Last week I posted my spoiler-free review of Karen Miller’s latest book from The Clone Wars series. Because I was avoiding spoilers, there were a number of things I didn’t get to talk about that I otherwise would have – and since we’re experiencing a little delay before we’re able to post the other spoiler filled reviews from the news team – I thought I’d follow up with this editorial. Think of it as a continuation of my review from last week, with more spoilers revealing the ultimate villain of the piece, my thoughts on both the strengths and weaknesses of the novel, and how some things tie in to my overall experience with the Clone Wars era. Click on the link if you’d like to read more.

I’m going to start with what I think is the major weakness of the book – the middle part (or act) which takes place primarily on Coruscant (with Ahsoka on Kamino with the clones who were severely wounded during the battle on Kothlis in the opening act). I’ll likely get lynched for saying this, because we finally have a Star Wars book with a more than decent page count – but honestly, I think I’d have actually edited a lot of stuff out at this point in the book, knocking off a few pages for the sake of better pacing. There’s way too many descriptions of characters having meals and drinks (as I said in my review, doing mundane things in between important scenes). Obi-Wan and Anakin share a meal. Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padme and Bail share a meal. Obi-Wan and Yoda have tea. They walk between ships and meetings (and talk) and then they talk during those meetings. None of it is bad, or out of character - and in some cases I think it adds a lot - but it’s almost too loaded with those mundane moments. Give us a few and move on.

Some of this even crops up again later in the novel, during the third act. Bail has gotten some information that the Seperatists have invaded the planet Lanteeb, which has no known strategic purpose. Obi-Wan and Anakin are sent undercover to figure out what’s happening there. We get a lot of interaction between these two, and again I’ve got some mixed feelings on it. We see their banter, we see both of their passions and flaws - but ultimately Miller chooses to repeat a lot of the same beats over and over again. I’ve also seen Miller talk on her blog about not writing any characters as gay when they’ve already been established as not being gay – I’m guessing this is a reference to either Obi-Wan and Anakin or Obi-Wan and Bail – I’ll state for the record that I never noticed anything in any interactions between any of these characters that would have made me question their relationships in that way. So, I’m not sure where some people are getting that subtext from.

As I also mentioned in my review last week, the infiltration of Lanteeb really ramped things back up though. Similar to Hallena’s experience behind enemy lines in No Prisoners, there’s a desperate sense to our heroes mission - they’ve got no back up, no resources - completely out of luck if they’re caught. General Durd is in charge of the CIS operation here, and he is taken very seriously by the author – he is a sick, twisted individual; sadistic and brutal. He’s using coercion to get a scientist to manufacture a biological weapon for him - and when he discovers the Jedi have been in contact with her, he forces her to betray them (thus leading to the cliffhanger).

But it’s in the interaction between the Jedi and the scientist that one of the really interesting things to me about this whole book comes up – my continued attempt to try and analyze Anakin. There’s a real disconnect for me (in general) between the Anakin of the prequels (and especially the Anakin of The Clone Wars) and Vader. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve gotten used to his portrayal - but at the same time he often seems far too heroic and caring, which just seems at odds with Vader. But, Miller does an excellent job of trying to bridge that gap - giving insight into Anakin’s feelings about how the Jedi don’t do enough to help people - to bring ORDER to the galaxy. I’m starting to see how he could go from where he is in The Clone Wars to what he becomes in The New Order (and a lot of that is due to authors like Miller, Traviss and Luceno). And when Anakin talks to the scientist about how she may not be able to undo what she did - but she can still change… well, it just had me thinking about his own future.

But since I’ve brought up Traviss, I’m going to say that Miller does some repair work on Obi-Wan in this novel that is a direct result of some of the characterizations Traviss’ creations accused him of. For instance, I recall (probably in Order 66) Skirata or one of his clones says something to the effect that Ob-Wan doesn’t care about the clones under his command. Now, I’ve always maintained that Skirata’s clones viewpoint on Obi-Wan was skewed by Skirata’s own anti-Jedi sentiment, and in Stealth we’re told point blank from Obi-Wan (and as we see his thoughts) that he does care about his clone troopers and is in agony as he sends them into battle. I love the extra layers that each of these authors has brought to The Clone Wars – if it weren’t for these authors, I’d have no interest in this era at all – but it’s always important to remember that characters are going to have certain viewpoints that a) may not be true and b) may not reflect the author’s actual feelings on a subject. That’s why I’ve enjoyed these The Clone Wars books so much, because of the added depth they’ve brought, reflecting different points of view.

And because of that, there’s a lot to like about Stealth. I’d swear this Kothlis battle has been referenced in a couple of other places (I want to say one of The Clone Wars comic digests I’ve read, possibly Wind Raiders since it’s another Bothan planet under attack at the beginning of that book). The connections to Wild Space, and references to other battles that have been fought in the TV series. The seriousness that this book imparts on the war (which is somewhat lost in the TV series). It’s too early in the year to be able to judge how it would rank on a ‘best books’ list - but if I was judging it against last year’s batch, it would probably fall somewhere around the middle of my top 10. But it’s difficult to judge because it feels like half a novel, the cliffhanger makes this story incomplete. It’s impossible for me to judge how I’ll view this two-part story upon it’s completion – I’ve heard the second book is actually longer than the first. I do know that I’m looking forward to reading the resolution, and I do hope to continue to see Karen Miller work in that Galaxy Far, Far Away.