Shane Dix

I had memories that this was the best of the "Force Heretic" novels: Luke and company finally reach Zonoma Sekot and learn its secrets while Han and Leia go on a rollicking space adventure on a weird planet. Well, I don't know if the difference was that reading all three Force Heretic books in one go really showed how little happened, but this time I found it the worst of these books. As always, nothing actually happens, yet nearly 400 pages are somehow taken up. Seriously, I don't get how show more Williams and Dix do it; both plots here are extremely simplistic, yet hundreds of pages somehow go by. Events that should be momentous have all the energy sapped out of them; events that should be fun are delivered as dully as possible. The midpoint peak of The New Jedi Order turns out to be an aberration; it is ending as dully and as falteringly as it began.

Who was the "Force Heretic," anyway?

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This is one of those 400-page books that you're hard-pressed to explain how it could possibly be as long as it is. There are basically three plots: the first is Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade, and company, en route to the Unknown Regions, helping the Imperial Remnant (hence the title, I guess, though I've no idea why this trilogy is called "Force Heretic") fend of a Yuuzhan Vong attack. This is, for what it's worth, the most interesting of the plots. Which isn't worth very much. It's always nice show more to see Pellaeon, but otherwise little of interest goes on here.

But that said, the other two plots are even worse. Han and Leia are sent off on the Millennium Falcon to see how some far-flung parts of the galaxy are faring during the invasion, and the answer is utterly tedious. Local politics, blah blah blah, pointless bickering, blah blah blah. Like, it would be hard to imagine a duller plot to inject in the middle of your galaxy-spanning invasion series. Even the Tahiri subplot is utterly dull: I like the idea that her Jedi and Yuuzhan Vong sides have to be reconciled, but Williams and Dix handle it in the most uninteresting way imaginable.

Finally, Nom Anor is getting up to cult hijinks underground on Coruscant. Again, should be interesting; again, sure is dull. I love Nom Anor, but this meanders and goes nowhere.

All that said, this is probably the best of the "Force Heretic" books!

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After a very long pause in the publication of new material in the New Jedi Order series, Sean Williams and Shane Dix bring us the first chapter of the Force Heretic trilogy, Remnant.

Aptly titled, most of this novel takes place in the Imperial Remnant, who has fallen under attack by the Yuuzhan Vong, and is very nearly destroyed. A large amount of the novel also revolves around Nom Anor, as he struggles for survival in the under levels of Yuuzhan'tar, previously known as Coruscant.

Overall show more impressions of this novel are quite positive. Though not necessarily as memorable as many of the other books in this series, it stands very well as not only a single novel, but doesn't fall victim to the trilogy effect. The book actually has one of the most satisfying endings of the New Jedi Order.

The first notion that this book may be a slightly different read than normal is the lack of chapters. The story is divided into four parts, no doubt the result of having two authors working on it. We can assume that both authors wrote two parts.

However, this novel doesn't fall prey to many of the traps that others in the series has similarly not been able to avoid. There are no annoying repetitions of various terms or phrases, no scenes that simply don't make sense, with the exception maybe of Tahiri's dream scenes.

Unfortunately, the book is not completely without fault. There is very little humor, and rarely will the reader more than grin at some cliché line, or an inside joke. The space battles are adequate, but lack the vivaciousness of other NJO novels.

Though the Expanded Universe has not always followed the movies, or George Lucas's explicit word, it was especially disheartening to read that C-3PO was built by Cybot Galactica, when we know he was, in fact, assembled by Anakin Skywalker from spare parts. While an explanation probably exists, this reviewer has yet to see it.

Tahiri's scenes were quite odd, and if they continue in the same manner throughout this trilogy, it will be a frustrating series. However, it is a good possibility that Tahiri is the Force Heretic that the series title implies.

Other than those small problems, there are no major issues with this novel. Despite not being an exceptionally memorable book, Remnant holds up quite well. After reading this book, the titles Refugee and Reunion, the two remaining chapters in this series, become obvious, and we can look forward to a decent series. show less

After a very long pause in the publication of new material in the New Jedi Order series, Sean Williams and Shane Dix bring us the first chapter of the Force Heretic trilogy, Remnant.

Aptly titled, most of this novel takes place in the Imperial Remnant, who has fallen under attack by the Yuuzhan Vong, and is very nearly destroyed. A large amount of the novel also revolves around Nom Anor, as he struggles for survival in the under levels of Yuuzhan'tar, previously known as Coruscant.

Overall show more impressions of this novel are quite positive. Though not necessarily as memorable as many of the other books in this series, it stands very well as not only a single novel, but doesn't fall victim to the trilogy effect. The book actually has one of the most satisfying endings of the New Jedi Order.

The first notion that this book may be a slightly different read than normal is the lack of chapters. The story is divided into four parts, no doubt the result of having two authors working on it. We can assume that both authors wrote two parts.

However, this novel doesn't fall prey to many of the traps that others in the series has similarly not been able to avoid. There are no annoying repetitions of various terms or phrases, no scenes that simply don't make sense, with the exception maybe of Tahiri's dream scenes.

Unfortunately, the book is not completely without fault. There is very little humor, and rarely will the reader more than grin at some cliché line, or an inside joke. The space battles are adequate, but lack the vivaciousness of other NJO novels.

Though the Expanded Universe has not always followed the movies, or George Lucas's explicit word, it was especially disheartening to read that C-3PO was built by Cybot Galactica, when we know he was, in fact, assembled by Anakin Skywalker from spare parts. While an explanation probably exists, this reviewer has yet to see it.

Tahiri's scenes were quite odd, and if they continue in the same manner throughout this trilogy, it will be a frustrating series. However, it is a good possibility that Tahiri is the Force Heretic that the series title implies.

Other than those small problems, there are no major issues with this novel. Despite not being an exceptionally memorable book, Remnant holds up quite well. After reading this book, the titles Refugee and Reunion, the two remaining chapters in this series, become obvious, and we can look forward to a decent series. show less