Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
This book ruined my life and made me cry I won’t properly recover actually. Spent so long reading it avoiding the ending and I wish I stayed in my bubble of peace 💀
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I will never get over this book…
Marriage
Change how i perceive star wars
Marriage
Change how i perceive star wars
Perhaps the most important part of a novel is the climax, where everything comes together at a peak moment and delivers the gut punch of the last hundred or so pages you've been reading. Sometimes a series of novels dont just have their individual climaxes but also contain one overall that represents the beginning of the end of the series. Order 66 represents the emotional and story driven climax to the three books that came before.
"In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established."
Order 66 not only represents the climax of this series but it has always represented the turning point in the mainline Star Wars films and universe. Aside from the last hour or so of the third Star Wars film no other piece of fiction, to my knowledge, has really explored this from another angle. For three books now Ms. Traviss has been building up a cast of characters and doing an incredible job showing the humanity of war, what conflict does to people, the heavy burden of collateral damage, and above all, what men who were only bred for war will do at its end. I've long thought that these books have represented the best fiction available in the Star Wars extended universe for a couple of reasons.
The books dont need to take place in the Star Wars universe: Outside mostly cultural and military references that are hooked into the Star Wars universe these books can very easily stand on their own, which gives them an extremely high readability for people who aren't Star Wars fans.
They deal with extremely mature themes: These are military science fiction novels, and they dont hold back when exploring and providing depth to all of the issues that unfold in real war with extremely well done characters.
The Characters: They aren't one dimensional, and despite most of them being clones they all feel like very real people.
Those three things I listed above are why I typically dont enjoy Star Wars novels, they're typically trivial fan service books, but these are the gold standard for what they can be given a good author. Ms. Traviss wraps up everything that shes been setting up for the past three books in a very logical and tactful way, these books have a lot of plot threads and that is an issue that can typically lead to the downfall of novel as the writer rushes to try and cover all of their bases. Many of the troopers are getting married and settling into the idea that they're going to have a life once they collectively desert the republic and the novel represents that mindset for the first three hundred pages or so.
But then Ms. Traviss hits the climax, and gut punches her readers with a ferocity that I probably haven't experienced since Gone Girl. It is true that Order 66 itself isn't declared until page three hundred and seventy five but once it hits her writing style changes immediately. Gone is the hopeful tones of her prose and come to take its place is hardened worry, terrible doubt, and fear. It is extremely interesting as well to see these events take place from both a clone's view and the view of the people on the street, if you've seen the movie then Order 66 represented this massive collage of death and destruction as the galaxy changed forever but the book takes it in another route. For the people and the troopers Order 66 is quiet its a tower burning in the night sky far off in the distance, it's confusion about what is happening, and its worry about the future.
The chance to see this events from that point of view was something that I was looking forward to the most, and I was not disappointed. What did catch me by surprise though was just how heart breaking the last hundred pages of this novel was, its just scene after scene after scene of everything changing and all the perfect little details getting shaken up. For someone who has read these books for a long time, it was both shocking and incredibly sad to read some of the things that I did. This also brings up why this isn't a five star book, while for me these events were incredibly impact-full for someone who has only read this book it probably wont matter to them at all and they probably wont slog through three hundred plus pages of development for characters that they dont even know.
The book is the best by far in the series for the finality it delivers to a series that was already incredibly good. Ms. Traviss' writing is just as good as it's always been and for the long term readers this book will drive home everything that she's set up in the past. For Star Wars fans that want to read a book on Order 66 but haven't read the other commando books I would warn them to stay away, while the perspective is great it wont impact you the way it should.
"In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established."
Order 66 not only represents the climax of this series but it has always represented the turning point in the mainline Star Wars films and universe. Aside from the last hour or so of the third Star Wars film no other piece of fiction, to my knowledge, has really explored this from another angle. For three books now Ms. Traviss has been building up a cast of characters and doing an incredible job showing the humanity of war, what conflict does to people, the heavy burden of collateral damage, and above all, what men who were only bred for war will do at its end. I've long thought that these books have represented the best fiction available in the Star Wars extended universe for a couple of reasons.
The books dont need to take place in the Star Wars universe: Outside mostly cultural and military references that are hooked into the Star Wars universe these books can very easily stand on their own, which gives them an extremely high readability for people who aren't Star Wars fans.
They deal with extremely mature themes: These are military science fiction novels, and they dont hold back when exploring and providing depth to all of the issues that unfold in real war with extremely well done characters.
The Characters: They aren't one dimensional, and despite most of them being clones they all feel like very real people.
Those three things I listed above are why I typically dont enjoy Star Wars novels, they're typically trivial fan service books, but these are the gold standard for what they can be given a good author. Ms. Traviss wraps up everything that shes been setting up for the past three books in a very logical and tactful way, these books have a lot of plot threads and that is an issue that can typically lead to the downfall of novel as the writer rushes to try and cover all of their bases. Many of the troopers are getting married and settling into the idea that they're going to have a life once they collectively desert the republic and the novel represents that mindset for the first three hundred pages or so.
But then Ms. Traviss hits the climax, and gut punches her readers with a ferocity that I probably haven't experienced since Gone Girl. It is true that Order 66 itself isn't declared until page three hundred and seventy five but once it hits her writing style changes immediately. Gone is the hopeful tones of her prose and come to take its place is hardened worry, terrible doubt, and fear. It is extremely interesting as well to see these events take place from both a clone's view and the view of the people on the street, if you've seen the movie then Order 66 represented this massive collage of death and destruction as the galaxy changed forever but the book takes it in another route. For the people and the troopers Order 66 is quiet its a tower burning in the night sky far off in the distance, it's confusion about what is happening, and its worry about the future.
The chance to see this events from that point of view was something that I was looking forward to the most, and I was not disappointed. What did catch me by surprise though was just how heart breaking the last hundred pages of this novel was, its just scene after scene after scene of everything changing and all the perfect little details getting shaken up. For someone who has read these books for a long time, it was both shocking and incredibly sad to read some of the things that I did. This also brings up why this isn't a five star book, while for me these events were incredibly impact-full for someone who has only read this book it probably wont matter to them at all and they probably wont slog through three hundred plus pages of development for characters that they dont even know.
The book is the best by far in the series for the finality it delivers to a series that was already incredibly good. Ms. Traviss' writing is just as good as it's always been and for the long term readers this book will drive home everything that she's set up in the past. For Star Wars fans that want to read a book on Order 66 but haven't read the other commando books I would warn them to stay away, while the perspective is great it wont impact you the way it should.
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The main problem with this book was length. Traviss apparently needed a better editor because this story could have been told with about 100 pages less. I wish I could rate it higher because I really wanted to like this book. The premise for a Star Wars novel is excellent: the point of view of the clones fighting for the Republic and the fall of the Republic as it gives way to the Empire all from the view of the minor characters, so to speak. The characterization in the book is pretty good as well. So for those reasons, I really wanted to like this book. However, Traviss just keeps spinning sidelines and adding more characters and details, and after a while, it just gets long. The event of Order 66 is pretty much the driving force; you know as a reader (especially if you are familiar with the events in the Star Wars universe) that the hammer is about to come down. Some suspense is good, but after a while, you can do so much stretching of your plot before a reader gets tired of waiting. After three quarters of the way into the book, I just scanned the rest to see who lived, who died, and how things turned out. Feeling that I had to scan is usually not a good sign. It tells me the author just tried to throw everything in, including the kitchen sink, then tried to wrap it all up in the end. Clocking in at a little over 400 pages was a bit much. The story was good, but it could have been a lot tighter and still pack the punch. As a couple other people have commented here, the author's ending was not exactly the most satisfactory (as others have pointed out, I won't say more to avoid spoilers), but I will leave that to the more hardcore SW readers to decide. As a casual reader of SW fiction, it was ok.
I will add something else. If you have not read the previous novels in the Republic Commando series, you may miss a few things along the way. The characters have been developing during the series, and you may have a better appreciation of the characters if you have read the previous novels. I have not read the previous books prior to this one, which I picked up mostly out of curiosity. In spite of my reservations about Order 66, I am still considering picking up the previous works in the series because overall the idea behind the series is a good one. Also, I found very fascinating the descriptions of the Mandalorian culture (some of that could be a whole other book or novel by itself). This was a strength in the book for me.
I will add something else. If you have not read the previous novels in the Republic Commando series, you may miss a few things along the way. The characters have been developing during the series, and you may have a better appreciation of the characters if you have read the previous novels. I have not read the previous books prior to this one, which I picked up mostly out of curiosity. In spite of my reservations about Order 66, I am still considering picking up the previous works in the series because overall the idea behind the series is a good one. Also, I found very fascinating the descriptions of the Mandalorian culture (some of that could be a whole other book or novel by itself). This was a strength in the book for me.
Wow. Now that was a great series, I was genuinely surprised by the ending, but happy about it at the same time. Best thing, it's been left open enough for them to continue the story if there's a call for it.
I hope it continues.
Awesome read.
Thanks to my wonderful wife for getting me the series. She knows me so well. :)
I hope it continues.
Awesome read.
Thanks to my wonderful wife for getting me the series. She knows me so well. :)
A grudging 3 stars for this one. There were parts I hold in high esteem and others I absolutely loathe.
I love how Karen Traviss sets up the questions about how and why the clones came into being, about the war, and how she sets up Palpatine and the empire. I love how she doesn’t rely on cameos from fan favorites to embellish the story. I love the reflection on death. I love Fi, Besany, Bardan, Kad, Leseema, Mereel, Levet, and Ordo. I love how the clones are “not invisible, not anonymous, not forgotten” (pg. 442). And I love the ending.
But I hate this book (and series as a whole) too. I hate how some clones have been given plot armor to not follow orders while inexplicably we’re lead to believe Bly and Cody 100% went in to kill their generals, I hate the attitude towards the Jedi order and the rosy outlook for Jango and the Mandalorians and the clones, I hate Etain’s death scene (not her actual death, I figured she’d die), and it seems like a minor detail, but I hate the contempt for and mischaracterization of Obi-Wan Kenobi— not only because I like his character, but because it shows how deep the clones+ are truly being taught/led to hate the Jedi.
So, in short: I like how Karen Traviss set up Palpatine’s rise in power, but I don’t always like her actual writing, the parts where she can veer from canon and do whatever she wants. This book (and series) was… gripping, at the very least.
P.S- Etain was one of my least favorite characters, but her death— mainly the others’ reactions— really did hit me hard.
I love how Karen Traviss sets up the questions about how and why the clones came into being, about the war, and how she sets up Palpatine and the empire. I love how she doesn’t rely on cameos from fan favorites to embellish the story. I love the reflection on death. I love Fi, Besany, Bardan, Kad, Leseema, Mereel, Levet, and Ordo. I love how the clones are “not invisible, not anonymous, not forgotten” (pg. 442). And I love the ending.
But I hate this book (and series as a whole) too. I hate how some clones have been given plot armor to not follow orders while inexplicably we’re lead to believe Bly and Cody 100% went in to kill their generals, I hate the attitude towards the Jedi order and the rosy outlook for Jango and the Mandalorians and the clones, I hate Etain’s death scene (not her actual death, I figured she’d die), and it seems like a minor detail, but I hate the contempt for and mischaracterization of Obi-Wan Kenobi— not only because I like his character, but because it shows how deep the clones+ are truly being taught/led to hate the Jedi.
So, in short: I like how Karen Traviss set up Palpatine’s rise in power, but I don’t always like her actual writing, the parts where she can veer from canon and do whatever she wants. This book (and series) was… gripping, at the very least.
P.S- Etain was one of my least favorite characters, but her death— mainly the others’ reactions— really did hit me hard.