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(More customer reviews)In a rather ironic moment, Hard Contact is so far the Clone Wars novel that best exemplifies the common conception of the Wars--but it doesn't have the logo on the cover. As befits a novel based on a first-person shooter, Karen Traviss's Hard Contact is not a novel about sitting around and talking, as others have been. Much as MedStar was "a day in the strife" for the non-combatants in the war, Hard Contact does the same for another neglected group: the clones themselves. (Perhaps this is why the earlier novels have seemed peripheral, plotwise: for all their seeming importance, the Jedi don't seem to do much in the war.)
Hard Contact is a showcase for Traviss's abilities. Her worldbuilding talents were used to create the environment of Qiilura, with its new flora and fauna that play a non-trivial role in the story. The background of the commandoes--of the clones in general--is also essentially produced from whole cloth, and manages to be distinctly, though not overtly, Imperial. She also managed to create distinct characters among the commandoes--and provide justification for it, something not really seen before. None of the four come across as cardboard. Another point worth mentioning is the sense of humor--Traviss doesn't go overboard with it, but the clones offer us some of the best quips since the Wraiths.
The same can be said of the other characters, as well. Unlike other recent novels, the "villain" is a complex character in his own right, as are the other antagonists. Traviss does a good job of showing the breadth of the Separatist movement. Some of the minor characters (read: the two-scene cannon fodder) are a bit flat, but there's really not much opportunity to avoid that, either.
All in all, Hard Contact is an excellent read, being what many were expecting from the Clone Wars. Don't be fooled by the ties to a video game; Hard Contact is the best SW novel since Shatterpoint (and perhaps earlier, depending on what you're looking for). We're lucky to have Karen Traviss writing Star Wars.
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Hard Contact (Star Wars: Republic Commando, Book 1)As the Clone Wars rage, victory or defeat lies in the hands of elite squads that take on the toughest assignments in the galaxy–stone-cold soldiers who go where no one else would, to do what no one else could. . . .On a mission to sabotage a chemical weapon research facility on a Separatist-held planet, four clone troopers operate under the very noses of their enemies. The commandos are outnumbered and outgunned, deep behind enemy lines with no backup–and working with strangers instead of trusted teammates. Matters don't improve when Darman, the squad's demolitions expert, gets separated from the others during planetfall. Even Darman's apparent good luck in meeting an inexperienced Padawan vanishes once Etain admits to her woeful inexperience.For the separated clone commandos and stranded Jedi, a long, dangerous journey lies ahead, through hostile territory brimming with Trandoshan slavers, Separatists, and suspicious natives. A single misstep could mean discovery . . . and death. It's a virtual suicide mission for anyone–anyone except Republic Commandos.
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