My adolescence was spent devouring Star Wars book after Star Wars book in the old Expanded Universe—all those books now published under the Legends line. I read about my heroes making peace with the remnants of the Empire, flying around in X-wings, courting one another, taking down Grand Admiral Thrawn, founding a Jedi Academy, raising a new generation of Jedi, and dealing with all of the pain, heartache, and drama that came along with it. I’ve not been enamored with any of the newer Del Rey offerings, until Master & Apprentice, that is. This is nearly everything I want in a Star Wars novel, and I loved it.
Claudia Gray writes a fast-paced tale focused on Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the titular master and apprentice. True to the form of all the greatest Star Wars novels, what makes this novel work is the interactions of the characters. Jinn and Kenobi serve as excellent foils for one another. Qui-Gon is hardly a rule follower, and his tendency to bend the rules of the Jedi Order runs afoul of Obi-Wan’s much more obedient tendencies. It’s interesting to watch Qui-Gon attempt to open his padawan’s mind to the realities of the universe while at the same time watching Obi-Wan’s own struggles with how to relate to his masters. We also get some interesting flashbacks to Qui-Gon’s own days as a padawan with his master, Dooku. There are plenty of lightsabers, fun uses of the Force, and at least one cool scene with a star fighter, to complement the excellent characterizations. There’s also some interesting politics and references to well-known worlds from the Star Wars universe, like Alderaan and Naboo. Even more tantalizing, there are a number of references to ancient Jedi prophecies. Obviously, this ties into the prequel trilogies assertion that Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One—that’s tropey and a bit boring, honestly. But some of these prophecies, I’m convinced, apply or will apply to the new movies as well, which makes them interesting.
There’s hardly anything I didn’t like about this novel. Personally, I think Star Wars is at its best when there are Sith to balance the Jedi. This is true if for no other reason than lightsaber battles are the coolest battles. That couldn’t be the case here, given the timeframe it takes place in, when everyone is convinced the Sith have been extinct for a couple millennia. Because we know both the main protagonists survive, it also lacks a little tension in some scenes here and there. That’s the disadvantage to writing about the earlier history of two characters we already know. In the larger picture, however, these are fairly minor criticisms.
Claudia Gray has done a fabulous job with Master & Apprentice and I’m hoping for more Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan shenanigans. This became an instant favorite for me. It’s Star Wars at its best, and it makes me want to go reread my old favorites and hope for some new favorites set in the Old Republic era. Recommended for hardcore fans and folks who’ve only seen the movies.
9/10
4.5/5 stars.
5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing
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| Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed | Thrawn by Timothy Zahn | Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse | Catalyst by James Luceno | |
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| Discover more Star Wars books! | Set after Return of the Jedi, Alphabet Squadron follows a team of veteran pilots as they struggle to defeat the Empire once and for all. | Discover the events that created one of the most iconic villains in Star Wars history. | Before The Rise of Skywalker, Poe, Rey, and Finn must rebuild the Resistance after their devastating loss to the First Order. | The prequel to Rogue One, revealing the origins of the Death Star in an intense tale of ambition and betrayal. |
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Reviews with images
A great story with loved characters.
This book tells a story of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan before “The Phantom Menace” where they are asked by the Jedi Council to go to a planet called Pijal to solve a political dispute between two large groups in the planet so a young girl who is coming of age can become the Queen of Pijal.This story definitely excels the most when focused on the relationship between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Although Obi-Wan has been the padawan of Qui-Gon for years already, they have had many disagreements and a rocky relationship. To me this seemed very realistic given what I know of both characters based on the movies. While Gui-Gon is a more flexible Jedi when it comes to his beliefs, Obi-Wan is stricter and needs rules to follow and normally doesn’t tend to question the Jedi Order. I feel Claudia Gray understood these characters and while I was reading both characters, I could actually imagine them having these conversations and arguments.I also felt that not a single word was wasted in this book. I read quite a bit of books and at times I feel like the author is just pouring useless information that I don’t really need. This book did not do that. Every sentence to me felt was there to understand the character better or move the plot forward and I really enjoyed that.I normally tend to find books in Star Wars Canon a bit too contained. They don’t tell big enough stories for me to really get into. This book although feels contained as well, tells a story that I got a lot out of. This book expands on Qui-Gon's life and even other characters like Dooku and a padawan of his called Real Averross. I loved this book and would definitely recommend.I will say physically the dust cover on the book is very big and slips off when picking the book up very easily.
Top reviews from other countries
Cristian
A segunda melhor dupla de jedis!
Reviewed in Brazil on June 8, 2023
Cristian
Reviewed in Brazil on June 8, 2023
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