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The Way of the Apprentice (Star Wars: Jedi Quest, #1)
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Buddy Reads > Way of the Apprentice (Jedi Quest #1) - Zuzana & Rebecca

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message 1: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (last edited Jan 16, 2021 01:37AM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
Jedi Quest Series by Jude Watson

# 1 The Way of the Apprentice

The Way of the Apprentice (Star Wars Jedi Quest, #1) by Jude Watson

Participating: Zuzana & Rebecca
Starting day: January 11th, 2021

Fourteen-year-old Anakin Skywalker is strong in the ways of the Force. His lightsaber skills are exceptional, and his piloting is legendary. He should be an ideal Jedi apprentice. And yet, there is so much he still has to learn.

It is up to Obi-Wan Kenobi to teach him these things. But on a mission to a planet threatened by toxic disaster, Obi-Wan and Anakin are separated. Anakin and three other apprentices—one of them his rival—must work together in order to survive. Anakin's instincts are clear…but are they right?
Anakin Skywalker's destiny will determine the future of a galaxy. These are the events that form his fate.



Rebecca | 958 comments I got my copy and plan to start reading it tomorrow.


message 3: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
O.k. I'm out of town till Friday but I got the book with me. I'll start reading on Tuesday.


Rebecca | 958 comments Why does Ferus, Siri's padawan, have a red lightsaber? Kyber crystals don't naturally come in red. In Legends, they are synthetically made. In Disndy era, they "bleed" and change to red when used in a traumatic and non Jedi way, af least in the Ahsoka novel that is how it worked.


message 5: by Allyssa, Former Moderator/Group Founder (new)

Allyssa Smith | 791 comments Mod
Rebecca wrote: "Why does Ferus, Siri's padawan, have a red lightsaber? Kyber crystals don't naturally come in red. In Legends, they are synthetically made. In Disndy era, they "bleed" and change to red when used i..."

I haven’t read the book, but he could have made the crystal instead of finding it. These books could have been written before the info about Illum and finding the crystals. In The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader, or in The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi, (view spoiler)


Rebecca | 958 comments This series starts on Illum, hence my confusion. perhaps the exact lore for red hadn't been determined yet?


message 7: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
There originally were natural red crystals, too. Adi Gallia had one before she switched to blue in the CW series.
The lore for lightsaber crystals changed a lot even before the Disney trade.


Rebecca | 958 comments Thank you for the clarification. I'm so used to it only being used by villains as a color, and only knew about the synthetic red ones.


Rebecca | 958 comments I really enjoyed this one! Darra is precious. I loved the theme of the Padawans learning different leadership styles and roles. Not sure how I feel about Ferus though... sometimes he's likeable. Other times I feel like Anakin. I don't fully trust him, and I want to punch him in his sanctimonious face.


message 10: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
I'm 1/3 in. I enjoyed Siri's rebellious side - Siri rocking short hair and a catsuit in a Council meeting? Precious!


Rebecca | 958 comments Yes! It's nice seeing her become more relaxed as a Jedi.


message 12: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
I'm going to finish the book today. Will post my notes tomorrow. In the meantime, what SW tropes did you detect in the book?

And would you like to continue the series?


Rebecca | 958 comments characters get separated and in dangerous situations due to lack of information, clear communication, or a plot to get them out of the way.
there were others, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment. Yes, I would like to continue reading the series. Waiting on a library hold for book 2.


message 14: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (last edited Jan 15, 2021 10:09AM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
Rebecca wrote: "Not sure how I feel about Ferus though... sometimes he's likeable. Other times I feel like Anakin. I don't fully trust him, and I want to punch him in his sanctimonious face."

I paid special attention to scenes with Ferus. We only see him from Anakin's perspective. It's pretty clear that Anakin is jealous of him from the start - and anything and everything Ferus does or says is described as "annoying" or "bossy" BY ANAKIN. Darra and Tru have no problem with Ferus. Tru [to Anakin]: "I like Ferus. You would, too, if you gave him a chance. He has plenty of friends for a reason."

From the prologue: "Anakin was special, and they all knew it. The trouble was that he knew it as well."
IMO Anakin got used to being best at everything. He doesn't want to share the spotlight.
He can be friends with Tru - because Tru is very good-natured and in a way doesn't threaten Anakin's alpha status. Ferus is a competitor.


message 15: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
Rebecca wrote: "characters get separated and in dangerous situations due to lack of information, clear communication, or a plot to get them out of the way.
there were others, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment...."


I've spotted:

Droids as cannon fodder
MCs get into a speeder chase
Fancy acronyms for fancy military gadgets/vehicles (MTT= Multi Troop Transport ship)


Rebecca | 958 comments oh, yes, I think we definitely only see Ferus through Anakin's eyes. I'm still stuck on the part where he has a red lightsaber.


Rebecca | 958 comments And not sure why he keeps following Anakin. That's odd to me.


Rebecca | 958 comments Especially at the end, when he's calling Anakin a liar. I really understood Anakin in that moment.


message 19: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (last edited Jan 15, 2021 11:17AM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
Ferus has now reasons to be wary of Anakin. Everytime they "clashed" Anakin presented himself as skillful yet very un-Jedi like (ego-driven) - during the first battle droid fight when he "refused"to cooperate with Ferus, everytime he treated the situation as a competition, and finally at the end of the book when Ferus caught him lying to Obi-Wan.

From now on Ferus is going to watch Anakin. Not because he's jealous (like Anakin) but because he's genuinely concerned.

Ferus has his own problems but more of that will be revealed later.


message 20: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
Rebecca wrote: "Especially at the end, when he's calling Anakin a liar. I really understood Anakin in that moment."

We understood because we were in Anakin's head. But objectively, Anakin was looking for a loophole and he found it.
His answer to Obi-Wan was a half-truth at best.


Rebecca | 958 comments That makes sense.


message 22: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (last edited Jan 16, 2021 03:49AM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
There is a bit of timeline discrepancy between Path To Truth and The Way of the Apprentice.

In Path to Truth we learned that Siri had been undercover for 2 years pretending to be a member of Krayn's organization.
I find it amusing that Ferus, two years older than Anakin, has so much experience from missions with his Master Siri. When did those missions happen? There's not enough time between the books (has to be less than a year).

We learn about Ferus's experience from Siri herself - so it's not Ferus's empty bragging. It's a plothole.

Might have been caused by writing the Path to Truth as a prequel several months after finishing Way of Apprentice. Prequel movies have a lot of discrepancies, too. Leia remembering her mother for one.


message 23: by Zuzana, Jedi Apprentice (last edited Jan 16, 2021 02:19AM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Zuzana | 1640 comments Mod
Rebecca wrote: "...Yes, I would like to continue reading the series. Waiting on a library hold for book 2."

Should I set up a new thread for The Trail of the Jedi buddy read? I have the book so just let me know when you're ready.

I'm also looking for a buddy to read The Clone Wars novelization by Karen Traviss.


Rebecca | 958 comments Let's do Karen Travis's book first. Still waiting for my library hold to arrive.


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