If you are looking for a politic heavy book that leads right into The Phantom Menace, then this is the book for you. It explains how the taxation on the Trade Federation began while also showing Chancellor Valorum slowly losing power over the senators as they begin to lose faith in his leadership. While I was reading this, I could almost hear Darth Sidious cackling as he pulled marionette strings as his plan further fell into place. It was a good story and made better by a health dose of Jedi making appearances. It was a little bitter sweet though, seeing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan together in their second to last mission before the events of The Phantom Menace.