After Hard Contact released in 2004, it was clear the series was just starting to get strong. In March 2005, a new Star Wars Insider released with a new story of Republic Commando – Omega Squad: Targets. This short story detailed a siege at a spaceport on Coruscant which Omega were called in to help with.
 
For the UK, the magazine was the only way to have read the story, though the US also got a second opportunity when Triple Zero released near the beginning of 2006. This second novel of the Republic Commando series introduced a lot more into the narrative of the overall series, and after the initial purchases of novels, this was my next addition.

The Republic Commando series started as a video game where players followed the story of Delta squad. While a second game was planned, it never saw the light of day. Meanwhile, the tie-in book dealt with another squad of clones – Omega.
 
The book series – written by Karen Traviss – continued following the events of the game and expanding the world of the Republic Commandos with four other novels, going beyond the doom of the Jedi – Order 66 – to show the contrast between Republic and Empire.
 
Hard Contact – the first of the novels – released in 2004, and while I didn’t own it on release (after all, my first introduction to Star Wars was the tail-end of 2007) it became one of the first novels in my Star Wars collection.

Just like with Battlefront 2, you could say there is some nostalgia clouding my thoughts. This review should say why that isn’t the case.

You’ll know that I’m a fan of the Republic Commando series of novels if you’ve read Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles. That story has many a reference and lifts a lot from the lore introduced in that series.
 
But while Republic Commando is Karen Traviss’ most popular contribution to Star Wars, she also had a few other novels within the franchise. One thing you wouldn’t expect, considering the type of story she writes and her history, is that she wrote The Clone Wars novelisation for the film.
 
Yes, all this is old news – with ten years separating then and now – but while I will be getting around to talking about the Republic Commando series, I felt starting with the novelisation would give me a chance to flex my reviewing skills in terms of books.