501st

I had to struggle with this one not connection with the storyline or the characters. Perhaps I've outgrown the Commando series but I do like K. Traviss as an author. ( )

I felt that the last two volumes of the Republic Commando series hadn't been up to scratch with the earlier ones, but now that the series has been relaunched as Imperial Commando, it seems to have returned to form. Seeing Traviss's enormous cast of characters navigating the Imperial world is fascinating: they spent so much time and energy trying to escape the Republic and the Clone Wars, that now that they've accomplished it and both of those things came to an end, they don't know what to do next. It's especially nice to see Kal Skirata struggling with moral questions for once, as Captain Maze turns up with a survivor of Order 66. My favorite plotline, however, was Niner and Darman's continued service in the 501st Legion, Imperial Commando Special Unit, Squad 40. Maybe not much happened, but Traviss draws extremely compelling portraits of both characters: the man who lost everything he knew, and the man who feels compelled to protect him. The book was gripping stuff; I rocketed straight through it. I'm disappointed that Traviss has elected to leave the Star Wars world, though tentatively hopeful that the Imperial Commando books will evidently continue anyway. Hopefully the various threads introduced here are tied up just as expertly by whoever takes over.

If you poke around the Internet, TheForce.Net especially, you can find a lot of criticism leveled at Traviss-- heck, I've been guilty of it myself. And though I usually think the critics have valid, irrefutable points, I often find I just don't care: I enjoy her books regardless, because they're so tremendously well-written. But there is one thing that really irks me, and that's her use of female characters. She continuously introduces women who swoon over the clones (or other Mandalorian characters) and leave everything they know to be with them: never does a clone leave his world to enter the woman's. I also have to question the maturity of anyone who falls for the emotionally-stunted, overly-macho Fett clones, especially the ARCs. But even more problematic is the fact that once a female character has been paired up with a male one, they pretty much cease to exist: Besany Wennen is a nonentity in this novel now that she's married Ordo, for example, spending her few appearances cooking. This is more than you can say for some of the other clones' wives; I forgot that Atin had even married Laseema until I ran across the fact on Wookieepedia.