Search

"Jedi Search, written by Kevin J. Anderson, is the first book in the Jedi Academy Trilogy. It is set eleven years after the Battle of Yavin and about seven years after Return of the Jedi. You need not have read any other Star Wars novels before this book. However, I would recommend reading the Thrawn Trilogy first since it began the explosion of Star Wars novels. The Truce at Bakura, The Courtship of Princess Leia, and the Dark Empire graphic novels would also give more background heading into this work.
"The chief premise of this trilogy is to tell the story of how Luke re-established the Jedi Order with the founding of a new Jedi Academy. His first task was to seek out the descendants of the Jedi killed during the Empire's reign and others who show strong Force sensitivity. The book also focuses on the planet Kessel as Luke and Chewie are captured and imprisoned in the spice mines.
"If you ever wondered why Jabba put a price on Han's head, what the significance of the Kessel Run is that Han boasts to Obi-Wan, or why Threepio was so worried about being sent to the spice mines of Kessel as he was fretting aboard the Tantive IV, you will learn that in this book! You also learn more about the mysterious beginnings of the original Death Star.
"Jedi Search is very good book. Anderson's portrayal of the planet Kessel was very effective and memorable, unlike many other Star Wars books that merely provide a token summary of a planet's geology as a meaningless backdrop. Anderson's up-tempo writing style was also very effective. It seems he took Lucas's famous admonition of, "faster and more intense," to heart!
"The principal flaw in this work is that the characterizations of the famous Star Wars heroes are not quite on target. Leia treats Han like a boorish husband who just wants to run around with his buddies. While that might have worked for The Empire Strikes Back time frame, it is incongruous with the relationship as established in the Thrawn trilogy. Threepio, while always tending towards the annoying, is downright stupid in this book. Fortunately, these problems are minor and don't detract from the overall story.
"From a continuity standpoint, I tend to be forgiving with the Expanded Universe novels written well before the prequel movies came out. Anderson could not have known of the asceticism and abstinence of the Jedi Order as was revealed in Attack of the Clones. So he can be forgiven for Luke's "Jedi descendants" search. There is also a question about who was the real designer of the Death Star since the Geonosians are not mentioned in this book. Again, since this book was written eight years before Attack of the Clones, this is understandable!
"All in all, this was a very good book that provides substantial additions to the Expanded Universe and greater depth behind the references in the original trilogy of movies."

Rating: 4 / 5

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