Star Wars: Revelation - Legacy of the Force Book 8 by Karn Traviss

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!

Kandosii!

Star Wars: Republic Commando - True Colors by Karen Traviss.

You do not need to be a Star Wars fan to love this series. In fact I'd go so far as to say the less you now about Star Wars the more you'll dig this stuff.

Picking up a few months after the events of Triple Zero the commandos are off to defend a Republic that they are finding to be less than worth the effort to defend.

There really is a ton going on in this book and it's sort of hard to talk about too much of it without spoiling the fun of reading it yourself.

So here is what I can tell you - Delta Squad (Boss, Sev, Scortch, Fixer) Omega Squad (Niner, Darman, Atin, Fi) Three of the Null A.R.C.'s (Ordo, Aden, Mereel) Kal Skirata, Walon Vau are here to teach you how Mandalorians get things done.

The basic premise for the book is the hunt for Ko Sai, the Kaminoan geneticist who created the clones. On the run from her own people, the Seperatists and the Republic, Ko Sai doesn't want to be found. Which is just what Mandalorians are best at.

But really that only scratching the surface for the book. The Clone Wars has been raging across the galaxy for over a year now and the R.C.'s (Republic Commanodos) are starting to get sick of it. Feeling like they should have obliterated the Seperatist forces by now, the troops privately begin to question just who is calling the shots on this war. At the same time questioning morality of a Republic that preaches freedom to all but utilizes what is basically a slave army not - given no choice to serve and given no rights as citizens of the Republic. Feed up with getting tossed aside to die when injuries are beyond what a field medic can fix, the troops can't even count on their Jedi Generals for support. The R.C.'s may serve the Republic but their loyalty is only to their brothers.

But Kal (Their training Sargent and adoptive father) with the help of his Null A.R.C.'s (Advanced Reconnaissance Commandos) Ordo, Mereel, Aden, Prudii and Kom'rk they have a plan to give the clones something that every sentient being in the galaxy has a choice - they just need to find Ko Sai first.

And that's not even the half of it.

The book is utterly fascinating. People love to whine and gripe and complain about George Lucas's prequel series but the simple fact is this - the prequels are brilliant. The films may not equal the original trilogy in a lot of ways. But it has provided such a deep ocean of possibility and several authors have taken full advantage of it (I still say Matthew Stover's adaption of Episode III is possibly superior to the film)

Karen Traviss has created a fantastic series of books full of memorable characters and she has done something that I will be eternally grateful for - She has taught us Mandalorian culture and even created a language full of fun words that we can use in our everyday life to confound our friends and family.

This book is military sci-fi on a very high level.

And even better? This series started as an adaptation of a video game. How crazy is that? Maybe Bungie and Microsoft should have got her to write their Halo books.

If you don't know this series, start with Hard Contact then move to Triple Zero where the stakes really start to get raised. Then read True Colors because this summer the shit is really going to hit the fan - the title of the next book says it all - Order 66

That can't be good for the Jedi...