Rating: 
Summary: review of jedi search
Review: This I think is the best star wars book ever writen. Kevin j Anderson is easly the best star wars writer out there. The plot of the story is great, Han and chewy get shot up and when their sheilds are failing they have no choice but to crash into kessel where one of Hans old pals makes them into slaves in the spice tunnels. The story is great, action packed, And fun to read. Five stars
Rating: 
Summary: Worst trilogy...EVER!
Review: Let me start off by saying that I truly despise this trilogy. I find Anderson as a writer weak, simplistic, and too oblivious to realize it. The fact that some people actually think this trilogy is good, and that this trilogy, according to one review, made Anderson "all but assume the title of Chancellor of the Star Wars Universe," only compound my dislike. I guess there is no accounting for bad taste. I have three words for anybody who thinks Anderson is a great SW writer: Zahn, Zahn, Zahn!That being said, however, Jedi Search, BY ITSELF, is a halfway decent book. Okay, yes, there are major downpoints. Dialogue = weak. Humor = slapstick. Chapters = rushed. Luke's petition for a Jedi Academy = super-rushed (THAT was all it took to get an Academy? I guess a galactic senate isn't as red-taped as a national one). Lando's subplot = stupid. Leia being angry at Han for not showing up = even stupider. Daala, Qwi Xux, all MAW Installation = LAME (Daala, supposedly persevering over sexism, only supports male stereotypes with her incompetence, Xux, the "brilliant" scientist, is too naive to be believable, and Maw Installation...well, the idea of a weapons facility in the middle of a cluster of black holes is actually somewhat original sci-fi, at least for me, but the whole Sun Crusher thing didn't do it for me--could we come up with a more original super weapon than what is essentially a souped-up Death Star (It destroys systems, not just planets!)). Along the same lines, Doole's character, in the tradition of laughable Anderson villains, is incredibly moronic. But then, if he wasn't, I suppose there wouldn't have been much of a plot. And the Kessel spice mines are a big disappointment, especially the spider-things. Since Anderson was dealing with an actual aspect of the SW universe, as opposed to something he was making up himself, the stakes were a lot higher for him to come up with something believable. And he failed. With all that being said, this book has its moments. For example, the scenes on Eol Sha are really well written--I could almost see some of the action scenes in a movie, and they come close to capturing the spirit of Zahn's books. I like Gantoris and Kyp Durron, and the idea of Streen being proficient with the weather aspects of the Force--Anderson trying to create unique potential Jedi. I like Skynxnex's double-barreled blaster (at least until he fires it). I like the Death Star prototype, or at least the concept of a Death Star with just the structural frame. And the starting plot--Han going to Kessel, caught on Kessel, rescued by Luke--is actually pretty well conceived given that the galaxy should be starting to slow down from the Imperial fervor. And I admit that Anderson had some tough stuff he had to work with, the above-mentioned fact that the galaxy should be cooling down being one of them. He also had to seemlessly incorporate the events of Dark Empire, and while he failed, I'm not sure if he could have done much better (this book would be a lot better from a SW overall plot POV if Dark Empire hadn't happened yet). And while the Maw is not particualrly believable of Star War-ish in my opinion (and certainly shouldn't have been part of Kessel), it is a noble attempt to explain why Han Solo measures his Kessel Run in terms of a distance, not time. So again, this book by itself is bearable, and created some potential for the Jedi Academy Trilogy. But the other two books spiral downwards in what in my opinion is one of the worst Star Wars series ever written. DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE READ EVERYTHING ELSE AND UNLESS YOU ARE A DIE-HARD SW FAN AND WANT TO KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF THIS ERA.
Rating:
Summary: Hey I liked it
Review: The first book starts out with Luke Skywalker going before the ruling body of the New Republic and asking that the Jedi be reinstated. He travels the worlds of the new republic searching out leads and gaining new followers. These must then battle a new dark presence taking over on Yavin 4.
Han and Chewie have another challenge--escape from the spice mines at Kessle. They met old enemies and new allies while there.
Overall this was an enjoyable book and probably the beginning of the second best trilogy in the Star Wars universe.
Rating: 
Summary: This is AWESOME!
Review: When i read this book I was hooked. I read this like mad! I found out Luke went to the Darkside, and how he escaped. They acted just like they did in the movie. Those who say this is bad [stink]. My only problem is the Sun Crusher. And he based some of this on his comic book series! C'mon, something original!
Rating: 
Summary: It only gets worse
Review: I hope I'm able to convince any potential buyers to stay away -- far away -- from this book and trilogy. Fortunately, there's been enough time since the trilogy was published that most anyone that reads Star Wars novels knows to stay away from it. Okay, where to begin. Well, to say that this book isn't very original would be akin to saying the Great Wall of China is kinda big. A gross understatement. Not only is the Death Star (well, another version, anyway) in this book, there's yet another "superweapon," the Sun Crusher, in this book. The main villain, Admiral Daala, is...well, she's an idiot. She has no grasp on tactics, no clue as to how to be subtle, no idea of what manipulation is. She manages to lose the Maw Installation and the Sun Crusher, along with getting the Death Star destroyed with one of her Star Destroyers. What's really funny, however, is that the book has very little to do with Luke Skywalker searching for potential Jedi apprentices. We have Han Solo and Chewbacca in the spice mines of Kessel, we have Admiral Ackbar acting pouty, we have Wedge falling in love with someone that has feathers, and we have Daala acting like an idiot, but there's only about two chapters devoted to Luke's quest to form an Academy. Amazingly, this can be considered the best book in the series. The next two get thinner and thinner, leaving us with Kevin J. Anderson grasping at straws. It's not pretty.
Rating: 
Summary: A pretty awful read
Review: All a bit far-fetched and unbelievable. Why would Daala wait hidden in the maw for 10 years if she had heard no news from Tarkin? You would have thought she would have become a bit curious after a year or so and sent out some scouts to find out what was going on - I mean 10 years with no contact from the outside world!!! And an indestructible ship with quantum armour plating?! Not very realistic. Some redeeming parts but few and far between.
Rating:
Summary: Novel that should be a comic book
Review: Kevin J. Anderson is the guy that really got Star Wars comic books going, and it shows in a painfully glaring way in his writing. First of all, he seems to think that what he writes will have pictures accompanying it so that all he really needs is dialogue. The book (and entire series) is virtually devoid of decent, or even below average, graphical descriptions.
Secondly, as a previous reviewer pointed out, there are way too many superweapons in the series, which goes back to the comic book tendency; generally, for comic books to succeed, something monumental must happen in every comic, or there must be some impressive icon, such as a superweapon, to keep the reader involved. Anderson seems to think this is also needed in his novel. The last point I have to make is that Admiral Daala is a pathetic bad guy. Anderson spends all this time building up her character, and talking about how she overcame all the odds and how she's a brilliant tactician, and then she loses every battle she engages in throughout the series. This book is not worthy of your time. The only reason I give this book two stars instead of one is because several of the characters which Anderson created in this book are well done. This is the ONLY reason.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Tale
Review: I liked this STAR WARS book more than the others I had read. While interesting, it wasn't too far fetched to make it believable, a problem with some of the other books. Also, it had some good action and an engaging plot.
Rating:
Summary: Jedi Search
Review: THIS IS PROBELY THE BEST STARS WARS BOOK EVER. WHAT HAN AND CHEWIE FIND ON KESSEL IS AUSOME. READ IT!!
Rating:
Summary: If this is the future of Star Wars...
Review: This book certainly did one thing very well: gave me a great opportunity to indulge my passion for ripping to pieces that which I dislike. There are three key elements in this book: 1) Jedi who are portrayed as gods, 2) Superfluous amounts of Superweapons and 3) Brilliant tacticians who are not. Point one (one of my least favorites). Am I the only one who get irritated with the with the whole notion of "Without the almighty Luke Skywalker and his force powers, the Republic will go to ruin." Sure Luke did a lot for the republic, but here he seems to be the only reason it can exist or continue to exist. Granted, Dark Empire makes this all look tame, but still. Point two. Superweapons. Somebody must have run a special on them for this trilogy, because we have 'em all. The sun crusher is the most implausable idea I have ever heard of. And how many times do we need to destroy the Death Star? Obviously quite a few, because they get another one in Darksaber. Point three. Daala. How did she manage to be hailed as a great tactician? This trilogy, for her, is one defeat after another. And her commander is no better. His job is to make suggest poor alternatives to Daala's poor strategies. Well, I think I bashed on this enough. As always, no matter how cynical I am about a book, you are entitled to your own opinion.
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