Title: Cloak of Deception
Author: James Luceno
Pages: 342
Type: Political intrigue / Action
Time: 33 BBY

Novel quality
The story itself is quite nice. It revolves around a plan of a group of terrorists called the "Nebula Front" to assassinate supreme chancellor Valorum. The way everything is set into motion by Sidious and the confusion this causes among the Jedi is really well put together. We are also provided with an interesting anti-hero named Captain Cohl. Mr. Luceno uses him to describe the way things in the Galaxy look to a simple man. This gives us some more insight into the great way Sidious is controlling everything. Sidious really comes forward as the puppeteer; he is clearly manipulating all sides in the conflict. This helps us understand to what extend he was controlling things all along. In addition to this Mr. Luceno provides us with a clear view of the Republic and the Senate. We see the way greed and bureaucracy have ruined their effectiveness. We also see the problems that have risen in the outer rim and how the Trade Federation fits into all of this. We get to read about their point of view and the fear they have for their "ally" Sidious. This sets up the events in TPM really well. The Jedi get some covering as well. We find out more about several important order-members, like Adi Gallia, Saesee Tiin, Yaddle, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Especially Qui-Gon gets a lot of attention and is really established as the stubborn and defiant Jedi he was said to be in TPM. Obi-Wan's character is about the same as in TPM, witty, strong in the Force and perhaps a bit cocky. It is nice to see how Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan treat each other and how they work as a team. The action part of the story is good as well. The fights are described quite completely and they all have their emotional aspects, which adds to the experience of the fight for readers. Overall this is an excellently written book with a good storyline, proper character development and fun action. In addition it sets up TPM rather well
Rating 86/100

Personal tilt
The way things are put together in this book gives a great insight into the political ways of the Republic and the way Sidious is using all this to his advantage. For me this makes Sidious even more as a genius than before. He plans everything and has a contingency plan ready for almost any situation. The Jedi feel that there is more than meets the eye, but they can't find what it is. Mr. Luceno shows both sides very well. I also loved the way Mr. Luceno uses Captain Cohl as a way to show us a "simple man's" view on things. It's quite a good character with a considerable amount of depth and I do believe he, along with some other (less important) characters, adds a feeling of the scope of things to the novel. I loved all the manipulation and the insights into the workings of the republic and I flew through the book in a matter of days. It was very hard to put it away. A great place to start your journey through the PT period.
Rating 90/100


Overall rating: 87.6/100

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For an overview of all reviews and a ranking see my Book review summary