My friend Ana (over on LiveJournal) wanted to read this, so here's the first draft of my Hard Contact review.

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ANY OF THIS WITHOUT MY EXPRESS PERMISSION. All you have to do is drop me an email asking if you can use it and telling where and how you plan on using it.

Please feel free to comment with constructive criticism, which will most definitely be taken into consideration for the final draft.

When one thinks of Star Wars, images of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, the Death Star, and the Millennium Falcon are conjured. When one thinks of the Star Wars Prequels, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knights in vast numbers and The Clone Wars bubble up to the front.

To the uninitiated, and even to some hard-core fans, all that the fandom consists of are Jedi, Jedi and more Jedi, with a few Rebels and Imperials thrown into the mix. So it is without much surprise then that many of the books of the Star Wars Expanded Universe deal with the time-honoured characters and institutions that have become the hallmark of greatness.

With the penultimate Attack of the Clones and the latest release of Revenge of the Sith, another group of characters have been unleashed in the fringes of this cult-like phenomenon: The Grand Army of the Republic.

As with any group or institution, the army that was introduced on the rain-soaked planet of Kamino, has its own stories and legends that need to be told, and LucasArts has no shortage of writers to tell them.

Of course, the Clone Troopers seem to outnumber the legions of fans, and jumping around the ranks would not be an effective way to add to the tapestry of novels currently available in the galaxy far, far away. To combat this, the folks at LucasArts, in a bid to officially tie in the X-Box game Republic Commando with the rest of the galaxy, have concentrated their efforts on this elite group of clones, who are trained to be better than the average Clone Trooper, and yet are just below the standards of Sith’s Advanced Recon Commandos, or ARC Troopers.

The pioneer chosen to lead our Republic Commandos on their inaugural journey in print is Karen Traviss. Her background in the Royal Navy Auxiliary Service and the Territorial Army makes Karen the perfect candidate to breathe life into Omega Squad, the group of Commandos chosen as the focus for the book Republic Commando: Hard Contact.

In this, the first novel of the Republic Commando series, we sift through the ashes of the Battle of Geonosis to discover the makings of Omega Squad, four elite Clone Troopers who have been trained to do the impossible: Darman, Niner, Atin and Fi. Where many men and lesser Troopers may fail or falter, Republic Commandos press on, outgunned, outnumbered, and possessing the spirit of those who laugh in the face of such despairing odds.

So it is with Omega Squad. Charged with the job of sabotaging a secret biomedical facility and capturing the lead scientist on the planet of Qiilura, the Commandos discover that there is more to the mission than meets the eye. With the misfortune of a botched entry, resulting in the separation of Darman from the group, and the realization that everyone on-planet would sooner sell them out for a drink at the local pub than aid them, Omega Squad must race to adapt to their surroundings so that they might reunite and complete the mission given to them.

As the entire fate of the Clone Army rests on the outcome of this mission, Fi, Niner, Atin, and Darman must find the cohesion they need to pull together and become the outstanding force that they have been bred to be, or die trying.

In a world saturated with Jedi Knights and starfighter pilots, Republic Commando: Hard Contact is a breath of fresh air, and quite possibly the kick in the rear that is needed to revitalize the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Karen Traviss’ style is sharp and witty, making even the jargon-laden nuances of the military easy to pick up and swallow.

The balance between action and character development has been beautifully wrought, giving these hitherto unexplored characters a life and breadth that they would normally not enjoy in other works.

For those wishing for a change from the norm, yet craving that inexplicable Star Wars feel and texture, Republic Commando: Hard Contact is that morsel you’ve been waiting for.

---
Copyright © Nic 2005