STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS - DUEL AT SHATTERED ROCK
A BREAKOUT SQUAD adventure by Ryder Windham
Published in the UK by SUNBIRD books
Reviewed by Scott Weller
Its double duplicity from the evil Dark Lords of the Sith-Darth Sidious
and his apprentice, Darth Tyranus-when they hatch and unleash a bold and
destructive dose of death and deceit against their turmoil stricken Republic
opponents in the evocatively titled DUEL AT SHATTERED ROCK, the next book in
author Ryder Windham’s series of THE CLONE WARS: BREAKOUT SQUAD spin-off
adventures for SUNBIRD books in the UK .
And it seems the only Jedi who might be able to quash these dark plans
is that young Padawan with a mysterious past yet to be revealed: the blue
skinned, fiery red eyed alien Nuru Kungurama (a hero who more than makes up for
the fact that Grand Admiral Thrawn, another one of his Chiss born species, will
later become an absolute monster in the HEIR TO THE EMPIRE saga…), whose motley
and diverse crew of Breakout Squad continue to help him on his missions
for the Republic far, far out into the galaxy-including his loyal four man
commando squad of Clone Troopers, trusty lady space pilot Lalo Gunn (and her
ship, the Hasty Harpy) and the adapted Separatist commando droid,
Cleaver.
On the planet Vaced for a rendezvous with the important representative
of the Kynachi peoples- Langu Sommiar- about to signify his planets vital
association with the Republic, Nuru is unaware that Dooku has dispatched a top
assassin from the Mandalorian Death Watch, Hudo Shiv, to stop it at all
costs. And if he succeeds in his attempt, it will send the Republic into
further shock waves of distress and chaos, especially within the already
fractured Galactic Senate…
As the enjoyable plot strands continue to brew further across the series, our heroes still have a spy and saboteur within Breakout Squad to be revealed and dealt with, plus the return of the green skinned, armoured Separatist baddie, Overseer Umbrag, who escaped their grasp at the end of the previous novel. And the danger continues on a more personal level for Nuru, as his prior captured Jedi Master, Ring-Sol Ambase, is being manipulated by Dooku into a carefully controlled situation in the hopes that he we will turn against his Padawan.
The adventures of Nuru, the young Padawan, out in the most hostile and
treacherous quarters of the galaxy, away from the protection of his Jedi
comrades, works well as a book series and author Windham works hard in
capturing the early to mid-age readerships with his teen lead creation, born in
the best traditions of the early heroism of Anakin Skywalker and his son, Luke,
with whom we can identify and share in their epic and often dangerous journeys.
Also in the best STAR WARS tradition, the bold fantasy spirit will surely
become tragically darker with ongoing books, what with Nuru’s origins/Chiss
birthright yet to be revealed, and obviously its ultimate revelations being
something that the Sith plan to use for their own purposes against the Republic
and his Jedi masters (tapping his Dark Side potential, a la Anakin Skywalker?).
As has been the case with Lucas opus, and its subsequent spin-offs,
where would the adventures be without many new interesting and diverse
creatures and peoples to both help and hinder our heroes, as Windham introduces
a new, giant sized alien named Grizz- a bulky criminal and talented swoop rider
with an always hungry stomach- to help Nuru and his team out. I look forward to
seeing how this character develops in the ongoing story.
There’s also further strong use of iconic STAR WARS Prequel universe
characters (look out for some fun cameos from lethal assassin with the hair
aversion, Asajj Ventress, and the duplicitous Durosian, old red eyes himself,
Cad Bane, who kicks the book off with a an action packed start by confronting
the latest slimy member of the Hutt clan: Drixo), and it’s all highly readable
fun, zipping along at an enthusiastic pace perfect for young STAR WARS
fans/readers. There’s also some much welcome unexpected twists and surprises in
the last section of the book which should keep readers guessing about what will
happen with the next adventure.
Above all, though, the climactic duel of the title, between Mandalorian
and Nuru, is certainly the books highlight section and credit to the artist
Wayne Lo for his great cover painting depicting this key sequence. One little
glitch: a continuity problem arises from the return of Death Watch- it
states that EPISODE II’s Jango Fett was a Mandalorian Warrior, but this is
something that has been contradicted and shot down by THE CLONE WARS animated
series, which, in the episode THE MANDALORE PLOT (regarded as official story
cannon by Lucas himself), states that Jango was not from Mandalore and that his
armour was acquired through unknown means. With the Expanded Universe
and THE CLONE WARS at occasional friendly odds over the origins of certain
characters, this is surely an accidental slip-up that managed to get through
the publishing cracks.
Overall, DUEL AT SHATTERED ROCK is a book that’s highly accessible and a
good immersion into the Prequel universe at the same time. With his fine
ability to write enjoyable, well-plotted and fast paced adventure stories for
the younger audiences, I’m surprised Mister Windham hasn’t been asked yet to
contribute ideas for THE CLONE WARS series. Perhaps they will…
AFICIONADO RATING: 3.5 out of 5
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