, much as Ruin in the Dark Tide duology didn't quite live up to Onslaught. It certainly is far from a terrible book and is enjoyable in its own right, but it just never quite keeps that same level of "win".

Part of the problem is the bajillion storylines that were added. Much like the Agents of Chaos Duology, this time around we don't just see Anakin, Tahiri, and Nen Yim, but also Han, Luke, Leia, Mara, Jacen, Jaina, Nom Anor, and more. In a bigger book, it might work, but with the slim 292 pages, it is pretty scattered and hectic.

The stories that work the best are the ones with Jaina/Kyp and Anakin/Tahiri/Corran. Jaina seeks out Kyp and learns about a "superweapon" the Yuuzhan Vong are making. She then enlists Rogue Squadron to take care of it. This was pretty well done and showed some interesting aspects of Jaina. The Anakin/Tahiri/Corran aspect was great. I loved seeing Anakin and Tahiri grow close, and Keyes did a marvelous job inheriting Corran. Plus, I love seeing non-major characters do stuff.

The other side stories range from mediocre to terrible. I still don't get the point of the Han/Leia/Jacen story, and I think Han was written pretty badly. While I liked Luke and Mara on the run (even though not 100% sold on their characterization), I think the end of Mara's disease was handled terribly (Luke and Mara basically hold hands and join in the Force?!). I still don't get how she is good for four books then is back to near death in this book.

Adding to the "Too Much" are the plots with the Yuuhzan Vong. While I 100% believe we need to see them in the story, with already so much other stuff going on, they cluttered the story and contributed nothing. Nom Anor, once again, is defeated, and Nen Yim doesn't move the plot in any way (though I was personally glad to see her, as I liked her character).

And really, wasn't the whole point originally of the hardcover-mass market scheme to have the hardcovers detail the "big" events with minor background/filler with the mass market? Why not have the mass-market books be focused character books like Hero's Trial (Han only) or Conquest (Anakin only)? I would prefer that to a scattershot entry like the one we got.

As for the audiobook...I normally don't say much because they are generally good, but this one took the cake. For the last half, I could barely hear the narrator over the blaring music. I love it when music and sound effects are added in audiobooks, but for this one, I was considering strangling my poor iPod. I am listening to the book, not the movie soundtrack. Ugh.

Keyes is still amazing, and Conquest is still the best thus far of NJO; this could have been amazing too if half the storylines had been chopped and one character (or a couple) been made the focus. Oh, and if the sound editor had turned down the music.

jollie_ollie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lukasheiland's review against another edition

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5.0

After Part 7 I was really looking forward to read number 8. I really love the writting style of Greg Keyes, and I loved many Ideas of this book. The Story arc of Luke and Mara was really nice and at the end it felt a bit like hand of thrawn to me which I really enjoyed. I was a big fan of the returning characters and the dynamic between Tahiri and Anakin. And I liked the Idea of the Jedi now trying to do their own and searching for a base. All in all a very good book!

blondeboyandres's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

adamkor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

tarmstrong112's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5/4

Might be my favourite of The New Jedi Order series so far. This was a strong entry into the series, especially seeing as I really did not enjoy the previous book, which was written by the same author. A big problem of with this series is the list of characters is growing more and more sprawling. I liked that this book focused more on the classic characters we know and love, but there was a lot of focus on newer characters that just weren't as compelling. And this is why I can't rate it any higher. HBut overall, an enjoyable Star Wars novel.