Star Wars: The Living Force

This is a cool book that takes place a year or so before the events of The Phantom Menace. It follows the Jedi Council, and how they respond to a challenge from Master Qui-Gon Jinn. The Senate is reallocating resources throughout the galaxy, which includes having the Council close Jedi temples/outposts on systems that are not nearly as busy/important as they once were. 

The Jedi Council decides to head to an outpost that could be closed, and instead of focusing on the Galactic Force, maybe they should be mindful of the Living Force. They need to show the people the Jedi are there for them. 

Each Master has a story where they connect with some random folks, but the Force brings all these people together for a reason. This ends the non-spoiler portion!

Here are some of my favorite things…

-Depa Billaba, and how it ends with her saying she wants to train a padawan again. We know who that will be (at least those of who are fans of Rebels know). 

-Darth Maul showing up at the end to kill the caretaker of the outpost who was working for Palpatine. 

-I loved the beginning where Palpatine is talking about a potential deal where some planet will make boots for the Jedi. Yoda and Adi Gallia are trying to be nice in declining the offer without saying the boots are ugly. It was amusing, but also highlights just how great Palpatine was at manipulating them, while also managing to be a bit petty. You know what color the boots were? Red…for the Sith.

-This book really started tying The High Republic stuff into this time period (and yes, I am aware the comics have been doing this for awhile). 

-The Clone Wars really messed the Jedi up. In this period, and as well as The High Republic, the Jedi will kill when they need to, but it always seems to be a last resort. There are multiple times when a Jedi could use his or her lightsaber to strike someone down, or at the very least incapacitate them, and they go with another option. I do not know if those Masters would approve of Obi-Wan later just cutting off some limbs in a bar when someone starts pushing and making threats. 

-I enjoyed the book, but there were some silly parts. The junk seller was weird. The camping equipment seller was funny, but it was a little over-the-top. Yoda’s meeting with the father was heart-warming, and a little instructive about how Yoda feels about lying.

Let me know what you thought of the book!