The Official Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Glad to see this thread back no course. Don't know how it got side-tracked, and I don't want to know.

Anyway, anyone posted a DP?

 

DP:
Ahsoka
Anakin
Bail
Bant'ena Fhernan - Scientist
Lok Durd
Obi-Wan
Padme
Palpatine
Taria Damsin - Jedi Master
Yularen
Yoda

Barriss: Yes, Yularen just comes across as a befuddled grouch relying upon the Jedi for miliatry guildance and wisdom in the early going. Not a great portrayal. It makes the Jedi look really wise of course but Yularen doesn't seem to come up with very much on his own.

 

From Yularen's bio, he doesn't really have much military experience apart from a failed stint in sectorial forces, IIRC.
At least one name from the CWAS only stands out in the list - does Miller tie this with some of the episodes like she did with Wild Space?

 

Lok Durd? AWESOME! That hilariously-named, hilariously-obese, hilariously EVIL Nemoidian making a return is worth celebrating in MY book!
"Help! I'll be defoliated!"

 

Maybe this book is about the construction of the Defoliator.
Which means Anakin must have gotten a pretty bad head injury in "Jedi Crash".

Anakin: "Looks like the Seperatists have a new toy."
Ahsoka: "Um, MAster, don't you remember? We saw it being built on our last mission! It's a rocket that blows up everything except-
Anakin: "Wait, who are you again?"

 

So I got the thing today from Coles, and I started reading it, and I get to the bit where Obi-Wan is wondering whether or not it was a good idea to promote Anakin to Jedi Knight. This from the guy who was basically all alone in championing it. Score one against canon again.

 

Actually I take back some of my earlier critcism of Yularen. Post and during the battle of Kothlis he gets some great dialog. When he see's Gold Squadron launch he says "They stop my heart, you know," the admiral said softly. Suprisingly. "Everytime I see them they stop my heart."

Great little line. I also really liked the scene where Yularen scolds Obi-Wan and suggests that he is even more reckless with his own welfare than Anakin is. Another strong moment.

As for Obi-Wan thinking Anakin was knighted too soon, maybe it is a continuity issue. I don't know for certain, but the scene does revolve around Obi-Wan sensing a "taste for vengeance" in his former apprentice that brings on the thought. It's not just a random, out of the blue type moment. There's a reason he thinks it.

 

Is it just me, or is poor Yularen the Rodney Dangerfield of the GAR? Poor guy can't get any respect...other than that one sympathetic portrayal in Storm over Ryloth, but that's it.

 

I thought Miller's Obi-Wan was a little grumpy and impatient in Wild Space, but even with that, I'm actually pretty excited for this. How do you guys feel about general characterization so far (excepting Yularen)?

 

Alright. For all of my bitching about Wild Space I've decided to give KM another chance cause she's just so amiable and she actually addressed some of our Wild Space issues. So I picked it up today. Gosh it's thick. One thing even I can't complain about is Karen Miller's word count. So we shall see what we shall see.

 

Expecting mine to arrive tomorrow!

*Homer Simpson Dance of Impatient Impatience*

 

Another cool line:

"She(Shmi) used to say I'd be late for my own destiny." - Anakin

The inclusion of Kaliida Shoals is also one of many nice nods to the Series itself.

 

I was wondering, when/why was the release date for next book, Seige, changed from May to July? I didn't realize it had been changed until I looked it up on Amazon earlier today.

 

Rob, how big a role does the GAR play in this? Last Miller book was a little light on the Clones and the Fleet.

 

It's more GAR in the first bit (possibly not enough for you) and then down to more interpersonal-bits for the middle (good stuff though) and small-scale infiltration in the last third-ish.

 

Sounds good enough for me...I'll have to pick this up.

 

I'm reading this, and I saw that one of the Padawans was named Dorf. The name brings to mind those old comedy videos where Tim Conway played this guy named Dorf, who seemed to have very short legs with no knees.

 

I still have about half the book to go(I had to watch 20 hours of Olympic Hockey in the past 2 days ), but I'm not sure about the point of the Taria Damsin character at this point. She seems a tad unneeded for the overall plot.

 

I'm nearing the end of the book, and I'm trying to place this and the next one in the timeline. Obviously, it takes place after Defenders of Peace. Based on some of Anakin's and Obi-Wan's conversations, these two take place before the Slaves of the Republic comics because by the end of those comics, Obi-Wan came to understand Anakin's thoughts and feelings towards slavery.

 

I'm just starting. I'm like 10 pages in. I've seen all of the episodes of the show. At what point in the show are we on page 1?

 

I don't think there's a direct tie-in like there was in Wild Space. See my previous post and my question as to when this novel and the next one takes place.

 

It takes place after Defenders of Peace for sure, probably relatively shortly after as Anakin mentions still feeling his injuries from Maridun.

Interesting to see all the mention of actual human Seperatist forces, officers and the like.

I didn't really like the Magnaguards patroling the Seperatist Spaceport entrance, seems a bit out of place compared to their usual duties. If there does turn out to be something super secret to guard, well I doubt its at the entrance to the spaceport, viceversa if they are their to guard Lok Durd(which clearly they are not) that I could buy as well. Magnaguards just kinda randomly guarding a street entrance is a little strange.

Lok Durd is still fun, basically doing his same weapons researcher role from Defenders of Peace. It's also pretty chilling the way he brings Doctor Fhernan the pictures of her family just to drive home the point of "If you don't build me this weapon your family all dies".

 

I got no problem with this taking place after Defenders of Peace. But there's a site that's doing a good job with the Clone Wars timeline in light of the Wook's current inability to compose one. Here's the link to that site: Star Wars EU timeline. This is the point of one of my previous posts. Anakin practically blew up in Obi-Wan's face over his lack of sympathy and understanding towards Dr. Fhernan's predicament. From Anakin's POV, she's as much a slave as he was, and she deserved freedom, sympathy, and understanding. Not the contempt that Obi-Wan seemed to have, nor any of his considerations that killing her might be a possible solution - "Sacrificing the few to save the many". Anakin practically yelled at him that neither he nor Yoda would ever understand because they've never been slaves nor did they ever have families like he had. But by the end of Slaves of the Republic, Obi-Wan told Anakin that he had come to understand what being a slave was like and why Anakin harbored such animosity towards slavers and slavery. Now based on the timeline at the website, Slaves of the Republic takes place before Rookies. If that were true, then Anakin wouldn't have blown up as he did. In light of this, I'm wondering if the Slaves of the Republic should be moved to take place after the Gambit novels. Then again, Anakin could have been talking in the heat of the moment and forgot that Obi-Wan experienced life as a slave while on Kadavo.

 

I think the thing we have to do is tie these things to the show, not viseversa. I haven't read the comics but I'm betting they don't reference the events of the other novels, just as the novels are likely not referencing the events from within the comics.

It sounds to me like the easiest course of action in regard to this is just to believe that Obi-Wan had a change of heart, or never believed what he was saying in the first place.

I'll give some more thoughts once I finish the book off tomorrow.

 

July? That's still fast! I'm used to next books being a year way minimum!

Got my nice hardback copy today and it looks lovely!