Heir To The Jedi Review: The Continued Adventures of Luke Skywalker.

Pomojema here with another advance review of a Star Wars novel. This time we're looking at Heir To The Jedi, written by Kevin Hearne (best known for his work on his own series, The Iron Druid Chronicles). Make the jump to see how the Skywalker-centric novel turned out in this spoiler-free review.





Heir To The Jedi starts off asking an essential question following a continuity reset: Before the Battle Of Hoth, but after Luke blew up the Death Star and got a medal to show for it, what happened? The Empire is still out and about, and the Rebellion is still ongoing, albeit lacking in manpower and resources. When Han and Chewie take a break from the revolution to deal with their own matters, Luke is forced to carry out a series of operations with R2-D2 and a few other companions that will ensure that the Rebels survive and thrive against an enemy with incredible armies and vast amounts of territory under their control. His most important goal: rescuing a cryptographer who can compromise most security from the Empire, with only R2-D2 and a talented sniper to help him.



Heir is the first book to be told entirely from the first-person perspective of Luke Skywalker, and I believe that Hearne excelled at capturing Luke's personality and motivations around the time of A New Hope. He's up a river without a paddle in regards to learning how to use the Force, based on his limited knowledge from 'Ben' Kenobi in a handful of conversations. As you can imagine, he struggles with figuring out how to use the Force without the aid of a Jedi Master, but controlling the Force is something he gains on his adventures to help a struggling Rebel Alliance persist in the face of adversity. It comes across very naturally, too - he starts off completely lost and frustrated, slowly learns how to adapt, and has a considerably better grasp on the Force by the end of the novel.









Along his journey, Luke meets two women: a human by the name of Nakari Kelen, and a Givin by the name of Drusil. Kelen is a clever sharpshooter with a dry wit, while Drusil is a mathematical genius and an expert at slicing Imperial data. Kelen was written as a love letter to the girl-of-the-week format of old Legends stories (back before they settled on Luke hooking up with Mara Jade), but she has a decent amount of depth and personality to her. Drusil comes across as a quirky individual (appropriately enough, since she's an alien), but she is highly methodical, and the focus on her mathematical craft actually draws a few parallels to the Jedi that Luke aspires to be. Both characters are important to the narrative, and in some ways help they shape Luke into the 'not a Jedi yet' that he is in The Empire Strikes Back. I really liked both of these characters, and hope to read more about them in other stories set around the same time period.



The book goes for a 'less is more' sort of approach - you won't find any grandiose war sequences or elaborate lighsaber duels in this story, but if you're looking for classic skirmishes with alien monsters, ISB agents, and bounty hunters, this is your book. For instance, there's a spectacular space battle sequence in the middle of the book, but it revolves around Luke flying solo against a much larger force instead of leading a squadron of X-wings. The book feels more episodic than other Star Wars novels I've read. Nearly every chapter focuses on a different aspect of Luke's journey, ranging from something as suspenseful as his investigation of a derelict ship on an unknown world infested with invisible predators to something as mundane as ordering noodles with Rancor sauce to communicate secret information to an incognito Rebel supporter. That episodic nature is something I feel helps the narrative feel distinctive as a story. Hearne not only captured the spirit of Luke Skywalker in his writing, but he also captured a lot of the lighthearted fun that made the early days of Legends such a joy to read.









This is definitely a book that fans of the Skywalker family should check out. The book does a good job of getting Luke Skywalker and an ensemble of characters - including R2-D2, C-3PO, Leia Organa, and Ackbar - just right, all while introducing a couple of new characters who can stand on their own. It also does a wonderful job of setting the stage for Marvel's Star Wars comic, which reflect's Luke's character development in this story very well (the Lucasfilm Story Group deserve props for this as well). The Force is indeed strong with this one.





Special thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the text. Heir To The Jedi will be released on shelves on March 3.



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http://www.randomhouse.com/book/225265/heir-to-the-jedi-star-wars-by-kevin-hearne



The upcoming Star Wars novel Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne has a new synopsis via Random House's website.

I for one am very excited about this book. It will be released February 17, 2015

 

This is the one I am most excited about.

 

The release date is now March 3, 2015.

 

I'm excited to read this, particularly to see the first person perspective and how that maps out through Luke's eyes. I read the excerpt at the end of Luceno's Tarkin and it does feel unnaturally worded for Luke at points, but it could just be an acclimatisation thing. It sounds as though this book could hold a few hints toward TFA!

 

Looks like Del Ray is giving out free copies of this book on Monday during Rebels.

 

I'm really excited for this one. Why did it get moved from January to March?

 

This book, I believe, was originally the 3rd book in the Empire and Rebellion series until they made all EU novels Legends. I read the 1st two books which were focused on Princess Leia and Han Solo each. I am looking forward to this book also. I enjoy these type of books that look through the eyes of the character.

 

That's true.
This will be the first book set firstperson in all of the Star Wars novels out there.
I also think this and Lords of the Sith will have lots of secrets that will be fleshed out in TFA.

 

There are two other books out there concerning Vader and Obi-Wan in kind of firstperson viewpoint.
One being Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the other one is about Vader but I can't remember the name of that one. I have at home. I really enjoyed that one.

 

Were they adult novels?

 

I think they are for younger readers. I bought because it's about his thoughts and why he did the things he did. One I remember was him ordering the stormtroopers to kill Owen and Beru and not feeling any kind of remorse about it.

 

I always liked the Boba Fett explaination for that.

 

I'm not familiar with that one.

 

Check the OT forum. There's a thread on it. It's rather funny.... if you have that kind of sense of humor.

 

Will do.

 

Already a thread on this book

 

Not sure if this has been posted already, but here's a mini-excerpt from Heir to the Jedi.

Spoiler: For a good reason.

When I’d first felt the Force on the Millennium Falcon, it had been the barest tickle of a presence in my consciousness and in the air around me that wasn't attributable to my five senses. Since then I had reached out to the Force on numerous occasions, and each time it grew marginally easier to make that contact and feel the Force swirl and coalesce around me, a not-quite-tangible but very real sensation, sort of like exercising and discovering over time that the same routine requires less effort because your strength and endurance have increased.
I didn't have any goal in mind other than increasing my awareness of the Force; there were no vegetables or other objects to nudge around in the cockpit, anyway, and I figured a greater grasp of the Force would help me perform such tasks more quickly later on, and perhaps allow me to move larger objects, or accomplish any number of other Jedi exercises.
The streaming starlines of hyperspace were excellent for clearing my mind. No distractions, just visual white noise. I remembered training with the remote, wearing a helmet with the blast shield down and feeling the Force as a power within and without that worked with me and yet was not me. That had been a twinge, a tiny awakening of a new part of my mind, like a half-glimpsed dawn through sleep-encrusted eyes. I knew I wasn't fully awake yet; I think part of me wanted to go back to sleep. But the dawn comes whether you sleep through it or not, and I think the Force might be like that—always there, but unseen until you make the effort.
My breathing slowed and deepened, and soon I became aware that there were others breathing on the ship. Drusil was nearest, sitting in an attitude of prayer or perhaps meditation like myself, attempting to soothe away her worries. Perhaps the activity of her mind was pure math. Farther back and to the left, Nakari felt happy, though I didn't know about what. Her breath was uneven and sort of purred—was she humming to herself? I couldn't hear that to confirm...

Source: Star Wars Books.

 

Here are some alternate covers from StarWars.com
http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-heir-to-the-jedi-exclusive-excerpt

 

Just got it on my Kindle today. So far, so good. I know the reviews have been quite mixed about this story, but I'll take it. Just excited that we have another piece of new canon.