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| Triple Zero |
| BOOK STORY |
| Karen Traviss |
| Del Rey [US]; Orbit
Books [UK] |
Story published as:
Paperback Novel (2006) |
| Average review
score: 5 / 5 |
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Synopsis:
TERRORISM ON CORUSCANT
A year after the battle of Geonosis. As the Clone Wars
casualties mount, the commandos find themselves deployed
on increasingly dangerous missions that take them beyond
the battlefield and further into sabotage and
intelligence operations in the heart of Separatist
territory. Newly-promoted Jedi Generals Etain Tur-Mukan
and Bardan Jusik are also catapulted into front line
combat roles and find themselves identifying strongly
with the clone soldiers under their command, who turn
out to be anything but predictable cannon fodder.
Omega Squad survives a close brush with disaster to end
up in the most potentially dangerous hot spot in the
galaxy - pursuing a Separatist terror group in the
skylanes and underworld of Coruscant itself, known as
Triple Zero in the Grand Army's slang because its
galactic chart co-ordinates are 000. And, as any soldier
knows, urban operations on your own turf can be the most
deadly of all. So it's just as well that Omega Squad
find themselves working with Delta Squad, and teamed up
again with Etain and Jusik - as well as their legendary
training sergeant Kal Skirata, and his secret military
intelligence unit of "Null" ARC troopers, the
black ops team that even the Kaminoans thought were too
dangerous to unleash. It's a critical mission unlike
anything any of them have ever tackled - and it tests
their friendship and courage to the limit.
This book contains the short story Omega
Squad: Targets.
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Chronology:
This story occurs 12 months after the Battle of Geonosis,
approximately 21 years before the Battle of Yavin. |
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Related Stories
(in chronological order):
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"Triple
Zero is the second book of Karen Traviss's Republic Commando
series, which is an extension of the 2004 video game of the same
name. The cast of characters in this sequel is greatly expanded from
the first work, Hard Contact. Not
only do we return to Omega Squad and recently knighted Jedi Etain,
but we also see Delta Squad first direct appearance in the novel
series. Delta Squad is the set of four protagonists of the Republic
Commando video game. We are also introduced to Kal Skirata and Walon
Vau, two Mandalorian mercenaries who were charged with training some
of the elite forces of the clone army. Another new set of characters
are the Null ARC troopers, who were initially rejected by the
Kaminoans as unacceptable but saved from termination.
"The mission of this novel is an anti-terrorist covert
operation. Kal Skirata leads the Omega and Delta Squads, the Null
ARC Troopers, and two Jedi Knights in the extensive black ops
mission. It is a longer, more involved story than Hard
Contact with an interesting mix of personalities. It can be
challenging at times keeping track of all the characters (the list
of characters in the beginning of the book is useful in this
regard!). There are sixteen significant characters in this story,
yet Traviss does a good job keeping the story moving along smoothly
without overwhelming the reader. The terrorist plot line is
believable, at least for one without direct experience in covert
military missions like me!
"This book also does a nice job of growing the characters, both
from the first book and also within the duration of the current
plot. It would have been easy to have the clone troopers become
caricatures: the angry one, the jokester, the serious one, etc.
While certain personality traits predominate each clone trooper, you
are introduced to other emotions and attitudes that add a different
dimension. This can be anticipated since this is their first
assignment among civilians leading a "normal" life. Like
the first book, Triple Zero touches on moral questions and
dilemmas that apply to the real world we live in. I loved Hard
Contact, and I would rate Triple Zero as the same, if not
better than the first book."
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