The blurb review above is ebullient with praise for Bear's characterizations of the protagonists. This praise is well-earned. Anakin and Obi-Wan are written in rare form here, granting some deeper insights into their motivations and psyches than one normally gets in SW. It's quite refreshing to see Anakin as a slightly matured version of the lovable, noble person he was in TPM, rather than the whiny douchebag he is until Palpatine gets ahold of him.

The plot is a bit strange and arbitrary. Obi-Wan and Anakin are sent off to ascertain the whereabouts and story of Vergere, a Knight sent to Zonama Sekot to, I guess, learn about how they make their uniquely capable ships. So this becomes part of Anakin and Obi-Wan's mission as well. The pair go to the planet and learn of its strange history and ecology. Zonama is a living planet, bound by a single intelligence, known as Sekot. Several colonists had established a strange, insular culture on the planet, using its ability to grow powerful ships to raise money to equip the entire planet with vast hyperdrives and thus ensure their safety in case of invasion.

And attack is precisely what comes in the denouement of the novel. Its source is a sort of loose-cannon fragment of the Republic led by now-Commander Wilhuff Tarkin. Tarkin manipulates his former friend, ship designer Raith Sienar, into leading a first wave attack meant to procure one of the strange ships. Then, once Sienar's slight deviation from the orders is revealed, Tarkin arrives in system with a much larger force and begins attempting to "subjugate" the planet. While Sienar, eminent designer, is interested in learning from the ships themselves, Tarkin seems motivated by a vague desire to earn prestige (from, it is implied but never stated, Palpatine) by destroying the planet, which I guess could be a potential threat, aiding the Jedi or future rebels to Palpatine's command? I dunno, I suppose it makes sense.

Bear brings a nice suite of strengths to Star Wars writing. His ability to write Anakin's character was key, though his other characterizations were also strong. His imaginative creation of several new species - the aquatic Priapulin, who eat symbiotic food-kin that must travel through their bodies to reproduce, the enigmatic Blood Carvers, refugees from an old conflict who are fiercely proud, and, in certain situations, excellent assassins. Not to mention the planet itself, and its idiosyncratic technologies. Enjoyable read, overall.