This was better than the first book in this duology of Clone Wars Gambit. The plot continues by destroying the bio weapon and saving our two Jedi heroes, Anakin and Obi-wan.

This is my second novel by Karen Miller. I am not too fond of her writing style but do applaude her for keeping the relationship between Obi and Anakin authentic.

I enjoyed Obi and Taria's relationship it is another side we see of him and explaining why he is what he is and his view. Of course, this angers our Ani because everything he was let to believe is only applicable more or less to him.

The battle scenes in this one weren't so descriptive, but it was more about the battle inside our characters themselves. This isn't the best Star Wars novel I have read so far, but it was still intriguing.

The political plots were few but well received, with Palpatine still pulling the strings and weaving his webs of lies.

Throughout the duology, the word "Stang" is used, more than it should have been. (5 times a page) It was kind of irritating, as it loses its meaning, but my guess is that this is a swear word more or less. ( )

Of Miller's three Star Wars novels, this is better than Wild Space and is tied with Clone Wars Gambit #1. it follows the basic outline of Wild Space: Jedi in an isolate world, finding themselves at loggerheads with non-Jedi. There is too much rehashing of the same arguments but it is not as bad as Wild Space. I somewhat liked Clone Wars Gambit #1 because of the interesting character of Bant'ena Fhernan--the scientist who develops a horrible bioweapon to save her family--who takes a backseat in this outing. The novel drags as it centers on Anakin and Obi-Wan holing up in some bumblefuck village, but at least it did not have the absolute dreadful first act of Clone Wars Gambit #1. I am glad to be done with Miller's Star Wars novels, but this was not as much of a chore to get through as I feared. ( )

The second in the set of books that were epic. This is a must read and must listen to again. :) ( )

Following the events of ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth’, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are in a groundcar fleeing enemy forces on the hostile enemy planet Lanteeb which has been taken by Separatist forces. The bad guys are using the mineral damotite, common on Lanteeb, to develop a nasty bioweapon. Our heroes attempt to rescue the imprisoned scientist working on this horror failed because evil Lok Durd set a trap for them and they barely escaped with their lives. They still have to save the galaxy from the deadly virus the Separatists have developed but first they must save themselves.

Their groundcar runs out of power near Torbel, a mining village. The locals are suspicious of strangers but short on their quota of damotite and willing to take on the two newcomers as miners. Of course, Lok Durd is searching desperately for the Jedi and has plenty of droid power for the job, as well as a psychic seeker. How long can they stay hidden? Will they be rescued? Is there an antidote for the deadly virus? Has it been used yet? Stuck in the middle of nowhere with no communications equipment, Skywalker and Kenobi are pretty helpless. Then things get worse.

It isn’t all Anakin and Obi-Wan. Their Jedi chums are busy as well, trying to mount a fleet large enough to besiege Lanteeb but frustrated by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine who insists that the ships are needed elsewhere. Whose side is he on? Meanwhile, Ahsoka, Rex and Torrent company have mended their wounds from the last battle and are keen for some action.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were barely able to stand at the start of the book, starved and exhausted. As the book goes on, they are still mostly starved and have to work hard, face various dangers and use the Force a lot. The extent of their exhaustion becomes unrealistic, even for a fantasy, especially as Obi-Wan started this adventure totally exhausted from the previous one. Obviously, the heroes have to face trials and struggle in the name of drama but there’s such a thing as over-egging the pudding.

There is also, as in ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth’, a bit of a slow spell in the middle of this adventure. Both books could have been shorter and tauter and I wonder if the publishers insist on a minimum word count to make their novels thicker. I have noticed that although the SFWA definition of a novel is anything over 40,000 words many publishers won’t take less than 70,000. When I was a young thing, I read early books in that other starry franchise that were about 120 pages long and could be scanned in an evening. It was better. Lightweight fiction should be brief and to the point, not padded to add pages.

However, these are minor quibbles and, all in all, Karen Miller has delivered another solid adventure story. I got through the middle bit painlessly and the conclusion was sufficiently gripping. In the overall story arc, this one seems to have a bit more about Anakin, secretly married, of course, harbouring bitter thoughts about Jedi attitudes to love, emotion and so forth, even resenting Obi-Wan. I don’t think that’s going to end well.

Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/ ( )

Continuation to Stealth. A great description of what being caught in a siege feels like. ( )