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![[The Clone Wars]](images/banner.gif) |
| Events that occur between 22 years and
19 years before the Battle of Yavin. |
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| Republic Commando: Hard
Contact |
| PAPERBACK NOVEL (2004) |
| Karen Traviss |
| Del Rey |
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Synopsis:
RAID ON QIILURA
Not all clones are created equal. Meet the clone
commandos, elite troopers that operate in small squads,
taking on the toughest of assignments, and ensuring
victory for the Republic in the grueling Clone Wars.
These stone-cold soldiers go where no one else would, to
do what no one else could.
On a mission to sabotage a nanovirus research facility
on a Separatist-held planet, four clone troopers operate
under the very noses of their enemies. The commandos are
outnumbered and outgunned, deep behind enemy lines with
no backup and working with strangers instead of trusted
teammates. Matters don't improve when Darman, the
squad's demolitions expert, gets separated from the
others during planetfall. Even Darman's apparent good
luck in meeting the Jedi Padawan Etain Tur-Mukan
vanishes once Etain admits to her woeful inexperience.
For the separated clone commandos and stranded Jedi, a
long, dangerous journey lies ahead, through hostile
territory brimming with Trandoshan slavers, Separatists,
and suspicious natives. A single misstep could mean
discovery and death. It's a virtual suicide mission for
anyone... anyone except Republic Commandos. |
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Chronology:
This story occurs 3 months after the Battle of Geonosis,
approximately 22 years before the Battle of Yavin. |
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Related Stories
(in chronological order):
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| Story Reviews: |
| Review by RobB, USA, 2008: |
"Hard Contact is the first
book of Karen Traviss's Republic Commando series. This work is a
tie-in with the 2004 video game, Republic Commando. However,
you don't need to have played it to follow the story. A newly formed
squad (four soldiers) of Republic Commandos is formed and thrust
into their first mission since the inaugural Battle of Geonosis.
They must land on an agricultural planet dominated by the Trade
Federation and capture a Separatist scientist who is developing a
nanovirus capable of wiping out the entire clone army. Meanwhile a
young female padawan is separated from her Jedi Master, alone on a
hostile planet.
"What I really enjoyed about this book is seeing the Expanded
Universe through a clone trooper's eyes. These guys are not drones.
They have human emotions and intelligence, despite the conditioning
and genetic manipulation of the cloners. The Kaminoans seem more
malevolent than they were portrayed in Attack
of the Clones. You can see the commandos wrestling with their
first real (not simulated) experiences: coping with being the only
survivor of a squad, the complexities of dealing with civilians in a
war zone, being cut off from the rest of your squad, learning how to
rely on unfamiliar others for your survival. It is not difficult to
imagine that the challenges confronted in the book are timeless for
any soldier or warrior in our real world.
"Consider also that this book does not contain any of the main
characters of the Star Wars saga. There is no Obi-Wan, Anakin, Dooku,
Grevious or Palpatine. Even Nute Gunray is omitted from the story in
favor of a more local Neimodian. This is a good thing as it shows
the Expanded Universe is much larger than the story threads of these
epic characters. There is also a level of tension because you don't
know who, if anyone, will survive to the end of the book! This book
may not be for everyone. While there is plenty of action, the story
is one big chess match of the commandos against the Mandalorian
warrior Ghez Hokan who is in charge of the Separatist forces. I
thoroughly enjoyed it!" |
| Rating: 5
/ 5 |
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