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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think the audiobook being abridged REALLY does this story a disservice; this was super chopped up and weird for sure in a way that made it kind of hard to follow along, but truth be told I think sitting through a full 12 or so hours of this would be torturous based on the middling quality of the prose. A lose lose all around. Not my favorite, but there are some cool parts.
For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shakes out to 38 adult novels and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.
This week’s focus: Corran Horn’s big hardcover adventure, I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole.
SOME HISTORY:
[b:I, Claudius|18765|I, Claudius (Claudius, #1)|Robert Graves|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388185810l/18765._SY75_.jpg|4232388] is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the first person, it tells the history of the early years of the Roman Empire from Emperor Claudius’s point of view. I, Jedi is a Star Wars novel by American writer Michael A. Stackpole, published in 1998. Written in the first person, it tells the story of Luke Skywalker’s inaugural Jedi class during the Jedi Academy trilogy from Corran Horn’s point of view. Like with some of the later Bantam releases, I couldn’t find any data that I, Jedi made the New York Times bestseller list for any week after its release.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
All I remembered from I, Jedi was that it retconned Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy trilogy. In rereading the Rogue Squadron books, I initially found Corran Horn extremely obnoxious before starting to warm up to him. But by I, Jedi, he’s beginning to wear on my nerves again, and I don’t think the first-person narration helped any.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
When Corran Horn's wife, Mirax Terrik, vanishes on a covert mission to locate the secret base of the Invid pirate group, Corran vows to find her. He begins Jedi training at the Jedi academy, but quickly grows dissatisfied with Luke Skywalker's methods. Calling on his Corellian undercover experience, he infiltrates the pirate organization, but at the risk of losing himself.
THE CHARACTERS:
I, Jedi was revolutionary in that it was the first Star Wars book to be written from a first-person perspective. Some of the short stories that had been published thus far were also 1st POV, but this was the first full-length novel to use that concept. We wouldn’t see any other first-person novel attempts until Kevin Hearn’s [b:Heir to the Jedi|22059478|Heir to the Jedi (Star Wars Empire and Rebellion, #3)|Kevin Hearne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514857027l/22059478._SY75_.jpg|24581882] in 2014.
Clearly, Stackpole wanted to return to Corran, enjoyed writing about Corran, and Bantam and Lucasfilm thought he was worth revisiting. But with I, Jedi, you run a risk because the main character is not someone from the Original Trilogy (he was introduced in a paperback release, not a hardcover); additionally, it relies on the reader already being familiar with KJA’s Jedi Academy trilogy as well as aspects of Stackpole’s X-Wing books and comics. I think it’d be difficult for a beginner to the Star Wars universe to pick this book up and be able to follow along.
We have Corran’s first-person narration, which means we’re in his head a lot. There’s loads of introspection going on, which is fine...except for the fact that the more time we spend in Corran’s head, the more he starts to irritate me. Corran has faults; he’s willing to admit them. But I felt like sometimes Corran’s faults outweighed his good parts, and particularly his ego and his arrogance. Corran has a lot of THOUGHTS about Jedi training and how the Jedi Academy should be run, and while I agreed with most of them, I still found him insufferable at times.
His wife goes missing in the beginning of the book. He wants to rescue her, has no idea how to rescue her, and ends up taking a plot-dictated detour to Luke’s Jedi academy. This offers Stackpole the opportunity to show us how Corran develops his Force skills, but also leads to a lot of retread of events from KJA’s trilogy. Since Corran wasn’t initially present during the praxeum scenes, Stackpole has to send him off on side quests so that he’s not present during pivotal events in [b:Dark Apprentice|760111|Dark Apprentice (Star Wars The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #2)|Kevin J. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717545l/760111._SY75_.jpg|501181] and [b:Champions of the Force|513207|Champions of the Force (Star Wars The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #3)|Kevin J. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327008722l/513207._SY75_.jpg|501182]. (In this case: Corran investigates who’s behind the spooky goings-on at the Jedi academy. Spoiler: it’s totally Exar Kun.)
Intentionally or not, it feels as though the final showdown between the students and Kun is solely Corran’s doing. Corran goes to blow up Exar Kun’s temple, taunts Kun, and then in turn gets thrown around and taunted by Kun. (Corran periodically gets messed up during this book, and I think this was the time that Corran was injured the most.) You’re left with the sense that the Jedi apprentices defeating Kun with the power of light was only because Corran distracted Kun during a pivotal moment, which feels like a lessening of their accomplishment.
So if Corran spends the first half of the book trying to learn his heritage, the second half of the book sees him leaning towards the opposite extreme, where he’s only using his CorSec knowledge. Ultimately, I, Jedi details Corran’s attempts to reconcile these two sides: the CorSec side that comes from his adopted grandfather, Rostek Horn, and the Jedi side that comes from his biological grandfather, Nejaa Halcyon. Corran is able to unite the two, but in a way that makes me squint a bit. During his Jedi training, Corran has both great potential but also great limitations holding him back. He can’t use telekinesis, but he can create illusions and absorb energy & redirect it. The latter skill has definite drawbacks (blaster bolts are painful!), but the former skill starts to feel seriously overpowered by the end.
Corran takes up an awful lot of this book, but he’s not the only character! Corran seems to imply that Wedge’s relationship with Qwi Xux and land-bound career now is because he’s going through a quarter life crisis. (OK?) Luke obviously appears, but he’s remarkably passive. Corran lectures him, and there didn’t seem to be sufficient interplay between them. Mara almost instantly becomes Corran’s friend, and Stackpole retcons her relationship with Lando to be much more one-sided and business-based. We also meet a character who will have greater prominence in Zahn’s [b:Vision of the Future|77786|Vision of the Future (Star Wars The Hand of Thrawn Duology, #2)|Timothy Zahn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328289436l/77786._SY75_.jpg|209567], Elegos the Caamasi. I like the concept of tribal genetic memories that the Caamasi inherit, and how Elegos’s passed-down memory is able to defuse the conflict with the Jensaari.
Then we have all the other Jedi learners that Corran encounters. (Stackpole notably slots Brakiss from the Young Jedi Knight series and [b:The New Rebellion|700095|The New Rebellion (Star Wars)|Kristine Kathryn Rusch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327008455l/700095._SY75_.jpg|686406] into that first class.) Other than Mara, Corran doesn’t connect with any of the other students, and really doesn’t like Gantoris and Kyp.
And then we have our baddies. Exar Kun is obviously the villain for the first half, and there’s nothing new there. Admiral Leonia Tavira becomes our villain in the second half--she originally appeared in the Rogue Squadron comics, specifically the arc involving Plourr--but she makes a comeback here as a warlord in league with pirates. Why are Stackpole’s female villains so overtly sexualized?? You don’t get any hint of that with the male baddies, but both Isard and Tavira are above all else, hugely attractive women. In Tavira’s case, she’s such an overt sexpot that she doesn’t feel like much of a threat.
ISSUES:
There’s a lot of fanon around the development of I, Jedi: that Stackpole and Zahn hated what KJA had done in his books, and set out in I, Jedi and the Hand of Thrawn duology to retcon everything in the Jedi Academy trilogy. Stackpole said no in a blogpost, and that he just wanted to tell a familiar story from a different point of view, but it feels a bit rich to me to try to rewrite important aspects of someone else’s books.
The first half felt slow, and because of the preexisting structure of Anderson’s story, Corran’s investigation is behind the scenes yet feels too prominent/essential. The second half moves quicker, but features perhaps unbelievable power-ups on Corran’s part (I do not buy the illusions that Corran is able to create, because it doesn’t feel like he completed the necessary training to achieve such great feats).
Corran’s introspective about a ton of things, and some of his thoughts really made me squint at him. No, Corran, you shouldn’t sleep with Admiral Tavira to help you find Mirax quicker! NO.
Corran’s wife is literally fridged, and he spends far too long trying to figure out where she is. After lollygagging his way through the Jedi academy and the pirates, he’s not any closer to rescuing her. If it weren’t for Luke’s miraculous appearance, he would never have found out where she was being kept! (Is Mirax a Lost Lenore?)
My biggest issue with I, Jedi was that even when I agree with Corran, even when I think his viewpoint is correct, he’s insufferable about it. Really? Corran figures out more about the Force than Luke Skywalker himself?
IN CONCLUSION:
I, Jedi is definitely unique: it’s first-person, and you’re in Corran Horn’s head the whole time...like it or not. You get to see a different side of the Jedi Academy, and then a more traditional undercover plotline. I guess where it falls apart for me is that it doesn’t stand alone--you need to have read the Jedi Academy trilogy, and probably the Rogue Squadron books as well. By the end, Corran is too powerful, and too right, and he’s a tad bit obnoxious about it.
Next up: the first book in the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, [b:The Mandalorian Armor|372828|The Mandalorian Armor (Star Wars The Bounty Hunter Wars, #1)|K.W. Jeter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415588006l/372828._SY75_.jpg|98660] by K.W. Jeter.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/YINVGHXg10s
Extended I, Jedi rants: https://youtu.be/W1sj7M0Yqhs
TheForce.net interview with Stackpole: https://web.archive.org/web/20190730114021/http://theforce.net/jedicouncil/interview/stackpole2.asp
This week’s focus: Corran Horn’s big hardcover adventure, I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole.
SOME HISTORY:
[b:I, Claudius|18765|I, Claudius (Claudius, #1)|Robert Graves|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388185810l/18765._SY75_.jpg|4232388] is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the first person, it tells the history of the early years of the Roman Empire from Emperor Claudius’s point of view. I, Jedi is a Star Wars novel by American writer Michael A. Stackpole, published in 1998. Written in the first person, it tells the story of Luke Skywalker’s inaugural Jedi class during the Jedi Academy trilogy from Corran Horn’s point of view. Like with some of the later Bantam releases, I couldn’t find any data that I, Jedi made the New York Times bestseller list for any week after its release.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
All I remembered from I, Jedi was that it retconned Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy trilogy. In rereading the Rogue Squadron books, I initially found Corran Horn extremely obnoxious before starting to warm up to him. But by I, Jedi, he’s beginning to wear on my nerves again, and I don’t think the first-person narration helped any.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
When Corran Horn's wife, Mirax Terrik, vanishes on a covert mission to locate the secret base of the Invid pirate group, Corran vows to find her. He begins Jedi training at the Jedi academy, but quickly grows dissatisfied with Luke Skywalker's methods. Calling on his Corellian undercover experience, he infiltrates the pirate organization, but at the risk of losing himself.
THE CHARACTERS:
I, Jedi was revolutionary in that it was the first Star Wars book to be written from a first-person perspective. Some of the short stories that had been published thus far were also 1st POV, but this was the first full-length novel to use that concept. We wouldn’t see any other first-person novel attempts until Kevin Hearn’s [b:Heir to the Jedi|22059478|Heir to the Jedi (Star Wars Empire and Rebellion, #3)|Kevin Hearne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514857027l/22059478._SY75_.jpg|24581882] in 2014.
Clearly, Stackpole wanted to return to Corran, enjoyed writing about Corran, and Bantam and Lucasfilm thought he was worth revisiting. But with I, Jedi, you run a risk because the main character is not someone from the Original Trilogy (he was introduced in a paperback release, not a hardcover); additionally, it relies on the reader already being familiar with KJA’s Jedi Academy trilogy as well as aspects of Stackpole’s X-Wing books and comics. I think it’d be difficult for a beginner to the Star Wars universe to pick this book up and be able to follow along.
We have Corran’s first-person narration, which means we’re in his head a lot. There’s loads of introspection going on, which is fine...except for the fact that the more time we spend in Corran’s head, the more he starts to irritate me. Corran has faults; he’s willing to admit them. But I felt like sometimes Corran’s faults outweighed his good parts, and particularly his ego and his arrogance. Corran has a lot of THOUGHTS about Jedi training and how the Jedi Academy should be run, and while I agreed with most of them, I still found him insufferable at times.
His wife goes missing in the beginning of the book. He wants to rescue her, has no idea how to rescue her, and ends up taking a plot-dictated detour to Luke’s Jedi academy. This offers Stackpole the opportunity to show us how Corran develops his Force skills, but also leads to a lot of retread of events from KJA’s trilogy. Since Corran wasn’t initially present during the praxeum scenes, Stackpole has to send him off on side quests so that he’s not present during pivotal events in [b:Dark Apprentice|760111|Dark Apprentice (Star Wars The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #2)|Kevin J. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717545l/760111._SY75_.jpg|501181] and [b:Champions of the Force|513207|Champions of the Force (Star Wars The Jedi Academy Trilogy, #3)|Kevin J. Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327008722l/513207._SY75_.jpg|501182]. (In this case: Corran investigates who’s behind the spooky goings-on at the Jedi academy. Spoiler: it’s totally Exar Kun.)
Intentionally or not, it feels as though the final showdown between the students and Kun is solely Corran’s doing. Corran goes to blow up Exar Kun’s temple, taunts Kun, and then in turn gets thrown around and taunted by Kun. (Corran periodically gets messed up during this book, and I think this was the time that Corran was injured the most.) You’re left with the sense that the Jedi apprentices defeating Kun with the power of light was only because Corran distracted Kun during a pivotal moment, which feels like a lessening of their accomplishment.
So if Corran spends the first half of the book trying to learn his heritage, the second half of the book sees him leaning towards the opposite extreme, where he’s only using his CorSec knowledge. Ultimately, I, Jedi details Corran’s attempts to reconcile these two sides: the CorSec side that comes from his adopted grandfather, Rostek Horn, and the Jedi side that comes from his biological grandfather, Nejaa Halcyon. Corran is able to unite the two, but in a way that makes me squint a bit. During his Jedi training, Corran has both great potential but also great limitations holding him back. He can’t use telekinesis, but he can create illusions and absorb energy & redirect it. The latter skill has definite drawbacks (blaster bolts are painful!), but the former skill starts to feel seriously overpowered by the end.
Corran takes up an awful lot of this book, but he’s not the only character! Corran seems to imply that Wedge’s relationship with Qwi Xux and land-bound career now is because he’s going through a quarter life crisis. (OK?) Luke obviously appears, but he’s remarkably passive. Corran lectures him, and there didn’t seem to be sufficient interplay between them. Mara almost instantly becomes Corran’s friend, and Stackpole retcons her relationship with Lando to be much more one-sided and business-based. We also meet a character who will have greater prominence in Zahn’s [b:Vision of the Future|77786|Vision of the Future (Star Wars The Hand of Thrawn Duology, #2)|Timothy Zahn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328289436l/77786._SY75_.jpg|209567], Elegos the Caamasi. I like the concept of tribal genetic memories that the Caamasi inherit, and how Elegos’s passed-down memory is able to defuse the conflict with the Jensaari.
Then we have all the other Jedi learners that Corran encounters. (Stackpole notably slots Brakiss from the Young Jedi Knight series and [b:The New Rebellion|700095|The New Rebellion (Star Wars)|Kristine Kathryn Rusch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327008455l/700095._SY75_.jpg|686406] into that first class.) Other than Mara, Corran doesn’t connect with any of the other students, and really doesn’t like Gantoris and Kyp.
And then we have our baddies. Exar Kun is obviously the villain for the first half, and there’s nothing new there. Admiral Leonia Tavira becomes our villain in the second half--she originally appeared in the Rogue Squadron comics, specifically the arc involving Plourr--but she makes a comeback here as a warlord in league with pirates. Why are Stackpole’s female villains so overtly sexualized?? You don’t get any hint of that with the male baddies, but both Isard and Tavira are above all else, hugely attractive women. In Tavira’s case, she’s such an overt sexpot that she doesn’t feel like much of a threat.
ISSUES:
There’s a lot of fanon around the development of I, Jedi: that Stackpole and Zahn hated what KJA had done in his books, and set out in I, Jedi and the Hand of Thrawn duology to retcon everything in the Jedi Academy trilogy. Stackpole said no in a blogpost, and that he just wanted to tell a familiar story from a different point of view, but it feels a bit rich to me to try to rewrite important aspects of someone else’s books.
The first half felt slow, and because of the preexisting structure of Anderson’s story, Corran’s investigation is behind the scenes yet feels too prominent/essential. The second half moves quicker, but features perhaps unbelievable power-ups on Corran’s part (I do not buy the illusions that Corran is able to create, because it doesn’t feel like he completed the necessary training to achieve such great feats).
Corran’s introspective about a ton of things, and some of his thoughts really made me squint at him. No, Corran, you shouldn’t sleep with Admiral Tavira to help you find Mirax quicker! NO.
Corran’s wife is literally fridged, and he spends far too long trying to figure out where she is. After lollygagging his way through the Jedi academy and the pirates, he’s not any closer to rescuing her. If it weren’t for Luke’s miraculous appearance, he would never have found out where she was being kept! (Is Mirax a Lost Lenore?)
My biggest issue with I, Jedi was that even when I agree with Corran, even when I think his viewpoint is correct, he’s insufferable about it. Really? Corran figures out more about the Force than Luke Skywalker himself?
IN CONCLUSION:
I, Jedi is definitely unique: it’s first-person, and you’re in Corran Horn’s head the whole time...like it or not. You get to see a different side of the Jedi Academy, and then a more traditional undercover plotline. I guess where it falls apart for me is that it doesn’t stand alone--you need to have read the Jedi Academy trilogy, and probably the Rogue Squadron books as well. By the end, Corran is too powerful, and too right, and he’s a tad bit obnoxious about it.
Next up: the first book in the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, [b:The Mandalorian Armor|372828|The Mandalorian Armor (Star Wars The Bounty Hunter Wars, #1)|K.W. Jeter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415588006l/372828._SY75_.jpg|98660] by K.W. Jeter.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/YINVGHXg10s
Extended I, Jedi rants: https://youtu.be/W1sj7M0Yqhs
TheForce.net interview with Stackpole: https://web.archive.org/web/20190730114021/http://theforce.net/jedicouncil/interview/stackpole2.asp
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Back to my first ever Star Wars book, having read it along with Jedi Academy!
4/5 I know this one's divisive, and hey, it ain't perfect, but it'll always have a special place in my heart.
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It took me a long time to finish this book, and I couldn't really figure out why until in dawned on me. I don't actually really like this book. It is my first entrance into the Star Wars novels and I don't mean this review to reflect the entire Star Wars novels catalogue just this entrance, but I will also say that I'm not very interested in continuing to read more. I also don't mean this to take away from Star wars as a whole as I love the movies and the idea is amazing, so perhaps there is a different story arch that will be better suited for me.
With that said, what I didn't like about this novel is every-time there was going to be something interesting it was skipped over. Not a spoiler, but for example, the classic troupe of getting knocked unconscious and when I wake up all the battle/fight scene stuff has happened. Yet what actually happened is explained in sufficient details so the reader is left like, WTF happened?
Another thing I didn't like was there was a great opportunity to explore the dark side vs the light side in a more internal personal battle, and the opportunity was just wasted. There was about two pages (maybe two) the hinted at the internal fight between should I do this thing that I really desire yet know is wrong, or do I stay faithful even though the chance of getting caught is almost none. That could have been the whole book and that story would be compelling because it isn't a common topic in sci fi/fantasy.
I did like the different types of force powers that were part of the story, and I liked that the best known characters make appearances in the novel (it would have been a big let down if they had not, considering this is my first SW novel) and I think generally the characters were true to form.
Maybe at some point when I'm really craving some more SW action I'll come back and read another novel, but for right now this was so disappointing that I'm have no plans to read another any time in the near future.
With that said, what I didn't like about this novel is every-time there was going to be something interesting it was skipped over. Not a spoiler, but for example, the classic troupe of getting knocked unconscious and when I wake up all the battle/fight scene stuff has happened. Yet what actually happened is explained in sufficient details so the reader is left like, WTF happened?
Another thing I didn't like was there was a great opportunity to explore the dark side vs the light side in a more internal personal battle, and the opportunity was just wasted. There was about two pages (maybe two) the hinted at the internal fight between should I do this thing that I really desire yet know is wrong, or do I stay faithful even though the chance of getting caught is almost none. That could have been the whole book and that story would be compelling because it isn't a common topic in sci fi/fantasy.
I did like the different types of force powers that were part of the story, and I liked that the best known characters make appearances in the novel (it would have been a big let down if they had not, considering this is my first SW novel) and I think generally the characters were true to form.
Maybe at some point when I'm really craving some more SW action I'll come back and read another novel, but for right now this was so disappointing that I'm have no plans to read another any time in the near future.
Now, when I began my list, I was not going to include any Star Wars fiction because I did not see any purpose in doing so. Most of it is general rubbish to feed the fan horde, but a handful of the books do stick out to me. Even though I read this book awhile ago, it struck me as different from all the general garbage right away. It approaches the narrative from a first-person point of view with an original character. I cannot say that the story necessarily sticks out in my mind but I do remember pivotal scenes and the strength of the character development. Then again, I was thirteen at the time. Take that as you may.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
So, if you sit down to write a novel about a prominent character from a series of books you've already written, how likely is it that you're going to steal the plot of another series and use that for half of the book? If you're Michael A. Stackpole, then it's 100% likely.
"Steal" may be a harsh word (apparently, he had Kevin J. Anderson's permission to do it), but half the book is just a dang retelling of the Jedi Academy trilogy, just from a different point of view.
(OH. Speaking of "different points of view", I hope you like that phrase. It's in here about thirty times, and plays an integral part of Stackpole's plot.)
(At least, the one HE wrote.)
The book starts of with Corran Horn suddenly losing any sense of his wife from the Force, and he also immediately forgets all the details of their life together. It's a good start, but then he decides that the best way to find her is to enroll in the Jedi Academy and spend five weeks training there. It plays in to Horn's force sensitivity, and is important in how he develops his own skills, but that hardly seems like the course of action for someone like him, or pretty much anyone who suddenly finds their wife missing.
We also get the usual awkward phrasing that seems to be common to Stackpole's novels, along with the long pieces of dialogue that read more like speeches than anything resembling how people actually speak to each other. I'm going to start calling that kind of style "Stackpolean" because lordy, does he do it a lot.
I'm probably being harsher on the book than is necessary, but it just didn't gel at all. It has some neat ideas, but it's so long-winded and overly detailed and winds up being far longer than it needs to be (it's nearly 600 pages!) that it doesn't feel worth the effort.
"Steal" may be a harsh word (apparently, he had Kevin J. Anderson's permission to do it), but half the book is just a dang retelling of the Jedi Academy trilogy, just from a different point of view.
(OH. Speaking of "different points of view", I hope you like that phrase. It's in here about thirty times, and plays an integral part of Stackpole's plot.)
(At least, the one HE wrote.)
The book starts of with Corran Horn suddenly losing any sense of his wife from the Force, and he also immediately forgets all the details of their life together. It's a good start, but then he decides that the best way to find her is to enroll in the Jedi Academy and spend five weeks training there. It plays in to Horn's force sensitivity, and is important in how he develops his own skills, but that hardly seems like the course of action for someone like him, or pretty much anyone who suddenly finds their wife missing.
We also get the usual awkward phrasing that seems to be common to Stackpole's novels, along with the long pieces of dialogue that read more like speeches than anything resembling how people actually speak to each other. I'm going to start calling that kind of style "Stackpolean" because lordy, does he do it a lot.
I'm probably being harsher on the book than is necessary, but it just didn't gel at all. It has some neat ideas, but it's so long-winded and overly detailed and winds up being far longer than it needs to be (it's nearly 600 pages!) that it doesn't feel worth the effort.
This book, besides everything else, is a stunning example of what the Expanded Universe novelists could do if they paid attention to each other and worked not only to make a good story but make a good story that complements the rest of the EU stories.
Michael Stackpole, the author, is mostly known for his novels in the X-Wing series. I, Jedi manages to combine the awesomeness of those books, along with a lot of Jedi mumbo-jumbo (I say this affectionately), a rescue mission, a character journey, and the entire Jedi Academy trilogy....into one book. Several characters created by other authors, notably Mara Jade and Kyp Durron, make small or large appearances in the book, and Stackpole manages to stay true to their characters while still keeping them sidelined to Corran Horn's story. I knew SOMEONE out there should be able to do it. It seems like the EU is a lot more categorized and boxed-up nowadays. For instance, Troy Denning is only "allowed" to write about bugs and Ewoks, Timothy Zahn keeps to his Chiss, Mara Jade, and Talon Karrde, and Kevin J. Anderson keeps to his Academy. This irritates me. Why shouldn't the EU authors be able to overlap better? Stackpole can.
I had to remind myself several times that this wasn't a big space epic, like the Corellian Trilogy (or the original trilogy, for that matter), it wasn't a adventure story like Outbound Flight. I, Jedi is exactly what it sounds like: a look into a character who is becoming a Jedi, how he gets there and how he deals with the powers and the philosophy. Since it's more about Corran's character journey rather than any particular super-weapon that needs destroying or Dark Lord that needs vanquishing, the storyline does suffer at some points.
But this book does the character-journey line EXCELLENTLY. It reminded me how very much I love Corran Horn. He's a pilot, he's an investigator, and, in this book, he's becoming a Jedi. All awesome powers rolled into one.
The book begins with Corran returning from a Rogue mission to discover that not only is his wife, Mirax, gone, but he can't feel her in the Force, either, other than she's alive. Persuaded by friends that if he goes after her she'll just be put in danger, Corran goes to Luke's shiny new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 to learn freakish powers so he can save his wife.
This is where the JA trilogy comes in. The first half of I, Jedi, chronicles Corran's part in those events, which I thought was a fascinating way to write a book. You get a lot of insight into how the "normal" trainees reacted to all the insanity, and, more importantly (to me) you get out of Luke's head, which got pretty insufferable in that trilogy In My Opinion.
Again, I liked Mara Jade's various appearances in the book. She stayed true to herself, and I liked her silly camaraderie with Corran and her caring for Luke. *hugs Mara Jade*
Elegos' appearance in the later parts of the book was interesting because I thought he was a Timothy Zahn creation. Nope! I, Jedi, was published before Vision of the Future. Again, it shows that some authors can work together and keep the character the same even in different books and by different people. Although, on second thought, I think Stackpole did a better job with hitting the fine line between pacificism and just letting the bad guys do whatever they want: Elegos was prepared to do what was necessary to protect himself and others, but he just prefers not to. Zahn seemed to say that Elegos would always be a passive bystander no matter what.
ANYWAY back to I, Jedi. There were a couple things I didn't like. The fact that Mirax is kidnapped for most of the book means we don't get to see much of her, which is a shame because she's a great character. There was a lot of life when she got back in the game. Ah, well. Also, the climax and ending felt rather tacked-on to me, for various reasons that would be spoiler-ish to mention.
But that was really my only big complaint. Oh, just kidding: I was also mildly annoyed at how Corran is very careful to kill the least amount of people during the whole book, but then at the end with the stormtroopers he's just like trigger-happy. Er, lightsaber-happy. Either it was a cheap shot from Stackpole to make the ending more exciting, or everyone really DOES think stormtroopers are sub-human. Either way, a tad annoying.
Corran really does get the Best Jedi award from me. He always chooses the path that protects the most people and keeps the most people from dying. He has an ego and is sometimes selfish but he works around it. He doesn't rely on JUST the Force but also his piloting ability, his investigative skills, and his heart (to use a cheesy overused phrase). I think just about every other Jedi I've ever "met" could learn a LOT from Corran.
Michael Stackpole, the author, is mostly known for his novels in the X-Wing series. I, Jedi manages to combine the awesomeness of those books, along with a lot of Jedi mumbo-jumbo (I say this affectionately), a rescue mission, a character journey, and the entire Jedi Academy trilogy....into one book. Several characters created by other authors, notably Mara Jade and Kyp Durron, make small or large appearances in the book, and Stackpole manages to stay true to their characters while still keeping them sidelined to Corran Horn's story. I knew SOMEONE out there should be able to do it. It seems like the EU is a lot more categorized and boxed-up nowadays. For instance, Troy Denning is only "allowed" to write about bugs and Ewoks, Timothy Zahn keeps to his Chiss, Mara Jade, and Talon Karrde, and Kevin J. Anderson keeps to his Academy. This irritates me. Why shouldn't the EU authors be able to overlap better? Stackpole can.
I had to remind myself several times that this wasn't a big space epic, like the Corellian Trilogy (or the original trilogy, for that matter), it wasn't a adventure story like Outbound Flight. I, Jedi is exactly what it sounds like: a look into a character who is becoming a Jedi, how he gets there and how he deals with the powers and the philosophy. Since it's more about Corran's character journey rather than any particular super-weapon that needs destroying or Dark Lord that needs vanquishing, the storyline does suffer at some points.
But this book does the character-journey line EXCELLENTLY. It reminded me how very much I love Corran Horn. He's a pilot, he's an investigator, and, in this book, he's becoming a Jedi. All awesome powers rolled into one.
The book begins with Corran returning from a Rogue mission to discover that not only is his wife, Mirax, gone, but he can't feel her in the Force, either, other than she's alive. Persuaded by friends that if he goes after her she'll just be put in danger, Corran goes to Luke's shiny new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 to learn freakish powers so he can save his wife.
This is where the JA trilogy comes in. The first half of I, Jedi, chronicles Corran's part in those events, which I thought was a fascinating way to write a book. You get a lot of insight into how the "normal" trainees reacted to all the insanity, and, more importantly (to me) you get out of Luke's head, which got pretty insufferable in that trilogy In My Opinion.
Again, I liked Mara Jade's various appearances in the book. She stayed true to herself, and I liked her silly camaraderie with Corran and her caring for Luke. *hugs Mara Jade*
Elegos' appearance in the later parts of the book was interesting because I thought he was a Timothy Zahn creation. Nope! I, Jedi, was published before Vision of the Future. Again, it shows that some authors can work together and keep the character the same even in different books and by different people. Although, on second thought, I think Stackpole did a better job with hitting the fine line between pacificism and just letting the bad guys do whatever they want: Elegos was prepared to do what was necessary to protect himself and others, but he just prefers not to. Zahn seemed to say that Elegos would always be a passive bystander no matter what.
ANYWAY back to I, Jedi. There were a couple things I didn't like. The fact that Mirax is kidnapped for most of the book means we don't get to see much of her, which is a shame because she's a great character. There was a lot of life when she got back in the game. Ah, well. Also, the climax and ending felt rather tacked-on to me, for various reasons that would be spoiler-ish to mention.
But that was really my only big complaint. Oh, just kidding: I was also mildly annoyed at how Corran is very careful to kill the least amount of people during the whole book, but then at the end with the stormtroopers he's just like trigger-happy. Er, lightsaber-happy. Either it was a cheap shot from Stackpole to make the ending more exciting, or everyone really DOES think stormtroopers are sub-human. Either way, a tad annoying.
Corran really does get the Best Jedi award from me. He always chooses the path that protects the most people and keeps the most people from dying. He has an ego and is sometimes selfish but he works around it. He doesn't rely on JUST the Force but also his piloting ability, his investigative skills, and his heart (to use a cheesy overused phrase). I think just about every other Jedi I've ever "met" could learn a LOT from Corran.
Really jumped around the jedi academy, making it confusing, but had some high points.