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“When the kyber that is not kyber shines forth, the time of prophecy will be at hand.” -Ancient Jedi Prophecy, Star Wars: Master and Apprentice
Star Wars: Master and Apprentice is about the struggling relationship between Qui-Gon Jinn and his 17-year old Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Written by: Claudia Gray (author of Leia, Princess of Alderaan, Lost Stars, From a Certain Point of View short story, and Bloodline)
Published: April 16, 2019
When does Master and Apprentice take place?
Before The Phantom Menace
Or more specifically: 39 BBY, with the majority of the book taking place 7 years before The Phantom Menace. There are a few “Before” chapters scattered throughout the book that take place around 67 BBY and one “After” chapter that takes place simultaneously with the ending of The Phantom Menace.
Synopsis:
After four years of being Master and apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are still out of sync and don’t see eye to eye on their missions. After Qui-Gon gets an invitation to join the Jedi Council, he sees this as an easy out of their awkward relationship. Hopefully Obi-Wan will be able to find a new Master better suited to train him.
Before Qui-Gon gives a final answer to the Council, he and Obi-Wan are sent on one last mission together. There is political unrest on the planet and moon of Pijal, which are both ruled by the lord regent Rael Averross. Qui-Gon has a unique connection to Rael—they were once both apprentices of Jedi Master Dooku and both have had an interest in the ancient Jedi prophecies.
During their mission, which quickly becomes much more complicated then original thought, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan must focus on trusting each other one last time.
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First off, I have to say that Claudia Gray is my favourite Star Wars author so I had pretty high expectations for Master and Apprentice—and this book did not disappoint! I tend to think of Qui-Gon as one of the more boring characters of the Star Wars galaxy, but this was not the case in Master and Apprentice. This book had a focus on how his beliefs did not always line up with the Jedi Council’s and how he was considered a bit of a ‘rebel Jedi.’
As mentioned, there were “Before” chapters woven throughout the book that were about the early relationship of Qui-Gon Jinn and his Master Dooku. Qui-Gon was 12 years old when Dooku selected him as an apprentice and Qui-Gon was soon introduced to Dooku’s former Padawan, Rael Averross. These were some of my favourite chapters of the book; it was interesting to read about Dooku during his time as a Jedi.
Quite a few new and dynamic characters were introduced in Master and Apprentice. My favourites were jewel thieves Rahara Wick and Pax Maripher. Both characters had really interesting backgrounds. Rahara was born on Hosnian Prime as a slave to the Czerka Corporation which has close ties to Pijal. She had escaped on her own but ends up risking her stolen freedom to help Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan on their mission. Pax, on the other hand, is not as eager to assist the Jedi and complains pretty much throughout the entire book. This may sound like he is a pretty annoying character, but Pax’s lines made me laugh out loud quite often. He was raised by protocol droids so just take a moment to imagine what it would be like to live with 83 C-3POs! Pax is a human who thinks and acts like a protocol droid.
Another new character is Rael. He is another unconventional Jedi who was sent on an extended mission to Pijal. He is lord regent of the planet until the princess comes of age to rule. I found Rael a little jarring, which I guess is the point of his character, but he didn’t seem very ‘Star Wars-y’ from the way he spoke, often speaking in slang of our world.
There was quite a bit of foreshadowing in this book to events that happen during the prequels. Qui-Gon is very interested in the ancient Jedi prophecies which begin to come true in the book. These lead up to the Chosen One being found in The Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan also mentions that no Jedi will ever be in a duel to the death with a lightsaber (oh sweet innocent Obi-Wan).
Overall, I don’t really have too much to complain about with this book. There was plenty of action, tension, and emotion with a compelling cast of characters. My only issues was the lackluster way Obi-Wan’s hatred of flying was explained. He went from loving to fly to getting a little spooked flying through a tight corridor—which apparently led to a lifelong fear. I don’t think this was an issue that needed to be addressed.
At the beginning Master and Apprentice presents two conflicts that we know aren’t in The Phantom Menace: one is Qui-Gon’s invitation to join the Jedi Order and the other is his and Obi-Wan’s shaking relationship. Knowing that these two conflicts have to get resolved before The Phantom Menace kept me completely engrossed in the book to find out how. I would recommend Master and Apprentice to anyone wanting to know more about Qui-Gon or Dooku, or about Obi-Wan’s time as an apprentice.
Have you read Master and Apprentice? What did you think about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s early relationship?
Next week: Queen’s Shadow
Complete list of Star Wars Canon novels
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