Star Wars: The Rising Force

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice #1

by Dave Wolverton

Twelve-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi desperately wants to be a Jedi Knight. After years at the Jedi Temple, he knows the power of the lightsaber and the Force. But he cannot control his own anger and fear. Because of this, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn will not take him on as a Padawan apprentice.Now Obi-Wan is about to have his first encounter with true evil. He must face off against unexpected enemies--and face up to his own dark wishes.Only then can his education as a Jedi truly begin.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Childrens, Middle Grade

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Dave Wolverton (born 1957) is a science fiction author who also goes under the pseudonym David Farland for his fantasy works. He currently lives in St. George, Utah with his wife and five children.

(Wikipedia entry: Dave Wolverton)

Reviews

[Philalmae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember coming across this book in Kroger, not long after The Phantom Menance came out. My son was in 4th grade, and he HATED to read :'(

Since he was really into Star Wars at the time, I picked it up, hoping that it might spark his interest...or at least make those monthly reading goals go a bit smoother! We started off with me reading a paragraph and him reading a paragraph. It was agonizingly slow, but then the unthinkable happened: he read almost a page before he remembered it was my turn!

We both fell in love with the Extended Universe, thanks to this series of books, and my son is now an avid reader ;)

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my quest to continue the Star Wars Middle-Grade books, I decided to pick up the longest (by # of books) series in Star Wars: The Jedi Apprentice Series. I read a few of these in elementary school, and remember very little about them (almost all of what I remember is from this first book, and even then not too much), so I was delighted to see what the hype was about.

This book absolutely nails the tone, themes, characters, plotline, action, and adventure that a Star Wars kids book should. It sets up the series excellently and works perfectly both for kids and for adults.

Dave Wolverton has a wide range of writing. He wrote the Runelords Saga (which I mostly loved, one of my favorite Fantasy series), the Golden Queen Trilogy (which was fun), and for Star Wars he wrote The Courtship of Princess Leia, which I did not care for at all. So I'm glad that he's absolutely redeemed his Star Wars reputation with this book.

The story about Obi-Wan working hard and failing to get a master at the temple is really endearing. And when he's sent away (and Qui-Gon happens to be on the ship), you know that somehow they have to end up together as Master/Apprentice, but Wolverton really does an excellent job of planting the seeds of doubt for the reader, making me desperately need to know what happens next.

This book as I said earlier balances themes and plotline. We do get character development from both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, and it's enough that it works for the book, but leaves room for further development later in the series.

The action in the book is incredible, from Obi-Wan's training in the beginning, to the sneaking around the ship, to the Pirate fight, to the (Spoiler ommited) showing up at the end. Each scene was written well.

Dave Wolverton has a history with Epic Fantasy, so it was really funny/charming to see him incorporate a fantasy creature in this book and still have it fit in the galaxy far far away's mythology.

Overall, an excellent book that promises an excellent start to the series. Cannot wait to read more! 9.2 out of 10!

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since he died in The Phantom Menace, we don't get to see much of Qui-Gon in the movies. However, this book series begins with him training a twelve-year-old Obi-Wan, and is a prequel to the prequels. If you've ever been curious about the early years of the two Jedi who found Anakin, this book--and this series--is for you. Don't let the kiddie format stop you.

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

More properly 3.5 stars, rounded up.

While not on par with books such as Star Wars: Lost Stars, of course, I'm enjoying these YA Star Wars books series.

They're a great diversion, and while not great literature, each of them thus far has had (at least) one moment that makes me think, or just plain wows me, which is all I can ask. (I think this is, compareatively speaking, this is my least favorite of the 4 series I'm reading.

(For the record, I'm reading this series, "Jedi Quest", and "Galaxy of Fear", while I've finished the Rebels series "Servant of the Empire".)

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

it's Star Wars . . . about frikkin OBI-WAN aka the first fictional character I wanted to be but also marry sooooo yeah

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story to read which I was surprised that it was, of course it's not like the old republic novels or any of the adult ones, nothing dark here or anything like that, it's for a younger audience and it gets the job done. Good story, with the characters you know and love, interesting plot basically about a young Obi Wan trying to become Qui Gon's Padawan!

[Branwen Sedai *of the Brown Ajah* · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Anger and fear will lead you down a path you do not want to follow. Befriend them, you should. Look them in the eye without blinking. Use faults as teachers, you should. Then, rule you, they will not. Rule them, you shall."

"We are not to know, we are to do."

　

In this first book in the Jedi Apprentice series, we see the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi as he is still a hopeful youngling in the Academy. He is precariously close to be the age where he will be unable to become a Jedi and asked to leave the temple unless he is chosen as a padawan. His only chance is the renegade loner Qui-Gon Jinn. But Qui-Gon is not interested in choosing another padawan since the disastrous circumstances regarding his last one. But when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are thrown together on a freighter ship and have to solve the dispute between two mining organizations, they find that they may need each other more than either of them realized.

I know this book is meant for a much younger audience than myself, but I totally fell head over heels in love with it! It was a blast to see Obi-Wan a young boy and to cheer him on as he overcame his own fears and angers. Yoda made a brief appearance which was awesome, and I was so fascinated to see a brief glimpse of the inner workings of the Jedi Temple. Also I have a real soft spot for Qui-Gon Jinn, so his major role in this story really warmed my heart!

I would gladly reccomend this book to any Star Wars fan, especially if you are a fan of Kenobi and are interested in his experiances as a young padawan

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating is 2.5 stars.

This is part of the Legends timeline and the start of a series in this universe. This tells the story about Obi-Wan before he is an actual padawan. He needs a master or he will never become a Jedi Knight. This details the initial meetings between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. This series is meant for the younger audience.

Immediately I liked this book as it shows Obi-Wan wasn't a perfect Jedi pupil and he had struggles. I think this gives an added dimension to his character. I also liked the developing relationship between two characters that we know that will be eventually master and student. The development between these two felt organic. The conflict that was used for the setting was working as it touched upon slavery which is a constant in this universe. Everything was working but then this book took a hard right turn in its plot. I thought with this turn the book lost its momentum and suffered from it. That is the reason I lowered my rating the half star.

This was a decent offer from this universe and it works for an introduction for a new series. It definitely has potential as we explore Obi-Wan as the student instead of the teacher.

[Megres. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho sentito parlare molto di questa "saga" di libri su Star Wars ( "Apprendista Jedi" ) e visto che tutti le voci che ho ascoltato dicevano che era un libro da leggere ho deciso di fare un tentativo. E' corto ma con una storia tutto sommato interessante. Avevo paura che fosse un libro solamente per dodicenni, ma dopo aver letto le prime pagine ho capito che il target non era così basso e qualsiasi fan della saga di Star Wars poteva tranquillamente leggerlo. Sottolineo fan di Star Wars non perché gli altri non possano leggerlo, ma perché i personaggi che appaiono nella storia vengono raramente presentati e qiundi un non fan che non sa quasi niente di Star Wars forse avrebbe problemi con la storia.
Avrei voluto che si focalizzasse più sul tempio jedi ( visto che parla di Obi-Wan quando non è neanche un padawan ), ma la storia si sposta subito fuori. Comunque tutto sommato un bel libro.

[Eva B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt different from the other books in the series, probably because it's by a different author. I never really got into this one, but it plants a lot of seeds for future books, such as Xanatos and Bruck. Also it has Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fighting space dragons.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 review:
What struck me this time through wasn't just Obi-wan's learning to accept the possibility of life going in an unexpected and unwelcome direction. It was mainly how unaware of true evil he really was. It reminded me of how Christians can be so afraid of other ideas or sins and their children falling prey to them that they over protect and don't properly teach them how to engage with other worldviews or to really deal with sin and evil in the world and within themselves. It can lead to a crisis of faith. The younglings are so coddled and unprepared for how dangerous the real world is, and yet are expected to not only survive but function as adults in it with or without a Master by the age of 13. And then they wonder why some leave or straight up turn to the dark side. Jedi Pedagogy leaves a lot to be desired.
Original review from 2021
Third reading and still fun. I enjoy the characters and adventures. The Jedi Order really need to invest in therapists. The amount of anxiety Obi-wan is already feeling about his situation is not ok. Qui-gon needs therapy as well. I love these books, but Yoda is pulling a Dumbledore, and he isn't addressing the underlying unaddressed traumas either Obi-wan or Qui-gon need to work on before Qui-gon becomes a master.

[Kris Irvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Star Wars, you HAVE to read this series. If you like Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, you need to stop everything you are doing immediately and get your hands on this series. Because it is amazing. The characterization and the insights it gives into the Jedi Way are just phenomenal. I love Qui-Gon so much. So. So much.

[Andres Borbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genial pre-precuela de Star Wars. Un Obi-Wan Kenobi de 12 años y su acercamiento al legendario Qui-Gon Jinn. Lástima que la historia sea tan breve, y supongo que habrá que leer alguno de los 19 libros restantes de la serie para saber qué pasa a continuación.

A pesar de ser literatura YA (Juvenil), me ha encantado. Casi todo lo que huela a ciencia ficción me llena de curiosidad. Y para todos los curiosos como yo, tal vez resulte una lectura más que entretenida.

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
Me divirtió tanto.
Creo que es interesante leer sobre historias (no sé si oficiales) dentro del mundo que creó George Lucas que no aparecen dentro de las películas. Saber sobre el pasado de Obi-Wan me resultó interesantísimo, y creo que a todo fan de Star Wars le debe pasar al leer libros como estos.
El que tarde tanto en tomarlo como padawan (y que incluso no lo haga en este libro), aún sabiendo que va a terminar siéndolo después, me desesperó tanto.
Conocer un Obi-Wan tan chiquito parecido a Anakin en tantos sentidos me pareció muy tierno.
Creo que no hay mucho que decir. El epílogo da ganas de más y seguramente mañana u otro día empiece el que sigue; tengo muchas ganas de sin dudas leer el resto de la saga.
Es un libro muy recomendable a cualquier fan de Star Wars que guste leer de aventuras y Jedis.

[Will Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
This book came off a bit dull and lifeless. I can see the makings of a good story here . This one was recommended to me by a friend when I told him I was looking for a good Star Wars books after finding the last one I read to also be a let down. I just don’t think YA is really my cup of tea. I think I’m going to give that genre ( style?) a break for a little while and come back to it in a couple years. This just didn’t do it for me . I think the story would have been much better expanded upon in greater detail.
If any one knows of any good Star Wars tie in novels feel free to let me know.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for the whole series.

I read these books as a kid and LOVED them. I wanted to read them all again but found that not many libraries have the entire set, so I found them online. I loved them even more. If you think this series can't be enjoyed by a 24 year-old woman as well as a 12 year old, you're wrong. In fact, being older, I feel like I appreciated more of the politics and difficult situations. Each book has serious moral choices and consequences that I completely forgot about as a kid. It was so much fun re-reading them. This series has a permanent place in my heart.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I now maintain a blog just for my kid-lit reviews. Find it at http://kidlit4adults.blogspot.com .)

A friend has convinced me to try my hand this year for the first time at writing children's literature; but I don't actually know anything about children's literature, so am starting the process among other ways by first reading a stack of popular books that have been recommended to me. Today's titles are from yet another long-running series of chapter books for grade-schoolers, the kind of franchise where an endless amount of 30,000-word volumes are cranked out once a month by a series of essentially anonymous authors; and this is actually one of the types of employment I'm hoping to find in the industry myself, which is why I'm reading so many of these types of books these days, to understand more about how exactly they're written.

And indeed, after expecting these to be only middling titles that rely mostly on the strength of the "Star Wars" brand for their commercial success, the three volumes of the "Jedi Apprentice" series I read (volumes 1, 2 and 3) were instead some of the better chapter books I've so far come across this year, with challenging vocabularies and nicely complex moral lessons that have more in common with Zen Buddhism than the Babysitters Club. (But then again, this series is put out by the always excellent Scholastic, so I guess I should've known better.) Although these will only appeal almost exclusively to boys in the 10-to-12 range, they're excellent for what they are, and get the classic "rules" of writing for this age group almost perfect -- for example, they include plenty of periil but very little real-world danger (helped immensely by their fantastical setting), feature plenty of action but a stripped-down non-confusing plot, and also do a nice job for sci-fi novels at exploring both school environments and inter-gender relationships at that age in depth. They're on the large side of such books, a full 30,000 to 35,000 words apiece, and despite their subject matter are not recommended for so-called "reluctant readers."

[Genevieve Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was painful and bittersweet and an incredibly necessary source of valuable information about the Jedi Order. I love Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even as a headstrong, angry initiate his overwhelming determination to do what's right is his most pronounced characteristic.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Good book. Nice to learn more about Obi-Wan. Hope he becomes the apprentice of Qui-Gon.

Can't wait to read more Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice novels!!!!

[bettyfer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Housekeeping Notes: Jude Watson has written all of the books in the Jedi Quest series (of which I have read the first four already) and all of the books in the Jedi Apprentice series, bar this first one. Jedi Quest deals with the adventures of Obi-Wan and Anakin, while Jedi Apprentice tackles the same type of low-stakes stories, but with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan as his Padawan. This first mini-novel was published in 1999, the same year The Phantom Menace appeared, so it was obviously created with the idea of being a tie-in to the movie and expanding upon the character of Qui-Gon, who dies in the very same episode in which he is introduced.

With that in mind, I find it absolutely bonkers that THIS is the direction they went with a character they intended to be so beloved and the paragon of the Jedi Order. Not only is Qui-Gon downright unlikeable, he is unexpectedly immature, especially for his age and rank, and even actively callous. For example, frequently threatening Obi-Wan he is about to fall to the dark side for getting angry one time. Implying the boy deserved to be manhandled by the Hutts because he went looking for trouble (Qui-Gon Balkan Parent unlocked?). He treats Obi-Wan, a child of the Jedi, even if not his specific Padawan, like a piece of gum stuck to his shoe. He has no concept of developmentally-appropriate maturity levels, he himself suffering from a bad case of arrested development. I am not a squeamish person by any means, but it's like the good folks from LucasBooks decided to do a speedrun on child abuse for their introduction to Qui-Gon's character and the Jedi Order's handling of children.

I can't say that the book is particularly graphic, but the depicted events are perfectly horrific. There is a weird, Brothers Grimm-level of violence casually thrown in here, which I'm not really sure is intentional. Beyond the depressive episode Obi-Wan is traversing, during the course of this novel, he is framed by his bully, strangled into unconsciousness the minute he steps foot onto the transport to Bandomeer, has to save his new friend from a literal torture session, flies a ship for the first time, kills for the first time (even if indirectly, via missiles), watches his friend slowly waste away from starvation and spends hours fighting an army of dragons (“draigons”) at a cave mouth.

Plot, for future reference: Initiate Obi-Wan Kenobi, just one month shy of his 13th birthday, has a long history of being bullied by fellow Initiate Bruck Chun. Bruck says the darnedest, most unhinged things, like taunting Obi-Wan that he's going to be thrown out of the Temple and that no one wants him. Somehow, the nickname "Oafy-Wan" becomes canon (well. Legends, but who's keeping score). The boys have an unsupervised duel in which they fight fairly, but Bruck frames Obi-Wan by pretending to the Healers that he got attacked for no reason. Instead of deferring this to a behavioural committee or investigating properly, some unspecified Jedi decide then on the spot to send Obi-Wan to Bandomeer on the morning transport, even though he theoretically still had time left to be picked by a Knight / Master in order to become a Padawan.

The lore of this series is that Initiates who were not selected as Padawans by their 13th birthday are supposed to be reassigned to one of the Jedi-related Service Corps: the Agricultural Corps, the Medical Corps, the Educational Corps, and the Exploration Corps. Somehow, this is seen as a great shame, since apparently everyone wants to be placed on the Knight-track. Or, this could just be Obi-Wan's own interpretation and expectations here at play — though no one really properly counters this view that the Service Corps are made up of Jedi rejects and are seen as inferior. (Concession: Okay, Qui-Gon mentions this idea one time in passing.)

The planet Bandomeer hosts one such Agricorps outpost, but is considered so dangerous, as to not be an appropriate place for a child and a young novice. Even Qui-Gon tells Yoda this, while Yoda continues to not give a flying fuck. His priority is, of course, his grown-ass Grandpadawan, not the young boy in his care. [Qui-Gon nepobaby discourse when??] Yoda thinks that Qui-Gon should really take on a new Padawan, because he is still brooding over his former apprentice turning to the Dark Side. But surely being forced to take care of a new child he does not want will cure him of the blues! So Yoda allows Obi-Wan to be sent on the same transport to Bandomeer as Qui-Gon (who has received a mission on that planet from the Senate), in the hopes that having some whacky adventures together will finally convince the disgruntled Jedi Master to take this wayward young boy on as his Padawan-Learner. Qui-Gon mostly leaves Obi-Wan to his own devices on the ship and refuses to offer guidance or help as this naive not-yet-teenager inevitably gets in harm’s way.

There is a political / economic narrative thread here about two mining corporations duking it out on Bandomeer, as capitalism tells us they should. The first one, Offworld Mining, is evil and controlled by Hutts. They use slavery. The second one, the Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation, is supposed to be less exploitative, but still seem to resort to some type of indentured servitude? They apparently allow the workers to share in the profits and sometimes will offer to buy the slaves from Offworld or buy their work contracts on the condition that the workers will then proceed to work for Arcona. Which begs the question: are those slaves actually free if a condition of their "freedom" is that they are forced to work for another employer? Until when? Are they supposed to repay Arcona for the price of their contracts? It's all rather sketchy and I'm not sure Dave Wolverton really thought this out.

The ship gets attacked by space pirates (of course) and is sufficiently damaged so as to require emergency landing on a nearby planet. Meanwhile, the evil Hutts have stolen the Arconans’ food supply, a substance called ‘dactyl’. The incoming tide forces the Arconans to take shelter in nearby caves. Reader, Qui-Gon flies on a dragon’s back and rescues a satchel of dactyl hidden by the evil Hutts, ensuring the Arconans don't starve. Obi-Wan is left to defend the cave mouth and keep a horde of dragons back until Qui-Gon joins him. Many members of both companies die in the process.

Although Qui-Gon has warmed a little to Obi-Wan during the course of these blasted events, it's still not enough to convince him to take him on as a Padawan. He even notes how “strong” Obi-Wan would have to be in order to dispel the dark clouds his former student has left, as if it's his responsibility to cure the adult of his emotional turmoil. Eventually, they reach Bandomeer and Qui-Gon gets handed a letter from... none other than his former Padawan, Xanatos!

Now, as far as his outlook is concerned, Qui-Gon is annoyed whenever he feels a flicker of sympathy towards Obi-Wan and does his damnedest to ignore it. Haters might even say it is a decidedly un-Jedi thing to do, but Qui-Gon is a maverick. He acts as indifferently as possible when it comes to the plight of this fellow Force user, who may not have the life experience or the emotional maturity to face these daunting situations on his own yet. Instead of recognising that, Jedi or not, a 12-year-old child is vulnerable in such an environment and, thus, he should, at the very least, take it upon himself to escort Obi-Wan to the Agricorps outpost, he only has cold words to offer when appraising the boy's (perhaps misguided, but well-intentioned) attempts to help.

During the course of the story, Qui-Gon does eventually regret treating Obi-Wan so aloofly and occasionally tries to impart the Reader’s Digest version of wisdom, but it's hard to feel sympathy for the grown Jedi Master when, until that point, he's been complicit in child abandonment. At the end of the day, legally-speaking, Obi-Wan is a minor in the custody of the Jedi Order, sent to fend for himself on a dangerous ship; and that is simply an unhinged premise to base your first book on, with regard to the Jedi's reputation. Obi-Wan is not Qui-Gon's responsibility as an individual, perhaps, but he does not even think to file a complaint to the Order or to notify any Republic authorities that the Order is needlessly engaging in child endangerment. The real-life equivalent would be if a random orphanage decided to send one of its charges to a warzone via a shady transport, while one of its employees sat next to them twiddling their thumbs. Even more confusingly, Qui-Gon helps other people just fine - he simply chooses to have beef with a child. ??

It's especially baffling because Obi-Wan truly is portrayed as a sweet boy. He has normal reactions, thoughts and feelings for his age and for anyone in a difficult situation. Even so, he constantly strives to improve himself and is locked in a constant loop of mea culpa that is so disproportionate to his actual mistakes.

“Help me overcome my anger,” Obi-Wan said. His fingers were curled into fists. He looked down at them and uncurled them, then gripped the frame of the view screen. “I feel such rage toward Jemba. He wants to use other people for his own gain, and I want to kill him for that. But I don’t like the way I feel right now. Qui-Gon was right. If I tried to stop Jemba, I would be doing so only to satisfy my own rage.”
“You seem calm,” Si Treemba observed.
“Something has just happened,” Obi-wan told him quietly. “I just realized something. Qui-Gon will never take me as a Padawan. He feels I am unworthy, and perhaps he is right. Maybe I wouldn’t be good at it.”
“And you are not angry?” Si Treemba asked, surprised.
“No,” Obi-Wan said. “I feel strange, Si Treemba. It’s as if a burden has been lifted from me. Perhaps I could be a good farmer. And to be good… to be a good person is more important than being a Jedi.”
“But what about Jemba?” Si Treemba asked.
“Yoda once told me that there are trillions of people in the galaxy, and only a few thousand Jedi Knights. He said we cannot try to right every wrong. All creatures must learn to stand for what is right, and not always rely upon the Jedi. Perhaps that is what the Arconans must do. I don’t know about the future. But today I choose not to fight.”

This is remarkably mature for someone in his early teens. Obi-Wan shows more inclination towards introspection and self-betterment than his future Master — and that is just uncomfortable to read. In an attempt to move this review beyond a fandom rant, I have to remark that these narrative & character choices invite the question — what is the intended reader experience for this book?

As a children’s book, the issue of "the lesson" or "the moral of the story" is inevitable. But there is nothing Obi-Wan has even done in this story that could ever justify this sort of treatment. He is really put through the grinder here, first as the victim of Bruck Chun's bullying, then as Yoda's pawn in his plans to soothe poor Qui-Gon's psychological wounds in the wake of the Xanatos disaster, then as Qui-Gon's emotional punching bag. What sort of instruction is one supposed to derive from this? Obi-Wan's bully is never punished to the same extent he is. His behaviour is disproportionately aggressive for a Jedi Initiate to the point where his character is little more than childish caricature. Yoda and, by extent, the Jedi Order are presented like irresponsible and heartless caretakers. I understand, from a storytelling perspective, the need for Qui-Gon to overcome an internal obstacle as well, but his character arc cannot happen at the expense of a 12-year-old’s well-being.

For this reason, I find this book tricky to rate. It's not that I was not entertained, but it's difficult to gauge what the auctorial stance is on all this, because Qui-Gon gets such a pass on everything. The problem is not that these things happen or that Qui-Gon remains ‘unpunished’, but there is no counterbalance here, no one to even point out that he is acting like an utter prick. Obi-Wan's POV throughout this remains painfully self-critical, internalising all injustices committed towards his person as having been deserved and never once blaming Qui-Gon. I am far from looking for moralising finger-wagging, but the author acts as if it's totally normal for Qui-Gon's bildungsroman to involve child endangerment and casual malice. Which, I repeat, is a very strange character arc to find in a book meant for children.

Later on, Jude Watson is going to have Obi-Wan glaze over Qui-Gon's memory in every damn Jedi Quest book. I feel like I am in the Unknowing Ritual from the Magnus Archives — experiencing "one long category error" and losing the ability to perform semiosis.

Needless to say, this book is nuts. 2,5 stars rounded down to 2, because, while entertaining, it contains too many ideas thought only halfway through and gets way too chaotic in its plot construction towards the end. I don't know what the brief was for this series, but the idea for Qui-Gon's character arc is completely at odds with what he is supposed to be. He is kind of a prat in The Phantom Menace as well, but it feels like the author couldn't come up with a plausible reason for why Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon wouldn't get along perfectly from the beginning and settled on... whatever the hell this is.

Random observations:

- Usually in these series, the POV remains the same throughout the entire chapter. Here the perspective changes sometimes during the same chapter with no warning or marker. It looks and feels a little unprofessional.
- Terms like ”sleep-couch”. I know they are used in other books, too, but sometimes the desire for more sci-fi terminology turns misguided and ridiculous. I can accept "refresher", I suppose. “Caf” is already pushing it. I promise it's okay to just say "bed"! You can't get more convenient than one syllable.
- Using Jedi Master and Jedi Knight interchangeably, as well as Initiate and Padawan. They grate, Reader. They grate!
- The idea that there aren't enough Jedi Masters or Knights to take on the number of existing Initiates, thus forcing perfectly adequate candidates for Padawanship into the Service Corps. There are supposed to be 10.000 Jedi during the Clone Wars! Please.
- That being said, I quite like the idea of the Service Corps as worldbuilding. They actually seem like very valid, interesting and important jobs to have. Not everything has to be martially-minded like the Padawan-to-Knight pipeline, though I suppose they are the ones who also get the cooler diplomacy-adjacent missions.
- Obi-Wan is just... such a light.

[Callonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dałabym 3,5 ale dostaje połówkę więcej za nostalgię. To naprawdę fajna książka dla młodszych nastolatków. Wartka akcja, ciągle coś się dzieje. Jak nie niesnaski na statku to piraci. Nie narzekam, że było tu aż tyle nagłych przypadków, bo mimo wszystko to książka dla młodszych odbiorców, w dodatku nagłe przypadki były prawdopodobne. Ciekawie się czyta o Obi-Wanie narwańcu i Qui-Gonie, straumatyzowanym mistrzu i chociaż szkoda że mało czuć emocjonalnej strony budującej się więzi to mnogość wydarzeń równoważy ten aspekt

[Thomas GlinGlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided I would go back and try to read some Star Wars books and novels and see if it could rekindle my dwindling interest in the franchise.

While looking up reading orders, I found those novels for teens, and I remembered that I actually read most of those when I was much younger.

The novels are very very short so I decided to give it a go.

I am positively surprised so far.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Cris Lightwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

El epílogo me ha matado un poquito, OMG

[Clay Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really more like a 3.75, but I rounded up because of the cliffhanger.

[orne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️
cortito y al pie

LE RE PASA EL TRAPO A PADAWAN
me gustó mucho!!! tengo un profundo rechazo hacia Qui-Gon pero bueno, me gustó leer sobre Obi-Wan y como fue progresando. Leer sobre él siempre me hace feliz

pd: me acabo de dar cuenta que este es mi primer libro de legends… se que la serie no es muy aclamada pero es un libro corto con padawan obi-wan, asi que fantástico. Estaremos leyendo los demás a ver qué onda esta historia alternativa

[Iset · Rating 4 out of 5]

As this particular series are children's books, I've rated them as such - and not against adult level novels with the same rating. My reviews for these are also a bit shorter; just a few comments here and there.

A good start to the series. The plotline of Offworld versus Arconan Mining wasn’t exactly the most thrilling drama in the world, but it was okay. The most engaging part of the story came mainly from following Obi-Wan and wondering if he was going to make it as a Jedi. Obi-Wan is the sympathetic character of the piece, and there are certainly hints of the young man he becomes here. Qui-Gon’s character seems a little harder and colder than when he appears in the film, but we discover that this is due to events in his past that are not yet resolved. A note: this book has about 50 pages more than the other Jedi Apprentice books, which allowed more time for description and to develop a slightly more complex plot. The other books could definitely benefit from 50 extra pages.

7 out of 10 (for a children's book).

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is one of the first series I read to my boys. They were quite young when we started it. My eldest son went on to read the Jedi Quest series independently just this year. He is now reading the Last of the Jedi series.
This series made me realize how wonderful modern children's literature could be especially for boys. My boys are not interested in dog stories even though we have read several of them. (Where the Red Fern Grows and more)I am very glad for the wide variety that is available.

My personal note on this series is that I really like Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan as characters so it was very interesting to me to see their adventures as Master and Padawan. They display a great relationship, with excellent conflict resolutions and problem solving personally and as Jedi.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! I can still quote the opening paragraphs a decade later. The beauty of this series was how accessible it was. You don't need to know the whole universe of Star Wars - this series creates a universe that you can easily get in to. The characters are engaging and relate-able, and the stories get you to think about challenges faced in your own lives, without being too confronting. Perfect for younger readers. One of my favourites in early highschool. I waited for every new book to come out.

[E.G. Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this series with my brother years ago from the library, and it shaped a huge part of what I write. It's a shame these books are so difficult to find nowadays, but I'm determined to eventually collect them all again.