Book Review - 'Republic Commando: Triple Zero' by Karen Traviss

This is the second in the ‘Republic Commando’ series.

‘For Omega Squad, deployed deep behind enemy lines, it’s the same old special ops grind: sabotage, espionage 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.’

This book is about 100 pages longer than ‘Hard Contact’, a touch under 400 pages with a much bigger cast of characters – 21 are listed at the start with 14 who could be classed as ‘main characters’ – 8 clone commandos, 2 Mandalorians, 2 Null ARCs and 2 Jedi!

Despite the length and the expanded cast, I went into this with high hopes, especially after Gordon pointed out that the story includes Delta Squad, which features in the Republic Commando game.

The story is set about a year after ‘Hard Contact’. Omega Squad returns, as do Etain and the other Jedi Padawan who’d been introduced at the start of ‘Hard Contact’, Bardan Jusik; both have passed the trials and are now Jedi Knights and generals in the war.

We’re also introduced to a couple of Mandalorians, who had been picked by Jango Fett to train some of the clones, Kal Skirata and Walon Vau. Skirata was mentioned a few times in ‘Hard Contact’ and had trained Niner, Darman and Fi. Atin had been trained by Vau.

The Null ARCs – who total 6 although here we only meet 2 of them, Ordo and Mereel – were the first ones trained by Skirata. They’re referred to as ‘null’ because the Kaminoans viewed them as defective and were going to terminate them but allowed Skirata to take them on, care for them and train them. They’re fiercely loyal to him and he views them as his sons.

My review of this book won’t be as in-depth as the first one only because nothing much happens. I was expecting an action book; instead, I got a soap opera.

Strangely, the further along I went, the more I felt I was reading a YA book.

Terrorists linked to the Separatists are carrying out bombings on Coruscant and it’s down to the clones to identify and destroy them.

Strangely, this mission isn’t led by a Jedi general or even anyone from the Coruscant Security Force Anti-Terrorism Unit.

Command is given to a civilian, Kal Skirata. If any reason was given, I’ve forgotten what it was.

The antagonists, such as they are, are a bunch of forgettable characters; I can’t remember any of their names or what their ultimate motive was.

The worldbuilding I enjoyed in the first book is non-existent here. We’re on Coruscant, but we could have been on any planet, in any city.

There isn’t even the most basic of descriptions to anchor any of the locations. This is a densely populated place but there seems to be no thought given to using deadly force in the presence of so many civilians.

Speaking of civilians, where are they? Even when the squads are on stakeouts, the clones barely cross paths with any civilians.

The story comes across as a spy-thriller wannabe, one that does not make the grade. There is no tension, no sense of danger, no worry about the fate of the characters I’d come to care about in the first book. Basically, the plot reads like a commando version of ‘Days of Our Lives’.

It felt odd to have so much focus on getting the clones girlfriends. Which led to some contradictions. When Ordo reacts like a nervous little boy when a waitress smiles at him, Skirata thinks on “how incomplete a teacher he had been of social skills.”

Yet, later, when one of the clones is about to get intimate with a woman and she wonders how long it takes the squad to finish their meal, he answers, “‘Long enough, I think.’” To which, I had to ask, how would he know?

There is character-building… and I use that term loosely. The downside is, Traviss brings whatever plot there is, to a screeching halt each time she talks about the characters.

Omega Squad – Niner, Darman, Fi and Atin –barely feature, except for Fi, and his constant cheerfulness seems to be a cover for sadness, but, apart from not having a girlfriend, I have no idea what that sadness is really about.

There is a sub-plot to do with Atin, which only left me wondering what the point of it was.

Darman, who was such a winning character in ‘Hard Contact’, is reduced to a happy, easy-to-please puppy.

Delta Squad – Boss, Scorch, Fixer and Sev – at the end of the day, seem to be present only to add tension to interpersonal clone relations.

Etain, despite having passed the trials to become a Jedi Knight, still questions herself despite holding her own and proving she’s more than capable in various situations. Bardan is nothing more than a wannabe commando.

My biggest gripe, apart from the distinct lack of action, is the character of Kal Skirata. And that ties in with one of my pet hates – too much telling, barely any showing.

I’m told, ad nauseam, how great Skirata is. But I don’t want to hear it from the other characters; I want to be shown! As it is, he doesn’t do anything, as far as I can tell, to justify the constant adulation. Everyone loves him, everyone falls over themselves to do his bidding, especially the clones. Even Delta Squad. Although they’d been trained by Walon Vau, they’re so desperate for Skirata’s approval. As for Ordo, he doesn’t listen to anyone other than Skirata.

The nauseating factor continued to rise when even Etain and Bardan start hero-worshipping Skirata. Etain views him as a father-figure while Bardan turns into the worst kind of fanboy.

The only one who seems ambivalent about the cult of Skirata is Walon Vau. To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded more of him.

I was surprised by how Traviss wrote the female characters. Much as I’m not fussed about Etain, I found her much more interesting in ‘Hard Contact’. In that book, her development from someone who thinks herself deficient in the use of the Force and of little use to the way she reacts in the midst of fighting was believable.

The few other females are basically present as possible girlfriend material.

And, apparently, being too beautiful is a cause for instant suspicion. While carrying out some surveillance, Ordo glances at 2 civilians, one of whom is a human female:
“… the human female was enough to make him stop, stare, and note her as suspicious. She smiled at him. He still had his helmet on, but she smiled at him, and she was shockingly beautiful; both those facts were worrying in an administrative department.”

One thing Traviss spends a lot of time on, the thing many who enjoy this book commend it for, is the Mandalorian culture. She focusses on their language – there’s a glossary at the end of the book – their singing and dancing, how they view family…

Onto the final straw, the reason I will not be continuing with this series.

Karen Traviss obviously does not like the Jedi. For her, the Mandalorians are the shining stars. And that’s fine; it’s her story, she can make whoever she wants the hero. But she does it at the expense of the Jedi.

There is a moral conundrum here for the Jedi. They’re guardians of peace and justice, but they find themselves in a war, not of their making, one they’re ill-equipped to fight without the clone army.

Instead of exploring that conundrum, Traviss chooses to shove her view down the reader’s throat, of the Jedi as belligerent tyrants who feel nothing for the clones as they merrily send them to their deaths.

The Jedi remind me of Buddhist monks, the ones who choose to serve and live a simple life so they’re able to fully commit to a life of peaceful service. Just because the Jedi, like the monks, don’t marry or have relationships doesn’t make them subhuman or void of compassion. It allows them to give their all to their order. And its plain to see, in the films and in books, the Jedi are able to show compassion to other beings. As with all people, there are those who fall short of the ideal, but that doesn’t make them all bad.

It is unfortunate, though, that when a person is Force-sensitive, their future is, more or less, mapped out for them. Again, I don’t believe that’s a reason to condemn the order. It is the way of the Jedi, just as the Mandalorian way of life is their way.

For Traviss, it comes down to, all Mandalorians good, all Jedi bad. Except for the 2 Jedi she’s chosen to worship Kal Skirata. Even they seem prepared to turn their backs on their own order to be part of Clan Skirata.

It’s easy to work out those who are in Skirata’s favour; they’re the ones who are incandescent with rage that the clones are little more than a slave army…

One of the characters refers to a clone who’s lost both his hands and has prosthetics, which work well – “‘It’s not right,’ she said. ‘It’s not right that [they] should end up like this. I’m wondering what kind of government I’m working for. One with a slave army, that’s what. You know how that makes me feel? Disgusted. Betrayed. Angry.’”

No mention of the fact that the Sith, not the Jedi are responsible for the creation of the clone army. No mention of the alternative to the Jedi not fighting the Trade Federation with its links to the Sith. No mention of the morally questionable part played by Jango Fett, a Mandalorian, in the creation of the clones.

Yet, in ‘Hard Contact’, Traviss shows at least 2 Jedi wondering about the use of clones:
Arligan Zey, who, unlike in the first book, is portrayed in an unforgiving light in ‘Triple Zero’; he is aware of the ambiguity around having a clone army – “Clone personnel have free will, even if they do follow orders. If they couldn’t think for themselves, we’d be better off with droids – and they’re a lot cheaper, too. They have to be able to respond to situations we can’t imagine. Will that change them in ways we can’t predict? Perhaps. But they have to be mentally equipped to win wars.”

Jedi General Ki-Adi-Mundi – “There is something very touching about them. They look like soldiers; they fight like soldiers; and sometimes they even talk like soldiers. They have all the finest qualities of the fighting man. But behind that is nothing – no love, no family, no happy memory that comes from having truly lived. When I see one of these men killed, I weep more for him than for any ordinary soldier who has lived a full and normal life.”

When I talked to Gordon about the books while I was reading them, and afterwards, he remembered reading the first book quite quickly, but he’d forgotten it had taken him forever to finish the second one. The more we talked, the more he remembered what he didn’t enjoy about it. And he realised that was why he’d never bought the third in the series.

Like him, I’d happily read ‘Hard Contact’ again. But nothing will get me to read the rest of this series.