No Prisoners

The Clone Wars (2008-2010) #3

by Karen Traviss

Torrent Company's Captain Rex agrees to relieve Anakin Skywalker of his ubiquitous-and insatiably curious-Padawan, Ahsoka, for a while by bringing her along on a routine three-day shakedown cruise aboard Captain Gilad Pellaeon's newly refitted assault ship. But the training run becomes an active-and dangerous-rescue mission when Republic undercover agent Hallena Devis goes missing in the middle of a Separatist invasion.

Dispatched to a distant world to aid a local dictator facing a revolution, Hallena finds herself surrounded by angry freedom fighters, and questioning the Republic's methods-and motives. Summoned to rescue the missing operative who is also his secret love, Pellaeon-sworn to protect the Republic over all-is torn between duty and desire. And Ahsoka, sent in with Rex and six untested clone troopers to extract Hallena, encounters a very different Jedi philosophy, which shakes the foundation of her upbringing to the core. As danger and intrigue intensify, the loyalties and convictions of all involved will be tested. . . .

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Space Opera, Space, Fantasy

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

#1 New York Times best-selling novelist, scriptwriter and comics author Karen Traviss has received critical acclaim for her award-nominated Wess'har series, and her work on Halo, Gears of War, Batman, G.I. Joe, and other major franchises has earned her a broad range of fans. She's best known for military science fiction, but GOING GREY and BLACK RUN, the first books in her new techno-thriller series RINGER, are set in the real world of today. A former defence correspondent and TV and newspaper journalist, she lives in Wiltshire, England. She's currently working on SACRIFICIAL RED, the third book in the Ringer series, and HERE WE STAND, book three in the NOMAD series.

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best Star Wars books I've read (and I've read 79). Traviss gets right inside people and makes them live and you care about them.

Paradoxically, this story is so far out of the main stream of the SW universe that it's almost general science fiction. Though it has a few of the Big Names, they don't contribute much to the plot. Yes, it could have been more complicated and it could have been longer, but for the thoughtful reader it provides plenty to think about--which is something few other SW books do.

[Genevieve Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was... something.

This book is a manifesto detailing the flaws of the Clone Wars-era Jedi Order.

The vehicle by which this is done is the Altisian Jedi, a splinter group of "heretics" who are everyone's favorite Mary Sue Jedi Order. They allow and encourage love and relationships! They accept anyone for training, no matter how old they are! They wander the galaxy on a giant ship, seeking only to help the oppressed and downtrodden with no reference to politics! Their leader is a strict non-authoritarian, who only gives advice, never orders! They teach strange and unusual Force techniques that not even the Jedi at the Temple have mastered! They accept even non-Force-sensitives into their community!

Wow, it's almost like they're *whispers* perfect.

The two main sticking points the manifesto has against the "orthodox" Jedi Order are:

1. Their anti-attachment teachings
2. Their willingness to fight a war with clone *cough SLAVE cough* soldiers

Which is fair. These ARE the main sticking points for literally almost everyone about the Jedi Order. We desperately need to see them examined and interrogated in-universe. I very much appreciate this manifesto for doing that. Honestly, I wish it had gone a lot farther than it did.

Unfortunately, there was some kind of plot attempted that really took away from the main point. A Republic spy got trapped on some planet, and a random assortment of people worked together to get her out. Captain Pellaeon featured, as the spy was in fact his lady love, which was interesting. The vital thrust of the whole story is the interactions between the Altisian Jedi and Ahsoka and Anakin, though, and the greater clash of worldviews, so the chapters dealing with Random Spy Woman and the communist revolution on Bad Planet #50032 did not hold much interest for me.

Ahsoka's culture shock and questioning of the Jedi Code she's always been taught was very important, as was the conversation she had with Rex at the end, about the exploitation of the clones. It was interesting to see Anakin confront the idea of married Jedi in another Order, but honestly they didn't get to go nearly half as deep as they should have. Altis just gave Anakin a quick briefing on how to consider "whether attachment is right for you." It very clearly and obviously WASN'T right for Anakin, but he quickly buried the whole conversation with a deft "of course it is, and it's so unfair that everyone else is making me lie about it."

This... is in character, but VERY frustrating. I literally cannot express to you how much I desperately wish Obi-Wan had been included in this book. I think his name is mentioned maybe once. Anakin is never going to be the guy who has in-depth theological discussions, but Obi-Wan TOTALLY WOULD HAVE. He's probably STUDIED THE ALTISIAN JEDI in particular, since Altis apparently knew Qui-Gon, and could probably break down in DETAILED ANALYSIS the pros and cons of each approach to attachment. Like... really? We're going to walk away after saying "attachment is good and doesn't lead to the Dark Side" and not even delve any deeper?

It's an absolute travesty that this of all books is the one that decided to ignore Obi-Wan's existence.

Another travesty: the fact that we didn't get to see the Altisian Jedi philosophy in action. Really, "letting go" is a fact of life. Everyone has to do it. The Jedi Order does it preemptively, but the Altisian Jedi (and every other person who's ever loved another mortal) still have to do it when someone they care about dies. An ordinary person's grief or anger at bereavement is often devastating to them. The whole point of non-attachment is that a Jedi, going through the same experience, is both far more powerful and far more vulnerable. That makes them a massive danger to others, if they lose control. The Altisian Jedi will have to confront this, when spouses or children die in their community, when couples break up or do each other wrongs.

Altis references his dead wife, so we know he's done it. BUT... Ki-Adi Mundi, who is made much of in this book as a hypocritical exception to the non-attachment rule, also lost his whole family in the Clone Wars. He navigated this as well. What we desperately need, to really interrogate the Jedi Order's stance on this, is to see this happening ourselves. We have seen what happens when it goes wrong -- in the saga of Anakin Skywalker aka ALL OF STAR WARS. We have seen how the Jedi Order's prescribed non-attachment works; Obi-Wan Kenobi has shown us time and time again.

We have not in the prequel era seen a Jedi wholeheartedly commit his/her life to loving someone, and then respond healthily when that person is taken from them. That is the crux of the whole debate. I genuinely CANNOT believe that this book, somehow, failed to show that. It was set up perfectly, with Callista and her fiance -- if one of them had died, that would have been a real test for everyone to see, including Anakin and Ahsoka. (We don't even need the fiance for plot reasons, since Callista has to be free to meld with a ship and fall in love with Luke Skywalker decades later!) But no. The punch was pulled.

Come on. Honestly. Anyone can write (and almost everyone has written) 250 pages of anti-Jedi Order meta. Show the alternative! Really examine it! If you're paid by Lucasfilm to literally write the manifesto, go big or go home! Imagine the narrative contrast this could have provided. What a waste.

Other highlights:

• Ahsoka came off as REALLY young in this. Given how often Teth was mentioned, this can't be set too long after the Battle of Christophsis, and she's still in the miniskirt days. Her lack of confidence compared to the self-assured leader she eventually becomes is evident, especially when Pellaeon MAKES HER CHANGE CLOTHES. She's embarrassed, and tries to argue with him like he's some kind of authority figure when, as a commander, she LITERALLY OUTRANKS HIM. By like... a lot. Insane. I'd like to see Pellaeon tell Aayla Secura to "put some clothes on."

• "If you ever get kicked out of the Order, come find us," is a very bold thing to say. And it does make one consider a lot of AU concepts. I have to wonder if any of it would have really helped Anakin, though, since the main problem is that he can't handle his attachment in the first place.

• Padme's skincare routine & moisturizing face mask? We stan.

• Anakin hears Altis's name and thinks back to fond memories of Qui-Gon, when he spoke at length about Altis and, apparently, Dooku. Okay. And when the HELL was this? Qui-Gon knew Anakin for literally days before he died. I guarantee he was not sitting next to the nine-year-old he'd just bought on the flight back from Tatooine, discoursing about various dissident views on Jedi theology. Are we meant to assume that Anakin has been having these discussions with Qui-Gon's Force ghost? That's not out of the realm of possibility, but... just include Obi-Wan Kenobi. That's who ACTUALLY has these memories of detailed discussions with Qui-Gon. That's whose perspective you actually need.

• It was nice to see everyone's outsider POV reactions to the Jedi. The almost-universal leeriness they provoke is delightful.

• I am so confused about the chain of command in all of this. Anakin sends Rex and Ahsoka over to Pellaeon's ship just to get them out of the way so he can visit Padme. Can you do that in the military? Just be like "oh hey, I hear you're docked for upgrades, can I bring my lads over?" When they consider rescuing Random Spy Woman, it's "Intel" that tells them to do it. Does the military take orders from the CIA? Can they, even if they want to? Rex is the one who gets sent down with his squad, even though he's NOT ACTUALLY PART OF PELLAEON'S FORCE. The Altisian Jedi are brought onboard and added to the rescue mission, even though in military terms they are literally random civilians, associated with nothing and no one. I kind of get the feeling, honestly, that everyone in-universe is just as confused as I am.

• "What happened to the good old days of just firing broadsides until one side ran out of ships?" "Oh, that was way back -- last month." HA. Clone humor.

• I really enjoyed how prominent Rex was in this whole book. Seeing him grapple with the injustice of the clones' existence was especially important, but I love seeing him in action. How he is in charge even when he's technically not, and always so in tune with the dynamic of his team -- plus the way he deals with Ahsoka. I love him.

[Dexcell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really wasn't feeling this book for whatever reason. It was about Captain Pellaeon rescuing his his lover, a Republic Spy named Hellena. Anakin, Ashoka, and Rex are there. As well as Callista Ming, which was an interesting addition.

I just absolutely didn't care about anything that was happening. These unorthodox Jedi that made Ashoka and Anakin uncomfortable since they believed in attachment, but nothing can really change since Anakin's fate is set just makes for a frustrating read. The rest of the plot was mostly action I didn't care for.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, let's not slut shame a 14 year old girl in front of troops that she's still trying to earn respect from as a joke and then have Rex laugh at the joke.

Also, I wish this book was more about Rex and Ahsoka (like the description of the book implied) and less about the weird side group of Jedi. Who were there to have a different philosophy, talk about that philosophy, frown upon mainstream Jedi and then leave...?

Lastly, I'm pretty sure this author doesn't like Yoda very much. I don't think anyone has said or thought anything nice about him this whole series.

[Declan O'Keeffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNFd so I might not count it towards my reading goal long term.

I've certainly learned some interesting things about the clone wars era novels this week.

this slightly long novella might be more interesting to me if I had actually read some of the legends novels this connects to down the timeline, and knew the characters it shoved in from other books.

but also I didn't necessarily care about the plot, and I certainly didn't care about the anti-jedi philosophy that just feels out of place in these early days of the clone wars.

I liked both Wild space and Hard Contact by Karen Travis well enough but I just wasn't overly interested in this one.
I'm still interested to try the rest of the Republic Commando series, but now knowing what I've learned of the fans opinions of Karen Travis, I'm going in a bit more dubious.

[Iset · Rating 1 out of 5]

My first thought, setting out to write the review for this book, is that now is an appropriate moment for a callback to my last review:

“the last years of EU publishing began to offer material that felt rushed, churned out, short at 250 pages and somehow still padded with filler and thinly sketched.”

No Prisoners would be a classic example of what I was talking about. I feel like the brief for this book might’ve gone something like this: Remember Nomi Sunrider? Remember Nejaa Halcyon and Callista? Well George’s prequels have stuffed that up. Go fix it.

I get the distinct impression that this book exists purely to retcon the problem of pre-existing Jedi families before the rise of the Empire, and that this was the primary focus when writing it, and not what is supposed to be the main plot of rescuing a stranded Republic Intelligence agent. Gilad Pellaeon got thrown in there for reader recognition, and Traviss decided to make the Intel agent his lover to tie in with the overall theme of relationships. And that’s kind of a problem that permeates and brings down almost every aspect of the book.

For one, the supposed main plot felt very dull and pedestrian and could barely hold my attention. Nothing of major import or consequences happens in it, Hallena comes off as incompetent because the need to rescue her is contrived, and our protagonists only have to turn back in order to string out the story and have something to do. Note how the mis-jump of the Leveller is down to an accident, not an outside threat or insider sabotage – because that’s the easiest way to draw things out and then resolve them quickly when needed, rather than the time and effort it would take to flesh out a complex plotline of confrontation or betrayal. If you need a temporary setback in your book, create an unconnected accident, or make your protagonists do something stupid. That way when you need your heroes to get a win, you can just fix the technical fault or have your main characters stop playing dumb. You won’t have to deal with the difficulties of setting up and resolving a devastating betrayal or overwhelming opposing forces. The negative of this is that the protagonists’ failures seem silly and unexciting, while their successes come too easily.

So, it’s obvious that the main plot of No Prisoners isn’t really the main plot. It has no lasting impact on the universe or the protagonists, and the only characters who die are those who we freshly meet in this book and are barely told anything about. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I was bored with this. But what about the retcon which is secretly the reason this book exists at all? Yeah, that kind of sucks too. The book is trying so hard to pretend that it stands on its own merits that it focuses most of its time on the main plot, and avoids allowing its protagonists to have a proper discussion about whether Jedi and relationships are a good idea, or confronting that explosive material in any direct way. This is not explored in nearly the degree of depth that it ought to have been. And the retcon in the end is, of course, that Djinn Altis’ Jedi are an offshoot sect. This was completely predictable and exactly what I expected. How else to explain Lucas’ vision of the prequels and Callista’s portrait of academies scattered throughout the galaxy where romance was a non-issue? You couldn’t just have one of them be wrong – even though Lucas’ prequels bear no resemblance to the lawless frontier setting of the Clone Wars described by many characters in the Expanded Universe, and the fact that most people seem to have forgotten the Jedi and it’s clearly been 40 years or more – not 19, since the Empire’s rise, and the romance rule seems to have no good reason for existing. You couldn’t even do something interesting with this retcon such as have Altis’ people and the Jedi Order in a private war with each other, believing the others to be dark siders, or, have Callista be a liar about either the group she was a part of or what the rules were. That would’ve at least brought some conflict and tension to the story. Anakin, of course, buries his head in the sand when forced to think about this issue so directly, because we can’t have him falling to the dark side ahead of time.

There’s other problems too. Pellaeon’s appearance here makes no sense with his established history of having joined the Imperial Navy during the days of the Empire as an earnestly well-meaning if naïve young man, or his utter lack of familiarity with Jedi when serving under Thrawn. He’s thrown in purely for fan service, but behaves entirely out-of-character the whole time, more like a jolly uncle than the Pellaeon we know. Word of advice for writers in a popular franchise – it isn’t fan service if you warp the character beyond recognition. That only makes fans annoyed. Most of the characters are completely forgettable, displayed no personality whatsoever. The story is, frankly, unmemorable.

So, ultimately, you have a retcon that takes the most predictable explanation it possibly can and avoids really delving into the subject in-depth, all the while swearing up and down that it is really about something else entirely and doesn’t just exist to be a retcon, but then that so-called main plot is written as insipidly and wanly as possible. And you have characters thrown in that don’t really fit in the setting at all, but are added to the mix because readers recognise them and hopefully will get excited about it.

Weak.

2 out of 10

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some cool scenes, particularly in the first half with Pelleaon, Callista, Rex, and Ahsoka.

It really shined when it explored the ideas of attachment in the Jedi, and reconciled the Post-ROTJ EU version of the Jedi with the prequel version of the Jedi.

The Scenes with Anakin and Padme were charming, and felt like an extension of the TV show, but also an extension of the movies.

What's most impressive is that Karen Traviss did a tightrope of combining general prequel era storytelling, a tie-in for the Clone Wars tv show, referencing the Timothy Zahn legends books and the Barbara Hambly Legends books, and doing it all in 260 pages.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book isn't that great. The lead up to the mission was entertaining and interesting. The mission itself was fairly bland. Traviss' writing of action still hasn't really connected with me even after 9 books.

Overall, I'll give the book a 6 out of 10. Had some really interesting ideas, but the second half was pretty weak.

[Luke Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was the best Star Wars book I have ever read. Admittedly I have only read a few but I thought that the characterizations in this novel were superb. This book makes you think about the life of a clone trooper and makes you asks serious questions about the Jedi order. Good action but what makes this a superior book is the questions it raises . Enjoy!

[TheGeeksAttic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: No Prisoners was written by Karen Traviss. This novel is part of the Expanded Universe, aka, Legends timeline. The tale takes place during the Rise of the Empire era, during the Clone Wars, somewhere between 22-19 years before the battle of Yavin.

SUMMARY:
Anakin Skywalker needs a break from everything, his padawn, the war, space, just responsibilities in general. He is desperate for some quite alone time with his wife, Padme. So, he sends his padawan, Ahsoka Tano off with Clone Trooper Captain Rex and his team of "new" clones. The squad boards the Republic Assault Ship, Leveler, to join Captain Pallaeon on a routine "shakedown cruise."

Meanwhile, Republic Secret Agent Hallena gets caught up in a sticky situation, and is forced to send out an SOS. The message is picked up by some Jedi that live by a different set of rules than the Order. These Jedi come across The Leveler and deliver the message to the Republic forces. The urgent news of Hallena's situation, will take take Captain Pallaeon, his crew of "green" clones, Captain Rex, Ahoska and a few Jedi from outside the order - on a rescue mission.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I found this book to be a strange one. It's not too bad, but I definitely wouldn't call it good. Karen Traviss delivers some bizarre takes on the Jedi Order and how they operate. I was really enjoying the first half of the book, but when the author shoved in a few new Jedi characters, everything turned upside down for me.

Before I get into what went wrong, I'd like to cover what I did enjoy about the book. Traviss does well writing dialogue for the characters. The structure was straight forward, making the book a breeze to get through.

I thought it was pretty cool that we get to see some fresh clones getting involved in the war. We focus in on the small group as their pulled into a rescue mission, and it was pretty fun. The slower moments with characters sitting around talking with each other was well done. It's in the action that the story felt weighed down.

In the Clone Wars show, I always thought Ahsoka's attire was disturbing... she's a 14 year-old girl and she revealed more skin than necessary. In this book, Karren Traviss brings attention to the dress-code when Ahsoka boards Pallaeon's ship; the Captain makes her put on cloths that don't reveal skin, as the young lady looked unbecoming and undisciplined.

We meet some new Jedi from outside of the Republic's Jedi Order. The group of three Jedi, are very strange. I thought they were a bit interesting at first, but they ended up being too weird. They viewed the Jedi Order as way too strict, enforcing rules that didn't matter, rules that bred defiance. The Clone Troopers disturb them quite a bit, they are disgusted by the Republic's decision to send cloned humans to war as a disposable tool; the lives of these clones, basically meaningless. I feel like these characters were shoved in as a way for the author to rebel against the canon (at the time).

The message in this book, that was driven into the endless reaches of space, the message that beat the dead banhta... "attachment is good - obsession is bad." It was such an annoying subject to cover. We learn that Ki-Adi-Mundi has several wives (5 of them, and he's got children. His race has a low birth rate and males are rare). Anakin is highly irritated by this, as it just isn't fair, it didn't affect Ki-Adi-Mundi's abilities, and he's on the Jedi Council!

Traviss's character, Master Altis, was created to be wiser than Yoda. He understood so much more about everything than the nearly 900 year old Jedi Master. Altis was a better teacher, able to bring in new students to train as Jedi, that were older than Anakin is at this current time. Altis had a wife at one time, he has students that are in a relationship... I found these characters absurd. It really felt like the author just wanted to put in new Jedi, to express how she viewed the Order - or how the Jedi should have been. It's strange.

So, do I recommend that you read Star Wars: The Clone Wars: No Prisoners? No, I think this is one that could be left out of your reading stack.

RATING: I give No Prisoners a D, or 2 out 5 stars.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd neglected Karen Traviss' contributions to Legends for years until I finally tried the Republic Commando series last year and found it shockingly good at first but not good enough to keep going after the mediocre second volume. But unlike Triple Zero, this book delivered on a lot of what I liked about Hard Contact. For one thing, it's an exceedingly small-scope tactical story a lot of focus on practical friction in the execution. Both are vanishingly rare commodities in Star Wars and to be treasured wherever they're found. It's also, of course, keenly aware of Traviss' bugbear: the unconscionable act of creating a clone army and sending them to fight and die with no choice in the matter, and the culpability of the Jedi in accepting that sin and using it for their own ends. On top of that, No Prisoners also takes up a new theme: attachment. It errs on the side of bluntness. You cannot read this book without realizing that it is About the dilemma imposed on Anakin by Jedi doctrine. Is the Order right to say that Jedi must eschew emotional attachment to romantic partners? Every character is here to show some perspective on that question.

The story itself is surprisingly incidental. Having recently read Robin Hobb's 9th book, a mid-series "finale" with an epilogue the size of the one in Return of the King, I was surprised to find a similar proportion in a short Star Wars novel like this. Nothing in Hallena's mission is interesting at all (the fact that the Republic is morally compromised in yet another way, by trying to support a dictator over popular resistance aligned with the CIS, is all well and good but it's decidedly not what this book is about), none of the action scenes are much to speak of, and the story ends about two-thirds of the way through. It's more like a convenient parable for the characters to reference while they hang out and discuss the theme, and a backdrop to structure and pace those conversations. As far as I'm concerned, that's great. I very much do not need to read yet another story of some clones and Jedi beating some droids on a random planet during the Clone Wars. I'd much rather have this.

The only real problem is that there are a lot of characters, and Traviss never digs too deep in any one of them. And because the story is more parable than plot, there aren't many external events that impose characterizing choices relevant to the theme. There's plenty of unmet potential here. Still, there are plenty of fairly strong, immersive scenes here. Callista becoming one with the concussion missile is a potent moment that is all the better for coming out of nowhere re: the rest of the story. Anakin talking to Altis about Jedi marriage is an unexpectedly fraught and impassioned moment for a character whose arcs outside of the prequel trilogy often feel wheel-spinning or emotionally off-target. This one really works. One of the more interesting sub-arcs was the way Ahsoka relates to the Altisians. This is one place where the overabundance of POV characters got in the way of having the best bits really brought out. In my memory of the show, Clone Wars didn't do a particularly great job of developing Ahsoka as a psychologically real person, especially early on, and to see her confronting some very relatable confusions for a young person, especially ones that should (but I can't remember if/how they did?) become extremely relevant in her arc with Anakin reminded me of the potential there. Then there's Altis, in the very end of the epilogues, reflecting on the big picture of the war and the bind it places on the Jedi with all the luxury of someone who isn't in Yoda's position, who doesn't have to make these hard choices, bringing up all the interesting angles I raised in my 1138 piece.

Putting that all together I guess what I should say is this. I liked this book because it approaches the serious, interesting problems posed by the Clone War in the way I wish the EU always did. The characters in No Prisoners live in that version of the Clone Wars. But it is not itself a particularly satisfying story in that context.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Wars: Legends: The Clone Wars 03 No Prisoners by Karen Traviss

challenging hopeful reflective sad tense

Slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes

3.0 Stars

After the high of the previous story, I was let down by this story. I don't know IF it was the story or the way the story was written (or combination of both). I have read a number of books by Karen Traviss (and have loved them), and this was the lowest score I've ever given to her. Frustrated. On the story front, I love the introduction of DIFFERENT ways to dealing with the Force (which is now happening within the Disney Canon in The High Republic books), and they deal with it by being married, which opens up different uses within the Force.

The conflict within Anakin, for he's hiding his marriage with Padmé from the Jedi Council (essentially "cheating" on his vows to the Force, from the perspective of the Jedi).

So with that as a background, you'd think that I'd be "locked in", but I just felt like I was turning the pages without much enthusiasm. Odd. Maybe the writing style had a effect. IDK.

Overall, I felt that the story WAS, and now I am moving on to another story. 

One thing I can say, that this may just be a ME thing. I haven't looked how this is viewed by other reviewers. I really don't care. If someone else loved this book/story, then I'm happy for them. My LOVE for the previous book, I've seen that I was an outlier (at least to the amount that I enjoyed it). All reading is so subjective, and we bring our own experiences (in world and from real life) into how much we enjoy eact story.

Still having fun within the Star Wars: Legends books. Onward to the next one. Star Wars: Legends: Clone Wars Gambit: 01 Stealth by Karen Miller (Yay!). Hmm? I wonder if I am going to psych myself into/out of the next story, by how much I loved the first story I read by Karen Miller. This will be interesting.

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.25

Ah, Star Wars, love of my life.

I can't explain how much I've been enjoying these Clone Wars audiobooks. Getting to read about Ahsoka and Rex is so fantastic. Ahsoka dyes Rex's hair at one point! And I was surprised that Pellaeon - yes, that Pellaeon - was a central character in here. And so was his secret spy girlfriend, Hallena. Her story about the conflicting nature of her job and her decision at the end was great, and I liked seeing both her and Pellaeon interacting with the Jedi and clone troopers.

There's an interesting addition in here of a "wild" sect of Jedi who don't follow standard Temple protocol - they can even get married. These characters were very interesting, and contributed to this book as a whole having a lot of moral debates about attachment, the war, clones, and the Jedi's place in all of this. Anakin's thoughts were particularly good.

4.25/5 stars.

[DiscoSpacePanther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahsoka, Rex and a bunch of green clone troopers join forces with Captain Pellaeon to rescue a Republic intelligence officer who's also Pellaeon's lover.

Although this story is pretty inconsequential to the Star Wars Legends canon, it is nonetheless very readable. The introduction of Altis' attachment-positive Jedi sect gives some interest, and backstory to the character of Callista (who was introduced years earlier as a love interest for Luke Skywalker in the ghastly Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly) makes a dull one note character a little more rounded.

As with most of Traviss' clone wars novels, there is heavy emphasis on the morality of using cloned soldiers to fight in a war, and this time there is even a brief flash of sympathy for the endless battle-droids mown down by the Republic forces without compunction.

The characterisation is good, with none of the principals behaving out of step with their established selves, and the short length of the book means that there is no digression into dull plot-alleyways.

A much better read than the previous Clone Wars novel.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was left off with the last novel thinking this one would follow Anakin searching for R2, that may have been an episode of the animated series, but Anakin sure lost R2 a few times. And if it didn’t follow that storyline in the last book it was poor writing to include just to try and fit the story in the Clone Wars timeline. Next, I was rather bored with this novel. I thought it was going to be an Asoka adventure and felt that way, but it wasn’t. We did get one large piece of cannon that other Jedis who will marry exist which troubles Anakin. Now I want to know if Vader hunted down these Jedi. I’d like to read that story. But overall I disappointed in this book. The only redeeming story point was the hints at the “are clones people” debate.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good News:

Anakin, my least favorite Star Wars characters of all time, wasn't nearly as annoying in this one as he usually is. Probably because his role was minor. Padme was in this one and I like her, even though her role was minuscule. I liked the title and how it was part of the plot.

The Bad News:

This one wasn't my favorite Star Wars book. The story didn't quite grab me. And it left me with this question. Is there some secret underlying reason on why the Jedi can't marry? I know reasons are mentioned, especially in this one, but it just does not seem reasonable. I'd think they would want little Jedis running around. Just my 2 cents.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally excellent, even though I get the impression that Traviss really wanted to tell the story of Gil and Hallena, but needed to include Anakin, Rex and Ahsoka to maintain continuity with the TV series. The character of Altis and his followers were also very intriguing, I'd love to find out more about how they spent the War.

[John Yelverton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an absolute disgrace to the "Star Wars" canon of novels, as the author introduces a heretofore unknown sect of Jedi knights in a none too veiled attacked on organized and orthodox religion.

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

this, as with all of karen traviss’ star wars books, is just a trojan horse for her issues with the jedi. if she hates the core tenets of star wars so much (and she clearly does), i don’t know why she ever felt the need to write for it. at least none of the protagonists of this book think genocide is ok, which is more than i can say for the republic commando series, and it was tolerable until the last few chapters when it devolved entirely into altis’ old-man-yells-at-cloud ranting.

edit: i’m still angry about this book, actually. it could have been legitimately GOOD if she’d just had enough of a spine to kill geith. all of the perfect setup is there, and then it just doesn’t happen! he’s the one getting super emotional about the prospect of the clone troopers dying, so have him take the place of vere or ince! make callista PUT HER MONEY WHERE HER MOUTH IS with all her high-and-mighty talk about being able to have “attachments” (a concept traviss doesn’t understand, by the way, as the jedi define it as the obsessive, possessive love that drags anakin to the dark side, and NOT simply love for and connection with something or someone else) without falling to the dark side; let us see her STRUGGLE with maintaining that balance! ahsoka in this book exists solely to be talked down to by literally everyone other than anakin, so let her actually DO something by having callista’s grief for her fiancé make her unable to focus when she’s trying to merge her consciousness with the missile system, until ahsoka tells her that she needs to let go of geith in order to save everyone else still alive on the ship (otherwise her only reason to be in that scene is gawking at how cool and special traviss’ “better” jedi are). but that would require admitting that the “mainstream” jedi order might actually have a point about something, and traviss just can’t stomach that.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

If fans were ever wondering what happened to Callista “Ming” Masana, and weren’t satisfied with her cameo in Order 66 (or are sitting in front of basement computers writing oodles and oodles of self-indulgent fanfiction), she’s back as one of the supporting characters in the latest Clone Wars installment No Prisoners in which Gilad Pellaeon takes center stage. His motives are questioned, his military prowess tested, and worst of all, the judge of his character is none other than himself.

Karen Traviss isn’t new to the Clone Wars era, nor is she unfamiliar with writing clone troopers or Gilad Pellaeon. In No Prisoners Pellaeon is a young Captain, given command of Republic Assault ship Leveler undergoing a refitting for concussion missiles at Kemla Yard. Accepting the company of clone officer Captain Rex, who’s giving Anakin a break from his Padawan Ahsoka by taking her along with him, the Leveler is hailed by humanitarian relief vessel Wookiee Gunner on an inspection run prompted by the arrival of a Separatist fleet in the Fath system. Run by a rogue Jedi sect trained under Jedi Master Djinn Altis, the Wookiee Gunner intercepted a distress call from a Republic Intelligence Agent trapped on nearby JanFathal.

Deciding the best course of action, despite not being up to full specs, is to attempt an extraction, a team is assembled of both Altis’ Jedi and Rex’s crew of new clone soldiers to land on JanFathal and rescue potential Separatist prisoner, Hellena Devis. When Pellaeon comes clean and admits, after discovering the true identity of the agent, his personal relationship with Devis, it unravels a trail of guilt and self-doubt long enough to take us to the end of the novel. Since Pellaeon was in middle age when we first met him, his past has been a murky mystery, but apparently was filled with many romantic rendezvous that many in the navy speculate as the thing that will forever keep him back from rising within the ranks of the Republic. But we know better.

At this point, though, he’s a fresh young face willing to do what’s right and eager to prove his worth among his men as an equal as well as a leader. He’s also as curious as everyone else on his ship, and presumably the rest of the galaxy, about understanding the mysterious and mystical Jedi Knights and their even more elusive Force. From this perspective we don’t get Jedi seen through the eyes of other Jedi or characters who are familiar with them and their weird habits (and therefore, take them for granted). Instead, like everything else Traviss writes, the Jedi are dissected and analyzed very objectively, making for interesting and humorous observations. Grappling with odd Jedi behaviors and reactions, Rex and Pellaeon compare them to scent tracking dogs (well, an “akk” is the Star Wars equivalent of a dog in my head), and smoke detectors. Jedi don’t just have personalities to navigate, they have technical manuals, as one imagines it, to the tricks and talents of each.

In case you were wondering what other great things Jedi were capable of, the confused confrontation between Ahsoka (of the Yoda school of Jedi) and Callista (of the Djinn Altis school) along with the nosy wonderings of Rex’s clones reveal that Jedi can have sex, no strings attached. I’m sure many curious beings are now flocking the Jedi temple to solicit the experience one can only have with a Jedi: feeling the Force.

Speaking of Jedi and sex, Traviss finally sheds some light on Callista’s affinity for machinery and provides what could be the reason her connection with the Force waned after she reintegrated herself into the body of Cray Mingla at the end of Children of the Jedi. The explanation was a little blurry, like all things associated with the Force, but the short of it is something like opening a new set of senses and having them shut off the moment human-to-machine connection is severed; like being in a dimly lit room after being outside on a very clear, sunny day. Clearly, Callista’s true love was never Geith or Luke, it’s mechanical devices. You can take that where you will.

Pellaeon seems to struggle with finding his conscientious footing in No Prisoners navigating the romantic world, the military world, as well as the completely foreign world of Jedi. His conclusions are sound, if for the reader, at least on one front, a little disappointing. But we have to remember, Traviss is helping to construct the Pellaeon we meet on board the Chimaera besides Grand Admiral Thrawn, not to mention the book probably had a page limit. She also alludes to more sober events in Order 66 which were sad, but let’s face it: we deal.

No Prisoners has good pacing and funny comparisons. It wasn’t my favorite, but the Clone Wars series (of books) hasn’t really struck me as phenomenal on the stage of all that is epic. We’re so saturated now with Clone Wars everything, it’s starting to wear on me, but I still managed to find solace in the familiars of No Prisoners and consoled my frustration and apathy with the understanding that each book is a non-chronological glimpse into galaxy-wide war affecting trillions, even the few outstanding citizens who we happen to know as something of celebrities. This is one of the reasons I like the Republic Commando books: one main cast of characters with a story arc that now spans not only the war, but the trilogies as well. The Clone Wars books appear as scattered and disorganized as the war itself (something I appreciate, but am not a fan of); it’s my disinterest in the minor skirmishes of the Clone Wars and the Anakin/Padmé relationship that made this book less than amazing.

On the bright side, Traviss reminds the reader of Ahsoka’s primal Togruta roots. It definitely lent an air of something mysterious and alluring to an otherwise boring child Jedi. She really appears quite tantalizingly alien, far removed from the humanizing efforts of the CGI “Clone Wars” cartoon. Combined with her squirming discomfort and confusion surrounding the heretical Jedi under Master Altis, her Togruta-ness (otherwise never really mentioned or made out to be significant) made her an enjoyable addition to this book.

Fans of the series will enjoy this installment, but I think even if you don’t like the Clone Wars, you’d appreciate No Prisoners for the Pellaeon and Callista backstory we wouldn’t have gotten fictionally otherwise. And besides, who knew Luke’s father would have met one of his girlfriends before he put on his flashy prosthetics?

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving quite a high rating for such a short story (with a fairly slight plot).

It was stimulating for me because it's a good showcase of Traviss' characteristic focus on realistic and effective depictions of people's emotions and thoughts, and her strengths as a hard sci-fi writer (her writing brings Star Wars much closer to a hard sci-fi universe, in a way that's both really refreshing and very dissonant from most other SW material). Additionally, her critical tone - which is very much of a kind with The Last Jedi in its critical interrogation of Star Wars. Also like TLJ, there is a good argument that it's didactic and heavy-handed. I enjoy it though, and think that more works should incorporate critical dissection of the universe. Traviss definitely takes the authorial insertion extremely far here though, going completely overboard when at the end Altis reveals his Jedi sect is not a small group, a proposition completely at odds with fitting this book into the wider EU. Even within the confines of this novel it strains belief that Anakin doesn't give more thought to just leaving the Jedi Order if there is such a significant alternative to them.

The fact that the Altisian Jedi as a concept seem so out of left field / exotic does make the novel tremendously more interesting than if they weren't there, though. And the intent to try and retroactively explain material from a book from 1995 seems really admirable. "No Prisoners" has heightened my appetite not only to eventually finish the Republic Commando series, but also to read Children of the Jedi and the 90's Thrawn books. I've never read those and I think having read this first will enhance my experience.

P.S. I also liked Jeff Gurner, his Rex voice is good and his Djinn Altis voice exuded really convincing charisma.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would read this book for a complete read through, but would skip for light fans of the EU. Outside of the Star Wars EU, this would be 2-3 stars.

The best part of the Clone Wars books written by Traviss are the more gritty and realistic depiction of war she brings to the table. You aren't always presented with 100% good guys vs chaotically evil bad guys. When people die, they don't just quietly fall down and die in peace. Hallena having to grapple with the ends justify the means argument while she works to prop up bad and probably evil regimes because that will help the Republic win the war was a nice touch. Like other Traviss books, people have to face the moral quandary that is growing a disposable clone army. The introduction of Altis and his faction was good. I don't know if he is in other EU material, but it has always made sense to me that there would be a large amount of force users that existed outside of the Jedi.

The plot of this book was average and would get 3 stars from me. I bumped it up to 4 because I think it added to the EU.

I thought the writing for some of the action scenes were sub-par and I had trouble following what was happening.

As much as I loved Pellaeon in the older EU books, it felt forced having him in this book. It felt unnecessary to force in a well known character just so people recognize the name. It didn't feel like she nailed the character either.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read in 2009, review from 2025)

Another Karen Traviss' novel tied in with The Clone Wars show in which she tries to reconcile her biased Star Wars writing with pre-Prequel Trilogy EU characters and the then new Clone Wars shows. Maybe not as good as her better Republic Commando books but its a step up from her Clone Wars novelization. She dials back her anti-Jedi schtick mostly because she focuses on a sect of Jedi that are less dogmatic and more chill which suits her fine. This was interesting but the sect, specifically their acceptance of love/marriage among Jedi, clashes with George Lucas' depiction of the Jedi and a main drive of Anakin's story arc/descent into villainy. I feel like him meeting these Jedi should have bigger ramifications for his characters but as this is a self contained story it doesn't have greater impact.

My only other issue with the story is that it builds up to a planetary invasion and a spy's work but that's pretty much abandoned and left unresolved to focus on the escape and the Jedi sect. Still I found the story mostly engaging. As a fan of Captain Pellaeon I liked seeing him interact with Ahoska and Rex. I never read the "Callista trilogy" so her presence didn't do much for me but again nothing too bad about it.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in 21BBY

Interesting premise, but ultimately falls short. The novel attempts to blend action with deep philosophical questions, but the execution feels cluttered and uneven.

The rescue mission plot with Ahsoka and Captain Rex provides some exciting moments, especially during the Battle of JanFathal. However, the multiple character perspectives and subplots often bog down the pacing, making the story feel disjointed.

The introduction of Djinn and his unorthodox beliefs adds a fresh angle but isn't explored deeply enough to be compelling. Ahsoka and Anakin's internal conflicts about Jedi doctrines are interesting but again, the interest doesn't hold for too long with the plot and dialogue being mediocre and it finally feels like a chore to read.

[ellis]

what if we wrote an in-depth comparative analysis about attachment in the force and whether its good or bad and presented an argument for every side. also what if the republic are the bad guys? what if what we're doing isn't the right thing? and a dash of clone angst, and especially Rex angst (MY FAVORITE!!!): can we hold onto ourselves, our sanity, if we look beyond what we were made for? what is life as a clone when it is so often death? how many times can captain rex see his men die before he breaks?

as always, Jeff Gurner is a fantastic reader, literally no one else does it like him

[Lexu · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion, the characters that breathe fresh life into a tired Clone Wars era are the ones unique to this story. Altis and his sect of Jedi, Halena, and Pallaeon.
Interesting choice with bring Pallaeon into this story. It's to my understanding that he is 1st featured in other books way farther into the timeline though from a chronological standpoint, this is the 1st I've heard of him and didn't know this until after I read this book.
With Altis and his group, we see an opportunity missed in terms of preventing the tragedy that is Darth Vader. Things could have turned out different if someone like Altis could have been there for Anikin to open up to.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Altis and everything he stands for and the concept of a Jedi teaching both Force-sensitive and not Force-sensitive people. I loved the focus on the clones and the ethics of the Republic using a clone army and the conversation between Rex and Ahsoka about questioning what they've been programmed to believe. I want to read Karen Traviss's clone commando series now plz.

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coyer Summer Bash

This is the last of the clon wars trilogy and it had some intersting concepts about jedi and the clone army. What starts as a simple retriveal job turns into a fierce battle with clones and seperatists. a really fun read.

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 5 out of 5]

I figured I’d tell you about awesome Star Wars book, this time one based off the cartoon based off the prequels based off the legendary movie trilogy, Karen Traviss’ The Clone Wars: No Prisoners.

In Star Wars: The Clone Wars: No Prisoners, we join Anakin Skywalker, his alien padawan Ahsoka, awesome clone trooper Captain Rex, career military man Captain Pellaeon, Republic spy Hallena Davis, and a very different splinter group of Jedi on an unexpected and interesting mission during the Clone Wars period of Star Wars history.

You may never have heard of any of these people before, but that’s a shame. First of all, Star Wars Legends is the only true Star Wars. The characters are better and the plots are more interesting. Even the bad and/or stupid ones, like you there, The Crystal Star. You.

If you haven’t seen The Clone Wars cartoon, it and all books associated with it make you like, respect, and understand Anakin, something the prequels utterly failed to do. It makes his fall to the dark side make more sense. It makes it truly tragic because he was the good man, the hero that Obi-Wan described to Luke in A New Hope.

Ahsoka is a wonderful character, though she seems like she seems like she should be very annoying. She grows up and she grows up in and through war. She is also very much a teenager, though the novels bring out her alienness more than the cartoon does.

Rex is just awesome. He’s the consummate solider, brave, smart, loyal, with a dry sense of humor. He’s a good man who takes care of his troops and is a good tactician on top of that. He also questions the whole situation going on behind the war and the place of the clones in the galaxy, a recurring theme in anything to do with The Clone Wars.

Pellaeon and Hallena are great, too, compelling one-shot characters for this book. They feel real and their stories are compelling. They fit well with what’s going on in the universe and react like real people.

The splinter group of Jedi, the Altisians led by Master Altis, is very interesting. They are Jedi who are allowed to marry and families are very central to their organization. There’s no child kidnapping involved, either, as they only take on adult apprentices. They function more like knight-errants, going forth and righting wrongs where they find them, than the government stooge Shao-lin monks of the Jedi Order written by Lucas. It’s very much a predecessor to Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Order, which has a similar structure and function.

Master Altis himself is a character Lucas is incapable of writing: a good and wise teacher who openly admits he does not know what the right thing to do is in difficult complex situations. He’s really likeable. We also meet Callista, one of his students who will later become one of Luke Skywalker’s long line of tragic girlfriends through some very strange circumstances. We also meet her fiancé. Her fate is very well foreshadowed, which as a long term Star Wars EU fan I really appreciated.

As for the plot, it’s essentially a spy thriller gone wrong. Hallena’s intel is terrible and she lands in the middle of the righteous revolt the Republic wants her to stop so they can keep their shady ally in power. Many other things go bad. Bad on top of bad.

There’s fewer action scenes in this book than you might think. It’s quite philosophical. The war is philosophically difficult. It has all the problems of the death and destruction caused by war, plus the full horror of being a fake war constructed by a terrible person.

The Republic is not great, which is illustrated time and time again in The Clone Wars. It fails to help when it should, it props up governments that range from evil to incompetent. It also is using a slave army.

The Various Clone Wars media is deeply concerned with the status of the clones. The Republic treats them like organic droids. We get to know and like many of them. Then we watch them die. We see a lot of them die in awful ways. Many people, including clones, Jedi, and others, question everything about the clone army: its morality, its sudden appearance at just the right moment, what the fate of the clones will be after the war. The clone army is the single most awful, evil thing Palpatine ever did. He had an entire population created just so they could die in a war that wasn’t real, and he managed to trick the Jedi and many other good people into being complicit in the whole thing.

Karen Traviss’ Star Wars books do a lot of questioning of the Jedi Order. She is not a fan of Yoda. The introduction of the Altisian Jedi is all about that. Considering that Anakin’s fall is caused in large part by his obsession over Padme, it’s interesting ground to cover. The Jedi teachings of having no attachment is just so bad. People naturally develop close relationships. There is currently a cottage industry of books looking at just how valuable such attachments are to our well-being– though they can also be difficult. It seems like the Jedi Order left Anakin with no real idea of how to handle his own relationship, so it warped into obsession and could easily be manipulated, resulting in the disaster of Darth Vader. Overall, Star Wars: No Prisoners is definitely a good read that I’d definitely recommend to any Star Wars fan or Fan of Sci-fi.

[Chanler Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about attachment, and how it affects soldiers. The Jedi aren't supposed to be soldiers, but their training and philosophies suggest they were, long before the Clone Wars began. Attachment gets in the way of soldiers making the right decisions for the greater good, so the Jedi teach that attachment can lead to the Dark Side. We already know that this is true of Anakin, but is it a false premise? He seeks that attachment, yes, but does he fall because of that attachment, or because he's never developed the maturity to cope with loss? In the movies, his relationships with other people always rang hollow, like he was pretending to care for people when in fact he didn't really care for them except for how they made him feel. That question of attachment -- is it a bad thing or a good thing? -- hovers over this novel.

Traviss straddles this line pretty well in the story, showing the troopers as being driven by their attachments, but at the same time recognizing their bias toward an individual for that same attachment. The main plot of the story involves a captain who goes on a mission to save a Republic spy, partly because it's his mission, but also because she's his fiancee. Later, we see how the death of a soldier affects the rest of his team, again because of their attachment to the soldier. The story concludes with the idea that attachment is what makes us want to do better, to fight for those we love, and that the cold distance that comes from non-attachment only separates us further.

I had a hard time following parts of this story. In one section, one of the characters was talking to another, and then all of a sudden there's a third character mentioned as if I should have know he was sitting there, too. I went back to that section of the story and read through it to see where I'd missed it, but it didn't exist. This guy just popped up out of nowhere.

I also had difficulty with the way Traviss wrote for Ahsoka. She's portrayed on the show as being young, dressing like a contemporary young adult in short skirts and midriff-baring tops. In the very beginning of the novel, Ahsoka joins the crew of a military ship, and the first thing that happens is the captain makes her cover up in a bulky sweatsuit. The captain claims that it is to fit in with the crew, but he also mentions that her dress will prove to be a distraction. It's odd to find something like this in a Star Wars novel to begin with, but I was surprised even more to find it in a novel written by a woman. It's disappointing that the novel perpetrates the idea that a woman is responsible for how a man responds to her body.

I still think Traviss is one of the better EU authors so far, and I enjoy her theme of viewing the clone troopers as people, but I'm kinda getting tired of it, too. I've said before that I like the way Alan Moore's writing focuses on deconstructing and humanizing myth, but the more of his work you read, the more you realize that it's all he does, and I'm feeling the same way about Traviss' themes in her novels. I get it: they're people, they're noble, they're Mandalorian. But the stories have reached the point where she's beating that theme into us over and over again, and it's tiresome. I would prefer her stories have more variety than this, and it concerns me that there are two more books of hers ahead of me involving the troopers.

On the bright side, she puts the Jedi to use in this story, instead of making them cold, hapless commanders. Aside from Anakin and Ahsoka pulling their weight, we even encounter a sect of Jedi who believe in attachment and have families. They all prove to be useful in the plot, which is something new for Traviss.

The story is decent, and self-contained, but I'd like to see Traviss attempt something else with her fiction. I still look forward to reading the rest of her Republic Commando series, but at the same time, I'm hesitant. Here's hoping she can make it a little different from the rest of her stories.