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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Bullet Review:
I get this is a kid's series - but this is unimpressive. It's painfully obvious that this was tacked on to the initial 6 book run. The ending of "Jedi Under Siege" is retconned (Zekk is suddenly in a coma!); plot points are dropped like bricks; far too much time is spent clearing the temple on Yavin4; ; 15 year old kids are given the keys to a fully kitted out galactic car and told "Have fun"; supposed feared professionals can be outwitted by kids who in our world can't vote or smoke or drink. I guess Zekk's story is interesting, if eye-roll inducing by the end.
I am hoping that this Nolaa Tarkona and Bornan Thul plotline compensates for the pathetic intro; it definitely doesn't leave a pleasant taste in the mouth.
Full Review:
The setting is probably about a week or so away from the last book. The Jedi Academy is being rebuilt by our intrepid teenagers; Zekk is suddenly in a coma (last book he was moody, but standing); Raynar is walking around humbled and now concerned about his missing father. This stuff happens for a good half of the book when suddenly, it's almost Leia's birthday and Jaina and Jacen decide to look for a gift for their mother in the Shards of Alderaan. They steer Tenel Ka's ship (yes, she gets a ship in this book) to Alderaan where they almost immediately get into trouble with Boba Fett, which isn't a spoiler because he's on the cover and very badly hinted on the blurb.
Okay, this is more of what I had been expecting when I started this whole project. This book was cringey, littered with childish devices to set up a lackluster plot that undermines characters that in previous books, were pretty well done and complex. The one and only highlight was Zekk's story, one of trying to move on and ahead after some pretty awful things he's done in the past. The rest of the story plods along; there are lots of things that happen that don't really make sense; our primary teenaged characters (Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka and Lowbacca) never really grow or develop or change at all, nor are the events they go through anything more than a desperate attempt to kick start a new arc.
In some ways, I'm not surprised this book turned out this way. It is clear from the Author's Notes and the ads you can see at the back of some of these books that this book was greenlit after the success of the first 6. This book spends unnecessary time cleaning up from book 6 both literally and figuratively - too much time spent repairing the Academy and haphazardly tossing in mentions of Raynar's dad and Boba Fett in an attempt to set up the rest of the plot arc for the subsequent books. I could have done with much less time at the Jedi Academy lifting rocks or guiding dewbacks and more time establishing this Diversity Alliance/Bornan Thul plot line. And the Boba Fett POV is the height of nerdom pandering - it was completely unnecessary.
This book also broke my suspension of disbelief multiple times, one of the biggest crimes in fantastical fiction. The first is the fact we have teenagers gallivanting on scaffolding to repair the temple. I'm sorry, but I cannot believe in this galaxy far, far away that Leia couldn't pull some strings and bring in a professional, experienced adult crew to safely repair the temple after a major conflict. There are multiple times when the kids nearly die while trying to repair this ancient edifice - one involving a dewback so we can see Jacen shine instead of being thrust into the background (he's starting to feel like the group's Aquaman at this point). I know why this was done - to keep the child audience engaged - but as an adult, that broke me out of the story immediately. The New Republic doesn't have an OSHA? There are no construction crews that could be redirected to repair an imminently important facility?
The second is how not one but two ships get doled out to teenagers in this book. I suppose I could understand Zekk getting "the keys to the car", but Tenel Ka too? She can't be more than 15, and yet that's old enough to travel the stars? With no less than a fully equipped ship (it even has an illegal slicer!)? What happens if, perhaps, they come across a bounty hunter who damages their ship? That's hard enough for an adult, but for someone who has barely entered puberty and likely doesn't have the same technical acumen as an adult with decades of experience?! Do the parents even think in this book?
The pacing of this book is completely off. Most of this book is spent repairing the Academy, a scene with Boba Fett and some (admittedly interesting) scenes with Zekk, not the content that the blurb mentions. I suppose if the second half were much better than the first, maybe it wouldn't matter, but honestly, it's hastily done and absolutely undermines the threat of Boba Fett, the supposedly professional, adept and feared bounty hunter. How am I supposed to take him as a threat when he can be easily eluded by a half dozen or so teenagers? And how can you bring Boba Fett back and not have him face off with Han Solo?
Up until this point, I haven't had to write up any Nerd Nitpicks, the part of the review that is cathartic to me and no one else, but this particular book had a couple of tidbits.
Return of Nerd Nitpicks:
Nerd Nitpick 1: Raynar is Jaina and Jacen's age - however could he be considered "a son of Alderaan" as he is multiple times in this book? The planet was destroyed before he was born! (We find out in the next book, he's actually born on the lead ship of his parents' merchant fleet.)
Nerd Nitpick 2: To repeat above: Apparently there is no funding for reconstruction after a serious battle, as Chief of State Leia Organa-Solo has no issue with untrained teenagers doing serious repairs on a thousands year old temple (oh the safety violations that abound here!). I get there are adults too, but since the story is about teenagers, all the scenes we have are ones where they barely escape with their lives due to falling rocks.
Nerd Nitpick 3: Peckham's ship "Lightning Rod" conveniently has weapons when they are needed as does "Rock Dragon" get an illegal slicer when the characters need to learn information. Last book, it was a key element that the "Lightning Rod" had no way of defense. Just in the nick of time, we learn that off camera, someone rectified that. Similarly, supposedly Ta'a Chume made sure "Rock Dragon" had all the most important deus ex machina for her granddaughter's ship.
I want to end on a good note - Zekk's story. Zekk has been through some stuff in these last 7 books; he doesn't feel right in accepting a place in the Jedi Academy so he returns to his homeworld to try to find what his purpose is in life. His journey is fascinating (okay his decision at the end had me eye-rolling - this will end up coming up in the next book so I won't spoil it yet), complex, realistic, and rather dark (I won't say much but more people end up dying - for a kid's book, this is rather violent, if not bloody and gory).
I am really glad that this was not the first book of the series or I would want to quit now. This was easily the worst of the 7 books I've read so far - childish, silly, nonsensical, haphazard and kinda sloppy. Basically what most adults think of when they think of children's or young adult books - lesser quality than adult books. It's obvious the authors were riding off the success of the first arc and really didn't have a long-term plan, which is a shame because when they did have an arc, they executed it well. This attempt at bridging the two plot arcs is rather poor; I hope the next book picks up (and by my investigation at this point, it actually is an improvement).
I get this is a kid's series - but this is unimpressive. It's painfully obvious that this was tacked on to the initial 6 book run. The ending of "Jedi Under Siege" is retconned (Zekk is suddenly in a coma!); plot points are dropped like bricks; far too much time is spent clearing the temple on Yavin4; ; 15 year old kids are given the keys to a fully kitted out galactic car and told "Have fun"; supposed feared professionals can be outwitted by kids who in our world can't vote or smoke or drink. I guess Zekk's story is interesting, if eye-roll inducing by the end.
I am hoping that this Nolaa Tarkona and Bornan Thul plotline compensates for the pathetic intro; it definitely doesn't leave a pleasant taste in the mouth.
Full Review:
The setting is probably about a week or so away from the last book. The Jedi Academy is being rebuilt by our intrepid teenagers; Zekk is suddenly in a coma (last book he was moody, but standing); Raynar is walking around humbled and now concerned about his missing father. This stuff happens for a good half of the book when suddenly, it's almost Leia's birthday and Jaina and Jacen decide to look for a gift for their mother in the Shards of Alderaan. They steer Tenel Ka's ship (yes, she gets a ship in this book) to Alderaan where they almost immediately get into trouble with Boba Fett, which isn't a spoiler because he's on the cover and very badly hinted on the blurb.
Okay, this is more of what I had been expecting when I started this whole project. This book was cringey, littered with childish devices to set up a lackluster plot that undermines characters that in previous books, were pretty well done and complex. The one and only highlight was Zekk's story, one of trying to move on and ahead after some pretty awful things he's done in the past. The rest of the story plods along; there are lots of things that happen that don't really make sense; our primary teenaged characters (Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka and Lowbacca) never really grow or develop or change at all, nor are the events they go through anything more than a desperate attempt to kick start a new arc.
In some ways, I'm not surprised this book turned out this way. It is clear from the Author's Notes and the ads you can see at the back of some of these books that this book was greenlit after the success of the first 6. This book spends unnecessary time cleaning up from book 6 both literally and figuratively - too much time spent repairing the Academy and haphazardly tossing in mentions of Raynar's dad and Boba Fett in an attempt to set up the rest of the plot arc for the subsequent books. I could have done with much less time at the Jedi Academy lifting rocks or guiding dewbacks and more time establishing this Diversity Alliance/Bornan Thul plot line. And the Boba Fett POV is the height of nerdom pandering - it was completely unnecessary.
This book also broke my suspension of disbelief multiple times, one of the biggest crimes in fantastical fiction. The first is the fact we have teenagers gallivanting on scaffolding to repair the temple. I'm sorry, but I cannot believe in this galaxy far, far away that Leia couldn't pull some strings and bring in a professional, experienced adult crew to safely repair the temple after a major conflict. There are multiple times when the kids nearly die while trying to repair this ancient edifice - one involving a dewback so we can see Jacen shine instead of being thrust into the background (he's starting to feel like the group's Aquaman at this point). I know why this was done - to keep the child audience engaged - but as an adult, that broke me out of the story immediately. The New Republic doesn't have an OSHA? There are no construction crews that could be redirected to repair an imminently important facility?
The second is how not one but two ships get doled out to teenagers in this book. I suppose I could understand Zekk getting "the keys to the car", but Tenel Ka too? She can't be more than 15, and yet that's old enough to travel the stars? With no less than a fully equipped ship (it even has an illegal slicer!)? What happens if, perhaps, they come across a bounty hunter who damages their ship? That's hard enough for an adult, but for someone who has barely entered puberty and likely doesn't have the same technical acumen as an adult with decades of experience?! Do the parents even think in this book?
The pacing of this book is completely off. Most of this book is spent repairing the Academy, a scene with Boba Fett and some (admittedly interesting) scenes with Zekk, not the content that the blurb mentions. I suppose if the second half were much better than the first, maybe it wouldn't matter, but honestly, it's hastily done and absolutely undermines the threat of Boba Fett, the supposedly professional, adept and feared bounty hunter. How am I supposed to take him as a threat when he can be easily eluded by a half dozen or so teenagers? And how can you bring Boba Fett back and not have him face off with Han Solo?
Up until this point, I haven't had to write up any Nerd Nitpicks, the part of the review that is cathartic to me and no one else, but this particular book had a couple of tidbits.
Return of Nerd Nitpicks:
Nerd Nitpick 1: Raynar is Jaina and Jacen's age - however could he be considered "a son of Alderaan" as he is multiple times in this book? The planet was destroyed before he was born! (We find out in the next book, he's actually born on the lead ship of his parents' merchant fleet.)
Nerd Nitpick 2: To repeat above: Apparently there is no funding for reconstruction after a serious battle, as Chief of State Leia Organa-Solo has no issue with untrained teenagers doing serious repairs on a thousands year old temple (oh the safety violations that abound here!). I get there are adults too, but since the story is about teenagers, all the scenes we have are ones where they barely escape with their lives due to falling rocks.
Nerd Nitpick 3: Peckham's ship "Lightning Rod" conveniently has weapons when they are needed as does "Rock Dragon" get an illegal slicer when the characters need to learn information. Last book, it was a key element that the "Lightning Rod" had no way of defense. Just in the nick of time, we learn that off camera, someone rectified that. Similarly, supposedly Ta'a Chume made sure "Rock Dragon" had all the most important deus ex machina for her granddaughter's ship.
I want to end on a good note - Zekk's story. Zekk has been through some stuff in these last 7 books; he doesn't feel right in accepting a place in the Jedi Academy so he returns to his homeworld to try to find what his purpose is in life. His journey is fascinating (okay his decision at the end had me eye-rolling - this will end up coming up in the next book so I won't spoil it yet), complex, realistic, and rather dark (I won't say much but more people end up dying - for a kid's book, this is rather violent, if not bloody and gory).
I am really glad that this was not the first book of the series or I would want to quit now. This was easily the worst of the 7 books I've read so far - childish, silly, nonsensical, haphazard and kinda sloppy. Basically what most adults think of when they think of children's or young adult books - lesser quality than adult books. It's obvious the authors were riding off the success of the first arc and really didn't have a long-term plan, which is a shame because when they did have an arc, they executed it well. This attempt at bridging the two plot arcs is rather poor; I hope the next book picks up (and by my investigation at this point, it actually is an improvement).
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Pretty good start to the next cycle of this series. The situations in this one are a little goofy, and I started to think the characters felt a little young in this one for their ages. It's seems a little far fetched to me that the adults in this book are giving out spaceships like Oprah gives out cars, but hey, they're all mega rich so what do I know? These are still fun. We get to see Boba Fett in this one and he's a prickly bastard, as always.
With this book, the series shifts from the Second Imperium and Shadow Academy to the Diversity Alliance and the emergence of bounty hunters. Not a lot of plot in this book, but it's the set up for the new plot line, plus the charters have been nicely developed and are enjoyable.