Mara D'Lessio Merrill
The Lesser D'Lessio
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Soulless is Mara D'Lessio Merrill's second book. Like her first, They Call Us All Traitor, it examines and condemns Mandalorian cultural values.
Soulless is less ambitious than Mara's previous work. Its language is less inflammatory and prejudiced. Its content, however, is just as dedicated to eviscerating the Mandalorian way of life. Mara pulls no punches, revealing graphic new details of the Ilum Enclave Massacre and the survivors' healing process.
She describes the Mandalorian backlash after the publication of They Call Us All Traitor. The first book strained ties and cooled friendships. Without flinching, she outlines her own hostile encounters with Mandalorians. One saw a pair of Mandalorians recognize, confront, and attack her on Ord Mantell. After their indiscriminate fire injured bystanders, Mara killed them without mercy. She describes her later conflict, remorse, and conclusion that she couldn't stop opposing Mandalorian aggression regardless of her feelings. Another incident involved the bloody capture of a Mandalorian cruiser in the ruins of Donanyd; the death of its captain, one of the Ilum Enclave Massacre's perpetrators; and an attack by a more powerful Mandalorian ship.
Throughout these accounts, Mara interweaves insights on Mandalorian philosophy. She outlines the 'Manda’, a concept of communal consciousness and immortal afterlife which explicitly excludes non-Mandalorians. Outsiders, she argues, are considered soulless and doomed. She touches on some of the same linguistic factors that she explored in her first book. Notably, she dwells on the mando'a term 'kir’manir.’ The word describes the process of being adopted into a Mandalorian family and Mandalorian culture; a more literal translation is 'to give someone a soul.’ She also notes that the word for 'foreign’ is essentially identical to the word for 'hostile’. In this light, she considers the parallels between Mandalorian adoption/forced conversion processes and similarly assimilative processes among radicalized religious communities. The Resol’nare, she concludes, leaves little room to recognize the value in other peoples and cultures, apart from incidental strategic benefits.
Though encouraged by the collapse of the Mandalorian Clans, Mara warns about proliferation of bored Mandalorian mercenaries across the galaxy. As evidence, she cites the simultaneous Sith and Mandalorian attacks on the Ossus Jedi Temple, and the Silver Jedi Order's dangerous use of Mandalorian troops. She notes a new Mandalorian presence in and around the Onderon system; other enclaves and colonies, she warns, are sure to follow.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
DESCRIPTION
Mara wrote this book as a means of understanding and coping with the physical and emotional damage from her Mandalorian encounters. Sadder and more contemplative than They Call Us All Traitor, Soulless is a more polished effort. Its tone is more apprehensive than angry.
- Intent: Another piece of anti-Mando propaganda by Mara.
- Image Source: N/A
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Name: Soulless: View Through A T-Visor
- Manufacturer: Mara Merrill (author), available free on the HoloNet
- Affiliation: Open market
- Modularity: No, but DRM-free
- Production: Mass-produced (it's a replicable digital product)
- Material: Data
- Classification: Electronic book
- Size: N/A
- Length: N/A
- Width: N/A
- Height: N/A
- Weight: N/A
- Accounts of modern Mandalorian atrocities
- Commentary on Mandalorian culture and thought
Soulless is Mara D'Lessio Merrill's second book. Like her first, They Call Us All Traitor, it examines and condemns Mandalorian cultural values.
Soulless is less ambitious than Mara's previous work. Its language is less inflammatory and prejudiced. Its content, however, is just as dedicated to eviscerating the Mandalorian way of life. Mara pulls no punches, revealing graphic new details of the Ilum Enclave Massacre and the survivors' healing process.
She describes the Mandalorian backlash after the publication of They Call Us All Traitor. The first book strained ties and cooled friendships. Without flinching, she outlines her own hostile encounters with Mandalorians. One saw a pair of Mandalorians recognize, confront, and attack her on Ord Mantell. After their indiscriminate fire injured bystanders, Mara killed them without mercy. She describes her later conflict, remorse, and conclusion that she couldn't stop opposing Mandalorian aggression regardless of her feelings. Another incident involved the bloody capture of a Mandalorian cruiser in the ruins of Donanyd; the death of its captain, one of the Ilum Enclave Massacre's perpetrators; and an attack by a more powerful Mandalorian ship.
Throughout these accounts, Mara interweaves insights on Mandalorian philosophy. She outlines the 'Manda’, a concept of communal consciousness and immortal afterlife which explicitly excludes non-Mandalorians. Outsiders, she argues, are considered soulless and doomed. She touches on some of the same linguistic factors that she explored in her first book. Notably, she dwells on the mando'a term 'kir’manir.’ The word describes the process of being adopted into a Mandalorian family and Mandalorian culture; a more literal translation is 'to give someone a soul.’ She also notes that the word for 'foreign’ is essentially identical to the word for 'hostile’. In this light, she considers the parallels between Mandalorian adoption/forced conversion processes and similarly assimilative processes among radicalized religious communities. The Resol’nare, she concludes, leaves little room to recognize the value in other peoples and cultures, apart from incidental strategic benefits.
Though encouraged by the collapse of the Mandalorian Clans, Mara warns about proliferation of bored Mandalorian mercenaries across the galaxy. As evidence, she cites the simultaneous Sith and Mandalorian attacks on the Ossus Jedi Temple, and the Silver Jedi Order's dangerous use of Mandalorian troops. She notes a new Mandalorian presence in and around the Onderon system; other enclaves and colonies, she warns, are sure to follow.
Strengths:
- As propaganda goes, it's heartfelt and fairly compelling.
Weaknesses:
- Any Mandalorian who reads this book will find numerous half-truths, misrepresentations, and minor to moderate errors. This book does not pretend to be unbiased.
DESCRIPTION
Mara wrote this book as a means of understanding and coping with the physical and emotional damage from her Mandalorian encounters. Sadder and more contemplative than They Call Us All Traitor, Soulless is a more polished effort. Its tone is more apprehensive than angry.
