Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse

James Luceno's second installment to "The New Jedi Order", and conclusion to the "Agents of Chaos" duology is packed with action, and never disappoints. Though not quite the specifically character driven novel that "Hero's Trial" was, which focused almost exclusively on Han Solo, "Agents of Chaos" never fails to sustain excitement from the begining to the end.

It essentially leaves us where the other three sequels to "Vector Prime" have, with a galaxy in peril; seemingly in a constant state of retreat from the nearly unstoppable forces of the Yuuzhan Vong. Leia is off overseeing the evacuation or refugees. Luke is having to deal with the fractured ranks of the Jedi. And Han, well he's off doing what he does best, venturing off to do what needs to be done (at least in his own mind), and getting himself in a little bit of trouble along the way. And this time around Han is focused solely on rescuing his mentor Roa from the Yuuzhan Vong who captured him. Meanwhile the Vong manipulate the Hutts, with whom they have alliance with, by leaving information out to be found by the New Republic - with deception being the only thing that they have on their minds.

This is really a quite solid book. It picks up where "Hero's Trial" left off, and it keeps on running. It is fast paced, filled with that Star wars feeling (which is imperative to any book in the Star Wars series), and it stands as a decent piece of literature in and of itself - of course it does help to have read at least "Hero's Trial" - but it can easily stand on its own legs.

So, my verdict is.... read this book, and read it soon. And if you've already got enough on your reading list, be sure to add this one as soon as things lighten up.

Sean's Rating