3/5 Rancors

Taking place twelve months after the Battle of Geonosis, The Cestus Deception carries on the saga of the Clone Wars and follows Obi-Wan Kenobi on a diplomatic mission gone awry. Steven Barnes is a first-time Star Wars author, and he does a good job of weaving in disparate elements from across the Expanded Universe, including the comics, the Clone Wars cartoons, and other novels. His writing style is very descriptive but somewhat stilted and formal. The action scenes feel very tonally akin to the quieter dialogue passages and the book never really seems to kick into high gear.

Like Karen Traviss has done in the Republic Commando books, Barnes introduces an intriguing exploration of the clone psyche. His main clone character, A-98 or "Nate," is very well developed and fleshed-out. Nate seeks a deeper understanding of who he is and what his life could and should be about, rather than what has been forcibly instilled into him. Nate's relationship to Sheeka Tull, a slightly shady ex-associate of Jango Fett's, is sensitively and thoughtfully portrayed, although at times those chapters are a bit of a drag on the main thrust of the story.

Kit Fisto made a vivid impression in the seconds he spent onscreen in Attack of the Clones and I was excited to see him paired with Obi-Wan for a mission. This book invests Kit with a surprising amount of emotion and anger for a Jedi: it's unusual to read about one who hasn't entirely suppressed his feelings. I didn't care for the significant deception that Kit and Obi-Wan foist upon the X'Ting and the ruling Five Families midway through the book; my vision of the Jedi and especially Obi-Wan does not encompass this high level of deceit. Granted, Obi-Wan and Kit both briefly express misgivings about the road they've embarked on, but I don't believe they would have ever picked that path to begin with.

The cover of this book is deceptive, featuring Count Dooku prominently. Don't be fooled: he does not appear in the book at all. Rather it should have featured Asajj Ventress, Obi-Wan's nemesis and the central Separatist antagonist. She's my favorite villain to be introduced in the Clone Wars and it's great to see her appear in a novel. There's not a whole lot of depth added to her character, but Barnes' portrayal is strongly in line with how she was presented in the cartoons. Having her broadcast her dreams so strongly that Trillot is drawn into them while standing outside the door wide awake is a terrific and chilling touch; it also seems a very likely side effect of a powerful Force user's subconscious mind's sleep time activity.

Doolb Snoil, the snail-like barrister that accompanies Obi-Wan on his mission, adds a fun and light-hearted touch to the serious feel of the story. His name is Lion's Blood backwards, one of Barnes' non-Star Wars books (and the one plugged on the front cover of The Cestus Deception). Not sure what I think of that....

It's good to follow Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kit Fisto on a wartime diplomatic mission and learning more about the clone troopers has proven to be one of the best themes of the Clone Wars. However, The Cestus Deception is a fairly dry read for a Star Wars novel and doesn't add much terribly essential to the EU.