Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy #1 - Jedi Search (1994) Book Review

 Hey everyone, how were your weekends? Mine was pretty good. I had a Dungeons & Dragons session with my friends on Saturday and that's been alot of fun to do. Today I have yet another book review for you. I know I've been doing alot of those lately, but that's what I'm kinda into right now. I'm taking a look at the first book of the Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson, Jedi Search. There will be spoilers, despite the fact that this is definitely a setup book. So let's get into it.

First published in February 1994, Jedi Search is one of the first Star Wars novels that Garrett lent me after the X-Wing series. This book was also the first look EU fans ever got of Kessel, which had only been mentioned by both Han Solo (the Kessel Run) and C-3PO (the spice mines of Kessel) in A New Hope, and was mentioned in Heir to the Empire and The Last Command, both by Timothy Zahn. 

After arriving at Kessel in the Millennium Falcon to open diplomatic relations with the system, Han Solo and Chewbacca are attacked by Kessel's defense forces, and are taken captive by the person who ran the spice mines, Moruth Doole, a member of the Rybet species, a former associate of Han and Chewie's during their smuggling days. Meanwhile, while Leia is awaiting the arrival of the Solo twins, Jacen and Jaina, who are coming home now that they're two years old, she must also contend with the ambassador from the Imperial Academy world of Carida, who refuses to see the New Republic as the legitimate government, despite the Empire having been defeated multiple times, including during the brief reign of the resurrected Emperor Palpatine the previous year (as shown in Dark Empire). 

At the same time, following his brush with the Dark Side of the Force at the hands of the resurrected Palpatine, Luke Skywalker has chosen to set up a Jedi Academy and to start training the next generation of Jedi Knights, acknowledging that he can no longer keep peace in the Galaxy alone. While on Kessel, Han, Chewie, and fellow prisoner, Kyp Durron, stumble upon the facility that created the Death Stars, the World Devastators, and the newest Weapon of Mass Destruction, the Sun Crusher, the Maw Installation, during their escape from Kessel. We also meet the latest Imperial warlord, Admiral Daala, Tarkin's lover, who'd been hidden away inside the Maw since before the Battle of Yavin. 

The Kessel stuff wasn't as interesting to me as Leia's interactions with Ambassador Furgan, and Luke's search for his first Jedi students, Gantoris, and Streen. I think that's because Luke's storyline in this book has far more lasting results for the Expanded Universe as a whole in terms of the return of the Jedi Order. Yes, while Daala does appear from time to time, she really doesn't become that prominent within the EU until the Legacy of the Force series and the Fate of the Jedi series in the late 2000s and early 2010s. So while she's introduced in this trilogy and has one more appearance in Anderson's standalone novel, Darksaber, she doesn't show up again until 2008.

I think the reason I like the politics stuff with Leia is because I love seeing Leia be so diplomatic and dedicated to bringing as many worlds into the New Republic as she can. She also struggles to balance her work for the fledgling New Republic government, and taking care of Jacen and Jaina now that they're home from Anoth, where baby Anakin is still staying, under the protection of Winter and the defenses put in place by Luke and Admiral Ackbar when they discovered the planet. 

I've never been a fan of Qwi Xux, the scientist who helped create the Death Star, mostly because, she's not that interesting of a character. Outside of being mentioned in Death Star and one appearance in The New Jedi Order, Qwi is pretty much confined to the Bantam era, as she has no more appearances in the post-New Jedi Order books. While she does help Han, Kyp, and Chewie escape the Imperial forces in the Maw, she's mostly here as plot convenience rather than an actual character. Especially with where we see her in the next two books in this trilogy.

I've also never been a huge fan of Kyp Durron, even before his behaviour in the New Jedi Order series. I think Luke was a bit too lenient on Kyp at the end of this trilogy, but I'll get to that more when I review Champions of the Force. Basically, I don't really care for the character, but he is one of the characters that has a lasting role in the Expanded Universe from this point on. Though Kyp doesn't get a major role to play after this until the New Jedi Order series.

 While I did eventually get my own copy of the original 1994 paperback edition sometime in the early 2000s, along with the other two books in the trilogy, I got rid of it in 2015 or 2016, along with a good chunk of my Star Wars book collection, when my parents and I were getting ready to move. A couple of years ago though I picked up the 2015 Legends banner edition paperback that Random House published when the original EU became the Legends continuity. While Wookieepedia doesn't provide the year for the Legends banner reprint, because I have a copy in my collection, I was able to see that it was published in 2015, around the time that the canon novels, A New Dawn and Tarkin were coming out in paperback, having been published in hardcover the year before, and just before Heir to the Jedi was either coming out in hardcover (early 2015) or just coming out in paperback (late 2015). All three books are advertised inside the front cover of the Legends paperback of Jedi Search, but it doesn't specify whether they're paperback or hardcover.

Overall, Jedi Search still holds up pretty well. I know that the Jedi Academy Trilogy isn't one of the more well regarded novel trilogies from the Bantam era, but I've always enjoyed it. And I loved going back and reading it again after nine years or more, as I don't actually remember the last time I read it. If you've never read it before and are a fan of the original Star Wars Expanded Universe, I recommend reading it as it does establish characters who show up again, particularly in Del Rey's line of novels from the 2000s and early 2010s, AND it establishes Luke's Jedi Academy, which will be a staple of the EU until the New Jedi Order series.

Alright my friends, that's it for me for today. I'll be back soon with more posts throughout the week. So until then have a great day and I will talk to you later. Take care.