Star Wars: Kenobi
Darkness has fallen on the galaxy. The Emperor has taken control of the Galactic Republic, aided by Anakin Skywalker, once one of the brightest of the Jedi Knights, charged with protecting the helpless. Having fallen to the dark side of the mystical Force, Anakin lives on as the Emperor’s ruthless enforcer, Darth Vader.
But hope also lives in the form of Anakin’s infant son—protected by Anakin’s friend and former mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi flees with the baby to the remote world of Tatooine, where years earlier Anakin’s fall truly began when he vengefully massacred a native clan of Tusken Raiders.
Unaware of that event—and still believing that he killed Anakin in their desperate duel—Kenobi settles into a new role, watching over the child and his adoptive family, the Larses, from a distance. But hiding is difficult for one accustomed to action, and even desert Tatooine has those who require the help of a Jedi…
Author: John Jackson Miller
Cover artist: Gregory Manchess
Publisher: Del Rey
Release date: April 5, 2022
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780593497029
My journey through the Essential Legends Collection with one of the more topical releases, Kenobi. Naturally due to the impending Disney Plus show Obi-Wan Kenobi a lot of people are turning their attention to John Jackson Miller’s 2013 book in an attempt to satisfy their anticipatory hunger. The fact that this book is considered Legends and the new show will likely ignore it’s events is neither here nor there. This book is absolutely fantastic and essential for any Star Wars fan.
You could be a little worried to find out that Kenobi is set entirely on Tatooine as, again because of the Disney Plus shows, there’s a little bit of fatigue amongst the fandom for the sand covered nexus of scum and villainy. The Tatooine here though is an absolute joy to read. Full of life and incredibly well realised characters, I found it captivating and the community that lives in these pages intoxicating. Whether it’s the settlers that hang around the bar/shop/garage/hub The Claim or the weakened and violent tribes of sand people Jackson Miller paints such a complete picture of their lives and struggles that its hard not to get drawn into life on this version of Tatooine. Jackson Miller can really set a scene and make the setting it’s own star, I can still picture Gorse from his Rebels tie-in novel A New Dawn perfectly, and it’s been many years since I read that.
The story centres around the Calwell and Gault families. Annileen Calwell is struggling to keep her family together while running local hub Dannar’s Claim. Her son Jabe is becoming increasingly wayward as he acts out and goes against his mothers wishes by running with the more delinquent Gault children Veeka and Mullen. Gault patriarch Orrin is a local businessman and best friend of Annileens late husband Dannar. He is the founder and champion of The Call, a community based security system – like a more violent neighbourhood watch – which is a series of alarms that will alert all members in the event of a Tusken attack. This has put him somewhat center in the community and it’s a role he relishes in with charm and a winning smile. The dynamic between these two families serves as the backbone of the story and what a story it is! Deception, resentment and murder tangled up in a web of lies that starts to unravel with the arrival of new outsider Ben Kenobi.
Obi-Wan is fresh from the events of Revenge of the Sith and steadfast in his mission to protect infant Luke Skywalker. He is still suffering with the loss of Anakin and the guilt he feels for the part he played in his descent. The struggle he faces here though is trying to unlearn what he’s learned and quash his Jedi sensibilities. He tries his hardest to distance himself from the local drama but can’t quite lay the hero in him to rest. He inevitably gets drawn in and walks a tightrope trying to retain some sense of anonymity while covertly playing the role of protector. It plays out like Star Wars‘ answer to Batman in the best way.
More avid Legends fans will appreciate the nods to other works and the reverence to the lore of the EU. It made me take quite a few deep dives on Wookieepedia trying to get the most out of the references being made. Great stuff indeed and I sincerely hope Jackson Miller returns to Star Wars one day.
- Miller, John Jackson (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 432 Pages - 04/05/2022 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
