Honor and Duty (Star Wars) [Paperback]

John Ostrander (Author), C.P. Smith (Author), Luke Ross (Author), Jasen Rodriguez (Author), Steve Firchow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 23, 2006 | Series: Star Wars

Watch the fall of the Republic through the eyes of Sagoro Autem - Senate Guard, mercenary, prisoner, Clone Wars hero and Imperial target - in a story that spans from before the Clone Wars to the first mission of Darth Vader! Young Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker his even younger Padawan, protect a senator from a small system as assassination attempts threaten to silence his crucial swing vote. Joining the Jedi in their mission is Autem, loyal Senate Guard. Yet, as Obi-Wan and Anakin fend off a league of master assassins, Autem discovers a link between the killers that will change his own life forever - a secret he will not be able to face until the Clone Wars have come and gone, and he finds himself on the run from the new Emperor's enforcer, Darth Vader!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Star Wars: Honor and Duty focuses on a relatively ordinary citizen, Senate Guard Sagoro Autem, caught up in the pre-Clone Wars political intrigue. Following a senator's murder, he's assigned to protect the replacement leading up to a crucial vote that may induce a number of planets to separate from the Republic. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and a couple of Jedi Knights named Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are key characters, but the main thrust is Autem and the effect the Republic's problems have on his family. Following that arc is a single-issue story following the Clone Wars that finds Autem now in the Imperial Fleet and getting his introduction to Darth Vader. Reprinting Star Wars: Republic 46-48 (written by John Ostrander with pencils by C.P. Smith) and 78 (written by Ostrander with more photorealistic art by Luke Ross). --David Horiuchi

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (May 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593075464
• ISBN-13: 978-1593075460
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #464,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well written drama of one family riven by competing loyalties, May 16, 2006

By 

Daiho - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Honor and Duty (Star Wars) (Paperback)

Set in the days preceding Geonosis, Honor and Duty is a both a political whodunit and a human drama, the story of the disintegration of the government mirrored in the unraveling of one family sworn to protect the Republic. Sagoro Autem is a 4th generation Senate Guard, the men with blue capes and helmets you may have noticed in the background in the prequel films. While investigating the murder of a Senator killed just prior to a vote on legislation that could cause several worlds to leave the Republic, Sogoro discovers some painful truths about his family and the system to which he has pledged his life.

It's a story told in every civil war, the story of a family set against itself, two brothers divided by competing loyalties and brought into direct conflict by the implacable forces of war. Fortunately, John Ostrander is on hand to tell the tale. He is without question the most talented writer to work long-term on any Star Wars comic, and this particular volume shows why. He does as good a job as possible with the politics in a series in which not many authors get into the details about exactly what kinds of corruption cause so many to believe the only recourse is secession. Where Ostrander excels is in building his characters, creating people the reader cares about. The final scene of the initial 3-part story ends with the shedding of a tear, and while I wasn't in need of a tissue when I closed the book, there was the making in my throat of a tiny lump.

The fourth and last installment of the story takes place several years later when Sagoro Autem reappears as a captain in the Republic Navy, now at the service of Sidious and Vader following events in Revenge of the Jedi. Whereas the previous story arc was about things falling apart, this one is about paying old debts and putting things back together.

You don't need to have read all of Dark Horse's Star Wars series to enjoy this book, (although you might be interested to know Autem makes appearances in Clone Wars Volumes 2 and 8). Honor and Duty stands well on its own and is perhaps unique in the Star Wars Extended Universe in presenting a story about an average citizen of Coruscant, rather than smugglers, bounty hunters, clones, or super-powered Jedi and Sith.

The art on this series is handled by C.P. Smith in the first 3-part arc, published in Star Wars Republic #'s 46-48 (Sept, Nov, Dec 2002). His style here has a European feel, open and airy, featuring heavy dark outer lines and lots of open interior space - not much hatching within the characters and minimal background detail in most frames. This is exploited well by colorist Joe Wayne to produce a color-saturated look. It appears Smith was perhaps rushed at the end of the series, but overall he does a fine job conveying the action. Luke Ross brings a different style to the final chapter, published in Star Wars Republic # 78 (Sept 2005), in what appears to be painting more than illustration, much darker in tone, more static and less kinetic than Smith.

Overall, this is a fine example of Dark Horse's Star Wars publishing, a welcome addition to the EU, and one that I am happy to recommend.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Star Wars: Honor and Duty, January 8, 2009

By 

Jimmy J. Shaw "oldbent1" (Cheyenne, Wyoming) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Star Wars: Honor and Duty (Library Binding)

A nicely written side story of the Star Wars saga. This gives the reader a view of things for the view of individuals not normally seen or heard from, unless Darth Vader is killing them. Good quality graphics and a nice flow of the dialogue. It would be a good addition to your Star Wars collection because it shows that there were others involved and how their upbringing, duty, honor and family affected their decisions, ultimately affecting how the "big" conflict turned out.

4.0 out of 5 stars The honor of the Royal Guards is finally shown in detail!, August 17, 2011

By 

White Wolf - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Honor and Duty (Star Wars) (Paperback)

The Honor and Duty trade paperback is a story arc in the Republic comic series, issues #46-48 that tells the tales of a couple of "boys in blue" and the troubles and conspiracies they face to instill the laws of the Republic. The story takes place shortly before the conception of the Trade Federation droid army and involves a Senate Guard named Segoro Autem and his partner Isaru Omin trying to figure out who murdered Senator Jheramahd Greyshade and if the killer's next target is Greyshade's cousin, Simon Greyshade! Autem and Omin end up trying to rescue Autem's wild son and his girlfriend and learn that one of Autem's relatives is behind the entire operation and has hired a royal assassin to do the job! Autem must prove his worth and wipe the stain from his family name and take down his menacing relative and save his son from a life in prison; or worse! Anakin and Obi-Wan are also in this story as the Senator's Jedi guards and while Autem is dealing with the man behind all the assassins, it's Anakin and Obi to the rescue fending off the various assassins themselves. However, Autem himself must sacrifice his career as a Senate Guard and his life with his family in order to save them and protect the new Senator Greyshade so the important swing vote can go through.

The book then jumps ahead a few years in issue #78 of the Republic comic series entitled Loyalties to the beginning of the Galactic Empire where Autem is now an Imperial officer. Darth Vader and the Emperor use a show of force against officers that do not completely meet Palpatine's standards and a list is made of all the officers that will be arrested (and possibly executed) and Autem is one of the first to go. However, his old friend and former partner Omin gives him fair warning (at the cost of his life) and just enough time to slip through Vader's fingers and almost out of reach. However, persistent Vader hires a set of bounty hunters to hunt him down and bring him back; dead or alive!

The book has a cool story arc in it and I like the inclusion of the later issue involving the same characters and concluding their story. The famous duo Ani and Obi are in the story but take a backseat for once for some unheard-of minor characters and to provide a seldom-covered look into the lives of the Senate Guard. They're frequently seen in the movies with their elaborate robes and cool rifles but never seen in action really until now! I enjoyed the story although it started off quite cliché and was quite predictable. I did really like Autem's son's mask being an homage to Michael Myers in the Halloween movies though. It was a good read and this is the end of the Republic series until the Clone Wars starts up! The artwork wasn't the best I've ever seen but it worked and the writing was pretty good as well. Get it for the story but don't expect a spectacular story like some of the other arcs in the Republic series. By no means does that mean it isn't good, however.