Boba Fett is supposed to be tough and cool, who rarely if ever speaks, but can get the job done. Not some jabbering twit who barely escapes by pure chance when the going gets dirty. Did the author really hear Fett say these pages and pages of dialogue in the voice from the movie? The voice that you can tell says maybe a hundred words a year?

Hey, thats another thing. Why does the author always refer to him as "Boba Fett" and not just as "Fett". All the characters in the book do this as well either when speaking to, about or even just contemplating the character (Boba Fett). Dengar stared at Boba Fett as Boba Fett turned to stare at his (Boba Fett's) ship. Boba Fett felt that being Boba Fett was cool. "Hey, you, Boba Fett, I'm going to kill you, Boba Fett."
"I'll get you for this, Boba Fett. It's not over, Boba Fett.30% percent of the words in the damn book must be "Boba Fett". I guess Boba Fett must have killed the last couple of guys who just called him Fett, or God forive, Boba.

Stay away at all costs.

There was indeed a lot of action, as a series like this one should have. Face it, you're talking modern space opera when you're reading a book like this, and you really shouldn't expect much more than Star Wars fun.

The problem with the book is that nothing about Boba Fett is explained, and nothing about him changes. Is this guy ever going to take off his armor and take a bath? Are we ever going to see what his cold eyes look like without a helmet?

Is he ever going to fall in love? Do something altruistic? Help a grandmother across a street simply because she needs help and not because there's money in it?

(Or, perish the thought, make a mistake?)

Obviously, this is not the end of a trilogy, and we need more books.

Come on, Jeter, do something with this guy!

Unfortunately, I find this tome more of a chore to slug through than I had hoped. Gone is the whimsical, behind-the-scenes air that PC gave on nearly every page; now, it's just a laundry list of Vietnam Vets/political staffers, their names and backgrounds, and pick-your-choice dialogues from press conference transcripts. Everybody, from protagonist Charlie Martin, the seemingly gratuitous affirmative-action staff, to his family relations, are shallow. I've always disliked Rules of Book-Writing, in that the reader must love the protagonist, but this novel just leaves me flat. I don't like anyone and could care less how anyone ends up. I didn't learn anything and was not inspiried by anything. Had it not been for PC, this would have been yet another Political Thriller that wasn't imaginative enough to create their own characters.

Even more so than with "Primary Colors," those who try to find the facts behind the fiction are simply barking up the wrong tree. When Klein wrote "The Running Mate" there were six veterans in the United States Senate who served in Vietnam: Max Cleland, Chuck Hagel, Bob Kerry, John Kerry, John McCain and Chuck Robb. Readers might recognize bits and pieces of Charles Martin's life in what they know about those six Senators, and Klein credits them with being the inspiration for this book, but none of the six match up with the fictional characters even half as well as Bill Clinton did with Jack Stanton. Actually, when I read the book the Senator I kept thinking of was the one from my own state who was defeated last fall by a rich guy who owns a chain of department stores, which certainly matches up with Martin's contest against the Muffler Man. Ultimately, "The Running Mate" looks at the generational conflict between the Baby Boomers who lived through Vietnam and the Sixties rather than the ideological division supposed represented by the two parties (both of which are considerably more moderate than they were a decade ago). There is a sense in which Klein is tracking how the alternative lifestyles that were once accepted, are now being rejected again. Certainly Klein burdens Martin's character with a fair amount of baggage in that regard: his widowed father is living in sin, his girl friend is still married, he has just discovered he fathered a son in Vietnam, and his chauffeur is an ex-drug runner who has found the Lord. His opponent in the Senate campaign, Lee Butler, has been mouthing off on a morning radio talk show for a couple of years and loves to be shown reading his Bible. Clearly there are two well defined sides in this particular campaign.

"The Running Mate" is not a cynical novel about politics, but it is certainly depressingly realistic. A consistent theme is that Martin is an honorable man, which is clearly established as a big disadvantage when it comes to wagging a political campaign in America today. There is a transcendent moment in the novel, when Butler makes the mistake of trying to go for the jugular too soon in a debate between the candidates, and Martin destroys the man in two marvelous paragraphs. This is the sort of scene I have waited for my whole life in the Presidential debates, a moment where one candidate makes the other eat their words before the eyes and ears of the nation. However, in Klein's world as in our own, no good deed goes unpunished. In the final analysis I did not enjoy "The Running Mate" as much as I did "Primary Colors," where half the fun was wondering how much of the story was grounded in fact and how much in fiction. But Klein is making a much more serious point about the current nature of the political process this time around, dealing less with the dominant personality of a flawed but compelling candidate, and more with just how things work. At the end, you might be more inclined to be more disenchanted with the process than the candidates. This book is well worth reading, especially if you are provoked into having deep thoughts.

Like "Primary Colors" the protagonist is a thinly veiled version of Nebraska senator Bob Kerry. However, Klein clearly admires the model for this character and represents him in a favorable, sensitive light, as opposed to going for the jugular as he did in his earlier book's caricature of Clinton.

While it has its moments, unlike "Primary Colors" this is not a cynical work. It sensitively depicts and celebrates the diversity of the nation such as its warm descriptions of the midwest and admiring representation of the iconoclasm typical of New York. It also touchingly describes the profound and often sad impact of the Vietnam experience upon a generation of our "best and brightest" many of whom currently seek to lead the nation. This book incorporates a considerable amount of optimism absent in "Primary Colors".

Like "Primary Colors" it has mystery like qualities which keep you riveted. Unexpectedly it is also a romantic novel, though Klein might have been advised that some of the intimate scenes, while tame, diminish the book.

This book lacks shock value and does not attempt to draw blood. Though far less sardonic, it is interesting, engaging, and touching. While not a statement piece I found it quite enjoyable.

The reader is left to figure this out while following the people chasing after Michael Hrubek, as well as the woman with a past who readers believe Michael is trying to track down.

A great book for those interested in psychiatry. Deaver has done his homework, as is usual for him.

Han is still on his quest, with newfound sidekick Droma, to find Droma's missing clan. Meanwhile, Leia heads off to the Hapes Consortium to try to win them over to the cause, the Hutts try to play the New Republic off of the Vong for their own benefit, Jacen & Anakin head off to examine the possibility of using Centerpoint Station as a weapon against the Vong, Borsk continues to be Borsk, and there are subplots galore. The author maintains his high standards of writing throughout, and this book could have been absolutely terrific had it been about, say, three times as long as it is. Unfortunately, because of the relatively short length of the book, very few of the plot threads are developed satisfactorily, and sometimes they seem a bit disjointed.

Still, the action is excellent, the characterizations are dead on, Luceno's knowledge of the Star Wars universe is superb, and there are cameo appearances of old favorites galore. The only two plots in this book that really kept me extremely interested were the Han and the Skidder plots, though, with the rest being too underdeveloped.

The cover isn't very good either. While the Vong (Warmaster Tsavong Lah) appears much as he is described in the book, Han is missing an arm, and his beard looks more like a blur than any facial hair I've ever seen.

Overall, this is an okay addition to the New Jedi Order, but the only Great parts of the book were the Han scenes and the last chapter, which almost boosted the book up another point just by itself. I do recommend this novel, but it's not the best.

However, the central plot about the missing little girl is what captured me. The story that Ruth Rendell tells of the effects of domestic violence on an entire family is chilling and heartbreaking. Not only does the wife and mother suffer extreme mental and physical abuse but the two children remaining in the home are clearly adversely affected. The effects of domestic violence will be felt in this family long after their escape from abuse. Rendell builds an atmosphere of suspense and dread that can only be a small reflection of the terror of living in such a situation, but the empathetic reader will be much affected. There can be no real happy ending to this story, at least not immediately. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys well drawn and believable characters, especially that of Inspector Wexford who is faced with a real moral dilemma.

The action picked up in the second book, and really comes to a head in this one. What seemed to start as a small potatoes bid for independence (or non-interference, as is more the case here) now takes on higher stakes when millions of lives are threatened by the Starbuster superweapon. The superweapon is always a tried and true element in Star Wars, even if a bit overdone, but it's still fun. You get to see some really good scenes with Mara Jade and Leia having to work together, and there's more of the Bakurans in this one, too (enjoy it while you can, it's the last book to date that they show up in). But the best part of the book is that the major conflict is resolved in an epic space battle, something we really do see far too little of in Star Wars, especially ones written as well as this one was.

If you felt you had to plod through the first two books (which was almost undoubtedly the case for the first book if not the second) then you'll be glad you make it this far to see the payoff. Roger MacBride Allen actually gave us a decent trilogy. The best part of it was that there was NO EMPIRE. I get tired of the Comeback Kings popping up all the time. My regards to the author for giving us a break.

The publisher calls this book "the ultimate crustacean encounter," and that it is! The quirky characters and setting enhance the book's appeal. "Twin Peaks" meets "Jaws." The depictions of the sea spiders are among the scariest creature-scenes I've ever read, and some of the attack scenes had me squirming for more. Loaded with fascinating biological facts and oddities.

Strange things are born in the ocean's depths... I can't wait until they make a blockbuster movie from this book. It would be more powerful than "Jaws" because the giant sea spiders are more terrifying, more deadly.

I notice that the West Coast Review of Books remarked: "Pickover has collaborated on a novel with the prolific Piers Anthony, and the combination of Pickover's theory and Anthony's fantasy should yield an intellectual tour de force without precedent."

The plot revolves around sea spiders (pycnogonids) that are terrorizing a community in New Foundland, Canada. One of the lead characters is Martha, who has various genetic defects and is also a martial arts expert. The descriptions of the creature are unbeatable. Just keep an open mind and move with it. Enjoy the zany parts and the scary parts, and open your mind to absurdity -- and don't try to overanalyze the composite structure. Do this, and you'll love this book. It is definitely worth reading.

I borrowed a copy of the book from a friend. It was a bit tattered, as if it had fallen off the back of a truck. But that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the book. In fact, I've read the book twice already! It's hard to put down. Fantastic for all ages. I've read some of Anthony's and Pickover's other books, and this is their most unusual.

It's a difficult book to describe. It's an ecological thriller in the spirit of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds," Peter Benchley's "Jaws," and even the "Alien" series of movies. It has humor and horror, science and fantasy, tension and frivolity, absurdity and deadly seriousness. Most of all, it seems to be about love and a concern for humanity.

I envy you if you have not yet read the book, because you have something great and mysterious to look forward to. If I were banished to the Mars and could take just a few books with me, this would be among them. The book will probably develop a cult following.

Can any of you imagine a motion picture made from the book? Who would you choose to play the main characters? I picture Sigourney Weaver as "Martha". David Duchovny as "Nathan." Jennie Garth as "Lisa." Sharon Stone as "Natalie."