Spolier-free review:

The heroes of the Rebellion converge on Borleias and take it back from the Vong. They set up an advance base there from which they plan to be a refuge to fleeing New Republic troops, as well as start planning a strike to take back Coruscant. Things don't go as planned, however, when the remnants of Borsk Fey'lya's Advisory Council arrive. After making it quite clear that they have given up, they give Wedge and the others orders to hold Borleias with a token force -- orders that leave no doubt that they will all be killed attempting to defend the planet. After this latest betrayal by the government, our heroes decide to form a New Rebellion. After they rout the first Vong fleet sent, Tsavong Lah recruits his father Czulkang Lah, the famed (and feared) tactitian and retired Warmaster, to lead the forces against Borleias. Meanwhile, at the Rebel base, Jaina arrives with Jag Fel and Kyp. Numerous sub-plots are always in motion, giving the reader the sense of being in the middle of a much larger war. Characterizations are dead-on, and the only thing this book really lacks is any sort of a resolution, which is acceptable for the first part of a planned duology. All in all, a very good book... it's not Star by Star, but what is?

Spoiler-heavy review:

I think somebody out there is reading my reviews. Just about everything I've advocated as being good for this series comes to pass in this book, which caused me no end of joy. Remember last time, when I talked about how it was about time somebody started poking the Vong where they're sore? (If you haven't read that review... shame on you! Read my words! Validate me! ... please?) The book opens with Wedge's task force, including Rogue Squadron, taking Borleias -- not a very difficult task, because there's little more than a token garrison on the planet, but a much-needed victory nonetheless. Part of the ground assault force is a squad of Lando's war droids, led by Lando himself. When the droids rush out into battle, their battle cry, in the Vong's language, is "We are machines! We are greater than the Yuuzhan Vong!" Does this infuriate the Vong defenders into dropping all reason and attacking in fury? What do you think?

Later, when Jaina arrives on Borleias, a decision is made to keep up the Trickster motif she started. Everybody starts treating her as though she was the reincarnation of Yun-Harla herself. The Jedi onplanet, up to and including Luke Skywalker, defer to her. Luke hands over his squadron to her command, which is promptly placed outside the normal command structure. General Wedge Antilles doesn't order her around, he requests things. Why does the New Rebellion do this? Because they know that the Vong are spying on them and will eventually have spies in the compound. They never actually come right out and call her a goddess: they just treat her like one and wait for the Vong to make their own conclusions. It will be interesting to see just what fruit this new scheme bears.

Interestingly (and a little annoyingly), Tarc gets a greatly increased role in this book. Don't remember him? Don't blame yourself. Tarc is the twelve-year-old kid who Viqi Shesh got as a distraction because he looks exactly like Anakin did. The problem is, the resemblence is all he's got going for him. He's uninteresting, we have no emotional attachment to the kid and therefore really don't care what happens to him, and he comes off as a whiny little brat. His resemblence to Anakin keeps getting mentioned, so I'm going to hold out hope that somehow he'll be a key part of Anakin's ressurection. I'm hoping this for two reasons; because I still hope that they bring back Anakin, and because Tarc is a worthless character and if he doesn't help get me Anakin back, the authors will have been wasting my time with him.

Oh, speaking of Viqi Shesh? Remember how I said in my Star by Star review that while I couldn't tell if she survived, she'd be unwelcome in either New Republic or Vong space? Well, she survived, and she ends up in the hands of the Vong, who bring her to Tsavong Lah. She's VERY not welcome, and saves herself from execution with a very clever bit of quick thinking, coming up with an explanation for the problems Tasvong Lah has been having with his limb. While she comes up with the theory just because she thinks it will spare her and provoke mistrust (it does, on both counts), it turns out that there's a chance she was right. Oh, and in his investigations, Tsavong Lah calls for Nen Yim, meaning I finally get my Nen Yim fix! Hooray!

Off on my patented Completed Unrelated Tangent, I was going to write a bit in here about how the Star Wars universe was always rather sexless... when Leia got pregnant, it always seemed like she had just turned up pregnant one day, instead of Han having something to do with it. Characters rarely even kissed, and when they did, they were either a married couple or a couple that was going to end up married. However, Rebel Dream completely stole my thunder, as the franchise really seems to grow up in this book (fitting, considering the romance in Episode II, something we've really never seen anything of in a Star Wars film before). You want examples?

Luke: "It's hard to be the serene Jedi Master all the time."
Mara: "I don't want you serene all the time, farmboy."

Wedge, to his wife Iella: "I knew I was keeping you around for a reason."
Iella: "At least two reasons."
Wedge: "Don't tickle."

The best stuff in this book comes from how completely Aaron Allston nails each and every character's mannerisms. In the example up above, see where Mara calls Luke 'farmboy'? She does that throughout the book. It's very perfectly Mara; she still wants to taunt Luke, albiet gently, and calling him Skywalker just doesn't have the same sting when it's her name too, so she preys on his childhood. Mara is my favorite character in the EU, and it's a thorn in my side that so few authors ever really write her correctly. Allston does, and it's not just Mara that he's got down pat either. Here's a nice example from when Leia and Han are discussing the change in Kyp Durron's attitude:

Leia: "It looks like Jaina's not the only one who went through changes."
Han: "Obviously a fake Kyp. You distract him. I'll shoot him under the table."

There's gems like that scattered throughout the book, adding up into a simple joy to read. Allston also has a nice tactical feel for the combat scenes, especially the climactic one (which really does feel climactic this time, a complaint I had about Dark Journey) -- Czulkang Lah has a keen tactical mind but is forced into a hasty assault by his son, and even though this is a spoiler review, all I'm going to say about Operation Emperor's Hammer is that you'll love it when Wedge puts it into action.

Look, guys, I could blather on about the different things I liked about this book for pages more, but I'm going to stop myself. This book certainly doesn't record any truly epic moments in the NJO story, but what it does do is provide you constant entertainment for 304 pages, and I highly recommend it.

Light Side:

• More controlled blasphemy. Jaina the Goddess is both very funny and a very good tactic to use against the Vong.
• The prototype of Lando's YVH war droids, 1-1A, gets a lot of face time and a personality this time around. He's very funny, too... you can't write Artoo's blips and bloops, and Threepio isn't half as funny without his counterpart to play off of, so it's nice to have some droid-based comedic relief. Oh, and the droid in question is a literal killing machine, making him actually useful to have around (Threepio, I'm looking straight at you).
• Finally, Luke and Mara get equal coverage, and they're done very well.
• The book is filled with more quotable moments than any other I've read. Han calling Corran Horn the brat of the Horn family jumps to mind, but there's dozens and dozens of others.
• Jaina and Jag Fel's kiss. If you put your ear against the page and listen very closely, you can hear the soundtrack swelling.
• Tahiri gets a lot of face time and character development, which makes me happy. She was a very interesting character and I didn't want to see her fade off into the background with Anakin's death.
• Czulkang Lah looks like an interesting new character. I'll be very annoyed if they kill him off in Rebel Stand.
• The Vong menace is back to being menacing again. Bad for the characters, but good for the story: they're great villains.
• Viqi Shesh returns in full force, bringing all her scheming ways with her.
• Nen Yim! Finally! WOOHOO!

Dark Side:

• Tarc. Seriously, if Anakin's spirit doesn't possess him or something, he's just going to be a Cousin Oliver. We don't need cute 12 year olds running around and whining at the moment: this is a very grown up story arc, and anyway, Tarc wouldn't be entertaining in any story. He's just annoying!

Bottom Line: