Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance – Sean Williams
The worlds of Star Wars are dramatic and varied, populated by strange and unique characters, and cherished by throngs of fans from all over the world. The original trilogy entered the life of Luke Skywalker as a young adult, about 18, living and working on a moisture farm on the remote planet of Tatooine. Princess Leia and the two ‘droids were introduced in much the same way. The beauty of this story is that the characters are immediately likable – even without knowing their origins. Their existence in the movies’ world is accepted without question. This is the basis of good character building and story telling. Fatal Alliance tries the same tactic but executes it poorly.
Perhaps that statement is unfair. Fatal Alliance is part of an ongoing tale and it’s unclear whether the characters are Williams’ creations or if he’s using people created by others. According to the official timeline this story it is the first “Old Republic” novel and is set 3,650 years before A New Hope. Paul S. Kemp’s Deceived, set three years prior is set to release in March 2011. A massively multiplayer role playing game from the same era is in development. This book might make more sense to someone who has played the game. Unlike Williams’ previous Star Wars novels (the Force Heretic trilogy in 2003, and the Force Unleashed duology in 2008 and October 2010) this book’s place in the universe is tenuous.
This lack of connection to the rest of the Star Wars universe means the characters, story events, etc. must stand alone as good or bad. As a whole the book probably rates two or three out five stars. Roughly translated, that means average. It does the bare minimum a book should do. There are characters. There is a plot. The story has a beginning, (long) middle, and end. It’s all just interesting enough to keep reading. But, unless the book is coming due at the library soon, it doesn’t have enough to make you want to finish it quickly. It’s easy to put this book down, but it’s not a chore to read.
There are two major hurdles Williams asks the reader to overcome. The lack of a main character can work well if you have three or four characters that are likable and unique, giving the reader the option of picking a character with which to empathize. None of the characters in this story seem to have that likability. Secondly, the plot is too irrelevant to the SW universe. Both of these points ignore another glaring problem, the inconsistent technology.
The cast of characters has no clear hero or villain. Williams has included a Mandalorian, Dao Stryver; a Sith lord with apprentice, Darth Chratis and Eldon Ax; smuggler Jet Nebula and his ‘droid, Clunker; Larin Moxla, former Republic trooper with a dishonorable discharge; the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Satele Shan, and her apprentice, Shigar Konshi. Finally, there’s Ula Vii, in a class all his own. This is the guy that’s supposed to be so much of a weasel that the reader finds redeeming quality in the other characters. He is clearly not a hero, yet the moral crux of the plot revolves around him. Somehow he also becomes a romantic interest.
Characters are supposed to be flawed, especially with modern day ideas of heroes, but all of these characters seem like cheap knockoff versions of good characters. None of them seem as potent as they could, or should, be. Darth Chratis is so much a stereotype of a Sith lord that he has no personality. On the other hand, Grand Master Shan is an uppish princess type that fuses Luke Skywalker, Mace Windu, Yoda and Obi-Wan into a faceless amalgamation that is both over and under powered as a Jedi. Using both of the two apprentices from opposite sides of the Force as protagonists should be interesting. It’s not. It’s forced and doesn’t feel genuine.
The two protagonists’ conflicting approaches are only part of the plot’s problems. Eldon Ax’s birth mother is a ‘droid maker with a grudge. The Mandalorian, Stryver, is apparently trying to find her and in doing so attracts the attention of both the Sith-controlled Empire and Jedi-backed Republic. The Republic and the Empire are both recovering from their recent war while preparing to go at it again.
The second act takes place primarily in a palace owned by a Hutt where the interested parties are bidding on unknown artifacts that could lead to a newly discovered world rich in resources. Those resources are needed to continue the conflict between the two galactic governments, or by the Mandalorians to make their move against the others. Of course, no one intends to actually buy the items when they can steal them instead, including the Jedi. Apparently, 3,000 years before the movies, Jedi were thieving thugs.
Act three is the requisite space battle, followed by ground assault and eventual resolution. Naturally, once the eponymous fatal alliance is formed, there has to be something to break it. Enter the “alien space bats.” Not literal space bats, although that’s possible in Star Wars, but the trite literary device, deus ex machina. Cue the epilogue.
There is a whole separate issue regarding technology that doesn’t fit the universe. Can ‘droids this advanced really just disappear over the next three millennia? The war ‘droids in this story overshadow the abilities of much later versions from the saga. The alien space bats address the issue, but not in a realistic manner. Next is medical technology. If accurate cloning exists at this point in the history why do they still have technical issues with it 3,000 years later? Also, Jet Nebula’s ship includes a med-kit with low-tech prosthetics as part of the stock. Who keeps a fake hand in their first-aid kit? Their low tech hand is top of the line in the real world. While humans on earth have greatly improved prosthetic technology in the last 3,000 years, especially in the last 150, the high-tech hand that appears late in this story rivals that of Luke’s from The Empire Strikes Back. But wasn’t Luke’s an improvement on the exoskeleton version his dad got only 20 years earlier in Episode II?
Criticisms aside, the book will entertain. It’s not groundbreaking and it won’t win any awards, but not everything can get a Pulitzer. If you love Star Wars and want a book to distract you for a few days this one will do the job. It probably gets bonus points if you play the Old Republic game, but it’s not clear where the connection fits. Read it for fun but don’t read it for anything more.
Review contributed by BSR! Regular Guest Contributor, Baldassbot
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