Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Sean Williams (Author), Marc Thompson (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Star Wars | Publication Date: July 20, 2010

BioWare and LucasArts—creators of the hugely popular Star Wars:® Knights of the Old Republic® video game—have combined their storytelling talents and cutting-edge technology for an innovative new massively multiplayer online role-playing game that allows players to create their own personal Star Wars adventure 3,500 years before the rise of Darth Vader. Now #1 New York Times bestselling author Sean Williams brings the world of the game to life in his latest novel, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance.

Tassaa Bareesh, a matriarch in the Hutt crime cartel, is holding an auction that’s drawing attention from across the galaxy. Representatives of both the Republic and the Sith Empire are present, along with a Jedi Padawan sent to investigate, a disenfranchised trooper drummed out of the Republic’s elite  Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian with a private agenda. But the Republic’s envoy is not what he seems, the Empire’s delegate is a ruthless Sith apprentice, the Jedi Padawan is determined to do the right thing and terrified that he can’t, the trooper hopes to redeem her reputation, and the Mandalorian is somehow managing to keep one step ahead of everyone.
                                                
None of these guests—invited or uninvited—have any intention of participating in the auction. Instead they plan to steal the prize, which is locked inside an impregnable vault: two burned chunks of an exploded star cruiser, one of which may hold the key to the wealth of an entire world.

But the truth about the treasure is dangerous and deadly. And in the end, Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire, must do something they’ve never done before, something that all the agents of good and evil could never make them do: join together to stop a powerful threat that could destroy the galaxy.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Well back in the days of the old republic, smuggler Jet Nebula discovers a treasure whose present and ultimate value he cannot even begin to estimate. He soon learns that it is valuable to enough different, well-armed parties to threaten not only the peace of the galaxy but also his own life expectancy. The Hutts want it to sell to the highest bidder—whether the crumbling republic or the rising empire, they don't care. The Sith, all two of them, have their own plans. So does the Jedi high council, with more scruples but greater numbers behind them. A Mandalorian seems to see in the find a clue to a long-unsolved and quite dire crime, while a spy of indeterminate loyalties plays all sides at once, which hints strongly of knowledge of what the mystery object really is. This novel is tied in to the Star Wars universe at a stage in its history that is still being explored in print fiction, and it is also the prequel to what promises to be the largest, most ambitious electronic role-playing game yet to be spun off of that universe. With so much riding on its shoulders, the book demands an unusual gift for cracking good space opera, and that Williams possesses in full measure. --Roland Green --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Sean Williams was born in the dry flatlands of South Australia. He still lives there with his family, forty years later, and has no plans to move anytime soon. Author of more than sixty published short stories and twenty-nine novels for readers of all ages, he has been published around the world in numerous languages, online, and in spoken-word editions. He is a judge for the Writers of the Future contest, which he won in 1993. He is also a multiple winner of Australia’s speculative fiction awards and recently received both the Ditmar and the Aurealis for The Crooked Letter, marking the first time in the history of the awards that a fantasy novel has won both.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (July 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307736962
• ISBN-13: 978-0307736963
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.1 x 5.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #798,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

South Australian author and occasional DJ Sean Williams started writing in 1990 and has since published over sixty short stories across the speculative fiction genre and been reprinted in numerous Year's Best anthologies.

His novels have been compared to Peter Carey, Ursula LeGuin, Robert Silverberg, and the "Three Gregs" (Bear, Benford, and Egan). As well as fiction, he has written reviews, music (for which he won a Young Composer's Award in 1984), a stage play, and the odd haiku.

With Shane Dix he has co-authored the Evergence, Orphans and Geodesica series, and the New York Times-bestselling Star Wars: New Jedi Order: Force Heretic trilogy. Together, they have been described as the "Niven and Pournelle for the 21st Century".

A strong believer in giving back to the community, he has been a Chair of Australia's oldest Writers' Centre, a tutor for Clarion South, and is a judge for the Writers of the Future contest. He was recently awarded an MA in creative writing by his hometown university in Adelaide, South Australia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A whole lotta not much..., August 1, 2010

By 

Shane "Keep SciFi Alive" (MN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (Hardcover)

***Some Spoilers***

Fatal Alliance does offer quite a bit of adventure and epic battle scenes however, with all that is packed into its 450 pages there is little room for character development. The adventure begins with the reader being told the story of how an upcoming Jedi has failed his trials to become a Knight. Well I really shouldn't say "how he failed" because little is told as to how he actually failed the trials. But don't fret the book doesn't expand at all on how this failure effects the character anyways. This lack of character building becomes a theme with every character, sadly. As you read on you will be introduced to about twelve more characters that have little development.

A mother that has betrayed the Sith is given little as to why she did this and how that decision has changed her life. A Sith apprentice is faced with having to strike down the woman who gave birth to her but the author chooses to not expand on the characters emotions as she comes closer to the fatal swipe. A soldier that has fallen out of league with her former comrades for being a snitch is only given a few paragraphs as to how this event has formed who she has become. A character that could have been a focal point for all this lack of history should have been the Jedi Master, but she herself gives little in the way of wisdom and doesn't delve into the issues that should have played a bigger role with the characters.

Overall the books saving grace is the battle scenes that take up the vast majority of the book. To some this may be enough but to those who have tired of death star after death star this book should be lower on your to-read-list. In no way is the book horrible and in no way would I tell you not to read it but be warned, if you like books that are heavy on characters and lighter on space battles this will not be up your alley. Just my opinion.

ALL FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED. THANKS AND GOOD READING.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 EU Entry Set in Old Republic, September 11, 2010

By 

Julie (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (Hardcover)

*** spoilers ahead***
Fatal Alliance has several flaws that could be fatal to certain readers' ability to like the book. There are a lot of new characters, which in and of itself is not a bad thing, but even at a page count over 400 pgs, characterization seems to have been sacrificed along the way. Stryver, Eldon Ax, Shigar, Master Saetle, Larin Moxla, Ula, Master Howl, Master Chatris, and Lema Xandret are names you will run across a lot if you read the story. Their stories weave in and out with nice cliff hangers, but for some reason, there's just not a lot to "connect" to as a reader. There's this huge conflict with pretty sweet new, dangerous technology that gets literally swept away in the end.

Of the recent Star Wars books, this one by far is the best, but the competition has been sadly lacking of late. I still enjoyed the read, though for me, there wasn't enough of a tie-in to the KOTOR games. This book is a teaser for the new The Old Republic game, but aside from name dropping the Treaty of Coruscant about 10 times, there's nothing to really tease us with.

Conclusion: It's a worthwhile read that will hopefully mean more as time passes and the Old Republic game releases. It's certainly set up for sequels. The author does a decent job with dialogue. (There were only a few times that I cringed at how cliche the lines sounded.) If you love Star Wars books, go for it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A pretty pointless plot, November 25, 2010

By 

Enjolras (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (Hardcover)

I really liked the idea of a series of Star Wars novels set in the Old Republic. Unfortunately, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance just wasn't satisfying. The plot is basically that the Jedi and Sith need to join forces to defeat a bunch of spider-droids. Almost the entire book is filled with battle scenes, with the Jedi and Sith - and a Mandalorian - slashing and shooting their way against the droids. There were a few more plot twists that just made it all seem even more ridiculous - but I won't spoil the ending. It frankly all seems a bit silly, even for a Star Wars novel.

There are some interesting characters in Fatal Alliance, such as Jet Nebula and Ula Vii, but so much of the book is taken up with tiresome action scenes rather than character development. Instead, the Sith Darth Chratis and Eldon Ax sound like a bunch of mindless propaganda machines. I had to wince several times when they spoke just at the sheer inanity of the dialogue. Chratis seemed particularly dull-witted at times - not a trait I'd normally associate with Sith Lord.

The end of Fatal Alliance does leave room for a sequel, so I hope other authors take the interesting characters from this book and develop them further. For now, all I can say is that the next book in the series, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived, looks to be a lot more exciting.