The premier of what will lead into a YA series, Jedi Quest Path to Truth features Anakin Skywalker building his first lightsaber. He then goes on to the face one of his deepest traumas, a mission with Obi-Wan that will lead them straight to a slave trader.
Anakin has flashbacks to his life on Tatooine in this, which connect him to a slave trader named Krayn. When they are called for a mission that directly ties to the slave trader, he finds himself in conflict with Obi-Wan. When the worst happens Obi-Wan has to track down the slave trader, As he does, he realizes he underestimated how little he really understood about what Anakin had suffered as a slave.
New Characters
Krayn
Rashtah
Movie Characters
Obi-Wan
Anakin
Amee (Flashback)
Adi Gallia
Returning Characters
Siri
Didi Oddo
Astri Oddo
Jedi Quest Path to the Truth also has a comic adaptation version. It was released in 4 issues.
Jedi Quest Path to Truth Review:
It was nice to glimpse of flashback to Anakin’s old life, but also a bit sad. The trauma he experienced was a lot for one so young at the time. I also appreciated getting a bit more on his friend Amee. I am sorry that as far as I can tell, it was never revealed if she gained her freedom.
Jedi Quest Path to Truth is quick paced, and reveals Anakin’s inner struggle with how to deal with his past and the understandable feelings he has toward slavers. These are challenges most Jedi don’t have to handle on such a personal level.
Jedi Quest Path to Truth does not talk down to kids, the way many young adult books to. Its a fun read even for adults.
As an additional note, I really think the cover is well cool. It’s combines the face of Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker with Hayden Christensen who played him in Attack of the Clones, to come up with a reasonable idea what he might look like at 13 years old. It is a bit confusing that the cover itself is just ‘Jedi Quest’. The Path to Truth subtitle is only on the inside title page.
Jedi Quest Path to Truth Continuity and Lore
Jedi Quest Path to the Truth is preceded by the two Jedi Apprentice Special Editions: Deceptions and The Followers, and also Rogue Planet. In the SE stories he carries a training lightsaber borrowed from the temple on his earliest missions. The Jedi Quest Series follows after.
Siri’s story in this leads to some unanswered questions later. Mostly as to Ferus Olin, who was older than Anakin and would’ve been selected as padawan before these events, yet no other master is mentioned for him.
Colicoids are famous as the species that invented droidekas aka destroyer droids.
Didi and Astri Oddo had previous adventures with Obi-Wan in the Jedi Apprentice series.
Adi Gallia doesn’t have any speaking roles in the movies. But she was involved in the Jedi Apprentice stories, starred in Jedi Starfighter the video game, and her ultimate fate revealed in Star Wars Obsession, a Clone Wars era comic.
Nar Shaddaa’s situation is a bit confusing here. It suggests that it would come under Republic control if a member of the Republic took control of the factories. This seems odd as technically it’s a moon of Nal Hutta and is generally considered controlled by the Hutts. That said, it could be they are specifically referring to the factories and who worked in them.
Jedi Quest Path to the Truth is the first introduction to the planet Ilum, The planet where Jedi get lightsaber crystals later appears in the Genndy Tartovsky Clone Wars Microseries, and is a visitable planet in Star Wars The Old Republic MMO game. It is revisited in The Last of the Jedi series, also by Jude Watson.
