3/5 Rancors - The Cestus Deception is a story of Obi-Wan Kenobi's efforts on the planet of Ord Cestus to bring a halt to the manufacture of killer battle droids that are difficult for even Jedi to defeat. The story is rife with political machinations because the droid production has to be stopped without destroying the economy of Ord Cestus. Obi-Wan is joined in his efforts by fellow Jedi Master Kit Fisto and a team of ARC clone troopers led by A-98, otherwise known as Nate for most of the story. The efforts are also helped by Doolb Snoil, a brilliant barrister from the planet of Nal Hutta.
Obi-Wan focuses on negotiations with G'Mai Duris, the official ruler of Ord Cestus. As the story progresses we realize that true power on the planet is held by the Five Families, descendants of one-time business tycoons who were held in the penal colonies of Ord Cestus generations earlier. The Five Families are under the amazing control of Asajj Ventress, the representative of Count Dooku and a long-time enemy of Obi-Wan. Asajj works behind the scenes to counter all of the moves made by the Jedi and has a memorable battle with Obi-Wan near the end of the book. The story in The Cestus Deception is interesting, and we are introduced to a number of new characters. That aspect of the book is fine. It lost favor with me due to an excessive amount of time introducing us to the feelings of Nate, the ARC trooper as he struggles to follow the rules of life by which he was brought up and balance that strict code of conduct against more human feelings that are encouraged in him by Sheeka Tull, a local pilot on Ord Cestus. That part of the story could have been edited. Nate is an admirable character and performs valiant deeds, but I ended up knowing more about his internal struggles than I cared to know. I also tired of all of the political maneuverings in the tale.
On the whole, the book is a good effort but not one of the highlights of the tales of the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
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