Star Wars - Dark Nest I: The Joiner King book review

I wasn't sure what to expect when I re-read the Dark Nest trilogy, because I had forgotten a lot of it. (Understandably so, as I hate bugs!) Bugs aside, it was more violent than I would like, and I found the Joiner/hive mind aspect of the story uncomfortable to read. But at the same time, I do like Han and Leia's arc here, and I liked getting to see Luke and Mara and Ben together as a family, even if I do have some quibbles about that. My main warning for The Joiner King is that even though the NJO series concluded five years ago, a lot of that darkness still carries over. This may not be a galaxy-wide conflict, but it’s not light and fluffy. Prepare yourself accordingly. Also, new pillow alert: I lived through Hurricane Ian, so I rewarded myself with a Millennium Falcon pillow. It is nice and squishy. Goodreads review:   / 5031798283   “Troy Denning Builds a Dark Nest” (August 2005): https://web.archive.org/web/200511040... Purchase Dark Nest I: The Joiner King from a local bookstore: https://bookshop.org/a/99992/97803454... *Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org where your purchases support local bookstores. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 00:00 - Intro 02:17 - Rebuilding the galaxy 05:07 - The opening plot 06:40 - Raynar Thul 07:27 - Jaina (and Zekk) 08:57 - Jacen 10:18 - Alema Rar 12:23 - Luke & Mara 13:35 - Han & Leia 14:33 - Issue 1: Maybe too long? 15:29 - Issue 2: BUGS 15:57 - Issue 3: Violence and torture and body horror (oh my) 17:03 - Issue 4: Denning's interpretation of the post-NJO Jedi 19:55 - Concluded for now 20:36 - In Short 21:47 - Bonus cat video