Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: KNIGHT ERRANT (spoilers)

Best word to describe this book? Okay, here it is: Wow. This book is just simply great. Being a fan of the Kotor comics already, I knew I was probably going to enjoy this book, but this book actually blew my expectations out of the water! It is truly a fun read. I believe there is good reason that people keep mentioning Mindor when they talk about this book, because the two books share something in common: they are both what Star Wars is meant to be. And that is fun. I really believe that if Mr. Miller continues his work in the novel area, he will become the fan favorite. Lets face it, right now Stover probably has that position still -- but I see a new contender who could easily step in that role.

The characters in this book are so rich. Kerra Holt, Narsk, Beadle Lubbon, Tan, and of course Jarrow Rusher. I must say, Rusher really sold it for me. What a great character. The scene where he and his team pummel through Arkadia's city is so fun to read. I found myself grinning ear to ear like an idiot reading that part. I believe that the quality of the villains can really sell the story, and boy do this book have some great villains! It was nice to find out about the Bequest, and this "game" among the grandchildren of Vilia. While I was reading it, it made me think of the pantheon of Greek Gods -- all vying for control. Their parents were first to do it, now its their turn. It will be interesting to see how we go from this to thirty years down the line to the "Brotherhood of the Sith". It could certainly give new meaning to that. Just kidding.

This book has everything a Star Wars book SHOULD have. If you still aren't sure of reading this, what the heck are you waiting for?

10 out of 10.

 

I may not have bought many SW books the last couple of years but I've kept an eye on the review threads even so - was how I ended up reading Crosscurrent - but I don't think I've ever seen quite so many 10 out of 10 marks for a book in such a short amount of time. It's quite stunning.

 

Yeah,usually we've had an Armond White review by now.

 

Question: Is it necessary that I get caught up with KOTOR before I jump into this? I haven't read it since the first arc.

 

I'm not going to write an essay here. Just jotting a few thoughts. It's all been said. Knight Errant is everything that Star Wars readers look for in these pulpy books. At least the smarter readers of pulp. JJM seems to have such an such an understanding of world building, plot construction, and character development; all of which made Knight Errant one of the most dense, comic, beguiling, and fulfilling books I've ever read in the SW EU.

It's really kind of staggering how much Jackson packed into this book. The payoff was sweet but there was so much to take in. It makes a couple of those FOTJ books look kinda weenie by comparison. I wish I could distill in words how much hope this book gives me for the future of the EU in print. KE is its own era. It has it's own homegrown well fleshed out characters. I utterly fell in love with the I, Claudius, like Sith "Family". This is so much more fascinating than the Lost Tribe (no offense John) but this is just far more clever than anything going on in Luke's world.

9.5

 

Average score: 135.75/14 = 9.70

 

Nope, you can dive straight-in, there are refs to JJM's KOTOR but they're of the Easter Egg extra variety.

 

Haven't read the comics yet, but got the book when it came out.
+ Paperback. None of this 250 page hardback dren of other recen Star Wars books
+ Continuity. New era, so no headaches like TFU II
+ Expanded Universe. Herglics! Herglics! Great use of minor species, actually feels like a lived in universe, not a space opera like the 9/3 series.
+ Character. Distinct characters with motivations and styles of speech and action.
+ Fun. Like the KotOR comics, it addressed serious topics without being a drag to read through. Far more Adventurous than most recent books. More Zahn/OT Swashbuckle than Prequel/LotF Doom and Gloom

- I didn't see any mention of being part 1 of a trilogy or a series anywhere. We need more of these books

End result 9.5

 

It has been eons since I last saw a book so highly rated, not even Stover's. I wanted to wait for it until I first read Aflame's TPB, but now... Can I read the book without having read the comic first?

 

Yes, yes and yes!

 

Most of my feelings on this novel have been stated eloquently elsewhere. I will just rate it...


9.5/10

 

Average score: 164.75/17 = 9.69

 

I actually feel kind of bad doing this, I did enjoy the book. But obviously not as much as the rest of you.

8.5 out of 10

 

Yeah, I liked it a lot too, but it did have some flaws IMO:

1. It's a tad exposition heavy, I must say. Pages can go by without much in the way of dialog or action. While I do love description and summaries and recaps most of the time, it got thick there in spots.
2. I found Rusher hard to peg. He's affable, a student of history, plays the fool, the battle-hardened brigadier, loyal to a fault... while I liked him at times, he was kind of all over the map.
3. We don't really learn a whole lot about the protagonist. Granted, we learn TONS about the antagonists and the setting (which I thoroughly enjoyed), but I don't know that I can say I know Kerra Holt any better after having read the book. I learned what she did but not necessarily who she is or was or why. But, then, this really isn't the knight errant's story, now, is it? The book is more about the Sith, their machinations, and how beings get swept up by (and into) their plots and schemes and conflicts. Further, while I liked Narsk and Rusher for the most part, the title character wasn't really allowed to stand on her own in a book named for her. While accumulating and then leaving allies (begrudging or otherwise) is typical of the knight errant trope, I wanted to learn a little more about what it was like to be a "lone Jedi Knight operating in Sith territory, far beyond the reach or aid of her Jedi Masters." Knight Errant was initially marketed nearly a year ago as an chance for Kerra to "realize that her role in the galaxy is far more important, and vastly different, than she could have ever imagined," and "to find that good intentions just may not be enough in a galaxy gone mad!". I expected her to struggle a bit with things, to have to eek out survival on her own for while. Instead, JJM skips over that and almost immediately surrounds her with allies (of sorts), teaming her up with Rusher's crew, and spends more time explaining the disposition of the Sith and their holdings than getting into Kerra's head. For someone to be completely abandoned, to lose her Master and mentor and teammates, and to be cut off from the galaxy she knows, Kerra didn't seem to be struggling with (if nothing else) the newness of her situation. I expected more of a peek into the psyche of Kerra, what drives her to stay and fight instead of run; how she handles the change from being part of Treece's raiding team to being all alone.

That said, it was a fun read and opens a huge space in the Saga to explore the characters and region and themes: 8.75/10

 

my rating is: 10 of 10

I loved how it explored the era and its past through memories and explanations a lot and I like Kerra as hero even with her sometimes unJedi way of surviving in Sith Space. Some pages I couldn't read fast enough, others dragged on a bit. But all in all a great novel. Definitely great read, by great author.

 

Average score: 192/20 = 9.60

 

9/10

 

I don't know what to say about this novel that I haven't already said in the discussion topic itself. Suffice to say that this book has totally shaken up my list of favorite SW novels of all time- not only has it breached my Top 10 list, it's squarely in my Top FIVE favorite Star Wars novels of all time.

Of course, I'm probably viewing this through the rose-tinted glasses of a diehard Knight Errant fanboy (points at sig), but still... the comics, and this novel, have managed to do something amazing: they've recaptured the feeling I felt when I first discovered there was an EU, via the hardcover copies of the Thrawn Trilogy my dad got from one of those sci fi book clubs back in the early 90's. That sense of awe, of wonder, that fresh feeling of excitement and adventure... it's all here in Knight Errant.

I can't praise this book enough- flawless 10.0 out of 10.0. Easily one of THE greatest masterpieces in the history of the EU.

 

I think jedimasterED hit the flaws I had with the book dead on. I really never had any interest in the characters so I had a hard time really getting into the book. The side characters are well written, but the only two main characters (3 if you count Narsk) just didn't generate enough interest with me.
Still a solid book though. 7.75/10

 

Average score: 218.75/23 = 9.51

 

8.5. (Minus 0.5 points for what's probably purely style, but I found the exposition a bit dense at times. And minus 1 point for unnecessary Revan gender attribution.)

 

Average score: 227.25/24 = 9.47

 

I would give it a 9.5/10. It reminded me of the whimsy I felt when I first saw episode 4. Lot's of action and humor. I had fun reading in front of wookiepedia to refresh my mind on all the different species in the book. I did have the benefit of reading KE comic series before which made a huge difference in my opinion. I liked knowing how Daiman and Odion looked like and the Sith enviroment.

 

I didn't love KOTOR as much as many seem to have, but upon seeing the overwhelmingly positive reviews for this, Miller's debut novel, I allowed myself to get excited. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me for several of the same reasons that KOTOR didn't: it's alternately boring and dully goofy, with many pages of tedium broken up by large set pieces (which are themselves punctuated in the novel by lengthy infodumps and observations that manage to kill whatever excitement the action might otherwise have generated), and the characters mostly don't come across as more than the sum of their tics; their dialogue rarely rings true and the banter is often painfully unwitty. If you don't have any such problems with KOTOR, there's a good chance you won't find them in Knight Errant, either.

In terms of structure, this is a less a novel in three acts than three linked novellas (or, if you will, three volumes of the comic, except in prose), which means that there's not really an escalation of action or any satisfying character arc but just a sequence of encounters with improbably eccentric Sith lords, from the solipsist-ad-absurdum Lord Daiman to a pair of consciously conjoined twins to the frigid manipulator Arkadia. The occasional revelations are not as interesting as I get the feeling they're supposed to be, and most of the plot twists are obvious. Also it's probably a good idea never to have a character named Calician dealing with Celegians.

In the end, while I really wanted to enjoy this book -- it's been a couple years since I've really had fun with one of the SW novels -- it seems that Miller's style, whether in comics or prose, is just not for me. It took me about five times as long to make it through this book as it usually takes me to finish a Star Wars novel. I did finish it, but it was a slog. As boring and unexciting as any SW novel I've ever read.

3/10