Destiny's Way - SPOILERS

[Joe]

I purchased this latest NJO hardcover this afternoon and finished it a few minutes ago. That being said, it's a good one, for sure. It's one of the more-balanced NJO novels so far; it has the space combat that made the Dark Tide duology so memorable, the philosophy of Traitor, and a fairly enthralling political subplot, also. It reads fairly well, brings back some of the old favorite characters, including Admiral Ackbar, and brings almost the entire cast of the series back together again on Mon Calamari.

First, those of you expecting the Empire to come back and kick some Vong ass will be disappointed. The Empire plays only a very small role in the novel, and at this point it appears the NR (or Leia, at least) is not interested in Imperial assistance.

Vergere. An interesting character to begin with, she's developed even further in this novel. We learn about her history, how and why she came to live with the Vong, and why she tortured Jacen the way she did. She is very much a Jedi Knight of the Old Republic; she is openly contemptuous of Luke's new order of Jedi Knights, and she harshly criticizes his decision to allow Jedi to marry. She has many long discussions with Luke, and (presumbably) teaches Cilghal her healing techniques. An interesting quote by her: "As long as I draw breath, the Old Republic lives."

At the beginning of the novel, things are looking not-so-good for the Vong; at the end, things are looking even worse. The Vong have sustained heavy losses (as many as a third of their warriors) and there is revolt stirring among the Shamed Ones caste. We see many other weaknesses in Vong society; Williams may be planting a seed when he alludes to growing microbial problems causing illness on Yuuzhan'tar. And finally, at the end of the novel, the Vong get thouroughly, completely beaten for once by the NR, thanks to a brilliant plan by Ackbar.

Things are also looking up for the Jedi; a pro-Jedi Chief of State is elected, the Jedi Council is reestablished (albeit in a different form), and Kyp Durron is finally under control, hopefully.

And a while ago, I argued that Palpatine would exterminate every single Vong alive given the chance. Well, he obviously won't be able to, but the Bothans seem to be up to the task.

Overall, this is a rather good novel, and continues the upward trend established by the recent novels of the series. I recommend it.

[Stormbringer]

And a while ago, I argued that Palpatine would exterminate every single Vong alive given the chance. Well, he obviously won't be able to, but the Bothans seem to be up to the task.

They'd better be. Considering it was the head of the Hamster-Bastards that let the Vong in to begin with.

[Crown]

*Shock*

A realistic novel in the NJO series?!?!?!?!

*Shock*

[Master of Ossus]

Excellent. Actually, I thought that SbS was highly realistic. Compare its commando mission to the highly lauded one in Black Hawk Down. But I digress, it's good that they've gotten into the habit of creating such novels.

[Cal Wright]

Okay, I'm about 2/3s through Destiny's way so I haven't read Korrs post. I am actually posting on something else. This is odd, because I have heard that they say the Duros and the Nemoidians might be the same species. On pg 206 Jaina's wingmate, Vale, is listed as a Duros. On p327 Vale is listed as a Nemoidian. What gives? So far to me the book has been mediocre at best. Once again nothing more than riddles about the Vong and how they are to the Force. I'll post again once I'm done with the book.

[Raptor 597]

Damn, oh well no Imperial Ass Kicking. Atleast Pellaeon survives, and Lucas lives.

[Dartzap]

well i had the book on the first day it was out and it is a good book




any way to the queation about the nemodian/duros thing after the battle of naboo alot of the trade fed members went into hiding mostly thay went to duro where they over the years have become the same and are hardly noticed by the proper duronians this is why there is some confusion about the actull speices name as they were probably an offshoot of the original duro but evolution took its course and thay became nemodians

[Lex]

it will take ages until i will be able to buy it here....

[Mr Bean]

Aye, not a half-way decent bookstore within fifty miles of where I resided at the moment

[consequences]

Finally. a Star Wars author who understands the principles of building fleet strength effectively, its about damn time.

[phongn]

The Republic also is considering a new constitution, has designed a bioweapon that targets a certain gene sequence in Vong lifeforms and is rapidly building up fleet strength at Corellia, Mon Calamari and Kuat.

[Kuja]

IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!

[Ender]

I thought it sucked moe then any other book in the NJO so far.

The characters were not at all consistent with previous potrayals (Pelleon is now a philosophical Order above all bastard as oppossed to being a calculating, blue collar plainspeaker in all other versions - including KJAs, Adm Ker'fay is now agenocidal maniac, Jag is a pompus ass to his girlfriend's parents when he was a standup guy around them in DJ, and Kyp became a total whiner), Tsavong Lah gets the movie cliche "Oh no, the villian isn't dead yet!" bit and is potrayed as a fanatic instead of a military strategist who also happens to be very religious. The Insiders were totally discarded as a concept (much like the Jedi robbing archeological digs idea was). We still don't find out why Rodan hates the Jedi so much. Akbar is potrayed as on his last legs despite the fact that he is in his 60s at the max (really how many elderly people do you know who are that weak?). Luke talks about how he pondered the idea that the Vong were heresy against the Force (W.T.F.?). The new Jedi Council is strongly tied in with the government even though it was the strong ties to the senate that helped bring them down last time (way to learn from history there Luke). And despite the fact that it is said several times that a more centralized government would have been more effective against the Vong and the fact that they are still a threat, the new constitution would weaken it even more. And the new name of the Galactic Republic would involve calling it a Federation.

A Fucking FEDERATION!

I am currently investigating as to wether Walter John Williams is a pen name for Kevin James Anderson or not.

[Raptor 597]

I thought it sucked moe then any other book in the NJO so far.

The characters were not at all consistent with previous potrayals (Pelleon is now a philosophical Order above all bastard as oppossed to being a calculating, blue collar plainspeaker in all other versions - including KJAs, Adm Ker'fay is now agenocidal maniac, Jag is a pompus ass to his girlfriend's parents when he was a standup guy around them in DJ, and Kyp became a total whiner), Tsavong Lah gets the movie cliche "Oh no, the villian isn't dead yet!" bit and is potrayed as a fanatic instead of a military strategist who also happens to be very religious. The Insiders were totally discarded as a concept (much like the Jedi robbing archeological digs idea was). We still don't find out why Rodan hates the Jedi so much. Akbar is potrayed as on his last legs despite the fact that he is in his 60s at the max (really how many elderly people do you know who are that weak?). Luke talks about how he pondered the idea that the Vong were heresy against the Force (W.T.F.?). The new Jedi Council is strongly tied in with the government even though it was the strong ties to the senate that helped bring them down last time (way to learn from history there Luke). And despite the fact that it is said several times that a more centralized government would have been more effective against the Vong and the fact that they are still a threat, the new constitution would weaken it even more. And the new name of the Galactic Republic would involve calling it a Federation.

A Fucking FEDERATION!

I am currently investigating as to wether Walter John Williams is a pen name for Kevin James Anderson or not.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Dude, that is fucked up. Bastards!

[2000AD]

Dojn't forget that Akbar isn't human. he's a Mon Cal. and we don't know how long their life expectancy is. 60 years might be a long time for them. Also Akbar spent 20 years involved in fighting and politics. That has got to stress you out.

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

Dojn't forget that Akbar isn't human. he's a Mon Cal. and we don't know how long their life expectancy is. 60 years might be a long time for them. Also Akbar spent 20 years involved in fighting and politics. That has got to stress you out.

So? Peallon's been in the military (from OR to IR) for 50 years.

[Master of Ossus]

Dojn't forget that Akbar isn't human. he's a Mon Cal. and we don't know how long their life expectancy is. 60 years might be a long time for them. Also Akbar spent 20 years involved in fighting and politics. That has got to stress you out.

NTM that he was a slave for Grand Moff Tarkin long before he was an Admiral. That had to have been quite a long time, too, because of all that he was able to learn. They made him a Commander straight off, so he must have had deep insider knowledge of Imperial fleet tactics and strategy, indicating that he had been in service to the Grand Moff for quite some time.

[Cal Wright]

That's 18 years MAX though. Ep III 18yrs before ANH, and we know after ANH there was no more Grand Moff Tarkin. Also, I believe Ackbar escaped Tarkin before that anyways. We don't know how old he is. I'll sift through theforce.net to see how they place his birth. I want to say it was around TPM. Either way. Needless to say, we don't know exactly how old he is, so his condition is at best irrelevent. Bringing him back though was pathetic. I love Ackbar. I'm a huge RotJ fan, so his character is one of my favorites when I read the EU. I think it's yet another cop out from the rulers of the EU. They couldn't figure out what to do, to make an interesting story that the fans would be overjoyed by, so they threw in Ackbar. Whoop dee fucking do. Destiny's Way did one huge thing for me. I figured out now why I have a dislike for the EU. Instead of making a unique story that fits in the universe, each author has tried to make the OT in thier book or books. The rehash and recyle plots and characters, and I figured this out in DW. Ender is right though, DW had a horriable portrayal of characters, and I am actually upset that Vergere had to go the way she did. Too many unanswered questions now. I wish they'd hurry up say whether the Vong are in or out of the Force. I know they want to . They want to soooo bad, because the group at Lucasfilms that controls the books is nothing more than a B&B style team. They couldn't figure out how to make an awesome ongoing series, so they fucked up and now they're covering ass acting like it's some huge part of the story. Mr. Lucas, I beg of you, slap the dogg shit out of these morons, and tell them the Vong are in the Force, and the Jedi mysteriously figure out how to sense them. Put things back the way they should be. !!!

[Joe]

Jacen can sense them, perhaps through the Force, and perhaps not.

[Ender]

Shimira appears to be force sensitive based on what he was doing. perhaps only force sensitive in the sense that the vong know it, but definently force sensitive.

And I accounted for Akbar being a slave, a different species, and in the military so long. He still should not be that weak. My grandmother has lived through 2 world wars, a depression, the cold war, her only son going off the fight in Vietnam, the 90's and 8 kids going through the terrible twos, teenage years and having kids of their own. And she is still very active. There is no way in hell, barring some disease, anyone Akbar's age should be that decrepit.

[Stormbringer]

And I accounted for Akbar being a slave, a different species, and in the military so long. He still should not be that weak. My grandmother has lived through 2 world wars, a depression, the cold war, her only son going off the fight in Vietnam, the 90's and 8 kids going through the terrible twos, teenage years and having kids of their own. And she is still very active. There is no way in hell, barring some disease, anyone Akbar's age should be that decrepit.

She's lucky.

But how do we know that? Plenty of people much younger are in worse health. There are people that die before they should all the time. A hard, stressful life will take it's toll, especially if he didn't take of himself. Heck, the environmental conditions among humans alone would be a big strain to an amphibian species.

And we still don't know the average life span of a Mon Cal. He could be a grizzeled old geezer by their standards.

[Master of Ossus]

Shimira appears to be force sensitive based on what he was doing. perhaps only force sensitive in the sense that the vong know it, but definently force sensitive.

And I accounted for Akbar being a slave, a different species, and in the military so long. He still should not be that weak. My grandmother has lived through 2 world wars, a depression, the cold war, her only son going off the fight in Vietnam, the 90's and 8 kids going through the terrible twos, teenage years and having kids of their own. And she is still very active. There is no way in hell, barring some disease, anyone Akbar's age should be that decrepit.

Maybe Mon Calamari age differently, progressing reasonably well until they reach a certain age and then shut down physically. They do live on a watery planet, maybe they retire to warmer and calmer oceans during that age, or maybe they just spend more time in the sea, which supports much of their body weight.

[2000AD]

IIRC the book actually says that Akbar spends most of his time underwater. This could be another factor for why he is so weak when walking around. To an amphibious species walking around may be much harder than swimming.

[phongn]

I thought it sucked moe then any other book in the NJO so far.And the new name of the Galactic Republic would involve calling it a Federation.

A Fucking FEDERATION!

I guess you just glossed that section over, because that's not what the book says.

"I'm even thinking of names. Federal Galactic Republic. Galactic Federation of Free Alliances...Do you even think it's possible?" (Destiny's Way, pp 442)

The new government will likely be of a Federal Republic style. The word Federation may be in the name of the new government, maybe not.

[Raptor 597]

I thought it sucked moe then any other book in the NJO so far.And the new name of the Galactic Republic would involve calling it a Federation.

A Fucking FEDERATION!

I guess you just glossed that section over, because that's not what the book says.

"I'm even thinking of names. Federal Galactic Republic. Galactic Federation of Free Alliances...Do you even think it's possible?" (Destiny's Way, pp 442)

The new government will likely be of a Federal Republic style. The word Federation may be in the name of the new government, maybe not.

It's still for too close for comfort.