Why didn't I read it first time around? I'm not sure. I really enjoyed the first three 'The Clone Wars' tie-in novels, including Miller's Wild Space, so you'd think I'd check this out. I tapped out of the second series of TCW pretty early, so I guess I was just burnt out on TCW at this point.
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Wow, does Karen Miller love to write dialogue. Lots, and lots, of dialogue; with people circling and rehashing the same points; in a way that's sort of naturalistic but feels jarring because we're used to books... films... all cultural media editing this type of conversation much more sharply. I remember this from Wild Space but boy, there is so much talking in this book. In fact, the first 200 pages are just... people sitting around talking, about all sorts of things; some relevant to the rest of the book, some less so. It takes literally half the book for the plot to actually begin.
The plot involves Obi-Wan and Anakin going undercover on the planet Lanteeb, where the Separatists are researching a new bioweapon. We get quite a lot of exposition on Lanteeb, it's history, and it's culture, and there's a moment where it seems like we're going to get a novel in the great sci-fi (and EU) tradition of "the main characters land on an interesting world with a unique culture, which we spend the book exploring". But no - they arrive on Lanteeb, head straight to the Separatist labs, and make a few trips between there and the city.
If you're wondering how this might fill 200 pages, well, you guessed it - it's more talking; lots of conversations between Anakin, Obi-Wan and Bant'ena Fhernan, the scientist who has been coerced into developing the bioweapon. Bant'ena reminds Anakin of his mother and is in an incredibly morally compromised position, which provides fertile hay for lots of talking. As roundabout as this can be - where is the editor?! - it's where the book is strongest, and there are some really fizzing debates, particularly between Obi-Wan and Anakin.
The book doesn't so much end on a cliffhanger as just... end, halfway through the story. There's a bit of a twist with Bant'ena betraying the Jedi (under severe distress), but even this feels like there is more to come. I found this enjoyable enough - and the Obi-Wan / Anakin relationship is compellingly drawn - but the jury's out until we see what Siege brings.
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