Star Wars - Republic Commando: True Colors - Bd 3 [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

True Colors is what most SW books are not: intelligent, dramatic, internally realistic, and morally complex.

A sequel to the previous Republic Commando novel, Triple Zero, True Colors follows Delta and Omega Squads as they seek to capture scientist Ko Sai, the master geneticist of the Republic's clone army. Having fled Kamino with records of the cloning program, she's now being hunted by Palpatine and other commercial cloners eager to appropriate her work. But where these parties are motivated by commercial and political potential, Delta and Omega Squads have a more personal interest, to coerce the scientist into prolonging their lives by slowing down the quick-aging process built into their genetic code.

It's a fairly simple story made complex by attention to character and theme, something most Star Wars writers glance over if they think of it at all. Many employ a comfortable shorthand in which certain kinds of characters or characteristics are good, others bad, and the situations in which they find themselves clear cut. Traviss, though, paints in shades of gray, in which heroes have faults, bad guys are sometimes good, and the choices they have to make rarely easy.

The clone soldiers struggle to comprehend the enormity - and irony - of their burden, to die for a Republic that claims to defend freedom and liberty but values its clone warriors less than machines. Though content to do that for which they have been bred, the clones begin to resent being taken for granted, especially by their Jedi generals, men and women who through their relationship with the Force claim to have a wider and deeper appreciation of life in all its forms. The Jedi are painfully aware of their responsibilities to the clones, but find themselves trapped by tradition and circumstance serving the Republic, setting aside the rights of their soldiers to first fight the greater threat posed by the Separatists.

With no one to look after their interests but themselves, the clone commandos and their Mandalorian trainers set in motion a plan to free themselves from the tyranny of genetics and societal neglect, to give themselves an opportunity to live a life of normal men. But to do that they have to go against their breeding and training to disobey orders, aid deserters, deceive trusted comrades, kill fellow clone troopers and Mandalorians, and put civilian associates at risk. Complicit in their schemes are two Jedi commanders who discover first hand the dangers of attachment to loved ones and the equally dangerous detachment from avoiding difficult decisions.

In the end the commandos and the Jedi find that by looking closely at the thing you hate, you begin to understand it, to see that it exists much the same as you, as the expression of conditions that brought you into existence. Ko Sai is from a society that as a result of ecological disaster had to euthanize weaker members of its species to survive. For the Kaminoans the universe is a cold and harsh place that demands difficult choices, choices other species seem unable to take, but from which the commandos do not shy. In taking extraordinary measures to protect their own kind, in not being able to depend on the help of outsiders, the clones and Ko Sai find they have something in common. And in a universe in which many see the clones as little more than crude fighting machines, the Jedi begin to see that what they might have considered brutish behavior is as much a result of breeding as it is the tasks the Jedi and the Republic call upon the clones to perform.

This is the finest Star Wars novel ever written. Where Triple Zero was weighed down by excessive detail on weaponry, technology, and Mandalorian culture, True Colors pulses with the warmth of life and the honest portrayal of human conflict. There is no SW novel that can compare in depth of character and ethical complexity (though Matthew Stover's novels come close). On the one hand I'm glad Traviss wrote it. It was a fine read and shows that licensed fiction need not be hackneyed product. On the other, I despair of reading anything as fine until Traviss' next Republic Commando novel.

If you enjoyed True Colors, then by all means check out Traviss Wess'har series, which covers much of the same thematic ground.

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Forget that it's a Star Wars tie-in, for that matter forget even that it's science fiction. Those are just the scenery - albiet exquisite and terrifically well used scenery - in this absolutely gripping military drama. Once again Karen Traviss has turned the ultimate in interchangable cast members - clone soldiers - into deep, complicated, and incredibly sympathetic and powerfully written people. The very title is a clue to the nature of the story, and indeed the true colors of the soldiers on the front line, as opposed to the government who sent them there, are both starting to show through. This is not a story about Jedi and battle droids and spaceships, though they are there. This is a story about people living with the choices they make, this is about comradery, about family, loss, and love. Read this book.

I loved Hard Contact, the first real Clone Wars novel (in my opinion), but was disappointed with the slogging pace, political and ethical diatribes, and the hefty, largely unexplored cast of Triple Zero. But I wasn't so disappointed that I didn't pick up "True Colors" when it came out last year.

Plot:
The Clone War continues, and Skirata has vamped up his search for Ko Sai, a Kaminoan who may hold the keys to reversing the age acceleration in his rag-tag band of clones. But, Palpatine has ordered Delta squad to hunt after her too, along with a separate team from Kamino. The race is on, and the question hovers inside each clone (and those who love them): will the clones ever be able to live a normal life? And what will be their future after the war ends?

Good:
What made "Triple Zero" so much of a disappointment (compared to "Hard Contact") was the fact that much of the action and great characters present in HC was missing in TZ. But the same can't quite be said of "True Colors". At about the sixth chapter, TC picks up with an intense scene with Etain forcing the colonists of Qiilura to leave and pretty much maintains that speed throughout the book as Skirata and the Nulls search for Ko Sai (before Delta Squad), and Omega Squad infiltrates another battlefront on Graftikar.
Furthermore, characters introduced in TZ get more exploration, and more opportunities exist to dig into the dirty subjects. Etain, Skirata and Darman get the limelight, of course, but so do Ordo, Mereel, Sev, Besany, and my new personal favorite, Walon Vau, who is very interesting in TC as a cold killer with a methodical, almost unemotional outlook on life. Fi's character gets stretched in an interesting manner. And I think Traviss will go down in Star wars history as being the first to write using a Kaminoan character (very nicely, may I add--Good job, Karen). These characters discuss meaty topics such as desertion, humanity, and life after the Clones Wars--all in a logical, insightful manner that will exercise your mind. And Delta Squad can always be depended upon for cracking a joke that will have you in stitches (look out for when Fixer and Sev go diving!).
Lastly, I was never so happy to see that Traviss got the memo about the annoying "double definitions" that she did in TZ. I like her exploration of Mando culture but hated how she would have her characters say something in Mando, translate it in English and then have it appear in the glossary at the end. In TC, Traviss remedies this problem. THANK YOU TRAVISS!

Bad:
While in some aspects TC is better than TZ, in others, it is much worse:
1. For the first five chapters, the book reads like a soap opera. Etain misses Darman. Darman misses Etain. Besany brags about boyfriend, Ordo (when did this happen?!?!). Ordo is clueless about Besany. Fi feels left out in the romance department. Skirata wants the girlfriends for all of "his boys" and is instantly concerned about Etain's pregnancy and health. I was so close to giving up on it. And in the last two chapters, the soap opera resumes with the birth of Etain's baby, Darman's reaction, etc. (oh, please!).
2. Certain things are repeated twelve too many times. For example, count how many times each that Traviss has some character bring up: a) how Skirata saved the Nulls from the Kaminoans' knife, b) how the ARCs almost killed the clone kids to save them from the Separatists, c) how much *fill-in-the-blank* misses *so-and-so*, and d) how badly the clones are being treated/how invisible they are/how they are being used (etc.). Repetition isn't necessarily bad (helps remind the reader) but is excessive when done more than once a chapter (Traviss does it as frequently as twice a page).
3. There are way too many characters. Frequent characters include two Mandalorians, three Jedi, eight commandos, one treasury agent, one clone commander, an ARCs, and three Nulls. This does not include all the other people mentioned in the Dramatis Personae who have bit parts, such as Corr, Jaing, Maze, Rav Bralor (a terrible female Mandalorian whose character could be summed up as Kick-A** GirlTM), and Jaller Obrim. It gets to the point where I thought that Traviss had included everyone in the book--including the Twi'lek Pilot! Traviss, remember HC? There were 6 characters: 4 commandos, Etain, and the bad guy. Too many characters = less characterization.
4. The pacing was off. The first 16 chapters cover about one week while the last four cover about a month. It was as if Traviss wanted to hurry up and have Etain give birth. She could have easily extended some of the action to cover a longer time or had Etain be closer to term in the beginning to compensate for the uneven pacing.
5. And then, there were some scenes/actions/comments that really drove me nuts.
a. My personal favorite: Besany (the absolutely gorgeous woman rejected because of her beauty *eyes roll*) pulls out a 25 cm (~10" cake) that she just *happens* to keep for guests she never has *eyes roll* and gives it to Mereel to give to Ordo. Who keeps a cake this size for guests that never come? How old is this thing? And how did this cake come to Ordo without looking like crap?
b. Etain looks three months pregnant but has, in her spare time (during a war?), accelerated her pregnancy so she is actually six months pregnant. Any woman will tell you, if she is six months pregnant, she will look six months pregnant. And how is it she can accelerate a pregnancy in the few hours she has off by a whole 3 months?!?! And more importantly, how does a Jedi, who's not supposed to have these relationships, know how to do this?
c. Skirata has his good points but is hard to relate to as he is perfect in any way. He knows when to be harsh, when to coddle women, when to jump to concern when a baby kicks (a completely normal phenomenon, Kal...didn't this guy have three kids? Why doesn't he know this?), is smarter than the entire Jedi Order, and is always right. Gary Stu, anyone?
d. Why are all Jedi that aren't Jusik and Etain bad guys? I mean, if the Jedi isn't a Mandalorian wannabe (Jusik) or pregnant with a clone's baby (Etain), they are out to kill all the clones and imprison them in slavery or are stupid, oblivious idiots (Zey, Mace Windu). It appears that Traviss loves her Mandalorians and hates the Jedi.
e. I don't understand how Fi could have been seriously damaged while Darman, only a few feet away comes away practically unscathed. If someone would please explain that to me, I would be greatly appreciative.

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
There is cursing, but it is in Mandalorian.
Etain is pregnant with Darman's child. It is insinuated that Besany would like to sleep with Ordo.
Etain is hurt, and her pregnancy is threatened. A war between civilians, and clones breaks out. Several clones are harmed: explosions, fire-fights, and hand-to-hand combat. A man is bit by another man. The Nulls want to kill Ko Sai. Pretty much what you would expect from a Star Wars novel.

Overall:
Somewhat better than TZ, somewhat worse, TC has come back in some ways to what made HC a hit. TC has more of the intense action, intrigue, gut-splitting humor, and open discussions on what being a human is, who is eligible for gift of humanity, if clones can defect (really interesting), what rights clones deserve, and what will happen to the soldiers if greatly injured (or at the end of the war). Still, melodrama, a huge largely stereotyped cast, and repetitiveness really make it hard to appreciate the good points. Therefore, three stars, in a tie with TZ.

NOTE: The novel comes with a short story called "Odds". About the best thing I can say about this short story is "Odd". It seems more of a prelude or Chapter 1 than a full-blown short story. Not to say it wasn't interesting, just a poor short story.

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