You've seen every episode, none of this should be spoilers, but just in case SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Star War: The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark
was released today. Each story has a character who’s the narrator or the main
focus. At the start of each one is a drawing of the main character by Ksenia
Zelentsova. There’s a good chance your favorite has one since there are eleven
different tales. As Zelentsova’s beautiful cover attests, clones are an important
part of this anthology right from the very first story, “Sharing the Same Face”
by Jason Fry. However, that one is from Yoda’s point of view.
“Made for war these children were. Made by the millions.
Disposable their makers consider them.”
One of the more important issues raised by The Clone Wars
are the moral implications of the clones themselves. They were the same shared
embryo grown over and over in a rushed fashion that denied them a childhood;
just for the purpose of being soldiers in battle. Is it right to consider
living beings no different than a battle droid? Yoda doesn’t think so. He makes
a point to learn their individual names and point out how different each
appears when seen with the Force. This is later contrasted by “The Shadow of
Umbara” by Yoon Ha Lee. A different Jedi general, Pong Krell, leads Rex and his
brothers. Krell calls each clone by their designation instead of their name and
doesn’t care that his command always has the highest mortality rate. When some
of the clones carry out insubordination in order to save others, Krell wants
them executed. It’s a relief to have him revealed as a Sith. This means that
most Jedi are like Yoda, right?
Children taken away at an early age. Maybe they don’t even
remember their biological family. Their clothing is identical. The classes are
identical. All are working toward the same destiny. It sounds like the First
Order, but it’s also Younglings under the Jedi. Yet Yoda spoke highly of
children and showed such care to the Clones who reminded him of the younglings,
were things really that bad? “Almost a Jedi” by Sarah Beth Durst proves that
children in the Jedi temple were raised to be individuals. Her protagonist,
Katooni, thinks of Ahsoka as her hero. She’s drawn posters of her and put them
on her walls. This simple reveal lets the reader know that Jedi children were
allowed leisure and that they made decisions over their quarters. Are there any
novels that delve into this more? It would be nice to learn more about the
padawans and their lives before being chosen for that role in current canon.
Fry’s story is a rare treat. Despite being one of the most
popular characters, Yoda is rarely laid bare in prose despite the
possibilities. Here’s a character alive for centuries, but without the moral ambiguities
of a vampire.
“Raucous and impatient creatures humans are. And too
brief their lives are. End they do just as maturity and wisdom becomes
possible.”
It’s these new insights into the characters everyone thinks
they know so well that’s the best part of the book. Other stories focus on
pacing and curt descriptions by terse characters. It’s fun, but also a
disappointment when new information could be so easily inserted. This is the
same franchise that revealed that Hux lost favor with the First Order in books
related to their newest theme park land. The opening of Star Wars: The Rise
of Skywalker was confusing to all but Fortnite users. Greg Grunberg didn’t
even know his character was married in the comics and novels. They can’t come
up with some little something new about Cad Bane?
“Maybe it was the end of the Republic, maybe she would
lose everything else, but she would not lose her soul.”
Padmé Amidala is a personal
favorite and the “Pursuit of Peace” by Anne Ursu met expectations. It’s always
a pleasure to see her in action, both defending herself and as senator.
However, it’s also sad. She fought so hard to protect the galaxy from a fate
that now seems inevitable. Then, her daughter followed in her footsteps so completely
that she also fruitlessly tried to protect the republic from hostile forces,
only to have others finish what she started. Both plans hatched by Palpatine
even. So many of their friends died. At least there’s the fun of Ahsoka palling
around with Padmé. Did Ahsoka ever realize who Leia really was?
It’s funny how Hondo Ohnaka has evolved from a random
villain to anti-hero to person Chewbacca would trust with the Millennium Falcon
on Batuu. He’s one of the few characters to be found in Star Wars: The Clone
Wars, Star Wars: Rebels and novels during the Resistance. He pops up
often in these stories from the Clone Wars. Some readers already know that his
ship on Batuu is named Katooni, just like the Jedi youngling he once knew. Did
he meet her later as a woman? Or did their brief time together in the Clone
Wars make that much of an impression. One hopes the answer will be revealed one
day. Other questions remain. Will other
anthologies address them? The Mandalorian? The Bad Batch? In the
meantime, there are multiple re-reads of Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories
of Light and Dark at your favorite bookseller or library. It’s worth
it.
*”Bug” by E. Anne Convery wasn’t included in preview copy
8.0 out of 10
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