It wasn't too long ago that I was on here singing the praises of Karen Traviss for her latest effort in her 'Republic Commando' series of Star Wars novels.
Well, I'm about to do it again.
This time, the book is from the 'Legacy of the Force', a nine part epic involving the expanded universe of characters set 40 years after the 'Star Wars: A New Hope' aka 'Episode IV' of which this is the penultimate chapter - part 8.
A lot has been going on in this series of novel spearheaded by Travis, Troy Denning and Arron Allston. From the opening of the series with a dramatic turn of popular character to the dark side to the dramatic deaths of several large expanded universe characters, the series is unrelenting in it's ideas.
In a way it has a strange parallel to the Fall of Anakin Skywalker and his transformation into Darth Vader. But I feel it's best not to say too much about that here and let anyone who reads the books to make their own judgments.
The bulk of the story deals with Darth Caedus consolidating his power base and becoming the sole tyrant in charge of the Galactic Alliance. Ben Skywalker conducts an investigation to find evidence linking Caedus to death of a loved one. And Jania Solo, sensing she will be the one drawn into a final conflict with Caedus, but knowing she can't defeat him because he knows how she fights and is superior, seeks new training that Caedus won't know, and who better to ask for ways to defeat a Sith lords than a man who hunted Jedi for 20 years - Boba Fett!
Yes, it's THAT awesome!
For me, the three novels in the series penned by Ms. Traviss have been my personal favorites. And you only get one guess as to why. Boba Fett.
If you are a fan of the Fett then you really have to read these books. I've said it before and I'll say it again, what she has done for Fett, Mandalorians and the exploration of their unique culture has been simply amazing. When I was a child I never had the urge to run away from home, but if Mandalore was real a real place I think I would do it now. I really can't emphasize this enough and I'd love to share some of it with you, but you really should just read for yourself, half the fun is the discovery.
Also fun are they way she ties events and characters from the Republic Commando series into this set of books set almost 60 years later. It really helps to give a real sense of history and perspective to the characters and the events in both eras.
What is truly surprising is that nobody had tried to do this earlier. Boba Fett has popularity that rivals Vader and no one could really get a grasp on the man under the helmet. But in a way I can only be thankful that no one ever did because Ms. Travis has done it better and in a more surprising way than anyone would have suspected.
My only real hope is that once this series wraps, Karen Traviss will be given more opportunities to write the adventures of the galaxy's most dangerous man.
Kandosii!
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