When you're behind, you're behind. And, so, after some ISP issues, more work than I expected, a serious head cold that I'm still fighting, and a rather hefty dose of the lazy bug, I'm finally getting around to catching up on my blog. I'm not behind in my reading - at least, not by too much. I'm already plowing through the Clone Wars. But after almost two months of not blogging about it, I'm behind in passing things on. So today, we play catch up. This means I'm cutting down on reviews, lumping a lot of stuff together, and my apologies to anyone who was looking for more in-depth information. I'll try and do better later on.


So, right off the bat, let's squeeze 12 Jedi Apprentice Books together. Part of me hates doing this, as these are (for the most part) fantastic books that everyone should read. These 12 books contain two major story arcs, two cross-generational stories, and a couple stand-alone adventures which are probably the weakest of the bunch, despite still being better than anything Barbara Hambly ever added to the Star Wars mythos.

First up is the cross-generational adventure Deceptions, which put first Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan against both the legacy of former Padawan Bruck Chun and a mysterious effort to disable the Jedi Starfighter program. The Chun storyline basically is just Obi-Wan having to live with what happened when Bruck Chun died before him in the battle with Xanatos, and the Starfighter storyline is just kind of tacked on there so Qui-Gon and Tahl can banter a bit. Still, the first half of the book is filled with awesomeness in terms of character development, and I find myself enjoying it despite nothing really happening. 12 years later, Obi-wan and Anakin run across the Chun's again about the BioCruiser, discover evil is a foot, and generally have Anakin's first "unofficial" mission. Here, again, outside of learning that there was one decent Chun of the bunch, and Anakin and Obi-Wan starting off on a bad foot, little really happens, but the character development really shines through. I still consider this a must read, even if it's not one of Jude Watson's best.

Next up are two stand-alone adventures, The Fight for Truth and The Shattered Peace. Fight introduces Siri Tachi (outside of a small cameo she had earlier during Xanatos' shenanigans in the Jedi Temple), who goes on to be one of my all time favorite EU characters. The Shattered Peace is really just another excuse to hang out with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, but again, better than a lot of the more mainstream EU stuff that's come out, both before it and since.

Then comes the first major story-arc, encompassing The Deadly Hunter, The Evil Experiment, and The Dangerous Rescue. Ignoring the fantastic storyline here, everyone should read these three books if they have any plans at ALL in going on with reading any of Jude Watson's later books/series, because a number of recurring characters are introduced in this story-arc. Didi and Asrti Oddo, and Jenna Zan Arbor all make their first appearances here, and they all show up again through out the rest of Watson's work - almost to the point where you expect to see them. Most times, though, things work out well, and you're happy to run across Didi or Astri, and Jenna Zan Arbor turns out to be a worthy foe for the Jedi, even if she's a little over-played by the time the Clone Wars start. Never-the-less, This is a great trio of stories that I encourage any Star Wars fan to read. I guarantee you that once you read these three stories, you'll be hooked on the early adventures of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

Right after this, we swing into ANOTHER major Story arc, this one much darker, and it really sets down a lot of new revelations about Qui-Gon that make you miss the poor guy even more when he meets his end in Phantom Menace. The Ties that Bind, The Death of Hope, and The Call To Vengeance deal a vital blow to Qui-Gon, show what a human character he was, and features some of Watson's best work. I honestly consider this trio of stories (really, just one long story) her BEST work, even if I'd rather read the three books that take place before them - call me sentimental, but I like my endings a little happier than The Call To Vengeance is. Again, all EU fans should read these three books, but I'm going to preface that by saying you should really read at LEAST all the Jedi Apprentice books that came before - that will give you the added emotional connection to this story so that you'll properly feel the punch to your gut that Watson delivers at the end of The Death of Hope. It's THAT good.

Next up come two more stand alone stories, and sadly, after the powerhouse kick that the last major story-arc was, they seem rather pale in comparison. There's nothing wrong, per-say, with The Only Witness and The Threat Within - in fact, they ease the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan relationship strain quite a bit, and at a needed time, too. But I always felt that Jude should've been given a chance for one more three-book story arc to wrap up Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's time together. Sadly, the adventures just prior to The Phantom Menace go to other writers, and outside of a few last cross-generational books, Watson doesn't get to write Qui-Gon again, and that's a real shame.

Speaking of Cross-generational books, let's quickly look at The Followers, which see first Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, then (ten years later) Obi-Wan and Anakin dealing with a Sith Cult, a Sith Holocron, and rising tides. THIS story seems to fit in better with the rising darkness that comes across the Star Wars galaxy in the time between Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clone, and despite the rather weak opponent (a crazed, Sith-loving college professor), this story starts to show the shift towards the Dark Side that is coming.

Next: The lead-up to The Phantom Menace.