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jaredkwheeler's review against another edition
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #130
Background: Guardians of the Chiss Key was written by [a:Ryder Windham|17735|Ryder Windham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1317014865p2/17735.jpg] and published in March of 2012. In addition to his extensive involvement with dozens of Star Wars publications, Windham also wrote the previous books in this series.
Guardians of the Chiss Key takes place during the Clone Wars, 21-22 years before the Battle of Yavin. It picks up where Duel at Shattered Rock (my review) left off. The book takes place concurrently with the events of "Dooku Captured" and "The Gungan General," episodes 11 and 12 of the first season of The Clone Wars TV series. The main characters are the same as the last book: Nuru Kungurama, Breaker, Sharp, Knuckles, Chatterbox, Cleaver, and Lalo Gunn. The major action of the story takes place on Coruscant.
Summary: Nuru Kungurama returns to Coruscant, still no closer to solving the many mysteries surrounding his previous missions, to find a new puzzle awaiting him. A Jedi scholar has been researching the Chiss pod he was discovered in as an infant and believes he has uncovered something important. Unfortunately, the pod is also the key to Count Dooku's plot involving Nuru's missing master, Ring-Sol Ambase. Will the Sith's schemes succeed, or can the two Jedi unravel the mystery before their confrontation ends in tragedy?
Review: So, finally everything comes to a head, and we get to the bottom of what all of this incredibly elaborate manipulation was all about. The weirdest thing about this series to me is how long it took to publish. The first book came out in 2009, the last one in 2012. All of them up to the last one end in major cliffhangers with significant questions left unanswered. None of that is particularly unusual for a book series, certainly, but these books take about 90 minutes to read and then you'd have a whole year to wait for the next one. The entire Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest series came out at a rate of one every 2-3 months (otherwise they'd still be coming out).
Anyway. I'm obviously just looking for things to talk about. This is a reasonably solid ending to a consistently mediocre series aimed at way too young of an age group for me to really be reading. I can't say a whole lot more about it without giving things away because most of the story is tying up loose threads and paying off the set ups from the first three books. Well, most of them. The most intriguing bit of the series to me was the hints about what Nuru's true identity within the Chiss Ascendancy might be, and that was left dangling. Still, as usual, this series is at its best when lots of stuff is happening, not so much when it's setting all of the stuff up, so this entry is better than some of the others. Overall, I wouldn't recommend the series to anyone older than about 13, but there are much worse Star Wars books out there.
C+
Background: Guardians of the Chiss Key was written by [a:Ryder Windham|17735|Ryder Windham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1317014865p2/17735.jpg] and published in March of 2012. In addition to his extensive involvement with dozens of Star Wars publications, Windham also wrote the previous books in this series.
Guardians of the Chiss Key takes place during the Clone Wars, 21-22 years before the Battle of Yavin. It picks up where Duel at Shattered Rock (my review) left off. The book takes place concurrently with the events of "Dooku Captured" and "The Gungan General," episodes 11 and 12 of the first season of The Clone Wars TV series. The main characters are the same as the last book: Nuru Kungurama, Breaker, Sharp, Knuckles, Chatterbox, Cleaver, and Lalo Gunn. The major action of the story takes place on Coruscant.
Summary: Nuru Kungurama returns to Coruscant, still no closer to solving the many mysteries surrounding his previous missions, to find a new puzzle awaiting him. A Jedi scholar has been researching the Chiss pod he was discovered in as an infant and believes he has uncovered something important. Unfortunately, the pod is also the key to Count Dooku's plot involving Nuru's missing master, Ring-Sol Ambase. Will the Sith's schemes succeed, or can the two Jedi unravel the mystery before their confrontation ends in tragedy?
Review: So, finally everything comes to a head, and we get to the bottom of what all of this incredibly elaborate manipulation was all about. The weirdest thing about this series to me is how long it took to publish. The first book came out in 2009, the last one in 2012. All of them up to the last one end in major cliffhangers with significant questions left unanswered. None of that is particularly unusual for a book series, certainly, but these books take about 90 minutes to read and then you'd have a whole year to wait for the next one. The entire Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest series came out at a rate of one every 2-3 months (otherwise they'd still be coming out).
Anyway. I'm obviously just looking for things to talk about. This is a reasonably solid ending to a consistently mediocre series aimed at way too young of an age group for me to really be reading. I can't say a whole lot more about it without giving things away because most of the story is tying up loose threads and paying off the set ups from the first three books. Well, most of them. The most intriguing bit of the series to me was the hints about what Nuru's true identity within the Chiss Ascendancy might be, and that was left dangling. Still, as usual, this series is at its best when lots of stuff is happening, not so much when it's setting all of the stuff up, so this entry is better than some of the others. Overall, I wouldn't recommend the series to anyone older than about 13, but there are much worse Star Wars books out there.
C+
rachelmcg2004's review against another edition
4.0
Since I just wrote a humongous review for "Duel At Shattered Rock," I am going to keep this review brief and to the point. :D
I read this book in one day because I just HAD TO SEE what happened to my precious Gunnbox!!!
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THIS BOOK:
- It explained several elements of the plot that had been confusing/elusive in previous books.
- Chatterbox, bless his sweet soul, *SPOILER* did not die.
- *SPOILER* LALO GUNN IS NOT A FREAKING TRAITOR!!!!!!! Second shout out to Joey for lending me all of the books at once because after "Duel" I was SO MAD at Ryder Windham!!! I mean, he had established this wonderful ship with two characters that are so hilarious and so loveable that you cannot not ship them. And then, he proceeded to nearly kill one and paint the other as a traitor. *twitches eye* Suffice it to say, I began this book as soon as possible after finishing "Duel." :D
-THEY KEPT GIZZ!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOO!! However, he still needs a bath. BoO. ;D
WHAT I DISLIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK:
Because I didn't hate it. I was just a little disappointed.
-The way he finished the story left me hanging for more.
-Everything felt a bit rushed at the end
-The climax was amazing but its resolution was a bit disappointing
-Gunnbox was resolved well (SPOILER: I liked that she confided her suspicions about a saboteur in Chatterbox, and THAT'S what they were doing all those hours alone in the cockpit...brainstorming...yes...that's all. ;), yet I thought that he STILL could have done more with them. I know that they were not the main main characters but still.
-SPOILER: VEEREN IS ALIVE?! Okay, this character never made much sense to me, and I didn't like that. Nuru had a head on his shoulders, yet Veeren was always portrayed as a character that didn't make sense and was never relatable since she was from a different culture. This excuse seems too vague for and a bit speciesist if i'm honest, which is weird because Star Wars is usually pretty good at fleshing out its species. Her character had the greatest potential to be explored and to grow, I thought, however Ryder put her in a story that was not her own and did not allow her to fulfill her character's full potential, which was a real shame. If he had made her the star of her own series, I would see the value of including such a complex character, but it is painfully obvious that the only reason she is there is to be "the female Chiss." Killing Veeren gave Nuru character development and upped the stakes for his journey, however bringing her back at the end of a series was a mistake I thought. Suffice it to say, I felt that Veeren's character's only purpose was to give Nuru a slight crush so that Gunnbox did not have to be the only relationship in the series. However, it is hinted at that Nuru and Veeren are actually related...so that just adds a whole 'nother level of creepiness to things...*cough Luke and Leia in episodes 4 and 5 cough cough.*
I loved the story up until its climax, because after that, for me, the ending was rushed, underdeveloped, and needed more. However, I still love the series as a whole and commend Ryder Windham for his lovable main characters. :)
I read this book in one day because I just HAD TO SEE what happened to my precious Gunnbox!!!
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THIS BOOK:
- It explained several elements of the plot that had been confusing/elusive in previous books.
- Chatterbox, bless his sweet soul, *SPOILER* did not die.
- *SPOILER* LALO GUNN IS NOT A FREAKING TRAITOR!!!!!!! Second shout out to Joey for lending me all of the books at once because after "Duel" I was SO MAD at Ryder Windham!!! I mean, he had established this wonderful ship with two characters that are so hilarious and so loveable that you cannot not ship them. And then, he proceeded to nearly kill one and paint the other as a traitor. *twitches eye* Suffice it to say, I began this book as soon as possible after finishing "Duel." :D
-THEY KEPT GIZZ!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOO!! However, he still needs a bath. BoO. ;D
WHAT I DISLIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK:
Because I didn't hate it. I was just a little disappointed.
-The way he finished the story left me hanging for more.
-Everything felt a bit rushed at the end
-The climax was amazing but its resolution was a bit disappointing
-Gunnbox was resolved well (SPOILER: I liked that she confided her suspicions about a saboteur in Chatterbox, and THAT'S what they were doing all those hours alone in the cockpit...brainstorming...yes...that's all. ;), yet I thought that he STILL could have done more with them. I know that they were not the main main characters but still.
-SPOILER: VEEREN IS ALIVE?! Okay, this character never made much sense to me, and I didn't like that. Nuru had a head on his shoulders, yet Veeren was always portrayed as a character that didn't make sense and was never relatable since she was from a different culture. This excuse seems too vague for and a bit speciesist if i'm honest, which is weird because Star Wars is usually pretty good at fleshing out its species. Her character had the greatest potential to be explored and to grow, I thought, however Ryder put her in a story that was not her own and did not allow her to fulfill her character's full potential, which was a real shame. If he had made her the star of her own series, I would see the value of including such a complex character, but it is painfully obvious that the only reason she is there is to be "the female Chiss." Killing Veeren gave Nuru character development and upped the stakes for his journey, however bringing her back at the end of a series was a mistake I thought. Suffice it to say, I felt that Veeren's character's only purpose was to give Nuru a slight crush so that Gunnbox did not have to be the only relationship in the series. However, it is hinted at that Nuru and Veeren are actually related...so that just adds a whole 'nother level of creepiness to things...*cough Luke and Leia in episodes 4 and 5 cough cough.*
I loved the story up until its climax, because after that, for me, the ending was rushed, underdeveloped, and needed more. However, I still love the series as a whole and commend Ryder Windham for his lovable main characters. :)
hstapp's review against another edition
3.0
A fun ending to the story. I really enjoyed the series, and it's a shame that I'll likely hear nothing of any of these characters again. The story concluded in a way that leaves future work with the characters wide open, but I doubt if anyone picked them up before Disney shut down the old EU.
Fun characters, fun story, and left me wanting more.
Fun characters, fun story, and left me wanting more.
verkisto's review
2.0
I've decided to review the four books in the Secret Missions series together, since they seem to be more a single story than four individual stories under the same arc. Each book has its own conflict and story, but they seem to be a backfrop for the larger story, which is the conflict between Nuru Kungurama, a Chiss Padawan, and his Master, Ring-Sol Ambrase. There are other characters in the books (four clone troopers, a droid commando, and the captain of a ship), but the central conflict that drives the entire story is that one. And since this is the Clone Wars, of course the events are all orchestrated by Palpatine for his grand scheme.
The stories are decent, in that they move quickly, and the characters are engaging, but this was the first juvenile book that felt like it was written for kids. Despite the complexities of the plot, the story was told simply, with more telling than showing, and an overuse of abverbs. Windham added some humor to the stories, though without making it cringe-worthy, like C-3PO and the droid factory from Attack of the Clones. He also used lines from the original movies, so readers can run their own Easter egg hunts to find them.
The first book, Breakout Squad, sets up the events that separate Nuru and Ring-Sol, while also creating the Breakout Squad itself. The second book, Curse of the Black Hole Pirates, gives us some insight into Nuru's past as the squad goes into unknown space and meets with a Chiss ambassador. Duel at Shattered Rock reveals a Mandalorian assassin on a new mission, and Guardians of the Chiss Key brings the main plot to a close.
When I decided to include the juvenile books into my Star Wars reading project, I decided against adding any adaptation of other works. That eliminated a lot of titles (each movie has a juvenile and an easy-reader adaptation, and there are some books which are adaptations of other books), but now that I'm deep into the Clone Wars, I'm finding that I'm missing out on some details because I haven't watched the show yet. Secret Missions feels incomplete in some ways, and I wonder if it's because Windham is relying on the readers being familiar with the show. The way he wraps up events in the fourth book leaves many questions unanswered, though maybe they're a set up for the show.
So, the books are decent, if a little basic, and they feel like there should be more story once they wrap up. Readers already familiar with The Clone Wars might have more of their questions answered, but other readers should use caution when approaching the series.
The stories are decent, in that they move quickly, and the characters are engaging, but this was the first juvenile book that felt like it was written for kids. Despite the complexities of the plot, the story was told simply, with more telling than showing, and an overuse of abverbs. Windham added some humor to the stories, though without making it cringe-worthy, like C-3PO and the droid factory from Attack of the Clones. He also used lines from the original movies, so readers can run their own Easter egg hunts to find them.
The first book, Breakout Squad, sets up the events that separate Nuru and Ring-Sol, while also creating the Breakout Squad itself. The second book, Curse of the Black Hole Pirates, gives us some insight into Nuru's past as the squad goes into unknown space and meets with a Chiss ambassador. Duel at Shattered Rock reveals a Mandalorian assassin on a new mission, and Guardians of the Chiss Key brings the main plot to a close.
When I decided to include the juvenile books into my Star Wars reading project, I decided against adding any adaptation of other works. That eliminated a lot of titles (each movie has a juvenile and an easy-reader adaptation, and there are some books which are adaptations of other books), but now that I'm deep into the Clone Wars, I'm finding that I'm missing out on some details because I haven't watched the show yet. Secret Missions feels incomplete in some ways, and I wonder if it's because Windham is relying on the readers being familiar with the show. The way he wraps up events in the fourth book leaves many questions unanswered, though maybe they're a set up for the show.
So, the books are decent, if a little basic, and they feel like there should be more story once they wrap up. Readers already familiar with The Clone Wars might have more of their questions answered, but other readers should use caution when approaching the series.
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