For the first time Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore is available in eBook format!
This special eBook edition of Vector Prime includes:
The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore
Origins of the New Jedi Order - An interview with some of the key
players from the New Jedi Order series creative team
The New Jedi Order Bible - The Yuuzhan Vong passage
Illustrations from Star Wars Essential Guide to Vehicles & Vessels (On sale: September 30, 2003) -Yuuzhan Vong Warship (Miid Ro'ik) -Yuuzhan Vong Worldship -Millennium Falcon -Jade Fire
An exciting new era of Star Wars history is about to begin--as fantasy and science fiction's most acclaimed authors propel the legendary epic into the next millennium, introducing us to a rich cast of characters that features old favorites--Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa Solo--along with the next generation of Jedi and never-before seen creatures, droids, and deadly agents of darkness. In Vector Prime, the launch novel for this thrilling new saga, New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore takes the Star Wars universe to previously unscaled heights of action and imagination, expanding the beloved story of a galaxy far, far away . . .
Twenty-one years have passed since the heroes of the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star, breaking the power of the Emperor. Since then, the New Republic has valiantly struggled to maintain peace and prosperity among the peoples of the galaxy. But unrest has begun to spread; tensions erupt in outbreaks of rebellion that, if unchecked, threaten to destroy the Republic's tenuous reign.
Into this volatile atmosphere comes Nom Anor, a charismatic firebrand who heats passions to the boiling point, sowing seeds of dissent for his own dark motives. In an effort to avert a catastrophic civil war, Leia travels with her daughter Jaina, her sister-in-law Mara Jade Skywalker, and the loyal protocol droid C-3PO, to conduct face-to-face diplomatic negotiations with Nom Anor. But he proves resistant to Leia's entreaties--and, far more inexplicably, within the Force, where a being should be, was . . . blank space. Meanwhile, Luke is plagued by reports of rogue Jedi Knights who are taking the law into their own hands. And so he wrestles with a dilemma: Should he attempt, in this climate of mistrust, to reestablish the legendary Jedi Council?
As the Jedi and the Republic focus on internal struggles, a new threat surfaces, unnoticed, beyond the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim. An enemy appears from outside known space, bearing weapons and technology unlike anything New Republic scientists have ever seen. Suddenly Luke, Mara, Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca--along with the Solo children--are thrust again into battle, to defend the freedom so many have fought and died for. But this time, all their courage, sacrifice, and even the power of the Force itself may not be enough. . . .
Excerpts
From the book...
It was too peaceful out here, surrounded by the vacuum of space and with only the continual hum of the twin ion drives breaking the silence. While she loved these moments of peace, Leia Organa Solo also viewed them as an emotional trap, for she had been around long enough to understand the turmoil she would find at the end of this ride.Like the end of every ride, lately.
Leia paused a moment before she entered the bridge of the Jade Sabre, the new shuttle her brother, Luke, had built for his wife, Mara Jade. Before her, and apparently oblivious to her, Mara and Jaina sat comfortably, side by side at the controls, talking and smiling. Leia focused on her daughter, Jaina, sixteen years old, but with the mature and calm demeanor of a veteran pilot. Jaina looked a lot like Leia, with long dark hair and brown eyes contrasting sharply with her smooth and creamy skin. Indeed, Leia saw much of herself in the girl--no, not girl, Leia corrected her own thoughts, but young woman. That same sparkle behind the brown eyes, mischievous, adventurous, determined.
That notion set Leia back a bit, for she recognized then that when she looked at Jaina, she was seeing not a reflection of herself but an image of the girl she had once been. A twinge of sadness caught her as she considered her own life now: a diplomat, a bureaucrat, a mediator, always trying to calm things down, always working for the peace and prosperity of the New Republic. Did she miss the days when the most common noise around her had been the sharp blare of a blaster or the hiss of a lightsaber? Was she sorry that those wild times had been replaced by the droning of the ion drives and the sharp bickering of one pride-wounded emissary after another?
Perhaps, Leia had to admit, but in looking at Jaina and those simmering dark eyes, she could take vicarious pleasure.
Another twinge--jealousy?--caught her by surprise, as Mara and Jaina erupted into laughter over some joke Leia had not overheard. But she pushed the absurd notion far from her mind as she considered her sister-in-law, Luke's wife and Jaina's tutor--at Jaina's own request--in the ways of the Jedi. Mara was not a substitute mother for Jaina, but rather, a big sister, and when Leia considered the fires that constantly burned in Mara's green eyes, she understood that the woman could give to Jaina things that Leia could not, and that those lessons and that friendship would prove valuable indeed to her daughter. And so she forced aside her jealousy and was merely glad that Jaina had found such a friend.
She started onto the bridge, but paused again, sensing movement behind her. She knew before looking that it was Bolpuhr, her Noghri bodyguard, and barely gave him a glance as he glided to the side, moving so easily and gracefully that he reminded her of a lace curtain drifting lazily in a gentle breeze. She had accepted young Bolpuhr as her shadow for just that reason, for he was as unobtrusive as any bodyguard could be. Leia marveled at the young Noghri, at how his grace and silence covered a perfectly deadly fighting ability.
She held up her hand, indicating that Bolpuhr should remain out here, and though his usually emotionless face did flash Leia a quick expression of disappointment, she knew he would obey. Bolpuhr, and all the Noghri, would do anything Leia asked of them. He would jump off a cliff or dive into the hot end of an ion engine for her, and the only time she ever saw any sign of discontentment with her orders was when Bolpuhr thought she might be placing him in a difficult position to properly defend her.
As he was thinking now, Leia understood, though why in the world Bolpuhr would fear for her safety on her...
About the Author
R. A. Salvatore was born in Massachusetts in 1959. He is the acclaimed author of the DemonWars trilogy: The Demon Awakens, The Demon Spirit, and The Demon Apostle, as well as Mortalis, Bastion of Darkness, the New York Times bestseller Star Wars® The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime, and the novel based on the screenplay, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their three children.
Visit the author's Web site at www.rasalvatore.com