New 2013 Star Wars Novel Announced: Star Wars: Kenobi by John Jackson Miller

Image Source: Star Wars Books

WIZARD! Crazy wizard that is.

"Luke: Well, I stumbled across a recording while I was cleaning him. He says that he belongs to someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi. I thought he might have meant old Ben. Do you know what he's talking about?
Uncle Owen: Uh-uh.
Luke: I wonder if he's related to Ben.
Uncle Owen: That wizard is just a crazy old man. Now, tomorrow I want you to take that R2 unit to Anchorhead and have its memory erased. That'll be the end of it. It belongs to us now.
Luke: But what if this Obi-Wan comes looking for him?
Uncle Owen: He won't. I don't think he exists anymore. He died about the same time as your father.
Luke: He knew my father?
Uncle Owen: I told you to forget it." 

Today at New York Comic-Con it was announced by Del Rey that author and comic book writer John Jackson Miller is penning his first hardcover novel.

From Del Rey's Announcement on Facebook:

NYCC Del Rey Star Wars panel announcements:
-New Han Solo classic era novel written by James S. A. Correy. Part of the new "Rebels" series of stand alone novels set in the Classic era.
-New novel by John Jackson Miller tentatively titled KENOBI. Novel is set after the events of Episode III. Promotional artwork seen here by Chris Scalf.

From Faraway Looks (John Jackson Miller's Website): 

At New York Comic-Con, Random House/Del Rey announced my next novel — and it’s big: Star Wars: Kenobi! It’s a hardcover release tentatively scheduled for late 2013. Check out the promo artwork here, by Chris Scalf! 

Kenobi is a sweeping story that’s part epic western, part high-stakes drama, part romance — but it’s all Star Wars, taking place in the early days of Obi-Wan’s exile to Tatooine. I shouldn’t expand too much beyond what Random House said on its panel and Facebook page, but I can say this. I’ve been working on this concept for years — I’ll talk more about that process later on — and the basics are pretty simple. The greatest hero in the galaxy faces his toughest challenge yet: He must stop being Obi-Wan — and learn to live as Ben. 

My other works are still in development, including my own novel and a fiction series — but as my first hardcover, this is a pretty big deal, and I thank everyone who helped make it come together. I have a landing page for the book now up here at the site, and will list preorder information when it’s available.

My Reaction:

This announcement has me probably the most excited I have been since we first heard about James Luceno's Darth Plagueis novel being resuscitated. Why am I so excited? The reason is simple, Obi-Wan is the exemplar of Jedi virtue. Kenobi's mixture of character and accomplishments create a very interesting and compelling character who you cannot help but root for.

The most emotionally gripping moment of any in the Star Wars films is that moment of Obi-Wan and the lava river bank on Mustafar.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. You were to bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness.
Anakin Skywalker: I HATE YOU!
Obi-Wan Kenobi: You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.

To EU fans Obi-Wan in many ways straddles two worlds, he is both the best of the old Jedi Order and at the same time the godfather of Luke's New Jedi Order.

How does a person deal with their entire world coming down around them? The three constants in Obi-Wan's life, the Republic, the Jedi Order, and his brother are all destroyed at nearly the same moment.  For Obi-Wan everything changes and he is stuck with the guilt of feeling like he created the monster that destroyed the Jedi and doomed the Republic.

How many times does he replay in his head every minute spent with Anakin as a Padawan, every lesson taught, every battle fought. What could he have done differently? What did he do wrong?

How could the boy who risked his own life to help strangers be the same man who slaughtered helpless  younglings?

Not only does he have to come to grips with this, but how does he adjust to his new self-imposed exile?

How does he plan the eventual training of Luke to avoid making the same mistakes as with Anakin? Is it to dangerous to train Luke?

There is just so much interesting internal conflicts within Obi-Wan to explore that I hope in telling his "western" style story Miller gets a chance to really dig into what is going on inside of Ben.

I look forward to hearing more about this book as it moves along the production schedule.


SOURCES: Facebook and Faraway Looks