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Dark Journey (Star Wars - New Jedi Order) by: Elaine Cunningham

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Rating: - BORING

this book is the worst of the NJO series and possibly the worst star wars book ever written.Its called dark journey but if i remember right jaina doe not really turn to the dark side she just considers it a little bit.
and the rest is just boring.

Rating: - Emotional journey - not lots of action

Great NJO book. This one is quite different to the other books in the series - this is more of an emotional journey than an action story like many of the others. it is way more about courtly intrigue and dealing with loss.
Jaina is portrayed really well - very believable - but the promise of badness is dashed - annoyingly! this one is also notable for its extensive use of Tenel Ka (1 of my fav NJO characters) and her stuff is good.
Readable and interesting, Jaina's Dark Journey is a compulsive, easy but rewarding read. And thankfully NOT a let down after the amazing Star By Star.
8/10 bring on Enemy Lines!!

Rating: - Weakest link by far... so far...

A complete shocker! The narrative is all over the place, the character development is a parody of the usual high standards in the New Jedi Order, Jaina's so-called turn to the Dark Side is ridiculously brought on, Kyp's monologues with his Zero-One droid is a waste of paper, Jaina suddenly falling out with Jag Fel out of the blue is non-sense, and God, Anakin's funeral is an utter insult... errr... the Force itself! He really deserved a bit more than clumsy testimonials around his burning body, let alone the one from Anakin's look-alike child engineered by Viqi Shesh in the wonderful "Star by Star". What a load of crap, a complete disgrace!

Let's just hope hope that this will be the first and last contribution of Elaine Cunningham to the Starwars Universe...

Rating: - Beware the dark side of this book!

After the momentous events of Star by Star, things take a bit of a breather in Dark Journey, by Elaine Cunningham. Star by Star was overloaded with characters and galaxy-spanning events, including some major changes for both the planet Coruscant (the capital planet of the Republic) and for the Solo children. This book takes a bit of a closer look at Jaina Solo. After what happened to her two brothers, she's in danger of moving to the Dark Side of the Force, and Cunningham does an effective job of giving us that story. Even better, it's not all wrapped up and Jaina will have a fight on her hands for probably the rest of the series, which makes the book even more effective.

Jaina Solo and the survivors of the mission to destroy the Force-sensitive creature the Yuuzhan Vong were using to help track and destroy the Jedi are trying to escape, but Jaina is bringing something more than the survivors back. Guilt over what happened to her brothers, as well as a desire for revenge, is causing her great problems as well as tension among the Jedi. Upon returning to Coruscant and discovering what happened there, she and her crew make for the Hapes Cluster, where the Jedi are unwelcome for what happened to a fleet of their ships in an earlier book. That is also where other refugees have arrived, including Han and Leia Solo. A tearful reunion occurs, but Leia is troubled by the feeling she has about Jaina. Will she go all the way to the other side, losing herself forever? Or will she have help from good friends as well as rivals to keep her on the good path? Whatever she decides, she will be changed forever, forging her own way, and the Vong had better not get in the way. The Vong are after Jaina for a sacrifice, thinking that she's special because she's a twin. The royal family in the Hapes Cluster has their own plans for her. Will she be able to walk the fine line between them all?

Cunningham really gets into Jaina's character, carving her up so we can see exactly what is making her tick. We see the shades of what she could possibly become, the anger that could consume her because of what happened to Anakin and what she feels happened to Jacen. She's always had an on-again off-again relationship with her mother, who she feels neglected her for the political realities of the Republic when she was growing up, and she's always been her father's girl. Now, not even Han knows how to deal with her, mainly because he has no insight into the Force and what she's going through. She must face her own demons, though she does have the help of Jag Fel (son of Baron Fel, who is attached to the remnants of the Empire and the alien Chiss) as well as rogue Jedi Kyp Durron. But even Durron seems out of his element with her, which makes it strange that she might become his apprentice. All of this makes the story a lot more personal than most of the past books have been, even those that were designed to examine one character (such as the Han Solo books by Luceno), and Cunningham does a great job with it.

Kyp and Jag are pretty good too, as almost rivals for Jaina's affection (though in much different ways). I really liked Lowbacca (one of Chewbacca's family members), mainly because it established a Han-Chewie dynamic between them. Both of them are working together on a project, and Lowbacca has ultimate loyalty to the young Jedi. He's not afraid to speak his mind, but he doesn't question her much. Unfortunately, this includes when she sacrifices some of his other family members for her plan, which didn't sit as well with me. He doesn't exactly shrug it off, but he's not as upset about it as I would have thought. Otherwise, though, Lowbacca is very nice (though I could have done without his nickname, "Lowie," but that's already been established and Cunningham couldn't do anything about it).

Unfortunately, some of the other characters aren't quite as well done, mainly because the book is so short. It's understandable when a book focuses on one major character that the other major characters get short shrift, but that shouldn't include the minor characters who are part of the main plot. Isolder, the Hapan prince who also figures in his mother's plans for the royal family, doesn't really come off the page as three-dimensional. He's more of a plot device then anything else. The main Vong characters, the priest Harrar and Khalee Lah, are decent but nothing more. Lah is annoyingly stereotypical as the Vong warrior to whom the Vong version of honour is everything. He gets increasingly irate at the successes Jaina is having at leading them around by their noses, making him even less interesting. At least his father always has plans within plans and isn't a one-note character.

Plot-wise, though, Dark Journey is a standout. My first thought was that the final battle was truncated too much, beginning with only about 10 pages left in the book, but then I realized that in this book, it's all about the characters. Cunningham gives enough ship combat to satisfy most people, but that's not the point of the book. We see the path Jaina is following and a possibility for where she will go. She also wisely leaves the rest of the series to continue her journey and see where she finally ends up. Dark Journey just sends her on her way, and it's all the better for it. It's not perfect, but it is extremely well-done.

David Roy

Rating: - The worst book of the New Jedi Order series.

THE STORY:
Twenty three years after 'Return of the Jedi', the young Jedi fleeing Myrkr and the refugees from Coruscant regroup on Hapes. As a Vong fleet enters Hapan space, Jaina's fall to the dark side leads her deep into the ruthless politics of the Hapan royal succession.

WHAT'S GOOD:
This book does have a few good moments, such as Kyp's epiphany and the astute observation that all of Jaina's romantic interests have dark hair and green eyes. I also liked the fact that this book wasn't afraid to deal with the fact that Jaina is a passionate, and therefore sexual, woman. Ultimately, however, the best thing about this book is that you really don't have to read it. It's entirely missable in terms of it's actual effect on the NJO series as a whole.

WHAT'S BAD:
There were a great many things I disliked about this book, not least the fact that of all the important characters involved in the depicted events, Cunningham manages to marginalise all but Jaina, Kyp and Jag. The build-up to the battle was great and then, at the last minute, the author has the characters pulling out of it, so that we only get a second-hand description of the battle itself. Ultimately, the worst thing about this book is the awful handling of Jaina's fall to the dark side. Main characters having brushes with darkness aren't a novelty in Star Wars, but this one is exceptional in it's blandness and lack of depth. Skip this book and go straight on to the far better Enemy Lines duology.

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