Alyce Caswell - Author - Book Reviews

Alyce Caswell - Author

Copy & Paste Wars

30/9/2023

MedStar II: Jedi Healer (Star Wars Legends)
by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry

Drongar is still a Clone Wars hotspot, thanks to the miraculous bota. More sabotage points to a spy in the Republic's midst and there's more than one being trying to make a profit off this mess. Meanwhile, Bariss continues her journey towards Knighthood. Maybe I should have just copied and pasted my summary from the previous review, since it's almost the same book!

A tad worse than the first instalment of the duology. I definitely wanted the spy to be uncovered (even if I guessed who it was early on) and I enjoyed the interactions between the characters. This book is easy to read. But it's a subpar (and frustratingly constant) repetition of Battle Surgeons. Not even the many sly Earth references could improve my mood - ugh, they were so abundant this time that they became annoying. I'm not so fazed about the nods to Bob Hope, Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz but geez, come up with more original names for your damn drinks. Don't steal them from Douglas Adams or call them something as cringey as a "Sonic Servodriver" (what is this - sci-fi franchise bingo?).

Whew. I'm glad that's over.

War, What is It Good For?

30/9/2023

MedStar I: Battle Surgeons (Star Wars Legends)
by Michael Reeves & Steve Perry

The Republic and the Separatists are fighting over the world of Drongar, which is home to an extremely valuable bota. Padawan Barriss Offee is sent there to help the medical professionals that suffer through gruelling operations on clone troopers who seem to die far often than they survive. Barriss soon discovers that villains can become heroes and vital resources can be easily sold.

Gah...if I have to read one more Star Wars book from this era in which female characters are ogled and/or reduced to sketches instead of people...okay, I'll still keep reading, but I will have to go outside and scream for a bit. This is not a great book, but also strangely hard to put down. It provided an interesting viewpoint on the Clone Wars and constantly surprised me. Bonus appearances by I-Five, who outshone his organic peers. I was also amused by the Bob Hope and Star Trek references.

Shades of Clones

29/9/2023

Republic Commando: True Colours (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Traviss

As the Clone Wars drag on, it becomes more obvious that the clones are mere fodder and aren't expected - or even allowed - to outlive their usefulness. Kal Skirata wants his boys, the clones he's trained, to have a shot at a normal life and to do this he must chase down a rogue Kaminoan scientist. But success isn't guaranteed. And there are complications, a clone's offspring being just one of them.

I really enjoyed this book, which I think is due to Traviss no longer needing to introduce people, places and goings-on - she jumps straight into the storyline. Usually I'm down for a mission-centric book instead and this could have become aimless, but it was such an interesting exploration of the clones' place in the galaxy, both during and after their service. I'll never like how Traviss treats her female characters (seems to be a case of internalised misogyny?), though at least she toned down Skirata and made him a bit more palatable.

In the back of my copy is a brief tale by Traviss called "Odds". It's less a short story and more a teaser (or a deleted section, perhaps) that doesn't hold up on its own.

May the References Be with You

28/9/2023

Star Wars Episode I: Incredible Cross-Sections

As a child, I easily spent up to 2 hours at a time poring over these cross-sections and pretending that I was inside them. They are so incredibly detailed and nearly everything is labelled. The accompanying writing is just enough, illuminating the reader rather than being distracting. As an adult, I'm still very impressed with this book.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Incredible Cross-Sections

These books are amazing. By the time AOTC came out, I was a bit older and spent less time poring over the details of this one, but I remember liking it quite a bit. I'm currently reading through Clone Wars EU/Legends novels, so I was much more engaged with this book than I have been in previous years! Hm. Seems I didn't buy the ROTS one... will rectify that.

Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections

What more can I say about these books? They're fantastic. I will say that this one is my least favourite, since three movies of ships are crammed into 32 pages, whereas later releases dedicated one book to each film.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Visual Dictionary

A pretty standard visual dictionary. As a teen, I was obsessed with the lightsaber combat pages - probably the main reason I've kept this book.

Star Wars: The Jedi Path

Star Wars: Book of Sith

This is an entertaining diversion. The text itself isn't all that interesting, but the scribbles supposedly penned by various characters are so much fun to read. But the physical presentation is what sets really this book apart. I have the expensive first edition, so it comes inside a plastic box that opens with accompanying sounds - and the book contains some physical mementos pressed between its pages (something I have emulated with my journals ever since I first read this!).

The presentation of the vault edition of this book is seriously cool. A Sith holocron! Buuut it's also the hardest one to open if the batteries have corroded (my younger self was apparently foolish when storing things). Anyway, I did manage to pry the book and the little pieces out.

Just as much fun as the Jedi book - and as a bonus, the Dark Empire references can almost (but not quite) be mistaken as foreshadowing for the sequel trilogy instead (I'm pretty sure that similarity wasn't a coincidence lol). Lastly, I liked how the pages had different edging - and one particular Quinlan Vos comment had me cackling.

Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Code

This book is somewhat amusing and the additional Cradossk memoirs that also came in the box inspired more than one smile from me. Maybe it could have been better, I guess, but the content will always be overshadowed by the presentation. This deluxe edition is amazing. You have to use a "key" attached to the back of the box to open it (and that's after using buttons to open the section where you slot the key in).

I will now remove the non-functioning batteries to avoid that annoying corrosion issue...

Star Wars: Imperial Handbook

The batteries in my copy still work! Nice. I'll take them out as soon as I finish this review lol.

I was a bit disappointed by the lack of extra bits inside the case and the book itself, since previous releases have had more, but I suppose Imperials wouldn't like that much clutter! The content of the book...did not hold my interest. There are too many different perspectives and it wasn't all that cohesive. But the comments that are supposedly handwritten by our beloved Rebels made it a worthwhile read.

Gambit's End

27/9/2023

Clone Wars Gambit: Siege (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Miller

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, chased across the planet Lanteeb by the Separatists after being betrayed by the scientist they tried to rescue, take refuge in a mining town. But they won't be safe there for long. They are surrounded by innocent civilians who have become targets in aiding them - and the Republic may not arrive in time to help any of them, including the Jedi.

Much of what I didn't like about Stealth is also present here. This should have been condensed to one book, Miller has no idea what to do with Ahsoka so sidelines her, yet another one of Obi-Wan's exes is floating about - and Miller's fondness of Obi-Wan is blatant in that she elevates him to the detriment of everyone else (look, he's my favourite character of the saga too, but you can't weaken other characters just to make one look better).

This all said, Siege is the strongest instalment of the duology because shit finally happens. Shit finally gets done. The siege concept was also inspired. Too bad the execution wasn't as good as it could have been.

While Ahsoka's Away, The Boys Will Play

26/9/2023

Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Miller

After a pyrrhic victory, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker have barely begun their furlough when intelligence - via Bail once again - reveals that the Separatists have invaded Lanteeb, a planet that has seemingly no strategic importance. Obi-Wan and Anakin embark on a stealth mission to get more details - and discover a Separatist weapon that could have catastrophic consequences.

Hmm. I really feel like the editors/TPTB should have reminded Karen Miller to kill her darlings. There are so many unnecessary characters and scenes that seem to exist purely to expand one book out into two. I'm also disappointed that Miller hasn't managed to grasp Ahsoka's character by this point - Ahsoka just sort of exists. But I can set aside my grievances long enough to acknowledge that Stealth contains a strong story that is competently built on the groundwork laid down by the preceding books in this series.

May the Misogyny Be with You

25/9/2023

No Prisoners (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Traviss

A Republic spy has been captured on a world in upheaval and her rescue depends on Captain Gilad Pellaeon, who knows their relationship may impact the mission. At his command he has clone troopers and two very different types of Jedi (attachment and marriage are separate entities in a sect outside the Order). But how many lives should be risked to save one?

Traviss is always good at focusing on one mission and making you care about the characters therein. It takes a certain about of bravery to tackle the continuity issues that the prequels caused in the Expanded Universe - and honestly, I was beyond pleased to see certain characters reappear earlier in the timeline. But it just...doesn't work. It's a confusing and distracting marriage (ha) of those different Legends eras.

Worst of all: this book is steeped in misogyny. Problematic characters should and do exist, but Traviss gave no indication that Pellaeon did anything wrong in inferring that a teenaged girl's clothes can "distract" men. In fact, Ahsoka being forced to change her clothes was framed as a good thing. Really gross and tainted the whole book for me.

Wild Plot

24/9/2023

Wild Space (Star Wars Legends)
by Karen Miller

Senator Bail Organa has received intelligence that the Jedi are being targeted and he trusts his contacts. His companion, Obi-Wan Kenobi, isn't so sure; this sounds an awful lot like a Sith trap to him. But it is a lead he must follow, especially since Bail is so intent on going - alone, if necessary. There are many dangers out in Wild Space... perhaps some even worse than the war itself.

Oh, how I wanted to love this book. The prose is *chef's kiss* - Miller has an exceptional writing style. Heck, I was impressed enough back in the day that I got her to sign my paperback copy. If this was a fanfic that was meant to rewrite the events of the Clone Wars show and ROTS, I'd be extolling its virtues. But it's not. It's three different books jammed together with an incohesive plot that doesn't truly start until after 100 pages(!) have passed. Miller took too many liberties with her "insights" (as the blurb on the back calls them) into the characters. For example, Palpatine's reason for attempting to kill Bail seemed rather weak.

This was a story clearly designed to explain why Obi-Wan trusted Bail so much. Miller succeeded in that regard, at least.

Expanded Universe Round-Up #21

22/9/2023

The Clone Wars Graphic Novellas

#1 - The Shipyards of Doom

This is an excellent adventure that outperformed several Clone Wars episodes of the day. The carbonite manoeuvre (insert Star Trek joke here) was really cool and I remember preferring its use here to its later appearance on the show.

#2 - Crash Course

A fun adventure, if extremely improbable - Ahsoka would have needed more practice in a podracer before racing, surely. Not that I have any objection to podracer stories. I quite liked this one.

#3 - The Wind Raiders of Taloraan

A bit disappointing after the stronger instalments that preceded it, but it's not a terrible story overall.

#4 - Slaves of the Republic

There are some really great moments in this story - especially Obi-Wan's apology to Anakin about not understanding what he went through as a slave. This is a brilliant comic. So much so that I'm going to overlook the ridiculous pouty expressions that the artists drew for Ahsoka.

#5 - The Colossus of Destiny

I wasn't too keen on the concept here (the colossus being my main irritant) and I don't think it was executed all that well. Mace didn't feel like Mace, either.

#6 - In Service of the Republic

A serviceable Clone Wars story that only stands out because of the inclusion of Ozzel. The short story in the back was fun if unremarkable.

#7 - Hero of the Confederacy

There are some story elements here that I'd usually find annoying - ah, but it was so artistically done. This is a really strong instalment and it managed to add some dimension to Count Dooku.

#8 - Deadly Hands of Shon-Ju

This was good, but it could have been much better - and the last-second appearance of Dooku (in a flashback, no less) didn't really add much to Shon-Ju's backstory.

#9 - The Starcrusher Trap

This instalment suffers from a shocking dive in quality and poorly written female characters. But I've just noticed who wrote the script, so I shouldn't be all that surprised... Mike W. Barr does not seem to have improved at all between the 1980s and 2011.

#10 - Strange Allies

It was nice to read about Nuru and co again, though the plot was somewhat average.

#11 - The Enemy Within

This one had an interesting premise. I liked Banks, the lead character, though I'm not entirely sure if his story needed to be told.

#12 - The Sith Hunters (unreviewed - do not own)

#13 - Defenders of the Lost Temple (unreviewed - do not own)

#14 - The Smuggler's Code

Pointless, joyless, and tied with The Starcrusher Trap as the worst instalment of this digest series (admittedly, I don't own 2 of the TPBs yet, but I'm working on it).

Expanded Universe Round-Up #20

22/9/2023

Darth Maul: Death Sentence

I liked see Maul and his brother being ruthless and savage (ha!), though the storyline itself felt a bit directionless.

Clone Wars: Secret Missions by Ryder Windham

#1 - Breakout Squad

This was a fun read and fits right in with the newer Clone Wars era. I wasn't that thrilled about everyone suddenly knowing about the Chiss; unfortunately, such inconsistencies were becoming quite common at the time of this book's publication.

#2 - The Curse of the Black Hole Pirates

The story arc of this series has taken an abrupt swerve into silly territory, though I will admit that I always find the Kwa and Infinity Gates very interesting (too bad the book itself isn't great). And I'm not sure why I'm supposed to find it funny that the starship captain keeps harassing one of the clones.

#3 - Duel at Shattered Rock

An exciting instalment with plenty of surprises. Windham, alas, is still shoehorning in romance where it's not necessary - or it's something that might be called "romance" if it wasn't so poorly written.

#4 - Guardians of the Chess Key

This entire arc was convoluted to the point of making no sense and Nuru's master was so frustratingly gullible. I feel like my time was wasted on this series.