Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey Spectra via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi
Author: Kevin Hearne

Upcoming Release Date: March 3, 2014


Synopsis: The Galactic Civil War rages on after the destruction of the Death Star and Luke Skywalker struggles to learn more about the Force without the aid of Obi-Wan Kenobi – or indeed without any aid at all. But the few memories he has of Obi-Wan’s instruction point the way to a stronger control of the Force, and he is encouraged to pursue it by a new friend in the Alliance. When Luke, R2-D2 and his new ally are tasked with liberating a valuable asset from the Empire and delivering her to a safe planet where she can aid the Alliance, their journey across the galaxy is fraught with peril – and opportunities for Luke to discover the mysteries of the Force.

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Review: This is the third book in the new Star Wars canon. It is also unique in that it is in first person from the perspective of Luke. I think this was my favorite of the new canon books. A New Dawn introduced us to characters from Rebels and Tarkin showed the Empire pre-Ep IV, but this book really delves into Luke Skywalker's mindset after the Battle of Yavin. 

Luke doesn't really know what being a Jedi means. Ben was his mentor, but now he's gone. His hatred for Darth Vader has also been fueled, having killed both his father and old Ben. 

It was interesting to see the state of the Rebel Alliance at this point. They're right off their first major victory, but they don't have a lot of funds and are in search of a new base. Admiral Ackbar and Princess Leia make appearances, but this book is about Luke. 

He travels from planet to planet on a new mission. There's a great character introduced as his potential love interest. I like her backstory. With this book being first person, Luke's thoughts about her and his mixed feelings for Leia can really be represented well. 

My favorite part of the book was seeing Luke try to understand The Force. He attempts to make a noodle move and his thought process behind it is really cool. 

Luke is known as the whiny farm boy, but in this book his social awkwardness and interest in this new bigger world come forward. 

I give this book a 4/5, but maybe a little over that because it's my favorite of the new canon Star Wars books. I highly recommend it. The great thing about the new canon is that they are all standalone so far, so you don't have to read them in any particular order or with each other. 


--PAUL