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Okay I just finished this yesterday and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. There will probably be some spoilers in here for those who want to avoid them, you have been warned...











I especially like how they fleshed out the internal life of the squad. The private names, the shared experiences, etc.

Another interesting bit I thought was how Etain was initially confused because Darman read to her force senses like a child.

Note to self: ARCs scare Commandoes.. what does that say about them?

And was anyone else thoroughly apalled at the kind of stuff the commandos mention happening on Kamino? I mean I know they're training an army so you can't be all hugs and comfort but you'd think that someone might object to some of the crap we hear mentioned.

I haven't read it yet...but spoil my ass...

What sort of things happened on Kamino, I know the Spartans from the Haloverse had it pretty tough.

Dido here I havent read it yet but if you tell what I need to look for than Ill open my copy up and read it.(curently I havent been reading due to crapness of the EU)

Steven Snyder wrote:I haven't read it yet...but spoil my ass...

What sort of things happened on Kamino, I know the Spartans from the Haloverse had it pretty tough.

Well...a trooper who only scored only 95% during his sniper test disapeared...along with his ENTIRE batch. Kaminian quality control is a bitch.

Yeah there was also a batch IIRC who vanished after having some minor flaw in their eyesight as well.

Okay a few more I found-

1.) Live fire exercises where the instructors are not only using live ammo but shooting to kill.

2.) That accelerated growth used to get the clones in half a lifetime also significantly cuts down their regular lifespan.

3.) Clones are kept in cryogenic stasis between missions and sometimes don't wake up the same person they went to sleep as since if they don't perform up to spec in their job they get reconditioned.

4.) A batch of clones whose eyesight wasn't 20/20 vanished after their first exercise.

5.) the above-mentioned incident with the sniper who got less than 95%

I find this sort of ironic considering what happens to the Republic and how someone in this book uses the expression that once you lose your principals you lose the war.

SylasGaunt wrote: I find this sort of ironic considering what happens to the Republic and how someone in this book uses the expression that once you lose your principals you lose the war.

It's pretty obvious that by the time the Clone Army is first deployed, the Republic is already starting to turn into the Empire. The Clone Wars aren't the clear cut battle of Good guys vs. Bad guys that the Galactic Civil War is.

What I found to be interesting was the sense of reverence for the Jedi instilled in the clones. It got me thinking on the sheer insidiousness of the program.

Sorta spoilers for Ep 3

The Jedi have a strong parental ethos in their community. From their relationships with their padawans to their relationships with the galaxy at large, this is a fundamental part of the makeup of the Jedi culture. So given command of troops who revere them practically as gods given flesh, they're going to be especially vulnerable to their eventual betrayal in RotS. It's just beautifully diabolical on the part of Palpatine/Dooku.

Hope it's a good novel, I told my GF to snag me a copy for christmas as a stocking stuffer.

FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING AWESOME. Hard Contact beats the living shit out of every EU book I've ever read, kicks them while they're down, then spits on them. It fucking ROCKS! I've gotta give it a 10 out of 10, this has got to be one of the best sci-fi novels I've ever read, comparable to some of the better books in 40K. Best scene: the raid on the Seperatist facility, when the clones do the job they came to do and you get to see how fucking awesome these guys are.

I am through about a 3rd and its the best I have had the honor of reading for a long time.