Jedi Search, written by Kevin J. Anderson, is the first book in the Jedi Academy Trilogy. It is set eleven years after the Battle of Yavin and about seven years after Return of the Jedi. The New Republic has already faced the challenges of Grand Admiral Thrawn, as described in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, as well as the resurrected Emperor, as described in the Dark Empire graphic novels. The trilogy continues with Dark Apprentice and concludes with Champions of the Force.

PREREQUSITES

You need not have read any other Star Wars novels before this book. However, I would recommend reading the Thrawn Trilogy first since it began the explosion of Star Wars novels. The Truce at Bakura, the Courtship of Princess Leia, and the graphic novels Dark Empire and Dark Empire II would also give more background heading into this work.

THE STORY

The chief premise of this trilogy is to tell the story of how Luke re-established the Jedi Order with the founding of a new Jedi Academy. His first task was to seek out the descendants of the Jedi killed during the Empire's reign and others who show strong Force sensitivity. The book also focuses on the planet Kessel as Luke and Chewie are captured and imprisoned in the spice mines.

If you ever wondered why Jabba put a price on Han's head, what the significance of the Kessel Run is that Han boasts to Obi-Wan, or why Threepio was so worried about being sent to the spice mines of Kessel as he was fretting aboard the Tantive IV, you will learn that in this book! You also learn more about the mysterious beginnings of the original Death Star.

MY OPINION

Jedi Search is very good book. Anderson's portrayal of the planet Kessel was very effective and memorable, unlike many other SW books that merely provide a token summary of a planet's geology as a meaningless backdrop. Anderson's up-tempo writing style was also very effective. It seems he took Lucas's famous admonition of, "faster and more intense," to heart!

The principal flaw in this work is that the characterizations of the famous Star Wars heroes are not quite on target. Leia treats Han like a boorish husband who just wants to run around with his buddies. While that might have worked for the Empire Strikes Back time frame, it is incongruous with the relationship as established in the Thrawn trilogy. Threepio, while always tending towards the annoying, is downright stupid in this book. Fortunately, these problems are minor and don't detract from the overall story.

From a continuity standpoint, I tend to be forgiving with the EU novels written well before the prequel movies came out. Anderson could not have known of the asceticism and abstinence of the Jedi Order as was revealed in AOTC. So he can be forgiven for Luke's "Jedi descendants" search. There is also a question about who was the real designer of the Death Star since the Geonosians are not mentioned in this book. Again, since this book was written eight years before Attack of the Clones, this is understandable!

CONCLUSION

All in all, this was a very good book that provides substantial additions to the Expanded Universe and greater depth behind the references in the original trilogy of movies. 4.5 OUT OF 5.0

SPOILER ALERT!

I try to keep my reviews spoiler-free, but I thought these minor spoiler would be helpful notes for future EU novels.

This book tells the story of three candidates for Luke's Jedi Academy:
Gantoris found at Eol Sha
Kyp Durron found at Kessel
Streen found at Tibanopolis, Bespin

Other Jedi candidates that are only briefly mentioned are:
The witches of Dathomir - from the Courtship of Princess Leia
Mara Jade - from the Thrawn Trilogy
Kam Solusar - from the Dark Empire II graphic novel