The problem with Traviss' work is that it changed so drastically after "Hard Contact" at least in mannerisms and such. I can't say
why, but part of it probably has to do with the fan interactions she had (or "talifan" interactions, such as it were.)
When Hard Contact first came out, people praised it, and it was (and still is) an enjoyable read. Much of the plot is highly relevant and interesting - it attempted to humanize the clone troopers who were (in the second movie) represented by the Kaminoans as little more than cannon fodder. It was something done better IMHO, than the novel "Cestus Deceeption" did (same concept, though different methods.) The Commandos were a bit "over-the-top", but not drastically so, and given the scope of the threat (their major opposition were a buncha mercs and 100 or so battle droids. And one Mandalorian.) that wasn't insane.
The most important thing is that there was no overbearing Mandalorian influence, or Mandalorian wank, or anything like that. The Clone troopers were still GAR clones, first and foremost. THe Mandalorian bit formed a bit of background colour, but that's all. And she wrote the Mandalorian villian quite well, he wasn't wanked out in the least.
But between the time of "Hard Contact" and her Next novel, something (or some things) drastic changed. Again, I don't know what. She clashed with fans over the ridiculous "3 million clone army" figure, ,and for some reason she seemed to go off the deep end. I have no idea where the Mandalorian wank came in.
Triple Zero (I believe) rolls around, and this time around, its a vastly different novel. Traviss not-so-subtly has starrted using her writing platform to justify her own views and ends (writers do this of course, but this becomes rather more and more petty, as we see with
Odds) Inconsistencies start to creep in (the commonality of Verpine shatter guns and their effectiveness being one of the big things.) The Mandalorian wank becomes more heavy-handed (but nto as bad as it gets in the LOTF era, yet.) The Clone Characters in the books seem to have ditched their "Clone" identities for a greater emphasis on the "We're Mandalorian uber-warriors' stuff. The whole plotline with them tracking down and eliminating the terrorists (indeed, the entire, not-so-subtle "9/11" connection being shoved down our throats) is the genesis of the later "Mando Wank" we see later. Hell, that Skirata guy, who I kinda liked in the first book, becomes some sort of uber father/warrior/assassin Mary Sue figure - there's NOTHING He can't do.
Also, for unfathomable reasons, we start to see this huge "Mandalorian family values" subtext that hs been so prominent in her novels creeping up. That little soap opera between the commando and the Jedi being big on it (oh yes, and we start to see her "I hate Jedi spoonbenders" idea.) She's basically taken the whole "Jango/Boba" fett relationship and played it out as a fundamental Mandalorian Cultural concept (apparently the sole, fundamental keystone to all they do, from what I gather of her writing.) Again, I never understood why she has vehemently pursued this concept in her writing, or why she keeps hitting readers over the head with it.
By the time of 'Bloodlines", all the aforementioned problems have become firmly entrenched. Mandalorians are superhuman warrior elite/working parent hybrids with a strong family ethic that is the apparent secret of their uber-ness. Boba Fett gets crammed into a self-serving (serving Traviss) plotline that takes up a substantial portion of the book (as well as the rest of the Mando-wank) but has little relevance to the overall plotline. It's really just an extension of the stuff in Triple Zero with Boba Fett thrown in.
And then there's the manner in which Boba Fett is written. Sorry, but I have never seen Fett as a family man. It kinda breaks with the OT-EU era portrayal (I loved KW Jeter's Boba fett novels. Fett was best when he remained a bigger mystery - one of the major annoying points about Ep2, in fact.) But now you have Traviss twisting Boba Fett to now match her self-proclaimed Mandalorian ideal (We have this "I have a daughter" plotline spring out of nowhere, basically, because Mandalorians consider family to be a big thing, and since Boba Fett is the big Mando, he needs to have a family out there.) The inconsistencies and details she ignores with regards to other writers become more prominent as well, ,as does her anti-Jedi attitude.
It's probably why I won't be bothering picking up her book, because now I've learned my lesson. I couldn't finish either Triple Zero OR Bloodlines (first time I've ever
Not been able to finish a SW novel - I even managed to read Crystal STar, Children of the jedi, and KJA's stuff through to completion.) I will simply expect more of the same, and I have better uses for my money or time. (Mainly 40K
)
When it gets to the point when your own fans start thinking the Mandalorian/Boba Fett obsession is getting to be too much, you know the writer has gone too far.
The list was bad enough as it was, but this? And they let an author make that kind of changes to a character created by the creator of Star Wars? Alright, now the EU is definitely dead. Hopefully the Clone Wars CG series and the upcoming live-action series will be worth it.
