The seemingly endless war between the clone armies of the Republic and the droid armies of the Separatists continues to be waged across the vast expanses of the galaxy. Stretched to their limit because of their relatively small number, the Jedi try to push back General Grievous. Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker are in the thick of battle, which often means in harm’s way. Following a particularly bloody battle the two Jedi are given time to recuperate, but when Senator Bail Organa spots an anomalous planetary invasion on the outer rim Anakin and Obi-Wan are sent to investigate...

Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit - Stealth is a new novel by Karen Miller. As the title would suggest the book is set during the Clone Wars.

I am always pleasantly surprised when the writing quality of a genre novel surpasses my expectations. Although, on the back of the book, much is made of the pair’s mission to the pastoral planet of Lanteeb, this doesn’t really kick in till nearly the middle of the book. The first half of the book details the successful lifting of the siege of Kothlis. These two events, one packed full of action the latter a tale of a race against time to stop a devastating weapon, form the substantial structural bulk of the book.

Rather than just giving us a by-the-numbers action thriller, it would be truer to say that Miller has used these events to do a characters study of her two main protagonists. Miller has a good ear for language and anyone watching this season's Clone Wars show will instantly recognise Obi-Wan's language rhythms. Whilst Obi-Wan is spot on, Anakin is somewhat different to his CGI depiction. Miller has taken the character of Anakin from the films, the man whose behaviour seems to swing between petulant and personality disordered, which would be more in keeping with the original, rather than his watered down cartoon depiction.

This makes things both interesting as well as frustrating. Interesting, because Miller allows us to get inside Anakin’s head in a way that the films could not, supplying reasons for his erratic behaviour. The reason I thought that his depiction was frustrating was that once you start to think about Anakin it occurred to me that he is a deeply flawed character and I don’t just mean personally. If you think about it the central character, and to some a hero, the chosen one who would bring balance is a mass murderer. Worse still, those around him don’t seem to see this and when they do, even then they are willing to forgive.

If this seems like a diversion from talking about the book, it really isn’t. Presenting such clear depictions of her characters, their thoughts and motivations, makes you really think about them, a sign of good writing. Not that there isn’t a lot of action along the way as the navel gazing is perfectly balanced with some well written action sequences.

Stealth is the first of a two-parter story and if Miller is able to maintain the quality of her writing I expect the second book to be as thought provoking and entertaining as this novel.

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Charles Packer