David's Review of Republic Commando: Hard Contact

5/5 Rancors - I have to admit that I loved getting to know the clone troopers in Republic Commando: Hard Contact. Up until now I had basically looked at them as faceless cannon fodder. I could not have been more wrong. The Commandos clearly have emotions and questions about their role in life, but their ingrained sense of duty still overwhelms their questioning.

Their lives are ruled by a concept of being a team as they serve in four-man squads. In the beginning of the book during the Battle of Geonosis, the initial teams suffer losses of three team members each. The surviving team members go back to Ord Mantell and are reformed into new teams. The melding into a unit takes a little while but it comes. The next mission for the newly formed team is to travel to a Separatist-held planet, sabotage a nanovirus research facility, and capture alive the scientist in charge of the facility. All of this has to happen in the face of overwhelming odds and in a short period of time.

For once in these early Expanded Universe books we have to get along without Obi-Wan and Anakin. I found that to be kind of refreshing. We are introduced to Etain Tur-Mukan, a Padawan whose Master has been captured. She is alone on the planet and is left to her own devices. The primary difficulty with that is her complete lack of confidence in her abilities. She meets up with the Republic Commandos by chance, and we get to watch her grow as the tale moves along. Another new character who I found to be completely fascinating was Jinart, a Gurlannin shapeshifter who turns out to be a huge help in the team's efforts to fulfill their mission.

The story moves along swiftly and you will find yourself constantly thinking that you should just read a few more pages each time you pick up the book. The author also raises a number of points that apply to our current times. For example, the concept of using clones to fight wars is not nearly as farfetched as it once seemed. Try to imagine leaders of countries sitting back and sending clones into action. The day may come.

Republic Commando: Hard Contact is an extremely enjoyable read. You will like the characters. The action grabs your attention, and you will finish the book with a lot of thoughts spinning around in your head. I can't wait to meet up with these guys again down the road.