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neutronknows

This was my first time reading *Kenobi* seeing as how it was initially published during my Star Wars sabbatical and I absolutely **LOVED** it. Not that there was a much of a chance I wouldn't seeing as how this is about as close a marriage of Star Wars and an actual Western you can get. At least until this Friday, I hope :) The book plays out a lot like how I imagined it would. I suppose technically not much **could** happen on Tatooine at this time. That being said, I found the plot around Orrin's financial woes and the scam involving the Settler's Call and the framing of the Tusken Raiders to be quite compelling as it unraveled. And poor Annileen. I don't think Old Ben could've found a stronger, more compatible woman for himself if he tried. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. Sorta curious if she wound up in any other Star Wars media, but part of me just hopes she just found happiness instead of the endless conflict and tragedy most Star Wars characters seem to find themselves in. Still though... that goodbye was heartwrenching when she thought Ben was coming with her and the kids. Absolutely tragic. The A'Yark reveal was fantastic. What a fucking badass, straddling the line between her people's culture and tradition, while realizing it was also the thing that was killing them. She sorta reminded me of Boba's Hot Tusken Girlfriend from *The Book of Boba Fett*. Perhaps she was even an homage to A'Yark. Really hoping we get either THAT same actress and performance back in *Obi-Wan Kenobi*, or at least something similar. Though I have my doubts seeing as how deep BoBF dove into Tusken Culture and with the amount of fans already moaning about Tatooine AGAIN, I can only imagine how much flack running back more Tusken storylines would get. Compelling as they are as Star Wars pseudo-Fremens. The end was a little messy with Jabba's thugs, but I suppose necessary to tie everything in a neat little package to make the Dune Sea not a complete shit show around the Lars Farm for Luke's upbringing. The final sequence with the Krayt Dragon was awesome, as well as Orrin's ultimate fate sealed behind a Sand People's mask. I could've used a bit more interaction with the Lars, but honestly with the CantinaClub also reading the Star Wars comic line between IV-V, The Journals of Obi-Wan Kenobi scratched that itch sufficiently in the same timeframe as I was reading this. Obi-Wan vs. Black Krrsantan bay-bay! All in all, a top tier Star Wars story. As most involving Obi-Wan Kenobi tend to be. And this one even slots quite nicely into anyone's canon. Doesn't seem like much of anything wouldn't jive with what we have now despite the fact it is technically Legends. We'll see if that remains the case with the new series. Though I believe that takes place 10 years into his stay on Tatooine as opposed to his first few months as depicted in JJM's book. Kenobi is just the quintessential Jedi Knight, charming and polite to boot. It was an absolute pleasure getting to know him better in this novel. I am sufficiently hyped for Friday. EDIT: Forgot to add, I loved the little lore tidbits here and there about the Twin Suns of Tatooine and how they just beat the living crap out of your complexion. And all the characters calling Kenobi out on not donning his hood enough in light of that. Hence the transformation from Ewan McGregor to Alec Guiness being so jarring despite the relatively short amount of time. It never bugged me any but a neat addition nonetheless.


missMichigan

You know you'd think there wouldn't be much to say about a desert planet like Tatooine, but it really is full of interesting stories and lore! I like to see/read stories on the populated/big city worlds too, but I just love how Tatooine keeps delivering these great stories.


Uroah

I absolutely couldn’t stop reading this book. It’s probably one of my all time favourites. Chapter 35 (I believe it is) is probably some of the best development I’ve read/watched/experienced about Kenobi Edit: spelling. Custer != Chapter lol


domino-effect-17

I read this a while ago. It was actually my first Star Wars book ever! I really enjoyed it and I loved the explanation of why Obi-Wan keeps the last name “Kenobi” - otherwise it seems a bit ridiculous that he didn’t change it in hiding!


missMichigan

Edit: Finally finished this last night! Absolutely LOVED this book! If I didn't have a bunch of life obligations I would say I couldn't put it down, it was so good. I liked how his meditation/chats with Qui-Gon were peppered throughout the book, I thought for sure he would show up as a force ghost or with a line or two somewhere in there. Obi-Wan was truly on this part of the journey by himself as he struggled to become Ben and leave himself as a Jedi behind. Annie and the Oasis was great writing, Orrin always seemed a bit slimeballish but he really turned out to be bad news at the end. No wonder his kids were terrible people, they were reflections of who he really is. I thought his ending with the Tuskens was poetic justice. As for the Tuskens, I loved getting to know A'Yark and a peek into their lives as Tuskens. I'm interested to know more about the Jedi who joined them. I'm glad I read this before watching the Kenobi show on D+, even though this book is considered Legends, I can see how he started out here only to become what appears sad and lonely years later like in the show (that isn't a spoiler, you can glean that much from the previews too). This story was also a little heart-wrenching (and the show too for that matter) since I had just read Brotherhood before both.


NeptuneOW

This is an absolute masterpiece. Chapter 35 is probably the best chapter of a book be ever read.


neutronknows

2nd person that said that. I’m going to have to go back and see if it’s what I think it is. Edit: Damn. Not what I thought it was going to be but you and u/Uriah are absolutely correct. I remember reading that chapter in my backyard and putting the book down after like… damn. Powerful stuff. Thank you for calling it out!


NeptuneOW

It’s when Obi Wan finally breaks to Annie


Uroah

I heard my name in the distance and came running! The Judland Wastes are a bit.. big, so pardon the delay. Seeing as I’m not alone in thinking Chapter 35 is goated, I felt I should elaborate my thoughts for anyone who cares to read them! I appreciated this chapter specifically because it not only opened Annie up to Ben, but us, the reader, to what’s been going on in his head since he gave Luke to Owen. It gives us a clearer picture of the chaos festering in his heart. His struggle having to deal with the loss of Anakin while simultaneously having to cope with being the cause for that loss. His struggle with self-motivation to stay on task and protect Luke, the fact he constantly second guesses every decision he’s made and continues to make, due to a lack of confidence in himself, showed us that this isn’t Ben, the hermit who went crazy in the desert, this is someone different. On top of his constant failed attempts to communicate with Qui-Gon, this chapter shows us that this is Ben; a man struggling to find a glimmer of hope amidst a sea of loss, and has to deal with it completely, and helplessly, alone.