Star Wars: I, Jedi audiobook review
The dramatic story of an X-wing pilot on the razor’s edge between the hero he once was and the power he could have—if he’s willing to embrace the Dark Side
Corran Horn was an officer in the Corellian Security Force before casting his lot with the New Republic. As the grandson of a legendary Jedi hero, he has latent Force powers that have yet to be developed. But he has managed to distinguish himself with Rogue Squadron, the X-wing fighter force that has become the scourge of the Empire and of the pirates that prey on Republic shipping.
When his wife, Mirax, vanishes on a covert mission for the New Republic, Corran vows to find her. He begins Jedi training at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi academy, hoping to develop his untapped powers. But as Corran grows dissatisfied with the Jedi master’s methods, he chooses to break with the academy before his training is finished.
Now Corran is on his own. Using his undercover experience, he must infiltrate, sabotage, and destroy a ruthless organization in order to find his wife. But to succeed, Corran will have to come to terms with his Jedi heritage—and make a terrible choice: surrender to the Dark Side . . . or die.
Author: Mike Stackpole
Cover artist: Amir Zand
Publisher: Del Rey
Release date: March 12, 2024
Narrator: Marc Thompson
ISBN: 9780593722183
A long time ago (April 25th 2014 to be exact), it was announced that the existing publishing content in Star Wars would be renamed Legends. It was also announced that the stories going forward published by Disney Press, Del Rey (now part of Random House Worlds) and other publishing houses would be considered Canon.
What was lost in the immediate heartbreak and outrage of the announcement was the secondary announcement that when possible, Legends stories would be folded into existing canon. Star Wars publishing doesn’t get enough credit for actively working towards this promise. Not only do we have Thrawn as part of the animated and live action universe, but we also have Legends novels being consistently re-released with fresh covers in both physical and audibook releases, and in unabridged form. Each of these novels and audiobooks contain an informative wraparound introduction to explain the stories to new readers.
There have been a few Rogue Squadron novels released, many as unabridged audiobooks like this one. I, Jedi is a standalone novel starring Corran Horn, and if you watched the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney Plus you might remember a desperate mother trying to get her young son off-planet through a conman named Haja because of his Force sensitivity. This moment made a lot of Legends fans very happy, and many are still theorizing what this could mean for the character in future Star Wars productions.
I, Jedi is a perfect way to introduce new readers to the character, but before we get into the story here are a few things you need to know about the universe this book is set in.
First: The book takes place in a post Return of the Jedi continuity. The Rebellion has won but still is battling Imperial remnants and other challenges to the galaxy.
Second: The book takes place after the comic book mini-series Dark Empire. In that series Palpatine returned and Luke Skywalker fell to the dark side, later to be rescued by Princess Leia.
Third: Many memorable Canon and Legends characters exist in this book including Wedge Antilles, Lando Calrissian, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo (who are now married and have twins, Jaina and Jacen), and Luke Skywalkers future wife Mara Jade.
Corran was a Corellian Security Offer who was dedicated to the cause of justice who left his post to fight in the Rebellion, serving with distinction in Rogue Squadron. Sometime before the events in this story Luke Skywalker tested Corran and found he had strong latent Jedi powers. Corran’s Grandfather was a legendary Jedi hero, but Corran rejected his offer of training.
At the start of the novel Corran finds himself at a crossroads as his wife Mirax reveals to him that she wants a child. Initially resistant, Corran references the instability of the galaxy and suggests they wait until the last Imperial threat is vanquished. Mirax humors him but is clear that they will revisit this discussion at a later date as she has to go on a secret mission to try to discover the whereabouts of an Imperial threat. Upon reflection Corran realizes he is ready and is excited to tell his wife, but comes home to find her not only absent from their residence but also that she hasn’t checked in with her handlers.
Corran draws on all his resources including an offer to look into it by Han Solo, Corran’s fellow Corellian native. All leads come up empty and Corran begins to spiral. He tries to persuade prominent Rebel leaders to help, but they all refuse. What happens next is my one problem with the book. Corran joins Luke Skywalker and his other candidates in a remote location for Jedi training. That’s right; his wife is missing and he spends MONTHS learning to be a Jedi. To be fair Mike Stackpole does a good job showing that all leads have dried up and that several people are searching for clues, but it still felt like an odd choice to me.
I, Jedi is told from first person perspective, so the reader knows Mirax is always on his mind. Throughout his training, Corran is an apt pupil that always seems to be in the right place to make a difference against the threats that arrive at the school. When an ancient evil awakens on the grounds of Luke’s academy, Corran is instrumental in discovering and rallying Luke’s students to fight against it. When information finally comes on Mirax, Corran starts the steps to going to retrieve her, including learning some deep secrets about his family lineage and coming closer to accessing how his Force abilities work.
I enjoyed the second half of this book immensely, and reading it from today’s standards I think the book would have worked better as a duology, or if they had flipped the sequence of events to have Corran go to the academy first and then have Mirax be kidnapped a few months later, I would have been onboard. However, the woman and representation advocate in me couldn’t get past the author shelving a female character for six months so the lead character could “find himself”.
Despite that, I understand the fandom love for Corran Horn. He has the swagger of Han Solo and the skills to back up the talk. He’s also hard-headed, but when he learns something it sticks. He has a constant stream of allies that come into his life that he initially resists but always comes to appreciate.
Stackpole really has a great understanding of his creation. Opinions vary on Horn but what shines through is how grounded Stackpole is in who Horn is and what limits he is willing to push. In this first person narrative there is a level of intimacy the reader gets with Horn that changes opinions on what you thought about him in previous stories.
This was a solid adventure with a fantastic final act. A major part of my enjoyment was the narration by Marc Thompson. There are a variety of characters in this novel and he gives them all excellent voices, and it’s amazing how he switches back and forth between human and alien characters, often ones having intense discussions with them.
This book can be approached as a standalone read, but there are very many breadcrumbs to characters and stories you might want to explore, and if the time comes when Corran Horn graces the pages of a novel or live action project you’ll have a far better understanding of his journey.
- Audible Audiobook
- Michael A. Stackpole (Author) - Marc Thompson (Narrator)
- English (Publication Language)
- 03/12/2024 (Publication Date) - Random House Audio (Publisher)