Star Wars Padawan
BEING A TEENAGER IS HARD ENOUGH WITHOUT ALSO TRAINING TO BE A JEDI….
Obi-Wan Kenobi has not been apprenticed long to Qui-Gon Jinn, and he is chafing at Qui-Gon’s training style: all meditation, no action. Obi-Wan yearns to prove himself on a mission, but when he and Qui-Gon are finally set to leave on an assignment, Qui-Gon is nowhere to be found.
Angered by his master’s abandonment, Obi-Wan sets out on the mission alone, determined to prove himself. On a mysterious planet he encounters a pack of feral, Force-wielding teens who seem to be the planet’s only inhabitants. As he experiences wild freedom with them and wonders if this isn’t the life he was meant for, Obi-Wan can’t escape the nagging sense that something is wrong with the Force there.
Romantic complications, startling revelations, and a looming threat to both the planet and his new friends will bring Obi-Wan face-to-face with his worst fear: that maybe he was never supposed to be a Jedi at all. Can he connect with the living Force in time to save himself and everyone around him? It’s the star of the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ limited series as you’ve never seen him before….
Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: July 26th, 2022
Page Count: 400 pages
ISBN: 9781368060660 / 1368060668
Young Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi is struggling. He’s struggling to connect to his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, and he’s struggling to connect to the Force. Obi-Wan is becoming increasingly frustrated with his master as he watches his young Jedi friends off on adventures and important mission with their masters whilst he is spending most of his time trying to meditate and failing badly. Things change when Obi-Wan finds an odd message left by a Jedi of the past pointing to an uncharted planet and he takes off alone to find his own adventure.
The young adult books published Disney/Lucasfilm Press are not to be ignored. Some of the best and most consistently enjoyable stories have been YA and this ranks up there with the best of them. Whilst for some it may not reach the heights of Claudia Gray’s books, Lost Stars and Leia: Princess of Alderaan, it gives them a damn good run for their money. Author Kiersten White perfectly captures young Obi-Wan’s voice and crafts a supremely entertaining story while also giving us a great insight into Kenobi’s inner turmoil during this period of his life.
White has obviously done her homework as this is consistent with the young padawan we found at the beginning of Clauda Gray’s book Master and Apprentice. The events of this book may heal some of the troubles plaguing our hero but the distance between the master and apprentice is keenly felt and serves as a wonderful prequel to Gray’s book. It also echoes the characters disconnection present in the Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi. He may be known as one of the galaxies best and strongest heroes during The Clone Wars but the character arc that’s provided by the bookend of Padawan and the new series is compelling and fittingly human. His story now seems even more tragic than that of his murderous apprentice. It’s also made me realise that the true heroes of the entire saga are Obi-Wan and Leia. Selfless and steadfast in the service to what’s right and good in the galaxy.
When the story touches down on the mysterious planet Lenahra the reference points are obvious. Lord of the Flies and Lost immediately sprang to mind but there’s also something of past stories like Shatterpoint, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye and even (the criminally underrated) Mighty Chewbacca and the Forest of Fear here. A hostile jungle planet playing host to various beasties, violent flora and even sentient weather whose only other inhabitants is a group of near feral children, desperate to survive through force-like abilities and sheer determination. They’re a family it’s hard not fall for and this acts as the central dilemma for our young hero. The freedom, affection and community Obi-Wan finds here is the exact thing he’s been craving since his graduation from Initiate to Padawan. Can he ignore the strict Jedi discipline instilled in him since birth and find liberation here amongst these children?
Naturally there’s more to this group and planet than meets the eye. It’s a fun puzzle to piece together, one filled with death and heartbreak. The supporting characters are mostly memorable too, so much so that I’d love a small update on them in the future even if it’s just a nod in a short story like the Larte’s from E.K Johnston’s Ahsoka in From A Certain Point of View or Siv from Delilah S Dawson’s Phasma in the short story Return to a Shattered Planet. Maybe we will see them in the inevitable story of Obi-Wan’s history with Duchess Satine of Mandalore. Who Knows? There’s still a lot of Kenobi’s story to be told.
A detail that I particularly enjoyed is the fairly substantial references to The High Republic through a certain couple of long dead Jedi. Between this, Dooku: Jedi Lost and the comics Star Wars, Doctor Aphra and The Rise of Kylo Ren the history of The High Republic is being delicately baked into the Skywalker Saga in subtle but meaningful ways and I’m 100% here for it. Padawan also shows the start of a relationship between Obi-Wan and another character from the Prequels and I found it to be an unexpected delight, one that works particularly well with Mike Chen’s Brotherhood and is to be expected in a book released in the year of the twentieth anniversary of Attack of the Clones.
While it may not canon-shaking stuff I’d argue that it’s an essential piece of Obi-Wans story and like the current stellar comic Obi-Wan is only elevating the character and the Disney Plus series. If you want an enjoyable self-contained and easy to read Star Wars adventure then this is strongly recommended. I can’t wait to see what Kiersten White does next and Mr Siglain, I think you’ve found the author for the story of Obi-Wan and Satine.
- Hardcover Book
- White, Kiersten (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 416 Pages - 07/26/2022 (Publication Date) - Random House/Star Wars (Publisher)
