This is an interesting Star Wars novel in that it is primarily a prequel to the "New Jedi Order" series of novels. Set two years after the Phantom Menace (the Episode I Star Wars movie) and 54 years before the New Jedi Order storyline, the main story is somewhat inconsequential, but there is an off-stage story about a missing Jedi that will become pivotal in the New Jedi Order. This novel is also interesting because it features Anakin Skwyalker, who will become Darth Vader, before the Episode II movie was released. It is unlikely that the author, Greg Bear (a successful SF author in his own right), had access to any of the details of Episode II, so he had to craft a story that would have no lasting repercussions that might be contradicted by the next movie. The story is heavy on foreshadowing the struggles Anakin will have with the Dark Side without going into specifics. Considering how little information Bear likely had, the story does a good job of maintaining the flavour of Star Wars without having the intricate detail of much later novels.