Customer Reviews

Wild Space (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy this book, despite my attempts at doing so.

I know there's a lot of griping from other reviewers about "no action," and "no fight scenes." It's true. There isn't. Is this a diversion from the normal Star Wars EU fare? Yes, it is. Does that make this a bad book. Certainly not. I was rather excited at the idea of getting a very character-based center for this book. I don't mind reading conversations between characters and getting their emotional insights. I do, however, mind when an author misses the characterization of characters so completely as Miller does here.

Let's start with the obvious: Obi-Wan Kenobi. I like Obi-Wan. In fact, I love Obi-Wan. He's a fan favorite and for good reason. He's calm and collected, he's genteel, has a wry sense of humor and a graciousness that is what many of us see as "the" Jedi way. He cares about Anakin, of course, but he's always done his duty as a Jedi. Miller's Obi-Wan is just simply un-likable. He is constantly "angry" and provoked to rash, abrupt, and simply non-diplomatic responses. He argues with Anakin, he argues with Padme, he argues with Bail Organa (a LOT) - and he does it in a rather annoying fashion. When did Obi-Wan start carrying a grudge for anybody that wasn't a Jedi? Is he REALLY getting bent out of shape about someone "intruding" on his "private" meditations? I mean, these are actions that are just not in Obi-Wan's character. I like the idea here - Bail Organa and Obi-Wan not necessarily seeing eye-to-eye on things but coming through a difficult situation with grudging respect and even some fondness for each other. I just don't understand why Obi-Wan had to be made into such an ass to accomplish this.

We also start immediately following Geonosis. Anakin and Obi-Wan are both gravely injured and take some time to heal from this - both physically and emotionally. I love this. They both took a huge blow in more than one sense. Obi-Wan is disappointed in Anakin's actions, Anakin is reeling in pain and frustration - it's great. I liked seeing Jedi that were left hurting, confused, and in need of recuperation.

I did NOT like seeing Obi-Wan constantly hurt. He recovers from Geonosis then gets himself blown up and almost killed. Then he runs off to a planet that plays mind games with him - causing him to have terrible headaches, react violently (he almost kills himself and Bail more than one time), he collapses in fatigue and pain, he bleeds from the eyes and nose - it's just ridiculous. He's an angry invalid for most of the book. This is not Obi-Wan and it's not what I want to spend 300+ pages reading.

Padme is supposed to be a pillar of civic responsibility and duty - a testament to personal sacrifice for the better of the people. Here we see her swearing nobody can keep her apart from Anakin - she seems almost violently selfish of her relationship with him. She resents the Jedi, their devotion to duty, and their belief system. Where is the Padme who respects the Jedi's defense of the Republic? Where is her love of her government and her own pride in responsibility? Where is the belief that she and other loyalists can make things better? It's not here - here we have Anakin and Padme acting like they're staring in a romance novel - with lovey-dovey dialogue that made me cringe to read and a selfish self-involved attitude that made me hate their relationship.

All of the characterizations are off (though none as blatantly insulting as that of Obi-Wan). Yoda is a snippy, stingy, control-freak who shows almost no compassion for anyone at any point in the novel. Padme is a selfish, love-sick puppy who snaps and barks at anybody who disagrees with her (including Anakin). Ahsoka is hardly in the novel and while she's not my favorite character ever, I'm curious if Miller has even SEEN any of the media with Ahsoka in it. Anakin's Padawan is supposed to be spunky, smart, and capable. The Ahsoka in this novel spends all her time internally wishing and begging for Anakin's approval, running errands like some personal assistant, and cringing anytime Anakin gives her instruction. There's no banter between the two, there's no relationship there.

Bail Organa - while very briefly seen on film - never struck me as a brash, hard-liquor-drinking, arrogant, gullible jerk and that's certainly the way he comes off here. The "information" he receives about the Sith plot is so ridiculously vague and he accepts it on such blind trust that I was amazed he hadn't been assassinated earlier. He goes on a quest with Obi-Wan and is so cavalier about it, I half expected him to walk out of the ship's cabin with spurs and a cowboy hat, a shot of whiskey in his hand, and a six-shooter strapped to his leg. He's reckless and foolish, he provokes arguments, he responds argumentatively - where's the diplomacy here? I mean, this guy is a Senator and he's tossing around insults and rash statements like he's Han Solo or something. He should be smooth and polished - calm in a verbal argument and able to dissolve tension, not adding to it.

And, on a much nit-pickier level: has Miller even familiarized herself with the terminology (and time-line) established in Star Wars novels? It really threw my enjoyment off to see elevators - dubbed "turbolifts" in all other EU works - called "swift-tubes" here. "Glowrods" are being termed "night-sticks," and the obvious breach of continuity - the timing of Anakin's Knighthood. These are things I probably could have overlooked, had it not been for the truly insulting characterizations.

I appreciate the effort here - a character-driven story that sacrifices action for more in-depth, emotional focus is not a bad idea. But the execution in "Wild Space" is just appalling. Anything that has me feeling a dislike of Obi-Wan (and every character here, come to think of it) is just not good Star Wars fiction.

George Lucas has shown he's quite simply not interested in that in the films, so books like this are all we have.

We already know how the Clone War itself and characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa meet their ends. So a Star Wars author runs the risk of just "playing with a lot of action figures," unless he or she descends deeper into the characterizations than Lucas ever allowed himself to go. This, Karen Miller does, and I care more about that than I do whether the time line is exactly right or not.

I don't watch the new Clone Wars series--I find the animation to be quite ugly, especially compared to the 2003 shows. Nor have I read all the SW books, although I have read many of them. Perhaps these things explain why this book made a bigger hit with me than it has with some other readers here.

It is, as others have observed, a story about how Kenobi and Organa come to know and grow fond of each other. Since, one day, Obi-Wan is going to be trusting Bail with the very life of one of the last hopes of the Jedi (Princess Leia Organa)...that ain't nothin'.

True, the title of this book is regrettable, and so is the cover, since neither gives a good impression of Miller's work within. But that work is worth reading on its own merits. Only if you're expecting the high-tech tone and hyperactive pace of the picture shows, are you likely to be disappointed.

Other reviews have mentioned the clone on the cover is irrelevant to the contents of the novel, which is true. However, regardless of what you expected to read, this is a well-written, different, interesting, emotional, and funny (sometimes) novel.

The in-depth descriptions of author Miller are excellent; they allow the reader to sympathize with the books protagonists, and immerse his or herself in the events of the book. There is almost no action to mention in the book - but that's not the point of this book.

It's a short read, a good read. It's different, but allows for an intimate look at the beloved Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a more personal acquaintance to Bail Organa.

It may not be for readers who like Star Wars books for the lightsaber play and action sequences, but this is an INTELLIGENT novel for the thinker.

I read all the Star Wars books. I can't understand why an author would not think it's a big deal to change the story's time line. Anakin does not become a Jedi Knight until six months before he becomes Darth Vader. It isn't until after the battle at Praesitlyn, as written in Jedi Trial, that he receives his knighthood and Obi-wan becomes a Jedi Master. Being as many Star Wars novels and graphic novels have been written on this same timeline, I can't imagine why the new Clone Wars series and books feel it okay to change this fact. On page 41 of Wild Space, Miller writes that only 7 weeks have passed since Geonosis and not quite 3 since Anakin became a Knight. If you are an avid reader of Star Wars literature, you know this changes a whole lot.Since the other reviews have basically covered its other weak spots, I'll just leave it at this.

The first third of this book was actually very good. However, once Obi-Wan and Bail Organa set out to discover the mysterious Sith world in "wild space," things take a turn for the worst. Bail and Obi-Wan start arguing...and continue for about 150 pages! This isn't just your run-of-the-mill "I disagree with you but still respect you," kind of tension. On the contrary, it's the "you forgot to put the seat down on the `fresher" bickering that one would expect to witness in a couples counseling episode of Dr. Phil! Seriously, I wish the book had lived up to the promise of its first hundred pages...unfortunately that's not the case.

Part of the problem with WILD SPACE is the simple fact that Miller spends the better part of 200 pages (half the novel) with ObiWan and Bail simply walking and talking on the surface of Zigoola, having the same argument in a dozen different variations. The intent would be to cement these two characters in their arguments: ObiWan is a faithful Jedi and remains faithful to his view of "defending" the Republic while Bail is a faithful servant/politician and remains faithful to his view of "representing" the Republic. I found my inner voice screaming, "OK, I get it," after the third argument, but this goes on for far, far too long in a galaxy far, far away. It's a creative choice on the part of the author -- one I believe was a bad choice -- that ends up padding the novel with about 100 pages of unnecessary dialogue.

The result of the above, however, has an upside: WILD SPACE goes a long way toward "reconciling" some of the inaccuracies between events depicted during the timeframe of ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH up to the world of STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE when the young Princess Leia says -- via hologram -- "ObiWan, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars ..." Fans took minor issue with that given the fact that ObiWan served the Republic in a military capacity just as Bail Organa served the Republic as a politician. Technically, ObiWan never "served" under Bail Organa, but WILD SPACE creates a mission that necessitates the cooperation of the faithful Jedi and the popular politician. As these two men discover, they have more in common than they ever had in contrast, and where Miller ends the debate between these two men -- once the Sith Temple is dealt with and they're attempting to contact the Republic for help -- another author could've made great mileage building upon their dialogues toward a mutual understanding -- a necessary friendship -- for survival. Again, it's a creative choice -- one that most likely may have paid off in greater rewards than dirth of debate leading up to the conclusion -- but that's probably still available stomping ground for a follow-up novel.

It's a good read -- one that could've been much better -- but I wouldn't call it a great read. WILD SPACE blazes no new frontiers in the STAR WARS universe as one might suspect given the title, but it's an acceptable diversion given the fact that the big screen STAR WARS adventures appear to have come to an end and the transition to the small screen has begun.

So Obi-Wan Kenobi and Senator Organa are some of the most tolerant well spoken people in the star wars universe.
Well not in this book!
They act like spoiled children who moan and whine at each other.
Obi-Wan Kenobi makes wild generalisations about Organa simply because of his job.
And Organa is a whiney helpless character here.

Also the story is so boring you'll want to throw it out the window.
Still, it'll make it's money cause its star wars, but look for excitement elsewhere.

As a fan of the Clone Wars animated series, I was eager to get my hands on this tie-in.

I've read almost all of the Star Wars novels and while the quality ranges from sheer brilliance to pointless pretension, I've never actually hated any of them.

Until now.

Since it is billed as a Clone War novel and even has clones of the cover, I assumed clones would feature prominently in the story. Instead, they are used more as set dressing--and rather sparingly at that.

The narrative focuses on Anakin Skywalker. But just as I started getting really interested Anakin's story, the author switched horses in mid-stream and began focusing on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The main plot is as follows: Senator Bail Organa learns of a mysterious threat to the Jedi and enlists Master Kenobi to aid in tracking it down. While it is a pretty standard Star Wars plot, it took over 100 pages of meandering to even get to the plot started.

The book culminates with Organa and Kenobi traversing a remote Sith planet. It is a brutal ordeal--especially for the reader. It took me a week to slog through seventy pages of repetitive descriptions of physical and mental agony. I realise it was all to illustrate how horrible it is to be consumed by darkness and cut off from the Force, but it left me feeling sick and, even worse, bored. I kept reading, hoping that there would be a big payoff at the end, but alas, there wasn't.

The real reason why I am so disappointed in this book is that it had such great promise. The author was able to really "get inside" the characters' heads as it were. To be brutally honest, Star Wars isn't big on character development. Kenobi, Padme, Bail Organa, Yoda--they all seem rather one-dimensional. Karen Miller was able to bring them heartbreakingly to life, giving them real emotions. Sadly, she ended up pointless torturing the very characters she made me care about.

*Probably contains a lot of spoilers*
I typically avoid spoilers, but I want to prove you can sum up the entire plot in one paragraph.

Plot: Obi-wan convalesces after Geonosis. Obi-wan nearly gets blown to tiny bits; he's back to log more time with the healers. Bail Organa learns of a deep dark dirty secret: the sith are back. Half the book later there's a short firefight on the way to this evil planet thing with the laughable name Zigoola. (Sounds like where evil teletubby lookalikes ought to dwell.) More meaningless conversations pass and they finally reach the planet itself. They crash and have to walk to the sith temple. Obi-wan fights his memories the whole time on the planet. They call for help. Padme swoops in to rescue them. Back to the temple for Obi-Wan; healer master's got her work cut out for her again.

The boring plot doesn't make this a bad or painful book. As other reviewers have mentioned, the dialogue sounds off in a lot of cases. Bail and Obi-Wan bicker like 3rd graders on a thirty-hour road trip. The conversations are repetitive. (It'll be dangerous. Yes, but we have to go. You stay here. No, you stay here. - on and on until you feel ready to smack them both.) Anakin and Ahsoka have cameos but that's about it.

The writing style is somewhat painful. Fragments abound.

Delving deep into the characters is a fine idea, but hit the characterization at least.

As has been pointed out, the book cover is misleading, as usual. The story is not about dastardly plots and business-end-of-blaster clone guerrilla fighting and nefarious double-dealing. It is about two well-known Star Wars characters, long overdue for a story about them as individuals.

Too long has the adult Obi-Wan been neglected as a person in his own right. He is too often tied to Anakin at the hip or in the mind to Qui-Gon's memory or spirit; standing in the shadow of their brilliance and darkness. Here, in the trial that the mission to Zigoola turns out to be, Obi-Wan shows what made him 'great'. His own personal strength sees him through the terrible slog across Zigoola and his own goodness of spirit turns what was a weakness for Anakin into a strength. The Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Republic general and master of the Chosen One, is fleshed out, reduced from a legend to a man who does indeed suffer and bleed.

The author has fun with Senator and Prince of the doomed Alderaan Bail Organa. Even more of a cipher, the author unveils the characteristics his adopted daughter would inherit - stubbornness, steadfastness, devotion to family, friends and the Republic. A man of deep compassion and honesty, yet a skilled politician, he easily outmaneuvers the famed "Negotiator" in getting what he wants. The mission succeeds in shocking the politician into an awareness of the cost the Jedi have paid in the Clone Wars and how unprepared he is in dealing with true suffering and with the specter of the Sith.

All in all, a good, easy read. A delight to see the two men start what was to become a lifelong friendship, leading to the final invitation years later, spoken by a lady who comes calling...

Technically, the book has continuity issues with the rest of the canon and with some minor physical moments of disbelief and the unfortunate addition of well-known characters for no good reason, but they are easily overlooked.

A very welcome addition to the Clone Wars saga and I hope for some more along the same lines.