Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance

By: Sean Williams

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

BioWare and LucasArts - creators of the hugely popular Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic® video game - have combined their storytelling talents and cutting-edge technology for an innovative new massively multiplayer online role-playing game that allows players to create their own personal Star Wars adventure 3,500 years before the rise of Darth Vader. Now number one New York Times best-selling author Sean Williams brings the world of the game to life in his latest novel, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance.

Tassaa Bareesh, a matriarch in the Hutt crime cartel, is holding an auction that’s drawing attention from across the galaxy. Representatives of both the Republic and the Sith Empire are present, along with a Jedi Padawan sent to investigate, a disenfranchised trooper drummed out of the Republic’s elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian with a private agenda. But the Republic’s envoy is not what he seems, the Empire’s delegate is a ruthless Sith apprentice, the Jedi Padawan is determined to do the right thing and terrified that he can’t, the trooper hopes to redeem her reputation, and the Mandalorian is somehow managing to keep one step ahead of everyone.

None of these guests - invited or uninvited - have any intention of participating in the auction. Instead they plan to steal the prize, which is locked inside an impregnable vault: Two burned chunks of an exploded star cruiser, one of which may hold the key to the wealth of an entire world.

But the truth about the treasure is dangerous and deadly. And in the end, Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire, must do something they’ve never done before, something that all the agents of good and evil could never make them do: Join together to stop a powerful threat that could destroy the galaxy.

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©2010 Sean Williams (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"This novel is tied in to the Star Wars universe at a stage in its history that is still being explored in print fiction, and it is also the prequel to what promises to be the largest, most ambitious electronic role-playing game yet to be spun off of that universe. With so much riding on its shoulders, the book demands an unusual gift for cracking-good space opera, and that Williams possesses in full measure." ( Booklist)

very good

good read easy to randomly jump into if you don't know old republic. enjoyed it both times

Fatal Alliance

Loved it! Definitely kept my interest. Highly suggested to all Star Wars fans. Do listen...

good, just not as good as others

took me a while to get into it, it was a good book, but not great.

good story

it was a good story

a little slow in the middle

good character building, definitely feels like the first in a series

great story

great story that kept me engaged and invested the entire time. Highly recommend this book

Great book

By the middle I was hooked. Fell in love with the Star Wars universe when I was super young and it's only grown stronger since, 20 years later. Great book and awesome narration, as always. Keep dishing out the quality rep.

Great narration, good book

The audio featured lots of sound bits, effects, and even classic star wars music as the background to the narration. Each character in the book was given their own voice during diologue from the narrator, which I find as a nice touch. The book itself is a bit lengthy and at times it could be hard to follow, mainly in the early stages when a large amount of characters are being intriduced. (This was where the individual voices given by the narrator help.) The book, like many star wars books, flows between the individual stories of many characters that eventually intertwine making the larger story more clear. The ending of the story like many others, leaves cliff hangers as to what happens to each character after the end of the book. I think this is where the book looses a point, because I really only felt interested in reading on about 2 or 3 of the characters, instead of all of the remaining. Overall the book is well written and holds on to your attention well, especially from the end of part one on to the end.

Good, different, and fresh.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance?

Without spoiling anything, I would say when The sith master takes the Jedi padawan for a mission while his apprentice goes with the Jedi master of the padawan. It doesnt last for a long time, but its enough for us to see how each of them reguards each other. The Padawan is suspicious, the Sith Lord is manipulating. The Jedi master is actually the grand master of the order, so she is compassionate and forgiving, while the Sith apprentice is fierce and on the path of becoming a Lord.

Which character – as performed by Marc Thompson – was your favorite?

The Sith apprentice. The story is all about her, in a way, and she is very enigmatic. She is not like most sith, but she also is in a way. She is angry, and confused. She is scared but also brave. She has a strong personality and she truly put herself above everyone, even her master.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really, because its 14 hours long, but it was quite captivating nonetheless, only worry is that it starts very slowly.

Any additional comments?

Overall great, the reveal in the epilogue is quite funny. Lets just say that I didnt expect that from Stryver, wont say more though, it would ruin the surprise.

Love it can’t wait for the next one!

This book was for my son but I’m the one who can’t wait for the next book.

Fatal Alliance.

There is something I can’t name that keeps me coming back to this audiobook. I love all the Old Republic books, but I’ve definitely listened to this one the most. It has all the elements of good Star Wars story and pulls it off brilliantly. The tension is real because the characters are interesting and completely “expendable”. In a book set in the Old Republic anything can happen.

Disney you own the rights to all the Legends novels. Please release unabridged versions of them. I can only see $$$$$ for you.