Brotherhood Novel Review

 

Disney era novels on average for me are a B grade. Enjoyable, not a chore to read in most cases. But that changes with Brotherhood, the post Attack of the Clones novel by Mike Chen. Because I am giving this novel a rare A grade. As you read this review, I will justify why this deserves a high grade, and there will be some slight spoilers. Mike Chen's work is new to me, this was the first novel he had written, so I needed time to get used to it. Chapters are broken down by character names, as the chapters are highlighted by a particular character's point of view, for example Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, etc. The only negative is the chapters go from the usual 9-11 pages down to 4. However, the pace really doesn't break the story flow. There admittedly isn't a lot of "action" but when it does take place, it's well described and easy to follow and visualize in your mind.

The story refers to a line Obi-Wan tells Anakin in Revenge of the Sith, how "that incident on Cato Neimodia doesn't count" in reference to Anakin saving Obi-Wan and the day. The novel starts days after Attack of the Clones, with Anakin being quickly promoted to Jedi Knight, and Obi-Wan being made a Master and granted a spot on the Jedi Council. Anakin celebrates his promotion by going out with Padme (both in disguises) and sampling various levels of Coruscant. Once back at the Temple, Anakin's first assignment is to take Younglings to gather crystals for their lightsabers, but first help with relief efforts for the new war in distributing supplies to those harshly affected. But a bombing on the neutral world Cato Neimoidia changes everything. It appears Nute Gunray isn't officially in charge of the Trade Federation, but the TF intends to stay out of the war. After political wrangling between Dooku and Palpatine, it is decided that Obi-Wan should go to Cato Neimoidia and officially represent the Republic, but secretly investigate who is responsible for the bombing. Obi-Wan is aided by Neimoidian sniper Ruug Quarnom, who only wants to find the one responsible for the attack, but her partner Ketar Nor becomes a patsy for the Separatist representative Asajj Ventress (her first introduction to Obi-Wan and later Anakin). Anakin leaves his mission once completed, along with Youngling Mill Alibeth, a 10 year old Zabrak female (Maul's species) whose journey I'll delve into later. In the end, Anakin saves Obi-Wan from becoming sacrificed as a political pawn, and Cato Neimoidia remains neutral. But the Clone Wars accelerate from this point. And to follow Mike Chen's style, I'll cover the characters with their own paragraphs.

Easter Eggs: Siri Tachi makes her Disney Canon debut! Anakin's brief duel with Asajj Ventress mirrors their Legends Clone Wars Microseries one. Obi-Wan and Anakin get their Jedi armor as seen in the Clone Wars series, with Anakin joking about how anyone could move in this...if he only knew what his future would hold!


Obi-Wan Kenobi is the main focus of this novel, at least from a Legacy character view point. His path becomes the main focus of the book, and he is referenced heavily, even when the focus is on Anakin, Ruug, Asajj and Ketar. We see how his nickname "the negotiator" is earned as he shows some political savvy in dealing with the authorities on Cato Neimodia. Legends fans may appreciate that Obi-Wan wanted to hold hands with Siri back in their younger days, but Satine is still heavily in his mind, especially when he sees her address near the end of the novel. He even catches on to Anakin's feelings towards Padme, but makes the decision to not confront him about it. After all, the galaxy is at war, and the conversation as we all know never takes place.

Anakin Skywalker in my mind is sort of like Han Solo in the original trilogy. Han makes crazy, reckless decisions that pay off. Anakin is really the same way, taking crazy chances that miraculously go right. His moments with Padme make him a more human character, and admittedly at times I read Anakin more in Matt Lanter's voice than Hayden Christensen's. But by the end Hayden's voice was the one I heard reading him. Yes, Anakin is reckless, but his caring for everyone is seen here. It is an element to his character we rarely get to see, making his transition to Darth Vader even more tragic.

Asajj Ventress is a cold hearted, cut throat bitch and I absolutely love her for it. She hides her Force abilities early on from Obi-Wan, but her manipulation of Ketar makes Obi-Wan see the truth about her. I wished her duel with Anakin had been longer, but while she isn't heavily in the novel, her presence is like Obi-Wan's. Her presence is felt immediately after her introduction. Dooku of course is the one pulling the strings of all the events, but Asajj pulls her own, and is the independent minded villain we see in the Clone Wars animated series.

Ruug Quarnom is not a Mary Sue. She has years of being a Neimodian sniper, now a guard for Cato Neimoidia (I'm probably misspelling this name, auto correct hates this word!). Ruug reluctantly helps Obi-Wan because she trusts him. The author really develops her background well, and you find that as the reader you not only respect her, but come to admire her. This is a character that I really came to enjoy as she is willing to take a fall for her part in attacking Ketar, but sacrifices her career to help Obi-Wan reveal what really happened to the Senate. Obi-Wan and Anakin pay her back by coming to her rescue in the end of the book. In his afterward, the author said his basis for Ruug was Major Kira from DS9.

Mill Alibeth is not like most kid characters. She may be annoying in the beginning but she really develops into adult like thinking at the end. The author does a good job showing how she connects to the Force, and her hesitancy to use it. She really bonds well with Anakin, almost to the point that I felt at some times Mill would be a better Padawan to Anakin than Ahsoka, but Anakin's connection he forges with Mill will later help him with Ahsoka, and while Mill ponders leaving the Jedi Order, she ends the novel becoming an apprentice to Master Rig Nema, a Jedi medic, to help those affected from the war heal in ways they can't physically.


Okay, time for the metrics. You know my grade already. Here's how I arrived at this:

Characters: A plus. Everyone important got their moments, and the interactions were not rushed. Important and supporting characters got their chance to shine.

Story: A plus. Again, the story made a lot of sense. Politics play a huge role, but the characters and events are the bigger story. There's no ulterior agenda, just getting to the bottom of a tragic event.

Chapters: B. Sometimes the varying length threw me off, but I found it nice the chapters were tailored to characters and not just "Chapter 2". While naming chapters is its own set of problems. Ideally for me 9-12 pages a chapter is what I like. But the author made it work.

Writing style: A plus. Even if you're a new Star Wars reader, you can follow this book quite easily, even if all you've seen is the movies. Obi-Wan and Anakin have never been written better, and what Mike Chen did was really get inside the minds of their characters. A real good Clone Wars story, I hear James Arnold Taylor and Matt Lanter's Obi-Wan and Anakin voices. A great one and I hear Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen's voices. I got a mix of both here.

So, with A equalling 4, and B equalling 3, and 4 categories I get 15 total, for a GPA of 3.75. That's a solid A grade. Do yourself a favor and buy this book! Paperback is out now!!

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