Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Stories Of Light And Dark Book Review
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Stories Of Light And Dark” would have been better off with all original content.
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Stories Of Light And Dark” is an anthology book containing 11 stories. 10 of these stories are based on existing episodes but told through different POVs. The other story is an original creation. So, what all is in this book? Allow me to break it down for you.
Author Jason Fry’s “Sharing The Same Face” is based on the Clone Wars episode “Ambush” in which Yoda embarks on a mission to Toydaria with Clone troopers. The story is told through Yoda’s eyes.
“Dooku Captured” (which is based on the episode of the same name along with “The Gungan General”) is a tale by Lou Anders told from the perspective of the overconfident Count Dooku as he is captured by Hondo and the Ohnaka Gang pirates while also getting mixed up with Anakin and Obi-Wan.
Preeti Chhibber’s “Hostage Crisis” is also based on the episode of the same name. This is the story in which Senators are held hostage by Cad Bane and company. Anakin (whose POV we follow in this written story) rushes to save Padmé who is among the Senators.
“Pursuit Of Power” by Anne Ursu is based on the episodes “Heroes On Both Sides” and “Pursuit Of Peace.” In this tale, we see things from the view of Padmé as she seeks to end the war with a peaceful negotiation. Of course that doesn’t happen…
“The Shadow Of Umbara” by Yoon Ha Lee is based on the Umbara arc comprised of “Darkness On Umbara,” “The General,” “Plan Of Dissent,” and “Carnage Of Krell.” As you may recall, this is the storyline involving the unhinged Jedi General Pong Krell attempting to take the planet of Umbara by recklessly ordering Clone troopers to insane missions. This time around, we see the story through the helmet of Captain Rex.
“Bane’s Story” by Tom Angleberger is based on the saga made up of “Deception,” “Friends And Enemies,” “The Box,” and “Crisis On Naboo.” Cad Bane tells Boba Fett and Bossk the story of how he broke Moralo Eval out of jail with Rako Hardeen (who is really Obi-Wan in disguise). After that, they all embark on a job to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine.
“The Lost Nightsister” by Zoraida Cordova is based on the “Bounty” episode in which Asajj Ventress is hired on to protect precious cargo alongside bounty hunters Boba Fett, Bossk, Latts, Dengar and Highsinger.
“Dark Vengeance” by Rebecca Roanhorse is based on the one-two punch “Brothers” and “Revenge” in which we learn that Maul survives and is now teaming up with his brother Savage Opress to seek revenge against Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“Almost A Jedi” by Sarah Beth Durst is based on “A Necessary Bond” and is told from the viewpoint of Youngling Katooni. For those that may recall, this one finds Ahsoka and the Younglings encountering Hondo, pirates, and Grievous.
“Kenobi’s Shadow” by Greg van Eekhout is based on “The Lawless.” This is the heartbreaking tale in which Obi-Wan travels to the Maul ruled Mandalore where Duchess Satine meets her end.
Last, but not least is “Bug” by E. Anne Convery (a writer that is actually married to Dave Filoni!) which is an original story inspired by the episode “Massacre.” The story is set on the planetoid Sidi where a bored young girl nicknamed Bug lives with her parents who run an inn. Bug encounters a Nightsister (Falta) who tells the story of her past, her daughter, and Mother Talzin. I won’t say anything more so as to not spoil the story too much.
Note: Editor Jennifer Heddle provides an intro to the book and artwork by Ksenia Zelentsova accompanies each of the 11 stories. The images depict the main character whose POV we are seeing in the story. The art style is a cross between digital and watercolor.
Now that the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” TV series has wrapped, I was hoping that we would continue to see stories in other mediums. While there is indeed an original tale here with “Bug” (which is easily the highlight of the book), it’s disappointing that the rest of the stories are essentially retreads only with different character point-of-views. Granted, there is some curious content most notably with Yoda’s inner thoughts about the force and his concerns about Clones in “Sharing The Same Face” and Obi-Wan’s struggle with anger in “Kenobi’s Shadow,” but aside from that, most of these stories are basically truncated versions of the TV counterparts. Make no mistake, this is no slight on any of the work by the authors. In fact, they all do a stand-out job adapting the episodes and capturing the character voices. It simply would have been more engaging for the reader and for fans to read new stories from the Clone Wars era like with the “Bug” story now that the series has ended. Perhaps there will be future book releases with new tales? Time will tell.
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