Republic Commando: 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 show more 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. show less

The main problem with this book was length. Traviss apparently needed a better editor because this story could have been told with about 100 pages less. I wish I could rate it higher because I really wanted to like this book. The premise for a Star Wars novel is excellent: the point of view of the clones fighting for the Republic and the fall of the Republic as it gives way to the Empire all from the view of the minor characters, so to speak. The characterization in the book is pretty good as well. So for those reasons, I really wanted to like this book. However, Traviss just keeps spinning sidelines and adding more characters and details, and after a while, it just gets long. The event of Order 66 is pretty much the driving force; you show more know as a reader (especially if you are familiar with the events in the Star Wars universe) that the hammer is about to come down. Some suspense is good, but after a while, you can do so much stretching of your plot before a reader gets tired of waiting. After three quarters of the way into the book, I just scanned the rest to see who lived, who died, and how things turned out. Feeling that I had to scan is usually not a good sign. It tells me the author just tried to throw everything in, including the kitchen sink, then tried to wrap it all up in the end. Clocking in at a little over 400 pages was a bit much. The story was good, but it could have been a lot tighter and still pack the punch. As a couple other people have commented here, the author's ending was not exactly the most satisfactory (as others have pointed out, I won't say more to avoid spoilers), but I will leave that to the more hardcore SW readers to decide. As a casual reader of SW fiction, it was ok.

I will add something else. If you have not read the previous novels in the Republic Commando series, you may miss a few things along the way. The characters have been developing during the series, and you may have a better appreciation of the characters if you have read the previous novels. I have not read the previous books prior to this one, which I picked up mostly out of curiosity. In spite of my reservations about Order 66, I am still considering picking up the previous works in the series because overall the idea behind the series is a good one. Also, I found very fascinating the descriptions of the Mandalorian culture (some of that could be a whole other book or novel by itself). This was a strength in the book for me. show less

I really do hope (and I think I will get what I want) that the characters from this book continue to appear in the 501st books that will be released soon. The way that the characters and the whole Order 66 goes down was very well integrated. We saw how it went down in the movie and seeing from a soldiers and the perspective of the military adds additional depth and pathos to the event. Kenobi was far from the only Jedi General that the Clones were ordered to terminate.

The Clones were bred to age faster than normal so they reached their adult body size in ten years. What happens as they continue to age at that rate?

And we did see the cloning facilities on Kamino get taken out. So where did all the rest of the Storm Troopers come from? show more The answers to that is partially addressed here.


There is a character death that I understand the need for but I was really sad and surprised to see it happen. I won't spoil the who it was in case people are checking this out that have not read the book yet. Pleasantly long but still left me wanting more. show less

the final Republic Commando novel, supposedly. We will see though, since she left several openings" for later stories. Basically, everything comes to a head and the RC's under Skirata disappear and go to Mandalore to start their new lives. Etain, the jedi who had a baby with a clone, is killed as they are trying to leave Coruscant. I really enjoyed this story, much more story than the previous. I really hope the bookclub carries this and the previous as a combo."

Title "Star Wars: Republic Commando:
Order 66"
Series Republic Commando
Order 4
Author/Editor Karen Traviss
Note (Accolades)
Genre/Subject Star Wars Legends
Pages 468
Owned? Platform? Kindle / Apple
Excitement (0-10) 7
Rating 7
How did I hear about it? Playing the game while growing up
Finished? Yes
Read over the course of? 1-2 months
Date Finished Thu, Feb 22, 2024
Reason Finished Im too invested in the characters, and I know people are going to die because it is order 66
Reason Dropped
Expectations Exceeded
Pacing Feel Just Right
Style Both
Worth My Time? Yes
Anything else? This book gave me anxiety and a serious sense of dread. I feel traumatized

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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...