Star Wars - Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth is the second entry in this book series by Karen Miller. Many people enjoyed her first novel, myself included, but there were also questions raised in the wake of that first novel. The author showed a solid grasp of the characters of Obi-Wan and Bail Organa in Wild Space, but ultimately it was a far more intimate book than a large scale war book you might expect when set during The Clone Wars. Could Miller ramp up the action in this second volume, and would Stealth prove that her first foray into Star Wars wasn’t just a fluke? After the break, I’ll give you my spoiler-free thoughts on the book.

As mentioned before Obi-Wan was one of the central characters of Wild Space, and again Karen Miller proves she has a firm grasp on his character, as he has a very large role in this book. The reader gets plenty of opportunities to see him interact one on one with Ahsoka, Padme, Bail and Anakin. Early on, Miller teams up Obi-Wan with Ahsoka, which winds up being really interesting because it’s something we don’t really see in the TV show.

One of the complaints some people had about Wild Space was its lack of action – the opening of Stealth will dissuade you of that notion. Miller does a great job of describing full scale war maneuvers, large scale battles, and then bringing it to a more personal level. The reader is thrust right into a battle at Kothlis, and this is not a pretty or tame version of The Clone Wars - clones and civilians are getting killed and the Jedi feel the pain of those losses. The war is treated very seriously, things are desperate, the threat is very real - Droid soldiers are deadly not silly.

All the characters sound exactly like I’d expect them to; though as we move into the middle (slower) section of the book the constant banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin begins to grate. It begins to drag a little bit here as the plot moves the characters to the relative safety of Coruscant – but there’s a few too many mundane actions happening in between otherwise important scenes. If you’ve read the blurbs that have been released, it’s here that Obi-Wan and Anakin are given their spy mission to Lanteeb - one that will take them deep undercover into enemy territory, where they will face a monsterous leader of the Separatists and a scientist who is developing a terrible weapon. Because the last act of the novel is really strong, I think a little more momentum in the middle section of the book would have improved it overall.

There are also some nice references to Wild Space - nothing that requires reading that book, but nice for the fans who have. My only complaint was some of the scenes in the slower second act of the book, though ultimately it’s a well written story with a strong opening and closing act. So in all, I’d call this book a sweeping success. It proves Wild Space wasn’t a fluke, that Miller can write large scale battles and action sequences, and that fans should stop ignoring The Clone Wars books.

Review Copy courtesy of  Del Rey.