The life of Obi-Wan Kenobi has found new resonance in recent months with the release of the Obi-Wan Kenobi show from Disney Plus. The character has continued to be a favorite with fans and has spawned countless stories in the literature. His past as a padawan had been throughly explored in Legends with the Jedi Apprentice series by Jude Watson, but since that past has been erased, there has been little in the way of stories for Kenobi as a padawan. A small remedy to that has come with the release of Kiersten White’s new Star Wars novel, Padawan.
This is a true “coming-of-age” tale for the young Jedi. Obi-Wan is at a crossroads, one that everyone in their life faces, will he accept the beliefs of his mentors or will he find his own foundation for life? Plus, what will he put his hope in? Will it be the Force, himself or something else? It is on a rogue mission where his beliefs are tested and the choice must be made, who will Obi-Wan choose to be? The themes of power, selfishness, greed and the importance of understanding the past permeate the book. The world-building is very familiar as the planet that Obi-Wan visits feels like Pandora from Avatar almost exactly, minus the tall, blue aliens. There is also a very fun character introduction for Kenobi in the story!
White’s writing is crisp and feels inline with the “Star Wars” feel. The story is good but it does leave one wishing that there was a more systematic series, like Jedi Apprentice in the new canon which chronicled Kenobi’s path to becoming a Jedi Knight. Padawan is a solid book that is rated 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Author: Matt Rushing
Matthew Rushing is the host of Trek.fm‘s The 602 Club and co-host of TheNerdParty.com‘s AggressiveNegotiations: A Star Wars Podcast. He can be found on Twitter @mattrushing02.