Name: The Defenders of the Dead
ISBN: 9780590519564

Jude Watson

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, his Jedi Master, are off on another adventure in order to teach Obi-Wan the lessons he will need to perform his life's tasks. Original. Movie tie-in.

The Defenders of the Dead

Dimitris Papastergiou

This one was a chore to read and boring throughout the whole little adventure.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are sent to retrieve a kidnapped Jedi knight on Melida/Daan, which has been embroiled in civil war for so long that neither side knows what the original offense was. More care and attention is given to creating memorials for the dead than to ensuring the living a decent standard of living. The Young are the youth of the planet who want to stop fighting and work together to actually create a life worth living.

As I get farther in this series, the things that strike me most is that this simply isn't the best form for these stories. The core of this book is fascinating, a good story worth telling. But the books seem to be under length constraints that mean the story doesn't get told particularly well. It's too superficial. Too much action-packed nonsense, not enough deeply considered reflection on the situation. Obi-Wan's defection to the Young lacks emotional resonance because the author didn't put any real effort into making it a believable defection. Honestly, the events of this book had more emotional resonance for me when retold in fanfiction, when the fanfic authors actually delved into what Obi-Wan's decision meant for him and for Qui-Gon, the long-term effects on how they approached arbitration and their role with the Jedi. I'm just not feeling any of that in this source material. Which is very disappointing, honestly.