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"Wild
Space is a story of discovery. The discovery of the limits of
one's own abilities, endurance and mettle. The discovery of Obi-Wan
Kenobi and Bail Organa's limits when they are thrown together in an
endeavour to discover the whereabouts of a hidden Sith planet.
Miller's dialogue between these two unlikely characters as they
discover those limits is what drives this story so successfully. In
this we also get a story of trust issues, Obi-Wan's blatant distrust
of politicians and Bail's mistrust of the Jedi Order's secrecy and
mystique, and it is pleasurable to watch as their mistrust of each
other's roles and positions gradually breaks down with each and
every danger they endure together.
"Wild Space is also a discussion of the merits of
attachments and why the Jedi ban all such attachments. As well as
Anakin's love attachment to Padmé, of which we get a wonderful
insight prior to their marriage in Attack
of the Clones when Yoda asks Obi-Wan to "warn" Padmé
off (which, of course, Padmé ignores); there is also Anakin's
attachment to R2-D2, especially when he "loses" R2 in an
important battle (a reference to The Clone Wars TV series). With
Bail as the "outsider", Miller takes this further in
examining Obi-Wan's apparent attachment for not just Anakin, but
also for his own master, Qui-Gon Jinn, as well as his attachment to
the Jedi Order itself, as Bail, unsure and unaware of the Jedi
Order's reasons for banning attachments, sees the multitude of
attachments Obi-Wan has and yet cannot understand Obi-Wan's
reasoning for supporting the Order's ban on attachments.
"For the first time in a Clone Wars story, we have a clear
insight to the events that occurred between the end of the Battle of
Geonosis and the end of Attack
of the Clones as the Jedi licked their wounds and the injured
began the process of recovery. Although Karen Traviss has covered
part of this in Hard Contact, she
focused solely on the clonetroopers. Miller's aspect is from the
surviving Jedi and Padmé's points of view and adds to the essential
character development during this important period that was missing
from Attack of the Clones.
"Miller adds some nice touches with references to previous
stories featuring Obi-Wan, particularly Jude Watson's Jedi
Apprentice and Jedi
Quest series, as well as a simple but effective examination of
Padmé's undying love for Anakin and why she could die of a broken
heart in Revenge of the Sith
- Obi-Wan asks of Padmé about Anakin: "could you forgive
yourself if loving you destroyed him?"; to wit Miller
writes: "'No. I'd die,' she said simply. And spoke the utter
truth." Miller handles the dual personality and role that
is Palpatine/Darth Sidious very well. His machinations of events in
this story, from conniving the terrorist attack on Coruscant to
further his political power; allowing Anakin an unbelievable victory
against a superior force to further Anakin's stature within both the
eyes of the public and those of the Jedi Order; to his primary task
of removing Obi-Wan and Bail by sending them to their deaths on a
Sith planet; are believable. His malice for the Jedi and their
supporters bubbles nicely below his exterior surface: "But
then I'm not a Jedi"; nicely contrasting with the
support he receives as Palpatine from Senator Organa and others:
"I don't know where we'd be without him" and "Palpatine
means well".
"One of the nicest touches in this Star Wars story, and a
sublime nod to A New Hope's
storytelling power, is that we have to wait until we are at least
two-thirds of the way into this story before a lightsaber is ignited
in battle, and then it is used only once. In too many stories
featuring Jedi, the use of their primary weapon is called upon too
early in the story - properly developing the story like Miller does
ensures that any Jedi Force-wielding their lightsaber in battle is
an event better appreciated.
"The only criticism of Miller's story is that it sets in motion
a continuity headache for Star Wars timelines by clearly indicating
that Anakin Skywalker was knighted just four weeks after the Battle
of Geonosis when other sources claimed it was more than 30 months
after the battle. However, in no serious way, should this distract
from Wild Space's story.
"Miller's intention was to expand Leia's line in A
New Hope: "General Kenobi, years ago you served my
father in the Clone Wars", and there is no doubt that she
has achieved that intention. Her skills for excellent storytelling
are clearly evident in Wild Space from beginning to end. Even
her use of sentence fragments, which can be a little jarring to
begin with but as a method of storytelling, works extremely well in Wild
Space. A must read story from a new author to our galaxy far,
far away."
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