Dark Tide II - Ruin by Micael A Stackpole

"Dark Tide II - Ruin" continues the story of the New Jedi Order and is the sequel to "Dark Tide I - Onslaught." In these books a new threat is facing the galaxy, one that even the Jedi have troubles with, because they don't have a presence in the force.

I'm having a wee bit of troubles getting through these books because this threat, the Yuuzhan Vong, are not only a violent race, they thrive on pain. Their entire culture is centered around the self infliction of pain, because that is what makes them stronger. Yeah. Well, that doesn't exactly make for the most pleasant read.

On the other hand I'm already well accustomed to scanning through battle scenes (I'm just not a fight scene type girl when there is a lot of blood) so I simply scanned through those portions of the book as well. It meant I scanned larger portions of this book than I do most, but I did enjoy the sections in between with the Jedi, the former Rebels, and believe it or not, the remnants of the Empire!

That's right, the Vong are such a huge threat that everyone is banding together to fight them, even old enemies like the remnants of the Empire and the people who destroyed them. That makes for some interesting situations as I'm sure you can imagine! We also get to watch the Solo kids continue to grow and develop in this book, which I really enjoyed as well.

Dark Tide I: Onslaught by Michael A Stackpole

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Dark Tide I: Onslaught (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 2)

"Dark Tide I: Onslaught" continues the story of the New Jedi Order and their fight against the Yuuzhan Vong. They fought off the initial invasion, but now it's time to prepare for what's to come. Leia attempts to convince the Council of the danger they are in while Luke uses his Jedi to investigate.

There are several different story lines running through this book. All are intertwined, but we get to follow various members of the Jedi and the Skywalker family as they battle this new menace. In particular I enjoyed following the adventures of Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo. Some time ago I read the young adult series about them, and I'm really enjoying watching them continue to grow and develop.

Anakin is struggling with guilt, thinking he is responsible for Chewie's death, but Luke sends him with Mara to protect her as she recuperates. During his time with Mara he will learn a lot about his own limits, both personally and with the force. Anakin also begins to move beyond his grief and guilt.

Jaina also grows a lot as she is given the opportunity to join the infamous Rogue Squadron!

Jacen continues to struggle with his philosophical differences with Luke. He thinks that he needs to go off on his own to mediate and connect with the Force, but Luke convinces him that he is needed right now to help the other Jedi. Jacen agrees to help, and along the way he learns a lot about himself, his beliefs, and what it means to truly be a jedi.

Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore

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Vector Prime (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 1)

"Vector Prime" is one of the "New Jedi Order" books. The "New Jedi Order" are a series of books by various authors set in the Star Wars timeline at a point after Leia and Han's twins reach their late teens (21 years after the Battle of Endor). This is the first book in this portion of the Star Wars Saga.

Once again a dark enemy threatens the safety of the republic. This time coming from the beyond the edges of the galaxy! This will provide the Luke and his family with an extra challenge as this new race does not have a presence in the force.

The threat is also magnified by the fact that these new aliens approach life from a totally different angle than anything they've ever encountered thus far. Instead of being technologically based, everything is organic, including their ships! Combined with their lack of force-presence this means our friends are forced to scramble as they look for a way to save the galaxy from this new threat.