Dark Journey: Star Wars Legends

Great Title, fits the book to a Tee. Elaine Cunningham is a great writer, she takes you into the mind of a young Jedi Knight and her experience in the Force. I couldn't put it down. Lots of Actions and Adventure. If I could give more then 5 stars I would.

gotta love the jaina/jag/kyp/zekk problems! my 2nd favorite NJO book, jaina finally gets some needed character development. i was really hoping that Anakin gets resurrected in this book, but it seems that it's not going to happen (curse you Troy Denning!). lots of politics, with a touch of humor and romance. love the jaina/jag angle with the whole Force-bond thing. finally a little something light.

When I bought this book, I thought I was in for some really depressing material, but it turns out it's a really good book! I wouldn't recommend it for Luke and Mara fans, but I thought it was good for NJO readers to see a little bit more of Jaina Solo. I love the plot in this book! I agree with other reviewers in that everything Jaina did seemed natural, but surreal at the same time. I was worried about her but hopefully she's learned enough about the Dark Side to keep her from slipping again. This book is guaranteed to keep readers on the edge of their seats. My advice: READ THIS BOOK!!!!! Congratulations to Elaine Cunningham on her wonderful piece of work!!!!!

Dark Journey was another good book in the New Jedi Order series. Coming off the heels of Star by Star, Jaina and her Jedi companions escape the torture of the Yuuzhan Vong by jumping into the Hapes Cluster, where vengeance remains of a tragedy committed by one of the Solo siblings. It is there that politcal rivalies heat up in a competition to get Jaina to become the next Queen Mother of Hapes. Meanwhile the Yuuzhan Vong are not far behind them, as Hapes has begun to accept refugees, and where there are refugees there are Yuuzhan Vong. The one thing I did not like about this book is how they leave Jacen Solo's life a mystery. Is he alive or dead? Reading this book will not tell you, but I recommend it anyway.

All I can say is, this book is worth twice what it costs. From the moment I picked it up, to twenty-three hours later when I finally finished it, I lived in the Star Wars universe. The author really nailed just about all the characters perfectly, developed the plot quickly and efficiently, and all the while kept me on the edge of my seat from page one to three-hundred and one. Star by Star was extremely, almost exheedingly dark, and while Dark Journey doesn't entirely abandon that thread, it's a bit lighter, faster paced, and folows up on the events of Star By Star very well, dealing not only with Anakin's death and Jacen's disappearance, but more importantly the surviving characters reactions to those things. Dark Journey opens almost exactly where Star By Star ended, with the nine surviving members of the original Jedi strike team racing out from behind enemy lines in a stolen Vong ship that Jaina struggles to fly, while struggling with her own grief and guilt over her little brother's demise, as well as fear for her captured twin. Because of a desperate need to make her brother's death mean something, Jaina is filled with a lust for revenge, that she is more than willing to use the Darkside to fulfill. The interesting part of this aspect of the story is that in most Star Wars books when a character turns to the dark side it is portrayed as a terrible mistake, but here, even when Jaina is doing things like shooting dark side lighting out of her fingers, all of it is made to seem perfectly rational and even sensible; I know I would do the same thing if my brother was killed in front of me. Anyway, come out of hyperspace near Coruscant, only to discover the terrible truth; the capitol world has been nearly destroyed by Vong attacks and the government is in shambles. Jaina makes the descision to fly to Hapes instead, a temporary haven she deams safe because of Tenel Ka's status there. What she doesn't take into acount, however, is the amount of malice and hatred that many Hapens still feel towards the Solos, on account of the destruction of the Hapen fleets at Fondor at Anakin's hand... Anyway, I won't give away the rest of the plot, but I'll tell you right now, it's one heck of a ride! However, if you're looking for major overall plot changes, you might as well just skip this one, since nothing really changes at all as far as the war goes, and this is primarily a character driven story, with many sweet touching scenes, but little progress. We learn how much Jacen and Tenel Ka loved each other, but anyone who's read Young Jedi Knights knew that already. We learn who Jaina really loves as well, (a MAJOR dissapointment for me) but really we that already as well. Also, the previous generation has almost no part in this story. Anyway, if you're into Star Wars and this series, I gaurentee you'll love this book.