Star Wars: Kenobi Cover Art, Full Description and Speculation

Well known comic book writer and author John Jackson Miller has certainly proven himself in the realm of Star Wars prose with his Lost Tribe of the Sith novella series and his novel Knight Errant.  He gets the privilege of having what is arguably the most highly anticipated Expanded Universe novel this year, KENOBI.  

Let's face it, who doesn't love Obi-Wan?

Well io9 got to break the cover art for the new novel which is due to be released on August 27th.

Included in the article was the books description.

STAR WARS: KENOBI by John Jackson Miller

Tatooine—a harsh desert world where farmers toil in the heat of two suns while trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from the marauding Tusken Raiders. A backwater planet on the edge of civilized space. And an unlikely place to find a Jedi Master in hiding, or an orphaned infant boy on whose tiny shoulders rests the future of a galaxy.

Known to locals only as “Ben,” the bearded and robed offworlder is an enigmatic stranger who keeps to himself, shares nothing of his past, and goes to great pains to remain an outsider. But as tensions escalate between the farmers and a tribe of Sand People led by a ruthless war chief, Ben finds himself drawn into the fight, endangering the very mission that brought him to Tatooine.

Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice.

The thing that gives me pause are the lines bolded above.  Obi-Wan fighting a Sand People war chief sounds awfully familiar.  Which makes me wonder are we seeing more Del Rey and Dark Horse Comics synergy at work here.  Is it possible that Obi-Wan had to lay the smack down on multiple Sand People war chiefs while  on his self imposed babysitting detail?  Because we already have a story where former Jedi and future Sith Lord A'Sharad Hett returns to the Sand People and becomes a war chief and ends up dueling and being defeated by Obi-Wan.  Could A'Sharad Hett be this novel's villain?

SOURCE: io9 and Wookieepedia