San Fran, CA The "Jedi Path"

http://www.starwars.com/vault/books/jedipath/index.html

mmm... I think this is going too far. I have a bad feeling about this...

 

And somehow, the comments posted do not surprise me.

 

Their excessive use of 1337speak suggests they are younger than twelve. Or they could possibly be those Jedi church people from the UK

 

over the top!

 

Yeah, I just preordered it. Look, there never was any chance of me not buying this. Also, "Over The Top" = Stallone's finest.

 

lol.. I'm surprise! But color me curious as to take a look at it sometime when you get it Russ. ^^ I totally think Vergere was one the right idea though, the Jedi were wrong and so were the Sith. The Force has no sides, the Force NEVER chooses sides, the Force is one. It's our choices along with everything being subjective to the point of view of the individual that allows us to interpret The Force in different ways. Then again our words can never truly express everything we really mean or feel. Then again everything I say is a lie.

 

Hi guys -- I'm the writer of the book, and encourage you to look further into it. I'm a huge fan and didn't want to either demystify the Jedi or create any "right" answers (other than the beliefs that orthodox Jedi might consider right). There's an interview for the Jedi Path on the Forcecast that some of you might be interested in; my segment starts at the 33:20 mark and we get into a lot of wonky philosophical details:

http://www.forcecast.net/story/topstory/ForceCast_Live_From_CV_Day_II_133276.asp

Dan

 

Well, I dont judge books by their covers, so I'll have to take a look at it when Russ buys it
Also will listen to the forcecast interview on my drive home from work today.

 

Nice! I admire someone who stands by their work. More over, to take the time and come out to our little corner of the galaxy and defend it... Respect Dan, I seriously like that on many levels.

Out of this group, Jedi and ideology of The Force is a specialty of mine... I've have so many books from LFL my library is insanely one sided by most standards... So my expectations for any additions to the EU or contemplations thereof, ESPECIALLY considering the subject matter of the Jedi, are rather very high. Lately, the EU has seriously disappointed me ESPECIALLY with certain key Jedi characters. Mainly in terms of turning a profit for LFL: amazing Jedi characters like Anakin Solo and Jacen Solo with so much potential are prime examples who were sacrificed and other Jedi characters who are rather stagnant were kept for possible future profit Kyle Katarn, Starkiller... etc. That's the thing I'm seeing here again, there are many people would LOVE to learn the ways of the Force and become "Jedi Knights" and it seems that this panders to that psychological need/want for profit once again. I mean... a padawan braid? wth... (I grew my own thank you very much... and not one of those fake synthetic deals either. lol... )

It's one thing to discuss ideology as well as promote ideals, but it takes more than a book or a series of such for anyone to understand The Force especially if you choose "The Jedi Path". Internal self-reflection, experience, and the strength of will to protect is essential. More over, the age of the Jedi this seems to cover is pre-New Republic... I don't see Vergere, the Solo sibs, Corran Horn or any of the NJO mentioned what so ever and many aspects I believe has shown an outlook of The Force that takes it to an whole new level. Therefore, I have a feeling it centers on the sole Jedi/Sith archetypes of "good" and "evil" which I suppose is okay to sell books but once again... it just feels like pandering.

However, color me curious. I'll take a look... Thank you for visiting Dan, I hope this book does live up to my standards now. ^^


PS the JedCred is a nice touch... However if Nejaa Halcyon is not mentioned in this book nor any Corellian Jedi Master I think it's totally inappropriate to add a Jedi Credit along with this kit. Just for fun or not... some of us really do know where these things come from without retconning. lol...

 

Dude... I love the cover! It's nice... but it doesn't change the feeling I have. I trust my them and they have served me well... ^^

 

Thanks for the comments! For those on the fence, there's a two-part video interview up now at the EU Cantina:
http://www.eucantina.net/archives/8020

This runs nearly 25 minutes, so if you can put up with it you'll have a pretty good overview of the package's contents. If you're more interested in the philosophy aspect, I'd recommend listening to the Forcecast segment that I posted earlier in the thread -- that one gets more into the idea of the Jedi as a religion.

I fully expect the book won't be for everybody, but I did try to make it as solid as I possibly could and think it came together pretty well!

Dan

 

As I've seen your work with the essential guides and atlas, which is excellent btw, I'll give it a benefit of a doubt. As this looks like pre-NJO then will this be like a old testament and new testatment kind of thing? I can easily see there being a Sith equivelent... "The Book of Anger" etc and the like? Mmm... yeah, I can sense it coming. ^^

 

it sounds cool, i'd like one for christmas
entertainment after all, is entertainment. this is not "real."

 

That's like saying there's no Santa Claus! Don't talk crazy...

 

I saw this just briefly at CV, and my initial impression is that it is meant to be definitely pre-NJO. It looked like it was a Republic-era Jedi manual. If I understood correctly, various Jedi used this copy of the book over time, adding their own comments in the margins as they went along. So we have comments by Yoda, Dooku, Qui-gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin and then Luke I think, as the book was passed down.

So no, from what I saw it wasn't meant to tie in EU or post original-trilogy events. I could be wrong because I just thumbed through it; this was just my impression.

In addition to collectors, I could imagine kids having fun with this. The reading level was reasonable for children I think, and it would probably seem like a real experience to them, like they were really getting to read notes from the various characters.

 

Your description is pretty accurate. The book was "written" in a couple different timeframes:

approx 990 BBY: All of the book's actual text, as set down by 7 Jedi Masters of the era.
approx 100 BBY through Clone Wars: Notations in the margins by Yoda, Thame Cerulian, Dooku, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka
after the Clone Wars up to soon before the NJO: A few notations in the margins by Sidious, later a few notations in the margins by Luke

So the actual text of the book is nearly 1000 years old, and its teachings are reflective of the post-Ruusan Jedi Order of the Old Republic. The Jedi kept reprinting copies of this book up until the end.

Dan

 

"Post-Ruusan Jedi Order..." You know what you're talking about... that much is clear. ^^ I'm gonna have to check this book out sometime. Lemme know when you get it Russ!

Although I still say the Padawan braid is tacky and the JedCred is inappropriate if there are no Corellian Jedi Masters in this book.