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Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: KENOBI (spoilers)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Havac , Aug 28, 2013.

  1. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    I'm giving this a 10/10

    It's an amazing Star Wars book, though the title is misleading. There is more about the settlers of Pika Oasis and the Tuskens then there is about Obi-Wan. Oh, he's there, and he plays an integral part, it's just that I felt it could have been called "Tatooine _____" or something similar and had the same story.

    Miller knows the characters. He knows the universe and its planets. The story was rich in the writing and in the content. I wanted the adults to do better and to "know better" and the children (read: teens and older) to learn from others' mistakes (and their own).

    And, as previously mentioned, we get into the minds of the Tusken Raiders quite a bit. It definitely allows the reader to look at the Tuskens in a more open mindset.
     
  2. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Average score: 355.95/38 = 9.37
     
  3. Docgeo

    Docgeo Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 26, 2013
    I give it a 9.5/10

    I was a terrific, well written story that I feel really captures some of the tragic loss and sadness Kenobi feels. Many people have done a great job describing the high points. The only thing I wanted to happen was a response from Qui-gon.
     
  4. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Average score: 365.45/39 = 9.37
     
  5. Robimus

    Robimus Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 2007
    I had a lot of issues with this novel. I was expecting something way more based on the reviews, which maybe was part of the problem.

    I admit to flashes of wonderful in this book. A bit here, a bit there - and the last quarter of the book is pretty good, but doesn't replace three quarters worth of romance novel styled plot. Really that was what made it all fall apart for me. I got really tired, really fast, of nearly every woman in the novel pining after Kenobi. It went out of its way to have most of the female cast comment on what a sex kitten Kenobi is :confused: I couldn't wrap my head around why it needed to keep coming up over and over again.

    Annileen, Kallie, Veeka, & Leelee are all shown to have this interest in Kenobi, like they have no other men on Tatooine. I read going in that it was a western homage, and while I can see the trappings of that I ended up feeling like it was more of a Harlequin homage and that left me really flat.

    The Tusken Raider stuff was alright and grew on me as the novel went on. I still found the Tuskens a bit to human feeling for my liking. Orrin Gault's villain turn was decent, but it just took way to long getting there. The inclusion of Jabba's thugs in the end battle, along with the Krayt Dragon, were completely unneeded and way to over the top for my tastes. Lets not even talk about shoehorning in mention Kerra Holt & Zayne Carrick :p

    Obi Wan was the best part of the novel as JJM really captured both his good traits, and his bad traits in a nice way. Largely due to influence from the OT I've always viewed him both as a hero and a manipulator, and I was pleased to see that this novel didn't shy away from that less attractive trait.

    4/10
     
  6. Kablob

    Kablob Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 24, 2014
  7. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    Robimus I am glad to read a new review of the book, though I am crazy in love with the work and am thus biased.[face_cow]

    Also, is there a thread for reviewing/rating 'A New Dawn'?
     
  8. passer-by

    passer-by Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Aug 25, 2010
    I'd been away from the EU for the last few years. Recently I checked the first 60-something pages of Crucible available for free and was mightily disappointed (avoided DNT/LOTF/FOTJ, so the shock was bigger). That scene with Luke as a pompous moron during the training session of that padawan particularly disgusted me.

    A few days ago though I read Kenobi and what a breath of fresh air that was! Now this is the EU I know and love!

    An excellent depiction of what life could be for a Jedi forced to live undercover and keep a low profile, while at the same time protecting the possible future New Hope. No spectacular Force-feats, no lightsaber snap-hisses in front of a gasping crowd, just a quiet discrete life, still dedicated to doing good deeds whenever possible, but this time as Crazy Ben, not Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

    Was delighted at the wink to what Ben told Han in ANH (p.344 "He said that only a fool follows another fool" / "Who's the more foolish - the fool or the one that follows him?") or at the subtly mentioned detail how Ben exposed his face to the suns and winds of Tatooine on purpose just after Annileen told him how it would age him incredibly fast.

    A remarkably good use of the Western genre with the depiction of the way of life of local farmers and wild natives with shifting POVs, with Ben often depicted through the eyes of the people who meet this "recent arrival", as he's presented in the DP, and try to figure out what his deal is. And the slow and gradual presentation of the shady doings of the biggest villain, who is not the one we might think of at first (even though less than halfway through I started to expect it'd turn out he had killed his friend/partner and made it look like a Tusken attack - JJM did focus on him quite insistently).

    I could hear Ennio Morricone's music at times. An excellent SW nod to Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood (or maybe rather Charles Bronson. If he were a Jedi. And kept a low profile).

    10/10
     
    Gorefiend and pronker like this.
  9. Intrepid_Meredith

    Intrepid_Meredith Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2006
  10. Stymi

    Stymi Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2002
    Within each review thread used to be links to previous review threads. That was pretty sweet. Why'd it stop?
     
  11. pronker

    pronker Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2007
    Intrepid_Meredith Thanks a bunch.

    DarthStymi Gone with the wind, the links are ... :_| but, we persevere. Your FB link looks interesting.
     
  12. passer-by

    passer-by Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Aug 25, 2010
    OK, wanted to change "padawan" to "apprentice" in my review above, but apparently the dice are not put here for another try at editing. [face_laugh]
     
    pronker likes this.