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What our customer's say!

"Good but something of a middle child", This book is a solid sequel to the first republic commando book, hard contact, however it really is just setting up a lot of background for the third book, and while is entertaining it doesn't quite stand alone. That being said it is still a good book and if you enjoyed the first one definitely pick this one up.

"Another Thrilling Installment in the Republic Commando Series", This is the second book in the outstanding Republic Commando series written by a fantastic author in Karen Traviss, who by the way has my heartfelt support for any book she decides to write in the Star Wars universe. The books written by her in the Legacy of the Force series, where easily the best ones out of all the authors who had written books in that series.

This book continues to tell the story of several clone troopers, a young female Jedi, Etain who becomes romantically involved with a certain clone trooper who shall remain nameless so as not to spoil the surprise, Sergeant Kal Skirata, who is determined to see that "his boys" get a lot better deal than the one that was handed them and a host of additional support characters, including; Vau and Lord Mird, Bessany, and Corr, just to name a few.

Like I stated in my review of the first book in this series, I am not going to go into great detail on the finer points of this particular book either, but I will say that it has been one of my most enjoyable reads from the "Clone Wars" era novels.

As you read this story (and the others in the series) you will share the experiences as a Mandalorian warrior becomes a father to a group of clone troopers whom he had saved from being terminated shortly after their "birth" from the cloning tanks, to the realization of a Jedi padawan that these clone soldiers aren't "wet droids," but real living breathing men under all that armor. Fascinating character development that really makes you believe in the characters and get into their individual stories.

There are some rather neat surprises in store for you as you read this book and you will want to make sure that you have the next two volumes in the series ready to go so that you don't have to wait to see what happens next.

If you want to really get into a great story with some very real characters, plop down one afternoon with this book and the other three in the Republic Commando series Hard Contact (Star Wars: Republic Commando), True Colors (Star Wars: Republic Commando), and Order 66 (Star Wars: Republic Commando) and time warp into another galaxy far far away! You won't be disappointed!

Shawn Kovacich
Star Wars Fan and Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

"Great read!", It's books like this one that adds validity and meaning to the Star Wars EU. With so many books pretending to be the movies, or books that add nothing or add something awkward, its nice to be refreshed by a book that delves into the depths of the Star Wars world. Triple Zero has nothing to do with any main Star Wars characters, but that is its biggest strength. The clones are not mindless drones willing to do whatever, but rather like children experiencing the world for the first time. Yes, they are battle hardened, but they no nothing of the intricacies of the real world. Much like any child would do, they rely on a father figure to help guide and protect them. Karen Traviss weaves a tale that is so deep and rich that the reader doesn't care that no main characters show up, we just care for the characters and the relationships between them.

Great read!

"Fun but annoying", After reading Hard Contact, a fun book, I was excited to read Triple Zero. This book is the second of a trilogy and expands the storyline by introducing characters and concepts lightly touched on in Hard Contact.

Overall, the book was interesting for those who like to learn more about who Clone Troopers are and how they might be used in the Star Wars universe. Certainly we're introduced to Kal Skirata, the mentor so frequently hinted at in "Hard Contact". There is also an interesting perspective of the non-Jedi in this SW universe.

But at its core, this book is a failure for three main reasons:

1. The central plot of this book revolves around taking down a terrorist network on Corusant. But the author clearly did very little research into terrorist networks, military maneuvers, and generally how to write an anti-terror story. The entire story leads up to a central battle that takes up just a few pages. That's right, the entire book leads to a peak of something like 3 pages. We're to believe that this team of about 10 clones is this incredible fighting force, yet they go up against a team not much larger than their own with far, far less training and it's supposed to be "will anyone return home alive" material?

2. The core theme, that Kal Skirata loves his hand picked clone trooper "sons" is absolutely bashed on your head. Time and time and time again. The author has taken the easy way out and simply TOLD us that this is true, rather than showing us and assuming we can figure it out on our own. (If you've read "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter", you'll recognize this massively repetitious plot device - hand it to the read on a silver platter rather than letting them figure out your character's personality on their own)

3. Several plot points build and build throughout the book, and like the key battle, unfold and finalize in a matter of a few paragraphs. One barked order and bam! problem solved. One quickie conversation and bam! problem solved.

Don't get me wrong - this was still a fun book to read. It had a enjoyable, if not poorly executed, build up to the conclusions. It's just that after 300+ pages, by the time resolutions came around, I was extremely let down. I could almost deal with the frequent plot holes that felt like pages were missing, but the biggest issue was that I just didn't get any sort of decent payoff at the end.

At the end of "Hard Contact", I was excited to keep reading about the team and learning more about who they were and where they came from. At the end of Triple Zero, I'm trying to decide whether to bother with the final book of the series.

"A big step down from 'Hard Contact'", Before starting the Republic Commando series, I had been a fairly avid Star Wars fan, but had read none of the EU novels. I was pleasantly surprised by 'Hard Contact,' especially in terms of pace, characterization, and the realistic atmosphere Traviss created through her own military experiences and research. However, 'Triple Zero' maintains little of these qualities: it actually expanded on some nitpicky issues I had with the first, as well as adding a few more of its own.

My major issue with this novel is the writing, namely the tendency to tell instead of show thoughts and emotions, as well as the author's refusal to let her story carry her message, and instead insert her opinion into the narration itself. There is little question that the novel is meant to portray clones, and by extension Mandalorians, as noble people downtrodden by the bloated Republic and the ignorant "civvies." This idea is reiterated a few times every chapter, not just by characters, but by the narration itself. I found this jarring to the point of grating--Traviss's tight writing in 'Hard Contact' becomes unbearably preachy in this book, almost berating the reader for even considering that clones/Mandalorians are anything less than heroes of the galaxy. Kal Skirata, who intrigued me in the first book, is little more than a mouthpiece for this idea.

In terms of plot, one of the biggest disappointments of this book was the complete lack of pace in the romance between Etain and Darman--there is nothing but a couple lines of dialog leading up to "the big moment." Also, I certainly wouldn't expect an explicit sex scene in a YA book, but the fact that no true moment of intimacy between the two is ever shown caused me to care less about their relationship (which should be momentous).

I have other issues with the book as well, but these stood out most to me. Not to say the book is irredeemable, however--from what I hear, the RC series is leaps and bounds better than most EU novels, and if you are a fan of the clones or the Mandalorians (like I am), there's enough in here to keep you going.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"One of the best novels I've ever read.", Triple Zero is where the REAL story of the Clone Wars finally starts being told. Forget the battles on exotic planets against battle droids and alien mercenaries, forget the clash of Sith and Jedi. This is about soldiers and the tight bonds of brotherhood - in this case, true brotherhood among the clone troopers - they form. Karen Traviss gives us a plot that would equal or surpass any Tom Clancy thriller, but the shining point here is absolutely the characters. The clones are strikingly individual and their need for not only individual identity, but family and cultural identity, form the heart of this story. The Jedi shown here aren't the invincible sagacious warriors we're usually presented with, and indeed some even start to question their purpose and justification in the war.

"Doesn't hold a candle to "Hard Contact"", I did not think that I would like Hard Contact (Star Wars: Republic Commando). I was afraid it would be another crappy Clone Wars novel (along the lines of Jedi Trial (Star Wars: Clone Wars Novel)and The Cestus Deception (Star Wars: Clone Wars Novel)). This is why it took me forever to purchase it. But when I finally got around to reading it, I was extremely impressed. Couple extraordinary characterization with an uncharted plot about clone commandos during the Clone Wars, and you have one of the best--if not the best--Clone Wars novels written. So, when I saw there was a sequel, I didn't think twice about purchasing.

Plot:
A Separatist cell is discovered on Coruscant. Delta Squad along with rival squad, Omega Squad, are sent to flush out the enemies and dispel the threat. Further, Etain is reunited with Delta Squad and Kal Skirata joins the young clones he trained to aid them in their mission.

Good:
Karen Traviss is a good author. She writes in a clear manner and appears to actually know what she is writing about (she doesn't skip over the tough stuff and focus on the easy stuff).
It's great to see our favorite clone squad, Delta Squad, along with another squad instead of the typical Anakin, Obi-Wan, and gang. Futher, it was cool to see the men who helped train the clones and to learn more about the enigmatic Mando culture. I liked learning about the culture and enjoyed the characters using the language (but more on this later). Etain, Skirata, Ordo, and Fi--whom I greatly enjoyed reading about--have good solid characters. And the plot--a terrorist cell--was something we can easily associate with, especially after the events of 9/11.

Bad:
The first chapter was good, but it quickly got drenched and bogged down in sluggish movement and introducing too many characters. Six characters are either exceedingly minor (such as Laseema, the unimportant Enacca, and Qibbu) and make you wonder how they attained a slot in the Dramatis Personae. Perhaps, it was to bear more resemblance to the established Star Wars Universe.
The plot is not convoluted--disarming a terrorist cell--yet Traviss does not seem to know how she wants to proceed. The whole plot occurs over many pages that are mostly devoted to dialogue such as "I feel guilty about making/using these boys as slaves" from Skirata and Etain. The actual terrorist cell dismantling occurs over a very short period of time, which is cut up and placed in small doses between the large amounts of talking about what people are going to do.
Which brings me to my next problem: Etain. She was mildly annoying in HC but now she is unbearable. Leaving Darman in HC, I felt they were more of friends. Now, after no contact (other than Etain's perpetual "reaching out to Darman in the Force" which she either does or talks about doing each time anything is written in her view), Darman and Etain fling themselves at each other the moment they reunite. What could have been a sweet, slow romance is ruined with the "I couldn't stop thinking of you" "Me neither--let's hop in bed" routine. And how she ends up pregnant--please. This happened in TCD and didn't work. Now, it crops up here (borderline plagiarism). Does every stinking Clone Wars novel have to contain a battle romance (although no where near as corny as Odie and Erk's romance in Jedi Trial) and an illegitimate child?
Another problem I had with this book was paradoxically also one of the few things that I loved about this book--the Mando Language and culture. While I loved learning about the language and culture, I found the in-text definition and the glossary repetitive. I almost felt Traviss was treating me like a complete, incompetent idiot who is incapable of turning a couple of pages to the glossary. Further, the in-text definition slowed down the read and felt unnatural.
Characters I longed to know more about--Atin, Vau, Jusik, even Niner from HC--were mostly neglected. Even Darman's feelings about his forbidden romance with Etain are ignored (those would have been very interesting). The entire Delta squad we know and love from HC was overlooked in an attempt to cover all 16 characters presented in the book.

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Language is restricted primarily to made up Star Wars phrases. Darman and Etain sleep with each other. Violence is typical Star Wars fare.

Overall:
All in all, this book does not live up to its predecessor, HC, but is no where near as bad as TCD or JT. The plot is not bad. The pacing is too slow, many of the characters are mere cardboard faces, and the Mando language is forcibly hammered into the reader's head. The book could easily have been condensed from its 400+ page format into something more enjoyable. Three stars is probably too high, but two stars (the same I gave for TCD) is too low. If I had the choice, I would give 2.75 for good writing and a new story.

"Better than Hard Contact", This book was leaps and bounds better than Hard Contact. First of all, she re-names the squad Omega Squad because she clearly didn't get the memo that Delta Squad's names were Boss, Fixer, Sev, and Scortch. Nice that someone cleared that up before it went to press. Second, for a group of very old-looking children who have known nothing but war, combat, suffering, and pain, they tend to dwell a lot on the flowery issues of life.

Granted, this book wasn't nearly as bad as Hard Contact, I actually enjoyed this one, but seriously, these guys are elite career soldiers in the middle of a life and death situation and they're wondering whether or not they'll have kids some day? Eyes on the prize, boys!

I suppose my biggest gripe (if you couldn't tell already) was just how overly-sensitive all the male characters were in the book while any of the characters who actually appreciate their situation for the magnitude it deserves are depicted as being heartless murderers. Granted, I don't think that Sev's Sgt. was not the guy you want to bring home to momma, but jeez, a little character depth?

I apologize for not being able to give more detail, but I read the book last year and while I enjoyed it, it does not merit all the 5 star ratings and "greatest SW book ever!" titles. I'd say the Revenge of the Sith novel (which gave me chills at times) is a far better book and story and infinitly better than the movie on which it is based.

I guess I just think Karen Traviss doesn't write men well.

"One of the best SW books ever", It's one of the best Star Wars books I've ever read, I connected with the characters and I praise Karen for making them truly unique individuals in spite of the fact of being clones! And I absolutely loved the little philosophical concerns that are expressed in the book, just as I enjoy them in the Wess'har series (pick up those books by Karen Traviss, if you enjoy this book, you're gonna love them)...

I love when an author can make me stop reading and think about what I'm reading and yet wanting not to put the book away and lying to myself "I'll read just to the end of the chapter... but... how does the next chapter begins?"

"Somewhat better than Hard Contact", This is the second in the series. The author does a better job this time in fleshing out the characters. I cared a little more about what happened to them this time than I did in the previous book.

Unfortunately the plot is still substandard. It's kinda interesting but it doesn't really pick up much steam and doesn't climax well.

It's another decent read for Star Wars fan. Somewhat better than the first "Hard Contact" book but I'd still classify it as mediocre.