Star Wars, Book Two: Mission from Mount Yoda; Queen of the Empire; Prophets of the Dark Side

Star Wars: Jedi Prince #4-6

by Paul Davids, Hollace Davids

The characters in the Star Wars universe that used the dark side of the Force, those that supported the evildoers, and those that stood up for the right side. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and the Rebel Alliance have fought valiantly against the evil Galactic Empire. Together they have kept alive the hopes for freedom, and helped restore the ways of the Old Republic with its wise Senate and noble line of Jedi Knights. But now a new threat awaits the Alliance. Within the evil Empire, the surviving Imperial warlords have been fighting among themselves for power. No one knows who will seize control, but the Prophets of the Dark Side have foretold that soon a new Emperor will arise, and on his right hand he shall wear an indestructible symbol of evil. Kadann, Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side, plots to capture and destroy the carbonized body of Trioculus and take control of the Empire, while the Rebel Alliance races to save the archeologists of the dying planet Duro.

Contents:
* 4) Mission from Mount Yoda [Star Wars: Jedi Prince • 4] (1993) / short fiction by Hollace Davids, Paul Davids: The battle against the evil Empire rages on as heroic men, women, and aliens of Rebel Alliance continue their struggle to end the era of darkness. But now a mysterious visitor comes to the Rebel fortress located atop Mount Yoda, bringing ominous news.

* 5) Queen of the Empire [Star Wars: Jedi Prince • 5] (1993) / short fiction by Hollace Davids, Paul Davids: The Imperial grand moffs are in revolt against the Prophets of the Dark Side. As the Alliance struggles with its latest weapon, Project Decoy, Princess Leia is kidnapped by an old enemy, then menaced by the surprise appearance of another evil foe--one obsessed with turning Leia to the Dark Side and making her the Queen of the Empire.

* 6) Prophets of the Dark Side [Star Wars: Jedi Prince • 6] (1993) / short fiction by Hollace Davids, Paul Davids: The battle against the evil empire rages on as members of the Alliance continue their struggle to end the era of darkness. By rescuing an imperial prisoner, they face possibly disastrous consequences.

Jedi Prince young-readers series Omnibus Edition: Three stories in one book.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Collections, Childrens, Fiction, Anthologies, Chad

273 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Paul Jeffrey Davids is an American independent filmmaker and writer, especially in the area of science fiction. Often collaborating with his wife Hollace, Davids has written and directed several films. He has also written episodes for the television show Transformers, as well as a Star Wars spin-off book series for young readers, known informally as the Jedi Prince series.

The Davids have two children together, Jordan and Scott.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Paul^^Davids

Reviews

[Book Nerd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worse than the Disney trilogy? Tough call.
Like the Disney trilogy a lot of things make no sense and happen just to happen and like the Disney trilogy the big reveal is the main character is Palpatine's grandkid. Maybe Jar Jar Abrams actually read this for "inspiration". Nah, he can't read.

I definitely wouldn't consider this a real part of the EU.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand these books are aimed for a younger audience, but for a true star wars fan, these book are ridiculous and absurd. They write things that make absolutely no sense in the chronological timeline under the legends banner. Example: in The Queen of the Empire the author writes "like her brother, Luke Skywalker, Leia was also a Jedi". That is absolutely false. At the point in the timeline she is absolutely not s jedi. She if force sensitive yes. She has a force connection with Luke and can communicate with him using the force yes, she has an understanding of the force yes. But she is definitely NOT a jedi. She doesn't use any Force powers and does not have a lightsaber. So it makes no sense to write that.

Another example in the second book in this series, it is mentioned that Trioculus needs the approval from the supreme leader of the prophets of the dark side to be Emperor, just like Palpatine had their permission. Err what?!? Palpatine didn't have, nor did he ever need, the permission from anyone to be the Emperor. It's just dumb little comments like those that completely disconnected me from the entire storyline. Leia and Han eloping to get married in a amusement park called Hologram Fun World? Really? A Jedi Prince? Huh? I've never heard of royalty titles giving in the jedi order before. Especially one who is raised by droids and still somehow learned to use Jedi mind tricks like a jedi master (convincing a taxi driver that he already paid the fair...huh?) And also somehow seems to have learned everything of every subject in school in a secret underground Jedi City on Yavin IV, including how to drive a air speeder...sigh). A princess Leia droid replica that shoots lasers out of her eyes? Come on that's really lame.

In conclusion, these are by far the worse books (the entire series) so far in the star wars universe (and I've read them all up until this point in the timeline). I cannot believe George Lucas gave his approval for these ridiculous storylines that contradict everything else. I do not recommend these books to true star wars fans. I am not even considering these books as par of the timeline in my head.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Jedi Prince series is a perfect distillation of everything wrong with the Star Wars Legends universe. It leans so strongly on the importance of lineage (who's Ken's father, what's Jabba's dad up to, which 3 eyed mutant is Palpatine's son), and it only ever visits planets that appeared in the movies (with a few very slight exceptions in the back half) and generally does a whole lot of nothing for a whole lotta no reason.

Han and Leia want to elope, but oh no her birth certificate got blowed up by a death star. Luke assassinates a dude he doesn't like with a droid disguised as his sister, who shoots lasers out of her eyes to murder Trioculus at his own wedding. Things get set up but never paid off, things show up without being set up. The whole series is a total mess.

Also, this set of 3 books in particular are terrible with an antagonist dying at the end of a book, then being alive at the start of the next. Why bother dropping Zorba into the sarlacc, or incinerating Trioculus, or covering Hissa in acid, if it's not gonna matter two chapters later?

I know this is a lot of words to slam a middle grade novel written 25 years ago, but also I don't care. Star Wars was always bad and this is proof. But also, it's borderline "so bad it's good" - I've sent the picture of robo Leia eye laser-ing Trioculus to a half dozen people already. Read it if you don't value your time, or need a reminder of how bad Star Wars can be.

[Mandalorian Jedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read

I enjoyed the Jedi Prince series but they are definitely not the best Star Wars stories I’ve ever read. These stories are also unlikely to be canonized or adapted in any major way into the current canon. They're still worth a read, especially for younger Star Wars fans.

I first read the Jedi Prince as a kid and liked it so much that I carried it forward into the future to read again today, and will eventually pass on to my kids when they are ready for them. The Jedi Prince series is a collection of six short books collected into two hardcover volumes, which is what I have. One of the things I remember liking about these books is each of the three books contained in each volume starts with character names and images and ends with a glossary which describes a number of Star Wars terms and technologies. This was immensely helpful to me at the time. I also really enjoyed the simple black and white images that are scattered throughout the books.

The stories are simple, but not boring, because they are meant for younger readers. They introduce some new characters, generally have good arcs through the series, and some fun new technologies, but interestingly enough, they seem to go out of their way not to introduce many new planets. Aside from a few exceptions they stick to well-known planets from the original trilogy, even when a new planet would probably have served the story better, but it probably makes it easier to follow for young Star Wars fans.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read and reviewed each of the books collected here separately, so this is basically just for my own records. The second trilogy contained both the best and the worst of the series. Book four, Mission from Mount Yoda, marked the first and only time this series earned more than a single star from me. Granted, two stars is not great, but it was a distinct improvement over the rest, being significantly less ridiculous. Unfortunately, it was followed up by what may be the stupidest book I have ever read, Queen of the Empire, in which Princess Leia decides to elope to Hologram Fun World, which is basically the long-time-ago-in-a-galaxy-far-away trash equivalent of running off to Vegas to get married by an Elvis impersonator, except that would be a lot more classy. These characters often only bear marginal resemblance to the originals, but whatever is wearing Leia's face is far less recognisable than anything else.

The one star rating for the collection is an average of the individual ratings. You can deduce from that what the other two were.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really interesting reading through these books and seeing what was kept and what was thrown away. It was really interesting to see that this was the origin of Hologram Funworld which made a reprise in the galaxy of fear series.

A lot of the details in these books are strange. There's a vehicle called a Rendili something or other but is apparently made by the corellian engineering corporation instead of Rendili star drives. They also use a lot of sci-fi sounding jargon/babble that doesn't really match the purposes for what they're being used for. Not only in other works, but from a logical stand point. Deflector shields aren't sensors for one.

It's really interesting to see the parallels between the last book in this series and Episode IX.

If you can get past the...Incongruities, the stories are interesting enough in themselves.

[Victor Saville · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recall seeing the first Star Wars movie in the theatres when it was first released. 1977.

It was a sensation at the time and continues to be with the state of art effects of the time.

Endless action, fantastic characters, and great depth and imagination in the story itself.

An entire industry and community evolved.

But that's as far as it went for me.

Three excellent chapters are contained in this book with iconic characters and settings.

Almost adolescents in its focus but more than that. Terrific presentation, upbeat and fulfilling.

Thoroughly enjoyed the book, or chapters, in the Star Wars continuing epic offering.

[Lover of Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to finish up this set of books with celebrating "May 4th" and when I read this back in my teen years I LOVED them. I don't care what people say, these are so fun to read if you are a fan of the classics and hate the disney films like I do. But also next you should read about their kids in the "Jedi Knights book" . Reading these made me realize how much I have missed the Star Wars books.

[Angela Solon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hella confused, but this was good

[Daniel Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Jedi Prince series was kind of bad? But definitely in a so bad it’s fun sort of way

[Marcelo Gonzalez · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the absolute thrill ride that was "Zorba the Hutt's Revenge", the next three can't match the sheer insanity and more's the pity.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Be sure to click the link at the bottom for my full review (with pictures) of both of these Star Wars books for children. The first horrible book, oddly, turns out to have been better than the second.

At first, I only flipped through Book Two looking at the pictures -- and let me tell you, the BDSM subtext was pretty evident all through. My roommate asked me if I was reading some kind of bizarre erotic novel. Yes, the words "BDSM subtext" just appeared in a review of a children's Star Wars novel . . . ick. Apart from the giant spiderwebs attacking Luke and Ken, there was also Leia in a cage, Zorba the Hutt strung up by his wrists, and even more, if you can believe it. The plots also continue to get even shakier. Dagobah has undergone a sudden transformation from Yoda's uninhabited retreat to a major rebel enclave -- and somehow the rebels have not only built a really snazzy science center there, but it was there long enough for them to decide to change the name after Yoda died. Because the authors apparently never even saw Empire Strikes Back and don't remember Luke saying "I'm not picking up any cities or technologies . . ."

Even more rhyming in this book, only it's not couplets anymore, making it even worse. The authors even attempt to tell small children what quatrains are (not that I'd give small children these horrible books). If you can even call this a spoiler -- Triclops turns out not to be insane, just a pacifist with an eye in the back of his head, and as the novel progresses, we find out that he, and not Obi-Wan, is Ken’s father -- holy shock! Yeah, 'cause we didn't see that coming a mile away.

Han and Leia also make a digression to a place called, I kid you not, Hologram Fun World, which is supposed to be a knock-off on Las Vegas, and they attempt to get married there, find out Lando has recently bought the entire planet (because he lost Cloud City to Zorba the Hutt in a card game or I don't know what) and that they need to have their birth certificates before they get married. Han, in case you were curious, has his birth certificate neatly stowed in a safe box in his home on Cloud City. Leia's, however, was destroyed on Alderaan. She gets captured by Zorba the Hutt, almost killed, then almost married to Trioculus who has been unfrozen. In the end, the rebels win the day, again, and Han and Leia get married.

In conclusion, there is pretty much nothing in these books that 1) is not contradicted in a real book, 2) makes any sense whatsoever, no matter what planet you are from. Sure, a number of reviews praise them for a campy read, but it's all a little too campy for me. Little too like camping in the creepy woods where some toothless rednecks are going to put a serious hurt on you and you'll get poison ivy.

This review via The Rebel Librarian

[Mark Oppenlander · Rating 1 out of 5]

You may wonder why I took the time to read this book after my less than stellar review of the previous book in this series. The answer is quite simple: I'm a bit of a completion junkie. When I realized that this volume contained the remaining three parts of the so-called Jedi Prince series, I reluctantly picked it up.

This suffers from the same problems as Part One (see my earlier review). I also realized that I grew tired of the attempt to make the "Star Wars" universe feel more normal or relatable. Han Solo has to take the Millennium Falcon to the shop for repairs? Really? And then he complains about the bill? For Pete's sake, this isn't supposed to be "The Brady Bunch." When I read sci-fi and fantasy growing up it was so that I could have an otherworldly experience, not to experience "Leave it to Beaver" or "The Cosby Show" in space.

One last rant and then I'll quit: What is up with the unnecessarily gruesome death scenes? One of the characters is blasted by a laser through the heart and bleeds out, another falls into a pit of toxic waste and has his arms and legs burned off (that character survives, BTW, only to be killed in another nasty scene later). I am not offended by a dark scene in a book for kids if the darker elements are in keeping with the story and the themes. But I just couldn't find any justification for these perturbing and grisly scenes in a book aimed at young kids. And they are not in keeping with the tone of the majority of the Star Wars films (with the possible exception of Episode III).

I recommend that you avoid these poorly written and poorly conceived books, even if you're a fan.

[Ryan O'Blenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was very good

[Stasia Bruhn · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I'm really glad they didn't make any more of these..They are pretty bad. The best story if U can say that is the last one..You finally learn who Ken's parents were..Queen of the Empire was so bad...

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read these for campy laughs rather than a good story.

[Cws]

JAR6-Dav

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is comicbook in style and story. It is really designed for child reading rather than holding to some over arching Star Wars story canon. It's mildly amusing but you can skip it.

[Brendan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easily skippable among Star Wars novels. Read to be amused, not for good story.