From Publishers Weekly
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi stridesโand soars and plots and duelsโagain in this stirring new addition to the Star Wars saga. Hugo nominee Barnes (_Zulu Heart_) picks Kenobi up in middle age during the Clone Wars between the good-guy Republic and the dastardly Confederacy, sending Kenobi's impetuous Jedi Padawan (apprentice) Anakin Skywalker offstage and Kenobi as ambassador to the remote planet Ord Cestus, now producing new bio-droids able to challenge the Jedi in combat. Accompanied by another Jedi Knight, tentacle-haired Nautolan Kit Fisto, five superbly bred and trained military trooper-clones, and a wondrously conceived giant slug who proves an inspired barrister, Kenobi plunges into Cestan intrigues, trying to avoid Cestus's destruction and sensing a sinister concealed threat in the nick of time. Loaded with exotic offworlders and vicious baddies, mystical insights from the Force and a poignant love affair between Nate, a clone trooper whose Code demands that he die fighting for the Republic, and Sheeka Tull, a brave and brainy female pilot, this splendid adventure yarn offers a gut-wrenching surprise on nearly every page and a knock-the-socks-off ending nearly as thrilling as Luke Skywalker's original swoop through the Death Star's trench. Go for broke, Obi-Wan, and may the Force provide more like this one.
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From Booklist
Set during the Clone Wars, Barnes' Star Wars novel focuses on a crucial mission by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Surprised when summoned to Coruscant, Obi-Wan finds his surprise becoming concern when he and fellow Jedi Master Kit Fisto witness a demonstration of JK-thirteen droid, known as a ''Jedi Killer.'' Although Kit defeats it, the Jedi Council has received word that the Confederacy is planning to purchase similar droids en masse from the manufacturer on Cestus. Obi-Wan and Kit, along with five clone troopers, travel to Cestus in hopes of getting the government to agree to halt sale of the deadly droids. But intrigue and danger await them on the planet. The regent is under the sway of the company that is constructing the droids; an important contact is playing both sides; and a deadly female warrior with Jedi training has arrived on Cestus, intent on killing Obi-Wan. A thrilling, worthy addition to the Star Wars universe that should help slake the thirst of fans eagerly awaiting the third prequel movie. Kristine Huntley
Copyright ยฉ American Library Association. All rights reserved