No Prisoners (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) Review

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(More customer reviews)Del Rey is publishing a series of five tie-in novels to accompany the highly successful Clone Wars cartoon series, which kicked off in the fall of 2008. Authorial duties are rotating between two Karens: Karen Traviss, notable Star Wars author with a penchant for clones and Mandalorians, kicked things off with an excellent novelization of the feature film. Karen Miller, a newcomer to the Expanded Universe, followed up with Wild Space, a harrowing but overlong tale of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa journeying through the galaxy in search of a Sith planet. Now Traviss delivers the third novel, No Prisoners, coupling an intriguing exploration of differing Jedi philosophies with a juicy dose of clone and battle droid action.
One striking feature of the three novels published to date in this particular mini-series is the juxtaposition of their serious and introspective tone with the light-hearted adventure of the TV show. I appreciate that the authors are working to deepen the EU by not simply offering shallow tales of Jedi heroics. At times I find it a bit challenging to marry the TV show to these stories in my mind, but overall this is a great strategy and sometimes makes me see the TV episodes in a new light. For example, clone officer Captain Rex is given a meaty and provocative role in No Prisoners. He wrestles with some fundamental issues concerning the role of the clone army, what their purpose is in life, and whether there is any hope for them to be something more. These themes will be familiar to readers of the superb Republic Commando series, also by Karen Traviss, but playing them against the adventurous fun of the cartoon made them more poignant than ever, at least for this reader.
Beyond the intellectual examination of Rex and his clone squad, there are many intense action sequences scattered throughout. One particularly vivid scene involves the clones rescuing one of the main characters who is being held hostage. The pace at which they take over the situation and Rex's brutally firm leadership make for compelling reading. Traviss deftly paints the clones as a military force to be reckoned with and the saga is all the richer for it.
Readers of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy will be interested to know Captain Gilad (new first name!) Pellaeon is a featured character in No Prisoners. In fact, his forbidden relationship with intelligence agent Hallena Davis and what he's willing to do to save her from danger is the prime driver of the plot. Their relationship echoes the forbidden marriage of Anakin and Padme. Pellaeon is portrayed as a smart and capable officer. Arguably, he is portrayed as TOO smart and capable: I found myself picturing the old, experienced, post-Thrawn-and-Daala Pellaeon more than a young officer making his way through the ranks. There are an awful lot of years between the Clone Wars and the Thrawn Trilogy in which he doesn't seem to have grown much, but still, it's a treat reading his interactions with Anakin, Ahsoka, and Rex.
Another place where the book veers tonally away from the show is in its treatment of Ahsoka. Many characters here are surprised or even shocked that a half-dressed fourteen-year-old has been given a leadership role. Pellaeon even forces her to change into military-issue clothes in an awkward little scene. Ahsoka also undergoes some mental turmoil when she is introduced to a rogue sect of Jedi who permit relationships and do not fear attachment. These Jedi, led by Master Djinn Altis and featuring Callista Masana from the Bantam novels, go against many of the precepts she was raised to unthinkingly accept.
These challenges to Ahsoka's beliefs (and later in the story, to Anakin's as well) underscored a theme I see woven through the Traviss stories. She seems to favor book characters over movie ones, and her anti-Jedi Order viewpoints are a strongly recurring motif. While there are times I feel she is excessively weakening characters like Ahsoka to demonstrate the Order is rotting from within, I do appreciate that she is willing to introduce and flesh out alternative views of the prequel era. She is correct that many people would likely have more negative views of the Jedi than we as movie viewers tend to, and certainly there is fertile ground to be plowed with the bred-to-fight and enslaved clone army. So while I don't always agree with the viewpoints she espouses, I value them highly.
No Prisoners presents a balanced mix of philosophical musings about the nature of clones, Jedi, and warfare with gripping action sequences and a fast-paced storyline. Karen Traviss has made quite a mark on the Expanded Universe and shows no signs of letting up, and I am pleased Del Rey is open to publishing stories such as hers that don't necessarily toe the line of the other media including the cartoon. No Prisoners is highly recommended.


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The Clone Wars rage on. As insurgent Separatists fight furiously to wrest control of the galaxy from the Republic, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine cunningly manipulates both sides for his own sinister purposes. Torrent Company's Captain Rex agrees to temporarily relieve Anakin Skywalker of Ahsoka, his ubiquitous–and insatiably curious–Padawan, by bringing her along on a routine three-day shakedown cruise aboard Captain Gilad Pellaeon's newly refitted assault ship. But the training run becomes an active–and dangerous–rescue mission when Republic undercover agent Hallena Devis goes missing in the middle of a Separatist invasion.Dispatched to a distant world to aid a local dictator facing a revolution, Hallena finds herself surrounded by angry freedom fighters and questioning the Republic's methods–and motives. Summoned to rescue the missing operative who is also his secret love, Pellaeon–sworn to protect the Republic over all–is torn between duty and desire. And Ahsoka, sent in with Rex and six untested clone troopers to extract Hallena, encounters a new and different Jedi philosophy, which shakes the foundation of her upbringing to the core. As danger and intrigue intensify, the loyalties and convictions of all involved will be tested. . . .

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Wild Space (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy this book, despite my attempts at doing so.
I know there's a lot of griping from other reviewers about "no action," and "no fight scenes." It's true. There isn't. Is this a diversion from the normal Star Wars EU fare? Yes, it is. Does that make this a bad book. Certainly not. I was rather excited at the idea of getting a very character-based center for this book. I don't mind reading conversations between characters and getting their emotional insights. I do, however, mind when an author misses the characterization of characters so completely as Miller does here.
Let's start with the obvious: Obi-Wan Kenobi. I like Obi-Wan. In fact, I love Obi-Wan. He's a fan favorite and for good reason. He's calm and collected, he's genteel, has a wry sense of humor and a graciousness that is what many of us see as "the" Jedi way. He cares about Anakin, of course, but he's always done his duty as a Jedi. Miller's Obi-Wan is just simply un-likable. He is constantly "angry" and provoked to rash, abrupt, and simply non-diplomatic responses. He argues with Anakin, he argues with Padme, he argues with Bail Organa (a LOT) - and he does it in a rather annoying fashion. When did Obi-Wan start carrying a grudge for anybody that wasn't a Jedi? Is he REALLY getting bent out of shape about someone "intruding" on his "private" meditations? I mean, these are actions that are just not in Obi-Wan's character. I like the idea here - Bail Organa and Obi-Wan not necessarily seeing eye-to-eye on things but coming through a difficult situation with grudging respect and even some fondness for each other. I just don't understand why Obi-Wan had to be made into such an ass to accomplish this.
We also start immediately following Geonosis. Anakin and Obi-Wan are both gravely injured and take some time to heal from this - both physically and emotionally. I love this. They both took a huge blow in more than one sense. Obi-Wan is disappointed in Anakin's actions, Anakin is reeling in pain and frustration - it's great. I liked seeing Jedi that were left hurting, confused, and in need of recuperation.
I did NOT like seeing Obi-Wan constantly hurt. He recovers from Geonosis then gets himself blown up and almost killed. Then he runs off to a planet that plays mind games with him - causing him to have terrible headaches, react violently (he almost kills himself and Bail more than one time), he collapses in fatigue and pain, he bleeds from the eyes and nose - it's just ridiculous. He's an angry invalid for most of the book. This is not Obi-Wan and it's not what I want to spend 300+ pages reading.
Padme is supposed to be a pillar of civic responsibility and duty - a testament to personal sacrifice for the better of the people. Here we see her swearing nobody can keep her apart from Anakin - she seems almost violently selfish of her relationship with him. She resents the Jedi, their devotion to duty, and their belief system. Where is the Padme who respects the Jedi's defense of the Republic? Where is her love of her government and her own pride in responsibility? Where is the belief that she and other loyalists can make things better? It's not here - here we have Anakin and Padme acting like they're staring in a romance novel - with lovey-dovey dialogue that made me cringe to read and a selfish self-involved attitude that made me hate their relationship.
All of the characterizations are off (though none as blatantly insulting as that of Obi-Wan). Yoda is a snippy, stingy, control-freak who shows almost no compassion for anyone at any point in the novel. Padme is a selfish, love-sick puppy who snaps and barks at anybody who disagrees with her (including Anakin). Ahsoka is hardly in the novel and while she's not my favorite character ever, I'm curious if Miller has even SEEN any of the media with Ahsoka in it. Anakin's Padawan is supposed to be spunky, smart, and capable. The Ahsoka in this novel spends all her time internally wishing and begging for Anakin's approval, running errands like some personal assistant, and cringing anytime Anakin gives her instruction. There's no banter between the two, there's no relationship there.
Bail Organa - while very briefly seen on film - never struck me as a brash, hard-liquor-drinking, arrogant, gullible jerk and that's certainly the way he comes off here. The "information" he receives about the Sith plot is so ridiculously vague and he accepts it on such blind trust that I was amazed he hadn't been assassinated earlier. He goes on a quest with Obi-Wan and is so cavalier about it, I half expected him to walk out of the ship's cabin with spurs and a cowboy hat, a shot of whiskey in his hand, and a six-shooter strapped to his leg. He's reckless and foolish, he provokes arguments, he responds argumentatively - where's the diplomacy here? I mean, this guy is a Senator and he's tossing around insults and rash statements like he's Han Solo or something. He should be smooth and polished - calm in a verbal argument and able to dissolve tension, not adding to it.
And, on a much nit-pickier level: has Miller even familiarized herself with the terminology (and time-line) established in Star Wars novels? It really threw my enjoyment off to see elevators - dubbed "turbolifts" in all other EU works - called "swift-tubes" here. "Glowrods" are being termed "night-sticks," and the obvious breach of continuity - the timing of Anakin's Knighthood. These are things I probably could have overlooked, had it not been for the truly insulting characterizations.
I appreciate the effort here - a character-driven story that sacrifices action for more in-depth, emotional focus is not a bad idea. But the execution in "Wild Space" is just appalling. Anything that has me feeling a dislike of Obi-Wan (and every character here, come to think of it) is just not good Star Wars fiction.

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Order 66 (Star Wars: Republic Commando) Review

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(More customer reviews)Several years ago first-time Star Wars author Karen Traviss was tapped to pen a spinoff novel based on the videogame Republic Commando. Although there are an increasing number of games available featuring significantly strong storylines (Knights of the Old Republic comes to mind), Republic Commando was a fairly straightforward first-person shooter: a lot of fun to play, but not necessarily a deep source for a quality book. Defying my expectations, Traviss produced a gripping and distinctive tale with her book Hard Contact. By not adhering to the storyline of the game, she gave herself room to develop a compelling set of new characters, breathing life into the concept of clone soldiers.
Reactions to the first book, despite some fan concerns about its pro-Mandalorian, anti-Jedi overtones, were quite positive, and the sequel Triple Zero appeared not long thereafter. Triple Zero took its time in developing a richly detailed ensemble cast of mercenaries, soldiers, and disillusioned Jedi, and it became clear that Traviss was laying foundations for a bigger story. It turned out there were two more books coming, a third paperback named True Colors and the hardcover series finale, succinctly titled Order 66.
My anticipation for this climactic fourth novel was extremely high and overall I was not disappointed. As expected, Traviss takes all of the disparate threads and characters she has been developing and weaves together an action-packed portrait of the chaos surrounding Order 66 itself and the rise of the fledgling Empire. One element I did not expect is how much time is spent months earlier in the first half of the book. This makes sense, though: the war was three years long and there was a significant gap of roughly a year between the end of True Colors and Order 66.
I confess a bit of surprise on my part regarding the climactic events of Order 66. I had a picture in my head of the decisions Omega and Delta squads would be forced to make regarding their Jedi allies (primarily Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik) but the actual story was quite different. I'm not going to spoil anything specific here, but I will say events weren't nearly as conclusive as I pictured, with the exception of one particular character's death (a very moving one). It has recently turned out that Traviss will be penning a sequel series, the aptly dubbed Imperial Commando, which sheds new light on her choice here to leave questions unanswered and even some new storylines barely addressed (such as the intriguing introduction of Callista, a Jedi character some readers may be familiar with from the Bantam novel era).
The viewpoint of this novel, much like the prior three but more amplified, has a very Mandalorian slant to it. The dialogue is liberally sprinkled with Mando terms, and the mercenaries are placed in heroic roles, those of noble warriors looking after their families and loved ones while doing what they "have to do" for a living. While I disagree with the vilification of the Jedi the book veers toward, I greatly appreciate the different point of view Traviss explores. Not everyone in the Star Wars galaxy should feel the same about things, and just looking briefly at any political discussion today ably depicts how completely differently people can view a particular subject or person. I've never seen clones the same way after reading this series, and it's interesting to examine the cues the new Clone Wars cartoon has picked up in humanizing the troops.
I'm reluctant to delve any further into the plot of this one. If you've read the first three books and enjoyed them, you'll certainly want to read this one, and if you haven't and you are interested, start with Hard Contact and see what you think. I highly recommend all four of these books for the fresh viewpoints and strong characterizations they present, and I look forward to reading Imperial Commando: 501st next.


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