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True Colors (Star Wars: Republic Commando, Book 3) By Karen Traviss ( Del Rey )
Release Date: 2007-10-30
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Product Description
As the savage Clone Wars rage unchecked, the Republic’s deadliest warriors face the grim truth that the Separatists aren’t their only enemy–or even their worst.
In the Grand Army’s desperate fight to crush the Separatists, the secret special ops missions of its elite clone warriors have never been more critical . . . or more dangerous. A growing menace threatens Republic victory, and the members of Omega Squad make a shocking discovery that shakes their very loyalty.
As the lines continue to blur between friend and enemy, citizens–from civilians and sergeants to Jedi and generals–find themselves up against a new foe: the doubt in their own hearts and minds. The truth is a fragile, shifting illusion–and only the approaching inferno will reveal both sides in their true colors.
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Good work by Karen Traviss ( bosckayell )
Republic Commando: True Colors is the third in a series of four books by Karen Traviss with the first being Hard Contact and the second Triple Zero. The fourth book is Order 66. Ms Traviss is an excellent writer. She does a good job of developing characters, especially when those characters actually spend most of their time covered by helmets and suits of armor. You come to know some of these men, and you realize that even clones coming from Jango Fett have subtle differences when you get to know them. Her books are always fun to read, and she almost always forces the reader to stop and think while going through the book. That's a good thing.
True Colors takes place during the Clone Wars with the Grand Army of the Republic fighting an ongoing war against the Separatists. Of course, those of us who are privy to the post-Clone Wars films and books understand that the war is ongoing because Emperor Palpatine wants it that way. His devious machinations that seem obvious after-the-fact are not so clear-cut when you face them for the first time. The clones themselves in the book gradually begin to entertain suspicions about strange troop buildups and exorbitant weapons expenditures that seem completely unnecessary based on the strength of the opposing forces.
Most of the characters in this book are familiar to us from the first two books. For example, we have Omega Squad, Delta Squad, Sergeant Kal Skirata, Null ARC Troopers, Jedi Knight Etain Tur-Mukan, Jedi Knight Bardan Jusik, and Treasury Agent Bessany Wessen. What we don't have are the usual Star Wars heroes like Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie. That makes the Rebel Commando series very refreshing just on its own. We get to read about many of the characters we haven't even known about before.
There are several key factors in the book. One is the father-son relationship that has developed over the years between Sergeant Kal and the clone troopers, especially the Null ARC Troopers. He considers them to be his boys, and he desperately wants to find a way to extend their life spans. He also wants for them to have a future. They were bred on Kamino to fight and die. That was it. No loves, no families, no normal activities - just an extremely structured existence for amazingly effective fighting machines. It is one of the interesting things you don't think about when watching the films. Thinking seriously about the troopers as human beings under the armor is difficult.
A second factor and an extremely interesting one is the relationship between the troopers and the Jedi. Are the troopers just cannon fodder to the Jedi generals? Just part of the overall fighting force? Can male troopers and female Jedi be attracted to each other even though it's not allowed? Well, of course they can, and the results are interesting.
The heart of the story raises questions that are well worth considering. What will happen to the clone troopers when the war ends? They are solely trained fighters and know no other lifestyle. Would it be possible for any of the troopers to adopt normal lifestyles with wives and families during their abbreviated life spans? Darman and Etain continue to develop their relationship, and questions of this type come front and center. Each character has a different way of dealing with the quandaries that come up. What happens to clones that are too severely wounded to go back to the battlefront? Do clone rehabilitation centers exist? What if a clone deserts? Should he be eliminated or left alone to seek out a more normal lifestyle. Questions like these are a strong point of the Karen Traviss Rebel Commando Series, and I find it to be fascinating stuff. I cannot wait to get into Rebel Commando: Order 66.
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 Another Great Addition To The Republic Commando Series
Karen Traviss continues with the great storytelling that she started in the first two novels in the Republic Commando series; Hard Contact (Star Wars: Republic Commando) and Triple Zero (Star Wars: Republic Commando), and continues with the fourth installment, Order 66 (Star Wars: Republic Commando). The best thing about this series of Star Wars novels, is the simple tact she takes with developing the characters and making you feel for them, rather than having absurd and absurd battles of some sort all the time. Yes, there is plenty of action, but it takes a back seat to the story telling of each of these characters as they tackle internal turmoil about what they are doing, who they are doing it for, and most importantly why?
I really liked the way that Traviss "humanizes" the clones and the Jedi so that you can really get to know them and their individual personal struggles that they are going through with the various facets of their lives.
The story is well written and it is very easy to read. Perhaps too much in some cases, as I seem to read for hours before ever putting the book down. But if that is my only complaint, I guess that would be more of a positive comment than a negative. In any regards, you really should pick up this series and start reading it. It harkens back to the days of Timothy Zahn and the Heir to the Empire Trilogy, which if you haven't read you definitely need to do so.
Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 1)
Dark Force Rising (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Book 2)
The Last Command (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 3)
Also check out these two also written by Timothy Zahn.
Specter of the Past (Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn, Book 1)
Outbound Flight (Star Wars)
Shawn Kovacich
Star Wars Fan and Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.
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W00t! ( yu-shyun )
I'd completely recommend this book to any fan of Star Wars! Extremely well written! While reading this book I felt like I really connected with the characters... - Daughter of Mr. Y. Wang
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Commando's
True Colors, book 3 of 4, brings about the ethical side of the Clone Wars. What happens to crippled and aged clones? Are clones people or just cannon fodder like droids? Sarg. Skirata will do what he can to help his boys to make sure they have a future, General Etain will attempt to give Darman a glimpse of what it is to be a "normal" person. A great book, very well written, gripping from beginning to end. I look forward to the last installment.
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awsome
story line improves with each on the trilogy. Mrs. Traviss is a great military author.
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