Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 4)

The last couple of New Jedi Order books, which were the Dark Tide duology, focused mainly on the various Jedi. So it makes sense in a way that this book is mostly about Han Solo, since he was pretty much ignored in those two books. After Chewbacca's memorial service on the Wookie home planet, Kashyyk, the Solo family returns to Coruscant, where Han runs into Roa, an old buddy from his smuggling days. Desperate to avenge Chewie's death, he agrees to go off with Roa in search of a mercenary band working for the Yuuzhan Vong. At the same time, the Vong allow a New Republic ship to capture one of their priestesses, Elan, and her "familiar," Vergere, a creature that is certainly not a Vong but not any other recognized species either. Elan and Vergere are supposed to pose as defectors so they can arrange a meeting with the Jedi, during which Elan will unleash a disease. Although the outcome was somewhat predictable, quite a few of the twists and turns along the way were anything but predictable. This is another five star book from the New Jedi Order series. I just started Jedi Eclipse (the sequaL), and it's sure to be great as well.

James Luceno has done an excellent job of continuing the saga. His handling of Han through his depression and bringing on a new side kick was superbly handled. While die hard Chewbacca fans are still strugling through the loss, realist understand that creatures die in conflicts. I can't wait until book II hits the mailbox.

Well, the New Jedi Order keeps on truckin' and so far it doesn't seem to be running out of steam. While not as good as the Dark Tide series, I'm still having the most fun reading Star Wars since Heir To the Empire came out! This new installment features Han like we all love him, gambler, scoundrel, and master pilot. After all the pathos Han's been going through since Vector Prime, I was pleasantly surprised to find this book brimming with humor, most of it from the interaction between our smuggler and his new Ryn buddy, Droma.Also interesting is the reappearance of Vergere, the Jedi that Obi-Wan and Anakin (Skywalker, not Solo :) were serching for in Rouge Planet. I hope more comes out of this storyline in the future. I mean, wouldn't it be great if Vergere could hook up with Luke and tell him about the Jedi of old and how his father was as a kid? Great possibilities!James Luceno does a bang up job continuing the series and I, for one, can't wait to see what he puts Han, Droma and the gang though in the next installment.

Honestly, I was a bit skeptical when I first picked the book up, as Luceno was an author unfamiliar to me, and the NJO series was so filled with complexities and disappointments. However, I have to admit, Luceno has a lucid, flowing style that keeps you enthralled in the novel. I put the book down twice while reading it. Once to eat dinner and once because I _had_ to sleep. With the reintroduction of Han Solo to the playing field, things are looking up for the beleaguered New Republic. Unfortunately, the book is a little lacking in the Jedi presence for a novel supposedly focused on them. Also, I find it vexing that the two major internal problems confronting the heroes were cleared up in the same novel. It makes me wonder what we've got in store in the next installments.

Great story. The writer clearly has read every piece of Han Solo fiction ever written (or at least done a good deal of research) and blends Han's past with this new future in a quite believable way. As I understand it, Luceno also helped pen Robotech. I was reluctant to get into the "new" Star Wars books because I felt that besides screwing up his own D & D novels Salvatore had clearly lost his mind when he killed off the Wook. It's impossible to pass up a well written Han Solo story though, and Luceno has presented an excellent (albeit darker) story about our favorite rogue turned hero.The character actually experiences something of a rebirth while he is forced to deal with the very non-Star Wars real emotion of grief in a very realistic way. While Solo is the focus of the story the author adeptly handles the underlying plot and characters surrounding Han in the story. The space battles, in particular, are above average for Star Wars books. They are so good, in fact, that I kept thinking Luceno would be good candidate to further script the adventures of everyone's second favorite Corelian, Wedge Antilles (provided he hasn't been killed off either). Han and Luke are handled carefully, but are given a bit of maturity that 25 years would bring them. Solo has the age issue to deal with (much like the actor who played him) and Luke seems to be the Jedi Master in every way. In one bit I could almost detect the writer's question about whether or not to use the Jedi Temple on Coruscant as a local in the book. It would have worked, but only if it isn't destroyed in the other movies. He wisely opted to come as close to that as possible without using the real deal. In the end, the villians are convincing and the heroes are right on the mark. There is even a deadpan Harrison Ford moment that is taken right out of The Last Crusade. While this is a darker story than standard Star Wars, Luceno certainly has crafted himself a minor masterpiece here. Solo fans unsure of this "new" series ought to check it out. Besides the lack of favorite characters Lando, Wedge, and Talon Kard, this one will have you finishing it faster than Solo could pull off the Kessel Run (and wanting more).