As my first taste of Claudia Gray, Master and Apprentice left me scratching my head. Competently written, yes, but entertaining… debatable. So I’m not sure if this is one of her weaker entries or they’ve all been as mediocre. But let’s dive in.

I was immediately drawn to the book because Qui-Gon Jinn has always fascinated me. (Dat man bun doe!) He’s the original gray Jedi… someone who isn’t afraid to butt heads with the Jedi Council in pursuit of truth, justice, and… whoa, what’s this prophecy you speak of!

Before diving into my review, let’s get this out of the way now: there is very little lightsaber action in Master and Apprentice. Do not be fooled by the wonderful cover. The book’s plot centers on a convoluted political situation on a planet with a tween-age Queen. Sound familiar? It should as this is clearly some shameless prequel pandering, but hey I love me some prequels!

In Master and Apprentice, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are sent to the planet Pijal to help ensure the young queen signs a treaty to open up a much-needed hyperspace corridor. Just prior to this mission, and much to everyone’s surprise, Qui-Gon is offered a seat on the Jedi Council.

He’s torn about it. On one hand, Jinn is super flattered they’ve deemed him worthy. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to give up on his padawan, who happens to be his polar opposite. Whereas Qui-Gon thinks deeply, and follows the will of the Force, sometimes unpredictably so, Obi-Wan is a boy scout who adheres to the Jedi Council’s orders, often to a fault.

As for the subplots involving throw away characters, you’ve got renegade Jedi Knight Rael Aventross, another former padawan of Count Dooku’s. After failing his own student in a tragic accident, Aventross is sent to Pijal to heal on a somewhat cush assignment: serve as ambassador/regent to tweenaged Queen Fanry. With little else to do, Aventross quickly becomes a father figure to her, trying his best to make up for his past.

Then there’s a pair of jewel thieves who get mixed up in the political hullabaloo on Pijal. Pax, a humanoid raised by protocol droids, (I’m not faking this up… kinda wish I were… some of his flashbacks involving Z-3PO, B-3PO, etc. are fairly cringe) and his pilot partner, Rahara — a former slave with a heart of gold, who will sell it to you for the right price.

Every now and then, we get flashbacks to Qui-Gon’s early days under Count Dooku. These scenes are actually much more interesting than the main plot of Master and Apprentice. Sadly, there are too few of them. Honestly, after reading this, I want more Dooku/Qui-Gon adventures more than anything. The prophecy-obsessed duo on an adventure unbeknownst to the Jedi Council could offer greater insight into what turned Dooku, and provide another opportunity for the pair to mete out justice in unorthodox fashion.

These flashbacks are obviously meant to be compared and contrasted against Qui-Gon’s current issues with his own padawan. But the device is so heavy handed, it only made me realize how much more fascinating Dooku is as a character compared to Aveross, Fanry, Pax, and Rahara.

Speaking of heavy handed, slavery is at the crux of the issues on Pijal. I won’t spoil things, but let’s just say Czerka Corporation, who’s a big deal throughout the galaxy, uses “criminals” as slave labor. Bad, but when you consider they also claim any children these slaves have as their property as well, it’s even worse.

Aside: I couldn’t help but think of George Lucas describing Disney as “white slavers” on his 60 Minutes appearance just after the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney.

The other “villians” of the book are a mysterious force of “blackguards” (again, I am not faking this up) who are behind terrorist acts throughout Pijal. At first, these acts are blamed on a group of political activists/interpretive dance troupe (not faking, I swear) who are demanding political change on Pijal.

After some detective work by Qui-Gon, the Jedi discover the interpretive dance troupe are actually not behind the murderous acts of terrorism, only the more colorful ones such as the stunt involving large balloons. (I can’t even.)

Lo and behold, when the phantom menace behind the “blackguards” is revealed, it’s so out of character, the moment completely destroys the final act of the book.

I will say, there’s a nice epilogue detailing Qui-Gon’s funeral pyre on Naboo that makes up for a lot of what precedes it.

To recap, Master and Apprentice is an exercise in unabashed prequel pandering. Its politics-heavy plot drags, and every “new” character introduced is largely forgettable. However, Gray nails Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s chemistry… the two of them are written very well. Other highlights include the flashbacks to Qui-Gon’s days under Dooku as well as a wonderful epilogue on Naboo.

FSW Rating: 6 fake stars (out of 10)

Do you agree or disagree? Should I bother reading any other Claudia Gray-penned Star Wars books? Let us know in the comments or social.

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