I, Jedi is a novel written by Michael A. Stackpole, author of most of the X-Wing series of novels. It is about famed Rogue Squadron member and CorSec agent Corran Horn, and his journey as he trains to become a Jedi Knight, during a quest to save his wife Mirax.

Summary
For the uninitiated, Corran Horn is a native Corellian, who followed the footsteps of his father in becoming an agent in Corellian Security. He later joined the Rebellion and Rogue Squadron as one of its best and most capable pilots.

It is told from the first person perspective of Corran himself. After finding that his wife is missing, he decides that the best way to save her is to train his latent force ability, passed down from his grandfather. Learning about his heritage as a Corellian Jedi and coming to terms with how it fits into his life is a major conflict of the story. He trains with Luke Skywalker's first group of Jedi at the new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, concurrent with the Kyp Durron and the Sun Crusher incident, and the Jedi Academy trilogy of novels.


Overall Opinion
I was amazed by this book.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the entire X-Wing series, I had become a fan of Michael Stackpole's writing as well as the character of Corran Horn.

The journey he goes on is nothing less than epic. After reading a fascinating and exciting book, I found it hard to believe that I was still only halfway through the single action-packed volume.

Story
The book offers a great perspective on what training to be a Jedi is like, and that is interesting on a bigger level by letting you see what Luke's first batch of Jedi were like. Just reading about what he learned and how he trained, and about the other students, was great reading, particularly for anyone who ever wanted to be a Jedi.

But training as a Jedi is only half the story, as Corran eventually returns to his roots, to try to get back to who he really is, and goes on his adventure to infiltrate a pirate organization to save his wife.

The pacing and balance of the story is basically perfect, as it moves from stage to stage of development and action.


Themes and Great Aspects
Throughout the story, there is a great glimpse of Luke Skywalker and his personality, as a Jedi Master, a new teacher, and a normal human who still has a farmboy inside him, somewhere.

There are some very fascinating and meaningful looks, discussions, and debates over the dark side and its temptations, which leads to a wonderful culmination as Corran finds himself a step down fro the top of a slippery slope.

What the book reveals about the nature and use of the force, regardless of light or dark, is fascinating on its own.

There is a slightly more subtle, but astonishingly consistent theme of family in the book. I say astonishingly because looking back, I can't believe that I didn't immediately realize recurring lessons about family and lineage. The theme is tackled from every angle, with many perspectives. Children, spouses, ancestors, friends, in-laws, every familial relationship and its meaning are explored, in a subtle way.

The biggest theme, shown through the biggest true conflict, was defining and discovering oneself, and it ties profoundly with the family theme.

Perhaps one of the most powerful chapters, for me, of any book I've read, came when Corran built his own lightsaber. I can't explain how profound that passage was for me, but I was enthralled. Perhaps it was my strong technical side that found it particularly fascinating, but that was only part of it. The unity and purpose in utilization of the force that was described was an amazing thing to experience as part of a Jedi's growth.

I haven't even gotten to the action and exciting events. Suffice to say, it has everything you might expect from Star Wars, and it doesn't disappoint.


Writing
I have to praise Michael Stackpole, who has proven himself to be my favorite Star Wars writer so far. I haven't experience the entire broad array of authors who have written novels for the Star Wars universe, but I've experienced several, and have always had my comments. But Stackpole's books, aside from being basically ideal in writing as far as I'm concerned, never once makes me remember that I'm reading somebody's writing. It is engaging, flowing, and natural, and I don't even stop to think about how good or bad a certain aspect of the writing is, like I did with James Luceno and Timothy Zahn. Honestly, I think that's the best thing I can say about someone who writes a novel.


Conclusion
This book has everything I could want from a Star Wars property. Jedi philosophy, Jedi action, flight action, Star Wars history. It was simply great.