Star Wars: Knight Errant [Mass Market Paperback]

John Jackson Miller (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 25, 2011

An original adventure featuring Jedi Kerra Holt—star of the hot new Dark Horse Knight Errant comic series
 
A thousand years before Luke Skywalker, a generation before Darth Bane, in a galaxy far, far away . . .
 
The Republic is in crisis. The Sith roam unchecked, vying with one another to dominate the galaxy. But one lone Jedi, Kerra Holt, is determined to take down the Dark Lords. Her enemies are strange and many: Lord Daiman, who imagines himself the creator of the universe; Lord Odion, who intends to be its destroyer; the curious siblings Quillan and Dromika; the enigmatic Arkadia. So many warring Sith weaving a patchwork of brutality—with only Kerra Holt to defend the innocents caught underfoot.

Sensing a sinister pattern in the chaos, Kerra embarks on a journey that will take her into fierce battles against even fiercer enemies. With one against so many, her only chance of success lies with forging alliances among those who serve her enemies—including a mysterious Sith spy and a clever mercenary general. But will they be her adversaries or her salvation?
 
Includes a special, full-color excerpt from the Dark Horse comic Star Wars: Knight Errant

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beautifully written, this title is one that will really satisfy the reader" **** Emotionally Fourteen "[a] well-written set-up for what promises to be an exciting new action adventure series" www.starwarsaficionado.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author

Knight Errant follows Kerra Holt, a young Jedi operating in Sith space during a time in which the Republic and Jedi Order have largely abandoned many systems to their fates. The Outer Rim is a crazy-quilt patchwork of mini-empires controlled still crazier Sith Lords, all of whom have their own deranged spins on Sith philosophy and a healthy hatred for their rivals. Hiding among the enslaved citizens, Kerra sees Sith madness up-close -- and acts. But how much can a Jedi alone do -- and can she really trust anyone at all?

Kerra Holt also appears in Knight Errant comics from Dark Horse, but the novel stands alone, providing an easy entry into this tumultuous era in Star Wars history. Depicting a time 1,000 years before Episode I and a place where Sith rule is near-absolute, Knight Errant asks its heroine what it means to be a Jedi when hope is nearly gone.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: LucasBooks; Original edition (January 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345522648
• ISBN-13: 978-0345522641
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author John Jackson Miller has spent a lifetime immersed in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. He's best known for his Star Wars work, including Star Wars: Knight Errant, his national bestselling novel from Del Rey; Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith; and his long-running Knights of the Old Republic comics series from Dark Horse. His Star Wars: Kenobi hardcover releases in August 2013.

He's written comics for Mass Effect, Iron Man, The Simpsons, and Indiana Jones, and has written for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Production notes on all his works can be found at his fiction site (farawaypress.com).

Miller is also a noted comics industry historian, specializing in studying comic-book circulation as presented on his website, The Comics Chronicles (comichron.com). He also coauthored the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Those silly Sith are at it again. . . February 18, 2011

By Nathan

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I didn't love John Jackson Miller's Knights of the Old Republic comics as much as many seem to have, but upon seeing the overwhelmingly positive reviews for this, Miller's debut novel, I allowed myself to get excited. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me for several of the same reasons that KOTOR didn't: it's alternately boring and dully goofy, with many pages of tedium broken up by large set pieces (which are themselves punctuated in the novel by lengthy infodumps and observations that manage to kill whatever excitement the action might otherwise have generated), and the characters mostly don't come across as more than the sum of their tics; their dialogue rarely rings true and the banter is often painfully unwitty. If you don't have any such problems with KOTOR, there's a good chance you won't find them in Knight Errant, either.

In terms of structure, this is a less a novel in three acts than three linked novellas (or, if you will, three volumes of the comic, except in prose), which means that there's not really an escalation of action or any satisfying character arc but just a sequence of encounters with improbably eccentric Sith lords, from the solipsist-ad-absurdum Lord Daiman to a pair of consciously conjoined twins to the frigid manipulator Arkadia. The occasional revelations are not as interesting as I get the feeling they're supposed to be, and most of the plot twists are obvious. Also it's probably a good idea never to have a character named Calician dealing with Celegians.

In the end, while I really wanted to enjoy this book -- I'm a lifelong Star Wars fan and it's been a couple years since I've really had fun with one of the novels -- it seems that Miller's style, whether in comics or prose, is just not for me. It took me about five times as long to make it through this book as it usually takes me to finish a Star Wars novel; the main reason it gets two stars rather than one is that I finished it rather than putting it aside. Clearly many people really enjoy this book, but it didn't work for me on any level. I hope, should you choose to read it, that you enjoy it more than I did.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing and Exciting March 1, 2011

By Sporty Girl

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As someone who has read Star Wars books for over two decades (from the original movie adaption to today), I've seen good and bad. I've also become accustomed to most twists a plot can take and can see the end coming from a mile away, given the confines in which Star Wars EU has been written. This book blows all of that away, while still maintaining the fast-paced, nail-biting adventure that the original movies gave us. Just like the movies, this book leaves you wanting more and ready to jump in that galaxy far, far away with both feet. John Jackson Miller has a talent for imagery that I haven't seen in this fandom in a while. The period is not one that I'm familiar with, but oddly it fit right in with what I expected and with JJM's descriptions, I was able to be immersed immediately. I'd really love to see his fresh take on a beleaguered period in the fandom that takes place after Return of the Jedi, I think it could use his talents.

As a woman, I was excited to hear that the protagonist was female. I was also glad that Del Rey and the author didn't fall in the trap of thinking female readers just want romance, and aren't adventure fans. I don't read Star Wars for romance and I think that works that try to wedge in a romance in this genre, just because there's a female character can really do disservice to female (and male) fans. I admit, I read this book expecting to have that at any moment just because there was a female protagonist interacting with males. I was truly surprised and glad that the book didn't take that route, and it made the story that much better.

All in all, I'd say this book has renewed my interest in the Star Wars books, as I hadn't read much that kept my interest here lately. I can't wait for the next in this series!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Run out and pick it up! February 8, 2011

By Jacen

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Knight Errant is everything that Star Wars readers look for in these pulpy books. JJM has a honed and prolific understanding of world building, plot construction, and character development; all of which made Knight Errant one of the most dense, comic, beguiling, and fulfilling books I've ever read in the SW EU.

It's really kind of staggering how much John Jackson-Miller packed into this book. The payoff was sweet but there was so much to take in. Nearly too much. It makes a couple of those FOTJ books look kinda weenie by comparison. I wish I could distill in words how much hope this book gives me for the future of the EU in print. KE is its own era and it has it's own homegrown well fleshed out characters.

If the book has a fault it's that it goes full tilt for the first two thirds of the novel, giving us little time to take in all that is being thrown at us. It really isn't until the last movement, or third of the novel that we really get to truly know Miller's characters. As I said though, the payoff is sweet. So much so that any time wading through the seemingly crazed wall to wall action becomes utterly worthwhile.