Hard Contact by Karen Traviss

Quite a while ago, I read The Star Wars Trilogy omnibus. Afterwards, I wanted to read more books in the Star Wars universe, and then it never really happened. I picked up a couple of books, but just never got to them, but when Christmas gift cards rolled in, I picked up a copy of Hard Contact, the first volume in the Star Wars: Republic Commando series, by Karen Traviss. I had heard quite a bit of good about her work on this series, and wanted to give it a look.


Republic commandos are the elite troops of the Grand Army. They work in small groups to achieve goals that no one else can. They grow up and train with the other four members of their unit their entire lives. However, when four commandos each lose the rest of their unit, they are put together into Omega Squad. The four soldiers are sent to Qiilura, where the Separatists have a nanovirus facility working on creating a virus that will kill all clones it contacts. When the mission set-up falls apart in the process, the plan changes, and the four soldiers must struggle to complete their mission and protect the entire army of the Republic.

One of the most entertaining parts of Hard Contact is that, despite being emblazoned with Star Wars all over the cover, it doesn’t feel like a Star Wars book. I always had minor problems with jedi, who could do anything with the force, because they seemed too filled with deus ex machina potential. However, Hard Contact focuses on the men who are on the front lines, the “normal” people who aren’t imbued with supernatural powers. Traviss does an excellent job making each clone humanized, and she addresses the hard question of morality when it comes to cloning an army of cannon fodder. Traviss touches on some deep topics, and makes this far more than a video game tie-in, but instead a deeply thought out saga of four very fallible men.

That does mean that occasionally the story’s speed seems to slow a bit, and a couple of times I felt that it lagged more than I would like. This was always made up for with strong plot and characterization.

Hard Contact is a solid first novel in the series, and I will be looking for the next book, maybe not immediately, but one day.

7/10

The Star Wars Trilogy by Alan Dean Foster, Donald F. Glut, and James Kahn

While I reviewed each of the three novels contained in the omnibus volume The Star Wars Trilogy, I wanted to sum it up as a whole as well. Each novel had its strengths and weaknesses, but as a whole, the stories were fun, filled with action, and a bit nostalgic. The Characters, from Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, to Darth Vader, Jabba the Hutt, Emperor Palpatine, you are given a host of characters that matter to you, whether you love them or hate them. The enduring fame of Star Wars must be due to that, if nothing else. But past well-developed characters, you have an epic, mythic story that flies along. You just can't help but smile at parts.

George Lucas, who created the overall storyline, obviously draws from a vast number of sources, among them mythology, science fiction serials, and foreign films, and he manages to create a cohesive plot that these authors flesh out with incredible ability. This story is so divorced from our modern times, yet still manages to find moments of relevancy.

This book is more than the sum of its parts, as the three stories mesh and give you a huge story, with plenty of canvas left to fill by other authors, and draws you into the story and the franchise. After this, I can guarantee I will be stopping back in the Star Wars universe again. For fun adventure, you certainly can do far worse than Star Wars, and The Star Wars Trilogy.

8/10

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi by James Kahn

In the beginning, a young man defeated the evil Empire's forces in an important battle. Then, he took a serious blow and his friends payed the price. Now, the Jedi returns.

After the ending to Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, with many strings not tied up, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi jumps off not too far after the ending of the second book of the trilogy. The first few chapters detail the rescue of Han Solo from the clutches of Boba Fett and Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. From there, Luke returns to see an old friend (Kahn's pun, not mine!), and then the Rebels and the Imperial forces clash for the battle to decide the war.

The early chapters with focusing on Jabba the Hutt and Han Solo are entertaining, but feel like an accessory to the rest of the story. As presented, the end of the last chapter of the Jabba the Hutt section feels like the end of one story, and the next chapter like the start of another. This section just didn't intrigue me like the rest of the novel did. However, after this section, things really took off.

Kahn seemed to hit his stride after our heroic group left Tatooine. From the epic space battles above the moon Endor as the Rebels fought the Impirial fleet and tried to destroy the new Death Star to the fight on Endor itself, as the Rebels, and their Ewok friends, try to bring down the shields protecting the Death Star, the action was gripping, the characters lively, and the story really flew along. The Ewok scenes were excellent, as Kahn played the teddy bear factor up for both humor and irony, and their loyalty and fanatical devotion to a cause was wonderful. Their interplay was spot on. The space battle above Endor was incredible as well, and I found myself flying through the pages.

While we all know the good guys win, I felt real suspense, hoping despite my foreknowledge that it would work out for the best, as Kahn really revved up the tension. His scenes with Luke, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine were also very well done, and Darth Vader's role reversal was well played out, not feeling sudden or awkward.

While this is obviously not going to be the deepest story you will ever read, Kahn created believable (within the construct of the story) scenes, with characters you can care about, and a reason to plow through the book and not put it down. If it weren't for the first two chapters, this would have been by far the best book of the trilogy. Even with them, it is right up there. This was a great conclusion to the trilogy.

8/10

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut

Having had such fun with the first novel contained in this omnibus volume, I swiftly ran straight into the second. After the events of the first novel, we shift to three years later, and meet back up with our characters. Now on the ice planet of Hoth, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, See Threepio, and Artoo Detoo are living in a Rebel ice cave until they are discovered by an Empire droid.

Darth Vader and company arrive at Hoth, and thus begins an epic land battle, as the Rebel troops and their snowspeeders take on the might of the Empire's devastating walkers. The clash leads off planet, with multiple hijinks on the Millennium Falcon, and the introduction of famous characters such as Boba Fett and Yoda.

While the first book is very much a self contained story, with a distinct plot line, beginning, and ending, the second book does not boast this. This makes sense, as the first book, based on the first movie, did not know if there would be a great reaction to the film or not, and on this basis, it had to be a full movie, as well as able to have a high budget or low budget movie. Interestingly enough, Alan Dean Foster's Star Wars novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye was to be the basis of the low budget sequel, in case Star Wars didn't take off.

The second book builds on the first, and is a far more open plot, with characters going in very different directions, as Luke trains to be a Jedi, the Rebel forces go to an unstated rendezvous point, and the rest of our crew run into an old friend on a floating city. The end is definitely a cliff hanger, and the whole novel feels like the first half of a story. This isn't inherently bad, just a difference in feel between the two books. This did lead to a slightly slower pace at times, however. The beginning of the novel was extraordinary, it was fast paced and exciting, and I couldn't put it down. Parts of the latter half lagged at times, but over all it still was fun.

One odd note: Darth Vader floats out into space at the end of Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, yet he is right back in the thick of things in this novel. While it wasn't a surprise to see him back after he floated away, but didn't directly die, it would have been nice to have some explanation as to what happened. I'm guessing that a couple of the novels that take place between these two novelizations may explain it, but a short hint would be nice for those of us new to Star Wars and starting with the omnibus.

While this novel wasn't quite as high quality as the first, it had moments that were truly exceptional, and it still wasn't terrible. If the pace of the first third of the novel had kept up the rest of the book, it would have topped the first. Regardless, I am looking forward to diving into the third novel in the trilogy.

7/10

Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker by Alan Dean Foster

When it comes to famous science fiction movies, they don't come more famous than Star Wars. Not having seen the films since I was a very young kid, and not having access to them now, I felt that a fun way to re-enter into the saga would be through the trilogy of novelizations based on the first three films. As each is a separate novel, each will get its own review.

Eventually known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and originally released in theaters simply as Star Wars, the first released movie was novelized as Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker. Credited as written by George Lucas, the tie-in novel was in face ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, famed both for his original fiction as well as his huge number of media tie-in books. Having read (and thoroughly enjoyed) both Foster's tie-in and original works, I looked forward to this one.

In the far future, all of known space is ruled by a powerful Empire. Over the years, the Empire became corrupt, and its totalitarian grip over every planet lead to hideous crimes perpetrated by the ruling bodies. Trying to escape this fate, the Rebel Army arose, attempting to overthrow this evil government.

As the book opens, the ship of Senator Leia Organa is attacked by Imperial forces, and she is captured. However, two 'droids escape her ship, See Threepio and Artoo Detoo, and crash on Tatooine, eventually winding up in the hands of Luke Skywalker, who works for his uncle as a mechanical repairman. Artoo carries with him an important secret, a message from a princess, and he escapes to deliver this message to a man named Obi-wan Kenobi. Thus starts a galactic adventure of action and intrigue, as Luke, joined by Obi-wan and the two 'droids, as well as meeting up with a couple famous smugglers, try to reach Leia and join the Rebels.

Last I saw the movies, I was far too young to remember them, and so most of this book, minus a couple main characters that have entered popular culture, was like a new story to me. The action never flagged, and the pace was wonderful, introducing new characters and events at just the right pace. This wonderful book is just brilliantly fun.

There was very little to complain about. Foster handles the store deftly, and doesn't make many mistakes. This is one of the best novelizations that I have read. From a relative newcomers perspective in regards to the story, it was wonderful. Yes, at times some of the dialogue was rather stilted, and, for lack of a better word, dumb, most was just fine, and it certainly didn't detract harshly from the story. A fun adventure well worth reading, especially for those without much experience of the movies, pick up a copy of the book, especially in the very reasonably price volume out now that has all three novels.

8/10