How would you rank the Clone Wars novels?

For someone who hasn't read any of them, which would you reccomend (Or, not reccomend )?

 

1. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (5+)
2. Revenge of the Sith (5+)
3. Shatterpoint (5+)
4. The Cestus Deception (5/5)
5. Republic Commando: Hard Contact (5/5)
6. Labyrinth of Evil (4/5)
7. Medstar I: Battle Surgeons (3.5/5)
8. Medstar II: Jedi Healer (3/5)
9. Attack of the Clones (2.5/5)
10. Jedi Trial (1/5)

But that's just me. Of course, since it is, that's saying something.

 

I agree with Esplin, except I'd put Shatterpoint above Dark Rendezvous and I can't rank Revenge or Labyrinth yet, because I haven't read them.

 

Shatterpoint is definetly the best Clone Wars novel I have read, second best is Jedi Trial.

Good Stuff

 

1. Revenge of the Sith (5+)
2. Shatterpoint (5+)
3. Republic Commando: Hard Contact (5/5)
4. The Cestus Deception (4/5)
5. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (4/5)
6. Medstar I: Battle Surgeons (3.5/5)
7. Medstar II: Jedi Healer (3/5)
8. Labyrinth of Evil (2.5/5)
9. Jedi Trial (1/5)

I didn't read AotC.

 

Is Dark Rendezvous any good? I'm about a third of the way through, but find myself dissinterested by all the new characters. I wanted Yoda!

 

1. Shatterpoint
(Revenge of the Sith)
(Labyrinth of Evil)
(Republic Commando: Hard Contact)
2. Medstar I: Battle Surgeons and Medstar II: Jedi Healer
3. YODA: DARK RENDEZVOUS
4. The Cestus Deception
5. Jedi Trial

*books in parentheses are not technically Clone Wars Novels due to the lack of the "A Clone Wars Novel" subtitle

 

Guy, you always were a stickler for details.

 

1). Shatterpoint.

2). MedStar 1: Battle Surgeons.

3). Republic Commando: Hard Contact.

4). Jedi Trial.

5). Medstar 2: Jedi Healer.

6). The Cestus Deception.

---

7). [i]Labyrinth of Evil[/i].

8). [i]Yoda: Dark Rendezvous[/i].

Everything above the line I could find enjoyment, everything below the line is trash.

 

Hands... not... clean...

 

1. Revenge of the Sith
2. Labyrinth of Evil
3. Yoda: DR
4. Republic Commando
5. Medstar 2
6. Medstar 1
7. Attack of the Clones
8. Shatterpoint
9. The Cestus Deception
10. Jedi Trial

 

Santa Claus co-wrote Jedi Trial.

[image=http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/authphoto_110/28101_sherman_david.gif]

Hope that helps.

 

Shatterpoint: arrogant prose, Matrix action, appeals to kick-thumping teenragers

Hard Contact: mature prose, emotionally developed, light on action, flat finale, but overall commendable

Jedi Trial: would have even a Sith phantom peeing in shock

Dark Rendezvous: genuine slushpile writing, ridiculous plot, childish prosed

Labyrinth: endless lists of names slowing the pace, prosed such that they go through the motions, but you're not inside anyone's head really

Medstars: actionless boredom in favour of passive intrigue

 

At least LOE actually had the Clone War feel like a galactic scale conflict.

 

Excellence, why do you hate Star Wars?

 

"At least LOE actually had the Clone War feel like a galactic scale conflict."

I disagree. Jedi Trial felt galactic do the size of it's conflict. Labyrinth of Evil is mainly Anakin and Obi-Wan screwing around the galaxy.

 

In my EUC Survivor: Season 3 which recently ended here are the top 5 prequels (voted for by members of TF.N, this isnt just my opinion)

#1: Republic Commando: Hard Contact
#2: Shatterpoint
#3: Labrynth of Evil
#4: Revenge of the Sith
#5: Yoda: Dark Rendevout

EDIT: Excellence posted after this without making some confusing post with big words about how YR was voted 5th best clone wars book?!

-The Scummy-

 

How does positive feedback to the quality of books makes one anti-SW, Rogue Ten? You've lost me there.

 

Excellence, what did you not like about Shatterpoint? Could you go into detail or something?

(out of 4 stars)

1) Shatterpoint (4 stars)
2) Dark Rendezvous (3.5 stars)
3) Republic Commando: Hard Contact (3 stars)
4) Medstar 1: Battle Surgeons (3 stars)
5) Labyrinth of Evil (2.5 stars)
6) Medstar II: Jedi Healer (2.5 stars)
7) The Cestus Deception (1.5 stars)
8) Jedi Trial (1 star)

I read all the EU Clone Wars stuff in Star Wars order to prep myself for the movie and, in the end, wasn't very fulfilled. You honeslty don't have to read Jedi Trial, Cestus Deception, or the second Medstar. Shatterpoint is amazing in so many ways, mainly due to Stover's writing. Dark Rendezvous follows the relationship between Yoda and Dooku before and during the Clone Wars. Unfortunately, the majority of the time it follows four other Jedi from the Temple, but I guess it's kinda difficult to have an entire novel dedicated to Yoda. Republic Commando is completely EU character wise but pulls it off really well. The ending is a little "meah" but it's the best writing that goes into the clonetroopers' minds. I felt that Medstar 1 wasn't very Star Wars-ish at all, at least not what we've seen before. It's very discussion oriented and has a very stressful and somber feel about war from many different views on a planet that both sides want control of. On the others, they just didn't seem like amazing reads. Labyrinth of Evil is really just to set up Episode 3, nothing really memorable in it, but the Battle of Coruscant is pretty cool (it heavily contradicts the Clone Wars cartoon show if you care). Medstar 2 was just really difficult for me to get into because I kinda liked the unresolved ending of the first one. It would have been unsettling to have Medstar 1 not have a sequel, but a "good kind of unsettling." A lot of people like Cestus Deception, but it was just very difficult to grasp the political agenda, the crisis at hand, and the Jedi's plan to round up natives. However, the clonetrooper chapters were the best part. Jedi Trial was just awful writing. I think if some different author(s) were hired this story could have been a lot more memorable and rewarding, especially since it's "about" Anakin.

So, if you wanna read them, just read them all, regardless of what anyone says. But if you don't wanna waste time, it seems like most people found Shatterpoint, Dark Rendezvous, and Republic Commando: Hard Contact the most rewarding reads, which they certainly are.

 

I am not Excellence but I will tell you what I did not like about Shatterpoint, it made Mace out to be a swelled headed punk who thought he was better then everyone, and while he may be some big-bad Jedi master he is far from infallible, this portrayal I think is good for Mace, it is Mace, Stover did a good job on that, but Mace just isnt a good character for a book, also, it is just mindless action half the time, no interesting plot, and the book to be frank is MUCH TOO LONG. Despite the extreme amounts of action it is boring.

Well, those are my opinions

-The Scummy-

 

1. Revenge of the Sith
2. Shatterpoint
3. Labyrinth of Evil
4. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
5. Republic Commando: Hard Contact
6. Medstar I: Battle Surgeons
7. Medstar II: Jedi Healer
8. The Cestus Deception
9. Attack of the Clones
10. Jedi Trial

Notice a trend in the top two...? (As in, Stover=quality)

 

1. Rebublic Commando: Hard Contact was a great book. Traviss did a great job making the clones likable. Made me really disappointed in RotS.

2. Shatterpoint was almost as great. Excellent look inside Mace's head and at war.

3. Revenge of the Sith. An actual novelization rather than an extended script in novel form. Great characters and duels. But it lacked in the large battles area.

4. Labyrinth of Evil. Facts, facts, facts. Luceno loves to cram information into his books. I loved it. But then again I love facts much more than most. Characters were pretty much spot on too.

5. Dark Rendezvous. Don't listen to Ex. He is anti-fun. Yoda was like he was in ESB rather than the PT. LOL segments involving Yoda and droids. And some very HK-47-like butler droids.

6. Medstar I: Battle Surgeons. Great writing if you can get past the "Martial Artist of Evil" BS the authors throw at you. Interesting original characters and Black Sun make it much better than it should have been. Not to mention the return of I5.

7. Jedi Trial. This book was hard to place. When it is bad it really sucks. But the good characterization of Anakin and the well done ground battles make it worth reading.

8. Medstar II: Jedi Healer. I didn't place this one with the first for 2 reasons. 1. The 2 OCs I found most interesting died in the first book. 2. It drags a bit and you want to get back to the front lines rather than stay in a rimsoo for a second book.

9. Cestus Deception. Full of bug politics and long stretches of boring. A decent job with one of the ARCs saves it from the bottom spot.

10. Attack of the Clones. You may as well have handed me a script of the movie, because that is basically what this is.

 

1. Yoda: DR I felt the new characters were interesting and likeable. The two padwans and Jedi Masters. Gave more depth to the relationship between Yoda and Dooku.
2. Medstar I and II. Barriss Offee was my favorite part of these books and how she interacts with all the surrounding characters. Plus that Sullust reporter was well written too.
3. Republic Commando: Hard Contact, Showing the Clones as something other than just walkin zombies with blasters was cool.

 

I've just realised: I've never reviewed Shatterpoint!

With a thousand words and suitable enticement from The Sith Lords, I'll soon have that fixed.

 

Don't bother. You've made your criticisms (however hopelessly flawed they may be ) perfectly clear.