The Holocron Archives

I'm reading every Star Wars novel in chronological order and blogging about it here. Spoilers ahead.

[theholocronarchives]

Dawn of the Jedi by Tim Lebbon Dawn of the Jedi is not the typical lightsaber wielding and Force finessed focused books that we are used to in the modern knowledge of Jedi. Rather, we are brought along on a detective search for answers and people long believed dead. All while struggling with memories and destroyed hope that things can change.

We follow Lanoree Brock, a young Je’daii Ranger, on her journey to find her once thought dead younger brother, Dalen Brock, before he unleashes dark matter that could tear apart the Tython system as they know it. The book changes between the present, of Lanoree and her picked up Twilek companion, Tre, who are following the evidence of Dalen’s cult research and plans, to her childhood, where Lanoree first sees her brother’s fall to what he has become. Through their mission, we are introduced to many characters who have their own reasons for helping or hindering their search.

Despite being siblings and the children of 2 Force sensitive users, Lanoree and Dalen differ on many levels. For one, Dalen has no connection to the Force unlike the rest of his immediate family. He relies on blasters and brute strength as he gets older. He’s also quite intelligent, even if it leans to the side of fanaticism of something he doesn’t even know to be true. Meanwhile, Lanoree is seen as strong in the Force and, as she travels on the Pilgrammage to the other Temples, her skills in Force understanding, combat, and her interest in the scientific fields that this era of Je’daii show, become even stronger. She is the Golden Child while Dalen is constantly being pressured to become something he’s not…mostly from his sister.

This book has very polarized opinions by readers and reviewers alike, and many believe that it does not deserve the title of Dawn of the Jedi. However, I disagree. If you stay in the thinking of the modern Jedi age then I can understand where those feelings come from, but if you approach the book as the first and the start of the entire story of the Force, then I believe the title fits nicely. Let me explain.

Lanoree and the other Rangers and Masters are called Je’daii and have a clear belief that the light side, Ashla, and the dark side, Bogan, must be in balance with one another. To be fully Ashla, Je’daii cannot do what is necessary to rid the Tython system of dangers, and in this story that includes their own people. Meanwhile, dealing too much in Bogan leads to hurting for hurtings sake and not for the betterment of their society. That belief is not shared in modern day Jedi’s teachings. Any bit of the dark side is shunned. But the Je’daii use Bogan to excel their experiments and produce ways to perserve themselves and others, like in the sense of Lanoree almost dying and using her alchemy of the flesh to save her own life. I’d go so far to say that this creating life is millennia ahead of The Immortal Emperor in the Old Republic and even Darth Plageius’ abilities. Dawn of the Jedi gives us loose ties to how the Je’daii could split not necessarily because one side wanted to hurt people and be “evil” but because they wanted to continue their experiments that others deemed evil and wrong. It shows the start of the polarized beliefs of the Light and Dark side followings. I think, had it not been cut from canon, this line of thinking would have been helped with the following 2 books that were planned at the time, and either I’d be proven wrong or they would’ve given more hints to solidify this connection. I am aware of the comics that are alluded to at the end of this book, but my reading challenge and subsequent reviews will be pulling on strings and information from the novels alone.

In saying that, it’s disappointing to know that there were more books planned at the time of this one’s release, but were cut due to canon changes. Kara, a wealthy and collector of sorts, is someone I would have loved to read more about because all of her moves were calculated for something beyond what this single book was focused on. However, maybe that’s just me reaching for more history and answers to something that was always meant to be secretive.

Major Spoilers ahead:

When Tre was introduced early on, I did not enjoy him but it is the Star Wars way to have companions join along even if for a brief time so I dealt with it. However, as the story continued I really found his connection to Lanoree sweet and something that she needed, to the point that when he was perceived as dead I actually cried a little. Lanoree is constantly shown to us someone who has learned to work alone, her space is made for her and her experiments and in this time of Je’daii they are a bit more ruthless in their missions. This, along with the nature of her experiments, led me to believe that she would be an early example of falling to the dark side. Through Tre, however, we’re given glimpses into Lanoree caring for someone again even if she still puts herself first when it comes to saving her own life, she is constantly thinking about Tre’s condition while in the midst of the most intense part of the mission. Before she would comment on how annoying he was and how he was only useful for his connections, but with being with him for a short time, I think the reader can see Lanoree returning to who she was before Dalen was thought dead the first time.

As an older sibling, the end of the book hurt as Lanoree is forced to kill Dalen. Where his first death she felt responsible for pushing him away and focusing on herself and her future as the masters encouraged her to do, Dalen’s second death is through her hands alone. The weight of that is immense and I loved how after she walks herself through the steps of what she will do of going to the Masters, telling them of the mission, etc, that she goes “What she would not tell the Je’daii Masters, ever, was just how long she sat there next to her brother’s cooling body, staring at his device’s activation panel. Wondering. Only wondering.”

For me, this wondering is a plethora of things. Wondering if this was all it took to kill someone over. Wondering if he was right and she didn’t need to do what she did. Wondering if following blind orders was the thing to do. To me and my subjective views of the modern Jedi order, it could be the first signs of wondering if the Je’daii are as righteous as their followers once believed.

Something I didn’t enjoy was how secretive everything about the Old City was, especially after the discovery of Osamael Or’s diary which was in Kara’s possession. This is my problem with many Star Wars stories however, as a lot of things are left unanswered because well mystery is something that Star Wars loves to include. Now if that’s mystery for mystery’s sake or because they don’t know how to form the answer, I may never know.

One character I wanted to know more about was Osamael Or as the “There are depths” lines really made me curious as to the history of Tython and the discoveries in the Old City that laid beneath. Now, you can look this information up online, but I’m going based off of the novels alone and this novel gives you breadcrumbs that makes your mouth water for more…which you never get. I’m not mad about this but I can’t say that I’m not annoyed.

Conclusion: For a first book in a read every novel in chronological order, I think it was a good start. It shows that not every Star Wars book is full of Jedi lightsaber fights and that a lot of the stories in the universe are at the core about people living and surviving in their given time. I would advise going into this book with no pre conceived notions on what will happen as Tim Lebbon has done a great job of dropping hints that make you want to know more.

Canon or not, I would recommend this book so people can see where the canon could have gone and if you’re a legends fan like me it definitely adds to the history.

But this was my very subjective opinion of the book and I’d love to talk about what you loved or hated about it. Be respectful but let’s have a conversation.