White, Kiersten

AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:

3 out of 5

(1 book)

Star Wars: Padawan

16-year old Obi-Wan Kenobi is frustrated by his Master Qui-Gon Jinn’s refusal to take him away from the Jedi Temple on his first mission.  When he discovers a centuries-old clue to a mysterious world found by a Jedi Wayseeker Obi-Wan chooses to steal a shuttle and leave Coruscant without Qui-Gon.  On the planet Lenahra he encounters a group of young people, apparently imbued with Force powers, among whom Obi-Wan considers whether there is a future among the Jedi for him at all.

This an easy-to-read and perfectly enjoyable solo adventure for Obi-Wan, aimed at a YA audience.  For me, however, it fell a little short of what I’d hoped for.  I always enjoyed the old EU (Legends) stories of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon pre-Episode I and I’d hoped for something along those lines.  Unfortunately, Qui-Gon is barely in this book at all and the relationship between the two Jedi is weirdly distant and impersonal.  Sure Obi-Wan as a Padawan had something of a tendency towards stiffness, but Qui-Gon has always been portrayed as friendly and empathetic, but that’s really not what we see here.

On top of familiar faces not actually feeling that familiar, the actual core plot of the book and the mystery of Lenahra is actually very predictable and didn’t throw up anything that I felt was a real surprise.  Nor, for that matter, do the stakes ever feel particularly high.  The biggest piece of tension in the book is the theme of whether or not Obi-Wan will leave the Jedi Order and, spoilers, he doesn’t.

Honestly, if you want a better exploration of Obi-Wan’s first mission and his early relationship with Qui-Gon, go to the old Jedi Apprentice series of YA books.  Specifically, Dave Wolverton’s ‘The Rising Force’ and Jude Watson’s ‘The Dark Rival’.

3 out of 5

Collaborations & Anthologies:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - From A Certain Point Of View (here)

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Star Wars (here)