Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights - Anakin's Quest

The fourth JJK book aimed at younger readers, following on from the previous three written by Nancy Richardson.  Young Anakin Solo is troubled by his grandfather's legacy and fears that he too might fall to the dark side, so it is decided that Anakin, accompanied by his friend Tahiri Veila and the Jedi Master Ikrit, will travel to Dagobah to face the dark side cave there (the one from 'The Empire Strikes Back' - "A domain of evil, it is.  In you must go.").  Moesta then makes her single biggest mistake; she introduced the new character Uldir.  Uldir, apparently having no Force-potential, seems to believe that the path to becoming a Jedi involves being as obnoxious and irritating as humanly possible.  I liked reading about Anakin's inner turmoil and I was especially pleased to read about Ikrit's history (he was an apprentice of Yoda's too), but overall there just wasn't enough substance to this book.

3 out of 5

Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights - Vader's Fortress

The fifth book in the series takes us to one of my all time favourite Star Wars locations, Darth Vader's private fortress (aka Bast Castle) on the planet Vjun.  The Jedi Knight Tionne takes Anakin, Tahiri, Ikrit, R2-D2 and the eternally-annoying Uldir to investigate the abandoned castle.  There's plenty of action/adventure as they face the defence systems of the castle and also the others who are attempting to loot the site.  What I really liked about this book is what it reveals about Darth Vader.  We learn that he kept a picture of Luke in his personal chambers, as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber, revealing perhaps some of the sentimentality that eventually led to the Sith Lord's redemption.

4 out of 5

Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights - Kenobi's Blade

The final book of the Junior Jedi Knights series and probably the worst.  The biggest fault of the book is that it focuses on Uldir, one of the most annoying characters ever created (well, behind Jar Jar Binks, of course).  Here's Uldir steals Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber from the Jedi Academy, as well as an ancient Jedi holocron.  How do the Jedi respond to this?  They rescue him when his plans go awry and welcome him back with open arms, without so much as a cross word.  Me, I'd have shot him.  The adventures on Exis Station are predictable at best and the 'mage' Orloc is a massive let down for the franchise that brought us such great villains as Darth Vader, Ysanne Isard and Grand Admiral Thrawn.

2 out of 5