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This just may be one of the best Star Wars novels I’ve ever read. The reason may actually surprise you. Read on to find out why this story taking place between Revenge of the Sith, and A New Hope shoots right towards the top of my list!
From the Back: Tatooine—a harsh desert world where farmers toil in the heat of two suns while trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from the marauding Tusken Raiders. A backwater planet on the edge of civilized space. And an unlikely place to find a Jedi Master in hiding, or an orphaned infant boy on whose tiny shoulders rests the future of a galaxy.
Known to locals only as “Ben,” the bearded and robed offworlder is an enigmatic stranger who keeps to himself, shares nothing of his past, and goes to great pains to remain an outsider. But as tensions escalate between the farmers and a tribe of Sand People led by a ruthless war chief, Ben finds himself drawn into the fight, endangering the very mission that brought him to Tatooine.
Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice.
When you think Star Wars, you probably think big lightsaber duels, exotic planets, high action and lots of adventure. What you find in this novel, is really none of those. The novel takes place on Tatooine, and features Obi-Wan Kenobi after he’s dropped Luke Skywalker to the Lars family. You get a glimpse of what life was like for “Crazy old Ben” as he starts his hermit-like life.
All of this could sound incredibly boring. No action, no real adventure, just a little western type novel set in the Star War universe. You wouldn’t be more wrong. I think what this book does right is stray away from the typical Star Wars novel.
The life and locations of a group of people on Tatooine are vividly described. The backstory created for the main and secondary characters really make you care for them. You’ll even get a glimpse at life through the view of the Tusken Raiders. John Jackson Miller did something that I really didn’t think was possible, and humanized them. He eluded to the time when Anakin slaughtered their people, and actually made you take a step back and look at them from a different point of view.
One thing I did not expect from this book is for a bit of romantic tension to play a part. You know how things end based on the movies, but it’s superbly written. The characters are done so well, that you feel the inner battle going on inside Obi-Wan Kenobi, struggling to keep his feelings at bay.
The Bottom Line: Friendship, family, betrayal, redemption. Those are what drive this story. With almost no action and adventure, those relationships are what drives this story. Star Wars: Kenobi has probably the best characterizations of any Star Wars novel I’ve ever read….scratch that…I put the characterization and the way I felt about these characters in the top 10 books I’ve read. I put this Star Wars book in the top 5 in the series. For me, it hit on more of an emotional level than heart stopping action, and that, is what I will remember more. I look back on this book and I feel like I know the characters. Bravo John Jackson Miller, bravo.
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Author John Jackson Miller has spent a lifetime immersed in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. He’s best known for his Star Wars work, including Star Wars: Knight Errant, his national bestselling novel from Del Rey; Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith; and his long-running Knights of the Old Republic comics series from Dark Horse. His Star Wars: Kenobi hardcover releases in August 2013, and his own SF work Overdraft: The Orion Offensive is now available.
He’s written comics for Mass Effect, Iron Man, The Simpsons, and Indiana Jones, and has written for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Production notes on all his works can be found at his fiction site (farawaypress.com).
Miller is also a noted comics industry historian, specializing in studying comic-book circulation as presented on his website, The Comics Chronicles (comichron.com). He also coauthored the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series.