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Kenobi: Star Wars Legends (Star Wars - Legends) Kindle Edition
Tatooine—a harsh desert world where farmers toil in the heat of two suns while trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from the marauding Tusken Raiders. A backwater planet on the edge of civilized space. And an unlikely place to find a Jedi Master in hiding, or an orphaned infant boy on whose tiny shoulders rests the future of a galaxy.
Known to locals only as “Ben,” the bearded and robed offworlder is an enigmatic stranger who keeps to himself, shares nothing of his past, and goes to great pains to remain an outsider. But as tensions escalate between the farmers and a tribe of Sand People led by a ruthless war chief, Ben finds himself drawn into the fight, endangering the very mission that brought him to Tatooine.
Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRandom House Worlds
- Publication dateAugust 27, 2013
- File size4392 KB
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Get to know this book
What's it about?
A mysterious stranger protects an orphan on a desert planet while caught between warring factions.Popular highlight
“Things that seem permanent, a given, have a way of changing quickly, to something you don’t recognize. And not all change is for the better.”295 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
“All life is sacred,” Ben said. “Even life that comes in forms that we don’t understand.”262 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
“Sometimes it takes losing everything to find your true path.”50 Kindle readers highlighted this
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Review
“Addictive, engrossing . . . wildly entertaining . . . There are plenty of twists, turns, and surprises. . . . John Jackson Miller creates a story that reaches new heights.”—Roqoo Depot
“Brilliant . . . This is Star Wars fiction at its absolute best.”—Examiner
“Enthralling . . . almost impossible to put down.”—Eucantina
From the Author
We've seen the Sith nursing their hatreds, patiently plotting their revenge; now we see a Jedi hero having to prepare for a long vigil, protecting the new hope of the galaxy. Tatooine is remote, which should suit the needs of an outsider wanting to remain anonymous. But it's also a close-knit community, and staying unnoticed isn't always easy when one has the public-spirited instincts of a Jedi!
A project I've been developing for years, Kenobi is in keeping with one of the themes I focused on in my Knights of the Old Republic, Knight Errant, and Lost Tribe of the Sith books: What does it mean to be a Jedi alone? Kenobi asks that question, and I'm excited that Random House has helped bring it to readers.
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
THE OASIS
Chapter One
Everything casts two shadows.
The suns had determined this at the dawn of creation. Brothers, they were, until the younger sun showed his true face to the tribe. It was a sin. The elder sun attempted to kill his brother, as was only proper.
But he failed.
Burning, bleeding, the younger sun pursued his sibling across the sky. The wily old star fled for the hills and safety, but it was his fate never to rest again. For the younger brother had only exposed his face. The elder had exposed his failure.
And others had seen it—to their everlasting sorrow.
The first Sand People had watched the battle in the sky. The suns, dually covered in shame, turned their wrath on the witnesses. The skybrothers’ gaze tore at the mortals, burning through flesh to reveal their secret selves. The Sand People saw their shadows on the sands of Tatooine, and listened. The younger spirit urged attack. The elder told them to hide. Counsels, from the condemned.
The Sand People were condemned, as well. Always walking with the twin shadows of sacrilege and failure beside them, they would hide their faces. They would fight. They would raid. And they would run.
Most Sand People struck at night, when neither skybrother could whisper to them. A’Yark preferred to hunt at dawn. The voices of the shadows were quieter then—and the settlers who infested the land could see their doom clearly. That was important. The elder sun had failed by not killing his brother. A’Yark would not fail, had never failed, in killing settlers. The elder sun would see the example, and learn . . .
. . . now.
“Tuskens!”
A’Yark charged toward the old farmer who had given the cry. The raider’s metal gaderffii smashed into the human’s naked chin, shattering bone. A’Yark surged forward, knocking the victim to the ground. The settler struggled, coughing as he tried to repeat the cry. “Tuskens!”
Years earlier, other settlers had given that name to the Sand People who obliterated Fort Tusken. The raiders back then had welcomed the name into their tongue; it was proof the walking parasites had nothing the Sand People could not take. But A’Yark couldn’t stand to hear the proud name in the mouths of the appalling creatures—and few were as ugly as the bloody settler now writhing on the sand. The human was ancient. Apart from a bandage from a recent head injury, his whitish hairs and withered flesh were exposed to the sky. It was horrible to see.
A’Yark plunged the hefty gaderffii downward, its metal flanges crushing against the settler’s rib cage. Bones snapped. The weapon’s point went fully through, grinding against the stone surface beneath. The old settler choked his last. The Tusken name again belonged only to the Sand People.
Immediately A’Yark charged toward the low building, a short distance ahead. There was no thought to it. No predator of Tatooine ever stopped to reflect on killing. A Tusken could be no different.
To think too long was to die.
The human nest was a wretched thing, something like a sketto hive: scum molded and shaped into a disgusting half bulb, buried in the sand. This one was formed from that false rock of theirs, the “synstone.” A’Yark had seen it before.
Another shout. A pasty white biped with a bulging cranium appeared in the doorway of the building, brandishing a blaster rifle. A’Yark discarded the gaderffii and lunged, ripping the gun from the startled settler’s hands. A’Yark did not understand how a blaster rifle tore its victim apart, but understanding wasn’t necessary. The thing had a use. The marauder put it to work on the settler, who had no use.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true. The settlers did have a use: to provide more rifles for the Tuskens to take. It might have been a funny thought, if A’Yark ever laughed. But that concept was as alien as the white-skinned corpse now on the floor.
So many strange things had come to live in the desert. And to die.
Behind, two more raiders entered the structure. A’Yark did not know them. The days of going into battle flanked by cousins were long since past. The newcomers began flipping crates in the storage area, spilling contents. More metal things. The settlers were obsessed with them.
The warriors were, too—but it wasn’t time for that. A’Yark barked at them. “N’gaaaiih! N’gaaaiih!”
The youths didn’t listen. They were not A’Yark’s sons. A’Yark had but one son, now, not quite old enough to fight. Nor did these warriors have fathers. It was the way, these days. Mighty tribes had become mere war parties, their ranks constantly evolving as survivors of one group melted into another.
That A’Yark led this raid at all bespoke their misery. No one on the attack had lived half as long as A’Yark had, or seen so much. The best warriors had fallen years before; these youths certainly wouldn’t live to vie for leadership. They were fools, and if A’Yark did not kill them for their foolishness, they would die some other way.
Not this morning, though. A’Yark had chosen the target carefully. This farm was close to the jagged Jundland Wastes, far from the other villages—and it had few of the vile structures by which the residents wrenched water from a sky none could own. The fewer spires—vaporators, the farmers called them—the fewer settlers. Now, it would seem, there were none. Except for the young warriors fumbling, all was quiet.
But A’Yark, who had lived to see forty cycles of the starry sky, was not fooled. A weapon stood beside the doorway leading outside. The old human’s, left by accident? Rifle to silvery mouthpiece, A’Yark sniffed.
No. With one swift motion, A’Yark smashed the weapon against the doorjamb. The rifle had been used to kill a Tusken. The smell of sweat from another day still clung to the stock. It differed from the old human’s scent, and that of the white creature the settlers called a Bith. Someone else was here. But the rifle could not be used now, nor ever again.
A weapon that killed a Tusken had no more power than any other, so far as A’Yark was concerned; such superstitions were for weaker minds. But just as Tuskens prized their banthas, the settlers seemed to prize individual rifles, etching symbols on their stocks. The human that carried this one was more formidable than the old man and the Bith creature, but he would have to resort to something new and unfamiliar next time. If he survived the day.
A’Yark would see that he didn’t.
The war leader reclaimed the gaderffii from the floor and shoved past the looting youths. Footsteps in the sand led around back, where three soulless vaporators hummed and defiled. A small hut for servicing the foul machines sat behind them.
Fitting. A’Yark would make the inhabitants bleed for using the vaporators. Slowly, and so the suns would see. What the settlers had stolen would return to the sand, a drop at a time.
“Ru rah ru rah!” A’Yark called, straining to remember the old words. “We is here in peace.”
No answer. Of course, there would be none—but someone was surely inside and had heard the words. The warrior was proud of remembering them. A human sister had joined A’Yark’s family years ago; the Tuskens often replenished their numbers by kidnapping. The band needed reinforcements now, but would not take anyone here. The settlers’ presence so near the wastes was too great an offense. They would die, and others would see, and the Jundland would be left alone.
The other warriors filed from the house and surrounded the service hut. The Tuskens numbered eight; none could challenge them. Cloth-wrapped hands curled around the shaft of an ancient gaderffii, A’Yark inserted the traang—the curved end of the weapon—into the door handle.
The metal door creaked open. Inside, a quivering trio of humans huddled amid spare parts for the thirst machines. A black-haired woman clutched a swaddled infant, while a brown-haired male held them both. He also held a blaster pistol.
It was the owner of the busted rifle—and A’Yark could tell he was missing the weapon now. Swallowing his fear, the young man looked right into A’Yark’s good eye. “You—go! We’re not afraid.”
“Settlers lie,” A’Yark said, the strange words startling the humans almost as much as they startled the other Tuskens. “Settler lies.”
Eight gaderffii lifted to the sky, their spear-points glinting in the morning light. A’Yark knew some would land true. And the old skybrother above would see again what real bravery was—
“Ayooooo-eh-EH-EHH!”
The sound echoed over the horizon. As one, the war party looked north. The sound came again, louder this time. Its meaning was unmistakable.
The youngest Tusken in the party said it first: krayt dragon!
The warrior-child spun—and stumbled over his own booted feet, landing mouthpiece-first in the sand. The others looked to A’Yark, who turned back toward the hut. The war leader had seen enough human faces to read expressions—but even to a seasoned marauder, the visages were startling.
The farmer and his wife didn’t just appear relieved. They looked defiant.
In the presence of a krayt? The greatest predator Tatooine knew, after the Tuskens? Yes, A’Yark saw. And that wasn’t all. The young mother was clutching something, beside the baby, in her free hand.
A’Yark barked a command to the warriors, but it was too late. With the horrific sound in the air, none would stand. The two looters from earlier nearly trampled the fallen youth as they darted away, trying to remember where they’d set their stolen goods. The others clutched their gaderffii to their chests and fled behind the main hut.
Wrong. Wrong! This wasn’t what A’Yark had taught them. Not at all! But they scattered before they even knew where the dragon was, leaving their leader alone with the settlers. The young farmer kept his blaster pointed at A’Yark, but did not fire. Perhaps he’d calculated the risk, deciding the unfired weapon was more of a deterrent than a shot by a shaky hand.
It didn’t matter. If the settlers had hoped for a distraction, they had gotten one. A’Yark snorted and stepped backward, tan robes swirling.
The warriors were running this way and that. A’Yark yelled, but no one could be heard over the din. There was something unnatural about the sound. But what? No one would pretend to be a krayt dragon! If any could, it would never sound so—
—mechanical?
“AYOOOO-EEEEEEEEEE!”
No mistaking that, A’Yark thought. The moan of the dragon had resolved itself into a head-splitting shrill, far beyond the capacity of any lungs. It was coming loudest from a new source, immediately apparent: a horn attached to one of the silver spires in the middle of the farm. And there were similar sounds, emanating from over the hills to the north and east.
A’Yark stood in the middle of the yard, gaderffii raised aloft. “Prodorra! Prodorra! Prodorra!”
Fake!
The young looters appeared again, running over a crest back toward the farm. A’Yark exhaled through rotten teeth. At least someone had heard, over the racket. Now, at least, maybe they could—
Blasterfire! An orange blaze enveloped one of the runners from behind. The other turned in panic, only to be incinerated as well. A’Yark crouched instinctively, seeking cover behind the accursed vaporator.
“Wa-hooo!” A metallic wave, copper and green, swept over the dune. A’Yark recognized it right away. It was the landspeeder that had haunted them before at the Tall Rock. And now, as then, several settler youths clustered in its open interior, hooting and firing wildly.
A’Yark darted behind a second vaporator, suddenly more confident. There was no dragon, only settlers. The Tuskens could be rallied against them, if they stood true.
But they weren’t standing. One fled toward the nothingness of the east, and A’Yark could see two more landspeeders racing after him. And the clumsy young warrior—who had barely survived the rites of adulthood days before—hid behind the hut, clutching at the sands in cowardice. Only the suns knew where the others had gone.
No good.
The first speeder circled the settlement, its riders showering fire on nothing in particular. And now another hovercraft arrived. Fancier, with sloping curves, the silver vehicle carried two humans in an open compartment protected by a windshield. A grim, hairy-faced human steered the vessel as his older passenger stood brazenly up in his seat.
A’Yark had seen the passenger before, at a greater distance. Clean-shaven, older than most Tuskens ever got—and always wearing the same senseless expression.
The Smiling One.
“More to the south, folks!” the standing human said, macrobinoculars in hand. “Keep after ’em!”
A’Yark didn’t need to know all of the words. The meaning was clear. The missing warriors weren’t nearby, ready to strike. The band, routed, had taken flight.
Seeing the tall human’s landspeeder, the cowering young Tusken from earlier squealed and stood. Leaving his gaderffii on the ground, he bolted.
“Urrak!” A’Yark yelled. Wait!
Too late. Another landspeeder banked—and the hollering riders aboard chopped the fleeing Sand Person down with blast after blast. Not six days a warrior, and dead in seconds.
This was too much. A’Yark rose, weapon in hand, and dashed behind the hut. Away from where the laughing settlers, aware only of their killing, could see. Ragged fabric flew as the warrior tumbled over a dune into a dusty ravine. Another dune followed, and another.
At last, A’Yark fell to the ground, gasping. Three had been lost—maybe more. And the Sand People couldn’t afford to lose anyone.
Worse, they’d lost to settlers using a low trick no Tusken four years earlier would’ve fallen for. The settlers would know now: the mighty Tuskens were not what they once were.
Struggling to stand, A’Yark looked down at the ground. The elder shadow lengthened. Like the older brother sun, the band had struck—and failed.
It was time for the Tuskens to hide. Again.
Chapter Two
Orrin Gault towered over the farm, a lofty witness as some Tuskens ran for their lives—and others ran to their deaths. Clinging to the side of the vaporator tower, he watched the last landspeeder disappear over the horizon.
“Okay, Call Control, that’s got it,” he said into his comlink. “Shut it down.”
He released the comlink button and listened. His ears still rang from the alarm atop the tower, which he had just deactivated by hand. Peering out from beneath the canvas brim of his range hat, he scanned the landscape. One by one, the sirens kilometers away went quiet—and silence returned to the desert.
He looked at the comlink and cracked a grin. Orrin, son—that’s some pull you’ve got there. It was nice to reach a point in life where people did what you said. And on Tatooine, where the people were born cussed and nobody took orders from anyone else, it meant even more.
Product details
- ASIN : B00BO4GR08
- Publisher : Random House Worlds (August 27, 2013)
- Publication date : August 27, 2013
- Language : English
- File size : 4392 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 425 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0593497023
- Best Sellers Rank: #156,225 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #62 in Star Wars Series
- #1,724 in Space Opera Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #2,069 in Science Fiction Adventure
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
![John Jackson Miller](https://cdn.statically.io/img/m.media-amazon.com/images/S/amzn-author-media-prod/p9uqcqln01n0r5aa0dqimroi3h._SY600_.jpg)
New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller has spent a lifetime immersed in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. He's best known for his Star Wars and Star Trek work, including Star Wars: Kenobi, his Scribe Award winning novel from Del Rey; Star Wars: A New Dawn; the Star Trek: Prey trilogy, and Star Trek: Discovery - The Enterprise War.
He's also written comics included the long-running Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comics series, as well as comics for Battlestar Galactica, Halo, Lion King, Mass Effect, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, and The Simpsons. Production notes on all his works can be found at his fiction site (farawaypress.com).
Miller is also a noted comics industry historian, specializing in studying comic-book circulation as presented on his website, Comichron (comichron.com). He also coauthored the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the writing quality very well written and the characters well developed. They also find the content insightful and enjoyable, with a great job filling in some gaps. Readers describe the book as easy, fun, and perfect to get started in the Star Wars expanded universe. However, some find the first half of the book slow and boring. Opinions are mixed on entertainment value, with some finding it engaging and lively, while others say it's boring. Reader opinions are also mixed on the plot, with Some finding it compelling and satisfying, while other say it bogs down a bit.
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Customers find the book very well written, with a good plot. They also say the author does a very good job bringing the story to life. Customers also appreciate the surprising amount of action worked in without seeming forced.
"...This perspective is greatly appreciated and well-written...." Read more
"...the first of anything I have read by JJM and I was very impressed with his writing style here; comparable even to Luceno and Zahn but without their..." Read more
"It’s so nice to read an unrelated obi wan centered story. This is written very well, I love the story and the twists and turns...." Read more
"...All in all, I think the author does a very good job of bringing this story to life. I look forward to reading more of his work." Read more
Customers find the characters well-developed and relatable. They also say the plot is well-paced and the voice for Kenobi is excellent.
"...why I adore the Star Wars world -- Kenobi is page-turning adventure filled with compelling characters, explosive action scenes, intrigue, and a..." Read more
"...John does a wonderful job fleshing out the primary characters, expanding their plots and sending their story threads into very interesting directions..." Read more
"...since this story is mostly uncharted territory in SW, with well-developed characters, I can't deny how easy it was to become attached to the..." Read more
"...'s inner turmoil paints him in a different light and one that makes him more relatable...." Read more
Customers find the content insightful, deep, and well-paced. They also appreciate the Tuskens perspective, characters, and meditations. Readers also mention the book fills in some gaps and brings depth to Obi-Wan.
"...This perspective is greatly appreciated and well-written...." Read more
"...Kenobi are stellar examples of these books at their best -- illuminating new facets and eye-opening possibilities in the lives of beloved characters..." Read more
"...This book reveals some interesting insight into what was going through the mind of Obi Wan when he first settled into his assigned role of LUKE-..." Read more
"...It actually answers a lot of questions about that twenty-year gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope..." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read, fun, and simple. They also say it hooks them in and does not let go.
"...would have numerous funny moments, but Miller makes them happen effortlessly and seamlessly...." Read more
"...Miller crafted a book that imediately hooks you in and does not let go...." Read more
"...Wars books and have never read one before this is a perfect book to get yourself started into the Star Wars expanded universe." Read more
"...As a positive, I can say the author's style makes the story easy to follow. The resolution of the plot was predictable but sufficient...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the entertainment value of the book. Some find it engaging and lively, while others say it's boring and aggravating for Star Wars fans.
"...But putting the Star Wars references aside, Miller has delivered a cracking good western capable of standing beside classics of the genre by the..." Read more
"...runs forward as a story that captures the imagination, entertains and teases the intellect. There's no dreary politics here...." Read more
"...I do agree that the first half of the book is a slow, boring, back story filler exercise yet it does get good and gains interest momentum in the..." Read more
"...kind of SW story, one that is well written with a good deal of intrigue and suspense, or even some general sci-fi with those aspects, then I..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the plot. Some find the book has plenty of twists and surprises, and it grips them. Others however, feel the story bogs down and ends with no true conclusion.
"...I do agree that the first half of the book is a slow, boring, back story filler exercise yet it does get good and gains interest momentum in the..." Read more
"...thanks to the Western archetypes at play but there are plenty of twists to keep it fresh...." Read more
"...It was most disappointing that the scope of the plot was so small and most of the book was not about Kenobi at all...." Read more
"...There are plenty of twists, turns and surprises. One character I thoroughly enjoyed was also quite unexpected: A'Yark the Tusken Raider...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the kenobi content. Some mention that the struggles of Obi-Wan are fantastic, and the book is great for ObiWan Kenobi fans. However, others say that the storyline has him in the background most of the time.
"...struggle this must have been for the character, and that struggle is played out well herein...." Read more
"...of the book to get up to speed, it's a fun story but reveals nothing of interest about Kenobi if you've read a couple of other Star Wars books with..." Read more
"Great insight into Obi-Wan, yet lots of action.Enjoyed following his story of transition after..." Read more
"Very little Kenobi, a lot of mishmashed western tropes, and not in a good way. Rather a slog of a book, actually...." Read more
Customers find the pace of the book slow and boring. They also say the time frame covered is relatively short.
"...I do agree that the first half of the book is a slow, boring, back story filler exercise yet it does get good and gains interest momentum in the..." Read more
"...him from doing so, like Miller's own "Knight Errant" this one gets off to a slow start, but soon picks up, hopefully we will get one with Luke..." Read more
"...Kenobi moves at a good pace, and is filled with rewarding characters. Really a good read in my opinion...." Read more
"...Glad I did.So, yes, the first part is very slow (to me) as JJM had to establish characters, their relationships, and just the entire..." Read more
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Kenobi starts with an apropos quote from Yoda and continues with the equivalent of the traditional opening Star Wars crawl. The book feels cinematic from the get-go. The prologue actually takes place during Revenge of the Sith and sets the stage for Obi-Wan’s long retreat into the Tatooine wilds. An early Tusken raid starts up the action and Mr. Miller does not shy from presenting events through the eyes of the Tusken leader A’Yark as well as the settlers. This perspective is greatly appreciated and well-written. Even though we are thrust into A’Yark’s mind early in the story many mysteries around the character’s motivations are preserved until well in the book.
Obi-Wan spends the early chapters trying to establish his new life in the Tatooine wilds by the Dune Sea. There are some fantastically awkward interactions as he visits a remote trading post and befriends merchant Annileen Calwell. Annileen is raising two teenagers alone and having a rough time with it, especially thanks to the negative influence of powerful local Orrin Gault and his family. Westerns often feature a prominent local citizen who wants to cling to power despite what’s best for the community and this one is no exception. However, once again Mr. Miller must be given credit for taking the time to explore Orrin’s motivations and perspective, rather than simply relegating him to a one-dimensional villain role.
Another strong element of the novel which fleshes out Obi-Wan’s character is in his monologues with mentor Qui-Gon Jinn. Yoda instructed him to attempt communicating with Qui-Gon in Revenge of the Sith and Obi-Wan loyally obeys here, even though he is frustrated by the lack of contact from his former Master. It’s hard to imagine the degree of adjustment Obi-Wan’s focus had to survive when he was transformed from a galactic power player to a hermit in a single day or two, thanks to the actions of his apprentice Anakin. The monologue meditations help to explore how Obi-Wan kept his commitment to the shattered Jedi Order and to his own principles: they are some of the most compelling passages in the novel.
Westerns often end in a shootout and this one is no exception. In some ways I found the plot predictable thanks to the Western archetypes at play but there are plenty of twists to keep it fresh. Mr. Miller drenches the novel in Star Wars flavor and its complete focus on Tatooine underscores the feeling of solitude and remoteness Obi-Wan is adjusting to. Kenobi is not a book that dramatically alters anything about the Star Wars Expanded Universe: however, it is a wonderful nugget of a tale set in the Dark Times that no fan of the novels or the character Obi-Wan Kenobi should miss.
Dannar's Claim, a trading post, inn, and bar, operated by Annileen Caldwell and her children Kallie and Jabe is the center of life at The Oasis, the hub around which those brave souls attempting to eek out a living from Tatooine's harsh environment seek community and connection. Dannar's Claim also houses the Settler's Call, the brainchild of moisture farmer and entrepreneur Orrin Gault. The Call is a subscription alarm service, consisting of a fund managed by Gault that coordinates the community response to attacks on subscribers by Tusken Raiders. As the best friend of Annileen's late husband, the lives of the Caldwells and the Gaults are inextricably entwined. When Tusken attacks spike, led by the raider known only as Plug-eye, tensions spike between Annileen and her long-time friend, made worse by her son's insistence on joining Orrin's dangerous raids. As tensions between the settlers and the Tuskens mount, a reclusive stranger named Ben arrives, one whose secrets may hold the secret to the settlers' salvation...if he isn't destroyed first.
It's been YEARS since I read a Star Wars extended universe novel. I cut my science fiction-loving teeth on the likes of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, novels which captured not only the feel of the original trilogy, but were superb storytelling that -- long before Disney acquired Lucasfilm and announced plans to make new films -- opened new chapters and introduced new characters to the Star Wars universe. Thanks to Disney's reboot of the extended universe canon, the original extended universe novels that I loved are now no longer canon, but classified as "Legends." However, stories like Kenobi are stellar examples of these books at their best -- illuminating new facets and eye-opening possibilities in the lives of beloved characters like Obi-Wan whose screentime only provides tantalizing hints of their history and potential.
Ewan MacGregor's portrayal of a young Obi-Wan was a highlight of the uneven (to say the least) prequel trilogy, and portrayal heavily influences Miller's characterization of the Jedi Master in Kenobi. I've always viewed Star Wars, particularly Episode IV, as a western in space, and this novel takes the concept of a western space opera and turns it into a full-fledged, old-fashioned classic western epic. Obi-Wan -- now the hermit Ben -- is the retired Gunslinger who wants nothing more than to be left in peace. Orrin, the rancher-cum-robber baron whose once pure motives have been corrupted by a drive to consolidate power and succeed, while Annileen is the determined widow transformed into a businesswoman, one whose once-bright dreams have long laid dormant until the arrival of a stranger, the compelling and mysterious Ben.
Miller knows the story beats of a classic western, and therein lies the success of his exploration of the unknown chapter of Ben's life on Tatooine prior to the arrival of a blue and white astromech droid bearing a desperate plea from a princess. This novel is everything I never knew I wanted from a Obi-Wan-centric story, everything I felt the prequels wasted with an actor of MacGregor's potential bringing a youthful Kenobi to life. Miller brings Kenobi to vibrant, three-dimensional life, delving into the insecurities, questions, and sense of failure he must have grappled with following Anakin's turn to the dark side. Here Miller explores if a man who once thrived on action, who was conditioned to never let a call for help go unanswered, adapt to the life of a hermit -- if such a withdrawal from a society in need is even possible.
I absolutely loved how this novel fleshes out not only Ben's character but the culture of Tatooine, a world that plays a critical role in the Star Wars universe as the home of Luke, the birthplace of Anakin, and the site of a rage-fueled massacre of Tuskens that sets Anakin on a galaxy-shaking trajectory, culminating in his transformation into Darth Vader. While Ben's characterization is a welcome addition to the extended universe, and the settlers are deftly sketched western mainstays, transplanted in space, its the characterization of the Tusken Raider culture that proves most illuminating. On film they are faceless, mindless bandits -- here the Tatooine natives have a culture, history, and drive, led by the formidable, fearless warrior Plug-eye, a Tusken with secrets that, if discovered, could reframe the Tuskens' age-old conflict with the settlers.
Kenobi is peppered with echoes of the films, from mentions of Jabba and the Lars family to suggestions of greater events unfolding in the galaxy as the Empire rises following the Jedi's fall. But putting the Star Wars references aside, Miller has delivered a cracking good western capable of standing beside classics of the genre by the likes of L'Amour and Mulford. This is why I love science fiction, why I adore the Star Wars world -- Kenobi is page-turning adventure filled with compelling characters, explosive action scenes, intrigue, and a classic showdown between good and evil. For all the talk of destiny in the canon, for me Star Wars has always been a story of choice, of choosing light, of choosing to be the best version of one's self., and Miller taps into the timeless nature of that battle. I can only hope that Miller one day gets to revisit this universe, but if not, here he's delivered one of the most satisfying reads in this extended universe -- and if, like me, you can't help but view it as canon...who can blame you? This is a Star Wars (and westerns) at their best -- entertaining, thought-provoking, and just plain fun.
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It's slow to start but I found it to be very immersive, giving an insight into how the people lived in the harsh climate of Tatooine as well as a fascinating depiction of the customs and actions of the Tusken Raiders.
The plot is simple, but the characters make this novel IMO. I was totally invested in what happens to each and everyone of them.
It also gives a good "POV" of how Obi-wan deals with what happened as he medidates and attempts to communicate with Qui-Gon. Also if you have ever wondered why he took the name "Ben", the answer's here.
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