The premise: ganked from BN.com: Following the eruption of the bloody Clone Wars at the battle of Geonosis, both sides remain deadlocked in a stalemate that can be broken only by elite warrior teams like Omega Squad, clone commandos with terrifying combat skills and a lethal arsenal. . . .

For Omega Squad, deployed deep behind enemy lines, it’s the same old special ops grind: sabotage, espionage, ambush, and assassination. But when Omega Squad is rushed to Coruscant, the war’s most dangerous new hotspot, the commandos discover they’re not the only ones penetrating the heart of the enemy.

A surge in Separatist attacks has been traced to a network of Sep terror cells in the Republic’s capital, masterminded by a mole in Command Headquarters. To identify and destroy a Separatist spy and terror network in a city full of civilians will require special talents and skills. Not even the leadership of Jedi generals, along with the assistance of Delta squad and a certain notorious ARC trooper, can even the odds against the Republic Commandos. And while success may not bring victory in the Clone Wars, failure means certain defeat.

Also includes the bonus story "Omega Squad: Targets" by Karen Traviss!

My Rating: 7 - Good Read

The second installment of the Republic Commandos series was quite the good romp, with some expected developments happening faster than I'd thought (but happening naturally nonetheless), and giving me a whole addition to the core cast to care about and look forward to seeing again. More than Hard Contact, Traviss is really developing some storylines that will carry through to later books, solidifying this series to something beyond a video game spin-off, which was exciting. The first book made me aware that it was an adaptation of the game, albeit a good one. This book, however, made me forget all about that. It let me focus on the story and all the subplots, and allowed me to lose myself in what was happening. I was quite pleased with this installment, and look forward to continuing the series.

Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. And I also want to point out: there will be spoilers, at any given moment, for the entire run of Star Wars books up until the date the current book was published. So if the Star Wars are something you want to get into, stop now and read THIS instead. I don't recommend anyone reading the FULL review unless they've read the book I'm reviewing now, due to aforementioned spoilers, so stop now or -- if you have read the book -- carry on! The full review may be found at my blog, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome. Just click below to go directly to the review!

REVIEW: Karen Traviss' STAR WARS: REPUBLIC COMMANDO: TRIPLE ZERO

Happy Reading! ( )

I had a reasonable time with the first Traviss book a couple of years back, and have had this sitting around for a while, so I finally got round to it. It was a perfectly serviceable Star Wars tie-in novel, and Traviss did a decent job of humanising and giving personality to the clones.

In the end though, I stopped partway through, just as the main plot was turning up. It wasn't that there was anything particular wrong with the book; but I started to feel that to really get the most from the book, and see how things panned out, I'd have to do a lot more reading. Not only is the book part of a series, but it's tied into the whole Star Wars Extended Universe, and so probably contains all kinds of references I'm not getting. Basically I felt like to make the time I'd spend on this book worthwhile, I'd have to commit myself to the SWEU in general, and I just don't have either the time or the enthusiasm to do that. There's too many other things I want to read, and while I enjoyed Star Wars, I'm not passionate about it. So I resigned myself to not finishing it and moved on.

I've probably missed out on some good stuff, but it's just not a book I feel the need to read right now. ( )

Il est difficile de ne pas voir dans ce livre un catalogue futuriste des armes de l'US Army. Au passage on y justifie l'emploi de l'armée contre le "terrorisme" et aussi celui de la torture (y compris par les Jedi !), vous avez des problèmes en Irak ?
On se dépêchera donc d'oublier ce mauvais roman qui ne fait qu'aborder de trés loin le sujet de la psychologie individuelle des soldats clones : êtres sans avenir du fait d'une durée de vie trés courte et conditionnés dés la naissance pour devenir des soldats dépourvus de libre-arbitre. Dommage !

*Spoliers*
First off the plot was very good and exciting. A black ops mission to take down a terrorist network, so Alias. That's very cool.
Loved all the characters and their interactions and the history between them (Kal and Vau, Kal and his 'sons', Atin and Vau, Etain and Dar, Etain and Kal, etc). Its character development and interaction like that that make a story captivating.
Loved how Kal was the father type to the Nulls and Omega.
Etain and Dar, I am such a shipper for them despite the impossiblities. Her getting pregnant was the best plot twist. She found her path and so glad Kal will be there to help out. Their father daughter relationship was on of my favorite things. Esp when Kal is feeling guilty about taking the money to train the clones and she tells him he's a good man for giving them a soul and sense of purpose and a family awww

But yes in reality the clones were like the Republic's slaves. Bread to fight and die in war, with no choice and no future. And besides Etain and Justik how many other Jedi stop and question this issue? how sad.
I do hope there is a sequel. Traviss leaves the story open for one.

I can't find anything bad to say. Even the beginning which I was told was slow, wasn't. I got through it pretty fast and didn't find it to be slow or drawn out.
I'd say it's one of the better SW novels and defintaly one of the best Clone War novels (next to Shatterpoint and LoE)

(It is also a must to read this book's prequel 'Hard Contact' since most of the characters are introducing in that novel.) ( )

I bought this after reading various impassioned remarks by Karen Traviss' saying she put put just as much if not more effort into SW books aas she did into her own work. That working in anothers universe had presented significant challenges as to her a writer and she she had not let the setting stunt hermoral/philososphical arguments.

I am a bit of a media tie in snob but I do recognise lots of good authors have written them over the years and Ms Traviss is definately a good author.
So I gave it a go. I have only seen the first SW filmand that was a long time ago now. I dismissed it as derivative space opera aimed at 12 year olds. So I found myself sadly lacking in background knowledge, What is a padawar? Apprentice? Assistant? Who are the Sith? Baddies apparently. Nothing that threw me though, Just the feeling you get joining a derivative Space Opera half way through. As promised The Jedi's valuing of expediency over morality is well illustrated. As is Karen Traviss frustraation at having to write about Cammando's who can't wear cammo. but ultimately the view point changes cannot disguise the linearity of the plot or the forgetabillity of the characters. ( )