Greg Keyes delivers another great STAR WARS novel with STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – EDGE OF VICTORY II: REBIRTH. I don’t know why this is the second volume in the EDGE OF VICTORY series, because it really works as a stand-alone book. Whereas the previous book focused on Anakin Solo, this book brings all the beloved movie characters back to center stage. For one of these books to really “feel” like a STAR WARS movie, it needs lots of characters and lots of subplots – REBIRTH delivers both in spades.
One of the main subplots is the impending birth of the child of Luke and Mara Jade. Mara’s sickness returns, placing the baby in grave danger. This thread is really handled brilliantly and sensitively. Kyp Durron and his renegade squadron discover an in-progress Yuuzhan Vong superweapon and recruit Jaina Solo’s help in destroying it. Anakin deepens his relationship with Tahiri, who is recovering from her treatment at the hands of Yuuzhan Vong shapers. And Han Solo reverts to back to true form as an intergalactic smuggler, with Jacen and Leia at his side.
On the Yuuzhan Vong front, we follow a shaper named Nen Yim, who was introduced in the last book. She is a heretic because she doesn’t simply follow religion, but conducts experiments that go against the Yuuzhan Vong beliefs.
There is so much going on here that it would be easy to let it get bogged down. Instead, Keyes keeps things moving at a breakneck pace and brings all the story threads together for an amazing climax. This is one book in the series that easily could have been 100 pages longer and still remained a great read. –Chris Sharpe
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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – AGENTS OF CHAOS I: HERO’S TRIAL by James Luceno
• STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – AGENTS OF CHAOS II: JEDI ECLIPSE by James Luceno
• STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – BALANCE POINT by Kathy Tyers
• STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – DARK TIDE I: ONSLAUGHT by Michael A. Stackpole
• STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – DARK TIDE II: RUIN by Michael A. Stackpole
• STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – EDGE OF VICTORY I: CONQUEST by Greg Keyes
• STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – VECTOR PRIME by R.A. Salvatore
