Book Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Gambit: Seige SPOILERS!

Karen Miller's final entry in Star Wars and it picks up where Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth left off. Well, we hope. Synopsis: On the Outer Rim, the planet Lanteeb has no strategic value, no political power, and one enormous problem: it has been invaded by an emboldened Separatist Alliance. To find out why, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have snuck onto Lanteeb -- and now look oblivion in the eye… Hiding their lightsabers beneath their dusty disguises, Anakin and Obi-Wan draw on their Jedi skills to stay one step ahead of Lok Durd's droid army on Lanteeb. The Jedi know that a captive scientist has given Durd the keys to a terrifying bioweapon. Durd knows that the Jedi are on his planet. With Yoda calling on the powers of the Jedi Council, with a new Separatist technology jamming the Guardians' communications, and a traitor at the heart of the Republic's government, the wheels of war are turning. But the Separatists have blockaded Lanteeb. The finishing touches are being put on a weapon to destroy whole worlds. And it will be up to the two Jedi Knights and their most trusted comrades to liberate Lanteeb or forever suffer the consequences.

The novel opens with Obi-Wan and Anakin escape from Bant'ena's betrayal and crash before running to the nearest village. Count Dooku, meanwhile, overseeing the Battle of Kothlis, demands an update from Lok Durd who reports that the bioweapon will be ready in four days. Durd can't believe he lied to Dooku and meets with Colonel Barev and demands that the Jedi be killed. On Coruscant, Bail learns from scientist Tryn Netzl that he can create a cure for the bioweapon now that he's recreated it with Jedi Grand Master Yoda's permission. Ahsoka informs Rex and Coric that Anakin and Obi-Wan are in trouble but nothing more. Jedi Master Taria Damsin, another of Obi-Wan's former girlfriends, offers to race Ahsoka to take her mind off the trouble on Lanteeb. On Lanteeb, Anakin and Obi-Wan talk with the villagers for a long time. Palpatine expresses his concern to Yoda, who persuades Taria not to leave Coruscant. Sidious/Palpatine learn from Dooku that the bioweapon is almost ready, but Palpatine doesn't believe Lok Durd. On Lanteeb, more conversations arise as Anakin and Obi-Wan continue to get to know the natives. Palpatine gets into an argument with Yoda over keeping the knowledge that Anakin and Obi-Wan are on Lanteeb and their mission.

Lok Durd orders the bioweapon tested on Chandrila and the Chandrilan senator, Mon Mothma, alerts the Republic Senate who demand answers. Palpatine informs Dooku and urges him to be patient as it's playing into his hands. In a Jedi Council meeting, all the Masters agree that it's time to go after Lok Durd. The GAR and Jedi meet Grievous above Lanteeb and engage in a fleet battle that's never shown, just happening in the background. On Lanteeb, Lok Durd's in a discussion with Bant'ena about how to make the bioweapon better when he learns of the Republic Fleet duking it out with Grievous. Bant'ena uses the surprise to sneak word to the Jedi that Bespin is the next target. Palpatine demands that ships be sent to secure Bespin. Lanteeb's natives become unhappy with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Taria crash lands on Lanteeb and rushes to Bant'ena who informs her that she (Bant'ena) can't leave because of an implant that'll kill her if she attempts to escape. Bant'ena stays behind to blow up the bioweapon factory while Taria goes after Obi-Wan and Anakin. Mace Windu, Obi-Wan and a few others are disappointed with Taria. The information is relayed and Yoda departs for Lanteeb. Mace, Ahsoka, the 501st Legion and 95th Infantry land to aide Obi-Wan, Anakin, the village, and a dying Taria. In the aftermath of the battle, Lok Durd escapes with Grievous, Taria died, and the villagers are being moved to Naboo.

All in all, a slow novel that got better after 2/3s of the whole thing was over. Finally, something happened in that last 1/3 that had me thinking that this was Star Wars again and not some novel with people talking where things don't get done under the Star Wars label.

Book Review: Star Wars: Darth Plagueis SPOILERS!

So it came out in early January 2012 and I'm just now getting to a review of it. That's not because of bad writing or horrible storytelling, which not one single part of this book has. It's because of the ammount of material of the Expanded Universe has been put into this novel that's made me want to reread it with all of that material so I can grasp the bigger picture. And may I say, after waiting for seven years for this book, author James Luceno does not disappoint. Synopsis: Plagueis was the most powerful Sith Lord who ever lived. But could he be the only one who never died? Darth Plagueis: one of the most brilliant Sith Lords who ever lived. Possessing power is all he desires. Losing it is the only thing he fears. As an apprentice, he embraces the ruthless ways of the Sith. And when the time is right, he destroys his Master—but vows never to suffer the same fate. For like no other disciple of the dark side, Darth Plagueis learns to command the ultimate power... over life and death. Darth Sidious: Plagueis’s chosen apprentice. Under the guidance of his Master, he secretly studies the ways of the Sith, while publicly rising to power in the galactic government, first as Senator, then as Chancellor, and eventually as Emperor. Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious, Master and acolyte, target the galaxy for domination—and the Jedi Order for annihilation. But can they defy the merciless Sith tradition? Or will the desire of one to rule supreme, and the dream of the other to live forever, sow the seeds of their destruction?

The novel opens moments after Palpatine kills Plagueis and feels the untold power of the dark side become his. It then shifts back 35 years to when Plagueis, on a visit to Bal'demnic to view its cortosis supply, kills his master, Darth Tenebrous. After stowing away on the Woebegone and killing the vast majority of its crew, Plagueis and his new-found droid 11-4D, arrive at Muunilinst, the homeworld of the Muuns (Plagueis' species) and uses his guise as Hego Damask to ruin Subtext Mining, as well as talk with members of the Gran Protectorate and the Trade Federation. In meditation, Plagueis notes that all Sith training in the Banite Sith is distorted thanks to most of its former members and Darth Gravid. Palgueis helps the Yinchorri gain membership into the Republic, which has disastrous effects on the galaxy in the Yinchorri Uprising in 33 BBY. Darth Venamis, Tenebrous' second apprentice, shows up and loses to Plagueis. Plagueis experiments on the Bith for his quest to seek immortality. After offing Venamis' apprentice on Abraxin in the Tion Hegemony, Plagueis meets with Ars Veruna on Naboo and wants to mine the planet's reserves of plasma. He also meets a brilliant young man named Palpatine and after becoming "friends," Palpatine kills his parents and goes into hiding with Palgueis where he learns about the Force and the Sith.

Palpatine wonders whether he will become some yellow-eyed, raspy-voiced, pale-skinned monster like Darth Sion, Darth Nihilus, or King Ommin of Onderon. On Coruscant, where he's a senatorial aide, Palpatine, Kinman Doriana, Janus Greejatus, and Senator Vidar Kim meet with other senators when Vidar received a message about his family's death. He seeks out his son, Ronhar, to help continue the family line. Palpatine visits the southern outpost on the backwater world of Dathomir and receives Maul as an unwanted gift from a Nightsister from a tribe that's been exiled from the rest of the Witches of Dathomir and main Nightsister group. Plagueis suggests that Maul be trained as a Sith tool. On Kamino, Plagueis learns from Ko Sai that the Yinchorri can't be easily cloned but humans can and asks if they have any objections to working with Rothana Heavy Engineering. Palpatine, after conferring with Plagueis, has Sate Pestage sent a Maladian—because the Death Watch is busy dealing with Mand'alor Jango Fett and the True Mandalorians—to kill Vidar; none survive, except Ronhar, who becomes friends with Palpatine. As a result, Palpatine becomes the senator for Naboo. On Serenno, Plagueis meets Dooku, Qui-Gon Jinn, Jocasta Nu, and Sifo-Dyas; he finds Dooku worthy of being a Sith, a rival in Qui-Gon, and Sifo-Dyas a tool. Plagueis almost drops Kamino to Sifo-Dyas, but the Force nudges him to keep quiet. Senator Pax Teem makes a move against Plagueis and Plagueis is wounded severely. Palpatine and Pestage arrive on scene and save him. Palpatine kills Teem and his cohorts in vengeance and anger. As a result, Plagueis has to wear a breath mask and and withdraws from the galaxy.

The Yinchorri Uprising has happened, the Stark Hyperspace War is done, the Mandalorians are licking their wounds from Galidraan, and Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum's popularity is waning. Ars Veruna, now king of Naboo, reveals the Naboo starships to Palpatine. Palpatine goads Nute Gunray into doing his bidding and thus the preparations for the Naboo invasion begin. Palpatine sends Maul to do a bit of work on Dorvalla while Plagueis meets with Jabba Desilijic Tiure to bring podracing to Tatooine. Palpatine and Dooku have become friendly towards each other over the last few years and discuss the wickedness behind the Galidraan incident where a few Jedi massacred 100 True Mandalorians and arrested Jango Fett and what happened to Komari Vosa, Dooku's latest apprentice. Dooku lets slip about the prophecy of the Chose One. Palpatine talks with the Naberrie family about putting Padme forth as queen to remove Ars Veruna now that he's outlived his purpose. Gardulla Besadii the Elder, the Black Sun, and the Bando Gora attack Plagueis' stronghold but arrive too late as Plagueis is hiding in a ship with 11-4D, and is spirited away by Jabba. Maul is sent to deal with Black Sun and it's current ruler, Alexi Garyn; Plagueis kills Veruna, Dooku hears about some Jedi killing Komari—who runs the Bando Gora; and Jabba deals blows to Gardulla on Tatooine. After a disastrous affair on Dorvalla, Gunray is in for the invasion. Black Sun is in shambles with Xizor and Sise Fromm looking to take over and Padme Amidala is enforcing a new security measure for all Naboo citizens, including Palpatine. After killing a large number of people on Coruscant, a holocron is delivered to Palpatine and Plagueis on an orbital station above Coruscant.  On that station, Plagueis drops Kamino to Sifo-Dyas and about getting a feeling that war is coming and that the Republic had best be prepared for it. Amidala informs Palpatine and Valorum that Naboo is being invaded. Certain events happen and Plagueis hears about an extraordinary boy, Anakin Skywalker. Before he can see him, he's swept off to Naboo. On the night before Palpatine becomes Chancellor, Palpatine kills Plagueis in his sleep and, a couple days later, learns that Maul died fighting Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the epilogue, Palpatine talks to Obi-Wan and Anakin, reassuring Anakin that he [Palpatine] is watching Anakin's future with great interest.

All in all, a pulse-pounding novel that really comes to grips with just how far the Grand Plan had been in effect and how the disjointed events leading up to the Phantom Menace came about. Luceno did one heckuva job bringing all these things together and tying them in so it all made sense. It was well worth the wait. Geat characterizations that pull at the story. And well worth it if you can spot all the other stories it references and read/play them alongside.*

*Note: only recommended for hardcore fans of Star Wars and the Expanded Universe.

Book Reivew: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth SPOILERS!

Karen Miller's second Star Wars novel repeats too much of the same concepts that made The Clone Wars: Wild Space uninteresting: too much character development and sprinkles of action that it located at the beginning of the novel, and way too much time spent with the characters sitting at tables and eating and talking. It gets boring after a while. Synopsis: Planet by planet, darkness creeps across the galaxy. Among warriors and generals, among ordinary beings living in far-flung worlds, the fear will not go away: We are losing this war.... Anakin Skywalker feels it, too. The Separatist Alliance, with ruthlessness and treachery, is beating the Republic to every strategic target. But after a costly clash with General Grievous for the planet Kothlis, Anakin has a mission that will focus his anxious mind. Alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi, he is posing as a long-lost native of Lanteeb, an impoverished world on the Outer Rim. This seemingly unimportant planet has drawn the interest of the Seps—and Anakin and Obi-Wan soon discover the disturbing reason: A scientist enslaved by General Lok Durd is drawing on Lanteeb's one natural resource for a devastating bioweapon. Now Anakin and Obi-Wan have entered the eye of a storm. Their presence has been exposed, Lok Durd's plans unveiled, and a fight has begun for survival behind enemy lines—and a chance of winning a war that must be fought at any cost.

The novel starts off with Ahsoka sitting somewhere, waiting for the Battle of Kothlis to start, reflecting on how she's the Chosen One's apprentice and that she mustn't get him killed. Grievous jumps into Kothlis and begins the fight while Admiral Wullf Yularen, Anakin, and Obi-Wan try and hold him off while communications to Coruscant are fixed. Deciding not to wait for comms to come back, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and the clone pilots of Gold, Arrow and Hammer Squadron will engage: Anakin and Gold, Arrow and Hammer Squadrons destroying the droid fighters while Obi-Wan will insert themselves on the ground with LAAT/i's full of 501st Torrent Company.The battle is on and  already clones are dying both on ground and in space. Communications are restored just as Grievous retreats and Ahsoka feints from lack of blood. Ahsoka's put out of commission by order of the doctors. On Coruscant, Bail greets Obi-Wan, recently recovered from spinal injury during the Battle of Kothlis, and tells Obi-Wan about the Separatists taking control of Lanteeb, a backwater Outer Rim world. During a meeting with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Bail and Grand Master Yoda compromise on dispatching a few older clone soldiers and a few newer ones to Kothlis so that the new ones can get training from vets and the vets can have some skills practice.

In the Jedi Archives researching Lanteeb, Obi-Wan invites Anakin to his and Bail's dinner strategy planning. Anakin, on a holocom to Ahsoka, asks her to check out Lanteeb in the Kaminoan databases on a hunch. At the dinner, Padme returns from her retreat and joins them. Bail presents his findings as does Obi-Wan; turns out it was a passing gas freighter that discovered the occupation. Bail proposes, via a history lesson from Padme, that Anakin and Obi-Wan insert themselves into Lanteeb's xenophobic human population, but a call from Ahsoka delivers the fact that it's a bioweapon Dooku's got brewing on Lanteeb. Obi-Wan and Anakin, with Bail's blessing, reveal all to Yoda. Yoda gives his consent and off they go to Lanteeb. When Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive, and after passing through CIS security, they go undercover and find out what they can about the bioweapon. It's being managed by Lok Durd and being made by Bant'ena Fhernan, who's being held against her will in the compound to create the virus, and Durd threatens that if she doesn't do what he tells her, he'll kill every one of her friends and family. With this knowledge, Anakin and Obi-Wan report back to Yoda who rallies otehr Jedi teams to rescue Bant'ena's family and friends though one does get killed. Durd shows the holo of said death to Bant'ena who sells out Obi-Wan and Anakin. The two Jedi barely escape death by hot-wiring a speeder and book it to one of the Lanteeban villages for help.

All in all, it starts off with a good battle that lasts one chapter, like Miller doesn't even want to bother and sags for the entirety of the middle until the escape at the end, where the action picks up. It's fun if you like tons of character building and world building which gets stale after a while. Not bad, but still better than most of the episodes shown on the animated TV show.