Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Destiny’s Way

My overall impression of this book is that the first 250 pages or so were done reasonably well, whereas the last 200 pages read more like a rough draft. I imagine that the author simply didn’t have enough time to give us a truly high quality product. Think of how many of these books got cranked out in such a short amount of time. I disagree with the one-star reviewers that say he mishandled Vergere. She’s essentially a captive again; obviously under such conditions, she’s going to behave differently.

For an example of how bad the latter half is, here’s an example from the ceremony which promotes the younger Jedi to Jedi Knights: Luke says to Tahiri: “Life has torn much from you that you loved, but your courage has been equal to everything. Never forget that the Jedi will always be here for you. Never forget that the Force begets life as well as death.” He touched her cheek. “And never forget that here you are loved. Go to Kashyyyk, join your mind to that of others, and heal.” Tahiri’s chin trembled, and she swallowed tears…

Luke made Tahiri cry! In a ceremony that’s supposed to be inspirational! Is the whole purpose of this scene “Luke Skywalker needs a scriptwriter and should not under any circumstances be allowed to make up ceremonies off the top of his head?” The mini-speeches he makes to the other young Jedi are all equally screwy. At least what he says to Jaina was SUPPOSED to be weird.

But the first half of the novel is okay, which leads me to believe that the author could have done a better job, if he had more time.

Okay, it’s book 14 of the NJO series (not including some of the eBook content on the net) and finally what’s left of the New Republic seems to shift the tide of the war against the Vong. However, even at the conclusion of this novel it appears the readers that are staying on this train are in for a long ride.
Now that Jacen has returned and has been reunited with his family, the enigmatic Vergere begins to reveal her true nature and origin and claims that Jacen Solo is headed for his true destiny. Of course Luke, Mare and others are wary about Vergere’s actions and keep a close eye on her.
Admiral Ackbar returns (with Winter in tow) and devises a new plan that will decisively turn the war around. However in order to bring this plan to fruition the New Republic government needs to lend its support. In doing so, a new Chief of State must be elected and as this happens a new Jedi Council is formed.
Han Solo is re-activated as a general and must pull together other scattered remnants of various characters to lend their hand in Ackbar’s plan. Leia briefly visits the Empire and requests their help early in the book, but nothing really becomes of that (I kinda wonder why this was included unless it’s sowing the seeds for a future novel, but otherwise useless here).
Jaina Solo continues to battle with her emotions, often teased by the dark side. She recognizes this and embraces the upcoming battles and her re-uniting with Jacen to distract her, but the question is for how long?
Good, however, where is this all going?
Another sub plot concerns the fact that a ultra secret New Republic operation has produced a biological weapon that will kill the Vong once and for all, however, the Jedi and a few others see this as a super-weapon with designs all too familiar with Emperor Palpatine’s horror attached to it. They must act to dissuade its use or slow down its activation before its too late so of course an epic showdown between the Vong and the forces of the New Republic must meet.
On the flip side the Vong introduce yet another new character, the Supreme Overlord over warmaster Lah and executor Nom Anor. The Vong begin to realize that their forces are spread thin, and resources are becoming more limited. They need a large victory to continue their efforts. Enter the continual scheming of Nom Anor (such a great character).
I think the author did a superb job of action pacing and made very logical developments that held this book together. I think the reader will be pleased.
Now my problems: Many known characters are absent, the meeting with the Empire was pointless, Jacen’s destiny (without giving it away) is un-resolved and un-clear?, other plot threads in previous books were ignored, and most seriously…where is this all going? Again, after 14 books (and two other currently being written) is there an end in sight? I’m starting to feel that the overall picture of the NJO is getting stale and drawn out.

For the past three years the Yuuzhan Vong have laid waste to the galaxy. Mighty heroes have fallen, planets have burned, and Coruscant, the illustrious seat of government for millenia, is no more. The ruins of the great city planet have given birth to Yuuzhan’tar, the legendary homeworld of the Yuuzhan Vong. All hope seems lost for the New Republic as darkness sweeps the galaxy. But from that darkness emerges a beacon of light, a lost hero, a lost son – Jacen Solo.

“It is the turning point.”

This phrase echoes throughout Destiny’s Way, and it proves true. Walter Jon Williams leads us on a journey that chronicles the restructuring of the New Republic, the rebirth of the Jedi Council, and the return of a lost hero – all leading up to a clash of titanic proportions. At the Battle of Ebaq a conglomeration of Yuuzhan Vong battlegroups rivaling that of Battle Plan Coruscant is wiped out to the last living ship. By novel’s end Warmaster Tsavong Lah is dead and the Yuuzhan Vong… well, if there were any Yuuzhan Vong survivors they would be licking their wounds.

Williams must have delved into the layers of EU material when penning Destiny’s Way. The book is filled with subtle references to more-obscure content, such as the classic X-Wing PC game. Keyan Farlander, now a Jedi and a general, returns at the helm of a New Republic fleet. We also get to see a variety of ship types instead of the standard fare: Lancer-class frigates, Corellian gunships, and the classic MC80 Mon Calamari cruiser. At the end of the novel we learn what became of the other Super Star Destroyer the New Republic’s been hiding – the Guardian.

The book has a variety of battles. Williams gives us small skirmishes and dogfights, grand space battles, lightsaber duels, and even the rare underwater conflict. The submarine battle is awesome, and seems like something straight out of the pages of The Hunt for Red October, but the Battle of Ebaq takes the cake for my favorite scene (even though it’s a good chunk of the book).

My favorite parts of the novel, aside from the sprawling Battle of Ebaq, were those involving the Yuuzhan Vong. Shimrra is a veritable monster, and Williams does an excellent job showing us many facets of the Supreme Overlord. We finally get a glimpse into the inner workings of the highest-level of the Yuuzhan Vong government. The Shaper Lord Ch’Gang Hool, High Priest Jakan, Warmaster Tsavong Lah, High Prefect Yoog Skell, and of course, Onimi, who is destined to be a crowd pleaser with his antics and clever rhymes. Also sure to please fans: in Destiny’s Way the veil of mystery surrounding what really took place on Zonama Sekot is lifted.

Destiny’s Way offers more of my favorite character – the executor everyone loves to hate, Nom Anor. Having escaped the warmaster’s wrath after the events of Traitor, Nom Anor finds himself in the court of the Supreme Overlord, where he undergoes a vigorous ‘mind-rape’ at Shimrra’s hands. It is here that Nom Anor learns of the heresy among Shamed Ones and members of the worker caste. He infiltrates a small group of heretics and decides that they need a leader – a Prophet. Later, when events turn sour and Nom Anor unadvertently leads the Yuuzhan Vong to their greatest defeat, the executor abandons his position and goes into hiding amongst the heretics. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him just yet.

“What are you doing, Executor?”

“Giving Shimrra an itch.”

Traitor left me fearing for the executor’s life, and Destiny’s Way is no exception. By the end of the novel Nom Anor is a marked individual, and Shimrra will stop at nothing to have his head. How long can one run from death before it finally catches up? Hopefully forever.

I applaud Williams for not falling into a common trap – what I like to call ‘fan popularity bias’. Too often we see the main characters being forced into situations, often because of their popularity among the fanbase. For example, the majority of fans were counting on a rematch between Jacen and Tsavong Lah. Instead Jaina was the one to put an end to the warmaster’s reign of terror. Instead of populating the Jedi Council with all the fan-favorites he included Kenth Hamner and Tresina Lobi, two Jedi with very little prior exposure. Not only does this add to the element of surprise and believability (the main characters can’t do everything), it also gives us the opportunity to learn more about second and third-tier characters.

THE STORY:
The Jedi have regrouped, the broken New Republic is reforged as the Galactic Alliance and, thanks to Admiral Ackbar, they now have a strategy to fight the Yuuzhan Vong.
WHAT’S GOOD:
I’m glad that the brutal darkness of the NJO has begun to lighten, all those ‘evil triumphing over good’ stories were beginning to lose the simple (but beloved) values of Star Wars. In this book we finally see two major developments; first the Galactic Alliance stops faffing around and does something constructive and second the Jedi begin to throw off their philosophical bonds. Perhaps my favourite scene in this book is where, one by one, the young Jedi we’ve come to know and love are recognised for their individual skills and named Jedi Knights. The huge battle at Ebaq 9 comes a close second. Luke’s interaction with Vergere is also interesting, as is Vergere’s continued tutoring of Jacen.
WHAT’S BAD:
Not very much actually. Sometimes Vergere seems a little too confident in her own superiority for my taste, but other than that…
One of the more essential New Jedi Order books, ranked only behind ‘Vector Prime’ and ‘Star By Star’.

This book is a great read. The build up to the finale, the flow of the story all lend to a very enjoyable hard to put down sci fi adventuresome