Another Family Vacation Gone Amuck

A spoiler-free review of Vector Prime
(Cross-posted here.)


What's more controversial than the question of whether or not Darth Plagueis created Anakin, hated nearly as much as Ewoks, and compared to a train wreck more often than Paris Hilton? Why, the New Jedi Order, of course! This nineteen-book Star Wars series, set about twenty-five years after A New Hope, has been met by fans with mixed reviews. Speaking of reviews, here's one of the first book of the series, Vector Prime! Spoiler-free, of course.

Vector Prime, by R. A. Salvatore, kicks off The New Jedi Order book series, a Star Wars story arc that details the invasion of an extra-galactic species, the Yuuzhan Vong. The story begins by establishing that although the New Republic has made peace with the Imperial Remnant, there is unrest throughout the galaxy putting strains on the galactic government. Furthermore, there is conflict and a great difference of opinion within the Jedi Order over the role of the Jedi in the galaxy. When a scientific outpost discovers a comet-like mass headed towards the galaxy, all hell breaks loose. Yep, it ain't no comet. The Yuuzhan Vong have come to take over the galaxy. And of course, it falls upon our heroes to fight the invaders.

I was happy to see the Solo children and other expanded universe characters at the forefront of this story. Jacen and Anakin Solo are both interesting characters, in conflict with each other over their role as Jedi and all the while never even entirely sure of themselves and their beliefs and opinions. Regardless, they are devoted to their duty to their family and the New Republic. We also meet Wurth Skidder, and an older Kyp Durron (a major character in the Jedi Academy Trilogy), two Jedi who have a very different idea of how the Jedi should counter this threat than that of Luke Skywalker. Kyp in particular is a great character; he is brash and arrogant, yet Salvatore manages to give him a sympathetic angle. In the Jedi Academy Trilogy, Kyp's characterization was very weak, and many of his actions seemed too radical for the circumstances. In Vector Prime, Kyp may be a loose cannon, but his motives are easily understood, even though his methods are radically different from those of Luke or Jacen. I found myself rooting for him to survive, even though he was a character I loved to hate.

As for the movie characters, most of their characterizations were dead on. I could almost hear Leia lecturing Han in the original trilogy as she gave Wurth Skidder an earful for his "heroics." And despite being a responsible family man, the Han we know and love is back. Salvatore pulls this off without having characters shamelessly quote their movie selves, something a few Star Wars authors are guilty of. The real strength of Salvatore's work in the novel lies in the character-driven conflicts of Vector Prime. Instead of simply throwing the characters of Star Wars into the middle of another crisis somewhere in the galaxy, Salvatore adds another dimension to the story through the characters' interactions with one another, their perceptions of other characters, and their reactions to events. This may sound fairly basic for a fictional story, but these elements are either lacking or very weak in most Star Wars novels that I've read. In Vector Prime, the major characters, whether they are movie characters or created by the expanded universe, must not only face this new threat to the galaxy, but also each other and themselves. In this sense, the characters of Vector Prime are very real and familiar. They act like normal human beings (most of them are human, anyway); they disagree, they unjustly blame others, they are frequently wrong, and they see their own weaknesses. And as a result, some of them lose hope, some become stronger, and some come into conflict with others. But most importantly, they change instead of remaining stagnant personalities. Salvatore does an excellent job of putting characters (mostly characters that aren't his own) in compromising situations that shake them to their core. As a result, some among them emerge altered, and readers are able to sympathize with the character along the way.

As for the villains, the New Jedi Order offers a departure from the typical Star Wars antagonists. The Yuuzhan Vong, a species from another galaxy, are very different than your average evil Imperial admiral or Remnant Moff on a power trip. They have different weapons and ships than anything readers have ever seen before. Their culture, although still something of a mystery, is completely antithetical to the New Republic and the order that they have built. These villains are ruthless, brutal, and downright scary. Needless to say, it won't be an easy victory for our heroes.

Sadly, in constructing the plot of Vector Prime, Salvatore is guilty of something I like to call "the old family vacation standby," which, in this case, is also accompanied by "the old lament for our lost youth." This is overused in Star Wars stories (most recently in the Rogue Leader comic) to the point where it has become a tired plot device. The premise for the aforementioned plot device is the following: the major movie characters of Star Wars are getting old, as they reminisce about their glory days, they realize that they've done so much to save the galaxy, build a new government, and continuously save that government from the villain of the week, that they deserve a bit of a vacation. So they all head out to some planet, which in this case in on the outer rim, and surprise, all of the main characters manage to walk straight into the middle of an epic galactic conflict. It's disappointing that Salvatore uses this formulaic plot device. There has to be a more interesting way to get these characters involved in the action other than another family vacation gone amuck. Honestly, if I see any of this business in the upcoming Legacy series, I won't be very happy. And the sad part is, during the Legacy series, the characters are probably old enough to actually do this (being sixty years old and all), but this plot device has been done so many times before that no one will want to read it.

Family vacations aside, this novel combines its many character arcs with the suspense and action of galactic warfare. As the Yuuzhan Vong enter the galaxy, observed by the scientists at an outpost on the edge of the galaxy, we feel the threat of an incoming force. Juxtaposed with glimpses into the plans of the enemy, this segment had a doomsday-like feel to it. The story is darker than much of what has been seen in Star Wars before, and for the first time since watching the original trilogy, I was worried that my beloved heroes of the Star Wars universe wouldn't make it out alive.

Unfortunately, the battle scenes throughout this book were often tedious. Most of the action, especially the space battles, was very well done. However, some of the lightsaber fights were described in detail to the point where one's eyes glaze over due to being sick of having to read about every movement someone makes while fending off an enemy. And it isn't impossible to make these fight scenes interesting; I think Michael Stackpole nailed it in the two Dark Tide books (the next two books in the New Jedi Order). The point is that it isn't necessary to spend five pages describing a lightsaber duel that lasts about thirty seconds. Also, while most of the action was good, it was rather redundant in some places as certain characters basically go back to the same place to fight the same battle that took place only hours before.

In general, though, Vector Prime was a great start to the New Jedi Order. Yes, this book took a great number of risks, and not everyone will like them. But regardless, R. A. Salvatore has started off a new, original, and epic adventure in the galaxy far, far away. Vector Prime was an exciting read, and it left many threads hanging at the end. Not every mystery was solved, and the galaxy sure as heck ain't safe anymore. But fear not! After all, our heroes have eighteen more books to sort out this mess. That's provided that they all make it out alive.

I'm not going to say that this is the best Star Wars book I've ever read. Wait, actually I am. While a few of the fight scenes could have been shorter, Salvatore offers great insight into the characters of Star Wars. They must face a new and powerful enemy, but more importantly, tragedy, loss, and their own mortality. That's what I want to see in fiction.

Hopefully every review I write as I make my way through the New Jedi Order won't be this long. My next entry (if I ever stop staring blankly at the computer screen and get around to finishing it) will most likely be a response to (as opposed to a review) this book, in which I will discuss spoilers and major plot points.