By author Jason Fry and illustrator Phil Noto (Disney-Lucasfilm Press via Egmont UK Ltd.)
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”
‘Star Wars: The Weapon of a Jedi’ opens with a classic “crawl” like text, with a brief explanation of where things currently stand in the galaxy, before moving into the prologue where pilot Jessika Pava (seen in Episode VII: The Force Awakens as part of Poe Dameron’s Blue Squadron) is asking C-3PO to tell her a story about legendary hero Luke Skywalker.
Don’t let this start confuse you though – the majority of the story is set between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Being bookended by an Episode VII setting perhaps doesn’t seem completely necessary, but it does give new fans a way to relate it to what they know from the recent big screen movies, and also gives us an interesting chance to see what the pilots get up to around the base when they aren’t out flying.
Without giving too much of the main storyline away, I found this a welcome addition to the Star Wars universe. The characters are well thought out, and behave exactly as you would expect them to, right down to R2-D2’s comments and Luke’s trademark impatience. There is also a small dip into C-3PO’s diplomatic abilities, beyond just stating how many languages he can speak, which is a nice addition.
There were two particular parts of the story that I felt really made it shine however. The first is that it fills in a little about Luke’s training – not only using the story as a way for him to improve, but also with some explanation of what Obi Wan had time to teach him. The original movie did not have the time to touch upon this (and really, who wants to watch a montage of a farm boy fighting some remotes on a long space flight?), so it was good to get a feel for that.
Secondly, it was having the chance to see how Imperial rule affects normal, everyday planets. The movies are “hero journeys”, so only really focus on our main characters and their actions within the Rebellion. Being able to see regular folk and how the Empire treats them, really adds a layer of depth to universe and gives you a better sense at ground level of what the Rebellion is fighting for.
Combining mystery, action, humour, adventure and (dare I say it?) magic, this story is perfect for younger fans of the franchise who want to see a bit more about how our heroes developed and become the characters that we see on the big screen. Some of the language can be a bit technical at times, but it feels right for the setting, and isn’t so much that you cannot understand what they mean from context.
Jason Fry is fantastic at portraying Luke as somewhere in between farm boy and hero, trying his best and feeling overwhelmed and confused with his new-found power. Each part of the book is punctuated with Phil Noto’s wonderful illustrations, which are excellent quality and I just wish there were more of!
‘The Weapon of a Jedi’ is part of an initiative called “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and is one of a handful of books for younger readers, recommended for ages eight to twelve. This is the second of the set we have reviewed (you can see last year’s ‘Star Wars Day’ review here), and it’s just as good as the first. We’d definitely recommend them for Star Wars fans of any age!
