The Force is unified and the NJO is OVER!! (Spoilers!)

[El Chuxter]

The final NJO book, The Unifying Force hit shelves yesterday! How will it all end? Will there be a galaxy left for the Republic and the Vong to share? And will we still care?

I'll check back in about a week or so (after I read the book) with my thoughts on how it all plays out. In the meantime, what's everyone think?

[Bel-Cam Jos]

My local B&N didn't have it Tuesday. I seldom buy hardcover books, but this one has a "free" CD-ROM. Costco had it for... the actual cover price? Wha-?!? What's the world coming to?

BTW, I'm just starting The Final Prophesy.

[Sentinel18725]

I just saw that both the Final Prophecy and Unifying force were out.....I loved this whole story arc...I can't wait to see what happens.

[Vortex]

Bout time this story line ended.

I personally wanted to see the Vong smashed and descimated, but I don't think I'm going to get my wish.

I'm 1/2 way through the final proph. and its ok so far.

If I had to grade this long drawn out story arc, I'd give it 6 or 7...depending if we loose any other main characters in the final fight/book.

I ordered a signed copy of the unifying force and I haven't gotten it yet, but that's ok, I'm still reading the previous one.

But lets hope they tie up all the loose strings in this and it moves faster than the force heretic books...

[dr_evazan22]

I had also just finished Fianl Prophesy last weekend. I was in Borders checking out the Hayden article in Interview. I thought this was coming out NEXT week, but saw it sitting on the bottom of a table.

About half way thru, won't reveal anything just yet, give some others time to read it.

[dr_evazan22]

Alright, I've finished it last night... How about any of you guys? I'm ready to start talking about what I liked and disliked, and things I would like to see more of.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Well, I finished The Final Prophesy yesterday, and am starting The Unifying Force now. Not NOW now, but you know. I am actually interested how they're going to end a 4 year long series of books in one 529-page novel. I think TFP left quite a bit open, so I only hope that TUF isn't a cliff-hanger ending that continues even longer.

Does this thread need to be labled "spoilers" to keep discussing details?

[El Chuxter]

Does this thread need to be labled "spoilers" to keep discussing details?

If folks are ready to discuss, maybe we should.

My copy finally arrived in the mail yesterday. I'm about five chapters in. So far it's reading like a typical "the Republic is screwed" NJO book. Not sure how they can wrap this up in this book.

Stupid question: given that you have to read all the books in order to understand the NJO, why does the final book come with a CD of the first book in electronic format? Sense made = zero.

[dr_evazan22]

Alright, SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS


Your right Chux, it does seem that way at the beginning. Since a standard of warfare is to take out leadership and hinder communication I wonder why the YV haven't (hadn't) developed that weapon sooner, to attack the HoloNet.

I was a little disappointed to see Boba Fett, or whoever is believed to be BF, along with the other Mandalorian armor wearing group.

First off, all the other EU sources that show BF living AFTER Jedi I never really considered canon, even though an effort is being made now to include everything that's ever been written.

I hated that BF lived, that he was Dengar's best man, and that he went after Han and Co. in Dark Empire. And let's not forget the very forgettable Bounty Hunter Wars.

And then the group... I was never too big a fan of the idea of a group of Mandalorian Armor wearing people are always bounty hunters. Like that's encoded in their DNA, along with conflict with Jedi.

The only part of BF's appearance that I found halfway decent was what he said to Han.

[El Chuxter]

I finished this last night, and it's a doozy. It wraps up rather completely--maybe a bit more quickly than would seem possible, but it makes pretty good sense.

First up, my biggest problems with Fett were different from simply his being there. Why is he running around unmasked (something Boba never did as an adult, film or EU)? Why did Han not recognize him sooner (he did see his face in the Dark Empire comics)? And the comment about the Jedi was just weird.

Back to the main subject at hand.

Nice to see the final battle go down relatively bloodless, for the main heroes at least. We'll miss Ackbar, but given that it's old age and we saw it coming, it's not nearly as big a deal as Anakin Solo.

I knew something was up with Onimi several books back, but had no idea how big his secret was. I thought he was just an advisor on whom Shimmra based all his wacky policies. Nice twist.

Pretty cool as well that Jacen pretty much went through the process that killed his brother and survived, and that he learned the secret of Vergere's healing powers. If there are more books to come (aside from the duology or trilogy scheduled for 2005-2006), this boy's going to go far.

I expected Nom Anor to simply stand by Shimrra and get killed by Mara. His becoming Yu'shaa again and allowing himself to die, partly but not entirely redeemed, simply because he wanted no place in the new order, was a surprise and quite fitting.

Overall, I've had some issues with the direction of the NJO overall, but have enjoyed reading it. Except for a few books (notably Balance Point), they've been excellent. I'd like to see Dark Horse or maybe LucasArts fill in some of the holes throughout the series. There have to be tons of stories out there. More backstory on the Vong would be especially nice, or adventures of characters like Dengar or Dash Rendar during this time.

And, while some may think the last line of the book was cheesy, I liked it.