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Star Wars Disney Canon Novel
Heir to the Jedi
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . .
A thrilling new adventure set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and—for the first time ever—written entirely from Luke Skywalker’s first-person point of view.
A thrilling new adventure set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and—for the first time ever—written entirely from Luke Skywalker’s first-person point of view.
291 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2015
406 people are currently reading
7757 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Hearne
72 books12.8k followersKevin is the NYT bestselling author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, as well as The Seven Kennings, an epic fantasy trilogy, and the Tales of Pell, a humorous fantasy series co-authored with Delilah S. Dawson. INK & SIGIL, a new urban fantasy series set in the Iron Druid universe, will be out in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,141 reviews
October 3, 2016
The Force isn’t as strong here.
This is an odd novel due it was initially announced as the third book in a trilogy titled “Empire and Rebellion” where each novel would be focused in one of the “Big Three” (Luke, Leia & Han), and while the first two books were published as such, by the time that this novel were published, Lucasfilms declared non-canon all previous novels (except few cases) and declared the first two books of this trilogy as part of the now known as “Legends” novels. While this novel was included into the new canon and considered as a stand-alone book. In any case, each novel of the so called trilogy are stand-alone stories, so you can read them in any way, in any order or even to skip any of the three.
This novel is set shortly after the events of “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”.
STUDENT WITHOUT TEACHER
I don’t suppose Huulik brought anything else home with him, like a Handy step-by-step manual on how to train yourself to become a Jedi?
Luke Skywalker barely knew Ben Kenobi, and now he has the huge responsibility of being the heir to the Jedi. However, he doesn’t have anybody to ask about it. Even he doesn’t have a clue of how a Jedi was trained or how much he can do with the Force.
He is the hero of the Battle of Yavin, able to destroy the Death Star, and therefore a key member of the Rebel Alliance and a skilled pilot fighter, but he knows that his path is to become a Jedi. However, how is he gonna do that?
Are you a Jedi in fact, Luke Skywalker?
No,... ...Not even close.
So, don’t expect much Jedi stunts here, since Luke is quite “green” in his Force knowledge. Obviously he will actívate his lightsaber here and there, and even taps into the Force for some piloting daring maneuver, but still, he will be pretty much your regular sci-fi hero without much advantage over those mortal men.
A FAIR ADVENTURE BUT… IS IT STAR WARS?
the Force must be a fulcrum variable... ...a variable around which improbalities can be turned to probabilities, or vice versa. The impossible becomes possible – at which point one might as well not even do the math.
Han and Chewie are trying to gain some money to pay that pesty Java (yes, because they were portraited here to be so dumb to lose the money of the reward paid by the Rebellion. Geez! I don’t like that author did that!)
Leia is coordinating Rebel Alliance operations (and C3PO is along with her).
So you have Luke in the mission alone (of course, R2D2 is with him), so he will have a new character, Nakari Kelen, to help him in the several missions and tasks that he will have to do in the story. The good thing is that Nakari is indeed a support character and she isn’t trying to “steal screen time” from Luke, so this is without a doubt a Luke’s novel.
However... is really Star Wars?
Sure, you have some Imperial ships here, some Bounty Hunters’ vessels there, but none villain of importance. Not from the already known ones, not even a new villain! Just your regular “extras” firing shots against our heroes.
I honestly think that indeed Darth Vader took vacations since you don’t hear about him here (or even in the other two books now declared non related to this one).
You have Luke travelling A LOT here, so if you are looking for a “road story”, maybe you will enjoy plenty enough this novel.
However, if you are looking for a cool Star Wars story with the whole bunch onboard fighting some charismatic villain to avoid a relevant Imperial scheme...
...well, you may be kinda dissapointed.
Still, the novel is well written, and you will get to know how Luke was feeling right after A New Hope with millions of doubts of how being a Jedi without having anybody to ask about.
It might take me many years, but I am determined to become a Jedi like my father.
This is an odd novel due it was initially announced as the third book in a trilogy titled “Empire and Rebellion” where each novel would be focused in one of the “Big Three” (Luke, Leia & Han), and while the first two books were published as such, by the time that this novel were published, Lucasfilms declared non-canon all previous novels (except few cases) and declared the first two books of this trilogy as part of the now known as “Legends” novels. While this novel was included into the new canon and considered as a stand-alone book. In any case, each novel of the so called trilogy are stand-alone stories, so you can read them in any way, in any order or even to skip any of the three.
This novel is set shortly after the events of “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”.
STUDENT WITHOUT TEACHER
I don’t suppose Huulik brought anything else home with him, like a Handy step-by-step manual on how to train yourself to become a Jedi?
Luke Skywalker barely knew Ben Kenobi, and now he has the huge responsibility of being the heir to the Jedi. However, he doesn’t have anybody to ask about it. Even he doesn’t have a clue of how a Jedi was trained or how much he can do with the Force.
He is the hero of the Battle of Yavin, able to destroy the Death Star, and therefore a key member of the Rebel Alliance and a skilled pilot fighter, but he knows that his path is to become a Jedi. However, how is he gonna do that?
Are you a Jedi in fact, Luke Skywalker?
No,... ...Not even close.
So, don’t expect much Jedi stunts here, since Luke is quite “green” in his Force knowledge. Obviously he will actívate his lightsaber here and there, and even taps into the Force for some piloting daring maneuver, but still, he will be pretty much your regular sci-fi hero without much advantage over those mortal men.
A FAIR ADVENTURE BUT… IS IT STAR WARS?
the Force must be a fulcrum variable... ...a variable around which improbalities can be turned to probabilities, or vice versa. The impossible becomes possible – at which point one might as well not even do the math.
Han and Chewie are trying to gain some money to pay that pesty Java (yes, because they were portraited here to be so dumb to lose the money of the reward paid by the Rebellion. Geez! I don’t like that author did that!)
Leia is coordinating Rebel Alliance operations (and C3PO is along with her).
So you have Luke in the mission alone (of course, R2D2 is with him), so he will have a new character, Nakari Kelen, to help him in the several missions and tasks that he will have to do in the story. The good thing is that Nakari is indeed a support character and she isn’t trying to “steal screen time” from Luke, so this is without a doubt a Luke’s novel.
However... is really Star Wars?
Sure, you have some Imperial ships here, some Bounty Hunters’ vessels there, but none villain of importance. Not from the already known ones, not even a new villain! Just your regular “extras” firing shots against our heroes.
I honestly think that indeed Darth Vader took vacations since you don’t hear about him here (or even in the other two books now declared non related to this one).
You have Luke travelling A LOT here, so if you are looking for a “road story”, maybe you will enjoy plenty enough this novel.
However, if you are looking for a cool Star Wars story with the whole bunch onboard fighting some charismatic villain to avoid a relevant Imperial scheme...
...well, you may be kinda dissapointed.
Still, the novel is well written, and you will get to know how Luke was feeling right after A New Hope with millions of doubts of how being a Jedi without having anybody to ask about.
It might take me many years, but I am determined to become a Jedi like my father.
November 2, 2015
My name is Luke Skywalker and I'm going to tell you a story. Like, in first person and what not. It's an easy story to follow: I sort of experience a bunch of completely non-sequitur encounters with wholly unrelated characters in random locations. Sometimes it's an Aliens ripoff; sometimes it's a RomCom–there's something for everyone! It doesn't really piece together, so you won't have to bother thinking too much. Also, I'll explain it all to you in super casual, Earth teen lingo so that it feels intimate and relevant and such.
Hey, remember that time I destroyed the Death Star, or that time when my Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru got burned. Yep, I'm *that* Luke Skywalker. See, every now and then while telling this story, I'll free associate memories like those from my previous exploits in order to remind you that, despite the fact that I in no way seem to think or act like the Luke Skywalker whose hero's journey and dynamic character development resulted in the courageous destruction of the Empire's ultimate weapon, I AM ACTUALLY *that* Luke Skywalker. Which is kind of weird and stuff. Because, in this story, I seem to have regressed so much emotionally and mentally that it's going to be REALLY HARD for you to believe I'm legit that same guy. In fact, my nearly paralyzing inability to interact with a human woman may be utterly confounding to you. It is to me. It's as if instead of exhibiting signs of some sort of latent teen angst fueled by a potential love interest, I may actually be suffering from brain trauma or mad Bantha disease (see what I did there?) Relationship goals, amirite?
Oh, remember that time when I wanted to go into Tosche station to pick up some power converters? I'll actually utter those exact same words in this story completely out of context to make sure you connect the dots. I'll also make non-sensical references to Han and Chewie and have jaw-droppingly benign scenes with Leia just so you and me are on the same page about the whole "I'm *that* Luke" thing. Don't even get me started on "Nerf nuggets" or "Daddy Issues": your eyes can't roll that far back in your head. Literally. Cool? Ok, kewl.
Listen, I'm going to see if I can figure out what to do with this new lightsaber I picked up around chapter 3 or 4 which ultimately has no bearing on the story and disappears in one of a number of plotholes. #maytheforcebewithyou
Hey, remember that time I destroyed the Death Star, or that time when my Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru got burned. Yep, I'm *that* Luke Skywalker. See, every now and then while telling this story, I'll free associate memories like those from my previous exploits in order to remind you that, despite the fact that I in no way seem to think or act like the Luke Skywalker whose hero's journey and dynamic character development resulted in the courageous destruction of the Empire's ultimate weapon, I AM ACTUALLY *that* Luke Skywalker. Which is kind of weird and stuff. Because, in this story, I seem to have regressed so much emotionally and mentally that it's going to be REALLY HARD for you to believe I'm legit that same guy. In fact, my nearly paralyzing inability to interact with a human woman may be utterly confounding to you. It is to me. It's as if instead of exhibiting signs of some sort of latent teen angst fueled by a potential love interest, I may actually be suffering from brain trauma or mad Bantha disease (see what I did there?) Relationship goals, amirite?
Oh, remember that time when I wanted to go into Tosche station to pick up some power converters? I'll actually utter those exact same words in this story completely out of context to make sure you connect the dots. I'll also make non-sensical references to Han and Chewie and have jaw-droppingly benign scenes with Leia just so you and me are on the same page about the whole "I'm *that* Luke" thing. Don't even get me started on "Nerf nuggets" or "Daddy Issues": your eyes can't roll that far back in your head. Literally. Cool? Ok, kewl.
Listen, I'm going to see if I can figure out what to do with this new lightsaber I picked up around chapter 3 or 4 which ultimately has no bearing on the story and disappears in one of a number of plotholes. #maytheforcebewithyou
September 4, 2016
"There’s no one around to answer all my questions now that Ben has gone. It’s a stark fact that reasserts itself each time I wonder what I’m supposed to do now. The brown robe he wore may as well have been made of pure mystery; he clothed himself in it and then left nothing else behind on the Death Star. I know Han likes to scoff at the idea of the Force, but when a man’s body simply disappears at the touch of a lightsabre, that’s more than “simple tricks and nonsense.”
And I know the Force is real. I’ve felt it.
This worked so well. The entire story was entirely introspective with Luke narrating the entire plot and his personal journey. He has taken the very first few steps down the road of becoming a Jedi, but his master was slain before he could reach the end. This leaves the student without a teacher, though his hunger for knowledge still remains: a dangerous position to be in for a force wielder. The author has done a great job at channelling the voice of Luke. I could actually hear a young Mark Hammil’s voice in my head as I was reading. So this did feel like Star Wars which is obviously the most important requirement for a book of this type. I think an audio book read by Mark would be wonderful.
So the accurately characterised Luke begins his mission. His task is to acquire aid for the rebellion. The details aren’t important. The plot felt like a backdrop, a mere vessel in which Luke’s personal journey was told. During his travels he finds an old lightsabre that once belonged to a Rhodesian Jedi; he studies it with the force and slowly begins to understand a little bit more about whom he actually is. He feels the fringes of other Jedi powers such a telekinesis and mind control. He begins to realise how much he has left to learn.
This was a great chance for Luke, a chance to stand on his own two feet and use the confidence he developed after the battle of Yavin. He utilises the advice of his mentor Ben, harbours some of the recklessness of Solo and listens to the reassurance of a girl; yes, a girl. For this has a romance sub-plot that works surprisingly well, and the ending of it was everything it needed to be.
The biggest success of the book resides with the author’s choice to use a first person narrator. I’ve not seen this before in a Star Wars novel and it did work really well. It had the Star Wars feels, space battles, bloodthirsty bounty hunters, conniving politics and action layered over a great plot, but it also had great characterisation. This felt like the authentic voice of Luke Skywalker, and this felt like a story that belongs in the galaxy.
And I know the Force is real. I’ve felt it.
This worked so well. The entire story was entirely introspective with Luke narrating the entire plot and his personal journey. He has taken the very first few steps down the road of becoming a Jedi, but his master was slain before he could reach the end. This leaves the student without a teacher, though his hunger for knowledge still remains: a dangerous position to be in for a force wielder. The author has done a great job at channelling the voice of Luke. I could actually hear a young Mark Hammil’s voice in my head as I was reading. So this did feel like Star Wars which is obviously the most important requirement for a book of this type. I think an audio book read by Mark would be wonderful.
So the accurately characterised Luke begins his mission. His task is to acquire aid for the rebellion. The details aren’t important. The plot felt like a backdrop, a mere vessel in which Luke’s personal journey was told. During his travels he finds an old lightsabre that once belonged to a Rhodesian Jedi; he studies it with the force and slowly begins to understand a little bit more about whom he actually is. He feels the fringes of other Jedi powers such a telekinesis and mind control. He begins to realise how much he has left to learn.
This was a great chance for Luke, a chance to stand on his own two feet and use the confidence he developed after the battle of Yavin. He utilises the advice of his mentor Ben, harbours some of the recklessness of Solo and listens to the reassurance of a girl; yes, a girl. For this has a romance sub-plot that works surprisingly well, and the ending of it was everything it needed to be.
The biggest success of the book resides with the author’s choice to use a first person narrator. I’ve not seen this before in a Star Wars novel and it did work really well. It had the Star Wars feels, space battles, bloodthirsty bounty hunters, conniving politics and action layered over a great plot, but it also had great characterisation. This felt like the authentic voice of Luke Skywalker, and this felt like a story that belongs in the galaxy.
July 24, 2019
I like Star Wars and I like Kevin Hearne so …
What do we get?
Star Hearne?
Oberon strikes back?
Return of the Druid?
I always liked the way Hearne described the Iron Druid’s bindings and his approach to writing magic so I was intrigued and curious to see how he explained Luke’s exploration of the Force. This is set after A New Hope but before Empire so Luke had only begun his incomplete lessons with Ben and had not yet met Master Yoda on Dagobah. This is a good setting for Hearne to apply his own Jedi like skills of storytelling and expanding the ever-fertile soil of Lucas’ making. (Also, I recently viewed The Last Jedi and I was strong with the Force myself. I enjoyed that film BTW, visually impressive, the direction and cinematography was stunning, but I thought the writing and plot was weak.)
Hearne’s 2015 contribution to the Canon was fun.
Luke is sent on a mission by Leia and Admiral Ackbar to aid the rebels cause and we get to know Luke a little better as this is told from his first-person perspective and there is lengthy internal monologue as Luke wrestles with his growing understanding of the Force. Hearne does a better than average job in describing this process and based on his earlier druidic narratives (and his first-rate magic building in A Plague of Giants) he may be uniquely qualified to deliver this kind of story.
Good writing, lots of action, some expansion on the Star Wars canon (this one deemed a stand-alone but did level up to be considered part of the Disney canon) this is one fans of Hearne and the franchise will want to read.
What do we get?
Star Hearne?
Oberon strikes back?
Return of the Druid?
I always liked the way Hearne described the Iron Druid’s bindings and his approach to writing magic so I was intrigued and curious to see how he explained Luke’s exploration of the Force. This is set after A New Hope but before Empire so Luke had only begun his incomplete lessons with Ben and had not yet met Master Yoda on Dagobah. This is a good setting for Hearne to apply his own Jedi like skills of storytelling and expanding the ever-fertile soil of Lucas’ making. (Also, I recently viewed The Last Jedi and I was strong with the Force myself. I enjoyed that film BTW, visually impressive, the direction and cinematography was stunning, but I thought the writing and plot was weak.)
Hearne’s 2015 contribution to the Canon was fun.
Luke is sent on a mission by Leia and Admiral Ackbar to aid the rebels cause and we get to know Luke a little better as this is told from his first-person perspective and there is lengthy internal monologue as Luke wrestles with his growing understanding of the Force. Hearne does a better than average job in describing this process and based on his earlier druidic narratives (and his first-rate magic building in A Plague of Giants) he may be uniquely qualified to deliver this kind of story.
Good writing, lots of action, some expansion on the Star Wars canon (this one deemed a stand-alone but did level up to be considered part of the Disney canon) this is one fans of Hearne and the franchise will want to read.
July 19, 2019
First reaction, "Hey awesome, Kevin Hearne is writing a Star Wars book."
Second reaction, "What the hell! Why isn't he writing the next Iron Druid book?"
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Now that I've read it, I give it a great big meh. It wasn't exactly a page turner. I kept getting distracted and putting the book down. This being a Hearne book may have been the biggest reason I finished it. I did like the idea of their being a alien culture that is centered around math. But I don't know if that was a Hearne creation or not. Also, Luke Skywalker is super boring when he's not a full Jedi.
I want more Iron Druid!
Second reaction, "What the hell! Why isn't he writing the next Iron Druid book?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that I've read it, I give it a great big meh. It wasn't exactly a page turner. I kept getting distracted and putting the book down. This being a Hearne book may have been the biggest reason I finished it. I did like the idea of their being a alien culture that is centered around math. But I don't know if that was a Hearne creation or not. Also, Luke Skywalker is super boring when he's not a full Jedi.
I want more Iron Druid!
January 13, 2015
Beware: There be spoilers ahead.
Wow, what a letdown, I was so looking forward to this book too. I mean Kevin Hearne doing a Star Wars book, what is not to love about that.
Well for starters the book was just plain boring. It’s pretty much Luke racking up some SkyMiles, going from planet to planet picking up things, and talking to people.
I mean I went in thinking this was going to be exciting and action packed with a lot of Hearne’s witty banter tossed in.
No it was Luke running errands for the Alliance.
My husband and I used to play Everquest II, and in that game there were what we dubbed “Gnome Quests”. These quests were pretty much goose chases, or the fucking quest giver asking for items for a recipe one thing at a time.
In the beginning Luke gets a quest to go meet up with some people to get a pricing list for weapons and such for the Alliance. So he borrows a nice anonymous ship from, you guessed it, a pretty girl. Cause we got to have some romance here. So off Luke flies off, cue cut scene, where he just happens upon a ship in distress whom he helps out even though it risks him and the whole Rebellion. Anonymous ship not so anonymous anymore.
*face palm*
He arrives get the list, and does a little side quest and achieves a new weapon which was total bull shit. I played SWTOR, a purple lightsaber is a bitch to get. He gets back and finds out that the Alliance is broke, and that he needs shiny upgrades to his borrowed ship before he can do his next quest. Oh look another side quest time. So off he goes with the pretty girl to make some money…along with all the fucks I gave for this book.
I mean I finished it, and really I didn’t HATE it. It was just so not what I expected, and not what I wanted. Ok, I need to stop ranting now.
Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this book for an honest review.
Wow, what a letdown, I was so looking forward to this book too. I mean Kevin Hearne doing a Star Wars book, what is not to love about that.
Well for starters the book was just plain boring. It’s pretty much Luke racking up some SkyMiles, going from planet to planet picking up things, and talking to people.
I mean I went in thinking this was going to be exciting and action packed with a lot of Hearne’s witty banter tossed in.
No it was Luke running errands for the Alliance.
My husband and I used to play Everquest II, and in that game there were what we dubbed “Gnome Quests”. These quests were pretty much goose chases, or the fucking quest giver asking for items for a recipe one thing at a time.
In the beginning Luke gets a quest to go meet up with some people to get a pricing list for weapons and such for the Alliance. So he borrows a nice anonymous ship from, you guessed it, a pretty girl. Cause we got to have some romance here. So off Luke flies off, cue cut scene, where he just happens upon a ship in distress whom he helps out even though it risks him and the whole Rebellion. Anonymous ship not so anonymous anymore.
*face palm*
He arrives get the list, and does a little side quest and achieves a new weapon which was total bull shit. I played SWTOR, a purple lightsaber is a bitch to get. He gets back and finds out that the Alliance is broke, and that he needs shiny upgrades to his borrowed ship before he can do his next quest. Oh look another side quest time. So off he goes with the pretty girl to make some money…along with all the fucks I gave for this book.
I mean I finished it, and really I didn’t HATE it. It was just so not what I expected, and not what I wanted. Ok, I need to stop ranting now.
Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this book for an honest review.
March 6, 2015
I just...
Dude... dude
My beloved EU was scrapped for THIS ?
I like Hearne. I enjoy the hell out of his Iron Druid series. But here he's let me down. Tremendously.
Instead of a fun adventure story we get Errand Boy Luke running a string of pointlessly stupid missions that feel like shitty time wasting sidequests from a grindfest MMO. You know the ones where you have to go on 4 separate runs to get 3 different ingredients and the skull of an aardvark just to open the way to the boss battle.
Except the boss battle here is just as boring as the sidequests.
This story had no investment in the characters. No real feeling of being part of the Star Wars universe.
It has no heart at all.
If the rest of the NewEU is like this, I'm going to be pissed.
Dude... dude
My beloved EU was scrapped for THIS ?
I like Hearne. I enjoy the hell out of his Iron Druid series. But here he's let me down. Tremendously.
Instead of a fun adventure story we get Errand Boy Luke running a string of pointlessly stupid missions that feel like shitty time wasting sidequests from a grindfest MMO. You know the ones where you have to go on 4 separate runs to get 3 different ingredients and the skull of an aardvark just to open the way to the boss battle.
Except the boss battle here is just as boring as the sidequests.
This story had no investment in the characters. No real feeling of being part of the Star Wars universe.
It has no heart at all.
If the rest of the NewEU is like this, I'm going to be pissed.
May 28, 2019
“Betrayal always comes wrapped up in a friendly cloak. It's one of the first things I learned in the Senate.”
When Disney bought Lucasfilm, much of the lore was thrown away and the slate was wiped clean after Return of the Jedi. Heir to the Jedi was originally intended as part of the Star Wars: Empire and Rebellion series. I recently read (and loved) Honor Among Thieves, which ended up being the last book published under the Legends continuity. Heir to the Jedi then became one of the first canonical releases after the relaunch, as a standalone.
Heir to the Jedi follows Luke shortly after A New Hope. He is embarking on a mission for the Rebel Alliance to break out a cryptographer who could become a spy. Along the way, Luke slowly discovers what his Force powers are capable of and tries to manage them on his own, while also learning everything he can about the Jedi.
I have read upwards of 70 Star Wars books and for the most part, I've enjoyed each one in some way. Unfortunately, this is probably right there with Jedi Trial as my least favorite. Although Jedi Trial was so cheesy that it was almost.. more readable? Heir to the Jedi was just such a slog fest. The most obvious reason for that is because it is written entirely in Luke's narrative. As far as I know, this is only the second use of first-person POV within Star Wars. The other was I, Jedi - a book that holds a special place in my heart because it was my first ever Star Wars book that I picked up as a 14-year-old!
I struggled with Heir to the Jedi, not going to lie! I felt as though the characterizations were wooden, the plot incredibly slow-moving and the writing was just.. well.. I had some issues with it, let's just say that. The tone felt off and the prose never managed to fully capture me. Truthfully, the main thing about the writing that stood out was when Luke says that Admiral Ackbar has a kind of "moist charisma" I just.. I -
Oof.
For the most part, the new canon books have been brilliant! This one? Not so much. It lacked the usual Star Wars magic for me.
When Disney bought Lucasfilm, much of the lore was thrown away and the slate was wiped clean after Return of the Jedi. Heir to the Jedi was originally intended as part of the Star Wars: Empire and Rebellion series. I recently read (and loved) Honor Among Thieves, which ended up being the last book published under the Legends continuity. Heir to the Jedi then became one of the first canonical releases after the relaunch, as a standalone.
Heir to the Jedi follows Luke shortly after A New Hope. He is embarking on a mission for the Rebel Alliance to break out a cryptographer who could become a spy. Along the way, Luke slowly discovers what his Force powers are capable of and tries to manage them on his own, while also learning everything he can about the Jedi.
I have read upwards of 70 Star Wars books and for the most part, I've enjoyed each one in some way. Unfortunately, this is probably right there with Jedi Trial as my least favorite. Although Jedi Trial was so cheesy that it was almost.. more readable? Heir to the Jedi was just such a slog fest. The most obvious reason for that is because it is written entirely in Luke's narrative. As far as I know, this is only the second use of first-person POV within Star Wars. The other was I, Jedi - a book that holds a special place in my heart because it was my first ever Star Wars book that I picked up as a 14-year-old!
I struggled with Heir to the Jedi, not going to lie! I felt as though the characterizations were wooden, the plot incredibly slow-moving and the writing was just.. well.. I had some issues with it, let's just say that. The tone felt off and the prose never managed to fully capture me. Truthfully, the main thing about the writing that stood out was when Luke says that Admiral Ackbar has a kind of "moist charisma" I just.. I -
Oof.
For the most part, the new canon books have been brilliant! This one? Not so much. It lacked the usual Star Wars magic for me.
March 15, 2015
I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
3.5 stars.
To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed for the majority of the time I spent reading this book. Once again, a big name author was chosen to write a Star Wars novel, and like with the previous few, it didn't capture my attention the way I'd hoped. It was a good story, but not real exciting or engaging.
But then the last couple of chapters brought it home and was enough to bump my rating by a half star. I finished the book feeling satisfied with the read, though not compelled to run out and buy books by Kevin Hearne or other Star Wars novels.
This book does take an interesting perspective that I haven't seen in the others I've read. That is, a first person narrative from the perspective of Luke Skywalker. It was intriguing to get into his head and see how he felt about events in the Star Wars: A New Hope film, after which this novel is set. It was also interesting to watch him deal with his powers with the Force, and his role in the Rebellion. The final climactic scene really delved into his mind, and his heart. It was a bit gut-wrenching, and very significant to a reader that is familiar with all of the films (so far). The fact that Skywalker himself doesn't catch this significance is great. He will later, of course. But for now the author was skillful at keeping his insights limited to the character as he was before The Empire Strikes Back.
So all in all, I'd recommend this book to the Star Wars fan. I wouldn't say it ranks among the best of the EU novels, but it's a decent read on its own.
3.5 stars.
To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed for the majority of the time I spent reading this book. Once again, a big name author was chosen to write a Star Wars novel, and like with the previous few, it didn't capture my attention the way I'd hoped. It was a good story, but not real exciting or engaging.
But then the last couple of chapters brought it home and was enough to bump my rating by a half star. I finished the book feeling satisfied with the read, though not compelled to run out and buy books by Kevin Hearne or other Star Wars novels.
This book does take an interesting perspective that I haven't seen in the others I've read. That is, a first person narrative from the perspective of Luke Skywalker. It was intriguing to get into his head and see how he felt about events in the Star Wars: A New Hope film, after which this novel is set. It was also interesting to watch him deal with his powers with the Force, and his role in the Rebellion. The final climactic scene really delved into his mind, and his heart. It was a bit gut-wrenching, and very significant to a reader that is familiar with all of the films (so far). The fact that Skywalker himself doesn't catch this significance is great. He will later, of course. But for now the author was skillful at keeping his insights limited to the character as he was before The Empire Strikes Back.
So all in all, I'd recommend this book to the Star Wars fan. I wouldn't say it ranks among the best of the EU novels, but it's a decent read on its own.
March 15, 2015
My first impressions before reading: less than 270 pages and the font of the print is super big. What is this?A junior novel for middle schoolers?
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
My God, what a sick pathetic joke this book is. I have consistently been reading Star Wars novels for the longest time...having just finished the Heir to the Empire trilogy, Darth Plagueis, Shadows of the Empire and the Bane Trilogy...and to come to this worthless drivel is a total insult to me and all the previous authors that have made the EU. NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK!!! Nothing at all! Luke just runs a bunch of meaningless errands and we get to know his thoughts and insecurities about being a Jedi. The damn thing reads like a boring diary and it is really sad because Luke is my favorite character. I understand the approach they were going for here but the plot is BORING! if you want a good Luke Skywalker stuff read Shadows of Mindor, Choices of One, Allegiance, the Heir to the Empire trilogy, or Shadows of the Empire. The best way I can describe this book is like that of a role playing video game, you know like Final Fantasy? Except that in the book instead mainly paying attention to the Epic Storyline quest it spends the entire time doing little side quest that don't amount to nothing. This is easilly the worst Star Wars book ever written and that I have ever read in my entire life. I feel so ripped off having paid 25$ for it...please do yourself a favor and don't buy this! Rent it from the library if you have to but don't buy it! I'm reselling mine at a loss of 15$ right now...
And some people thought Phantom Menace was boring! Wait until you read this!
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
My God, what a sick pathetic joke this book is. I have consistently been reading Star Wars novels for the longest time...having just finished the Heir to the Empire trilogy, Darth Plagueis, Shadows of the Empire and the Bane Trilogy...and to come to this worthless drivel is a total insult to me and all the previous authors that have made the EU. NOTHING IMPORTANT HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK!!! Nothing at all! Luke just runs a bunch of meaningless errands and we get to know his thoughts and insecurities about being a Jedi. The damn thing reads like a boring diary and it is really sad because Luke is my favorite character. I understand the approach they were going for here but the plot is BORING! if you want a good Luke Skywalker stuff read Shadows of Mindor, Choices of One, Allegiance, the Heir to the Empire trilogy, or Shadows of the Empire. The best way I can describe this book is like that of a role playing video game, you know like Final Fantasy? Except that in the book instead mainly paying attention to the Epic Storyline quest it spends the entire time doing little side quest that don't amount to nothing. This is easilly the worst Star Wars book ever written and that I have ever read in my entire life. I feel so ripped off having paid 25$ for it...please do yourself a favor and don't buy this! Rent it from the library if you have to but don't buy it! I'm reselling mine at a loss of 15$ right now...
And some people thought Phantom Menace was boring! Wait until you read this!
January 5, 2016
This is one of the worst Star Wars-branded books I've ever read (and I read the Lando Calrissian trilogy, along with the vast majority of SW books in existence). I don't even know where to start. As another reviewer has mentioned, I was initially put off by how large the typeface was - it made me feel like this book was written for the 12-16 age group, and what I read really just confirmed that impression.
1) The idea of a first-person book narrated by Luke Skywalker is fantastic. Get inside the head of the character everyone loves, see what motivates him and drives him, change up the typical format for Star Wars novels and how that the new EU is gonna be different. But it fails so, so hard. First-person narration gives a lot of opportunity for characterization, but it also demands an actual character that has a particular perspective and doesn't automatically know everything. This book felt like it was originally in third person and then they changed all of the instances of "Luke" to "I." When the author DOES try for characterization, Luke ends up being a clueless caricature of ANH!Luke and also using the word "awkward" six times a page. HEY I'M SO AWKWARD WITH GIRLS. I WISH I WAS LESS AWKWARD. WOW IT TURNS OUT THIS GIRL MIGHT BE INTO MY AWKWARDNESS?? Luke sounds like a 14-year-old boy who's never spoken to a girl before. Part of this may be due to how naive Luke is in ANH, and how bland he tends to be as a character in general, but I'd definitely blame the execution over the source material in this case (because I actually LIKE Luke in the original trilogy). There's just no subtlety in any of the characterization or dialogue (when Luke meets Nakari, he almost literally says 'Wow, we're both from desert planets and we both like ships. She understands that I like ships because ships take you away from desert planets').
(There were also some weird places where it changed tense. Things like starting a sentence with "I think" or "I believe" and then commenting on what's happening in the plot, with the rest of the sentence in past tense. Like, what? I guess Luke is telling the story to us at some point in the future? Even though that's not explicitly stated or even implied anywhere except in those weird, out-of-place sentences?)
2) The pacing was terrible, from the arc of the novel as a whole to individual scenes. The story arc felt more like a video game than a novel - Luke starts with small missions, basically gaining XP, a party, and weapons upgrades before going off on the main quest. Every time he leaves the Alliance base, Leia runs after him and tells him something he needs to know right before he leaves (why didn't she tell him in the briefing, which was the previous scene, if this is so vital to the mission??). There is literally no time unaccounted for from the start of the novel to the end and there are almost no scene transitions; Luke will finish up doing an activity, then describe how he spent the next six hours in one sentence, and then do another activity while still in the same paragraph. It was really disjointed and jolting, and could've been solved by a simple break in the page.
Individual scenes also felt mis-ordered. When Nakari's father is introduced, Luke has one of his present-tense moments and says that he's not sure whether he made a good impression on Nakari's father, and then tells the reader that Nakari's father likes to yell at his employees and calls them minions, but always ends the request with a softer, kinder aside. And then we meet Nakari's father and he does just that. Why did we need Luke to explain to us a character trait that evidenced was right there, two paragraphs down? Why did we need him to talk about the impression he left BEFORE the scene where he meets the guy?
3) There was a lot of unnecessary explanation that didn't read well at all. I read a lot of sci-fi and I'm very familiar with the infodump and how clunky it can be - but most infodumps actually flesh out the world and make it interesting. Luke's occasional attempts to understand the Force were dull reiterations of knowledge the reader already knows (maybe an attempt to re-canonize certain aspects of the Force, I guess?), and there was a lot of time spent explaining why Luke knows things that are going on in other places that he shouldn't know (because this book doesn't understand how first person narration works, but it knows that it's not doing it right).
4) The other characters were either boring or paper-thin, with one characteristic that was hammered into you. Nakari was a pretty-female-sniper version of Luke, didn't have any flaws, and liked to state as obviously as possible that she likes how awkward Luke is (because at this point, the book is obviously directed at awkward teenage boys who just want pretty, not-awkward girls to tell them they're cute), and really made Luke unnecessary. The mission was originally a one-person mission, and she had a great ship, was a great pilot, and was a much better shot than Luke, and he asks her to come along to help, and then she basically stands there and lets Luke do almost everything. Dursil, the Givin woman they rescue, comes from a species that likes math a lot, so obviously, she doesn't understand subtleties of emotion and all of her dialogue and actions involve liking math. She reminded me a lot of Sheldon, from The Big Bang Theory, possibly one of the most tired and unfriendly portrayals of nerds in existence. Nakari's dad had his one thing, mentioned earlier. (They also forced in an anachronistic joke about "foiling" an equation that the characters found a lot funnier than the reader did.) And even Luke was just awkward, with little other characterization.
And last, but possibly the worst (major spoiler alert):
4) The main female character lasts long enough to encourage Luke to actually use the Force, and then dies, which finally allows Luke to grieve. FUCK THAT SHIT. Luke had ENOUGH love interests die in various (much more interesting) ways in the old EU. I am goddamn tired of introducing females as love interests only to kill them off when the main male character has gotten all the character development he can suck out of them. It's boring, it's misogynistic, and it's incredibly frustrating. She literally dies at the end of the mission, after she's done everything she can to help Luke finish the mission (which is really very little, since this book is just about how awesome Luke is), and her death only serves to help Luke process all of his repressed feelings of loss cf. Uncle Owen/Aunt Beru/Biggs Darklighter.
There were a few good things - once the action got rolling, I could get immersed for at least a few pages before some stilted dialogue or strange pacing or really unsubtle attempt at characterization distracted me. I really liked the idea of the Givin (though not the execution), and several alien species were interesting too. There were also a couple of funny moments.
To sum up: I think this book should not have been geared toward an adult audience. The bland characterization, the completely unsubtle nature of all the dialogue and plot, and the emphasis on Luke's awkwardness and his infatuation with Nakari make it a much better fit for younger readers. However, the lack of any voice or perspective in a first-person story, the uneven and sometimes confusing pacing, the lack of interesting/developed characters, and the existence/fridging of the main female character solely to serve the main male character's development really make it unsuitable for ANY audience.
Edit: I also feel incredibly ripped off, because one of the last (sort-of) trilogies published in the old EU started with Razor's Edge (featuring Leia) and Honor Among Thieves (ft. Han) and was presumably going to end with a Luke centric book (with a suspiciously similar plot), and the first two were definitely in my top 10 SW books. To have the old EU end when it was going in such a positive direction and to start the new one with this and Tarkin... such a bummer.
1) The idea of a first-person book narrated by Luke Skywalker is fantastic. Get inside the head of the character everyone loves, see what motivates him and drives him, change up the typical format for Star Wars novels and how that the new EU is gonna be different. But it fails so, so hard. First-person narration gives a lot of opportunity for characterization, but it also demands an actual character that has a particular perspective and doesn't automatically know everything. This book felt like it was originally in third person and then they changed all of the instances of "Luke" to "I." When the author DOES try for characterization, Luke ends up being a clueless caricature of ANH!Luke and also using the word "awkward" six times a page. HEY I'M SO AWKWARD WITH GIRLS. I WISH I WAS LESS AWKWARD. WOW IT TURNS OUT THIS GIRL MIGHT BE INTO MY AWKWARDNESS?? Luke sounds like a 14-year-old boy who's never spoken to a girl before. Part of this may be due to how naive Luke is in ANH, and how bland he tends to be as a character in general, but I'd definitely blame the execution over the source material in this case (because I actually LIKE Luke in the original trilogy). There's just no subtlety in any of the characterization or dialogue (when Luke meets Nakari, he almost literally says 'Wow, we're both from desert planets and we both like ships. She understands that I like ships because ships take you away from desert planets').
(There were also some weird places where it changed tense. Things like starting a sentence with "I think" or "I believe" and then commenting on what's happening in the plot, with the rest of the sentence in past tense. Like, what? I guess Luke is telling the story to us at some point in the future? Even though that's not explicitly stated or even implied anywhere except in those weird, out-of-place sentences?)
2) The pacing was terrible, from the arc of the novel as a whole to individual scenes. The story arc felt more like a video game than a novel - Luke starts with small missions, basically gaining XP, a party, and weapons upgrades before going off on the main quest. Every time he leaves the Alliance base, Leia runs after him and tells him something he needs to know right before he leaves (why didn't she tell him in the briefing, which was the previous scene, if this is so vital to the mission??). There is literally no time unaccounted for from the start of the novel to the end and there are almost no scene transitions; Luke will finish up doing an activity, then describe how he spent the next six hours in one sentence, and then do another activity while still in the same paragraph. It was really disjointed and jolting, and could've been solved by a simple break in the page.
Individual scenes also felt mis-ordered. When Nakari's father is introduced, Luke has one of his present-tense moments and says that he's not sure whether he made a good impression on Nakari's father, and then tells the reader that Nakari's father likes to yell at his employees and calls them minions, but always ends the request with a softer, kinder aside. And then we meet Nakari's father and he does just that. Why did we need Luke to explain to us a character trait that evidenced was right there, two paragraphs down? Why did we need him to talk about the impression he left BEFORE the scene where he meets the guy?
3) There was a lot of unnecessary explanation that didn't read well at all. I read a lot of sci-fi and I'm very familiar with the infodump and how clunky it can be - but most infodumps actually flesh out the world and make it interesting. Luke's occasional attempts to understand the Force were dull reiterations of knowledge the reader already knows (maybe an attempt to re-canonize certain aspects of the Force, I guess?), and there was a lot of time spent explaining why Luke knows things that are going on in other places that he shouldn't know (because this book doesn't understand how first person narration works, but it knows that it's not doing it right).
4) The other characters were either boring or paper-thin, with one characteristic that was hammered into you. Nakari was a pretty-female-sniper version of Luke, didn't have any flaws, and liked to state as obviously as possible that she likes how awkward Luke is (because at this point, the book is obviously directed at awkward teenage boys who just want pretty, not-awkward girls to tell them they're cute), and really made Luke unnecessary. The mission was originally a one-person mission, and she had a great ship, was a great pilot, and was a much better shot than Luke, and he asks her to come along to help, and then she basically stands there and lets Luke do almost everything. Dursil, the Givin woman they rescue, comes from a species that likes math a lot, so obviously, she doesn't understand subtleties of emotion and all of her dialogue and actions involve liking math. She reminded me a lot of Sheldon, from The Big Bang Theory, possibly one of the most tired and unfriendly portrayals of nerds in existence. Nakari's dad had his one thing, mentioned earlier. (They also forced in an anachronistic joke about "foiling" an equation that the characters found a lot funnier than the reader did.) And even Luke was just awkward, with little other characterization.
And last, but possibly the worst (major spoiler alert):
4) The main female character lasts long enough to encourage Luke to actually use the Force, and then dies, which finally allows Luke to grieve. FUCK THAT SHIT. Luke had ENOUGH love interests die in various (much more interesting) ways in the old EU. I am goddamn tired of introducing females as love interests only to kill them off when the main male character has gotten all the character development he can suck out of them. It's boring, it's misogynistic, and it's incredibly frustrating. She literally dies at the end of the mission, after she's done everything she can to help Luke finish the mission (which is really very little, since this book is just about how awesome Luke is), and her death only serves to help Luke process all of his repressed feelings of loss cf. Uncle Owen/Aunt Beru/Biggs Darklighter.
There were a few good things - once the action got rolling, I could get immersed for at least a few pages before some stilted dialogue or strange pacing or really unsubtle attempt at characterization distracted me. I really liked the idea of the Givin (though not the execution), and several alien species were interesting too. There were also a couple of funny moments.
To sum up: I think this book should not have been geared toward an adult audience. The bland characterization, the completely unsubtle nature of all the dialogue and plot, and the emphasis on Luke's awkwardness and his infatuation with Nakari make it a much better fit for younger readers. However, the lack of any voice or perspective in a first-person story, the uneven and sometimes confusing pacing, the lack of interesting/developed characters, and the existence/fridging of the main female character solely to serve the main male character's development really make it unsuitable for ANY audience.
Edit: I also feel incredibly ripped off, because one of the last (sort-of) trilogies published in the old EU started with Razor's Edge (featuring Leia) and Honor Among Thieves (ft. Han) and was presumably going to end with a Luke centric book (with a suspiciously similar plot), and the first two were definitely in my top 10 SW books. To have the old EU end when it was going in such a positive direction and to start the new one with this and Tarkin... such a bummer.
February 24, 2015
In his introduction to Heir to the Jedi, Kevin Hearne says that the inspiration for his first novel set in "a galaxy far, far away" was a question that many Star Wars fans of a certain age may have pondered when The Empire Strikes Back made its debut -- how did Luke Skywalker go from a novice in the Force to being able to pull his lightsaber to him in the ice cave on Hoth?
The movie series doesn't give us any answers or explanation, but Hearne's novel does. Narrated by Luke, Heir to the Jedi takes place between A New Hope and Empire and not only gives looks at how Luke developed his Jedi powers before he headed off to Degobah for training but also some of the realities of the day to day running of a rebellion. Hearne lets us spend some time with a few old favorites and introduces a few new characters for this novel that quickly grow on Luke and the reader.
I'm sure that fans who read every single page of the Extended Universe novels will be annoyed to learn that LucasFilm and Disney have rebooted the novels. But as a reader who fell behind on the EU and increasingly felt like the cool kids were having a party that I wasn't invited to, I'm happy to see the novels get a reboot and start fresh. And if Heir is any indication, these novels are in good hands and headed in an interesting direction as we all count down to later this year when Episode VII arrives on our movie screens.
The combination of one of my favorite genre universes with one of my favorite genre authors is pays off extremely well here. Hearne quickly settles into the Star Wars universe and you can tell he's having a great time answering a question that has consumed his curiosity over the years. He ties in enough continuity to keep Star Wars fans happy but still keeps the novel accessible and entertaining enough that a casual reader can drop in and enjoy a well done tie-in novel.
This is a solid example of a tie-in novel done right.
And I hope that Star Wars fans who haven't dipped their toes into the wonderful urban fantasy universe that Hearne has created will like what they read here and pick up one or more the Iron Druid Chronicles.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The movie series doesn't give us any answers or explanation, but Hearne's novel does. Narrated by Luke, Heir to the Jedi takes place between A New Hope and Empire and not only gives looks at how Luke developed his Jedi powers before he headed off to Degobah for training but also some of the realities of the day to day running of a rebellion. Hearne lets us spend some time with a few old favorites and introduces a few new characters for this novel that quickly grow on Luke and the reader.
I'm sure that fans who read every single page of the Extended Universe novels will be annoyed to learn that LucasFilm and Disney have rebooted the novels. But as a reader who fell behind on the EU and increasingly felt like the cool kids were having a party that I wasn't invited to, I'm happy to see the novels get a reboot and start fresh. And if Heir is any indication, these novels are in good hands and headed in an interesting direction as we all count down to later this year when Episode VII arrives on our movie screens.
The combination of one of my favorite genre universes with one of my favorite genre authors is pays off extremely well here. Hearne quickly settles into the Star Wars universe and you can tell he's having a great time answering a question that has consumed his curiosity over the years. He ties in enough continuity to keep Star Wars fans happy but still keeps the novel accessible and entertaining enough that a casual reader can drop in and enjoy a well done tie-in novel.
This is a solid example of a tie-in novel done right.
And I hope that Star Wars fans who haven't dipped their toes into the wonderful urban fantasy universe that Hearne has created will like what they read here and pick up one or more the Iron Druid Chronicles.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 22, 2015
If this is what the new Star Wars canon is going to look like, sign me up.
Of course, I'm sort of being facetious, because Kevin Hearne isn't going to be writing all of those books, and he's largely why this book works as well as it does.
Heir to the Jedi is the third book in the Empire and Rebellion series, but because this one was published after Disney bought Star Wars, it's the only one that is still considered canon. I have no idea how that has affected the content of the book. For all I know, the book would have been exactly the same, or it could be completely different now. Anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter. It's completely delightful.
The book follows Luke on a mission to rescue an asset for the Rebellion from Empire custody. He pairs up with a woman named Nakari whose father is rich, and who has her own cause to hate the Empire. The woman they're rescuing is a cryptographic genius, and she is the best ever. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book, and most of those times she was the reason. I also liked Nakari as a character, even though she made me feel like Luke was cheating on Mara Jade, even though Mara Jade, oh god, Mara Jade doesn't even exist anymore. BURN EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND, Y'ALL. SOW THE FIELDS WITH SALT.
Anyway I liked the book. The only thing I didn't like about it was the very end. A potentially impactful climax was undercut by sort of re-feeding us stuff we'd already gotten from a previous scene. But really it's a small complaint. The book was funny, it had a great arc for Luke, who is trying to figure things out in the wake of destroying the Death Star and learning he's a Jedi, and the secondary characters were great, which can really make or break a book like this.
Of course, I'm sort of being facetious, because Kevin Hearne isn't going to be writing all of those books, and he's largely why this book works as well as it does.
Heir to the Jedi is the third book in the Empire and Rebellion series, but because this one was published after Disney bought Star Wars, it's the only one that is still considered canon. I have no idea how that has affected the content of the book. For all I know, the book would have been exactly the same, or it could be completely different now. Anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter. It's completely delightful.
The book follows Luke on a mission to rescue an asset for the Rebellion from Empire custody. He pairs up with a woman named Nakari whose father is rich, and who has her own cause to hate the Empire. The woman they're rescuing is a cryptographic genius, and she is the best ever. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book, and most of those times she was the reason. I also liked Nakari as a character, even though she made me feel like Luke was cheating on Mara Jade, even though Mara Jade, oh god, Mara Jade doesn't even exist anymore. BURN EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND, Y'ALL. SOW THE FIELDS WITH SALT.
Anyway I liked the book. The only thing I didn't like about it was the very end. A potentially impactful climax was undercut by sort of re-feeding us stuff we'd already gotten from a previous scene. But really it's a small complaint. The book was funny, it had a great arc for Luke, who is trying to figure things out in the wake of destroying the Death Star and learning he's a Jedi, and the secondary characters were great, which can really make or break a book like this.
January 3, 2022
3.5 Stars
I liked the first person perspective, but despite this intimate narrative style, this book did little to develop Luke as a character during this time period. A easy but forgettable story.
I liked the first person perspective, but despite this intimate narrative style, this book did little to develop Luke as a character during this time period. A easy but forgettable story.
October 12, 2025
The best thing about this book is Kevin Hearne nailed Luke's personality (for this time in his life) perfectly. He strikes a perfect balance between Luke's farm boy naivety (especially when it comes the pretty girls) and tactical and battle skills, that allowed him to climb the military ranks of the rebel/alliance long before he became a Jedi. Through Luke is referred mostly as a pilot. This is a good touch as that is at the time the only battle skill Luke really excels at, he is not a great hand to hand fighter, sniper or even solider.
This is not the most exciting Star Wars story. The book consists of two mini missions and main mission which are all interconnected. The first mission has Luke sent to negotiate a deal which is more Leia's speciality. On a side note Leia makes small cameo appearance in the book. Han and Chewie are mentioned in the book but they do not appear in it. Main mission is for Luke to extract a high level slicer (hacker), from the Imperials, to reunite her with her family in exchange for her skill used for Rebels.
This book is not really about Luke's journey to becoming a Jedi, if anything this is really his first couple of steps on the journey. As far as Jedi training goes till the Battle of Yavin Luke has only had the very basic of instruction of really how the touch the force then actually use it. He is not yet proficient with a Lightsaber ever though he carries it. There are a comical scenes that Luke tries his hand at the mind manipulation, in my head I could see hundreds of Star Wars fan boys (like me) trying every day, with unfortunately the same results as the rest of us. He also learns the basics of a couple of skill he used at the beginning of the Empire Strikes Back before he met Yoda.
The part of the books Luke is at his best is in the star fighter cockpit. Yes he still uses the force to enhance his skills, but he show he has a good grasp of battle tactics, on how to deal with different Imperial ships, the design faults of different models. I especially like the way Luke has a chance to mourn as well. If you think during A New Hope, he has lost his aunt, uncle, his mentor in Ben (Obi Wan), and even his childhood big brother figure in Biggs Darklighter during the battle. However he was on the run or in the middle of a battle so he did not really get his chance to say a proper good bye towards the end of the book.
A great book showing Luke's small and sometime stumbling progress to one day the Grandmaster of the Jedi. I like the way Hearne has done his research and not given Luke any abilities he did not exhibit by the beginning of the Empire Strikes Back. I also like how Luke feels when he first touches the Darkside of the force. So far the Disney era of Star Wars books have impressed me with their continuity.
This is not the most exciting Star Wars story. The book consists of two mini missions and main mission which are all interconnected. The first mission has Luke sent to negotiate a deal which is more Leia's speciality. On a side note Leia makes small cameo appearance in the book. Han and Chewie are mentioned in the book but they do not appear in it. Main mission is for Luke to extract a high level slicer (hacker), from the Imperials, to reunite her with her family in exchange for her skill used for Rebels.
This book is not really about Luke's journey to becoming a Jedi, if anything this is really his first couple of steps on the journey. As far as Jedi training goes till the Battle of Yavin Luke has only had the very basic of instruction of really how the touch the force then actually use it. He is not yet proficient with a Lightsaber ever though he carries it. There are a comical scenes that Luke tries his hand at the mind manipulation, in my head I could see hundreds of Star Wars fan boys (like me) trying every day, with unfortunately the same results as the rest of us. He also learns the basics of a couple of skill he used at the beginning of the Empire Strikes Back before he met Yoda.
The part of the books Luke is at his best is in the star fighter cockpit. Yes he still uses the force to enhance his skills, but he show he has a good grasp of battle tactics, on how to deal with different Imperial ships, the design faults of different models. I especially like the way Luke has a chance to mourn as well. If you think during A New Hope, he has lost his aunt, uncle, his mentor in Ben (Obi Wan), and even his childhood big brother figure in Biggs Darklighter during the battle. However he was on the run or in the middle of a battle so he did not really get his chance to say a proper good bye towards the end of the book.
A great book showing Luke's small and sometime stumbling progress to one day the Grandmaster of the Jedi. I like the way Hearne has done his research and not given Luke any abilities he did not exhibit by the beginning of the Empire Strikes Back. I also like how Luke feels when he first touches the Darkside of the force. So far the Disney era of Star Wars books have impressed me with their continuity.
June 28, 2022
I definitely remember liking this book more the first time around. It was almost unreadable the second time. Just incredibly forgettable.
I liked Luke slowly learning how to levitate things, but meh. I didn't care besides that.
I liked Luke slowly learning how to levitate things, but meh. I didn't care besides that.
February 24, 2015
I received this advanced-release ebook through NetGalley.
I requested this book because it's by Kevin Hearne. He's a friend and a darn good writer. I was really curious to see how he would write Luke in a book set between Episode IV and V. I haven't read a Star Wars book since the Episode III novelization, but back in the 1990s I read a ton of books in the expanded universe before burning out on them.
Hearne does a great job granting Luke a first person voice during that awkward time soon after the destruction of the first Death Star. This is Luke as he matures. He's still that misfit farm boy from Tatooine, but he's also a hotshot pilot who wants to be genuinely useful to the Alliance. He's trying to find out more about the Jedi and how lightsabers work. Some of the suspense is gone because you know he'll survive and that other major characters are the ones in imminent peril, but it's still a fast, enjoyable read.
Hearne isn't able to drop the pop culture wisecracks that add so much to his Iron Druid books, but he does add humor where he can. I, for one, hope to see a nerf nuggets recipe on the Holy Taco Church at some point in the near future.
I requested this book because it's by Kevin Hearne. He's a friend and a darn good writer. I was really curious to see how he would write Luke in a book set between Episode IV and V. I haven't read a Star Wars book since the Episode III novelization, but back in the 1990s I read a ton of books in the expanded universe before burning out on them.
Hearne does a great job granting Luke a first person voice during that awkward time soon after the destruction of the first Death Star. This is Luke as he matures. He's still that misfit farm boy from Tatooine, but he's also a hotshot pilot who wants to be genuinely useful to the Alliance. He's trying to find out more about the Jedi and how lightsabers work. Some of the suspense is gone because you know he'll survive and that other major characters are the ones in imminent peril, but it's still a fast, enjoyable read.
Hearne isn't able to drop the pop culture wisecracks that add so much to his Iron Druid books, but he does add humor where he can. I, for one, hope to see a nerf nuggets recipe on the Holy Taco Church at some point in the near future.
March 5, 2015
Sigh...I don't even know where to begin with this one.
While I enjoyed both A New Dawn and Tarkin, it was Heir to the Jedi I was most excited about. A book that takes places after A New Hope and promised to not only fill in the details of what happened before Empire that enabled Luke to use the Force to move his lightsaber in the Wampa cave, but to also tell it from Luke's point-of-view!
You wanna know what happens with Luke after A New Hope? A whole lotta nuthin!
My mind was swimming with ideas of how they would tell this story. Then I read the reviews and I started to get worried. I think what's most upsetting is that this is all considered canon now and while I was halfway through the book all I could ask myself was "Why even write this?" What do we gain from this story? There isn't really much plot to speak of and I was hoping I'd be able to overlook that as long as we got Luke's inner monologue and his feelings about the Force and how he was struggling to harness his power. But it's not really there. The first person story telling is incredibly weak and feels like a wasted opportunity.
Now I know I set the bar pretty high going into the book so some may say I set myself up for failure but that's just simply not the case.
When you imagined Luke first learning to use the Force, what did you picture? I'm sure whatever it is you choose is about 10x better than what they went with...
**Spoilers below**
Luke and his new (awkwardly forced) lady crush, Nakari, are chillin at some sort of intergalactic food court munching on nerf nuggets like a couple of teens at the mall. Then he tries to demonstrate his power by moving a noodle.
A noodle...
Hey I'm all for choosing something simple for a first try. I mean it would make sense for him to be sitting around trying to move everyday objects as practice but really? A noodle? And not just one. It becomes a reoccurring thing! And while we're on the subject, food like "nerf nuggets" and "rancor sauce" are about as cringeworthy as "jawa juice." And don't get me started on Nakari's mother's band name and hit single. None of it felt right. There were a few things that I did enjoy, which is why I at least gave it a 2 star rating, but those moments were too few and far between.
I'm holding out hope that Lords of the Sith will redeem the new canon books cause this was just a severe step in the wrong direction...
A noodle!
While I enjoyed both A New Dawn and Tarkin, it was Heir to the Jedi I was most excited about. A book that takes places after A New Hope and promised to not only fill in the details of what happened before Empire that enabled Luke to use the Force to move his lightsaber in the Wampa cave, but to also tell it from Luke's point-of-view!
You wanna know what happens with Luke after A New Hope? A whole lotta nuthin!
My mind was swimming with ideas of how they would tell this story. Then I read the reviews and I started to get worried. I think what's most upsetting is that this is all considered canon now and while I was halfway through the book all I could ask myself was "Why even write this?" What do we gain from this story? There isn't really much plot to speak of and I was hoping I'd be able to overlook that as long as we got Luke's inner monologue and his feelings about the Force and how he was struggling to harness his power. But it's not really there. The first person story telling is incredibly weak and feels like a wasted opportunity.
Now I know I set the bar pretty high going into the book so some may say I set myself up for failure but that's just simply not the case.
When you imagined Luke first learning to use the Force, what did you picture? I'm sure whatever it is you choose is about 10x better than what they went with...
**Spoilers below**
Luke and his new (awkwardly forced) lady crush, Nakari, are chillin at some sort of intergalactic food court munching on nerf nuggets like a couple of teens at the mall. Then he tries to demonstrate his power by moving a noodle.
A noodle...
Hey I'm all for choosing something simple for a first try. I mean it would make sense for him to be sitting around trying to move everyday objects as practice but really? A noodle? And not just one. It becomes a reoccurring thing! And while we're on the subject, food like "nerf nuggets" and "rancor sauce" are about as cringeworthy as "jawa juice." And don't get me started on Nakari's mother's band name and hit single. None of it felt right. There were a few things that I did enjoy, which is why I at least gave it a 2 star rating, but those moments were too few and far between.
I'm holding out hope that Lords of the Sith will redeem the new canon books cause this was just a severe step in the wrong direction...
A noodle!
May 14, 2025
Basically this book is awesome and if you enjoy Luke Skywalker as a dorky, awkward Rebel hero you must purchase this. This book has much of the same magic as the original trilogy. Each page is a new entertaining adventure that makes the reader want more. This story is well written and captivating. Heir to the Jedi is a definite must to any Star Wars collection.
August 3, 2016
It's great to see a story narrated from Luke's perspective, but this definitely wasn't the best novel from this franchise that I've read.
October 2, 2020
*2.5
I knew all about what she was feeling right then. And the shock of seeing someone you know dead. One of the first things you think of is how you will remember them. Things like "He could cook," or "She could sing" or "He was my best friend, and I'll miss him forever." The crush of grief rolls in behind that, but sometimes you can shove that in a closet for a while until you have time to deal with it. I knew I still had plenty to deal with.
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This was... strange.
I mean, first things first, this book is in the first person. First person! I have never read a Star Wars book in the first person before, although I haven't read a great deal. It was jarring and took a bit to get used to. But... my gosh, the narrator. He sounds EXACTLY like ANH Luke. My jaw literally dropped when I first heard his voice. It really helped get into the atmosphere of the book.
However... the writing was pretty bad. Not even juvenile, just... bad. I guess it kind of fits ANH Luke in a way, but the descriptions and the ways action is spelled out... it's not good. There's a character who calls his employees "Minions!" for some reason, Luke describes his own smile as "goofy," and... okay. There is this alien from a species that has greetings that are basically math equations. Luke asks her a question, and she responds. Then she asks him one.
"Can you math something math math for me with something math?"
Drusil used proper terms of course and precise numbers. I don't recall exactly what she asked me...
Geez, writing that wasn't any easier than listening to it.
Oh yeah, I listened to this on audiobook again. It had a lot of sound effects, but the narrator narrated... a lot. Like, if Luke lifted something, he would say the line with a grunting effect. It was strange, but I got used to it.
This book is called "Heir to the Jedi," but it's not all about Luke training and learning about being a Jedi. He does do some research and practices with the Force, but the main focus is him and this girl from the Rebellion named Nakari going on a rescue mission. It's kind of slow, but it wasn't terrible. Ooh, also, there's this scene where Luke tries to use a Jedi mind trick, and it's just such a treat. He fails, so he thinks "well, Ben used a hand gesture" and literally tries again just with waving his hand. It doesn't work. He's so young and so stupid and I love him.
Also, random little detail - when Luke is talking with Nakari about Tatooine, he tells her about his last day there. He says that he went into Tosche Station for power converters, but he realizes that he never picked them up and they could still be there. Nakari says "We all have unfinished business, don't we?" It's a solemn moment, but it's also a neat little observation from ANH.
My favorite part of this book was nearer the end when Luke does what he said in the beginning of the book in the quote at the top of this review. When he allows himself to slow down, stop, and properly grieve for everyone he's lost. For Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, for Obi-Wan, for Biggs... and how he bottled up all that emotion because he didn't have time, but it was better now to let it out. It's also a scene where Luke considers his dark side, but is ultimately swayed away because he knows it's better to savor the happier moments than focus on the sadder ones.
On that note...
2.5/5 stars. The not-great writing and slow plot weren't a great combination. Luke is pretty dumb in this book in a lot of ways, but it's in-character. I just didn't find myself getting as attached to
I knew all about what she was feeling right then. And the shock of seeing someone you know dead. One of the first things you think of is how you will remember them. Things like "He could cook," or "She could sing" or "He was my best friend, and I'll miss him forever." The crush of grief rolls in behind that, but sometimes you can shove that in a closet for a while until you have time to deal with it. I knew I still had plenty to deal with.
This was... strange.
I mean, first things first, this book is in the first person. First person! I have never read a Star Wars book in the first person before, although I haven't read a great deal. It was jarring and took a bit to get used to. But... my gosh, the narrator. He sounds EXACTLY like ANH Luke. My jaw literally dropped when I first heard his voice. It really helped get into the atmosphere of the book.
However... the writing was pretty bad. Not even juvenile, just... bad. I guess it kind of fits ANH Luke in a way, but the descriptions and the ways action is spelled out... it's not good. There's a character who calls his employees "Minions!" for some reason, Luke describes his own smile as "goofy," and... okay. There is this alien from a species that has greetings that are basically math equations. Luke asks her a question, and she responds. Then she asks him one.
"Can you math something math math for me with something math?"
Drusil used proper terms of course and precise numbers. I don't recall exactly what she asked me...
Geez, writing that wasn't any easier than listening to it.
Oh yeah, I listened to this on audiobook again. It had a lot of sound effects, but the narrator narrated... a lot. Like, if Luke lifted something, he would say the line with a grunting effect. It was strange, but I got used to it.
This book is called "Heir to the Jedi," but it's not all about Luke training and learning about being a Jedi. He does do some research and practices with the Force, but the main focus is him and this girl from the Rebellion named Nakari going on a rescue mission. It's kind of slow, but it wasn't terrible. Ooh, also, there's this scene where Luke tries to use a Jedi mind trick, and it's just such a treat. He fails, so he thinks "well, Ben used a hand gesture" and literally tries again just with waving his hand. It doesn't work. He's so young and so stupid and I love him.
Also, random little detail - when Luke is talking with Nakari about Tatooine, he tells her about his last day there. He says that he went into Tosche Station for power converters, but he realizes that he never picked them up and they could still be there. Nakari says "We all have unfinished business, don't we?" It's a solemn moment, but it's also a neat little observation from ANH.
My favorite part of this book was nearer the end when Luke does what he said in the beginning of the book in the quote at the top of this review. When he allows himself to slow down, stop, and properly grieve for everyone he's lost. For Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, for Obi-Wan, for Biggs... and how he bottled up all that emotion because he didn't have time, but it was better now to let it out. It's also a scene where Luke considers his dark side, but is ultimately swayed away because he knows it's better to savor the happier moments than focus on the sadder ones.
On that note...
2.5/5 stars. The not-great writing and slow plot weren't a great combination. Luke is pretty dumb in this book in a lot of ways, but it's in-character. I just didn't find myself getting as attached to
December 18, 2019
"The destruction of the Death Star brought new hope to the beleaguered Rebel Alliance. But the relentless pursuit by Darth Vader and the Imperial fleet is taking its toll on Alliance resources. Now he rebels hide in an Outer Rim orbit from which they can search for a more permanent base and for new allies to supply much-needed weapons and materials.Luke Skywalker, hero of the Battle of Yavin, has cast his lot with the rebels, lending his formidable piloting skills to what-ever missions his leaders assign him. But he is haunted by his all-too-brief lessons with Obi-Wan Kenobi and the growing certainty that mastery of the Force will be his path to victory over the Empire. Adrift without Old Ben's mentor-ship, determined to serve the Rebellion any way he can, Luke searches for ways to improve his skills in the Force..."
Meh...
Meh...
October 19, 2019
Another Star Wars story shoe horned between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, this one seems both meaningless and forced. It includes a couple of missions whose value is questionable and danger is disproportionately high. It is told in the first person by Luke Skywalker and includes far too much detailed and boring introspection that only sometimes matches the character described in the movies. While occasionally entertaining, the attempts to make this a personal coming of (Jedi) age story, a scary alien story, a love story or a spy story all fall well short of the mark.
March 10, 2015
After reading 'The Iron Druid,' I was curious to see what Hearne would do with Star Wars and Luke Skywalker.
Here's my main problem with this book. I've always felt that the scene in the ice cave on Hoth is very powerful. In dire extremity, Luke breaks a kind of mental barrier and uses the Force to retrieve his light saber and escape the wampa. It's clearly illustrative of the strength that people can find within themselves when pushed to their limits. (Needs must.)
The main focus point of this book (which takes place between Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back) is Luke learning on his own (with the encouragement of an attractive woman) to use the Force for telekinesis, with plenty of practicing on wet noodles. It's a bit silly, but worse, it detracts from the power of the existing story.
The action part of the plot involves Luke being on missions to buy smuggled weapons for the Alliance and rescue a brilliant computer hacker who's being forced to work for the Empire. The whole plot is in the format: "Well, we want to do this. But in order to make that possible, first we must do this other thing. But wait, then we'll need money, which means that first we'll have to do something else." Luke does all those things with the help of the wealthy and attractive Nakari. Seeing as there's no mention of this woman in subsequent stories, the reader is certain that she's either going to turn out to be duplicitous or dead, which eliminates a certain amount of dramatic tension.
It all moves along at a nice clip. I didn't think that the frequent humorous bits were too out of line with the aesthetic of the original movies. Luke was Luke-Skywalker-ish enough. But really, I have to admit that the part of the book that felt the most "Star Wars"-ish was the intro...
Decent entertainment for fans of the franchise.
Many thanks to NetGalley and DelRey Spectra for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinion is solely my own.
Here's my main problem with this book. I've always felt that the scene in the ice cave on Hoth is very powerful. In dire extremity, Luke breaks a kind of mental barrier and uses the Force to retrieve his light saber and escape the wampa. It's clearly illustrative of the strength that people can find within themselves when pushed to their limits. (Needs must.)
The main focus point of this book (which takes place between Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back) is Luke learning on his own (with the encouragement of an attractive woman) to use the Force for telekinesis, with plenty of practicing on wet noodles. It's a bit silly, but worse, it detracts from the power of the existing story.
The action part of the plot involves Luke being on missions to buy smuggled weapons for the Alliance and rescue a brilliant computer hacker who's being forced to work for the Empire. The whole plot is in the format: "Well, we want to do this. But in order to make that possible, first we must do this other thing. But wait, then we'll need money, which means that first we'll have to do something else." Luke does all those things with the help of the wealthy and attractive Nakari. Seeing as there's no mention of this woman in subsequent stories, the reader is certain that she's either going to turn out to be duplicitous or dead, which eliminates a certain amount of dramatic tension.
It all moves along at a nice clip. I didn't think that the frequent humorous bits were too out of line with the aesthetic of the original movies. Luke was Luke-Skywalker-ish enough. But really, I have to admit that the part of the book that felt the most "Star Wars"-ish was the intro...
Decent entertainment for fans of the franchise.
Many thanks to NetGalley and DelRey Spectra for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinion is solely my own.
March 13, 2015
This is supposed to be one of the first books of the "New Canon" of Star Wars, so I was interested to see what it would have to offer. Honestly, it doesn't bode terribly well for the future.
I wasn't familiar with Kevin Hearne's work, but this effort doesn't leave me inclined to check out his other material.
The novel is set in between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and follows a young Luke Skywalker dealing with life after destroying the first Death Star and being fully involved in the rebel alliance. The story is a first person narrative. IMHO, there's no such thing as a good first person narrative story, but some are less terrible than others. This one definitely doesn't rise to the top.
I agree with some other reviews that I came across that this feels like following a video game character through a limited scope RPG. The events come across as tedious as, being both a first person POV and being about Luke Skywalker, the predicaments that Luke finds himself in can't result in any meaningful harm to him.
While the title Heir to the Jedi is a good one, this is not the story to attach it to. While there is some bits of Luke trying to sort out what he's learned from Obi-Wan and what he needs to do to become a Jedi, the book is mostly a series of errands that Luke gets put on.
Ultimately, this book does little to add to our understanding of Luke as a character, nor does it do much to give us a better picture of the Star Wars universe.
I wasn't familiar with Kevin Hearne's work, but this effort doesn't leave me inclined to check out his other material.
The novel is set in between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and follows a young Luke Skywalker dealing with life after destroying the first Death Star and being fully involved in the rebel alliance. The story is a first person narrative. IMHO, there's no such thing as a good first person narrative story, but some are less terrible than others. This one definitely doesn't rise to the top.
I agree with some other reviews that I came across that this feels like following a video game character through a limited scope RPG. The events come across as tedious as, being both a first person POV and being about Luke Skywalker, the predicaments that Luke finds himself in can't result in any meaningful harm to him.
While the title Heir to the Jedi is a good one, this is not the story to attach it to. While there is some bits of Luke trying to sort out what he's learned from Obi-Wan and what he needs to do to become a Jedi, the book is mostly a series of errands that Luke gets put on.
Ultimately, this book does little to add to our understanding of Luke as a character, nor does it do much to give us a better picture of the Star Wars universe.
July 8, 2025
⭐️⭐️
Heir to the Jedi is one of the weakest Star Wars canon novels I’ve read to date. Luke’s first-person narration feels awkward, and the story lacks real tension. The most memorable moment—using the Force to levitate a noodle—sums up the low stakes. Only recommended for dedicated canon completionists.
3 out of 10
Heir to the Jedi is one of the weakest Star Wars canon novels I’ve read to date. Luke’s first-person narration feels awkward, and the story lacks real tension. The most memorable moment—using the Force to levitate a noodle—sums up the low stakes. Only recommended for dedicated canon completionists.
3 out of 10
January 26, 2015
Heir to the Jedi
By: Kevin Hearne
Genre(s): Star Wars, Fiction, Adventure, Sci-Fi,
Publisher: Lucas Books
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book but got no Darkside points or any points for that matter for reviewing this book.
Description: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . A thrilling new adventure set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and—for the first time ever—written entirely from Luke Skywalker’s first-person point of view. Luke Skywalker’s game-changing destruction of the Death Star has made him not only a hero of the Rebel Alliance but a valuable asset in the ongoing battle against the Empire. Though he’s a long way from mastering the power of the Force, there’s no denying his phenomenal skills as a pilot—and in the eyes of Rebel leaders Princess Leia Organa and Admiral Ackbar, there’s no one better qualified to carry out a daring rescue mission crucial to the Alliance cause. A brilliant alien cryptographer renowned for her ability to breach even the most advanced communications systems is being detained by Imperial agents determined to exploit her exceptional talents for the Empire’s purposes. But the prospective spy’s sympathies lie with the Rebels, and she’s willing to join their effort in exchange for being reunited with her family. It’s an opportunity to gain a critical edge against the Empire that’s too precious to pass up. It’s also a job that demands the element of surprise. So Luke and the ever-resourceful droid R2-D2 swap their trusty X-wing fighter for a sleek space yacht piloted by brash recruit Nakari Kelen, daughter of a biotech mogul, who’s got a score of her own to settle with the Empire. Challenged by ruthless Imperial bodyguards, death-dealing enemy battleships, merciless bounty hunters, and monstrous brain-eating parasites, Luke plunges head-on into a high-stakes espionage operation that will push his abilities as a Rebel fighter and would-be Jedi to the limit. If ever he needed the wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi to shepherd him through danger, it’s now. But Luke will have to rely on himself, his friends, and his own burgeoning relationship with the Force to survive.
This novel takes place after the first Death Star was destroyed. Luke is not as far removed from his moisture farmer past and the force is still a mystery to him. Han Solo is still trying to square his debt to Jabba the Hutt away and the Rebels are looking for a new base of operations. All of this leaves our budding Jedi Luke Skywalker as the fetch quest guy. This is yet another good fix for Star Wars fans and while well written, especially from a first person perspective, this book very much has the structure of RPG adventure.
Getting into Luke Skywalker’s head at this point of his life story was a real treat. Some books have dipped their toes into his complex mind, Hearne on the other hand busted down the door tossed in a flash bang went in guns blazing and established points of dominance. I felt like writing this book in the first person was a risk, but a well calculated one. If this story had taken place later in Luke’s life, I don’t know how well it would have worked. Hearne caught Luke just at the right time, a time where the force was a thing of wonder and mystery, rather than what it became to him in later stories in the Expanded Universe. With the new order… I’m not sure how things will pan out for Luke, but it was really great to see him, young, fresh and still innocent.
One of the great things about this story is that it took us to oft herd of but seldom seen locals. Luke going to Greedo's home world and meeting some really interesting folks was cool. I’ve read accounts of this humid and stinky world, but I really enjoyed Luke’s foray onto Rodia. Between these exotic locations there is plenty of hyperspace travel as well as several combat enguagements. These engagements for the most part were standard Rebels VS. Tie Fighters, however when Luke runs up against an interdictor class cruiser, things got really interesting. Not only was that combat well written, but there are parts of it that hinted at the growing sophistication of the Rebels as they were transiting into the next stage of their insurgency.
This novel not only let us into Luke’s head but it showed that one does not always need to be a Jedi to teach someone else about the force. There are a few moments where some distinctly no-Jedi folks really help Luke along his path. This just goes to show how interconnected the force is with every living thing. During some of these moments we see Luke learning how to do things that many Jedi wouldn’t give a second thought and this makes those moments all the more important. It was almost sweet reading about Luke learning about moving things with his mind.
MY biggest problem with this book is how much it seemed like a typical RPG adventure path. Some people get together, the complete a quest or two (teambuilding) then they are given a bigger quest, however they have to go on several sub quests to upgrade their equipment so that they can complete the big quest. This formula works just fine, but it seemed just a bit overt during this book. I could just be me and if I have you looking for that because you read this review well then at least you know you were paying attention.
Heir to the Jedi was another appetizer on the road to the much anticipated The Force Awakens and in many ways is very fitting. The writing is great and the first person perspective was really well done. Luke felt like the Luke I knew in my youth and his thoughts felt genuine and very Luke-ish. While the story moved along like a table top RPG, it had plenty of high points and there were several smaller stories that made the big stuff matter much more. Thanks to Heir to the Jedi, I’m not near as thirsty as I was, but December 18th can’t get here soon enough.
*This Review orginally was posted on www.popcults.com
By: Kevin Hearne
Genre(s): Star Wars, Fiction, Adventure, Sci-Fi,
Publisher: Lucas Books
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book but got no Darkside points or any points for that matter for reviewing this book.
Description: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . A thrilling new adventure set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and—for the first time ever—written entirely from Luke Skywalker’s first-person point of view. Luke Skywalker’s game-changing destruction of the Death Star has made him not only a hero of the Rebel Alliance but a valuable asset in the ongoing battle against the Empire. Though he’s a long way from mastering the power of the Force, there’s no denying his phenomenal skills as a pilot—and in the eyes of Rebel leaders Princess Leia Organa and Admiral Ackbar, there’s no one better qualified to carry out a daring rescue mission crucial to the Alliance cause. A brilliant alien cryptographer renowned for her ability to breach even the most advanced communications systems is being detained by Imperial agents determined to exploit her exceptional talents for the Empire’s purposes. But the prospective spy’s sympathies lie with the Rebels, and she’s willing to join their effort in exchange for being reunited with her family. It’s an opportunity to gain a critical edge against the Empire that’s too precious to pass up. It’s also a job that demands the element of surprise. So Luke and the ever-resourceful droid R2-D2 swap their trusty X-wing fighter for a sleek space yacht piloted by brash recruit Nakari Kelen, daughter of a biotech mogul, who’s got a score of her own to settle with the Empire. Challenged by ruthless Imperial bodyguards, death-dealing enemy battleships, merciless bounty hunters, and monstrous brain-eating parasites, Luke plunges head-on into a high-stakes espionage operation that will push his abilities as a Rebel fighter and would-be Jedi to the limit. If ever he needed the wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi to shepherd him through danger, it’s now. But Luke will have to rely on himself, his friends, and his own burgeoning relationship with the Force to survive.
This novel takes place after the first Death Star was destroyed. Luke is not as far removed from his moisture farmer past and the force is still a mystery to him. Han Solo is still trying to square his debt to Jabba the Hutt away and the Rebels are looking for a new base of operations. All of this leaves our budding Jedi Luke Skywalker as the fetch quest guy. This is yet another good fix for Star Wars fans and while well written, especially from a first person perspective, this book very much has the structure of RPG adventure.
Getting into Luke Skywalker’s head at this point of his life story was a real treat. Some books have dipped their toes into his complex mind, Hearne on the other hand busted down the door tossed in a flash bang went in guns blazing and established points of dominance. I felt like writing this book in the first person was a risk, but a well calculated one. If this story had taken place later in Luke’s life, I don’t know how well it would have worked. Hearne caught Luke just at the right time, a time where the force was a thing of wonder and mystery, rather than what it became to him in later stories in the Expanded Universe. With the new order… I’m not sure how things will pan out for Luke, but it was really great to see him, young, fresh and still innocent.
One of the great things about this story is that it took us to oft herd of but seldom seen locals. Luke going to Greedo's home world and meeting some really interesting folks was cool. I’ve read accounts of this humid and stinky world, but I really enjoyed Luke’s foray onto Rodia. Between these exotic locations there is plenty of hyperspace travel as well as several combat enguagements. These engagements for the most part were standard Rebels VS. Tie Fighters, however when Luke runs up against an interdictor class cruiser, things got really interesting. Not only was that combat well written, but there are parts of it that hinted at the growing sophistication of the Rebels as they were transiting into the next stage of their insurgency.
This novel not only let us into Luke’s head but it showed that one does not always need to be a Jedi to teach someone else about the force. There are a few moments where some distinctly no-Jedi folks really help Luke along his path. This just goes to show how interconnected the force is with every living thing. During some of these moments we see Luke learning how to do things that many Jedi wouldn’t give a second thought and this makes those moments all the more important. It was almost sweet reading about Luke learning about moving things with his mind.
MY biggest problem with this book is how much it seemed like a typical RPG adventure path. Some people get together, the complete a quest or two (teambuilding) then they are given a bigger quest, however they have to go on several sub quests to upgrade their equipment so that they can complete the big quest. This formula works just fine, but it seemed just a bit overt during this book. I could just be me and if I have you looking for that because you read this review well then at least you know you were paying attention.
Heir to the Jedi was another appetizer on the road to the much anticipated The Force Awakens and in many ways is very fitting. The writing is great and the first person perspective was really well done. Luke felt like the Luke I knew in my youth and his thoughts felt genuine and very Luke-ish. While the story moved along like a table top RPG, it had plenty of high points and there were several smaller stories that made the big stuff matter much more. Thanks to Heir to the Jedi, I’m not near as thirsty as I was, but December 18th can’t get here soon enough.
*This Review orginally was posted on www.popcults.com
February 15, 2021
Well, I’m laughing as I finish the book. But that’s not necessarily a good thing. I appreciate the fact that it’s REALLY hard to nail the right tone and voice for an already famous character, and for that reason I don’t think a first person narrator was the right choice for a book about Luke Skywalker. It doesn’t sound like him; it could be almost anyone (as long as they’re kind of annoying), and for that reason the author had to keep tucking in very obvious references to A New Hope so we’d know that it was indeed Luke Skywalker. I think third person would have been way more effective.
I’m not sure how I feel about a one-book love story for Luke in which she’s a brand new character who’s gone again before the end of the book. It felt kind of throwaway. And I REALLY want to know why this book brought up that awkwardness we’d like to forget in which Luke’s feelings for the person-he-doesn’t-yet-know-is-his-sister edge uncomfortably towards romantic? It’s only alluded to, but it would have been better to leave out. That conversation didn’t enhance anything with his current crush in this book either.
I did actually really like Drusil; a species that greets each other in math is rather funny, and she adds some dimension and a lot of skill to the team. I wish that the species had been given different physical characteristics than looking like The Scream ghoul faces, because that is just a tad bit horror to me.
Which leads me to: this book has the nastiest, most gratuitously gross creatures from any Star Wars book or movie ever, and I hated the entire scene on that world. It was gory, more like horror than Star Wars.
The reason I was laughing at the end is that in this book, Luke hones his Force powers on...noodles. Yep, noodles. It ends with him levitating noodles into his mouth and it was just too weird at the same time that he was trying to deal with grief. (And gave me unpleasant prequel memories of levitating food.) It was kind of tender when he started finally letting himself grieve the losses from A New Hope, and I think it could have been wrapped up way better than abruptly switching to this goofy scene.
I suppose the book did give me the opportunity to read two sentences I’ve never read before:
“He has a kind of moist charisma, I guess, that no one wants to challenge.”
And:
“...another bolt clipped us, essentially wiping out our shields except for a courtesy veil of energy as sheer as a negligee.”
So, that was a new experience. Just not one I wish to repeat.
I’m not sure how I feel about a one-book love story for Luke in which she’s a brand new character who’s gone again before the end of the book. It felt kind of throwaway. And I REALLY want to know why this book brought up that awkwardness we’d like to forget in which Luke’s feelings for the person-he-doesn’t-yet-know-is-his-sister edge uncomfortably towards romantic? It’s only alluded to, but it would have been better to leave out. That conversation didn’t enhance anything with his current crush in this book either.
I did actually really like Drusil; a species that greets each other in math is rather funny, and she adds some dimension and a lot of skill to the team. I wish that the species had been given different physical characteristics than looking like The Scream ghoul faces, because that is just a tad bit horror to me.
Which leads me to: this book has the nastiest, most gratuitously gross creatures from any Star Wars book or movie ever, and I hated the entire scene on that world. It was gory, more like horror than Star Wars.
The reason I was laughing at the end is that in this book, Luke hones his Force powers on...noodles. Yep, noodles. It ends with him levitating noodles into his mouth and it was just too weird at the same time that he was trying to deal with grief. (And gave me unpleasant prequel memories of levitating food.) It was kind of tender when he started finally letting himself grieve the losses from A New Hope, and I think it could have been wrapped up way better than abruptly switching to this goofy scene.
I suppose the book did give me the opportunity to read two sentences I’ve never read before:
“He has a kind of moist charisma, I guess, that no one wants to challenge.”
And:
“...another bolt clipped us, essentially wiping out our shields except for a courtesy veil of energy as sheer as a negligee.”
So, that was a new experience. Just not one I wish to repeat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2015
This was not the worst story ever written, but it was far from the best as well. And honestly a particularly good narrator saved it from being a one star book.
It was mildly entertaining at points, but I can't recommend it, even to the most die hard star wars fan, because it didn't really feel like a real star wars story.
And I don't think Math is the authors strong suite. He has a character that is supposed to be some math wiz, yet the character's use of fundamental calculus is touted as the most advanced and confusing math ever invented. And Luke Skywalker seems to not even know math beyond the level of an 8th grader, which is most likely the authors level of math. I think it's probably the authors maturity level as well, unfortunately.
Someone needs to tell this author that if someone is going to be a space pilot they would need to have some basic concept of calculus, because that's how the computer would calculate pretty much everything related to space travel. And thus a good pilot would know the basics, so he could quickly spot a faulty computer.
Additionally considering the fact that Luke can program computers and repair robots, it's almost certain that he would be good at math. That stuff goes hand in hand.
Anyway. This is a good book for kids in high school maybe, but not much else.
The only thing that keeps this book from being a one star is the excellent narration of the audio book.
And I didn't even know this was written by the same author that wrote the Iron Druid, until after I read the book. Now it all makes sense, as to why this book seemed to be so juvenile and contrived.
It was mildly entertaining at points, but I can't recommend it, even to the most die hard star wars fan, because it didn't really feel like a real star wars story.
And I don't think Math is the authors strong suite. He has a character that is supposed to be some math wiz, yet the character's use of fundamental calculus is touted as the most advanced and confusing math ever invented. And Luke Skywalker seems to not even know math beyond the level of an 8th grader, which is most likely the authors level of math. I think it's probably the authors maturity level as well, unfortunately.
Someone needs to tell this author that if someone is going to be a space pilot they would need to have some basic concept of calculus, because that's how the computer would calculate pretty much everything related to space travel. And thus a good pilot would know the basics, so he could quickly spot a faulty computer.
Additionally considering the fact that Luke can program computers and repair robots, it's almost certain that he would be good at math. That stuff goes hand in hand.
Anyway. This is a good book for kids in high school maybe, but not much else.
The only thing that keeps this book from being a one star is the excellent narration of the audio book.
And I didn't even know this was written by the same author that wrote the Iron Druid, until after I read the book. Now it all makes sense, as to why this book seemed to be so juvenile and contrived.
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