R.A. Salvatore 1999 – Del Rey 25 years after The Battle of Yavin Site Rating =  Buy Now from Amazon.Com

SPOILER ALERT: This Will Spoil The Plot of the Book!

It has been over 20 years since the Battle of Endor.

Leia Organa Solo, her daughter Jaina, and Mara Jade Skywalker are traveling to Rhommamool to mediate a dispute between that planet and Osarian.  Mara has been battling a mysterious illness that has plagued the galaxy and is lethal to all who have it.  They hope to meet with Nom Anor, the leader of Rhommamool.  Mara tells Leia that all is not what it seems with Anor.  He appears to be devoid of the Force.  They are attacked by fighters from Osarian, but the attempt is thwarted by a Jedi who destroys the ships.  Leia is displeased with this because her hopes of peace were seriously sidetracked because of the retaliation.

On the planet Belkadan, Danni Quee along with several other scientists have been busy listening for and signal of life from outside the known galaxy.  Along with them, however, is Yomin Carr.  Carr has been using his time there to dial back the volume to keep the others from hearing anything that he heard while scanning a section known as Vector Prime, the entry point.  He receives a signal from his race, the Yuuzhan Vong.  It appears that he has been using organic technology to hide his real exterior that is scarred and tattoo covered.  He contacts Nom Anor, who is also a Yuuzhan Vong in disguise.

Luke Skywalker, along with Jacen Solo meets with several Senators in hope of convincing them to reconvene the Jedi Council.  The group debates the role of the Jedi in the galaxy as many of them are traveling around on their own agendas.  Jacen questions his uncle on whether or not that is a good idea.

It appears the Nom Anor is behind the illness that so many had received.  Part of his task was to determine who the biggest threat to an invasion would be.  He meets with Leia, but he dismisses outright and she leaves empty handed.

Luke and Jacen find Han Solo, his son Anakin, and Chewbacca working on the Millennium Falcon.  He wants Han to speak with Lando Calrissian and help determine which Jedi have been causing problems on the Outer Rim.

Back on Belkadan, the other scientists have discovered the signal.  It appears that a large asteroid is headed for an ice covered planet called Helska 4.  They are unable to contact the New Republic about the news.  The asteroid is actually a transport for the Yuuzhan Vong.  Instead of smashing into the planet, it simply lands.  The scientists decide to head out themselves and investigate.

Jacen and Anakin argue over their differing views of the Force.  Anakin views the Force as a weapon and he also favors the reformation of the Jedi Council.  Jacen has a more spiritual view of the usage of the Force.  The two duel with lightsabers which Jacen wins.

Yomin Carr no longer fears discovery.  He kills of several scientists and sends fake transmissions out so the others will think all is well.  He has also unleashed a form of beetle that is creating toxic storms throughout the planet.  Anor is also causing problems by launching a huge assault on Osarian.

As Danni Quee and the others leave for Helska, Carr kills one of those left behind he had discovered the severed communications cable.  Once Quee and the others reach the planet, they are attacked by a swarm of insectoids that they assumed were meteors.  They receive strange readings from the large mound that is buried in the planets surface.  A blob of material attaches to their ship and the head of the Yuuzhan Vong leader on the planet taunts them.  Other ships fire multiple blobs that force the ship down.  They are captured.  Quee watches as her companions are killed.  She is also tortured and tossed into a water pool.

Luke, Mara, Han, Leia and their children meet up with Lando on his new mining operation, Lando’s Folly.  The children compete at running the asteroid belt. Jaina sets a new course record, all while making it through a seemingly impenetrable wall of debris.  Jedi Kyp Durron greets the Solo children and invites them to join his squadron, known as the Dozen and Two.  They decline, although Anakin is keen on the idea.  Lando entices Han to head to Sernpidal to help him drop off some shipments.  He takes Chewbacca and Anakin with him.

Nom Anor leaves his planet behind, but not before taking leaving an explosion behind on the orbiting Mediator.  He speaks with the Yuuzhan Vong leader on Helska and they decide to attack Sernpidal as their next target.

Kyp picks up a signal from Danni’s ship and go off to investigate.  As they arrive, they are attacked by the insectoids.  Some of the fighters are shooting volcano type blasters.  The entire squadron is killed except Kyp who jumps into hyperspace.  The ship is severely damaged by several insectoids that made the jump onboard his ship.  He is not able to do much, but he hopes to make it to Sernpidal.

Danni Quee is joined by Miko from Kyp’s squadron.  She tells him that the Yuuzhan Vong are there to conquer the galaxy.  He is tortured by them in order to learn the mental limits of the Jedi.  They use something called the yammosk which is the brain of the Praetorite Vong (as the group on the planet is known).

Han, Anakin, and Chewbacca land on Sernpidal.  They meet the mayor of the city who tells them that one of the planet’s moons has been moving closer to the surface.  They learn that something on the planet is pulling to down.  While Han helps people escape, Anakin and the mayor search for the source of the issue.

Luke and Mara land on Belkadan to find it is basically dead from the infestation.  They enter the station, and Mara is growing weaker along the way.  They split up and R2-D2 begins downloading information.  He is interrupted by Yomin Karr who begins to fight with Mara.  His armor sheds off blaster fire and his organic weapons are effective against her lightsaber.  She attempts to use the Force, but she Yomin is not recognized.  Eventually, she is able to kill him, but is severely weakened.  Yomin tells her she is worthy as he dies.  They grab as many items from Yomin Karr’s stash and get off the planet.  They wonder if this warrior, the planet, and her illness are all related.  R2 replays the information he recovered about Helska and they decide to head that way.

On Sernpidal, Anakin finds the source of the problem is another organic creation that looks like a pulsating heart.  Han arrives with the Falcon full of refugees.  The mayor, refusing to accept that this will kill the planet, takes a thermal detonator and jumps into the heart destroying it.  Han tries to organize an escape for the people, but Chewbacca and Anakin hear a child trapped in some rubble.  As they help the child, Anakin is knocked out by debris.  Han struggles to keep the Falcon low enough for Chewbacca to climb in, but the turmoil on the planet is too much.  Chewbacca throws Anakin’s body to Han who is on the platform, but cannot get aboard himself.  Anakin wakes up and realizes that the planet is seconds from disaster and flies away.  Chewbacca is left on the surface, roaring defiantly at the moon as it strikes the planet.

Han is devastated at the loss and blames Anakin for leaving him behind.  As Han turns to go back for Chewie, he receives a distress call from other ships in the convoy that are now being attacked and destroyed by insects.  He also receives a signal from Kyp Durron so he changes course to rescue him.  He tells Han about the attack on Helska.  Several more attack ships appear and the Falcon jumps to hyperspace.

They return to Dubrillion and Han scolds Lando for Chewbacca’s death.  Lando reminds him that they saved 20,000 people in the process.  Leia looks for additional military support to hold off the impending attack and contacts the Star Destroyer Rejuvenator.  Han and Leia will copilot the Falcon.  Their children all vow to help as well.

Not long after, the attack begins with more ships than anyone had imagined.  The Solo children work as a team and hold their own in battle, but are eventually overwhelmed and decide to enter the asteroid belt to attempt to lose their pursuers.  Through the Force, Anakin binds the siblings together so they can work as one unit.  It works well, but the connection is overwhelming and is broken.  Jacen and Jaina escape, but Anakin makes a random jump to hyperspace to avoid destruction.  Luckily, the attackers retreat from the system.  Jacen begins to rethink his solo training methods and that perhaps Anakin’s ideas of Jedi as one unit are more worthy.  As Anakin floats alone, he thinks that Jacen’s more mental view of the Force would have helped him during the escape.  Leia feels him through the Force and are able to find him.

Mara and Luke return to Dubrillion and they learn, through a captured fighter, that the ship is actually alive.  They also learn of Chewbacca’s death.

The group determines that they must get to Helska and go beneath the ice.  Lando has a ship that will do the trick.  C-3PO translates information and learns the ships are called coralskippers, and he also leaves little doubt that the Vong are from outside their galaxy.  The Solo children decide that they are a better fit to fly the mission to Helska instead of the adults.  They sneak off and send a message to their parents that they should focus on flying the flight and the space battle.  Luke actually agrees with them.  They take every ship they can find and head off to Helska.

Upon arrival as Helska, Jacen, wearing the cloaker suit, uses Lando’s ship to descend into the ice.  He senses a cry for help on the planet.  He leaves the ship and swims under the surface until he finds a group of Yuuzhan Vong that take him to Danni and Miko.  Once inside Jacen realizes that Danni was the source of the cry.  He uses his lightsaber to kill many of the captures, but Miko is killed in the process.  Danni and Jacen return to the ice ship and head off the planet.

The others arrive with the fleet and the Battle of Helska 4 begins!  The New Republic ships make early strides but are soon overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of coralskippers they are up against.  The Rejuvenator is destroyed.  Anakin realizes that the coralskippers are able to work together in an amazing fashion.  He also understands that they are devoid of the Force.  The New Republic calls for a retreat and they jump to hyperspace after collecting Jacen and Danni.

Danni tells them all she knows about the Yuuzhan Vong.  They decide that the yammosk, they now know as the war coordinator, is the key to guiding all the Yuuzhan Vong ships and  that only by destroying it can they be successful.  Anakin hopes to use the energy of the yammosk as its downfall.  They use shield ships to help increase the evaporation on the planet and freeze the yammosk.  They quickly return to Helska begin that attack anew.  The shield ships begin having their effect as several coralskippers begin flying into each other.  Luke is in his X-Wing very close to the planet, but Han speeds away before the planet is destroyed.  He realizes that he is doing the exact same thing Anakin did on Sernpidal!  He wasn’t thinking only of himself, it was for all those on board his ship.  Eventually the entire planet of Helska explodes under the intense pressure, and Luke flies out just in time!

Despite the victory, Mara’s illness is worsening.  She plans to go off alone and try to use the Force to heal herself.  Luke wonders again if all these recent events are connected to her illness.

Leia decides she should return to the Senate and begin to ensure that leaders of the New Republic understand the significance of the battles that are surely ahead.

Nom Anor, the only survivor of the Yuuzhan Vong defeat, has set up base on another planet that is rife with hatred for the New Republic and he has every intention to make things even worse while preparing for the next Vong invasion.

Han returns to Sernpidal to mourn Chewbacca before having to break the news to his family.  He reflects that he once felt his family and friends lived in a bubble where no harm can affect them, but that feeling has been replaced with dread.

Comments

Here’s the deal.  I put off reading the NJO.  Many of the characters were not from the films, there didn’t appear to be any Sith involved, or other noticeable enemies, or any other aspects I had enjoyed.  And from what little I had known about the Yuuzhan Vong, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tackle a huge series of books.

I guess I was mistaken.  The Yuuzhan Vong exceeded everything I had expected.  The initial descriptions of the Vong posing as humans and the brutality that they represent came across in such a stark contrast to so many other things in the Star Wars universe.  The human suits they are hidden inside and their use of living things as all forms of weaponry and defense caught my interest and really never let go.  As each bit of information rolled out, I was drawn further into the idea that these guys were more than a passing threat.

The plotting of the Vong conspiracy headlined by Nom Anor was handled well.  These are not just brute beings, they have devised a scheme by which to destroy our heroes and they have plans that are just beginning.

The space battles with the Vong were a nice change from the standard battles where you knew how things would end up.  Their technology added a sense of doom because you knew pretty much everyone who encountered them was in trouble.

The Vong characters were a bit confusing for me at first, but were no problem as the book went on.  Nom Anor’s has established himself as an able enemy.

The Solo children are coming into their own, and one can only imagine from reading this where their destinies will take them.  This book is their coming out party so to speak.
Jaina’s abilities, Jacen’s thoughtfulness, and Anakin’s brashness help each them establish their own exclusive identities that can developed throughout.  It isn’t hard to see that the brotherly bickering of Jacen and Anakin will not bode well.

Luke didn’t come across as a major force in this book.  He was certainly around for key moments, but he seemed to spend (and rightfully so) quite a bit of time with Mara and her illness. I could have done without Mara being knocked out the whole time.  The illness really took away that feistiness that she so proudly displays.

Kyp’s return was a welcome one and he played the part of heroic, noble, yet somewhat misguided, Jedi very well.  One to watch for sure.  Lando played his usually part by providing some necessary items for the big attack.

Han and Chewie – together for the last time.  Chewbacca’s death scene was all it should have been.  I can understand people being bitter over it, but it was such a glorious death.  The other characters would be lucky to meet such a noble end.  I even knew it was coming and it was still an emotional moment for me.  It basically threw a huge wrench, just as Han suggests, into the whole idea of who is at risk.  People, aliens, etc can’t live forever.

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