Solid work by Allston, with plenty of action and good characterization; I actually get the impression that the second-generation characters in the story came about by traditional means, rather than being produced in the Galactic Infant Foundry On The Crèche Planet. After the fall of Coruscant and the stagnation of the Republic's government, veterans of the Rebellion get their act together and start making a serious push back on the Yuuzhan Vong, setting a contrast against the political infighting of previous books. It'll be interesting to see how the "democratic government is too disorganized to respond to an external threat" subtext works out over the course of the series. ( )

Plot: A duology set in the New Jedi Order series that can just be read as a stand-alone. The plot is fairly contained, and while it ties in with what happened before, one of the two main story lines begins here and ends in the next book. The usual good pacing and nice set-ups.

Characters: A relatively contained cast, with a lot of the EU's central characters plus some of Allston's own creations. Good characterization and consistency with the previous books.

Style: A lot more humour than usual in a SW novel, although serious scenes do not suffer for it. The general impression is a certain degree of tongue-in-cheek writing, especially where the romance is concerned.

Plus: Allston takes a handful of characters and runs with them. A good, fun ride without the mysticism and deathly seriousness that other SW authors often use.

Minus: The villains do not feel particularly convincing or threatening at this point.

Summary: A pleasant read with good humour. ( )