2/5 Rancors

The Hive was originally published as an e-book supporting the release of The Cestus Deception and takes place right in the middle of that story. The X'Ting council decides to task Obi-Wan Kenobi with saving the hidden eggs of their royal heirs as a show of good faith. Or, possibly, simply to use him as a tool, since it's likely not every day they have a visiting Jedi willing to help them out in the interest of good relations. Either way, our noble Jedi naturally accepts the request and sets off immediately with his X'Ting guide First Rank Jesson Di Blinth.

The story takes place in a very brief span of a few hours. The X'Ting catacombs should be creepy and chilling, but like in The Cestus Deception, Steven Barnes' storytelling style is so straightforward and matter-of-fact that I felt a bit distanced from the action as it occurred. I had some trouble buying into the riddle mechanism used to protect the eggs: essentially it relies on the willingness of an X'Ting to continually fail at trying to save the eggs. It also seemed terribly convenient that the machine was bi-lingual, ensuring Obi-Wan didn't miss anything. I'm not sure what to make of the cameo in the last sentence; it's somewhat cool but quite cheesy simultaneously.

I would have liked to see The Hive placed somewhere else in the story of The Cestus Deception. The service Obi-Wan performed for the X'Ting is so important I can't believe it wouldn't have come up when he is disgraced by subsequent events. Overall, The Hive is an OK but non-essential addition to the Clone Wars saga.