Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi – Into the Void
A Legends Expanded Universe Book Review
Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi – Into the Void, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Tim Lebbon.
This novel is the first event on the Legends novel timeline. This tale begins the first era of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Before the Republic Era. It takes place 25,793 years before A New Hope.
SUMMARY: The Je’daii council on Tython has called upon Ranger Je’daii, Lanoree Brock, to take on a dangerous mission. She’s tasked with hunting down an individual who has intentions of following through on event that could possibly destroy the Tython system. It turns out that this individual is Dalien Brock, her own bother. It comes as a shock to her because, well… he’s supposed to be dead. Now it’s up to Lanoree to find her brother and put an end to his madness, even if she has to make his death a reality. CHARACTERS: The two characters I’d like to talk about are brother and sister, the protagonist and antagonist of the novel. Dalien Brock: He’s angry and irritated at the thought of the force. He’s a dreamer, a star gazer, always looking to the stars and wondering about his people’s past. When he was a child, those around him could see how distant he was from the force. With age brought madness, he wants to go beyond the Tython system, but in a way that puts all life… in danger. Lanoree Brock: She’s a Je’daii Ranger. She’s a bit of an odd one. She calls her ship home, it lacks comfort, which was pointed out by her “partner” on this mission. She loves her brother and doesn’t want to see him on such a dark and destructive path. She can’t help but constantly recall their childhood. OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book was ok. It wasn’t that good but it wasn’t that bad… just ok. I expected something completely different. With a title like Dawn of the Jedi, I was thinking this was going to be the discovery of the force or how the Jedi came to be. I was wrong. It’s just some random detective-like story with stakes that didn’t come across as legitimate. Heck, if the threat was potentially so devastating, why would the Je’daii only send one member to take out the threat? Oh, and take on this sidekick that can’t be trusted… what? So strange. This is ancient times is Star Wars and it didn’t really feel like it. How much had technology changed in the 25,000 years? Since the story is so old, shouldn’t this be more like a fantasy? Maybe like, some religious folk trekking across some planet, discovering the force, or even creating the Jedi order!? The chemistry between some of the characters was decent, like our antagonist and protagonist. But Tre Sana, Lanoree’s partner (for some reason) was strange and wasn’t very consistent with his personality. I enjoyed the flashbacks (there’s a lot… half the book), but the structure of the story can be confusing. Do I recommend you pick Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void? Not really. This novel took place 25,000+ years before A New Hope, but it does that ancient. RATING: Moving forward I have abandoned my previous rating scale of 1 to 5. Now, I’ll be rating by the old school grading scale, A through F. I give this book a D. It had some good things, but the stakes didn’t seem legit. Not a great novel to kick off the Legends timeline.