Thousands of year before the Jedi were the guardians of peace throughout the galaxy, they were the Je’daii, a caste of warrior monks based on the planet Tython and confined to just one solar system. Not unlike Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, they roamed the system, keeping order among the disparate peoples that call the Tython System home.
Lanoree is a Je’daii Ranger, preferring the quiet of the stars and the meaning of serving a greater cause than herself, but when she is called in by the Je’daii Council to investigate a fanatical cult that appears to have ties to her long believed dead brother, she finds her peace shattered. The quest to hunt down her brother, and stop him from making a terrible mistake, will take Lanoree through the underworld and into the homes of the wealthy and will force her to evaluate who is a friend and who is a foe.
So, naturally, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Into the Void is
Because this is also very early in the history of the Jedi, Into the Void is as much an origin story for the Jedi as it is for Lanoree. We get to see how the Force, and the Je’daii/Jedi philosophy of the Force, began. It is not a light side/dark side type of thing, especially since the story happens long before the Sith rise, but rather effective use of the Force is about balance between the opposing halves, not unlike ying and yang of eastern philosophy. Further, we also get glimpses into the deep past to the discovery of the Force, the real origin of it all.
Into the Void is an clever story, but it struggles to bring in the reader. Lebbon structures the tale in the present but intersperses it with flashbacks. It allows the reader to stay in suspense about the relationship between Lanoree and Dal, but interrupts the story flow, not allowing the reader to really get into either plot with much depth before being yanked out of it and sent into another flashback. As a result, I felt like I was almost a quarter through the book before I was interested in the story. It just took too long to get going with repeated, long flashbacks in the midst of the emerging action.
With all the build up and effort to develop Lanoree’s relationship with Dal, I found the ending to be climatic, but somewhat disappointing. I agree that a story should end as fast as feasible after the central problem is resolved, but the book ended so fast that I found myself wondering about unresolved questions that had emerged along the way.
Into the Void is an interesting and creative look at the Dawn of the Jedi, and I think that Star Wars fans, among which I count myself, will find it a useful addition to the canon.
Related articles
- Star Wars Movies Timeline – Characters, Cast, History & Trivia (starwarstimes1.wordpress.com)
- Joe Hempel Chats with Best Selling Author Tim Lebbon (horrornovelreviews.com)
- The Adventures of Lanoree Brock, Je’daii Ranger (kindlepost.com)
About Daniel
I love reading Star Wars expanded universe. I tend to read the books after the final movies and I’ve never given thought to reading the ones way way before. This looks interesting. The origins of the Jedi might be kind of cool 🙂 I read another Star Wars book recently that had a lot of flashbacks, too. Have you read Darth Plagueis? Because it’s SO awesome. You need to if you haven’t.
I think I’ve actually got Darth Plagueis on my ereader or by TBR list (not sure) because it caught my eye…hearing your recommendation, though, i might need to pull it out and read it sooner than later.