book review: The Jedi apprentice series

[dr_fumbles_mcstupid]

 

Most people hate Episodes one through three of the Star Wars saga, I unlike most didn’t. I loved episode one, episode two was a bit boring, but three had so much character development. I especially loved two characters from the first three movies, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Unfortunately Qui-Gon dies in the first movie and you never learn much more about him. When I discovered a series of books focusing specifically on Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, I rejoiced.

 

I started reading the Jedi apprentice series when I was twelve years old. I remember that I could not wait for the next book to come out. I would beg my parents to buy the book for me and devour it in a day. I loved them so much as a child that I was wary to pick them up again. Most things that I reread from when I was younger do not live up to what I remembered.

 

So I picked up the first book from off the bookshelf. From the first sentence I was hooked. The writing was magnificent. It isn’t all action and adventure like the movies either. There are the struggles of young Obi-Wan as he tries to get Qui-Gon to realize that he is a good choice for an apprentice. Its not “lets kill the bad guys because they are bad”, there is a reality to each action, and you know that killing is not the path that should generally be taken. It discusses so many things that generally are not shown in books aimed towards such young children, war, death, suppression and torture.

 

The characters were well written while still being true to the star wars fandom. They had a depth to them that you don’t usually find in children’s books. You learn more about each character's past and what motivates them. The writing style is simple and easily flows between one person to the other so you can understand the minds of both main characters.
 

I actually empathized with the characters. They felt real and so their pains, triumphs and frustrations in turn felt real.

 

The plot twists were frequent and unexpected. Usually in books based off movies plot twists are easily spotted from miles away, but in each book of the series I was kept wondering throughout every page.

 

Most of the books from the series can be read as stand alones, but if you have read them all there are references to characters and events from previous books. Each book is paced magnificently with just enough action and mystery to keep you reading and character development is sprinkled throughout.

 

These books made up a large part of my childhood and I am glad that I got to read them again. Unfortunately these books are now out of print, but if you are interested in reading them I can send you electric copies of all twenty books.