Dark Apprentice is Kevin J. Anderson's second book in his Jedi Academy Trilogy. It takes place a short while after the first book, Jedi Search, which you obviously must have read before starting this novel.

THE STORY

Luke has completed his search and found twelve trainees for his new Academy, plus the young Kyp Durron who helped rescue Han and Chewie from the Kessel system. Unfortunately, only a few of these twelve are mentioned by name in this book. I suppose this was to allow other authors to insert their own characters into this group in future novels. Meanwhile Admiral Daala plans her personal war against the New Republic while they struggle with new problems.

MY OPINION

This was another excellent read. It was fast paced with a good plot. Anderson doesn't waste a lot of time describing planets or background scenery, but he still paints a picture you can easily visualize. I wish more authors had that talent of word efficiency! These first two books in the trilogy are very enjoyable to read and provide a foundation that much of the EU is built on. This trilogy is definitely require reading for anyone wanting to understand the basics of the Expanded Universe!

That is not to say that this book is without flaws. The biggest complaint I have about this books is that, like Jedi Search, Anderson's characterizations are off the mark. This is painfully obvious with his portrayal of Han and Lando. Han receives an urgent call from Mon Mothma, leader of the New Republic, and he stops to play a sabacc game with Lando for ownership of the Millennium Falcon. Later, Lando acts like whiny teenager with his wanting to impress a woman - hardly Mr. Smooth that we come to expect from the man with the cape!

Another problem I had with the book is how Luke "trains" his candidates. Yoda really put Luke through his paces on Dagobah. But on Yavin, it seems the candidates mostly wander around the jungle and lay around to meditate. The only real training shown in the book is Luke operating the Jedi Holocron, which is more show-and-tell rather than training. I was expecting more than this.

Lastly, as a father myself, I can't believe that two year olds could act as mature as Jacen and Jaina did in this book. Yes I know they are Jedi and strong in the Force. However, their actions would be so much more believable if they were four year olds instead!

CONCLUSION

If you enjoyed the first book, you will definitely enjoy this books as well. The books leaves enough open storylines that you will be wanting to get to the bookstore quickly to see how it all ends. 4.5 OUT OF 5.0

SPOILER ALERT!

I try to keep my reviews spoiler-free and I avoid giving away any major spoilers. Below are some minor spoilers:

In this book you get to see the water world of Calamari, home of Admiral Akbar, and the jungle world of Ithor, home of the Hammerhead alien Momaw Nadon that we saw in the cantina in Episode IV. We also explore a little more of the Massassi temple ruins on Yavin IV and are introduced to legacy of Exar Kun, an ancient Sith devotee.

We are first introduced to the Jedi Code (There is no emotion, there is peace...)

We are first introduced to corusca gems. These are jewels created in the extreme pressues of the gas giant planet of Yavin. Three of these gems were used in the construction of a light saber in this book, which happened to produce a purplish-white colored blade (a perhaps unintended coincidence to the color of Mace Windu's lightsaber!).

Luke's Academy was called the Praxeum, which is derived from ancient root words combining learning with action. It was first used by the Jedi Karena.

We learn of Exar Kun and Vodo-Siosk Baas from the Tales of the Jedi comic book.

We see the card game Sabaac in action and learn a little more background about how Han won the Falcoln from Lando.

This book mentions eight candidates for Luke's Jedi Academy (excluding Mara Jade):

Gantoris at Eol Sha - The leader of a small colony on a harsh planet.
Kyp Durron at Kessel - A young man who helped Han and Chewie survive the spice mine and navigate the treacherous Maw.
Streen at Tibanopolis - A solitary man who can't help but hear the minds of people around him.
Kam Solusar - An older man, son of a Jedi who was seduced by the dark side and brought back by Luke
Kirana Ti - One of the witches of Dathomir
Dorsk 81 - A clone
Tionne - A young minstral and historian
Cilghal - A Calamarian ambassador with force abilities