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Star Wars Read-Through Part 20: Early Clone Wars, Part 2 of 2: A Padawan's Journey

Following the timeline we agreed upon in the Early Clone Wars Part 1 post, we're finishing off everything to do with our main characters, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, ahead of the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. They were originally meant to be spread across many months or even years, but in the revised timeline we condensed them into a handful of weeks. We end with the story in which Anakin ceases being a Padawan and becomes a Knight, as we see him when he first appears in The Clone Wars. 

Therefore, for this post, I read the following stories:    

All comics were read in either Omnibus: Clone Wars Volume 1: Republic Goes to War or Volume 2: The Enemy on All Sides. I read paperback edition of The Cestus Deception, which included The Hive, and Jedi Trial. I read an eBook version of Secrets of the Jedi.

There is a long gap between when I read these stories and when I write this blog post.

Story: 

The Clone Wars have been raging for a few weeks. Obi-Wan Kenobi and the ARC Trooper Alpha are presumed dead but in fact have been captured by Asajj Ventress. They must escape her clutches and return to the Republic. Meanwhile, Quinlan Vos's dance with the Dark Side continues. 

Additionally, some of the most powerful Jedi Masters, led by Mace Windu, must eliminate a key threat: bounty hunters who are responding to bounties placed on Jedi Knights. We also get a mini-series exploring a mission involving General Grievous. 

Cover of Republic 65. Image from Wookieepedia.



In The Cestus Deception, Obi-Wan and Anakin work to undermine a planet which has created a new Jedi Killer droid for the Separatists. Obi-Wan and Master Kit Fisto work diplomatically and through espionage while Anakin and ARC Trooper A-98 work with armed rebels to fight off Separatist influence in the wilds. 

Cover of The Cestus Deception. Image from Wookieepedia.


Secrets of the Jedi, a follow up to Legacy of the Jedi, is a young reader novel that takes place across two major time periods. In the past, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi must protect a young boy who has witnessed a plan to assassinate planetary leaders. Decades later, Obi-Wan and his apprentice Anakin must protect that same person, now a business owner, from the Separatists as he has invented a codebreaker. 

Jedi Trial tells the story of the Battle of Praesitlyn, a major conflict in which Anakin Skywalker learns more about the actual operation of an army and, with the help of Master Nejaa Halcyon, takes the planet Praesitlyn from the Separatists. He is awarded with a Knighthood. 

Cover of Jedi Trial. Image from Wookieepedia.


Thoughts:

As I wrote last time, these early stories of the Clone Wars all have something in common: they depict the actions of the Jedi and/or clone troopers at the immediate start of the war. Many Jedi are reluctant to become generals, though Anakin Skywalker, still a Padawan Learner, is eager to prove himself. The Dark Side permeates everything as Count Dooku and his minions attack the Republic. 

Secrets of the Jedi ties in closely to another young reader book, Legacy of the Jedi, in that they both explore multiple generations of Jedi. It was interesting to see Obi-Wan and Anakin through the lens of the relationship of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, especially in the context of the romance between Obi-Wan and fellow apprentice Siri Tachi when they were young. 

Republic 68 is a prequel story to the Thrawn Trilogy (written in the early 1990s but set years after the original trilogy of films), depicting the devastation of the planet Honoghr. It was cool to see this event referenced in the much older work. 

Cover of Republic 68. Image from Wookieepedia.


Jedi Trial helps to resolve some continuity issues caused by books and other material published in the 1990s not understanding the nature of the Republic and the Jedi as would be established in the prequel films. Nejaa Halcyon is the grandfather of Corran Horn, a Jedi character from the X-Wing books and later Expanded Universe. But at this point, Jedi are not meant to have children. Previous works suggested that Jedi from Corellia were culturally unique and permitted to have families. In this novel, Nejaa Halcyon is said to have a wife and son kept secret from the Jedi Council, giving him a unique connection to Anakin. 

Next: 

I continue to read Star Wars Legends material, slowly but surely. The next batch of stories follows many of the most highly trained clones and their Mandalorian instructors in Star Wars: Republic Commando.

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