Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Rating NR Genre action Author Karen Traviss Publisher Del Rey

I have to admit—as soon as I was told that I had to review the latest story in the Star Wars line of epic histories, I mildly panicked. I’m not exactly fully versed in Star Wars knowledge. Sure, I’ve seen the movies. But… that was a while ago. I take my position as a media reviewer seriously, and if there’s any fanbase that I don’t want to piss off, it’s the Star Wars fanatics. Luckily, I have plenty of fully George Lucas-savvy friends to rely on for answers to my dusty-minded questions like, “What’s the difference between a storm trooper and a droid?” (Answer: The troopers are clones of themselves, and are therefore still human. The droids are machines. Hence: The Clone Wars). But good news for me—and for all of you less-informed-yet-still-interested Star Wars fans out there—Karen Traviss makes our ill-equipped quest for a galaxy romp possible. Now, you must PAY ATTENTION TO EVERY WORD SHE SAYS. But, if you do, you will be up to speed much quicker than you expected.

The storyline for The Clone Wars is fairly simple, making it that much more approachable of a read: Jabba the Hutt (if you are even slightly interested in this book, I’m venturing that you’ll at least know who this is)’s baby son has been kidnapped, and he turns to the Jedi for help. Seeing as the Republic (the Jedi guys) and the Separatists (the Count Dooku guys) are duking it out for access to some Hutt-controlled space territory, there is something to be gained on either side for returning the Huttlet to his father’s forlorn, furious and slimy arms. Anakin Skywalker is faced with the task of retrieving and returning the child, as is his newly appointed Padawan, Ahsoka (who is outrageously fierce and cool for a 14-year-old creature with predators’ fangs and snake headdress things). Set-ups, booby-traps and droid ambushes (all courtesy of Count Dooku/the Separists) ensue.

I’m pretty sure that anyone who picks up this book isn’t expecting to hold America’s next great novel in their hands. That said, Traviss actually does a great job of shining a more telling light on these famous characters and making them more complex, yet understandable. She gives the background to Count Dooku’s seemingly logical transition to the dark side, she gives Jabba the Hutt’s fury legitimacy by attributing it to a father’s loss, and, most eloquently, she sheds the kind of light on Anakin Skywalker’s complex psyche that a movie simply won’t have time to. She lets us step into his inner monologue and track his personal battle of being a completely unattached Jedi with being a loving husband—and human—with real emotion. She portrays his character beautifully. She reveals all of his insecurities and inexperience in life (“…the wounded boy in him still rose to the surface—provoked into angry violence, scared of abandonment, and still in need of approval”), as well as his startlingly impressive Jedi powers and the obvious reasons as to why he is indeed the “Chosen One.” She achieves all of this while still maintaining George Lucas’s intelligent commentary on the corruption of politics and the insanity and devastation of war.

The biggest issue that most readers will face with this book is the difficulty in following most of the battle sequences. Granted, battle sequences are extremely hard to write. I haven’t encountered very many that were easy to follow; I imagine that it’s savagely challenging to even be in an environment so chaotic and gravely eventful, let alone try to portray an invented one. Especially one that takes place in another galaxy. This isn’t a book where a reader would easily be able to mark a chapter and come back to it after a few days—it is essential to stay on top of the plot. It reads very much like a film does. It’s quite a linear storyline—one event quickly and logically follows the other. And you wouldn’t walk out in the middle of a film, right? Bottom line: This is a relatively quick read. The adventure is worth the investment of your time. So do it. Sit down and enjoy the ride.

Some elements of Traviss’s writing style get to be slightly annoying after a while, namely, her intense love of italics, and her use of such corny lines as, “It was time [for Anakin] to see if he could repair the rocky start to his relationship with his new Padawan as easily as he’d fixed the comlink.” I literally did write “vomit” in the margins next to that gem. Also, her portrayal of Anakin’s young Padawan, Ahsoka, is a bit too immature at times. She makes her seem naïve and silly just for being fourteen. But, she does a good job of inserting Ahsoka’s instinctual strengths as well. My favorite elements of Ahsoka are her fiercely predatory ones. The moments when she bears her sharp, pointed teeth and grips her lightsaber against her enemies are as exciting as when Obi-Wan Kenobi stands up to Asajj Ventress. If you don’t know who she is… oh, you will. Believe me, you will.

So, as much as I love to be critical, I can’t be too picky here. Traviss knows eons more about Star Wars than I ever will, and her understanding of this completely different world is outstanding. While it is difficult, she does make it possible for any interested reader to begin their Star Wars education. The Clone Wars isn’t the best place to start for the completely uninformed reader, as many of the revealing characteristics of Anakin Skywalker won’t be as affecting to those who know most of his full story. But a mild background will do just fine, and you will learn a lot along the way. I even corrected one of my Star Wars aficionados at one point, when she tried to argue that the Republic was the good side and the Separatist was the bad side. I grinned and said, “Maybe if you paid attention, you would see that nobody is really the ‘good guy.’ There is one party and there is another, and neither is exactly a monument to justice. Sounds kind of familiar, huh?”