I consider the Star Wars books appetizers for real books. These books read so fast, it's like reading a magazine. That doesn't make them bad books, it just makes them filler.
I've gotten rather bored with this series lately, since the New Republic was so busy getting it's ass kicked and the Jedi had no clue as to what they should be doing. I've gotten pissed with the constant portrayal of Luke Skywalker as a pussy who couldn't fight back. Isn't this the guy who brought the Empire down almost single-handedly? The coolest thing about this series is that they've killed off a bunch of characters. This is war, so characters should be dying. Throughout the whole original trilogy of Star Wars, you can count the number of deaths on both hands and with the exception of Darth Vader and the Emperor, they were all VERY minor characters. In the recent series of books, they have killed off a bunch of major characters, such as Chewbacca and Anakin Solo (Han and Leia's kid).
This book picks up right where the last one left off. An infiltration of the recently captured Corscuant is under way, led by Luke and Mara Skywalker, Han and Leia are off setting up resistance cells on different planets and Jaina and Wedge are leading the defence of Borlias. The book moves along predictably until the faceoff between the Jedi on Corscuant and a new super-evil cyborg dark jedi. The resulting battle is pretty cool. Just the fact that Luke is actually doing something about the new invasion should quiet some of the more scathing criticism of the series. I found it cool that the jedi are actually moving to the offensive against the new invaders.
About the only reason I still read these books is the familiarity of the characters. Revisiting the Star Wars universe is like visiting an old friend. It may have been a year or more since you've seen them, but you know them so well that it's always comfortable. If you're a fan of the recent crop of Star Wars books, this one is definately worth your time. If you haven't read the Star Wars books, I suggest some of the earlier books, set right after Return Of The Jedi, such as the "Hand Of Thrawn" trilogy by Timothy Zahn.
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