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A review by billyjepma
Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray
5.0
Claudia Gray is my favorite Star Wars writer. Everything she writes is nothing less than spectacular, and that formula stays gleefully consistent with "Master and Apprentice," her first foray into the Prequel Era. Focusing on Qui-Gon Jinn (who has received very little attention in the new canon) and Obi-Wan Kenobi at an especially fragile time in their relationship as teacher and student.
As always, Gray's writing is great-bordering-on-perfect, with her dialogue consistently strong and poignant, and only her plot falling just a little short. While there's a great deal of prescient political intrigue throughout the plot––and as someone who loves it when Star Wars gets political, I loved this aspect of the novel––the plot's primary "mystery" doesn't have much tension to it, and it's resolved without much fanfare. Still, the journey is more important than the destination, and Gray uses the setting as a vehicle to delve into Qui-Gon, his shortcomings, his strengths, and his backstory.
Obi-Wan is very much a supporting character, but Gray's portrayal of a younger, more brash, but no less thoughtful Jedi works well, and there's a lot of strong moments for him as he struggles to reconcile his differences with his Master. The rest of Gray's cast is also good, although they vary in terms of memorability. Rael Averross, an old friend of Qui-Gon from his days as Dooku's apprentice, is an obvious standout, and he acts as a great foil character for Qui-Gon as their similarities, and stark differences, lead to some of the story's best moments. A pair of jewel thieves the Jedis work with are also a lot of fun, and their dynamic is a charming addition, even if their subplot is a little heavy-handed for my taste.
There are several layers to "Master and Apprentice," and Gray juggles them all with exceptional skill. Whether it's exciting references to the Jedi prophecies, exposing (and exploring) the Jedi ideology for all its flaws and strengths, complex political machinations, or classic Jedi action, Gray moves between it all with a steady hand and makes sure that there's never a dull page. The plot may not be as strong as some of Gray's previous Star Wars offerings ("Lost Stars" and "Bloodline" remain her best, for now), but her character work is predictably memorable, and I'd love to see her get to play around some more in the Prequel Era's sandbox.
This is a solid 4.5/5 stars for me.
As always, Gray's writing is great-bordering-on-perfect, with her dialogue consistently strong and poignant, and only her plot falling just a little short. While there's a great deal of prescient political intrigue throughout the plot––and as someone who loves it when Star Wars gets political, I loved this aspect of the novel––the plot's primary "mystery" doesn't have much tension to it, and it's resolved without much fanfare. Still, the journey is more important than the destination, and Gray uses the setting as a vehicle to delve into Qui-Gon, his shortcomings, his strengths, and his backstory.
Obi-Wan is very much a supporting character, but Gray's portrayal of a younger, more brash, but no less thoughtful Jedi works well, and there's a lot of strong moments for him as he struggles to reconcile his differences with his Master. The rest of Gray's cast is also good, although they vary in terms of memorability. Rael Averross, an old friend of Qui-Gon from his days as Dooku's apprentice, is an obvious standout, and he acts as a great foil character for Qui-Gon as their similarities, and stark differences, lead to some of the story's best moments. A pair of jewel thieves the Jedis work with are also a lot of fun, and their dynamic is a charming addition, even if their subplot is a little heavy-handed for my taste.
There are several layers to "Master and Apprentice," and Gray juggles them all with exceptional skill. Whether it's exciting references to the Jedi prophecies, exposing (and exploring) the Jedi ideology for all its flaws and strengths, complex political machinations, or classic Jedi action, Gray moves between it all with a steady hand and makes sure that there's never a dull page. The plot may not be as strong as some of Gray's previous Star Wars offerings ("Lost Stars" and "Bloodline" remain her best, for now), but her character work is predictably memorable, and I'd love to see her get to play around some more in the Prequel Era's sandbox.
This is a solid 4.5/5 stars for me.