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"Wild Space was, for me, a strange experience. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked it up – would it simply deal with the storyline that existed in the animated TV series? I was gratified to see that the answer was no and that this is a separate stand-alone story that manages to subtly integrate itself into the series.
"This book provided an interesting dichotomy. The first half of the book I hated. The second half I enjoyed a bit more. The first section of the book, which deals with all of the plot before Obi-Wan and Senator Organa leave on their mission, I found so jarring that I can’t actually remember much of what occurred. I simply remember that there were so many instances when I thought that the characterisations were so startling inconsistent with what I expected. In particular I remember thinking that Mace Windu said and thought a lot of things that made me think: “but Mace Windu wouldn’t say that.” That could just be me and my perception, or perhaps Karen Miller’s writing style and I don’t quite get along, but whatever the reason, I found that first part of the book uncomfortable reading.
"The second part of the book dealt almost exclusively with Obi-Wan and Bail as they journey to a Sith planet. I found this part of the book infinitely more interesting. Here we see the relationship between the two grow immensely as they share experiences and hardship. The mutual respect that grows from their time together is handled well and almost overrode my negative opinion of the opening. I did, however, begin to feel that as their time on the Sith planet progressed that Miller fell into a rut and that the story began to get repetitive. This was probably intentional and allows you to empathise more with the plight of Obi-Wan, and is only a very minor gripe, but I did reach a point where I thought that enough was enough and the plot needed to move forwards.
"Overall I have mixed feelings about his book. I would say that a lot of my issues with the book probably arise from the writing style, which is quite a personal problem and shouldn’t label this as a bad novel in any way. However, despite the deep interest I had in the second half of the story, I cannot shake the feeling that the first part was handled badly. I might conceivably give the first half only 1 star and the second 3, so I shall give it the benefit of the doubt and give it an overall 2½."

"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."