On Tuesday, March 3rd, LucasBooks (now under the umbrella of Disney) will release the third novel in the new rebooted Star Wars canon. Heir of the Jedi is set between the events of Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and as is evident from the title it focuses on Luke Skywalker and his struggle to move past the death of his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi and find his place in the Rebel Alliance. Now, it came as a shock to me to learn that when the folks over at Star Wars said it focused on Luke they meant it really focuses on Luke. It’s the first novel in the rebooted canon to be told from the first person perspective and in recollection is only the second Star Wars novel ever to do so – the other being I, Jedi by Michael Stackpole from the now non-canon Legends line of books.
StarWars.com has released an two excerpts from the novel on their website. In combination, these selections show the duality of Luke’s character at this point in his life. The written excerpt shows us the hotshot bush pilot who goes in full throttle and is totally at home in the cockpit, while the audiobook excerpt shows us the difficulties and uncertainties Skywalker is experiencing in his relationship with the Force along with the pain he feels over the loss of Ben Kenobi. This is a bold move for a reborn expanded universe still in its infancy and shows the confidence of the Lucasfilm Story Team in their new, unified galaxy far, far away.
Previously LucasBooks has released two other novels: Star Wars Rebels: A New Dawn, where we got a look at how Kanan and Hera came to know each other before the events of the Star Wars Rebels animated series. The second novel, simply titled Tarkin, gave us a look in the mind of the infamous Grand Moff. Heir to the Jedi is the first time that a novel has taken us into the thoughts and feelings of a central character of the Star Wars saga.
Heir to the Jedi releases in hardcover on March 3rd and is written by Kevin Hearne. It is 304 pages and retails for $28.00.
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