These ARE the books you’re looking for!
If you’re anything like me, you have been eagerly counting down the days until Obi-Wan Kenobi releases on Disney+. We’ve finally reached the month of May, but you just might want to quell those Kenobi cravings with some great stories while you wait a few more weeks to return to Tatooine. Say “Hello there!” to these 3 picks for novels to read that will keep you entertained until the big day.
Star Wars: Kenobi by John Jackson Miller
While it may have been re-assigned to the “Legends” category, Kenobi is considered to be a classic Star Wars tale by many fans. Set in the early days of Obi-Wan’s exile to Tatooine, the novel explores the difficult transition he faces as he takes on the persona of “Ben” and becomes an enigmatic stranger to the locals of a small farm village. Obi-Wan risks discovery and returns to his Jedi ways when innocent blood is spilled by Tusken Raiders, all while keeping a watchful eye on young Luke Skywalker from afar. Kenobi does an excellent job of capturing the tone of the original trilogy, and it provides a ton of insight into how the character managed to cope with the sudden and drastic change to the state of the galaxy.
Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray
This canon novel pre-dates The Phantom Menace, telling a story near the beginning of Obi-Wan’s apprenticeship to Qui-Gon Jinn. Claudia Gray is a fantastic author known for her characterization, and this book highlights her skill brilliantly. We get a dynamic between Kenobi and Jinn in which they’re constantly at odds with each other. Their partnership is hanging on by a thread, and this book dives into the growth they experience to turn them into the duo we meet in Episode 1. Master & Apprentice has a great balance of action, and character work, and features some genuinely unexpected turns. This book is a fun and emotional journey through Obi-Wan’s younger years.
Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
Movie novelizations are often overlooked, but Matthew Stover’s retelling of Revenge of the Sith is a must-read for fans. Stover’s novel adds an incredible amount of depth and nuance to some of the most powerful scenes from its movie counterpart. There’s a level of emotional complexity explored in both Obi-Wan and Anakin’s story arcs that actually adds to the story, rather than simply retelling what we’ve already seen. As there is already confirmation that we’ll be seeing the return of Anakin/Darth Vader in the Disney+ series, there is no better time to revisit this tragic story through a new lens.
Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ releases on May 27, 2022.
Happy reading, everyone!
