Book Log 61/2009 - 501st
Dec. 31st, 2009 08:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaceyKaren Traviss: 501st
A Star Wars Imperial Commando Novel
Star Wars? Yes but without the usual suspects and more like the 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' version as the story of a few individuals amongst the thousands who wear the Empire's anonymous white armour unfolds between the momentous events as shown in the Star Wars movies, starting (as Republic Commandos) with the Battle of Geonosis. As usual Traviss gets right under the skin of the uncommon soldier. She's worked as a war correspondent, been a member of the TA, actively supports campaigns to improve the lot of the average 'grunt' and it shows in her writing.
This is a welcome continuation of the Republic Commando series - which can no longer be called that because in the last novel (Order 66) the Republic was taken over by Emperor Palpatine and his right hand fist Darth Vader. Though a part of the Lucasfilm Star Wars franchise, Traviss has made this line of books peculiarly her own. Centred on a bunch of clone soldiers who were genetically engineered (cloned from Jango Fett) for the Republic in half the usual growth time on Kamino and who provided the cannon-fodder at the Battle of Geonosis, there are some superb characters in here from aging Mandalorian training sergeant Kal Skirata, a few unorthodox Jedi who escaped Order 66 (the Emperor's attempt to wipe out the Jedi completely); Uthan a creator of genetically targeted biological super-weapons and the clones themselves - all looking and sounding alike, but each one an individual.
There's Darman whose illicit affair with a (now dead) Jedi, left him with a bouncing baby boy with potential force-abilities; Niner, his sergeant, critically injured at the end of the last book but now recovered; Fi, brain damaged in an earlier book and listed for 'disposal', but rescued and mostly restored by renegade Jedi, Jusik; Ordo, married to Bessany, totally ruthless yet screwed-up ringleader of the Nulls, an experimental bunch of clones who proved to be too intelligent and daring to be controllable as children, whom Skirata saved and later adopted, Mandalorian style.
And the clock is ticking. The clones were grown to maturity in half the time, so they're aging at twice the speed. If Skirata can't encourage Uthan to come up with a process to halt that, then these guys will be old men by the time they're thirty five.
Sadly for the reader Karen will not be continuing with the planned sequel to 501st as someone at Lucasfilm changed canon - i.e. the whole history of Mandalore - to fit in with the new animated TV series and that left the
Mandalorian aspects of Karen's Republic Commando and Imperial Commando books orphaned. Basically they pulled the whole the whole 'raison d'etre' rug out from under the author's feet and made it unworkable to continue.
Full story here on Karen's blog. She tells it so much better than I could:
http://karentraviss.typepad.com/blog/2009/12/sooty-and-a-clean-sweep.html
A Star Wars Imperial Commando Novel
Star Wars? Yes but without the usual suspects and more like the 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' version as the story of a few individuals amongst the thousands who wear the Empire's anonymous white armour unfolds between the momentous events as shown in the Star Wars movies, starting (as Republic Commandos) with the Battle of Geonosis. As usual Traviss gets right under the skin of the uncommon soldier. She's worked as a war correspondent, been a member of the TA, actively supports campaigns to improve the lot of the average 'grunt' and it shows in her writing.
This is a welcome continuation of the Republic Commando series - which can no longer be called that because in the last novel (Order 66) the Republic was taken over by Emperor Palpatine and his right hand fist Darth Vader. Though a part of the Lucasfilm Star Wars franchise, Traviss has made this line of books peculiarly her own. Centred on a bunch of clone soldiers who were genetically engineered (cloned from Jango Fett) for the Republic in half the usual growth time on Kamino and who provided the cannon-fodder at the Battle of Geonosis, there are some superb characters in here from aging Mandalorian training sergeant Kal Skirata, a few unorthodox Jedi who escaped Order 66 (the Emperor's attempt to wipe out the Jedi completely); Uthan a creator of genetically targeted biological super-weapons and the clones themselves - all looking and sounding alike, but each one an individual.
There's Darman whose illicit affair with a (now dead) Jedi, left him with a bouncing baby boy with potential force-abilities; Niner, his sergeant, critically injured at the end of the last book but now recovered; Fi, brain damaged in an earlier book and listed for 'disposal', but rescued and mostly restored by renegade Jedi, Jusik; Ordo, married to Bessany, totally ruthless yet screwed-up ringleader of the Nulls, an experimental bunch of clones who proved to be too intelligent and daring to be controllable as children, whom Skirata saved and later adopted, Mandalorian style.
And the clock is ticking. The clones were grown to maturity in half the time, so they're aging at twice the speed. If Skirata can't encourage Uthan to come up with a process to halt that, then these guys will be old men by the time they're thirty five.
Sadly for the reader Karen will not be continuing with the planned sequel to 501st as someone at Lucasfilm changed canon - i.e. the whole history of Mandalore - to fit in with the new animated TV series and that left the
Mandalorian aspects of Karen's Republic Commando and Imperial Commando books orphaned. Basically they pulled the whole the whole 'raison d'etre' rug out from under the author's feet and made it unworkable to continue.
Full story here on Karen's blog. She tells it so much better than I could:
http://karentraviss.typepad.com/blog/2009/12/sooty-and-a-clean-sweep.html
