In April 2002, the novelization of the second edition to the Prequel Trilogy was penned by acclaimed fantasy author R. A. Salvatore, his second entry into the Star Wars universe. Synopsis: There is a great disturbance in the Force…. From the sleek ships of the glimmering Coruscant skyscape to the lush gardens of pastoral Naboo, dissent is roiling. The Republic is failing, even under the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, elected ten years earlier to save the crumbling government. Separatists threaten war, and the Senate is hopelessly divided, unable to determine whether to raise an army for battle or keep the fragile peace. It is a stalemate that, once broken, could lead to galactic chaos. Mischievous and resolved, courageous to the point of recklessness, Anakin Skywalker has come of age in a time of great upheaval. The nineteen-year-old apprentice to Obi-Wan Kenobi is an enigma to the Jedi Council, and a challenge to his Jedi Master. Time has not dulled Anakin’s ambition, nor has his Jedi training tamed his independent streak. When an attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala's
life brings them together for the first time in ten years, it is clear
that time also has not dulled Anakin's intense feelings for the
beautiful diplomat. The attack on Senator Amidala just before a crucial vote thrusts the Republic even closer to the edge of disaster. Masters Yoda and Mace Windu sense enormous unease. The dark side
is growing, clouding the Jedi's perception of the events. Unbeknownst
to the Jedi, a slow rumble is building into the roar of thousands of
soldiers readying for battle. But even as the Republic falters around
them, Anakin and Padmé find a connection so intense that all else begins
to fall away. Anakin will lose himself—and his way—in emotions a Jedi,
sworn to hold allegiance only to the Order, is forbidden to have.
Like my review of The Phantom Menace, I'm going to point out some interesting facts in the story and shed some light into what the Expanded Universe ran with and built up. So, without further ado, here we go.
The novel opens with Anakin dreaming about his mother's death; he and Obi-Wan are on their way to Ansion to settle a dispute--this is shown in better detail in Alan Dean Foster's Star Wars: The Approaching Storm. On Tatooine, Shmi Skywalker-Lars, after talking with her husband[1] Cliegg Lars and his son and his son's girlfriend--Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun--about gathering the farmers to deal with the Tusken Raiders, is kidnapped by the natives of Tatooine. Cliegg and Owen gather the farmers and go after her, but the Tuskens kill a few of them and wound Cliegg. Meanwhile, on Naboo, Senator Padme Amidala leaves for Coruscant, despite Captain Gregar Typho's warnings about her being assassinated; she insists being there to oppose the Military Creation Act is too important. The events of the movie proceed from there, with Palpatine declaring to Yoda, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Plo Koon that he won't let the Galactic Republic collapse after a thousand years--which is when the New Sith Wars ended after the Seven Battles of Ruusan and the Ruusan Reformations, which break down the Republic having a massive fleet.
Jango Fett--Mand'alor of the Mandalorians--killing Zam Wessel so she won't tell the Jedi about him being hired to kill Padme by Dooku and the Trade Federation. Mace worries about the Sith not having shown themselves in the last ten years, despite the Sith appearing after a few decades in the days of the Old Republic (The Great Hyperspace War, The Great Sith War, The Jedi Civil War, The Dark Wars a.k.a. KOTOR2TSL, the Great Galactic War, the Cold War, the Second Great Galactic War, the New Sith Wars). Anakin is assigned to protect Padme on Naboo; they'll travel as refugees. Obi-Wan is tasked with finding where the poison dart came from. He asks Dexter Jettster, a Besalisk diner owner and chef, where the dart came from, Kamino. He searches the Jedi archives and Master Jocasta Nu tells him that the planet doesn't exist. The bust statues of certain Jedi Masters are the Lost Twenty, those who left the Jedi Order who no longer felt it's call; Dooku was the last, having been subverted by Hego Damask and Palpatine, the events of which are detailed in certain chapters of Star Wars: Darth Plagueis as well as losing Qui-Gon to Maul during the Naboo Incident.
While the worst romance in the history of movie and book romance, aside from the shitty Twilight crap and the terrible romance later in the Fate of the Jedi saga where a Jedi beats, nearly kills, and rapes his Sith love interest, goes on, Obi-Wan travels to Kamino. Prime Minister Lama Su talks with Obi-Wan about Master Syfo-Dyas creating the clone army--detailed in Star Wars: Darth Plagueis--and how every now and then, the clones develop an issue--a topic that Karen Traviss ran with in her beloved Republic Commando and Imperial Commando books. Obi-Wan talks with Jango, who mentions that a man called Tyrannus hired him on one of the moons of Bogden to serve as the template, which is detailed in the graphic novel Jango Fett: Open Seasons by Haden Blackman. After a fight with Jango, Obi-Wan tracks him to Geonosis and discovers a secret army being built by the Geonosian weaponsmakers; The Trade Federation, Corporate Alliance, Techno Union, InterGalactic Banking Clan, Commerce Guild, and senators Po Nudo and Tikkes join Dooku in creating the Confederacy of Independent Systems; Obi-Wan reports this back to the Jedi Council, via Anakin on Tatooine. Dooku tells Obi-Wan about the Galactic Senate bieng under the control of Darth Sidious--as seen in Star Wars: Darth Plagueis.
Despite being ordered to stay on Tatooine and protect the Naboo Senator, Anakin and Padme rush off and get captured. On Coruscant, Jar Jar Binks becomes the galaxy's biggest unpunished war criminal in the entire galactic history by granting Palpatine the emergency powers to use the clone army. Mace gathers 200 Jedi and leave for Geonosis while Yoda leaves to gather the army. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme are about to be executed by a reek, acklay, and a nexu when Mace Windu and the 200 Jedi show up, some of which are Aalya Secura (from the Repbulic comic series starring Quinlan Vos), Kit Fisto, Luminara Unduli and her apprentice Barriss Offee, Roan Shryne, Nat-Sem, K'Kruhk and Sian Jeisel (both from the Republic comics), and several others. During the fight, Jango Fett is killed, prompting Boba to hate the Jedi forever and his sole reason for becoming the best bounty hunter ever. The First Battle of Geonosis kicks off as does the Clone Wars.
Most of the CIS members escape; Sun Fac is eliminated during the events of the hit Republic Commando game where Delta Squad is tasked with assassinating Sun Fac--this explains why Sun Fac wasn't seen in Revenge of the Sith; Delta Squad also sees Greivous's starfighter escape. Anakin loses an arm to Dooku in a lightsaber duel and Obi-Wan is wounded. Yoda saves them at the cost of Dooku escaping. Dooku ends up on Coruscant, in the Works. That building that Dooku lands is in the alternate ending to the popular Star Wars game Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight when Kyle Katarn kills Jerec and assumes the title of Emperor and tells Sarriss to put down the rebel uprising on Danuta where Katarn stole the Death Star plans from during Operation: Skyhook. Bail Organa watches in dismay as the ships built by Rothana Heavy Engineering, containing 1.2 million clone troopers, depart for the upcoming battles. Anakin and Padme marry in secret on Naboo, an act that is forbidden with Yoda's Order, but not with the Corellian Jedi or Djinn Altis' rogue movement; oh, and despite Master Ki-Adi-Mundi having a couple of wives due to the low birth rate on Cerea--it's funny how Yoda will bend the rules for more favored Masters than for gifted Jedi like Anakin and Vos.
All in all, Attack of the Clones works better as a novel than as a movie. It's not the most revered novel, but it is generally well above such trash that have come out in the wake of Revenge of the Sith, namely, the series set after the New Jedi Order and before the Legacy series.
[1] this is referenced and partly detailed in Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning.
Like my review of The Phantom Menace, I'm going to point out some interesting facts in the story and shed some light into what the Expanded Universe ran with and built up. So, without further ado, here we go.
The novel opens with Anakin dreaming about his mother's death; he and Obi-Wan are on their way to Ansion to settle a dispute--this is shown in better detail in Alan Dean Foster's Star Wars: The Approaching Storm. On Tatooine, Shmi Skywalker-Lars, after talking with her husband[1] Cliegg Lars and his son and his son's girlfriend--Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun--about gathering the farmers to deal with the Tusken Raiders, is kidnapped by the natives of Tatooine. Cliegg and Owen gather the farmers and go after her, but the Tuskens kill a few of them and wound Cliegg. Meanwhile, on Naboo, Senator Padme Amidala leaves for Coruscant, despite Captain Gregar Typho's warnings about her being assassinated; she insists being there to oppose the Military Creation Act is too important. The events of the movie proceed from there, with Palpatine declaring to Yoda, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Plo Koon that he won't let the Galactic Republic collapse after a thousand years--which is when the New Sith Wars ended after the Seven Battles of Ruusan and the Ruusan Reformations, which break down the Republic having a massive fleet.
Jango Fett--Mand'alor of the Mandalorians--killing Zam Wessel so she won't tell the Jedi about him being hired to kill Padme by Dooku and the Trade Federation. Mace worries about the Sith not having shown themselves in the last ten years, despite the Sith appearing after a few decades in the days of the Old Republic (The Great Hyperspace War, The Great Sith War, The Jedi Civil War, The Dark Wars a.k.a. KOTOR2TSL, the Great Galactic War, the Cold War, the Second Great Galactic War, the New Sith Wars). Anakin is assigned to protect Padme on Naboo; they'll travel as refugees. Obi-Wan is tasked with finding where the poison dart came from. He asks Dexter Jettster, a Besalisk diner owner and chef, where the dart came from, Kamino. He searches the Jedi archives and Master Jocasta Nu tells him that the planet doesn't exist. The bust statues of certain Jedi Masters are the Lost Twenty, those who left the Jedi Order who no longer felt it's call; Dooku was the last, having been subverted by Hego Damask and Palpatine, the events of which are detailed in certain chapters of Star Wars: Darth Plagueis as well as losing Qui-Gon to Maul during the Naboo Incident.
While the worst romance in the history of movie and book romance, aside from the shitty Twilight crap and the terrible romance later in the Fate of the Jedi saga where a Jedi beats, nearly kills, and rapes his Sith love interest, goes on, Obi-Wan travels to Kamino. Prime Minister Lama Su talks with Obi-Wan about Master Syfo-Dyas creating the clone army--detailed in Star Wars: Darth Plagueis--and how every now and then, the clones develop an issue--a topic that Karen Traviss ran with in her beloved Republic Commando and Imperial Commando books. Obi-Wan talks with Jango, who mentions that a man called Tyrannus hired him on one of the moons of Bogden to serve as the template, which is detailed in the graphic novel Jango Fett: Open Seasons by Haden Blackman. After a fight with Jango, Obi-Wan tracks him to Geonosis and discovers a secret army being built by the Geonosian weaponsmakers; The Trade Federation, Corporate Alliance, Techno Union, InterGalactic Banking Clan, Commerce Guild, and senators Po Nudo and Tikkes join Dooku in creating the Confederacy of Independent Systems; Obi-Wan reports this back to the Jedi Council, via Anakin on Tatooine. Dooku tells Obi-Wan about the Galactic Senate bieng under the control of Darth Sidious--as seen in Star Wars: Darth Plagueis.
Despite being ordered to stay on Tatooine and protect the Naboo Senator, Anakin and Padme rush off and get captured. On Coruscant, Jar Jar Binks becomes the galaxy's biggest unpunished war criminal in the entire galactic history by granting Palpatine the emergency powers to use the clone army. Mace gathers 200 Jedi and leave for Geonosis while Yoda leaves to gather the army. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme are about to be executed by a reek, acklay, and a nexu when Mace Windu and the 200 Jedi show up, some of which are Aalya Secura (from the Repbulic comic series starring Quinlan Vos), Kit Fisto, Luminara Unduli and her apprentice Barriss Offee, Roan Shryne, Nat-Sem, K'Kruhk and Sian Jeisel (both from the Republic comics), and several others. During the fight, Jango Fett is killed, prompting Boba to hate the Jedi forever and his sole reason for becoming the best bounty hunter ever. The First Battle of Geonosis kicks off as does the Clone Wars.
Most of the CIS members escape; Sun Fac is eliminated during the events of the hit Republic Commando game where Delta Squad is tasked with assassinating Sun Fac--this explains why Sun Fac wasn't seen in Revenge of the Sith; Delta Squad also sees Greivous's starfighter escape. Anakin loses an arm to Dooku in a lightsaber duel and Obi-Wan is wounded. Yoda saves them at the cost of Dooku escaping. Dooku ends up on Coruscant, in the Works. That building that Dooku lands is in the alternate ending to the popular Star Wars game Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight when Kyle Katarn kills Jerec and assumes the title of Emperor and tells Sarriss to put down the rebel uprising on Danuta where Katarn stole the Death Star plans from during Operation: Skyhook. Bail Organa watches in dismay as the ships built by Rothana Heavy Engineering, containing 1.2 million clone troopers, depart for the upcoming battles. Anakin and Padme marry in secret on Naboo, an act that is forbidden with Yoda's Order, but not with the Corellian Jedi or Djinn Altis' rogue movement; oh, and despite Master Ki-Adi-Mundi having a couple of wives due to the low birth rate on Cerea--it's funny how Yoda will bend the rules for more favored Masters than for gifted Jedi like Anakin and Vos.
All in all, Attack of the Clones works better as a novel than as a movie. It's not the most revered novel, but it is generally well above such trash that have come out in the wake of Revenge of the Sith, namely, the series set after the New Jedi Order and before the Legacy series.
[1] this is referenced and partly detailed in Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning.
