In STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER – DARK TIDE II: RUIN, things get much worse.

The sub sub-title RUIN becomes very accurate by the end of the book. We now realize that the first wave of Yuuzhan Vong invaders (introduced in VECTOR PRIME) weren’t even warriors at all. They were essentially from the politician class and were eager to grab a few new planets. Since they botched the job, the warrior class has been sent in to finish the job and restore honor. The Yuuzhan Vong have their eyes on the peace-loving forest planet of Ithor.

So it falls to the Jedi Knights and the New Republic to defend the planet against all odds. There are a few side trips along the way, including a visit to Imperial space, where the last remnant of the Empire is licking its wounds. A primary focus of the DARK TIME duology is the Corellian Jedi Corran Horn. He’s a compelling non-movie character and author Michael A. Stackpole does a great job of fleshing him out and giving him a great arc.

It’s still strange to me that this story was split up into two different novels. It could have worked a lot better with a tighter focus and in a single volume. My main problem with this book is that there are so many subplots and all of them are given essentially equal importance. Some of the subplots seem only to exist to give the major characters something to do, such as Luke Skywalker’s pointless mission to hunt down a Jedi hellbent on getting her hands on a superweapon.

But I don’t attribute the subplot problem primarily to Stackpole. Since this is part of a multi-volume, multi-author series, there are threads that he has to carry throughout his books for the next writer to pick up. Some of these threads are bound to be more interesting than others. The way the story is structured so far makes it feel like the storyline for a long and really well-done STAR WARS television series. The strength of the story is really in the ensemble cast of great characters. When the NEW JEDI ORDER series slows down and takes time to focus on the characters, it becomes quite a page-turner.