Andrew's Review of Edge of Victory I: Conquest

5/5 Rancors - Greg Keyes' Conquest, the first part of the Edge of Victory duology, breaks new ground in the continuing New Jedi Order and represents a blast of fresh air in its approach. The six books prior to this one all followed the standard Star Wars methodology of interweaving several plotlines of varying levels of intensity. Mr. Keyes throws that out the window and locks down an almost singular focus on Anakin Solo. He does present some chapters from a Yuuzhan Vong's point of view, and a few bits involving Talon Karrde, miscellaneous Jedi in the prologue, and others, but this is definitively Anakin's tale. This razor focus pays off in spades: the book moves quickly and for the first time in a while I found myself thinking "just one more chapter..." when I was trying to put it down and go to bed.

So, kudos for a different approach are in order. The story itself is first-rate as well. The Vong have temporarily halted their assault on the galaxy and claim a true peace is possible, as long as the New Republic hands over the Jedi. This edict puts all Jedi at risk, especially ones in isolated regions of the galaxy far from the head Jedi on Coruscant. It also, to Anakin's sudden realization and alarm, puts at risk the younglings in the training school on Yavin IV. Defying orders, Anakin tears out to the Yavin system and ends up entangled in a conflict with both Peace Brigaders and the Vong themselves as he attempts to rescue his closest friend Tahiri and a few other academy members.

Anakin Solo comes into his own in Conquest. At the start of the book, he was just one of the three Solo kids and not any more or less interesting than his older twin siblings, at least to me. By the end of Conquest, you can't help but be fully rooting for him. He comes to terms with his Jedi heritage; he divines new insights into the Yuuzhan Vong; he chooses a course of action many readers have likely been aching to see a Jedi take over the first six books, one centered in good and humbleness, unlike the at-times murky motivations of fellow Jedi Kyp Durron and his followers. Anakin Solo shows every sign of becoming a great Jedi and a great leader.

He is also given two solid foils in the book: the first is his best friend Tahiri, a young woman who he realizes he is starting to have more complex emotions about. A tragic event that befalls Tahiri is central to propelling Anakin's character arc forward and does so perfectly. During her absence from Anakin's side, he meets the outcast Yuuzhan Vong warrior Vua Rapuung. Their dialogue is tightly delivered, as each attempts to reach a sort of uneasy alliance to further his own goals. Rapuung's philosophies are unveiled by Anakin's probing questions, and as a reflection of that Anakin better understands himself and his own beliefs. The action-packed climax driven by Rapuung is also excellent, cinematic in its tenseness and pacing.

The other triumph of Conquest is its exploration of the Yuuzhan Vong shaper culture. We are given many scenes from the point of view of Nen Yim, a Vong apprentice shaper. Through her we learn about aspects of the Vong culture outside of the warriors the prior books depicted. We glean more of the reasoning behind their assault on the New Republic and also possible points of commonality as Nen Yim dares to apply a modern scientific approach to her research. Conquest also introduces the Shamed Ones, a downtrodden lower caste who don't necessarily share or support the views of their leaders. All great material set up to be used in future books.

For all these reasons, Conquest is the best book in the New Jedi Order to this point. Anakin Solo becomes a fully-fledged hero in these pages and the Yuuzhan Vong invasion is given some sorely-needed subtleties and inflections it was lacking beforehand. Highly recommended!