Cover Artist: Steven D. Anderson

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are leading an assault on Cato Neimoidia, with the intention of capturing Nute Gunray. During the attack, Gunray manages to escape, but he unintentionally leaves behind his mechno-chair. This chair is the first clue in a long series of clues that lead the Jedi down the path towards Darth Sidious. When Sidious and Count Dooku learn of the search, they decide to push up their plans for the end of the war.

There were many things I enjoyed about this story, not the least was how James Luceno made a serious effort to include references to many previously written stories, no matter what media they were originally told in or how big the story was. There were references to stories involving the major movie characters such as Yoda: Dark Rendezvous and the Battle of Jabiim, as well as stories involving expanded universe characters such as Sora Bulq and Quinlan Vos. What impressed me about this was that all the references didn't feel at all forced, they were woven into the story seamlessly.

Overall, I enjoyed this book more than I did most of the other Clone Wars era novels that were written around this same time.