Order 66

With this fourth volume, Karen Traviss's Republic Commando series draws to a close. In retrospect, I think I enjoyed the second book (Triple Zero) the most-- the exact right mixture of rocking action and character-driven introspection, especially into the ethics of the Clone Wars. The first (Hard Contact) tilted too much towards the former, and both the third (True Colors) and this one tilt too much towards the latter. I don't have an innate problem with exploring or even condemning the morality of the Clone Wars in Star Wars, but Traviss seems to be unable to do it in a convincing fashion-- all the Jedi characters here bar one are original to her, which means they can all be set up as overwhelmingly sympathetic to the clone cause or as insufferable assholes to prove her point; even the mentions of things done by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu feel vastly out-of-character. Traviss's portrayal of fictional organizations isn't the only thing that's problematic here-- her portrayal of women is also suspect. Is there no woman in the galaxy who will not give up her entire culture and civilization to be with her man in the backwards-yet-consistently-praised Mandalorians? (And is there anything likable about Etain?) Even Traviss's usual strength of characterization isn't really present, as by this volume, the Republic Commandos have gotten way too perfect. There's nothing they can't do better than everyone else; I have a hard time buying that they noticed Palpatine's impending double-cross of the Jedi Order when no one else did, especially given how blatant the clues they come across seem to be. Nothing's a challenge for them anymore, and no one's worthy of their time. I also don't fine the Nulls as fascinating as Traviss seems to; I'd rather have the much more grounded Delta and Omega Squads any day. (Though these days they're barely grounded themselves.) Of course, the whole thing's executed with the usual Traviss brilliance, so it's an enjoyable read at the time (though it seemed to go on forever), but the more I think about it, the less I like it.

Okay, here’s a bit of a intro to the series (for those unfortunate enough not to have read the previous Republic Commando books or any of Karen’s books): We all know that old Count Dooku, acting on Palpatine’s orders, placed an order for clones with the Kaminoans, that the material from which the clones were created came from Jango Fett, and that these clones formed the Grand Army of the Republic in a time when the Republic had no standing army at all. (And if you didn’t know this, leave that cave - this is Episode Two Attack of the Clones guys and girls). Read the rest of my review here: http://davebrendon.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/review-star-wars-republic-commando-o... ( )