STAR WARS
EPISODE II
ATTACK OF THE CLONESThere is a great disturbance in the Force... From the sleek ships of the glimmering Coruscant skyscape to the lush gardens of pastoral Naboo, dissent is roiling. The Republic is failing, even under the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, elected ten years earlier to save the crumnbling government. Separatists threaten war, and the Senate is hopelessly divided, unable to determine whether to raise an army for battle or keep the fragile peace. It is a stalemate that, once broken, could lead to galactic chaos.
Mischievous and resolved, courageous to the point of recklessness, Anakin Skywalker has come of age in a time of great upheaval. The twenty-year-old apprentice to Obi-Wan Kenobi is an enigma to the Jedi Coulcil, and a challenge to his Jedi Master. Time has not dulled Anakin's ambition, nor has his Jedi training tamed his independent streak. When an attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala's life brings them together for the first time in ten years, it is clear that time also has not dulled Anakin's intense feelings for the beautiful diplomat.
The attack on Senator Amidala just before a crucial vote thrusts the Republic seven closer to the edge of disaster. Masters Yoda and Mace Windu sense enormous unease. The dark side is growing, clouding the Jedis' perceptions of the events. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, a slow rumble is bilding into the roar of thousands of soldiers readying for battle. But even as the Republic falters around, Anakin and Padmé find a connectin so intense that all else begins to fall away. Anakin will lose himself - and his way - in emotions a Jedi, sworn to hold allegience only to the Order, is forbidden to have.
Based on the story by George Lucas and the screenplay by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales, this intense and revealing novel by bestselling author R. A. Salvatore sheds new light on the legend of
Star Wars - and skillfully illuminates one of our most beloved sagas.
R. A. Salvatore was born in Massachusetts in 1959. He is the acclaimed author of the Demon Wars trilogy:
The Demon Awakens,
The Demons Spirit, and
The Demon Apostle, as well as
Mortalis,
Bastion of Darkness,
Ascendance, and the
New York Times bestseller
Star Wars The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their three children.
Visit the author's Web site at
www.rasalvatore.comJacket illustration by Steven D. Anderson
11/02