Andrew's Review of Star by Star

5/5 Rancors - Troy Denning's Star by Star is the centerpiece of the New Jedi Order, the plunge the first eight books have built toward (some directly and some in a more meandering way). The book itself is massive: I don't have a word count but it is certainly one of the longest works in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The action is almost non-stop and the stakes have never felt higher as the Yuuzhan Vong finally make their assault on Coruscant itself. The Jedi are forced into action, desperate to save the shreds of the New Republic and the lives of countless innocents.

The prior two books spent a great deal of time building the character of Anakin Solo, seemingly positioning him to be the heir to Luke's mantle and allowing him to develop into a fully interesting personality. He takes center stage in Star by Star, accompanied by his twin siblings Jacen and Jaina and a host of young Jedi from the Young Jedi Knights stories. I confess I have not read those, so some of these characters most likely resonate more strongly with those who have, but Mr. Denning sketches in enough detail and history that I felt comfortable with the rather large group that becomes a Jedi strike team. Enough at least to give the series of horrific events to follow some weight.

The primary storyline of Star by Star concerns itself with the aforementioned young Jedi forming a strike team and venturing to a worldship that hosts the voxyn queen, the source of the voxyn clones which have been hounding Jedi across the galaxy. It is a well-written, tense, and extremely engaging plot. The Jedi struggle with how close to the Dark Side to dance as they are confronted with unrelenting darkness aboard the Vong vessel. There were points where I found this storyline a trifle overdone, where I was ready for events to come to their conclusion and move along, but in its defense the mental and physical exhaustion of the team shines through as Mr. Denning devotes so many pages to their mission.

The secondary storyline involves the political and military maneuvering as the net tightens around Coruscant. Borsk Fey'lya, the shifty Bothan familiar from many prior novels, is trying to hold the New Republic together as he thinks best and he receives quite a few great scenes throughout the story. The battle of Coruscant itself is certainly cinematic in scope and Borsk's final scene in the book is absolutely stellar.

Star by Star has been out for years and the key events of the ending are likely known to most Expanded Universe fans, but I am still unwilling to spoil them here. The biggest character shock came out of nowhere for me, as it was handled in a manner that would make George R. R. Martin proud (and I intend that as a compliment). I frantically finished the novel, expecting something to reverse the tragedy that had just occurred, but it was for real. It's challenging to analyze further without risking spoiling the event itself, so I will leave it by simply acknowledging it as a very bold choice and one that fundamentally changed all novels to follow.

I struggled a bit with a rating for Star by Star, wavering between four and five rancors. My uncertainty stems from a feeling of fatigue finishing the book, a sense that it may have overstayed its welcome and dragged out some plots for too long. Of course, I cherish many far longer non-Star Wars books: it is simply a standard for a brisk story I tend to hold these stories to. However, my net feeling is the length and repetition of dark happenings gives weight and credence to the storyline itself, and the reader feels the exhaustion that the characters are enduring. So I will round up for full marks. There is no denying that Star by Star is one of the most significant Expanded Universe works and is a required read for anyone intending to delve past this point in the chronological history.