Jedi Search (Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Vol. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Kevin Anderson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Princess Leia and Han Solo have three kids and live as a respectable political couple in the capital of the New Republic. Luke Skywalker has returned to the Jedi fold after having given in to the dark side of the Force. C3P0 and R2D2 remain faithful droid sidekicks in a universe now freeing itself from the bondage of the evil Empire. These familiar characters inhabit some new places and situations in Anderson's ( Star Wars: Jedi Search ) sequel to the Star Wars movies. Luke has decided to rebuild the once powerful Jedi Knights in hope of providing stability in the New Republic. He finds himself in precarious circumstances as he searches for descendants of the mostly exterminated Jedis. Meanwhile, Han finds himself trapped in an Empire base located in a black hole under the command of a ruthless woman who has not yet heard of the Emperor's defeat and demise. Leia sends Luke and Lando Calrissian to find her missing husband. Han's escape from the black hole with a weapon more destructive than the Empire's Death Stars, and Luke and Lando's rush to his rescue, close out this predictable, tiring tale. Even big fans of the movies will have a hard time staying with this one.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

As the war between the Republic and the scattered remnants of the Empire continues, two children--Princess Leia's Jedi twins--come into their powers in a universe on the brink of vast changes.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Spectra; 8th printing edition (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553297988
• ISBN-13: 978-0553297980
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #182,004 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Approach with extreme caution !, August 19, 1999

By A Customer

Not something you'd want to read straight after Return of the Jedi.

I have the audacity to call myself a starwarsian, yet I made the fatal mistake of reading this novel before all others; D'OH!

It's not that this is a bad book. Anderson has done a reasonable job. The overall plot is good and the character development (+7yrs RotJ) is realistic. The writing may not be the most scholarly, but it is easy to read and the author doesn't waste any time. Having said all this, there is one colossal, unforgivable flaw:

Right from the word go, Anderson begins and continues to name drop from every book and movie made ahead of this. Now I realise there is continuity in SW novels (and rightly so!), but there was no purpose to these spoilers; they didn't influence this particular story. In turn, this affected my enjoyment of reading other Star Wars; in particular Zahn's Empire trilogy. Also, it took me a year to figure out this resurrected emperor theme and Luke's indulgence in the dark side, which Anderson kept making such a big deal of.

I very strongly recommend that you read all the novels which take place prior to this, including Dark Empire I and II. Then and only then, read this and the ensuing series.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining read, but something is missing., January 28, 2001

By	Nick Kapur (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

The Jedi Academy trilogy was the first major effort to follow the outstanding-beyond-words Timothy Zahn trilogy that relaunched the Star Wars frenzy in the early 90s. As such, Kevin Anderson had a VERY tough act to follow and there is inevitably a bit of a let down for readers coming straight from the Zahn books. That said, Anderson is a pretty decent author who does a good job keeping the books exciting with interesting story lines and good action scenes. So if you're looking for an entertaining way to pass some time, read no further - this book is for you.

But unfortunately, Anderson also had to contend with another hurdle other than following in Zahn's footsteps. Lucasfilm has a policy that all Star Wars spinoff literature has to be consistent and not contradict each other. This meant that when Anderson was almost done with his first drafts, he was suddenly informed that he had to make his story fit in with the a comic book just release by Darkhorse - the rediculously implausible "Dark Empire." This means that Anderson had to rewrite into his story crazy stuff like the emperor getting resurrected and Luke turning to the dark side. This has gone on to become a weakness of the whole series - whenever an author makes a mistake and includes something stupid in a book or comic, it becomes canon and every other author has to accept it. Over time the series has less and less like Star Wars and more and more like an independent separate universe.

The Jedi Academy trilogy was the first of these books that didn't quite feel like Star Wars. Zahn was the only one not constrained by these requirements since he was first, and consequently, his original trilogy is the most internally consistent and the most Star Wars in feel. Anderson's books and a few of the later books might be worth reading, but be warned that they may put you on a path to the Dark Side.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I don't understand why people dislike this book...., October 25, 2000

By	Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I really enjoyed this new addition to the Star Wars series. It jumped right to the action in the first chapter. Han and Chewie go to Kessel as representatives of the New Republic and get shot down and subsequently enslaved in the spice mines, where they meet eighteen-year-old Kyp Durron, who has spent the last ten years there. Luke has recieved permission from the New Republic to set up a Jedi academy, and he goes off to search for potential candidates. Now that the Solo twins, Jacen and Jaina, are two, they have returned home to Coruscant, and Leia must juggle the responsibilities of being a mother and being Minister of State of the New Republic, while trying to discover why Han has not returned home yet. I just started the second book in this trilogy, and I like it so far as well. I would reccomend the trilogy to Star Wars fans.