Hard Contact
Star Wars Republic Command
by Karen Traviss
In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Jango Fett was cloned to provide
an army for the Jedi. They would live tough, soulless lives as soldiers born at ten years
old and dead before they are too old to be useful. This is a story about what such beings
might really be like, and is the first part of a series concerning the missions of the commandos.
Four of them are sent to a planet to sabotage a deadly nanovirus research lab and take
the scientist responsible alive. Behind enemy lines, everything instantly goes pear-shaped,
and one member of the team is isolated. Also alone down there is an inept and inexperienced
Jedi Padawan, who is about to take part in their mission and discover what clones are actually like.
If, like this reviewer, you love the Star Wars films and don't think they come
often enough, this is for you. There is a lot to recommend it, as the modest-length novel
contains a fast-paced, lively story with plenty of action and all the Star Wars hallmarks.
Everybody expects the clones to be like droids and they are certainly treated as such, but
Padawan Etain Tur-Mukan and the reader soon discover that they are as human as anybody
else, and as different in personality from each other. The theme here is how wars strip
decent people of humanity, but it still finds ways of surfacing. As you would expect with
a Star Wars tale, there are strange new life forms, humor, a well-realized planet
as background, some very believable weaponry and, in short, a very well-rounded book that
left me feeling more satisfied than most TV or film tie-in novels do. (Jar Jar Binks
isn't in here either, which has got to be good.) |
The Book |
Orbit (Time Warner UK) |
March 2006 |
Paperback |
1841495247 |
SF / Film Tie-in |
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|| UK |
Excerpt |
NOTE: |
The Reviewer |
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewed 2006 |
NOTE: |
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