Master and Apprentice

The first true novel of my Star Wars Canon Adventure! (Well, it maybe shouldn't have been, considering the end of it takes place during The Phantom Menace and therefore, according to my own rules, that's where it should have been placed). And a good way to start out!

It was fun, zippy, offered a lot of cool characterization for the Jedi (and in particular Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon) are are just cardboard in the Prequel Trilogy and therefore have no depth. Loved the extrapolations on why the Jedi Council was flawed, loved the subtle Dooku origin going on here. The problem is that it doesn't feel TOTALLY cohesive because of the way the movies are, but it fits in well enough.

I really liked the supporting cast for this book. Rael, Fenry, Pax, and Rahara were all interesting characters I really hope we get to see again in future books or comics or shows, but I highly doubt it, and that's okay. Fenry in particular I'm a little disappointed with - her sudden turn near the end was really cool, but then immediately became a case of "she's power hungry and doesn't really care for anyone but herself" which is WAY less interesting than "she's rightfully angry because her people were taken advantage of by a huge corporation for a very long time and the only way she can see to let them free is through violence. I can imagine a world where we got THAT twist instead, and she's a pivotal figure in later stories as, like, a bastion of hope against slavery or corporations, or maybe even a leading figure in the separatists! You know, in a world where the Separatists weren't just evil fodder for the Sith and instead were a legitimate political group that needed to go to war with the Republic in order to obtain the freedom or change they wanted. That would be so dope.

Overall, though, it was a fun Star Wars read that I would definitely recommend to friends interested in the universe, particularly this time period, and probably one I would willingly read again in the future.