Star Wars: The Last of the Jedi is a series of young adult books that attempts to address what happened to the Jedi after the execution of Order 66 following events in Revenge of the Sith. Although aimed at a young audience, I found the books to be well-crafted and an enjoyable read.

Following the events of Revenge of the Sith, we find Obi-Wan Kenobi living on Tatooine watching over the infant Luke Skywalker. He’s also processing everything that’s happened and mourning the loss of the Jedi and all that they stood for. While at a cantina, desperate to overhear some news about what’s happening, he hears a rumor that a former Jedi padawan, Feris Olin, is on the planet Bellassa where he’s stirring up trouble and the Empire is determined to hunt him down.

Obi-Wan is tempted to go help him, but his duties lie on Tatooine and protecting you Luke Skywalker. He communes with the force-ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn, he follows his conscience and gets a ride to Bellassa. There, he finds himself mixed up in the planetary politics of Bellassa, while trying to remain out of sight of the Empire. He is determined to find the former Padawan and possibly sow the seeds of rebellion.

Along the way, he meets a young boy named Trever Flume. He’s an orphan whose entire family was wiped out by the Empire. He leads Obi-Wan to Feris. Together, they must free another member of the group of rebels on Bellassa known as “The Eleven” and get away from the Empire.

The Desperate Mission wasn’t a long read, but I found it to be enjoyable. This sets up the start of an organized rebellion among those opposed to the Empire and the Emperor himself. The new characters are interesting and have depth without hitting the reader over the head with morality. They are flawed characters to be sure, but they are also standing up for what they believe in. I had some worry about Obi-Wan leaving Tatooine (and Luke) but there’s no crisis so far on that front.

I thought it was interesting that there was an inferred relationship of a deeper nature between Feris Olin and the prisoner Roan Lands. There was nothing outright that pointed to this, but it was something that was hinted at. Considering this is a young adult book written in 2005, that’s pretty progressive. It’s nothing that should cause issues as there’s no sex in the book; it’s strictly action-adventure and character development.

For the first book in the series, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I’ll be exploring this series further for sure.

Next book in the series (link): Star Wars: The Last of the Jedi – Dark Warning by Jude Watson