Balance Point: Star Wars

Another good New Jedi Order read! I had stayed aways from the Star Wars books for awhile but i got caught up once again with the New Jedi Order Series. The portrayal of Luke and Mara in this book is great. Reminds the reader of Han and Leia a long time ago. It was also great to see Han and Leia caring for eachtother was again since Chewie's death. The situation with Jacen is kinda frudstrating but towards the end he uses his power again and gets back to being a jedi. The portrayals of Anakin and Jaina are great! Kathy Tyers brings the old Star Wars charachters back to their original selves, just like in The Truce at Bakura ( another great read) I love this realationship between Luke (my fav) and Mara....and there wonderful news in this book! I can't wait till the whole family knows! ONly one hope for the future of the New Jedi Order books, I would like to see more of Luke and his feelings and thoughts, He's been pushed aside with the development of Mara and the kids. But A definite must read!

This is really a great book. It reads tremendously quickly because it has a good pace. It has good action sequences, and the set-up to get to these scenes are great. The characters have good development, which I like to see. Jacen is starting to make inroads on his Jedi dilemma. Luke and Mara are closer than ever, and looks like Han and Leia are on the back to their old selves. This novel brings everyone back like the "old days." That was rather refreshing. Leia's encounter with the warmaster is one of the high points of the NJO series. The subtle "behind the scenes" mysteries are great also (like which side is Duros gov't on and when is Senator Shesh going to be discovered?). The only problem I had with this installment was that is just seemed to end. I guess I got so involved with the story, that I hated to see it end. Welcome back to the Star Wars galaxy, Kathy Tyers!

While the first five books in the New Jedi Order cycle have their emphasis on galactic events, and essentially serve as an introduction to the means and methods of the invading Yuuzhan Vong, this book focusses a lot more on character development. All of the previous entries in this series have pretty much had the characters spread out all over space, only to almost coincidentally end up in the same area at the end for the huge battle finale, this book refreshingly takes place almost exclusively on the planet Duro, where the Solo clan is helping refugees settle in.This is definitely a welcome change in pace. In most of the previous books, the emphasis on action often lead to unsatisfactory character development, often with key characters being left out of a story entirely. Here, however, each character has ample "screen time," and Kathy Tyers obviously knows every one of them very well.Balance Point is a "Jacen book." Finally, the kid seems to be coming into his own, and coming to terms with himself. Unlike in previous novels where he's just seemed like a whiny brat, I could actually sympathize with him here. And the author also took a little time to explain why his character is so different in the NJO series than in the Young Jedi Knights line.Also in this book we have the best Luke/Mara interactions I've yet seen. Unlike the "witty repartee" we saw in Mike Stackpole's books and the somewhat forced dialogue from Jim Luceno's, Kathy Tyers hits their relationship right on the nose, and gives it a surprise twist. Jaina and Anakin also continue to grow believable as characters, and Han and Leia finally spend some time together again. And, for I think the first time ever, I actually felt sorry for a Hutt.This volume also expands the Yuuzhan Vong culture, making it more understandable, and brings back Nom Anor and Warmaster Tsavong Lah with a vengeance. It was especially refreshing to see how Mara reacted to Nom Anor's presence. The author also tied up some loose ends from earlier in NJO and the SW saga as a whole, most notably concerning Lando, and she had obligatory plethora of cameos.Don't let all my talk of character discourage you, though...this novel also has plenty of action. Lightsaber fights, ship battles, dogfights, evacuations-under-fire, undercover Jedi, and all kinds of cool stuff.I guess my only complain about this book is that Danni Quee is still nowhere to be seen. But now that the first year "introduction" to the New Jedi Order has ended, the series is really taking shape, and this book is easily the best one yet. I very definitely recommend picking this one up. Thank you, Kathy, for a great read.

Kathy Tyers wrote her last book for The Star Wars Galaxy in January of 1994, when she penned "The Truce At Bakura". In the intervening six and one half years she clearly has developed both as an Author, and placed herself among the top writers for Star Wars fans, with her new book "Balance Point".This is the 8th book in this new series, and while subtle shifts are beginning to take place, or at least hinted at, The New Republic does not fair any better this time around, and the group that should be beyond reproach is threatened with persecution. The threat is particularly sordid and indicative of how badly the traditional alliances have become blurred, because the threat is delivered by a member, and in a place, that such an action has previously been unthinkable.The theme of this book is not vastly different from the previous installments. However fans should enjoy that, instead of being spread across the galaxy, the members of the Solo Family, and the Skywalker pair of Luke and Mara are fighting together this time. Han is again prominent in the story, and the action sequences, whether individual combat, or large-scale invasion are very well done.The Solo Kids are no longer Kids, they have all come into their own albeit it different ways. Even Jacen seems to have sorted out what direction he will take in his relationship with the Force. The mood is still dark, and the friends we have followed into a third decade, while not fragile, are now sporting some gray hair, except for those...but that would be a spoiler and a humorous one at that.There are few light moments, but one will become a classic. Again I cannot spoil the scene, but Anakin is no longer a child, and the view from a 16 years old perspective, is...different. There are also some gestures/sacrifices that come from the least likely of players, and it was instances like these, that give the slightest bit of hope, that the end of this series will not end all we have come to know and enjoy.There is a long way to go in this story line, and this particular installment ends as dramatically as any of the previous seven, and perhaps even more so.Kathy Tyler has delivered a great book, enjoy!

This book picks up about two months after Jedi Eclipse. In the first few pages Jaina, who is still flying with Rogue Squadron, is injured in battle and temporarily loses part of her sight. On the planet Duro, where refugees from those worlds captured and destroyed by the Yuuzhan Vong invaders are being brought, Jacen is working at his father's side. Ever since the events at Centerpoint, he has been especially confused and conflicted. He knows that the Vong must be fought, yet he is afraid that by using the Force to strike back, he will step over to the dark side. Back on Coruscant, Mara discovers that she is pregnant, and she worries that her disease might harm her unborn child. When Mara and Luke discover that a Jedi apprentice went missing on Duro, they take Anakin and head there to check it out. The main plot in this book was Jacen's dillema. After the events in the last book, Jedi Eclipse, I found his character to be quite irritating, but how he resolved his issues in this book redeemed him for me. I liked how Mara and Jaina were featured more than they were in the Agents of Chaos duology, especially seeing as how they are two of my favorite characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this latest addition to the New Jedi Order, which is easily the best so far. I am looking forward to the next book.