So, I finished the NJO series back just as school was ending, but was too lazy to write a short review until now. Note that there will be spoilers.

So anyways:

The good
-I found the concept of invaders from another galaxy to be good, as fighting the Imps was getting a bit monotonous.
-The books were well-written, always a plus.
-I found the battle scenes to be very immersive, and sometimes felt like I was there.
-The reformation of the Republic into the Alliance was nice, and them teaming up with the Imps was also nice.
-The concept of Zonama Sekot was cool, seeing as it was a seed of the Vong's home planet (or was it the other way around?).
-The final duel between Luke, Jacen, Jaina, and Shimrra and Onimi was probably one of the best parts of the series (I actually imagined the Duel of Fates playing out during the duel )

The bad
-I literally had to drag myself to finish the Enemy Lines duology and Traitor. I mean, it took the Vong more than a month to take a planet worth less than Coruscant. Come on. (Though it was cool when the Lusankya rammed the worldship)
-As for Traitor, I found it too dark for my liking
-The deaths of Chewbacca and Anakin Solo were very sad. I had to drag myself to read through the rest of Star by Star after Anakin died.

The ugly
-The concept of the Vong being stripped of the Force is not only ridiculous, it also ruined the series for me. If the Force binds all living things, then why are the Vong alive if the Force was stripped from them?
-And the explanation for it was even lamer. If they are stripped of the Force, they are stripped of the Force, not part of some "Unifying Force" crud.
-And how many books can be in a series anyways? There were way too many books in this one.

All in all, a mediocre series. Read it only if you want to try something new, or are planning to read post-NJO books (I'm sure the NJO series is probably heavily referenced in series that take place after it). I give it a 6.5/10.

Comments? Thoughts?

I agree with the review, although I haven't read every single one of the NJO novels, the series was average. It was good science fiction, but bad in the context of the Star Wars universe. Anakin Solo's death was sad, but acceptable. He was born in the Expanded Universe and died in the Expanded Universe. Chewbacca's death, however, was NOT acceptable. As one of my favorite SW characters of all time, Chewbacca should not have been killed off, especially so early in the series. I'd give the series a 5/10.

Fortunately, the excellently written Legacy of the Force series renewed my faith in the EU and it only made a few references to the NJO novels.

I myself am still going through the series (I'm in the middle of Force Heretic II) and I find a very interesting one indeed.

Ping wrote:The bad
-I literally had to drag myself to finish the Enemy Lines duology and Traitor. I mean, it took the Vong more than a month to take a planet worth less than Coruscant. Come on. (Though it was cool when the Lusankya rammed the worldship)
-As for Traitor, I found it too dark for my liking
-The deaths of Chewbacca and Anakin Solo were very sad. I had to drag myself to read through the rest of Star by Star after Anakin died.

I totally agree with you on that. Some of the books I felt like they could fit into one, like Traitor I felt was just way too long and wasn't really needed and that they could have really shortened the series. The deaths of Chewie and Anakin were also sad especially with the love relationship that Anakin and Tahiri had that she felt that she couldn't live on without Anakin alive and also being in constant battle with herself. And of course with Han going berserk and fleeing his family.

I for one, never liked the rogue Jedi Vergere, she was just too manipulative. I did like the transition from the New Republic to Galactic Alliance, I thought that part was well done. I also liked the fact that they brought in old characters such as Ackbar and Palleaon.

That's my review for now.

Nova Hawk wrote:I'm in the middle of Force Heretic II

Going off-topic a bit, but I remember reading that book up in New York. So now, whenever I think of Bakura, I think of New York and the hotel I was staying at.

On-topic: That reminds me of something I forgot to say (don't know how far you are through the book, so I'll hide it):