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A review by pushingdessy
Brotherhood by Mike Chen
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
One thing about me is that I’m an Original Trilogy fan first and fore-all. I’m not a prequels hater (I am a sequels hater), I appreciate the place of that trilogy in the overall story, but I’m not particularly attached to any of the characters from that era (except for Bail & Breha!)
That’s where Brotherhood comes in. I’ve always meant to dig into more prequels stuff, but so far haven’t finished reading the novelizations, haven’t finished watching The Clone Wars, and did not like 2/3 of the Padmé trilogy. When I won a copy of Brotherhood last year, I thought it was a great chance to fill in some gaps!
📝 This story is set soon after AotC, as Anakin is made Jedi Knight and moves out of Obi-Wan’s shadow and mentorship. The plot revolves around Obi-Wan going alone to investigate a terrorist attack on Cato Neimodia to clear the Republic of any suspicion. But as things get more complicated, Anakin is the only one who can get him out of hot water, and they’ll have to learn how to work as equals rather than Master and Padawan.
💬 This was entertaining and well-written! I'll admit that, since these are not my blorbos, I didn’t nitpick it as much. But I enjoyed the characterization of Anakin and Obi-Wan and their changing dynamics. I also liked the way Chen dealt with Anakin/Padmé, subtly waving the red flags while also showing us how that relationship came to be even though it makes no sense. I’m not an Anidala shipper so I was mostly cringing and nodding at the red flags, but not because it was poorly done - like a certain other book. For example, we see Anakin and Padmé enjoying some time together, and it’s quite sweet, they both sound like themselves - but we also see how deeply it affects Anakin that he can’t be a normal married guy and that Padmé can’t divorce herself from her work. We see how they barely know each other and what they like, and we also see that Padmé is a bit of a thrill seeker and looks at things/people/situations to see how she might fix them, both of which add some logic to her whirlwind wedding.
I’m also not a fan of Anakin’s, but I thought he was written fairly, showcasing his positive attributes while also deftly hinting at the way he’ll let them consume him in the future. Although, I’ll say that by the end I was quite sick of the whole sun-dragon thing.
We also see some of Obi-Wan’s flaws in the ways he raised Anakin (jk he’s flawless 😉), and how both Anakin and Obi-Wan remember Qui-Gon and his teachings.
👁️🗨️ The story is split into four POVs: besides Obi-Wan and Anakin, we see Ruug, a Neimodian soldier who helps Obi-Wan, and Mill Alibeth, a young Zabrak initiate that teams up with Anakin. I really appreciated that the author kept to just these POVs and each was relevant to the story. Ruug was badass, but I particularly appreciated Mill - it was really interesting to explore what it must be like for someone who is particularly sensitive to suffering, and I enjoyed seeing the prelude to Anakin getting a Padawan.
Overall, I had a fun time reading this even if I’m not a prequels girlie! Obi-Wan was great, I really liked the original characters, the plot was fun even if it was predictable, and I liked the commentary on war, the role of the Jedi, the clones, and so on 🙌
That’s where Brotherhood comes in. I’ve always meant to dig into more prequels stuff, but so far haven’t finished reading the novelizations, haven’t finished watching The Clone Wars, and did not like 2/3 of the Padmé trilogy. When I won a copy of Brotherhood last year, I thought it was a great chance to fill in some gaps!
📝 This story is set soon after AotC, as Anakin is made Jedi Knight and moves out of Obi-Wan’s shadow and mentorship. The plot revolves around Obi-Wan going alone to investigate a terrorist attack on Cato Neimodia to clear the Republic of any suspicion. But as things get more complicated, Anakin is the only one who can get him out of hot water, and they’ll have to learn how to work as equals rather than Master and Padawan.
💬 This was entertaining and well-written! I'll admit that, since these are not my blorbos, I didn’t nitpick it as much. But I enjoyed the characterization of Anakin and Obi-Wan and their changing dynamics. I also liked the way Chen dealt with Anakin/Padmé, subtly waving the red flags while also showing us how that relationship came to be even though it makes no sense. I’m not an Anidala shipper so I was mostly cringing and nodding at the red flags, but not because it was poorly done - like a certain other book. For example, we see Anakin and Padmé enjoying some time together, and it’s quite sweet, they both sound like themselves - but we also see how deeply it affects Anakin that he can’t be a normal married guy and that Padmé can’t divorce herself from her work. We see how they barely know each other and what they like, and we also see that Padmé is a bit of a thrill seeker and looks at things/people/situations to see how she might fix them, both of which add some logic to her whirlwind wedding.
I’m also not a fan of Anakin’s, but I thought he was written fairly, showcasing his positive attributes while also deftly hinting at the way he’ll let them consume him in the future. Although, I’ll say that by the end I was quite sick of the whole sun-dragon thing.
We also see some of Obi-Wan’s flaws in the ways he raised Anakin (jk he’s flawless 😉), and how both Anakin and Obi-Wan remember Qui-Gon and his teachings.
👁️🗨️ The story is split into four POVs: besides Obi-Wan and Anakin, we see Ruug, a Neimodian soldier who helps Obi-Wan, and Mill Alibeth, a young Zabrak initiate that teams up with Anakin. I really appreciated that the author kept to just these POVs and each was relevant to the story. Ruug was badass, but I particularly appreciated Mill - it was really interesting to explore what it must be like for someone who is particularly sensitive to suffering, and I enjoyed seeing the prelude to Anakin getting a Padawan.
Overall, I had a fun time reading this even if I’m not a prequels girlie! Obi-Wan was great, I really liked the original characters, the plot was fun even if it was predictable, and I liked the commentary on war, the role of the Jedi, the clones, and so on 🙌