Excellent - Rated 
I have read A LOT of "Star Wars" books, from comics to novels to reference works. A couple of them are execrable. Three or four could have been done better. Most are pretty dang decent. A few can be labelled as amazingly good. But Karen Traviss' "Republic Commando" series leaves every other "Star Wars" book in the dust. The series has just about everything anyone could ever want in a work of fiction: high tech gadgets, intense military action, budding romance (but surprisingly realistically, and not in a stomach-chruning, chick-flickish way), camaraderie, intrigue, exposure to fascinating cultures, and lots of things going "BOOM!"
I don't know why, but the reviews I've been trying to post end up being shared by both "Hard Contact" and "Triple Zero." So I'm going to review both books at once, and the review can be seen on both pages and cover both books.
"Hard Contact," as the first book in the series, gives a good idea what to expect: storytelling genius. It is written so well, with all the elements meshing so beautifully in such excellent wording, that I honestly think just about everyone would enjoy this series. Don't like war? Hate techno-babble sci-fi? Can't stand romantic subplots shoehorned into an action story? Bored by politics? Xenophobic? Think all clones are the same? Doesn't matter. You will still love this series. It's one of the few story arcs where you could find yourself developing an attachment to ALMOST EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER, even some of the less-pleasant ones. I would need to write a thesis paper in microscopic detail about all the reasons why I think the "Republic Commando" novels are so good. But I won't go that far. I'll just recommend this volume as highly as I can, and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. Kandosii!
"Triple Zero," the second "Republic Commando" book, has less in-your-face action than its predecessor, but makes up for it in character advancement. There is a much greater sense of bonding and understanding between the members of the ever-growing cast, but that still doesn't get in the way of some good old-fashioned techno-geek-enhanced covert military missions. Again, I'll just recommend this book as highly as I can, and hope that should you choose to buy it, you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Kandosii!
Realistic - Rated
Read both the Republic Commando books after playing the video game (which is a fantastic game to play). Karen has a natural ability when it comes to these kind of books. Some of the terminology used is used by modern day British Forces along with the humour you`d also expect.
Looking forward to reading the latest installment 'True Colours' which has already got some great reviews. All we need now is a follow on to the video game...........
A good new series - Rated 
Having completed Karen Traviss' Mandalorian/Clone Wars series I felt I had to go back and review all three books retrospectively. I thought Hard Contact was a strong start to a promising new series. KT quickly introduces us to a grittier universe than a lot of Star Wars novels portray. Coming from a military journalism background she clearly has a lot of 'front line' stories and experiences to draw from and this is put across well when describing the commando's tactics and actions.
I also enjoyed seeing things from the Seperatist point of view, through the T-Shaped visor of Ghez Hokan which gave me further insight into the Mando ideals.
All this with a few Jedi, shapeshifting predators and some cracking firefights thrown in made this a really good read and would be highly recommended.
Exceptionally researched but lacking in character - Rated 
Triple Zero will be a seminal work in the Star Wars universe, one that will be quoted and referenced for many years to come thanks to author Karen Traviss' development of Mandalorian culture, from customs and traditions to language.
Unfortunately, Triple Zero may not be remembered as a particularly great book.
Nothing much seems to happen over the course of 400 pages. There's a long and often confusing build-up to introduce the 16 main characters (10 commando clones, 2 null clones, 2 sergeants, 2 Jedi), and the meat of the story involves tracking nameless, faceless, motivation-less and therefore ultimately uninteresting villains. As a former reporter on the military and member of the armed forces, Traviss obviously knows her stuff and the breadth of detail is impressive, but in the end tiresome.
Which is a shame as she has proven herself very skilled at developing character. When she allows herself to do that in Triple Zero, the story starts to shine. Sadly, those moments are few and far between. The most compelling subplot [SPOILER] involves the slow unfolding of romance between a Jedi padawan and one of the clones, a pair I hope Traviss has the opportunity to revisit in the not too distant future. [END SPOILER]
If you liked Traviss' first commando novel, Hard Contact, or if you like her Wess'Har War series (recommended if you've just come to her through Star Wars), you may still not like Triple Zero.
ADDENDUM: There is a coda, of sorts, a short story called "Odds" from Karen Traviss revisiting the commandos of Triple Zero in Star Wars Insider magazine #87 (May/June 2006). In their continuing hunt for Kaminoan cloning engineer Ko Sai, the commandos discover a piece of a holo transmission showing Palpatine dealing directly with the Kaminoans to establish cloning facilities on Coruscant. There is no mention of the pregnant Jedi.
Traviss is a genius! - Rated
Karen Traviss really is brilliant the work she has done for the star wars community is fantastic, she is the NO.1 authority on the clones and mandalorians. Republic Commando is an amazing book that shows the true face of war and shows that the clones arent just mindless beings, but that they are human and you really feel what they go through. The story is a classic and the group of commandos she has created are all brilliant individuals and you really feel connected to them. go and buy this now as you wont regret it.
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