Reviews

Adrick: As one of the ten-and-a-half people who became Star Wars fans after seeing The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan Kenobi was my Jedi hero more than Luke or Anakin Skywalker ever were. I have fond memories of reading new Jedi Apprentice books every other month, and I had really enjoyed Windham?s previous multi-trilogy biography, The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader, so naturally I was looking forward to The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

This time around, Windham has made the wise decision to present interesting and relevant moments in the life of his subject, rather than trying to touch upon every event possible, a tendency that bogged down Rise and Fall. We see Obi-Wan building his first official lightsaber, and meeting Dexter Jettster for the first time, some nice foreshadowing for the Legacy comics?A?shared Hett is nicely tied into Obi-Wan?s storyline here?and Obi-Wan?s journey to Tatooine with an infant Luke Skywalker. For fans of Obi-Wan, this is a great jumping off point into all kinds of Expanded Universe stories.

My only complaint is that although it has many interesting scenes, Life and Legend really lacks a tangible story arc?oddly, the course of Obi-Wan?s life is best summed up on the back cover: ?Overlooked as a Padawan, he was to become one of the most revered Masters of all.? Unfortunately, the book picks up just after Obi-Wan has been accepted as a Padawan and has reaffirmed his commitment to the Order, and skips right over his appointment to the Jedi Council. Now it?s true that Obi-Wan?s uncertain pre-Padawan period was effectively chronicled in the Jedi Apprentice books, and that the Council appointment is rather a sticky continuity point now (what with The Clone Wars and all) but I would have liked to see more focus on Obi-Wan?s ascent from the lowest position in the Jedi Order to the highest.

Nevertheless, this is a really nice looking book, and a great sequel/companion to The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader. I?m hoping that we?ll see the series continue in the future, although there are only a few remaining subjects that span all six movies. Bring on the droids!