Cloak of Deception (SPOILERS!)

I have not read Cloak of Deception as it has not come out in the UK yet. Tel me, are Yoda and Mace Windu in it a lot? They are my favourite Jedi Masters. Also are there any hints to link Palpatine with Darth Sidious as there was in Darth Maul: shadow hunter.

One more thing, what is Jorus C'baoth like. Is he cooler than his clone in the Thrawn books? Do you think he suspects that Palpatine is Darth Sidious

 

I have not read Cloak of Deception as it has not come out in the UK yet. Tel me, are Yoda and Mace Windu in it a lot? They are my favourite Jedi Masters. Also are there any hints to link Palpatine with Darth Sidious as there was in Darth Maul: shadow hunter.

One more thing, what is Jorus C'baoth like. Is he cooler than his clone in the Thrawn books? Do you think he suspects that Palpatine is Darth Sidious

 

Yes to Mace and Yoda, yes there are some hints that Sidious and Palpy are the same. Just as you get some hints in The Phantom Menace novel...

Jorus isn't in the book enough to make an appraisal of how "cool" he is. He appears briefly for one scene on one or two pages.

 

What hints are there in Cloak od Deception to say that Palpatine is Darth Sidious?

What does Jorus C'baoth do in Cloak of Deception?

Are Yoda and Mace more involved in the story instead of just sitting on their backsides having meetings with the rest of the Jedi Council?

 

Jorus appears in one scene and exchanges a couple words with the principals. As I said, he doesn't really do anything. He's a walk-on character.

Mace and Yoda are mostly in Jedi Council and similar scenes. In other words, they don't get involved in off-world missions like Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Adi Gallia, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Vegere, and others do. But CoD has a fair number of scenes that show the Jedi meeting on Coruscant for one reason or another.

As for evidence that Sidious and Palpatine are one and the same...Palpatine's and Sidious's plotting leads to much the same conclusion by the end of the novel. They are both clearly playing the political game with people who are opposed to one another. Palpatine treats with Valorum and his political enemies, while setting up charges of false corruption against Valorum. Sidious makes an alliance with the Trade Federation while supplying their foes, the Nebula Front. The end result is to destroy the Nebula Front, put Sidious's patsies in charge of the Trade Federation, make Valorum successful enough (he gets a bill passed to tax the trade routes) to set the stage for a confrontation (Naboo) while making him too weak politically (because of false charges of corruption) to resolve the conflict.

 

Just finished it today. Loved it. The political intrigue was really good as was the action.

I loved Palpatine playing all sides against the middle.

I love the way the events lead up to the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo and the way it and Shadow Hunter close all the loose ends up to allow for the plot to continue.

It was good to see C'Baoth even for only one scene.

It was good to get to worlds that hadn't been mentioned in a while.

It was good to see Tarkin as a young Lt. Governor on Eriadu.

It was good to see Amidala at the end.

It was good to see the High Council's annoyance at Qui-Gon.

All in all, it was a great book.

 

In Cloak of Deception, do you get the impression that Palpatine was responsible for the downfall of veruna? I have always wondered how this happened.

Do you reckon it was through Palpatine's designs that Amidala was elected queen of Naboo so Palpatine could have more control than he did when Veruna was king.

Do you think that Papatine was responsible for Veruna's death and if so did he send Darth Maul to kill Veruna

By the way is Darth Maul in Cloak of Deception. I have a friend who would really like to know.

 

I've wondered about Veruna's downfall too. I wouldn't be surprised if Palpatine was behind it--and Veruna's death.

He is surprised at Queen Amidala--he expected someone less bold. I figured he had supported her, thinking he could manipulate her more than veruna.

Or she did pretty much what he wanted her to do--since at the end of TPM, his plans had more or less worked. (I still don't think Maul's death was part of the plan.)

 

I've been under the impression that Palpatine also was behind Veruna's downfall, and Amidala's election.

"Queen Amidala is young and naive"

Surely he felt that he would be able to control her a more easily than Veruna.

btw, Maul does not make an appearance, nor is he mentioned in the book.

 

"In Cloak of Deception, do you get the impression that Palpatine was responsible for the downfall of veruna?"

It's not told just like that, but that's definitely the impression Luceno gives.

When talking to another Senator about the abdication, Palpatine expresses his (fake) hope for someone who is completely different from what we know of Amidala. It's quite funny. Toward the end, Palpatine betrays the new Queen openly for the readers. She tells him to take the decision on how to cast Naboo's vote on the taxation of trade routes laws as he knows better than her. She she will abide by his decision.

In the next chapter Palpatine announces to Valorum that, alas, he won't be able to support him openly because Queen Amidala is inexperienced and naive and has asked him to vote against Valorum's proposed laws. Palpatine offer to work behind the scenes with the other senators instead....

 

I enjoyed this book. Good writing, nice mulitlayered plot, good storytelling.

Some things I've taken away from the book:

"Star's End, you could hide an invasion force in here." Nice little Brian Daley easter egg.

Anyone concerned by the fact that there appears to be no such thing as the Republic Navy? There doesn't appear to be any kind of real military force. The only one's referred to are the Judicials. Even Valorum says something to that effect. "The Republic hasn't had a standing military in generations..." (pg 60) How is that going to affect some of the EU statements of people having served in the Navy for decades like the father's before them and such? I know there's been more than a few mentions.

Was it just me or was Luceno quoting directly from various Eastern writings for his Jedi sayings? The whole Qui Gon "face up to fact that you're going to get wet in a rainstorm" thing was straight from the "Way of the Samurai" wasn't it?

The only part of the book that I felt was disjointed was the expedition to Asmeru, the Nebula Front planet. Didn't really seem to serve a purpose. The reasons for going seemed murky, maybe a little contrived.

Regarding some people's statements regarding the lack of a real Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan relationship, I would counter that what we saw in the book was exactly the relationship alluded to in the movie. They don't seem to be real close. More like two guys who work together, one just has more seniority than the other.

I loved the set up with the scroll in the beginning. I'm convinced that all hardbacks should have that from now on.

There were so many great lines in this book. Luceno is great at little lines that sneak up on you with their double meaning and irony.

"Senator Palpatine is adept at dissembling his real nature. You scarcely realize how much damage he has already caused." That from Sidious. Genius.

CoD also added some much needed depth to the story behind Phantom.

I especially liked seeing Qui-Gon the Jedi rebel. He's a guy who does his own thing. He's everything I think Jedi should be, and Luceno captures him perfectly.

Did the Jedi seem a little toned down from what we normally expect? They seemed to have a little more trouble than normal with normal people.

 

And this novel firmly locks into continuity the exact timeframe surrounding the deposition of King Veruna of Naboo, his death, Queen Amidala's ascendancy to the throne, and the beginning of the corruption charges being brought against Valorum.

I know that these were somewhat nebulously-placed, with various sources not concretely settling the issue, but this hardcover does so rather conclusively.

 

No one is going to like this because no one ever likes to hear bad things about SW but...
I didn't really like CoD at all. It was a paltry defense of the paltry plot of TPM. It's true...hindsight is 20/20. Had any of these clever things in CoD been thought of in post production of TPM and had they been included, the movie would have been much better and this book would not have been needed at all. Instead, TPM was pushed through on visuals and eye candy and it got torn to shreds by many critical and disappointed fans.
Now you've got G.L. saying things in his own defense about being a visual, rather than a literary, film maker. So maybe TPM was meant to be a visual feast. That's all it was too.
So let's publish this book to explain the non-sense that happened in TPM. In fact, this is at least the 3rd such book. I haven't bought any prequel era books and don't plan to do so because I've managed to read them all anyway, and they aren't innovative. They've all been focused on defending TPM itself or the cult characters of TPM.
And before you start going off about how the other books around the Classic Trilogy aren't any different, remember that few of those are worth their salt either.
And also, if these movies are supposed to be visual stories, why do so many people derive meaning from them? (That's a rhetorical question by the way.)
So sit back and enjoy the fun, enjoy the pictures and the adventure, but don't try to tell me any of this has been terribly deep or clever. CoD was so convoluted as to be unbelievable. I guess it advances Palpatine's talents to be those of a god. I guess he just forgot how to foresee well though, since he didn't foresee Vader feeling sorry for his son. Nah, couldn't have seen that coming. Duh! Care for a family member? No way, no one does that, especially not Darth Vader, especially after sparing that family member once already.
But I rant.
Deal with it.

 

I see your point of veiw, but I don't agree. I loved TPM as it was, it was very complex. Maybe too much so that people didn't like it. Anyway, thats me.

 

I just cannot wait for Cloak of Decepttion! I read in a review of it on Amazon that some of the jedi council members go on the mission that is in Cloak of Deception. Could you tell me who they are. Also which Jedi Council member is it that you learn about how they got promoted to jedi council status?

 

What do you reckon Darth Maul was doing during Cloak of Deception?

If Jorus C'baoth was Palpatine's advisor in Cloak of deception, do you reckon he was able to sense that Palpatine was evil?

Do you reckon that it would be cool if Villie showed up in Cloak of Deception

 

Jorus wasn't functioning as Palpatine's advisor in Cloak. He appears only in a brief walk-on role in a scene outside the Jedi Council chambers, as I recall.

 

In CLOAK was Jorus C'baoth good friends with Mace Windu and Yoda. Was he a Jedi Master?

Do you reckon Jorus was pretty high up in the Jedi hierarchy?

 

This is the passage in which he appears (on page 151). The setting is a room adjacent to the Jedi Council chambers that contains a holomap of the galaxy. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are waiting to appear before the Council.

"Eriadu," Obi-Wan said, reading the graphic attached to [a spheroid that appeared in the holomap]. He looked questioningly at Qui-Gon.

"The site of the upcoming trade summit."

"Whose idea was that, Master?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Senator Palpatine," a baritone human voice said from behind them.

They turned to find Jorus C'boath watching them. An elder human Jedi Master, C'boath had a chiseled face, white hair as long as Qui-Gon's, and a beard three times as long.

"Palpatine represents Naboo," C'boath added.

"Just the world for Qui-Gon," another human Jedi said from farther along the walkway.

C'boath nodded. "More indigenous species in one square mile than you normally encounter on a hundred worlds." He smiled faintly. "I could easily see Master Qui-Gon losing himself there."

Before either Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan could respond, Adi Gallia entered the holomap room. "We're ready for you, Qui-Gon," she announced.

That's the the only appearance by C'boath in Cloak. As I recall, he isn't even mentioned later on.

 

Thanks Anakin Skysolo. That is not very much of Jorus C'baoth though. I think we should have more C'baoth. What does anyone else think?

 

Just finished CoD last night. Excellent read;once again Luceno gets his characters down pat, from the leads to the supporting characters. It was great watching Palpy's influence slowly grow and spread like a silent cancer. And the inclusion of Bail Antilles -- in a small but pivotal role -- helped solidfy my image of Jimmy Smits unknowingly doing Sidious' dirty work. Possibly a subtle Episode 2 foreshadowing ? Im curious, any thoughts on that ?

Overall a great read, Luceno has quickly become my fave EU writer since both Zahn and MAS are no longer on board. So, is it too early to nominate Mr. Luceno to write HC #5, the final chapter of the saga that is The New Jedi Order ?

 

I have to agree that Cloak of Deception is an excellent book. I was surprised to see how much action was in it. I thought there would be a lot less but I'm not complaining. I expected to see the political stuff and it definitely had a mystery feel to it. It was cool to see Jorus C'boath show up if only briefly. Definitely a great read.

 

Whatever happened to the thermal detonator attached to the shuttle of Cohl's shuttle? How did he get it off?

Why wasn't it mentioned before that so very little aurodium was worth so much? It said there was two billion credits worth, and I assumed that that much metal would weigh a few thousand kilos. Yet three people manage to carry it all away.

Any answers?

 

Aurum is Latin for gold. Aurodium is probably derived from that.

 

I got this book for as a gift, not sure if I would have picked it up otherwise, but anyhoo...

I was pleasently surprised. I really enjoyed Hero's Trial, but did not like Jedi's Eclipse, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really enjoyed this book.

It flowed well, nothing pulled me out of the story. Everything was woven so tight, and then at the very end the whole story just unraveled perfectly. I'll admit I wasn't even thinking that the Trade federations Reps were the target.

Qui Gon and Obi Wan tracking Cohl I think maybe it a very underrated part of the book. It is what made everything track properly. Also the mere fact that Cohl and his crew all end up dying brings that "real world feel" into the book without forcing it. The NJO could use some more of this kind of story telling.

I've purchased Rogue Planet, Shadow Hunter, and now i've got Cloak of Deception and I'll have to say that these three books have all been very entertaining, and worth the 30 bucks. I would say all the Prequel books have been above and beyond anything the NJO has put out so far. They have impressed me enough that I will buy the next one as soon as it come outs.

Good job Luceno! Can we have him write more Star Wars novels please?