Customer Reviews

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime

5 star:		(131)
4 star:		(97)
3 star:		(52)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(74)

 

 

It was decent, good. It was not the best I've ever read. But it was the best starting book I have ever read. It turned me on to the New Jedi Order series and I just finished Traitor recently. It was good of Salvatore to kill off a main character because not only does it show the main characters of Star Wars (Luke, Leia, Han, CHEWIE, and the next generation of Solos, etc.) are not immortal (note R2 and 3PO are excluding because they are I think supposed to never be killed, they are somewhat like narrators). I do feel bad to lose Chewie and I felt like I had lost my best friend but I felt it was good for the SW Universe because it also shows how powerful and deadly the Vong will be.

"predictable hazing" is a good term for the reviews I've read here not favorable to Vector Prime...

I don't agree - to introduce and get readers to buy into a completely new plot line in Star Wars is no small task. I highly recommend this book to any SW fan, but be forewarned, the series is addicting. When I look back at how well this book foreshadows so many of the events, introduces new characters and shatters illusions about the invincibility of the standard SW cast of characters, I can only rate this a "high five" - :-)

The New Jedi Order Series is by far my favorite series of Star Wars books and I've read a few. This introduction to a completely new storyline is slow to start and not always the most compelling read. It intruduces the reader to a whole new species and cast of characters and launches Star Wars into a new level of entertainment.

Above all this is a well structured action adventure story laced with mystery and intregue. Who are these new comers from a new galaxy? Why are they here? What do they want? Vector Prime will end leaving you wanting more and fortunatly there is plenty more.

Purchase the first two books at the same time because this novel will leave you wanting to know what will happen next. The whole series is addictive and every book ends with a cliff hanger.

Finally, a Star Wars book where the enemy has a chance! Not a stupid plot about a new superweapon. There is a threat. The last time the Republic looked like it would have to actually pay attention to an enemy was with Thrawn, now there is someone else.
Bad: They make it a short book, then have a sequel so you pay more money. These new SW books just don't cut it. Back in the day... when Bantam published, they were longer and contained better stories. Now... it is meaningless to read them, but this one is interesting.

This opening to the New Jedi Order hits the reader where it hurts the most, his or her heart. The effective narrative pulls with anticipation and moves at the speed of light. The scenes are so darkly graphic that it is easy to tell that the Star Wars novels have matured. Even the death of a major character is involved. Also, the Yuuzhan Vong are such a biological threat to the major characters that they even rival the Emperor himself. Nom Anor, the Yuuzhan Vong leader, is characterized with style and darkness that it brings back recollections of Darth Vader.

If this is how the series opens, I wonder how it will end. Intensity begins on the first page and ends on the last. You won't be disappointed. I couldn't recommend this book more. It is worth every penny. Purchase the book and behold the wonder of Star Wars again.

The people who liked this book aren't SW fans; they're sci-fi fans. There's a big difference. SW isn't sci-fi. Lucas said that HIMSELF. Why these writers & fans don't GET that I don't understand.

What went wrong? See other bad reviews to get a complete list. As for Chewie's death...inexcusable. #1- if you're going kill off this type of character, have some foreshadowing, draw it out; let us know what's going on his head, make us cry. And for God's Sakes, let us know there was no other way. None of this applied to Chewie's death. He was just gone & there was a dozen different ways he didn't have to die.

#2- The 'we wanted to kill a beloved character to bring uncertainty to the story & make you fear for the other characters' is almost ALWAYS a load of crap. After killing 1 beloved character, how often has a writer - or in this case, a corporation - turned around & killed another? Please.

As for the 'new' enemy....if you hated the Ssi-Ruuk, you're going to DESPISE these Star Trek rejects. As I read about them, all I could think was 'you killed off Grand Admiral Thrawn & TWO Emperor clones, making the Empire a bunch of pansies for this?' Like in too many other cases, the coporation - after creating a new generation of interesting heroes - failed to make a new generation of interesting villians.

I had a bad feeling when those who now control the Expanded Universe decided to kill Chebacca. They had a good idea to pump something new in the EU with an invasion from outside the galaxy. So here is SW fans were left with - A series of prequel books and movies that must necessarily be dark... and a new series NJO that starts off dark. Why was it also necessary to kill beloved characters?

To many Star Wars bibliophiles, R.A. Salvatore's "Vector Prime" signified the end of a classic literary sub genre. Prior to this particular novel, the Star Wars license had been in the capable hands of Bantam: a publishing house that had remained faithful to the fun-loving essence of the series. With the much-publicized entrance of Vector Prime, the license was transferred to Del Rey and, thenceforward, the story arcs took a darker turn.

Del Rey introduced the deaths of both canonical and expanded universe characters, the quixotic pandering to an even younger audience, the introduction of collectivist ideology and politically correct undertones. Through these both sweeping and subtle changes, the space operatic wonder of earlier Star Wars literature was lost and in its place a mere empty shell remained.

Vector Prime itself is readable, but lacks the exciting flair of the traditional Bantam epics. The previous having been said, I suggest the reader avoid the New Jedi Order series altogether.

THEY KILLED HIM! although it is a well written book, i cant condone the killing of chewie, one of the best charactors in the star wars universe.

I am a big fan of Salvatore's Drizz't novels and was excited when he came out with a Star Wars book. Seeing that he was influenced by Star Wars greatly in many of his other novels ... I thought he would succeed as a worthy adition to the somewhat lacking class of Star Wars authors. Well in my opinion he really failed to meet expectations. One of Salvatore's great skills is not superior writing or story but his ability to create such wonderful, diverse and convincing characters. Well tackling the Star Wars universe seems to have thwarted his creative ability since he was required to use existing characters. I find this is the case for most of the Star Wars novels since none of the authors can truly keep any of the main charters in line with their film counterparts. Salvatore struggled with them greatly. At times their emotion and personality was nowhere near what George Lucas had established. ... The enemy race the Vuuzhan Vong or however were a pretty chinsy foe and it seems authors are really stretching for Star Wars ideas. The book was enjoyable for the most part as a Star Wars story but nowhere near what Salvatore is capable of. Timothy Zahn still is the only author to succeed in writing convincing Star Wars books in my mind.