Master and Apprentice

Click HERE to order Master and Apprentice on Amazon



Master and Apprentice was written by Claudia Gray and published by Del Rey on April 16th, 2019.



Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan of the last four years, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are sent to the planet Pijal at the request of Jedi Knight Rael Averross. For the last eight years Rael has been serving as the lord regent of the planet, guiding the young Princess Fanry as she prepares to become queen and usher in a new age for her people by overseeing the government’s transition from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy and facilitating the opening of a new hyperspace route in the heretofore isolated system. These developments are endangered by a group calling themselves “The Opposition”, whose protests have recently gone from disruptive to violent. The presence of the nefarious Czerka Corporation, which has its own deeply rooted interests in the planet’s moon, further complicates matters. All is not as it seems, and Qui-Gon enlists gemstone smugglers Rahara Wick and Pax Maripher in the investigation. Qui-Gon is troubled by dark visions of the future and an almost obsessive fixation on ancient Jedi prophecy; Obi-Wan Kenobi struggles with his place as Jinn’s apprentice; and Rael Averross is haunted by the memory of the Padawan he was forced to kill years ago.



Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn have a pretty strained, or perhaps awkward, relationship when the novel opens. They don’t communicate well. Obi-Wan’s dedication to strictly following the rules and directives of the Jedi Council put him in conflict with Qui-Gon’s independence and flexibility. Each one blames himself for the shortcomings in their relationship. Qui-Gon believes that Obi-Wan would be better served by another master, but doesn’t really want to pass him off for fear that the boy would take it as an outright rejection. Just before they leave for the mission to Pijal, Qui-Gon is offered a seat on the Jedi Council; understandably shocked, Qui-Gon feels called to accept the invitation. Knowing that it would be unwise for someone new to the Council to also be mentoring a Padawan, he feels his decision has been made for him but hesitates to inform Obi-Wan. When Obi-Wan finds out from someone else first, it drives an even bigger wedge between them. In The Phantom Menace we see an Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon relationship where, while certainly not equals, they are at least very close to being peers. Here, on the other hand, there is much more of a parent child vibe. In fact much of the book explores relationships of a parent/child, or at least, guardian/ward nature. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are like a father and son who find that, no matter how hard they each try, they have very little in common and just can’t seem to click. With Fanry, Rael has the problem of the overprotective parent, who in desperately trying to atone for past mistakes with a now lost child, fails to meet the specific needs of the one he has charge over now. Then there’s Pax Maripher, who lost his parents at the age of 5 and spent the next 15 years being raised by protocol droids while marooned on a ship near Wild Space. Needless to say, this has left him in a difficult position when it comes to relating to other humans and accepting their foibles. In each case you have a child getting from a surrogate parent exactly what that parent is capable of giving them, for better or worse. For Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon that means that, in the end, they see that their differences are actually the best reason for them to continue together when Qui-Gon politely declines the Council’s offer. For Rael, it means that trying too hard to be different for Fanry just leads to making a different kind of mistake. For Pax, it means he must rely on his partner Rahara, a former slave to the Czerka Corporation, to help him embrace his humanity.

Master and Apprentice is full of the kind of action and humor that you want from Star Wars, as well as the political intrigue that Gray’s previous novel, Bloodline, delivered. Flashbacks reveal Qui-Gon’s own apprenticeship under Dooku and how Dooku’s own obsession with ancient Jedi prophecy may have been a catalyst to his descent to the Dark Side. Rael was Dooku’s student prior to Qui-Gon, which gives them sort of a brotherly relationship until Rael’s failure with his Padawan Nim, which Jinn feels could have prevented, and later Rael’s attachment to Fanry and Pijal puts them at odds. Rael may come across as a little too Quinlan Vossy to some, but ultimately he comes off as a fairly original character. It was really nice to see a Jedi at odds with another Jedi who doesn’t end up turning to the Dark Side. Pax and Rahara are genuinely interesting and often amusing supporting characters who do what supporting characters are supposed to do: add to the narrative without taking attention away from the main characters. Gray understands that we want this book to be about Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and she really doesn’t take the focus off of them for very long at any given time.

The main story takes place 7 years before The Phantom Menace. Dooku has already left the Order, though it seems to have happened fairly recently. Qui-Gon is 40, Obi-Wan is 17. Obi-Wan was 3 years old when brought to the Temple. Rael was 5 and Qui-Gon thinks to himself, rather ironically, that the council will probably never bring in another that old again.

There is mention of the “10,000 year history of the Jedi”. It is also said that the Jedi used to have mystics who looked into future and recorded their prophecies; but not anymore.

A new, ancient Sith lord, Darth Wrend, is mentioned.

It’s implied that Qui-Gon fell in love on the planet Felucia.

The Czerka Corporation should be well known to fans of KOTOR.

Figure Wish List:

Rael Averross, Fanry.

Score:

This one really delivers, especially for PT fans and/or Jedi fans. 4 Skulls.



Click HERE to order Master and Apprentice on Amazon

Tweet

---

comments powered by Disqus