Raising Anakin

This young-reader series from Jude Watson follows padawan Anakin Skywalker and his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
WARNING: Minor Spoilers

Click here for larger image

The story begins with a touching prologue showing us Obi-Wan's love for his fouteen-year-old apprentice Anakin, evidenced by his giving the boy the very river stone that Qui-gon had given him for his own 13th birthday. Obi-Wan is worried about Anakin's lonely, friendless state. Four Jedi pairs are sent to help evacuate a planet, Radnor, where a toxic cloud is threatening the population, but soon the masters are trapped away from the padawans with communications down, challenging all of them in one way or another with issues of trust and teamwork. Anakin and another padawan, the seemingly perfect Ferus, are like two alpha males, butting head for supremacy. As each team delves deeper and deeper into the mystery surrounding the toxic release, they must rely on each other to defeat an invasion force from without and a traitor from within.

I was captivated by the first page. Knowing what happens to these two lends a terrible pathos to all these tales. It's like reading about a doomed romance, star-crossed lovers, only in this case the love is filial rather than romantic. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. From the first we see the seeds of tragedy -- Anakin's sneaking out of the Temple, sure that Obi-Wan knows and yet will turn a blind eye. Watson does a great job of making both these characters extremely complex and interesting.

This book has its fair share of adventure, excitement, and all those other things young Jedi wannabes crave. Plus it has enough emotional depth to keep even this middle-aged reviewer happy. A great start for the new series!

Discuss this book on our message boards

Click here for larger image

Back near the end of the Jedi Apprentice series, Qui-Gon took Obi-Wan on a training exercise on the planet Ragoon-6. Now it is Obi-Wan's turn to take Anakin, now fourteen. The exercise is designed to test and threngthen their trust in one another -- something they sorely need, especially because Anakin knows Obi-Wan did not choose him willingly. But what begins as a simple tracking challenge ends up becoming a struggle to survive indigenous carnivores, bounty hunters, and Sith minions, all while desperately racing to rescue a fellow Jedi. Along the way, Obi-Wan discovers he is not Qui-gon, and Anakin learns he has a secure place in his master's affections.

I enjoyed the plot with its series of escalating battles and its interesting twists. And I especially enjoyed getting inside the heads of the two Jedi. Obi-Wan still misses Qui-Gon, and Anakin is jealous of that; he wishes for that same closeness. It's also quite telling that Anakin depends upon memories of his mother and her wise sayings rather than relying on his master and Jedi teachings when he gets into trouble.

Yet another great story. I didn't know if I would like this new series, but now I can't wait for more!

Discuss this book on our message boards

Click here for larger image

Dear Jude Watson: Jedi lightsabers do not have sheaths. Jedi do not "unsheath" their lightsabers, nor do they "tuck" their lightsabers "into" their belts. Lightsabers clip or hook on. Please stop making this mistake.

Now that I've cleared that up ... this is one of the best books Watson has written in this or any other series. At 169 pages, it is also the longest. Obi-Wan and Anakin, along with two other Jedi pairs (from Book #1) have been assigned to watch over the Galactic Games, an Olympic-like event that takes place on a different planet every seven years. This year it is on Euceron, a planet run with an iron fist by the 10-member Ruling Power. Old friends Didi and Astri, from the Jedi Apprentice series, are there also, and it isn't long before Didi drags Obi-Wan right into the midst of the criminal underground making illegal bets and fixing events. Meanwhile, Anakin has discovered the illegal podracing event and ends up racing against his old podracer, driven by Sebulba's son. When Obi-Wan discovers the scope of the corruption infecting the games, he finds himself in a race to save not only his own life, but also Anakin and the lives of thousands of innocent spectators, not to mention the reputation of dozens of Senators and the fate of the Republic's economic stability. Only Anakin's amazing skills can prevent disaster.

Usually I am bothered when a bunch of characters end up "coincidentally" showing up at the same place at the same time, but the Galactic Games are a good excuse for everybody to be there. It seemed to me the other two Jedi teams could have been left out of the story, but I suppose it would stretch credulity to think that only one Jedi team could handle the whole Games. There are things I could nitpick (twelve droidekas were sent for one petty criminal?) but other than the perpetually annoying "lightsaber sheath" problem, they are not worth mentioning.

This is a rolicking good adventure, with lots of twists and turns (kind of like the podrace course). Obi-Wan and Anakin get to show off their skills to the maximum. I highly recommend this book.

Discuss this book on our message boards

Click here for larger image

Not yet published. From Starwars.com: "Young Padawan Anakin Skywalker and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi face off against a slippery foe in the fourth book in the Jedi Quest series. This adversary is as cunning as he is evil, and will stop at nothing in his embrace of the dark side. How will the Jedi defeat this villain of powerful wealth -- a villain that they cannot find?"

Discuss this book on our message boards

Interviews & Articles

June 28, 2002 - Official Site Previews Jedi Quest #4

StarWars.com has just updated with a summary and cover image of Jedi Quest #4: The Master of Disguise due out in December. Go here for the full article.

---

June 27, 2002 - Official Site announces new Episode II young reader books

StarWars.com has announced some new young reader titles for Episode II, including Battle in the Arena, a 24-page storybook by Justine and Ron Fontes; I Am A Bounty Hunter by Boba Fett, as "told to" author Kerry Milliron; the Jedi Activity Book; and the Attack of the Clones Trivia Challenge book. The books are due out in October. Go here for the full article.

---

June 25, 2002 - Official Site Previews Jedi Quest #3

StarWars.com has just updated with a summary and cover image of Jedi Quest #3: The Dangerous Games due out in August. Go here for the full article.

---

March 1, 2002 - Star Wars Kids website solicits fan questions for Jude Watson

StarWarskids.com is asking fans of Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest to submit questions for Jude Watson to answer. You can go here to submit your question. The deadline is March 8.

---

January 31, 2002 - Official Site Previews Jedi Quest #1 and #2 and Much More!

StarWars.com has just updated with a summary and cover image of Jedi Apprentice Special Edition #2, The Followers. In addition, they are previewing the first two Jedi Quest novels by Jude Watson (#1 The Way of the Apprentice and #2 The Trail of the Jedi, both due out in April) as well as a new series about young Boba Fett -- #1 The Fight to Survive. You can read the article on the official site here.

---

November 23, 2001 - Lucasfilm Responds to Online Petition

Jedi Apprentice Desktop Central reports receiving a letter from Lucy Autrey Wilson, Director of Publishing for Lucasfilm, in response to their petition. You can read the whole letter here, but the upshot is ...

• The Jedi Apprentice series is ending with the Special Edition #2 The Followers scheduled for publication in March of 2002.
• A new multi-book paperback series by Jude Watson entitled Jedi Quest will begin April of 2002. Previewed in the Jedi Quest hardcover, the series is about Anakin's apprenticeship under Obi-Wan Kenobi during the years between the events in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
• Some characters from the Jedi Apprentice series will appear in these new books.
• On-going adventures between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon may be developed in the new Jedi Quest books as memories and/or flashbacks.

---

June, 2001 - Star Wars Insider #54 Features Jedi Apprentice Author Jude Watson

The official Lucasfilm fan magazine Star Wars Insider #54 had a full-page article about the Jedi Apprentice series that was chock full of interesting news:

• In September, Jedi Quest, the first hardcover novel from Scholastic, will tell the story of Obi-Wan and Anakin infiltrating a band of slave traders whom Anakin ran across on Tatooine as a boy. "We're going to thrust him into the very situation he should not be thrust into," Watson says of Anakin, adding that "Obi-Wan knows that and doesn't necessarily want to take this mission." She hints that it is a test of the young boy by Mace Windu and the Jedi Council.
• A tie-in comic-book series from Dark Horse, also called Jedi Quest, is planned in which we will see Anakin build his lightsaber.
• After Jedi Quest, the series will return to the pre-prequel era.  Watson promises a crisis for Qui-Gon which will deepen his character.
• The series will continue at least up to the release of Episode II and promises to remain less a collection of adventures than a single, long-running narrative.

For our American readers, you can still get Star Wars Insider #54 off the newsstands if you hurry!

---

April 25, 2001 - Official Site Previews Jedi Quest Novel and Comic Series

StarWars.com has an article about the upcoming Jedi Quest hardback from Scholastic and its companion comic book series from Dark Horse. "The dreaded space pirate Krayn plagues the Colicoid people. The insect-like beings look to the Jedi for help, and Kenobi and Skywalker answer the call." Go to this article on the official site to read more about it.

---

Back to Top