In 2008, and only in hardcover, Karen Traviss wrote the epic novelization for a kids TV show that has failed to catch onto long-time teenage and adult Star Wars fans. A year before Del Rey fired her, it had promised to take the childish antics of the movie and target it toward adults. It suceeded mainly because of her attention to the battle field that some of the more recent authors (Troy Denning, Christie Golden, Sean Williams, Drew Karpyshyn) are lacking. Karen also doesn't hide the fact that Palpatine is Darth Sidious--the only other author to do this was Matthew Stover when he wrote the Revenge of the Sith novelization.
Synopsis: The raging Clone Wars illuminate dark motives and darker destinies until one question must be answered: Does the end ever justify the means? It's time the Jedi found out. Across the galaxy, the Clone Wars are raging. The Separatists, led by Count Dooku, the onetime Jedi and now secret Sith Lord, continue to press forward, and more and more worlds are either falling, or seceding and joining the cause. Under the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the Republic heroically battles on, championed by its huge army of cloned soldiers and their Jedi generals. Anakin Skywalker, believed by some to be the prophesied "Chosen One" destined to bring balance to the Force, is now a Jedi Knight under the tutelage of his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Death is a constant possibility—and his chances of survival aren't improved by the unexpected arrival of an apprentice: Ahsoka, a brash inexperienced fourteen-year-old Padawan. But there's no time for Anakin to question his latest orders. He and Obi-Wan have been assigned a new mission, and failure is not an option. Jabba the Hutt's precious infant son has been kidnapped, and when the frantic parent applies to the Jedi for help, it falls to Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and their clone troops to track down the evidence and retrieve the missing Huttlet. And more is at stake: For a grateful Jabba just might allow the Republic access to the Hutt-controlled space lanes that the Grand Army desperately needs in order to beat the Separatists into submission. But the Republic is not the only power that craves access to those space lanes. Count Dooku, determined to win the prize for the Separatists, has set a trap for the Jedi. When they find the Huttlet, they will also find Dooku's master assassin, Asajj Ventress, and countless legions of battle droids waiting to spring a trap. The blazing new animated feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place in the years preceding Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and sets the stage for the groundbreaking TV series. Both contain all original material—direct from the brilliant imagination of legendary Star Wars creator George Lucas. And these exciting new adventures and characters are being brought to life in book form by none other than #1 New York Times bestselling Star Wars author Karen Traviss.
Unlike her other tie-in novels, this story starts out with a third-person point of view of Jabba Desilijic Tiure when he learns that his son, Rotta, has been kidnapped. It then goes to Dooku as he asks Ziro if he can kill a child. Ziro redirects this and they get into a discussion of politics. Dooku confirms with Ventress that Rotta is safe on Teth. Meanwhile, Palpatine gets a call from Jabba and presents it to the Jedi. They don't believe it's anything more than a simple kidnapping, but Yoda says otherwise. On Christophsis, Anakin and Obi-Wan and the clone troopers of the 501st Legion are recoving from a recent attack by Separatist forces when a shuttle arrives from Coruscant bearing Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's apprentice. Anakin is upset because the normal routine is to get to know the Padawan for at least three years and have a discussion with the Jedi Council. Jabba learns from hackers Gaib and TK-0 (Karen's infamous hackers from the Republic Commando series) that Rotta is on Teth. Jabba sends men there who quickly die to Ventress. Intillegence officer Lt. Kom'rk, N-6, of the Special Operations Brigade in the Grand Army of the Republic warns the Jedi High generals about how easily the information leak about Rotta being on Teth could be. Anakin lets Rex show Ahsoka the ropes until General Whorm Loathsom ups his attack.
Ahsoka and Anakin strike at his headquarters and use explosives to shut the droid control center down while Obi-Wan talks negotiations with Loathsom. Yoda shows up to relieve Anakin and Obi-Wan from Christophsis and tells them to take the 501st over to Teth and retrieve Rotta. Anakin and Ahsoka head to Teth while Obi-Wan goes to talk with Jabba. Rotta is being held at an abandoned B'marr monk monastary on Teth and the 501st ascend via AT-TE tanks, blasting their way up the mountain side. Ventress voices a question to her long dead Jedi Master, Ky Narec, about the state of the whole deception before she joins the fray and alters the holoimage of Anakin and Ahsoka rescueing Rotta. Jabba becomes angered when Dooku presents the falsified image. Obi-Wan, meanwhile, has teamed up with a fledgling 501st batch that Ventress's droids are cutting down. While all that is going on, Dooku succeeds in getting Jabba on his side. Meanwhile, Anakin and Ahsoka, with Rotta, arrive at Tatooine and encounter Dooku. Anakin holds him off while Ahsoka makes her way to Jabba's palace. She's stopped by a couple of Grievous's IG-101 bodyguard droids. Dooku fails to stop Anakin from getting away and flees before Jabba finds out. Obi-Wan and Anakin arrive at Jabba's palace ahead of Ahsoka and he demands that they die, even after Ahsoka shows up with Rotta. A holocall from Naboo Senator Amidala convinces Jabba to let them live.
All in all, a good novel, not one of Karen's best, but the battle scenes are worth it. Shame there aren't any copies left except as possible borrowed copies from friends or on Ebay. It only had a few thousand copies made and all of them were snatched up with none left. A rare deal indeed for Karen in her venture writing for Star Wars, both in short orders and in terms of being sold out in a couple of months. All in all, she tried her best to connect the new show to the greater Expanded Universe than the TV show has.
Synopsis: The raging Clone Wars illuminate dark motives and darker destinies until one question must be answered: Does the end ever justify the means? It's time the Jedi found out. Across the galaxy, the Clone Wars are raging. The Separatists, led by Count Dooku, the onetime Jedi and now secret Sith Lord, continue to press forward, and more and more worlds are either falling, or seceding and joining the cause. Under the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the Republic heroically battles on, championed by its huge army of cloned soldiers and their Jedi generals. Anakin Skywalker, believed by some to be the prophesied "Chosen One" destined to bring balance to the Force, is now a Jedi Knight under the tutelage of his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Death is a constant possibility—and his chances of survival aren't improved by the unexpected arrival of an apprentice: Ahsoka, a brash inexperienced fourteen-year-old Padawan. But there's no time for Anakin to question his latest orders. He and Obi-Wan have been assigned a new mission, and failure is not an option. Jabba the Hutt's precious infant son has been kidnapped, and when the frantic parent applies to the Jedi for help, it falls to Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and their clone troops to track down the evidence and retrieve the missing Huttlet. And more is at stake: For a grateful Jabba just might allow the Republic access to the Hutt-controlled space lanes that the Grand Army desperately needs in order to beat the Separatists into submission. But the Republic is not the only power that craves access to those space lanes. Count Dooku, determined to win the prize for the Separatists, has set a trap for the Jedi. When they find the Huttlet, they will also find Dooku's master assassin, Asajj Ventress, and countless legions of battle droids waiting to spring a trap. The blazing new animated feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place in the years preceding Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and sets the stage for the groundbreaking TV series. Both contain all original material—direct from the brilliant imagination of legendary Star Wars creator George Lucas. And these exciting new adventures and characters are being brought to life in book form by none other than #1 New York Times bestselling Star Wars author Karen Traviss.
Unlike her other tie-in novels, this story starts out with a third-person point of view of Jabba Desilijic Tiure when he learns that his son, Rotta, has been kidnapped. It then goes to Dooku as he asks Ziro if he can kill a child. Ziro redirects this and they get into a discussion of politics. Dooku confirms with Ventress that Rotta is safe on Teth. Meanwhile, Palpatine gets a call from Jabba and presents it to the Jedi. They don't believe it's anything more than a simple kidnapping, but Yoda says otherwise. On Christophsis, Anakin and Obi-Wan and the clone troopers of the 501st Legion are recoving from a recent attack by Separatist forces when a shuttle arrives from Coruscant bearing Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's apprentice. Anakin is upset because the normal routine is to get to know the Padawan for at least three years and have a discussion with the Jedi Council. Jabba learns from hackers Gaib and TK-0 (Karen's infamous hackers from the Republic Commando series) that Rotta is on Teth. Jabba sends men there who quickly die to Ventress. Intillegence officer Lt. Kom'rk, N-6, of the Special Operations Brigade in the Grand Army of the Republic warns the Jedi High generals about how easily the information leak about Rotta being on Teth could be. Anakin lets Rex show Ahsoka the ropes until General Whorm Loathsom ups his attack.
Ahsoka and Anakin strike at his headquarters and use explosives to shut the droid control center down while Obi-Wan talks negotiations with Loathsom. Yoda shows up to relieve Anakin and Obi-Wan from Christophsis and tells them to take the 501st over to Teth and retrieve Rotta. Anakin and Ahsoka head to Teth while Obi-Wan goes to talk with Jabba. Rotta is being held at an abandoned B'marr monk monastary on Teth and the 501st ascend via AT-TE tanks, blasting their way up the mountain side. Ventress voices a question to her long dead Jedi Master, Ky Narec, about the state of the whole deception before she joins the fray and alters the holoimage of Anakin and Ahsoka rescueing Rotta. Jabba becomes angered when Dooku presents the falsified image. Obi-Wan, meanwhile, has teamed up with a fledgling 501st batch that Ventress's droids are cutting down. While all that is going on, Dooku succeeds in getting Jabba on his side. Meanwhile, Anakin and Ahsoka, with Rotta, arrive at Tatooine and encounter Dooku. Anakin holds him off while Ahsoka makes her way to Jabba's palace. She's stopped by a couple of Grievous's IG-101 bodyguard droids. Dooku fails to stop Anakin from getting away and flees before Jabba finds out. Obi-Wan and Anakin arrive at Jabba's palace ahead of Ahsoka and he demands that they die, even after Ahsoka shows up with Rotta. A holocall from Naboo Senator Amidala convinces Jabba to let them live.
All in all, a good novel, not one of Karen's best, but the battle scenes are worth it. Shame there aren't any copies left except as possible borrowed copies from friends or on Ebay. It only had a few thousand copies made and all of them were snatched up with none left. A rare deal indeed for Karen in her venture writing for Star Wars, both in short orders and in terms of being sold out in a couple of months. All in all, she tried her best to connect the new show to the greater Expanded Universe than the TV show has.
