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Title: Jedi Search (Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Vol. 1) by Kevin J. Anderson ISBN: 0553297988 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: March, 1994 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.34
Rating: 3
Summary: Approach with extreme caution !
Comment: Not something you'd want to read straight after Return of the Jedi.
I have the audacity to call myself a starwarsian, yet I made the fatal mistake of reading this novel before all others; D'OH!
It's not that this is a bad book. Anderson has done a reasonable job. The overall plot is good and the character development (+7yrs RotJ) is realistic. The writing may not be the most scholarly, but it is easy to read and the author doesn't waste any time. Having said all this, there is one colossal, unforgivable flaw:
Right from the word go, Anderson begins and continues to name drop from every book and movie made ahead of this. Now I realise there is continuity in SW novels (and rightly so!), but there was no purpose to these spoilers; they didn't influence this particular story. In turn, this affected my enjoyment of reading other Star Wars; in particular Zahn's Empire trilogy. Also, it took me a year to figure out this resurrected emperor theme and Luke's indulgence in the dark side, which Anderson kept making such a big deal of.
I very strongly recommend that you read all the novels which take place prior to this, including Dark Empire I and II. Then and only then, read this and the ensuing series.
Rating: 3
Summary: Dated Star Wars
Comment: The Jedi Academy Trilogy was one of the first set of novels to appear after Lucas gave his blessing to a new series of original books in the Star Wars universe, and unfortunately it shows.
The story is basically about the efforts to establish a new order of Jedi Knights, to replace the old order that was wiped out by the Empire. While Luke Skywalker searches the galaxy for potentials, Han and Chewie stumble upon a very powerful candidate while stuck on the mining world of Kessel, Leia is up to her neck in politics and trying to be a good mother for her twin children, and Lando tries to schmooze his way to the next Big Deal. Added to this mix are a hidden Imperial weapons research facility, a very dedicated female Imperial Admiral, and a petty Imperial loyalist with delusions of grandeur, and what you end up with is a hefty assortment of plot lines and potential entanglements for our heroes, all inter-spaced with the usual dollop of gun play, space battles, and a light saber or two.
The story moves at a rapid pace, almost as if KJ Anderson were trying to stuff about ten episodes of a television series into one book. The general effect of this is that the novel tends to be more episodic than a smoothly flowing tale, and some of the sub-stories feel so irrelevant to the main plot that they come across almost like filler, as if Anderson were trying to pad his page count just a little. Because of this characterization suffers; the regulars (Han, Luke, Leia, etc.) all come across as a little flat, and the new characters (Kyp Durron, Admiral Daala) feel a little rushed and cardboard. But the ending is pretty good space opera, although a little improbable on the coincidence side, and enough interesting threads remain hanging to draw you to the next book.
Sadly, the biggest problem with Jedi Search, and indeed the series as a whole, is that the books have become incredibly dated since the advent of the First Trilogy. We know a lot more about the original Jedi and their practices now, and quite frankly the image as depicted in the books doesn't quite mesh with what we've seen in the movies. Yeah, I know, the Star Wars authors have attempted to get around this by saying that all knowledge of Jedi training was lost with the purge, but logically you'd think that even the public knowledge (like, that Jedi didn't marry and were discouraged from fraternizing) would have filtered down to Luke's time -- it's only 20-30 years later, after all, not hundreds or thousands of years! You'll have to put all of this down to the fact that the authors were pretty much making things up without being privy to Lucas's thoughts on the matter, and the end result is the distinct impression that you're reading something that is taking place in a slightly alternate universe to the movies.
Anyway, rant aside, Jedi Search is adequate for most Star Wars fans. I don't think I'd give it anyone who wasn't interested in the SW universe, though, but if you're looking for a Star Wars Classic fix, it's worth an afternoon or two.
Rating: 4
Summary: To much important happen here to ignor!
Comment: OK! I have problems with some of the writing here but this trilogy when combined with I, Jedi are important contributions to the SW Universe. We get Kessel, the Maw installation, Kip, adm Daala who reappears then disappears, Qui Xu, the first hint of the aftermath of Dark Empire, and more Wedge (now a critical character). I had some problem with the story like: The spirit of a dead jedi having such tremedous power, the whole idea of the Suncrusher and the studip diversion of the blob race storyline. Unlike some, I feel that some of the darkhorse comics have made important contributions the SW Expanded Universe. Dark Empire was one of them.
For those of you who plan to read the New Jedi Order books, you'll find that Kevin J Anderson has made important contributions to SW including this trilogy and the young jedi books (the YJ books are surprisingly good).
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Title: The Last Command (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 3) by Timothy Zahn ISBN: 0553564927 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: November, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 1) by Timothy Zahn ISBN: 0553296124 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: November, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Dark Force Rising (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 2) by Timothy Zahn ISBN: 0553560719 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: November, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars) by Dave Wolverton ISBN: 0553569376 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: May, 1995 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole ISBN: 0553578731 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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