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Star Wars: The New Jedi Order #1
Vector Prime
Twenty-one years have passed since the heroes of the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star, breaking the power of the Emperor. Since then, the New Republic has valiantly struggled to maintain peace and prosperity among the peoples of the galaxy. But unrest has begun to spread and threatens to destroy the Republic's tenuous reign.
Into this volatile atmosphere comes Nom Anor, a charismatic firebrand who heats passions to the boiling point, sowing seeds of dissent for his own dark motives. And as the Jedi and the Republic focus on internal struggles, a new threat surfaces from beyond the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim--an enemy bearing weapons and technology unlike anything New Republic scientists have ever seen.
Suddenly, Luke Skywalker; his wife, Mara; Han Solo; Leia Organa Solo; and Chewbacca--along with the Solo children--are thrust again into battle, to defend the freedom so many have fought and died for. But this time, the power of the Force itself may not be enough . . .
Into this volatile atmosphere comes Nom Anor, a charismatic firebrand who heats passions to the boiling point, sowing seeds of dissent for his own dark motives. And as the Jedi and the Republic focus on internal struggles, a new threat surfaces from beyond the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim--an enemy bearing weapons and technology unlike anything New Republic scientists have ever seen.
Suddenly, Luke Skywalker; his wife, Mara; Han Solo; Leia Organa Solo; and Chewbacca--along with the Solo children--are thrust again into battle, to defend the freedom so many have fought and died for. But this time, the power of the Force itself may not be enough . . .
398 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 5, 1999
738 people are currently reading
7046 people want to read
About the author
R.A. Salvatore
608 books11.5k followersAs one of the fantasy genre’s most successful authors, R.A. Salvatore enjoys an ever-expanding and tremendously loyal following. His books regularly appear on The New York Times best-seller lists and have sold more than 10,000,000 copies. Salvatore’s original hardcover, The Two Swords, Book III of The Hunter’s Blade Trilogy (October 2004) debuted at # 1 on The Wall Street Journal best-seller list and at # 4 on The New York Times best-seller list. His books have been translated into numerous foreign languages including German, Italian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Turkish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Yiddish, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, and French.
Salvatore’s first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer’s letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including “Adventure fantasy” and “Why young adults read fantasy.” Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rasalv...
Salvatore’s first published novel, The Crystal Shard from TSR in 1988, became the first volume of the acclaimed Icewind Dale Trilogy and introduced an enormously popular character, the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden. Since that time, Salvatore has published numerous novels for each of his signature multi-volume series including The Dark Elf Trilogy, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, and The Cleric Quintet.
His love affair with fantasy, and with literature in general, began during his sophomore year of college when he was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas gift. He promptly changed his major from computerscience to journalism. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Fitchburg State College in 1981, then returned for the degree he always cherished, the Bachelor of Arts in English. He began writing seriously in 1982, penning the manuscript that would become Echoes of the Fourth Magic. Salvatore held many jobs during those first years as a writer, finally settling in (much to our delight) to write full time in 1990.
The R.A. Salvatore Collection has been established at his alma mater, Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, containing the writer’s letters, manuscripts, and other professional papers. He is in good company, as The Salvatore Collection is situated alongside The Robert Cormier Library, which celebrates the writing career of the co-alum and esteemed author of young adult books.
Salvatore is an active member of his community and is on the board of trustees at the local library in Leominster, Massachusetts. He has participated in several American Library Association regional conferences, giving talks on themes including “Adventure fantasy” and “Why young adults read fantasy.” Salvatore himself enjoys a broad range of literary writers including James Joyce, Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, and Sartre. He counts among his favorite genre literary influences Ian Fleming, Arthur Conan Doyle, Fritz Leiber, and of course, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Born in 1959, Salvatore is a native of Massachusetts and resides there with his wife Diane, and their three children, Bryan, Geno, and Caitlin. The family pets include three Japanese Chins, Oliver, Artemis and Ivan, and four cats including Guenhwyvar.
When he isn't writing, Salvatore chases after his three Japanese Chins, takes long walks, hits the gym, and coaches/plays on a fun-league softball team that includes most of his family. His gaming group still meets on Sundays to play.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/rasalv...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 668 reviews
September 29, 2021
I have been hearing people rave about this series in the Star Wars universe and I am finally checking this out. I haven't read any Salvatore, so this was my first experience with the author.
I simply can't believe how they brought something so new to the Star Wars universe that feels like a real threat. I was spoiled on a plot detail, so I knew what was coming. The movies should have done something like this. It could have taken bits and pieces of the series and made something special out of this series. It's fresh and new and the story line needed something different.
I enjoyed how we had several different story points starting the story. We were on a planet of scientist, there was Han, Luke and Chewie and then Mara and Leia to start off with. The story had me engaged and I was enjoying being in the universe again with Jedi.
I love seeing Han and Leia's kids. They have twins and then a single, 3 in all. They make up a great family and I enjoy seeing Luke married to Mara Jade. Just what I want. They all live on the edge of death all the time it seems. I would think that would get old, maybe it means I'm old.
I thought all the elements of the Vong were great and really creepy. They have to be the best villains ever. The warriors come from outside the galaxy as an invading force and they don't use any technology. They even hate technology, like they are offended by it. They were easy to root against.
Parts of Salvatore's writing were enjoyable, but I agree with others that he did sort of spoil what was going on. I also thought some of the characters thinking about other characters were strange. The way Luke talks about 3PO was so odd. He didn't say it out loud, but it almost felt like Shakespeare, oh noble 3PO can figure it out, kind of thing. Not exact words.
I can't believe I didn't read these as they were coming out. I do plan on reading the rest of New Jedi Order. It feels like the force is once again rising. I enjoyed the philosophical arguments Jacen and Anakin were having about how to use the force.
I did enjoy the movies, but I thought they really messed up killing off most of the Jedi. Star Wars is the Jedi, otherwise, it's not the Star Wars universe, at least not to me. I love how many Jedi were at work here and how the Vong were outside the force and with their own type of force. We simply need more Jedi and I could give a fig about Sith. Begone and stay gone, I say.
There were some amazing ideas in this story and it's too bad Disney ignored them all. At least we have the books.
I simply can't believe how they brought something so new to the Star Wars universe that feels like a real threat. I was spoiled on a plot detail, so I knew what was coming. The movies should have done something like this. It could have taken bits and pieces of the series and made something special out of this series. It's fresh and new and the story line needed something different.
I enjoyed how we had several different story points starting the story. We were on a planet of scientist, there was Han, Luke and Chewie and then Mara and Leia to start off with. The story had me engaged and I was enjoying being in the universe again with Jedi.
I love seeing Han and Leia's kids. They have twins and then a single, 3 in all. They make up a great family and I enjoy seeing Luke married to Mara Jade. Just what I want. They all live on the edge of death all the time it seems. I would think that would get old, maybe it means I'm old.
I thought all the elements of the Vong were great and really creepy. They have to be the best villains ever. The warriors come from outside the galaxy as an invading force and they don't use any technology. They even hate technology, like they are offended by it. They were easy to root against.
Parts of Salvatore's writing were enjoyable, but I agree with others that he did sort of spoil what was going on. I also thought some of the characters thinking about other characters were strange. The way Luke talks about 3PO was so odd. He didn't say it out loud, but it almost felt like Shakespeare, oh noble 3PO can figure it out, kind of thing. Not exact words.
I can't believe I didn't read these as they were coming out. I do plan on reading the rest of New Jedi Order. It feels like the force is once again rising. I enjoyed the philosophical arguments Jacen and Anakin were having about how to use the force.
I did enjoy the movies, but I thought they really messed up killing off most of the Jedi. Star Wars is the Jedi, otherwise, it's not the Star Wars universe, at least not to me. I love how many Jedi were at work here and how the Vong were outside the force and with their own type of force. We simply need more Jedi and I could give a fig about Sith. Begone and stay gone, I say.
There were some amazing ideas in this story and it's too bad Disney ignored them all. At least we have the books.
April 11, 2011
"I had built this bubble around us...Nothing could hurt us—could really hurt us."
Twenty-five years have past since Luke Skywalker went from a farm boy on Tatooine to destroyer of the Death Star. Han and Leia are married with three teenagers, Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin. Luke has married once-enemy, Mara Jade. But things are never easy for our heroes. Mara is inflicted with a strange illness. And on a far away scientific station on Belkadan, Danni Quee receives the first hint of a menace about to invade the galaxy.
NOTE: Based on audiobook and novel.
The year is 1999. The Phantom Menace is in theaters, the first Star Wars movie in over fifteen years. Del Rey has acquired the license for Star Wars novels. And The Powers That Be knew that there had to be changes. Readers complained about the lack of a cohesive storyline, about the invulnerability of our major characters, about the lack of a decent threat. And thus, "Vector Prime" was born.
For me, "Vector Prime" isn't much different than the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. The stories both tell are very similar: the impending doom of a nation/galaxy. Neither know what is about to come, both are pretty contented (even if peace is constantly just barely out of reach for the New Republic), and both have enemies they don't know/understand.
The Yuuzhan Vong threat was wonderfully executed. Salvatore nicely introduces (but not TOO much) this strange and foreign culture and begins laying the foundation for novels to come. Yammosks. Dovin basals. Ooglith masquers. The blankness in the Force (though exacty what this means still remains a mystery to me). I personally like the new "darker" edge, and I like the movement back to an epic war and story. Many of the Bantam novels were one shots or trilogies; there was little overall story and enemies appeared suddenly in one novel, only to be killed off or arrested by the end. Furthermore, many of these enemies (such as Admiral Daala) lacked the punch to make them ominous villains. What villains could be more scary than ones you don't know and ones who are invulnerable to your greatest asset?
Salvatore did a fair job with the recurring characters. Han, Luke, Leia, and Mara were well done for the most part, and these aren't the easiest characters to recreate (trust me, I've read loads of poor attempts). Many could criticize Han for his actions, but given what happens in the course of the novel (no spoilers, although it has been 11+ years so you probably know already), I thought it was believable. A real, major character dies in the novel, and his death was well done and poignant. I even liked how Salvatore brought Jacen out of the "goofy, animal dork" that the Young Jedi Knight novels painted him as.
But that doesn't mean the characters were perfect. I honestly groaned when I read about "battle hardened" Jaina at the ripe old age of 16. Really? I get she's been through those YJK adventures, but to go so far and say she's battle-hardened and a superbly wonderful pilot able to outbeat Kyp Durron in a pointless scene at Lando's Folly is just over-the-top. Anakin and Jacen are slightly annoying in the same regards. I liked how they bickered about the Force and what it means, as that does feel like something teenagers would do, but please, stop treating the kids like they are 20-year olds.
The worst was Danni Quee. I can't imagine a then-18 year-old being allowed on such an uber special mission, nor can I imagine a now-21 year-old being an "inspiration" for the entire team. Unless she is the Littlest Cancer Patient. Then she can be an inspiration.
There are some nice action scenes in the novels, particularly the one between Mara and Corr (Mara gets the first YV kill! WOOHOO!). I also like the introduction of the Battle Meld. But the way that the Helska Yammosk is dealt with is more goofy science (melting ice can make a planet EXPLODE??? Gosh, maybe I was a bit harsh on my Rule of Two review!). Not to mention, probably because I listened most recently to an audiobook, not everything goes from A to B to C. For example, Sernpidal's moon is about to impact, so Han takes off only to return in the next section. Talk about Huh? factor!
If you haven't been following the Star Wars novels, this is an excellent place to start. There is little backstory you need that isn't already given. Even with goofy science, some extreme characters, a skippity-do-da plot and a highly controversial character death (that I think was well-done and appropriate, but not everyone will agree with me), this is a decent novel, a nice entrance to the rest of the series, but also a decent "standalone" should you decide you just don't care for the rest of the series.
Twenty-five years have past since Luke Skywalker went from a farm boy on Tatooine to destroyer of the Death Star. Han and Leia are married with three teenagers, Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin. Luke has married once-enemy, Mara Jade. But things are never easy for our heroes. Mara is inflicted with a strange illness. And on a far away scientific station on Belkadan, Danni Quee receives the first hint of a menace about to invade the galaxy.
NOTE: Based on audiobook and novel.
The year is 1999. The Phantom Menace is in theaters, the first Star Wars movie in over fifteen years. Del Rey has acquired the license for Star Wars novels. And The Powers That Be knew that there had to be changes. Readers complained about the lack of a cohesive storyline, about the invulnerability of our major characters, about the lack of a decent threat. And thus, "Vector Prime" was born.
For me, "Vector Prime" isn't much different than the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. The stories both tell are very similar: the impending doom of a nation/galaxy. Neither know what is about to come, both are pretty contented (even if peace is constantly just barely out of reach for the New Republic), and both have enemies they don't know/understand.
The Yuuzhan Vong threat was wonderfully executed. Salvatore nicely introduces (but not TOO much) this strange and foreign culture and begins laying the foundation for novels to come. Yammosks. Dovin basals. Ooglith masquers. The blankness in the Force (though exacty what this means still remains a mystery to me). I personally like the new "darker" edge, and I like the movement back to an epic war and story. Many of the Bantam novels were one shots or trilogies; there was little overall story and enemies appeared suddenly in one novel, only to be killed off or arrested by the end. Furthermore, many of these enemies (such as Admiral Daala) lacked the punch to make them ominous villains. What villains could be more scary than ones you don't know and ones who are invulnerable to your greatest asset?
Salvatore did a fair job with the recurring characters. Han, Luke, Leia, and Mara were well done for the most part, and these aren't the easiest characters to recreate (trust me, I've read loads of poor attempts). Many could criticize Han for his actions, but given what happens in the course of the novel (no spoilers, although it has been 11+ years so you probably know already), I thought it was believable. A real, major character dies in the novel, and his death was well done and poignant. I even liked how Salvatore brought Jacen out of the "goofy, animal dork" that the Young Jedi Knight novels painted him as.
But that doesn't mean the characters were perfect. I honestly groaned when I read about "battle hardened" Jaina at the ripe old age of 16. Really? I get she's been through those YJK adventures, but to go so far and say she's battle-hardened and a superbly wonderful pilot able to outbeat Kyp Durron in a pointless scene at Lando's Folly is just over-the-top. Anakin and Jacen are slightly annoying in the same regards. I liked how they bickered about the Force and what it means, as that does feel like something teenagers would do, but please, stop treating the kids like they are 20-year olds.
The worst was Danni Quee. I can't imagine a then-18 year-old being allowed on such an uber special mission, nor can I imagine a now-21 year-old being an "inspiration" for the entire team. Unless she is the Littlest Cancer Patient. Then she can be an inspiration.
There are some nice action scenes in the novels, particularly the one between Mara and Corr (Mara gets the first YV kill! WOOHOO!). I also like the introduction of the Battle Meld. But the way that the Helska Yammosk is dealt with is more goofy science (melting ice can make a planet EXPLODE??? Gosh, maybe I was a bit harsh on my Rule of Two review!). Not to mention, probably because I listened most recently to an audiobook, not everything goes from A to B to C. For example, Sernpidal's moon is about to impact, so Han takes off only to return in the next section. Talk about Huh? factor!
If you haven't been following the Star Wars novels, this is an excellent place to start. There is little backstory you need that isn't already given. Even with goofy science, some extreme characters, a skippity-do-da plot and a highly controversial character death (that I think was well-done and appropriate, but not everyone will agree with me), this is a decent novel, a nice entrance to the rest of the series, but also a decent "standalone" should you decide you just don't care for the rest of the series.
July 15, 2011
Surprisingly, I didn't hate "Vector Prime" by R.A. Salvatore as much as I thought I would. I would never recommend it to anyone, of course. And it's pretty bad.
"Vector Prime" is the first book of the "New Jedi Order" series. It covers the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, a race of extra-galactic ritually self-mutilating aliens with organic technology and an immunity to the Force. And "Vector Prime" will be the LAST book I'll be reading of this series.
Why? It's not very good. Not at all. Sure, it's better than trash like "Darksaber." But almost anything would be.
Only because I've been catching a lot of trains and buses lately did I finish this book. I needed something to read that also fit in my back pocket. And since I got "Vector Prime" for free during my local Borders' death throes sale (yet, oddly, I still want my money back...), it was easier to read this book than buy something new.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, the Yuuzhan Vong were a bad, BAD idea. And the war with them is not only depressing and icky, but also boring as hell. If you're bound and determined to read all 19 of the books in this series, you're a better Star Wars fan than I am. Even I, who has not much resembling a social life, can find better things to do.
If the Yuuzhan Vong had been defeated in just this book...instead of lasting through 18 others...then maybe...and I stress maybe...it might have been an okay decision for the Star Wars Universe. Even a trilogy might have been okay.
But I digress. Let's talk about "Vector Prime." I'll tell you why it's not a good book.
The first half of the book is just plain dull. It's a long struggle just to get from one page to the next. The characters we care about aren't doing much of interest. The bad guys are icky and strange in a not too interesting way. The innocent bystanders are just silly. The battle scenes are written poorly and are hard to picture in one's mind. And way too much time is taken with Lando's asteroid run thingy. Yes, the asteroid belt run does set up a later portion of the book, but there's set-up and there's wasting pages. This is the latter.
Salvatore is a master at undermining any kind of suspense. In writing, the basic rule is SHOW, not TELL. But Salvatore, instead of leaving us in suspense, basically says in the first few pages...these guys are the Yuuzhan Vong and they're going to try to take over the galaxy--watch out, everybody! It's a total failure of Writing 101. A more talented writer would have done a slow reveal of the Vong and their intentions. If we learn what's going on along with the main characters, not only do we feel as smart as they are (smarter in some cases), but we as the reader are more like to suspend our disbelief that these freaky BDSM aliens could really do some damage to the Star Wars Universe.
Let's look at page 200, also known as the end of chapter 13. Salvatore writes: "The Millennium Falcon took off an hour later, for a one-day trip that would prove to be the most harrowing journey of Han Solo's life." That's not just foreshadowing, that's the narrator reminding you that you're reading a book and patting himself on the back smugly for the gut-wrenching he's about to put you through.
And, yes, this is the book where they kill Chewbacca. I understand why they did it. And I don't blame Salvatore. I doubt he had any part in the decision to kill the big Wookiee. They killed Chewbacca to make a point that no one in the Star Wars Universe is safe. They wanted to up the ante, as it were. And they wanted to sell books. I say all their reasons are crass ones, some are marketing driven (and we all know what geniuses marketing people are...yup, that's sarcasm) and some people probably just wanted to "shake things up."
Chewbacca does die a hero's death. He saves Anakin Solo, who goes on to give his life in a noble death somewhere down the line to fight the Vong in one of these NJO books I won't be reading. Then Anakin's death may be part of the reason his older brother becomes a Sith Lord in the Legacy of the force series of books...and so on and so forth.
And the readers, like Han Solo, are supposed to hate the Vong for their evil, destructive ways because they killed Chewbacca. The other millions of people who died at the Vong's hands are somewhat incidental, it seems.
But after the halfway point of the book, things begin to get interesting. There's the moon crashing into Sernpidal. There's Chewbacca's death and the narrow escape from Sernpidal. There's Luke and Mara fighting Yomin Carr on Belkadan. There's the standoff at Dubrillion with the Vong. Then there's the disastrous raid on the ice planet the Vong are using for a base. The Vong and their Yammosk (war coordinator / giant tentacle creature) kick the crap out of the New Republic forces.
They spend so much time and energy on that first battle that the second battle--the last battle of the book--where they use basic science (Jedis as Mr. Wizard) and moxie to destroy the ice planet Vong base seems tacked on to provide some kind of "happy" ending. Reminds me of the Doolittle raid ending of the lousy "Pearl Harbor" movie. The whole second battle takes less than 20 pages and it's supposed to be the climax of the whole novel. Yet it reads like a hasty rewrite, perhaps because the powers that be behind the Star Wars books don't want to alienate their audience with anything like an unhappy ending.
Anyway, you get the point. If you're determined to read this book and the whole NJO series, don't say I didn't warn you.
"Vector Prime" is the first book of the "New Jedi Order" series. It covers the war with the Yuuzhan Vong, a race of extra-galactic ritually self-mutilating aliens with organic technology and an immunity to the Force. And "Vector Prime" will be the LAST book I'll be reading of this series.
Why? It's not very good. Not at all. Sure, it's better than trash like "Darksaber." But almost anything would be.
Only because I've been catching a lot of trains and buses lately did I finish this book. I needed something to read that also fit in my back pocket. And since I got "Vector Prime" for free during my local Borders' death throes sale (yet, oddly, I still want my money back...), it was easier to read this book than buy something new.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, the Yuuzhan Vong were a bad, BAD idea. And the war with them is not only depressing and icky, but also boring as hell. If you're bound and determined to read all 19 of the books in this series, you're a better Star Wars fan than I am. Even I, who has not much resembling a social life, can find better things to do.
If the Yuuzhan Vong had been defeated in just this book...instead of lasting through 18 others...then maybe...and I stress maybe...it might have been an okay decision for the Star Wars Universe. Even a trilogy might have been okay.
But I digress. Let's talk about "Vector Prime." I'll tell you why it's not a good book.
The first half of the book is just plain dull. It's a long struggle just to get from one page to the next. The characters we care about aren't doing much of interest. The bad guys are icky and strange in a not too interesting way. The innocent bystanders are just silly. The battle scenes are written poorly and are hard to picture in one's mind. And way too much time is taken with Lando's asteroid run thingy. Yes, the asteroid belt run does set up a later portion of the book, but there's set-up and there's wasting pages. This is the latter.
Salvatore is a master at undermining any kind of suspense. In writing, the basic rule is SHOW, not TELL. But Salvatore, instead of leaving us in suspense, basically says in the first few pages...these guys are the Yuuzhan Vong and they're going to try to take over the galaxy--watch out, everybody! It's a total failure of Writing 101. A more talented writer would have done a slow reveal of the Vong and their intentions. If we learn what's going on along with the main characters, not only do we feel as smart as they are (smarter in some cases), but we as the reader are more like to suspend our disbelief that these freaky BDSM aliens could really do some damage to the Star Wars Universe.
Let's look at page 200, also known as the end of chapter 13. Salvatore writes: "The Millennium Falcon took off an hour later, for a one-day trip that would prove to be the most harrowing journey of Han Solo's life." That's not just foreshadowing, that's the narrator reminding you that you're reading a book and patting himself on the back smugly for the gut-wrenching he's about to put you through.
And, yes, this is the book where they kill Chewbacca. I understand why they did it. And I don't blame Salvatore. I doubt he had any part in the decision to kill the big Wookiee. They killed Chewbacca to make a point that no one in the Star Wars Universe is safe. They wanted to up the ante, as it were. And they wanted to sell books. I say all their reasons are crass ones, some are marketing driven (and we all know what geniuses marketing people are...yup, that's sarcasm) and some people probably just wanted to "shake things up."
Chewbacca does die a hero's death. He saves Anakin Solo, who goes on to give his life in a noble death somewhere down the line to fight the Vong in one of these NJO books I won't be reading. Then Anakin's death may be part of the reason his older brother becomes a Sith Lord in the Legacy of the force series of books...and so on and so forth.
And the readers, like Han Solo, are supposed to hate the Vong for their evil, destructive ways because they killed Chewbacca. The other millions of people who died at the Vong's hands are somewhat incidental, it seems.
But after the halfway point of the book, things begin to get interesting. There's the moon crashing into Sernpidal. There's Chewbacca's death and the narrow escape from Sernpidal. There's Luke and Mara fighting Yomin Carr on Belkadan. There's the standoff at Dubrillion with the Vong. Then there's the disastrous raid on the ice planet the Vong are using for a base. The Vong and their Yammosk (war coordinator / giant tentacle creature) kick the crap out of the New Republic forces.
They spend so much time and energy on that first battle that the second battle--the last battle of the book--where they use basic science (Jedis as Mr. Wizard) and moxie to destroy the ice planet Vong base seems tacked on to provide some kind of "happy" ending. Reminds me of the Doolittle raid ending of the lousy "Pearl Harbor" movie. The whole second battle takes less than 20 pages and it's supposed to be the climax of the whole novel. Yet it reads like a hasty rewrite, perhaps because the powers that be behind the Star Wars books don't want to alienate their audience with anything like an unhappy ending.
Anyway, you get the point. If you're determined to read this book and the whole NJO series, don't say I didn't warn you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2024
4.0 Stars
Star Wars Reading Guide https://youtu.be/k8WtQMRgCjA
This was a great start to the New Jedi Order series, which is gritty, dark and cutthroat. I particularly liked the new alien enemy introduced, who are well developed, creepy and fantastically evil. Even though these books are now considered non-canon, I would still recommend them for fans of looking to spend more time in the Star Wars universe.
Star Wars Reading Guide https://youtu.be/k8WtQMRgCjA
This was a great start to the New Jedi Order series, which is gritty, dark and cutthroat. I particularly liked the new alien enemy introduced, who are well developed, creepy and fantastically evil. Even though these books are now considered non-canon, I would still recommend them for fans of looking to spend more time in the Star Wars universe.
March 7, 2016
The book itself was quite okay, but unfortunately it did nothing to recover my lost motivation.
Disney, what have you done?
Disney, what have you done?
May 11, 2010
4.0 stars. I just reread this book as I was going to read the next books in the series and it had been a long time since I read this story. It was terrific. As a "Star Wars" book, this is clearly meant to be the literary equivalent of a "summer blockbuster" which is not a bad thing by any means (I equate it to a lot of the other "fun" read books like the Dresden Files Series and the Harry Potter series). Well this book was an incredibly fun read. On top of being a fun read, it had the added bonus of being well-written and having a tight, well conceived plot. Best of all, it introduces an original "villian" that is as good as any that has ever been created in the Star Wars universe (and that is saying a lot). The "villian" is the race known as the Yuuzhan Vong who are a "savage warrior" race that uses only organic technology (some of which is just amazing) and are absolutely immune to the force which makes them incredibly difficult to fight for the jedi.
Bottom-line, along with the excellent "Thrawn" trilogy by Timothy Zahn, this is among the best Star Wars' novel ever written. Now this is coming from someone who hasn't read a lot of Star Wars novels, but given the quality of this book, I feel confident that this is an accurate statement. RECOMMENDED!!!
Bottom-line, along with the excellent "Thrawn" trilogy by Timothy Zahn, this is among the best Star Wars' novel ever written. Now this is coming from someone who hasn't read a lot of Star Wars novels, but given the quality of this book, I feel confident that this is an accurate statement. RECOMMENDED!!!
March 26, 2024
One of my all time favorite books by one of my all time favorite authors.
September 29, 2015
R.A. Salvatore, best known for his work in the fantasy genre and the popular “Dungeons & Dragons RPG, joined the Star Wars Expanded Universe team in 1999 with his novel “Vector Prime”, which set the tone and direction for an entirely new and different series within the SWEU called the New Jedi Order.
Darker, more violent, and more mature, “Vector Prime” was a much-needed shot in the arm for a franchise gradually going stale. Two years prior to Salvatore’s novel, Timothy Zahn’s “Hand of Thrawn” series re-invigorated the SWEU and opened the door for a variety of new approaches by a variety of new writers.
The universe that Lucas envisioned was a fun, vibrant space opera. Salvatore’s universe is much scarier.
He introduces into the SWEU one of the most terrifying and fascinating alien species, the Yuuzhan Vong.
This race is a warrior race from another galaxy based solely on one thing: total conquest of the universe. Vehemently and violently anti-technology, the Yuuzhan Vong has evolved to work symbiotically with lower life forms. They have “trained” numerous animal species to do the work for which most species in the galaxy use computers or machines. Their spacecraft are living organisms, and the suits they use to survive in atmospheres different than their own are creatures that encase their bodies as protection. (I envision Venom in the Spider-man comics.)
At the beginning of “Vector Prime”, a Yuuzhan Vong sleeper cell named Yomin Carr has disguised himself as a human on a remote scientific outpost on the Outer Rim of the galaxy, awaiting orders for a planned invasion.
Meanwhile, another sleeper cell named Nom Anor has risen to power on another planet on the brink of civil war, a war that he himself has secretly fomented and orchestrated. This, it turns out, is one of the Yuuzhan Vong’s more popular modus operandi: infiltrate planets on the brink of war and subtly steer events to the point that the indigenous cultures ultimately kill themselves before the Yuuzhan Vong’s invading force arrives to finish the job. It is a highly calculated, vicious, and effective method of conquest.
Salvatore’s experience in the fantasy genre actually works well within the SWEU, as “Star Wars” has, arguably, always been less sci-fi and more sword-and-sorcery masked as sci-fi. “Vector Prime” is an excellent fusion of both genres by a writer who can deftly operate in both genres.
Without giving too many spoilers away, I will say that something happens in this novel that forever changes the SWEU. It will make some SWEU fans angry, to be sure. It will be heart-breaking and traumatic to some.
I daresay, though, that it was necessary. As one major character within the novel says, “This should have, logically, happened a long, long time ago, after all... They had been living on the very edge of disaster for so very long, fighting battles, literally, for decades... (p.397)”
That it had to happen to a much-beloved character is unfortunate, but it’s a game-changer that raises the stakes of the subsequent novels to a more mature, and realistic, level. No one is safe anymore.
Darker, more violent, and more mature, “Vector Prime” was a much-needed shot in the arm for a franchise gradually going stale. Two years prior to Salvatore’s novel, Timothy Zahn’s “Hand of Thrawn” series re-invigorated the SWEU and opened the door for a variety of new approaches by a variety of new writers.
The universe that Lucas envisioned was a fun, vibrant space opera. Salvatore’s universe is much scarier.
He introduces into the SWEU one of the most terrifying and fascinating alien species, the Yuuzhan Vong.
This race is a warrior race from another galaxy based solely on one thing: total conquest of the universe. Vehemently and violently anti-technology, the Yuuzhan Vong has evolved to work symbiotically with lower life forms. They have “trained” numerous animal species to do the work for which most species in the galaxy use computers or machines. Their spacecraft are living organisms, and the suits they use to survive in atmospheres different than their own are creatures that encase their bodies as protection. (I envision Venom in the Spider-man comics.)
At the beginning of “Vector Prime”, a Yuuzhan Vong sleeper cell named Yomin Carr has disguised himself as a human on a remote scientific outpost on the Outer Rim of the galaxy, awaiting orders for a planned invasion.
Meanwhile, another sleeper cell named Nom Anor has risen to power on another planet on the brink of civil war, a war that he himself has secretly fomented and orchestrated. This, it turns out, is one of the Yuuzhan Vong’s more popular modus operandi: infiltrate planets on the brink of war and subtly steer events to the point that the indigenous cultures ultimately kill themselves before the Yuuzhan Vong’s invading force arrives to finish the job. It is a highly calculated, vicious, and effective method of conquest.
Salvatore’s experience in the fantasy genre actually works well within the SWEU, as “Star Wars” has, arguably, always been less sci-fi and more sword-and-sorcery masked as sci-fi. “Vector Prime” is an excellent fusion of both genres by a writer who can deftly operate in both genres.
Without giving too many spoilers away, I will say that something happens in this novel that forever changes the SWEU. It will make some SWEU fans angry, to be sure. It will be heart-breaking and traumatic to some.
I daresay, though, that it was necessary. As one major character within the novel says, “This should have, logically, happened a long, long time ago, after all... They had been living on the very edge of disaster for so very long, fighting battles, literally, for decades... (p.397)”
That it had to happen to a much-beloved character is unfortunate, but it’s a game-changer that raises the stakes of the subsequent novels to a more mature, and realistic, level. No one is safe anymore.
April 28, 2020
Special thank you to my goodreads pal Crystal Starr Light for sending me this entire book series! It took me forever to finally build up the courage to try this series out because
a) committing to reading 19 books is an intimidating prospect
b) I've heard very mixed/divided responses to this series almost on the level of The Last Jedi with people telling me that it's amazing, and people telling me that its garbage.
c) the original Star Wars Expanded Universe, particularly post-return-of-the-jedi, has this reputation of being so interconnected that all of the books before it chronologically are considered required reading, according to its most devout fans.
Another important topic to get into before the review itself is my background on the Star Wars Expanded Universe, now called legends.
When it comes to the overarching storylines taking place after Return of the Jedi, I have read almost nothing. Literally the only EU material taking place after Return of the Jedi that I have read is Timothy Zahn's classic Thrawn Trilogy and the first volume of Dark Empire - the former of which I really enjoyed, and the latter of which I hated so much I'm trying to forget it. I know the broad strokes of what happens between the thrawn trilogy and Vector Prime to the "Big Three" and Mara Jade, but as far as I'm concerned the Solo kids are completely new characters to me, freshly introduced in this book. So with that in mind, let's get to the review!
THE STORY: The year 1999 was quite big for Star Wars. The Phantom Menace was released into theaters on May 16th, kicking off the Prequel Trilogy. Five months later on October 5th, this novel's release would shake up the Post-Return-of-the-Jedi Expanded Universe in a massive way. Ever since Heir to the Empire reinvigorated the Star Wars franchise and kicked the Expanded Universe to high gear, most Star Wars stories were still focused on the continued adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa Solo (the aformentioned "Big 3") fighting the remnants of the Galactic Empire, destroying the next superweapon and defeating the warlord behind it in one book or trilogy before the same thing happened in another book or trilogy. There were some exceptions to this "Bantam Formula" (a term I first heard from my friend Crystal that I linked above), but over the years people began to complain about heroes that were too powerful, villains that weren't threatening, or both- leading to a lack of stakes and dramatic heft in the storytelling. The books in the Bantam years were also not necessarily being released in chronological order, with the storylines in novels, released either as standalone books or trilogies most of the times, were not always well connected to one-another and didn't always feel like they had much of an impact on the galaxy or the major characters.
Enter the New Jedi Order, with a promise from the creative team at Lucasfilm to address the complaints that people had with the previous four or five years of EU storytelling. Instead of scattershot novels and trilogies being haphazardly released, the NJO would tell a single, ongoing narrative, and the books would be released in chronological order. The stakes would be higher, our heroes would face real danger, and by the end of this new saga, Star Wars as readers knew it would not be the same. A new faction of villains, the Yuuzhan Vong, would offer a completely different flavor from the tired Imperial Remnant of the 1990s, and they would be bigger, meaner, and scarrier- both for the galaxy and the major characters readers have been following since the original trilogy.
And this is what brings us to Vector Prime, the first novel in the New Jedi Order. The galaxy is mostly at peace, thanks in large part too the three solo kids (now full-fledged teenage jedi), and the Big Three+Mara Jade (who I will be referring too as "The Big Four" for reviews of the New Jedi Order going forward, for reasons I'll get into later). Unfortunately for them, they're in a franchise called "Star Wars" so that's not going to last. A series of linked events involving unrest between two planets, a remote research station, and a planetary destruction jumpstart an extragalactic invasion of the galaxy.
THE BAD: This is the biggest mixed bag of a star wars novel I have read yet.
Lets start with the plot. If you're wondering why I spent more time on the behind-the-scenes stuff than I did for the plot of Vector Prime itself in THE STORY, it's because the decisions of lucasfilm creators to change up the EU were both more important and more interesting drivers behind what happens in Vector Prime than the story (or more accurately, stories) told within the pages of Vector Prime itself. The entire subplot with Nom Anor and the civil war between Osarian and Rhomamool went nowhere, and the hasty exposition in the last chapter fails to justify it. The story with all the recurring heroes isn't much better- until about 250 pages in, all they do is hop around the galaxy in a dragged out coming-back-together sequence. The detour to Lando's Folly felt like R.A Salvatore (or the NJO creative team) had to give a good 50-ish pages to visiting Lando because he's Lando Calrissian, and to throw in EU mainstay Kyp Durron for good measure. If that wasn't enough, we get what feels like THREE CLIMAXES. Two of them felt important to the characters and/or building up from events set up in the beginning, but the last one just felt unnecessary and rushed, simply an excuse for a big space battle topped with a description calling back to the classic death star explosion from New Hope/Return of the Jedi (I guess you still need to throw in a call back to the death stars somehow, even when your trying to get away from those pesky superweapons!).
From a character standpoint, Salvatore did more right than wrong, but there were some significant misteps. To mention Nom Anor again, he was pretty boring, just another shadowy mastermind. It didn't help that he was described having a disguise that looked like Darth Vader. WHY? On top of that, I was disappointed with Jaina Solo, who was noticeably bland compared to her two brothers (more on them later). For the amount of time this book uses visiting Lando Calrissian, his is almost the exact same person he was in Empire Strikes Back, despite 22 years and 53 books later, because... Lando?
The worst offender by far was Danni Quee. Get a load of this Mary Sue Incarnate- Danni frequently is described as being highly attractive, incredibly smart , and I even noticed a mention of being physically capable . Good kriffing god, are they TRYING to make me not want to read these books??? .
Lastly, there's the writing problems. The action scenes in Vector Prime were so boring. I can probably chalk up other issues like the superfluous road trip with the classic heroes all reuniting and the pointless segment with Nom Anor to mandates from the NJO creative team, and I can even forgive Jaina's blandness due to potential plans to save her arc for one and/or more of the next 18 books. Unfortunately the blame for the bland action is entirely on Salvatore. I found the underwhelming action sequences to be a problem in his otherwise great Attack of the Clones novelization too, and it's probably the second biggest problem with Vector Prime after Danni Sue. The references to events in the original trilogy also felt very unnatural to me. 25 years and 53 books and the characters are STILL dwelling on those events? There was also a writing choice at the very end that I thought was bizarre, but its a .
THE GOOD: I legitimately want to keep going with the NJO series, despite this book's problems. Why is that?
Starting with the story, the introduction of the Yuuzhan Vong was excellent. Yomin Carr was an awesome character (my second favorite in the book) and I loved how we got to learn about the Vong's culture and biotech through him. In the wake of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skwyalker, people often forget how polarizing this book and by extension the New Jedi Order series became among Star Wars fans due to one *risky plot choice* . I thought Salvatore handled it phenomenally. The scene itself is brutal, but more importantly, Salvatore allows the story to breath for ample time to let the characters process what happened. And their reactions were all compelling ().
There may have been some characters I really didn't care for, but the ones that worked well mostly worked very, very well. Despite having no history with Jacen and Anakin Solo, they had interesting personalities right off the bat and worked off each other quite well. Jacen is cynical about what it means to be a jedi, and disagrees with Luke about how the Jedi should operate. Anakin replaces OT Luke as the wide-eyed optimist, but the events surrounding the *risky plot choice* make him more complex as this book sets up a character arc for him right away. Luke Skywalker isn't much more here than the veteran jedi master who's grown wise from years of experience, but I bought his portrayal here as a believable progression from where Zahn left him off at the end of the Thrawn Trilogy. Speaking of which, I was surprised by how much I liked Mara Jade. I didn't understand why she was so beloved when I found her rather flat in the Thrawn Trilogy- her story had an interesting sequence of events, but I didn't feel like she grew very much as a character from it. That said, Zahn did a good job setting her up for later authors, and I totally bought her progression from where The Last Command left off despite not reading any of the 50 other novels before this one. She still has that cynical edge from the Thrawn Trilogy but she has long moved past the tendency to just be there to sass around the big three that bothered me in those books. Her chemistry with Luke, Han, and Leia is so believable that I think "Big Four" is a more fitting term for them. Mara Jade's fight scene with Yomin Carr was awesome, and the only action scene in this book that I actually liked.
But the best character in this for me was Han Solo. Salvatore did a wonderful job capturing his knack for killer one-liners from the movies, while progressing his character in amazing ways both at the start showing how much he has grown between the original film trilogy AND Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, but also towards the end when he faces devastating loss. It was heartbreaking to see Han consumed by grief as he must face the Vong head-on.
From a writing standpoint, I was very impressed by how well I was able to follow along and get interested in the characters even though I've read so little of the post-rotj EU. Aside from one exception , I was surprised at how easy Salvatore makes it to get into the NJO storyline without feeling like I missed a bunch of important developments in the other novels.
THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 3 stars.
Despite its flaws, Vector Prime did a good job introducing the Yuuzhan Vong, raising the stakes for the main characters, and kicking off the New Jedi Order narrative. I would have liked to see the story have a tighter focus and Danni Quee sucks, but the book moves at a good enough pace and it usually kept my interest.
If you're interested in these novels but don't have much experience with the EU, here's my suggestion: I don't recommend starting with this as your first post-ROTJ novel; Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy is a much better choice in that regard, and I strongly encourage you to read those first. However, I don't think it's 100% essential to read the other 50 novels to get invested in what's going on here. For me, R.A. Salvatore's Vector Prime by-and-large made me feel welcomed into a world and and era that previously felt inaccessible due to how large it had become- and I am now more interested in the rest of the New Jedi Order than I ever thought I would be.
a) committing to reading 19 books is an intimidating prospect
b) I've heard very mixed/divided responses to this series almost on the level of The Last Jedi with people telling me that it's amazing, and people telling me that its garbage.
c) the original Star Wars Expanded Universe, particularly post-return-of-the-jedi, has this reputation of being so interconnected that all of the books before it chronologically are considered required reading, according to its most devout fans.
Another important topic to get into before the review itself is my background on the Star Wars Expanded Universe, now called legends.
When it comes to the overarching storylines taking place after Return of the Jedi, I have read almost nothing. Literally the only EU material taking place after Return of the Jedi that I have read is Timothy Zahn's classic Thrawn Trilogy and the first volume of Dark Empire - the former of which I really enjoyed, and the latter of which I hated so much I'm trying to forget it. I know the broad strokes of what happens between the thrawn trilogy and Vector Prime to the "Big Three" and Mara Jade, but as far as I'm concerned the Solo kids are completely new characters to me, freshly introduced in this book. So with that in mind, let's get to the review!
THE STORY: The year 1999 was quite big for Star Wars. The Phantom Menace was released into theaters on May 16th, kicking off the Prequel Trilogy. Five months later on October 5th, this novel's release would shake up the Post-Return-of-the-Jedi Expanded Universe in a massive way. Ever since Heir to the Empire reinvigorated the Star Wars franchise and kicked the Expanded Universe to high gear, most Star Wars stories were still focused on the continued adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa Solo (the aformentioned "Big 3") fighting the remnants of the Galactic Empire, destroying the next superweapon and defeating the warlord behind it in one book or trilogy before the same thing happened in another book or trilogy. There were some exceptions to this "Bantam Formula" (a term I first heard from my friend Crystal that I linked above), but over the years people began to complain about heroes that were too powerful, villains that weren't threatening, or both- leading to a lack of stakes and dramatic heft in the storytelling. The books in the Bantam years were also not necessarily being released in chronological order, with the storylines in novels, released either as standalone books or trilogies most of the times, were not always well connected to one-another and didn't always feel like they had much of an impact on the galaxy or the major characters.
Enter the New Jedi Order, with a promise from the creative team at Lucasfilm to address the complaints that people had with the previous four or five years of EU storytelling. Instead of scattershot novels and trilogies being haphazardly released, the NJO would tell a single, ongoing narrative, and the books would be released in chronological order. The stakes would be higher, our heroes would face real danger, and by the end of this new saga, Star Wars as readers knew it would not be the same. A new faction of villains, the Yuuzhan Vong, would offer a completely different flavor from the tired Imperial Remnant of the 1990s, and they would be bigger, meaner, and scarrier- both for the galaxy and the major characters readers have been following since the original trilogy.
And this is what brings us to Vector Prime, the first novel in the New Jedi Order. The galaxy is mostly at peace, thanks in large part too the three solo kids (now full-fledged teenage jedi), and the Big Three+Mara Jade (who I will be referring too as "The Big Four" for reviews of the New Jedi Order going forward, for reasons I'll get into later). Unfortunately for them, they're in a franchise called "Star Wars" so that's not going to last. A series of linked events involving unrest between two planets, a remote research station, and a planetary destruction jumpstart an extragalactic invasion of the galaxy.
THE BAD: This is the biggest mixed bag of a star wars novel I have read yet.
Lets start with the plot. If you're wondering why I spent more time on the behind-the-scenes stuff than I did for the plot of Vector Prime itself in THE STORY, it's because the decisions of lucasfilm creators to change up the EU were both more important and more interesting drivers behind what happens in Vector Prime than the story (or more accurately, stories) told within the pages of Vector Prime itself. The entire subplot with Nom Anor and the civil war between Osarian and Rhomamool went nowhere, and the hasty exposition in the last chapter fails to justify it. The story with all the recurring heroes isn't much better- until about 250 pages in, all they do is hop around the galaxy in a dragged out coming-back-together sequence. The detour to Lando's Folly felt like R.A Salvatore (or the NJO creative team) had to give a good 50-ish pages to visiting Lando because he's Lando Calrissian, and to throw in EU mainstay Kyp Durron for good measure. If that wasn't enough, we get what feels like THREE CLIMAXES. Two of them felt important to the characters and/or building up from events set up in the beginning, but the last one just felt unnecessary and rushed, simply an excuse for a big space battle topped with a description calling back to the classic death star explosion from New Hope/Return of the Jedi (I guess you still need to throw in a call back to the death stars somehow, even when your trying to get away from those pesky superweapons!).
From a character standpoint, Salvatore did more right than wrong, but there were some significant misteps. To mention Nom Anor again, he was pretty boring, just another shadowy mastermind. It didn't help that he was described having a disguise that looked like Darth Vader. WHY? On top of that, I was disappointed with Jaina Solo, who was noticeably bland compared to her two brothers (more on them later). For the amount of time this book uses visiting Lando Calrissian, his is almost the exact same person he was in Empire Strikes Back, despite 22 years and 53 books later, because... Lando?
The worst offender by far was Danni Quee. Get a load of this Mary Sue Incarnate- Danni frequently is described as being highly attractive, incredibly smart , and I even noticed a mention of being physically capable . Good kriffing god, are they TRYING to make me not want to read these books??? .
Lastly, there's the writing problems. The action scenes in Vector Prime were so boring. I can probably chalk up other issues like the superfluous road trip with the classic heroes all reuniting and the pointless segment with Nom Anor to mandates from the NJO creative team, and I can even forgive Jaina's blandness due to potential plans to save her arc for one and/or more of the next 18 books. Unfortunately the blame for the bland action is entirely on Salvatore. I found the underwhelming action sequences to be a problem in his otherwise great Attack of the Clones novelization too, and it's probably the second biggest problem with Vector Prime after Danni Sue. The references to events in the original trilogy also felt very unnatural to me. 25 years and 53 books and the characters are STILL dwelling on those events? There was also a writing choice at the very end that I thought was bizarre, but its a .
THE GOOD: I legitimately want to keep going with the NJO series, despite this book's problems. Why is that?
Starting with the story, the introduction of the Yuuzhan Vong was excellent. Yomin Carr was an awesome character (my second favorite in the book) and I loved how we got to learn about the Vong's culture and biotech through him. In the wake of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skwyalker, people often forget how polarizing this book and by extension the New Jedi Order series became among Star Wars fans due to one *risky plot choice* . I thought Salvatore handled it phenomenally. The scene itself is brutal, but more importantly, Salvatore allows the story to breath for ample time to let the characters process what happened. And their reactions were all compelling ().
There may have been some characters I really didn't care for, but the ones that worked well mostly worked very, very well. Despite having no history with Jacen and Anakin Solo, they had interesting personalities right off the bat and worked off each other quite well. Jacen is cynical about what it means to be a jedi, and disagrees with Luke about how the Jedi should operate. Anakin replaces OT Luke as the wide-eyed optimist, but the events surrounding the *risky plot choice* make him more complex as this book sets up a character arc for him right away. Luke Skywalker isn't much more here than the veteran jedi master who's grown wise from years of experience, but I bought his portrayal here as a believable progression from where Zahn left him off at the end of the Thrawn Trilogy. Speaking of which, I was surprised by how much I liked Mara Jade. I didn't understand why she was so beloved when I found her rather flat in the Thrawn Trilogy- her story had an interesting sequence of events, but I didn't feel like she grew very much as a character from it. That said, Zahn did a good job setting her up for later authors, and I totally bought her progression from where The Last Command left off despite not reading any of the 50 other novels before this one. She still has that cynical edge from the Thrawn Trilogy but she has long moved past the tendency to just be there to sass around the big three that bothered me in those books. Her chemistry with Luke, Han, and Leia is so believable that I think "Big Four" is a more fitting term for them. Mara Jade's fight scene with Yomin Carr was awesome, and the only action scene in this book that I actually liked.
But the best character in this for me was Han Solo. Salvatore did a wonderful job capturing his knack for killer one-liners from the movies, while progressing his character in amazing ways both at the start showing how much he has grown between the original film trilogy AND Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, but also towards the end when he faces devastating loss. It was heartbreaking to see Han consumed by grief as he must face the Vong head-on.
From a writing standpoint, I was very impressed by how well I was able to follow along and get interested in the characters even though I've read so little of the post-rotj EU. Aside from one exception , I was surprised at how easy Salvatore makes it to get into the NJO storyline without feeling like I missed a bunch of important developments in the other novels.
THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 3 stars.
Despite its flaws, Vector Prime did a good job introducing the Yuuzhan Vong, raising the stakes for the main characters, and kicking off the New Jedi Order narrative. I would have liked to see the story have a tighter focus and Danni Quee sucks, but the book moves at a good enough pace and it usually kept my interest.
If you're interested in these novels but don't have much experience with the EU, here's my suggestion: I don't recommend starting with this as your first post-ROTJ novel; Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy is a much better choice in that regard, and I strongly encourage you to read those first. However, I don't think it's 100% essential to read the other 50 novels to get invested in what's going on here. For me, R.A. Salvatore's Vector Prime by-and-large made me feel welcomed into a world and and era that previously felt inaccessible due to how large it had become- and I am now more interested in the rest of the New Jedi Order than I ever thought I would be.
February 4, 2008
I read quite a few SW books when I was a teenager - then they got boring and routine and were all about the same thing: some bad guy has a superweapon and the gang has to save the universe, yada yada yada.
So, I was in a bookstore looking for something to read on vacation and I saw a Star Wars book called Exile and thought, "well, golly! I haven't read one of those in over ten years - this will be fun!" Well, that book was fourth in a series - and there was a whole other series that came before.
This book is the first in that series, the New Jedi Order. It has a great story line and this novel really kicks it off well. I ended up reading one of these puppies every five days or so until I finally caught back up to the Legacy of the Force series (and am waiting for that next one at the end of February). I was having an incredibly difficult time with work (finding a new job, that is) and STRESS was the word of the day in our house - so these books were an absolutely incredible diversion.
I doubt I'll review the others in this series, so I'll say this: if you like Star Wars, you'll like these books. They're fun. Enjoy.
So, I was in a bookstore looking for something to read on vacation and I saw a Star Wars book called Exile and thought, "well, golly! I haven't read one of those in over ten years - this will be fun!" Well, that book was fourth in a series - and there was a whole other series that came before.
This book is the first in that series, the New Jedi Order. It has a great story line and this novel really kicks it off well. I ended up reading one of these puppies every five days or so until I finally caught back up to the Legacy of the Force series (and am waiting for that next one at the end of February). I was having an incredibly difficult time with work (finding a new job, that is) and STRESS was the word of the day in our house - so these books were an absolutely incredible diversion.
I doubt I'll review the others in this series, so I'll say this: if you like Star Wars, you'll like these books. They're fun. Enjoy.
June 11, 2012
Media tie-ins are always going to be a mixed bag.
Very few in the Star Wars series really rose above average, and they quickly became a matter of diminishing returns for the time and money invested.
Vector Prime is the point where it just dove off a cliff for me.
Salvatore is a capable writer, and though I don't follow his other work, people do seem to look favorably on it.
I think the problem here lies with the editors and the course they chose for the overall ongoing storyline of the series. It's a vision that just doesn't resonate with me.
Now that there are so many other ways to get my Star Wars "fix," I can pass these by. Unless you're one of those who thinks that bad Star Wars is better than no Star Wars, I'd recommend you do the same.
Very few in the Star Wars series really rose above average, and they quickly became a matter of diminishing returns for the time and money invested.
Vector Prime is the point where it just dove off a cliff for me.
Salvatore is a capable writer, and though I don't follow his other work, people do seem to look favorably on it.
I think the problem here lies with the editors and the course they chose for the overall ongoing storyline of the series. It's a vision that just doesn't resonate with me.
Now that there are so many other ways to get my Star Wars "fix," I can pass these by. Unless you're one of those who thinks that bad Star Wars is better than no Star Wars, I'd recommend you do the same.
December 10, 2010
Killed. Chewbacca. I am not okay with this.
Is that a shallow reason to give the book a single star? Perhaps, but it was the tipping point for me. With full understanding that the characters we love cannot live forever in an extended universe, the method of Chewie's demise remains a sore point for me; not merely the fact that it happened.
Is that a shallow reason to give the book a single star? Perhaps, but it was the tipping point for me. With full understanding that the characters we love cannot live forever in an extended universe, the method of Chewie's demise remains a sore point for me; not merely the fact that it happened.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2025
Space trash (complimentary)
August 8, 2016
I read over 100 novels every year, in many different genres. I have read a lot of science-fiction and about 11 of the Star Wars novels. Just so you'll know where I'm coming from, I admit to a certain bias for RA Salvatore. I regard his fantasy works as among the best of contemporary authors. Having said that, I was thrilled when I first learned he would pen a volume of the SW universe. Finally I would get to read high quality SW adventure the way it was meant to be (Timothy Zahn also achieves this in his SW novels).
I was not disappointed. Salvatore remains true to his strengths, especially when it comes to action sequences. The novel is easy to read, with a plausible, yet exciting plot. The characters are in-line with the movies and the story fits in well with the extensive background already created with all of the other SW novels. Salvatore is not afraid to test the boundaries of the SW conventions either, especially when it comes to the safety of the major characters. Frankly, before this novel, most of the SW stories had gotten a little too predictable and I started to lose interest. Other authors have let theselves be managed by the characters but Salvatore makes it clear that the story is primary.
In short, a great addition to the SW line. I know George Lucas is happy or he wouldn't have picked Salvatore to do the novelization of Episode II.
I was not disappointed. Salvatore remains true to his strengths, especially when it comes to action sequences. The novel is easy to read, with a plausible, yet exciting plot. The characters are in-line with the movies and the story fits in well with the extensive background already created with all of the other SW novels. Salvatore is not afraid to test the boundaries of the SW conventions either, especially when it comes to the safety of the major characters. Frankly, before this novel, most of the SW stories had gotten a little too predictable and I started to lose interest. Other authors have let theselves be managed by the characters but Salvatore makes it clear that the story is primary.
In short, a great addition to the SW line. I know George Lucas is happy or he wouldn't have picked Salvatore to do the novelization of Episode II.
February 23, 2026
“I had built this bubble around us,” Han tried to explain. “Around all of us—you, me, Chewie, the kids, Luke, Mara, even Lando. Heck, even the stupid droids. We were all in it, you know? In it and safe, a cozy family.”
“Invulnerable?” the ever perceptive Leia asked. Han nodded. “Nothing could hurt us—could really hurt us,” he went on, and then his voice broke up and he just shook his head and blinked away the tears.
Man, this is one emotional ride, it sets the series perfectly and how sad and grim it usually is, but it'll always be one of my all time favorites. It's so tragic from set to finish, and the amount of death in it is pretty insane, but I think it's the perfect ending for the legends timeline.
The bubble was gone. The alien threat had been all but eradicated, so it seemed. But to Han Solo, the galaxy suddenly seemed a more dan
“Invulnerable?” the ever perceptive Leia asked. Han nodded. “Nothing could hurt us—could really hurt us,” he went on, and then his voice broke up and he just shook his head and blinked away the tears.
Man, this is one emotional ride, it sets the series perfectly and how sad and grim it usually is, but it'll always be one of my all time favorites. It's so tragic from set to finish, and the amount of death in it is pretty insane, but I think it's the perfect ending for the legends timeline.
The bubble was gone. The alien threat had been all but eradicated, so it seemed. But to Han Solo, the galaxy suddenly seemed a more dan
January 10, 2016
The book was alright until a beloved Star Wars character was killed off. Its not so much that the character was killed off that bothers me it is the way. The death was so ... not very well written and lame. The character could have had a better send off. This for me ruined the book and it was hard to finish after. I haven't read a Star Wars book since reading this book when it first came out in hardcover.
UPDATE 1/9/16 I just saw episode VII... how the hell is Chewbacca in this movie and when did Han and Leia have a son named Ben? I've done some digging and can't find a book right before Episode VII chronologically that would explain these 2 characters existing in episode VII.... help?!
UPDATE 1/9/16 I just saw episode VII... how the hell is Chewbacca in this movie and when did Han and Leia have a son named Ben? I've done some digging and can't find a book right before Episode VII chronologically that would explain these 2 characters existing in episode VII.... help?!
April 26, 2015
Vector Prime is an interesting start to The New Jedi Order series. It was intriguing to see the Jedi battling a force insensitive enemy in the Yuuzhan Vong. It certainly promises to be something different.
March 14, 2011
For fans of the original Star Wars films this is a good solid story with adventure and excitement galore. Set 25 years after the events of the original A New Hope film, the galaxy comes under threat from an invading force of frightening warriors. And who should stumble across this invading force? Han Solo with his ever-present sidekick, Chewie. Han's wife Leia, their jedi-trained kids Jacen, Jaina and Anakin (it's been 25 years after all). Luke and his wife Mara, whose rapidly failing health will play a part in the story to come. C-3PO and R2-D2 are present of course and even Lando makes an appearance or two.
A lot of the action takes place in the form of space battles (although there are one or two Lightsaber-style fights the enemies are not lightsaber wielders). The new threat to the galaxy, the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong, are scary, evil and quite formiddable. They quickly raise the ante by, among other things, killing a major character from the films (and no, not just some random Ewok, someone important). The effect is, as intended, to make the reader treat the threat as being quite credible and ensure that you feel that no-one is safe in the books to come.
Speaking of which, this book is the start of a nineteen book cycle (The New Jedi Order). This put the story in danger of being left way too open ended but the author manages to make this book entirely self-contained while hinting that the story is far from over.
I do have a few gripes about the book that took me out of it a few times (how do you land on a planet without realizing that the moon is going to do 2 orbits in the next few hours and then collide with the surface) but I'm happy to cast those aside and treat this as the Space Fantasy that it is.
For people that haven't read any of the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels this is a reasonable place to jump on board. Many events of the last 25 years are referred to and many characters are handled comfortably that my be entirely new to you but it's still good Star Wars-y fun :)
A lot of the action takes place in the form of space battles (although there are one or two Lightsaber-style fights the enemies are not lightsaber wielders). The new threat to the galaxy, the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong, are scary, evil and quite formiddable. They quickly raise the ante by, among other things, killing a major character from the films (and no, not just some random Ewok, someone important). The effect is, as intended, to make the reader treat the threat as being quite credible and ensure that you feel that no-one is safe in the books to come.
Speaking of which, this book is the start of a nineteen book cycle (The New Jedi Order). This put the story in danger of being left way too open ended but the author manages to make this book entirely self-contained while hinting that the story is far from over.
I do have a few gripes about the book that took me out of it a few times (how do you land on a planet without realizing that the moon is going to do 2 orbits in the next few hours and then collide with the surface) but I'm happy to cast those aside and treat this as the Space Fantasy that it is.
For people that haven't read any of the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels this is a reasonable place to jump on board. Many events of the last 25 years are referred to and many characters are handled comfortably that my be entirely new to you but it's still good Star Wars-y fun :)
August 9, 2013
I do not like the NJO books at all. I have several reasons for that, but they start in this book. Firstly, but this didn't feel like that. This felt contrived.
Secondly, the new 'threat' is creepier than 'Entechment' and the bug-people combined. I like fighting against a creepy threat; don't get me wrong. However, in this book, and more so in the later NJO books, it's not "Fight the good fight, Precious," it's 'bang your head against the wall and throw the lives of your best and brightest at the problem, never mind that everyone thinks it's perfectly okay, because they're upset. It just really strikes me wrong.
I am a member of the group of people that thinks this series of books should be decanonized for these and various other reasons.
Secondly, the new 'threat' is creepier than 'Entechment' and the bug-people combined. I like fighting against a creepy threat; don't get me wrong. However, in this book, and more so in the later NJO books, it's not "Fight the good fight, Precious," it's 'bang your head against the wall and throw the lives of your best and brightest at the problem, never mind that everyone thinks it's perfectly okay, because they're upset. It just really strikes me wrong.
I am a member of the group of people that thinks this series of books should be decanonized for these and various other reasons.
February 2, 2010
The first English-language book I read when I was in highschool. My fascination for Star Wars stretched so far even beyond the galaxy far, far away brought me to this book. I trudged through its pages, getting to know obscure words that filled every page of this book. I remembered there was one sentence in this book which needed me to open my dictionary for thirteen times. OK, that was my effort. However, I'm quite disappointed with the book, after my laborious effort, I thought the book just getting more and more Trekkie. I think the creature called Yuuzhan Vong is too Trekkie. They looked like Klingons! Story-wise, also standard, still everybody would depend on Luke. But aside all of that I still enjoyed reading it (what else would keeping me flipping through 360pages full of wicked words of sci-fi otherwise?). But I just think Star Wars does better in graphic novels and movies compared to sci-fi novels to me.
May 2, 2014
I remember when Vector Prime first came out some ten years ago, and all of the talk was about Chewbacca's death. Some fans felt betrayed, while others liked the vulnerability of the main characters. I thought Salvatore (the author) did a fantastic job in making Chewie's death both heroic and tragic, and liked the idea that "even the good guys could die" in this burgeoning series.
I also enjoyed the action scenes and in particular, the fight between Mara Jade and Yomin Carr, a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. The author really gets to put a spotlight on the "technological" weaponry of the Vong, and still leave us believing that there is more to come.
I have heard many complaints that the series is too long, and that some of the books are terrible, but if this start is any indication as to how the rest will go, it shouldn't be that bad.
I also enjoyed the action scenes and in particular, the fight between Mara Jade and Yomin Carr, a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. The author really gets to put a spotlight on the "technological" weaponry of the Vong, and still leave us believing that there is more to come.
I have heard many complaints that the series is too long, and that some of the books are terrible, but if this start is any indication as to how the rest will go, it shouldn't be that bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2016
I marked this book as fantasy because there's not much science in Salvatore's fiction. He used shield ships (SW regulars will know what they are) to heat a ice-crusted water planet, supposedly increasing evaporation so much that the water cools and freezes in HOURS!
The galactic map is nice, but he talks about the "edge" and the entry point of the galaxy as if it has a wall around it, instead of stars and matter--for that matter--petering off to nothingness.
The cover art was repulsive. Yeah, I know the head bad guy was ugly, but I wouldn't buy a book with art like that on it. (No, I didn't buy this copy; it was borrowed and will be returned.
The galactic map is nice, but he talks about the "edge" and the entry point of the galaxy as if it has a wall around it, instead of stars and matter--for that matter--petering off to nothingness.
The cover art was repulsive. Yeah, I know the head bad guy was ugly, but I wouldn't buy a book with art like that on it. (No, I didn't buy this copy; it was borrowed and will be returned.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2010
Vector Prime was a great read. I am not the biggest fan of R.A. Salvatore, but in this book, I found that his writing style is not quite the same as his other books. He does some things that are unexpected, but not always unwelcome. However, after a while, you start to get the feel for what the characters are going to do just based on the way that Salvatore writes them.
There are some interesting insights into the various characters in this book, particularly Han and Anakin. The story sets up The New Jedi Order series well, and I am anxious to keep reading.
There are some interesting insights into the various characters in this book, particularly Han and Anakin. The story sets up The New Jedi Order series well, and I am anxious to keep reading.
September 19, 2010
I loved RA Salvatore's Dark Elf series and I think he's a good fantasy writer, but this book didn't resonate well with me. I don't think he had a good grasp of the characters - they all seemed a little off throughout the novel. The writing felt very forced, especially during the emotional parts, which lacked subtlety and nuance. Overall, this was a disappointing and depressing novel that did not make me want to read more of the New Jedi Order series.
September 26, 2015
If you're a Star Wars fan like I am, then this book is a definite must-read for you! There were times that I find the story slow and/or dragging but it was still a great read.
It was well-written and was as detailed as can be. I didn't actually know about the series until a very good friend (who is also a Star Wars geek) recommended it to me.
In conclusion, I loved it and I will definitely continue reading the series :)
It was well-written and was as detailed as can be. I didn't actually know about the series until a very good friend (who is also a Star Wars geek) recommended it to me.
In conclusion, I loved it and I will definitely continue reading the series :)
April 19, 2009
This is really a fine tale. Not too surprised that Salvatore could pull it off but then again, he did it within the Star Wars universe. Heart-pumping action and a horrific new villain. I liked this enough to buy the next two books in this series.
May 1, 2012
I read the vast majority of the books in the NJO series. I greatly enjoyed many of them.
But this one sucked. I can't tell you why, as it has been years, but of all the books in the series, this one stuck out to me as actually being bad.
But this one sucked. I can't tell you why, as it has been years, but of all the books in the series, this one stuck out to me as actually being bad.
November 29, 2020
Way better than I remember.
April 7, 2021
Some parts were good. Other parts boring. I just hope the rest of the series gets better
February 15, 2021
For 2021, I decided to reread Del Rey’s first attempt at a multi-author book series in the Star Wars universe: The New Jedi Order, which was published between 1999 and 2003. This shakes out to 19 novels, two eBook novellas, three short stories, and a tangentially-related prequel era novel.
This week’s focus: the series starter, Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore.
SOME HISTORY:
R.A. Salvatore is known predominantly as a fantasy writer, having written over 40 novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting “Forgotten Realms,” and his most popular character is Drizzt Do'Urden the dark elf. However, he has also occasionally delved into the sci-fi genre: he wrote the first book in the New Jedi Order series, Vector Prime, as well the novelization for Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Vector Prime made it to number ten on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of October 31, 1999, and was on the NYT list for four weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Del Rey and Lucasfilm Publishing promoted Vector Prime as a blockbuster, not-to-be-missed event, so I checked out the book as soon as my library received it. I finished the book super intrigued about the continuing story, but also immensely sad—but my intrigue won out over my sadness, though, because I did seek out the rest of the series.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
21 years after the Battle of Endor, a new threat surfaces beyond the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim. Suddenly the Solos, the Skywalkers, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca are thrust again into battle; but this time, all their courage, sacrifice, and even the power of the Force itself may not be enough to stop this threat…
THE CHARACTERS:
Luke Skywalker is dealing with unsupervised Jedi running amok, and he wants to reinstate the Jedi Council to address this. This development would not have happened withoutEpisode I, because the structure of the old Jedi Order was left much more amorphous before the release of the prequels! Other than those political considerations, he’s training his nephews and not a particularly active participant in the story.
Leia Organa Solo has stepped down from her role as Chief of State (in the Hand of Thrawn duology she seemed to be on sabbatical, but I guess she chose not to return to her post), but she’s still operating as a diplomat for the New Republic. She’s sent to mediate the Osarian/Rhommamool conflict, makes no progress there because Nom Anor is very obstructive, and (like Luke) just follows the flow of the narrative.
Mara Jade has married Luke, is training her niece Jaina, and is struggling with an unknown disease that has already killed every other person who contracted it. I think that Salvatore does a fairly good job of letting the reader know about pertinent info they may have missed from the previous books (it helps to have reread the main Bantam books, but it’s actually not essential here), but this was one instance where I felt like I was missing out on something. I was like “when did Mara become ill? How did she become ill? Where? Why?” And Salvatore only answered the “why” (Nom Anor poisoned her with coomb spores).
I’ll get to Han & Chewie a little later, because of 20+ year old spoilers...
Lando has started up another business (what happened to his underwater mining venture with Tendra?), and provides both the important location where all our heroes gather at the half-way point, as well as the needed technology to improbably defeat the enemy at the end. But props to Lando: he’s a businessman, he’s doing what he does best and making money. Like a cat, Lando always lands on his feet.
There’s also a focus on the new generation, in the form of the Solo kids. In the Bantam era, the kids were most prominently featured in The Crystal Star by Vonda N. McIntyre and The Corellian Trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen, but they were also significantly fleshed out in the Young Jedi Knight and Junior Jedi Knights series as well. The twins Jaina and Jacen are now sixteen, and Anakin is somewhere between fourteen and fifteen years old. Jaina receives perhaps the least character development of the three: she’s strong in the Force, she’s a good pilot, and that’s it.
Jacen and Anakin, though, approach the Force and their role as Jedi from two different viewpoints; neither of them is 100% correct, but they’re not completely wrong either. Jacen is focused on the Force as individual guidance, while Anakin is focused on the heroic nature of Jedi—but Anakin also recognizes that the Force can unite people, and make them far stronger and more effective than they’d ever be on their own. The Solo kids sometimes sound too old/too much like adults, but this was one instance where I felt like these philosophical discussions were actually in line with how teenagers would talk and behave.
Then we have the rogue Jedi that Luke is so concerned about. Wurth Skidder is a hothead who only makes things worse during the Osarian/Rhommamool conflict, and deserves more verbal beat-downs from Leia. Miko Reglia is the first Jedi to be captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, and after being psychologically tortured again and again, his psyche is completely broken. Miko is being trained by Kyp Durron, who has formed his own vigilante squadron, the Dozen and Two Avengers. Salvatore originally wanted to introduce a new character here, but the NJO group suggested he use Kyp instead. I’m just not sure that I buy Kyp’s character development here? After the Jedi Academy Trilogy, Kyp was struggling with atoning for what he had done (genocide…) and finding his role within the Jedi Order. To then read about a cocky, arrogant, obnoxious Kyp who won’t listen to authority strikes me as not the path that his character would have taken, but oh well.
We also meet a whole host of scientists at the ExGal station on Belkadan, but like in a thriller, only one survives to the end: Danni Quee. I like the concept of Danni Quee—intelligent female scientist who first encounters this extragalactic threat—but not the actual execution of her character. Danni feels a bit too much like a perfect Mary Sue for my taste: she’s beautiful, she has curly blonde hair and green eyes, she joined ExGal when she was 18 and is now 21 (was she a child prodigy? How did she gain all this knowledge?), she’s Force sensitive, and she’s a natural leader that everyone looks to for guidance.
And then we also have our new baddies, the Yuuzhan Vong. We first meet Nom Anor, a secret Vong agent, who’s apparently been in the galaxy for some time. (Nom Anor was first introduced in Crimson Empire II - Council of Blood in 1998, but he was just a mysterious figure and not yet revealed as an extra-galactic agent of chaos. His plotline is definitely not complete at this point: he foments civil unrest between Osarian and Rhommamool so that the New Republic will be focused on the Core, he’s super rude to Leia, and after stoking tensions enough he leaves...to cause mayhem somewhere else.
We’re also introduced to Yomin Carr, a Vong agent who has infiltrated the ExGal station on Belkadan. These sections read like a thriller to me, which I liked--Yomin Carr takes down their defenses, destroys their ability to communicate with the outside world, and then kills the scientists one by one. He also provides us with our first example of a Vong vs. Jedi duel, which was another high point of the novel. Carr’s fight against Mara Jade isn’t particularly acrobatic or full of lightsaber showmanship; instead, Mara is fighting against biotechnology she’s never encountered and a fighting style she’s never seen, and she still wins. Yomin Carr dies, but (weirdly enough) he respects Mara for it.
Prefect Da’Gara rounds out our list as the leader of the Praetorite Vong. His strategy seems effective--he’s banking off the New Republic being completely unfamiliar with the Yuuzhan Vong and their biotechnology--and he’s honestly only defeated because of a fluke.
BIG CHANGES:
Everything discussed in this section will be full of spoilers for this 20+ year old book, so if you have somehow avoided these developments, turn back now!
ISSUES:
While I definitely enjoyed some aspects of Vector Prime, I did get a little nitpicky with other bits.
The first half of the book felt slow at times, and stuffed with plot contrivances. The Osarian/Rhommamool conflict only really exists to introduce Nom Anor and the idea of Mara’s sickness; likewise, while Lando’s business venture is pivotal to our heroes defeating the Praetorite Vong, did we need to read about all three everyone running the belt in Lando’s Folly? (It’s important later on when the Solo kids defeat loads of coralskippers, but here?) Jacen attempts it, Anakin attempts it, Jaina sets a new course record. Lando tries to get Luke & Mara to compete, then Han and Chewie have a farcical scene where they look like they’re in control but they’re actually flailing. If I were the editor, I would have cut a fair bit of this.
This reread, I also realized how much the Yuuzhan Vong remind me of a certain alien group from Star Trek: Voyager. Species 8472 are one of the few races that the Borgs couldn’t assimilate, they’re a huge threat to Janeway and her crew, and most significantly, they use biotechnology. These episodes came out in 1997, so could the NJO group have been influenced by them? Possibly! The Yuuzhan Vong feel a little bit like Species 8472, make them space orcs:
We don’t see much of the Vong’s religious zealousness in this book (I think they only mention one of their gods, Yun-Yammka), but we do see their abhorrence for droids and mechanical technology. They’re also super violent--they have numerous scars, they break their noses a lot (apparently love that skull aesthetic), and Nom Anor gouged out his own eye and put a Yuuzhan Vong creature in its place.
I think this is why I feel the Vong are effective for a few books, but as the series progresses the authors need to make them feel even scarier, even more of a threat. So they become even more violent--they resort more and more to torture--and I don’t like that aspect of them. They’re frightening in Vector Prime, primarily because we know so little about them, and I prefer that feeling of unease to the lavish gory descriptions we get in later books.
And the ending is bonkers. How our heroes defeat the Praetorite Vong at Helska IV makes absolutely no scientific sense. Helska IV is an ice planet with volcanoes underneath. Our heroes get a bunch of Lando’s old shieldships and use them to redirect Helska’s star towards the planet. I’m not sure how heating the planet makes it freeze up? At one point Anakin says “the fourth state of matter!” but that’s plasma (think lightning)?? And then Helska IV stops rotating, then starts rotating really fast, then explodes. If someone has a science/astronomy background and can actually explain this, please do! Because it makes absolutely no sense to me.
The last few chapters also feel super fast-paced, and the ending comes abruptly. After the penultimate battle ends in the New Republic Star Destroyer being destroyed because its captain underestimated our Vong, in three chapters our heroes enact their plan and succeed; Luke talks about how they’ve won for now and there’s more to come; and Han and Leia return to the ruins of Sernpidal so Han can bid farewell to Chewie. It’s a touching scene, but it happens so quickly that I felt whiplash.
IN CONCLUSION:
I rather enjoyed rereading Vector Prime--I thought it was a good start to the series, and set up a lot of things for future installations. I'm of divided mind, though, about Chewie's fate, and I think Vector Prime set an unfortunate precedent for the Yuuzhan Vong to become overwhelmingly violent as the books progressed. (The ending is also bizarre.)
Next up: the first book in the Dark Tide duology, Dark Tide I: Onslaught by Michael A. Stackpole.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/3QZEg40pjXg
2008 Interview with Timothy Zahn: https://web.archive.org/web/200801120...
This week’s focus: the series starter, Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore.
SOME HISTORY:
R.A. Salvatore is known predominantly as a fantasy writer, having written over 40 novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting “Forgotten Realms,” and his most popular character is Drizzt Do'Urden the dark elf. However, he has also occasionally delved into the sci-fi genre: he wrote the first book in the New Jedi Order series, Vector Prime, as well the novelization for Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Vector Prime made it to number ten on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of October 31, 1999, and was on the NYT list for four weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Del Rey and Lucasfilm Publishing promoted Vector Prime as a blockbuster, not-to-be-missed event, so I checked out the book as soon as my library received it. I finished the book super intrigued about the continuing story, but also immensely sad—but my intrigue won out over my sadness, though, because I did seek out the rest of the series.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
21 years after the Battle of Endor, a new threat surfaces beyond the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim. Suddenly the Solos, the Skywalkers, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca are thrust again into battle; but this time, all their courage, sacrifice, and even the power of the Force itself may not be enough to stop this threat…
THE CHARACTERS:
Luke Skywalker is dealing with unsupervised Jedi running amok, and he wants to reinstate the Jedi Council to address this. This development would not have happened withoutEpisode I, because the structure of the old Jedi Order was left much more amorphous before the release of the prequels! Other than those political considerations, he’s training his nephews and not a particularly active participant in the story.
Leia Organa Solo has stepped down from her role as Chief of State (in the Hand of Thrawn duology she seemed to be on sabbatical, but I guess she chose not to return to her post), but she’s still operating as a diplomat for the New Republic. She’s sent to mediate the Osarian/Rhommamool conflict, makes no progress there because Nom Anor is very obstructive, and (like Luke) just follows the flow of the narrative.
Mara Jade has married Luke, is training her niece Jaina, and is struggling with an unknown disease that has already killed every other person who contracted it. I think that Salvatore does a fairly good job of letting the reader know about pertinent info they may have missed from the previous books (it helps to have reread the main Bantam books, but it’s actually not essential here), but this was one instance where I felt like I was missing out on something. I was like “when did Mara become ill? How did she become ill? Where? Why?” And Salvatore only answered the “why” (Nom Anor poisoned her with coomb spores).
I’ll get to Han & Chewie a little later, because of 20+ year old spoilers...
Lando has started up another business (what happened to his underwater mining venture with Tendra?), and provides both the important location where all our heroes gather at the half-way point, as well as the needed technology to improbably defeat the enemy at the end. But props to Lando: he’s a businessman, he’s doing what he does best and making money. Like a cat, Lando always lands on his feet.
There’s also a focus on the new generation, in the form of the Solo kids. In the Bantam era, the kids were most prominently featured in The Crystal Star by Vonda N. McIntyre and The Corellian Trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen, but they were also significantly fleshed out in the Young Jedi Knight and Junior Jedi Knights series as well. The twins Jaina and Jacen are now sixteen, and Anakin is somewhere between fourteen and fifteen years old. Jaina receives perhaps the least character development of the three: she’s strong in the Force, she’s a good pilot, and that’s it.
Jacen and Anakin, though, approach the Force and their role as Jedi from two different viewpoints; neither of them is 100% correct, but they’re not completely wrong either. Jacen is focused on the Force as individual guidance, while Anakin is focused on the heroic nature of Jedi—but Anakin also recognizes that the Force can unite people, and make them far stronger and more effective than they’d ever be on their own. The Solo kids sometimes sound too old/too much like adults, but this was one instance where I felt like these philosophical discussions were actually in line with how teenagers would talk and behave.
Then we have the rogue Jedi that Luke is so concerned about. Wurth Skidder is a hothead who only makes things worse during the Osarian/Rhommamool conflict, and deserves more verbal beat-downs from Leia. Miko Reglia is the first Jedi to be captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, and after being psychologically tortured again and again, his psyche is completely broken. Miko is being trained by Kyp Durron, who has formed his own vigilante squadron, the Dozen and Two Avengers. Salvatore originally wanted to introduce a new character here, but the NJO group suggested he use Kyp instead. I’m just not sure that I buy Kyp’s character development here? After the Jedi Academy Trilogy, Kyp was struggling with atoning for what he had done (genocide…) and finding his role within the Jedi Order. To then read about a cocky, arrogant, obnoxious Kyp who won’t listen to authority strikes me as not the path that his character would have taken, but oh well.
We also meet a whole host of scientists at the ExGal station on Belkadan, but like in a thriller, only one survives to the end: Danni Quee. I like the concept of Danni Quee—intelligent female scientist who first encounters this extragalactic threat—but not the actual execution of her character. Danni feels a bit too much like a perfect Mary Sue for my taste: she’s beautiful, she has curly blonde hair and green eyes, she joined ExGal when she was 18 and is now 21 (was she a child prodigy? How did she gain all this knowledge?), she’s Force sensitive, and she’s a natural leader that everyone looks to for guidance.
And then we also have our new baddies, the Yuuzhan Vong. We first meet Nom Anor, a secret Vong agent, who’s apparently been in the galaxy for some time. (Nom Anor was first introduced in Crimson Empire II - Council of Blood in 1998, but he was just a mysterious figure and not yet revealed as an extra-galactic agent of chaos. His plotline is definitely not complete at this point: he foments civil unrest between Osarian and Rhommamool so that the New Republic will be focused on the Core, he’s super rude to Leia, and after stoking tensions enough he leaves...to cause mayhem somewhere else.
We’re also introduced to Yomin Carr, a Vong agent who has infiltrated the ExGal station on Belkadan. These sections read like a thriller to me, which I liked--Yomin Carr takes down their defenses, destroys their ability to communicate with the outside world, and then kills the scientists one by one. He also provides us with our first example of a Vong vs. Jedi duel, which was another high point of the novel. Carr’s fight against Mara Jade isn’t particularly acrobatic or full of lightsaber showmanship; instead, Mara is fighting against biotechnology she’s never encountered and a fighting style she’s never seen, and she still wins. Yomin Carr dies, but (weirdly enough) he respects Mara for it.
Prefect Da’Gara rounds out our list as the leader of the Praetorite Vong. His strategy seems effective--he’s banking off the New Republic being completely unfamiliar with the Yuuzhan Vong and their biotechnology--and he’s honestly only defeated because of a fluke.
BIG CHANGES:
Everything discussed in this section will be full of spoilers for this 20+ year old book, so if you have somehow avoided these developments, turn back now!
ISSUES:
While I definitely enjoyed some aspects of Vector Prime, I did get a little nitpicky with other bits.
The first half of the book felt slow at times, and stuffed with plot contrivances. The Osarian/Rhommamool conflict only really exists to introduce Nom Anor and the idea of Mara’s sickness; likewise, while Lando’s business venture is pivotal to our heroes defeating the Praetorite Vong, did we need to read about all three everyone running the belt in Lando’s Folly? (It’s important later on when the Solo kids defeat loads of coralskippers, but here?) Jacen attempts it, Anakin attempts it, Jaina sets a new course record. Lando tries to get Luke & Mara to compete, then Han and Chewie have a farcical scene where they look like they’re in control but they’re actually flailing. If I were the editor, I would have cut a fair bit of this.
This reread, I also realized how much the Yuuzhan Vong remind me of a certain alien group from Star Trek: Voyager. Species 8472 are one of the few races that the Borgs couldn’t assimilate, they’re a huge threat to Janeway and her crew, and most significantly, they use biotechnology. These episodes came out in 1997, so could the NJO group have been influenced by them? Possibly! The Yuuzhan Vong feel a little bit like Species 8472, make them space orcs:
We don’t see much of the Vong’s religious zealousness in this book (I think they only mention one of their gods, Yun-Yammka), but we do see their abhorrence for droids and mechanical technology. They’re also super violent--they have numerous scars, they break their noses a lot (apparently love that skull aesthetic), and Nom Anor gouged out his own eye and put a Yuuzhan Vong creature in its place.
I think this is why I feel the Vong are effective for a few books, but as the series progresses the authors need to make them feel even scarier, even more of a threat. So they become even more violent--they resort more and more to torture--and I don’t like that aspect of them. They’re frightening in Vector Prime, primarily because we know so little about them, and I prefer that feeling of unease to the lavish gory descriptions we get in later books.
And the ending is bonkers. How our heroes defeat the Praetorite Vong at Helska IV makes absolutely no scientific sense. Helska IV is an ice planet with volcanoes underneath. Our heroes get a bunch of Lando’s old shieldships and use them to redirect Helska’s star towards the planet. I’m not sure how heating the planet makes it freeze up? At one point Anakin says “the fourth state of matter!” but that’s plasma (think lightning)?? And then Helska IV stops rotating, then starts rotating really fast, then explodes. If someone has a science/astronomy background and can actually explain this, please do! Because it makes absolutely no sense to me.
The last few chapters also feel super fast-paced, and the ending comes abruptly. After the penultimate battle ends in the New Republic Star Destroyer being destroyed because its captain underestimated our Vong, in three chapters our heroes enact their plan and succeed; Luke talks about how they’ve won for now and there’s more to come; and Han and Leia return to the ruins of Sernpidal so Han can bid farewell to Chewie. It’s a touching scene, but it happens so quickly that I felt whiplash.
IN CONCLUSION:
I rather enjoyed rereading Vector Prime--I thought it was a good start to the series, and set up a lot of things for future installations. I'm of divided mind, though, about Chewie's fate, and I think Vector Prime set an unfortunate precedent for the Yuuzhan Vong to become overwhelmingly violent as the books progressed. (The ending is also bizarre.)
Next up: the first book in the Dark Tide duology, Dark Tide I: Onslaught by Michael A. Stackpole.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/3QZEg40pjXg
2008 Interview with Timothy Zahn: https://web.archive.org/web/200801120...
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