Jedi Trial is an Exemplary Literary Prequel to Revenge of the Sith

In the Star Wars mythology, the series of conflicts known collectively as the Clone Wars looms large as the catalyst for the rise of the Galactic Empire, the destruction of the Jedi Order, and the transition of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker from impetuous hero to the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. But as important as the war between the Separatists and the Republic is, moviegoers only get to see the beginning of the galaxy-wide conflict in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and its tragic ending in Episode III:Revenge of the Sith. (Cable and satellite television subscribers who get the Cartoon Network – and now, DVD owners – have seen other engagements in the animated micro-series Star Wars: Clone Wars.)
In the mythology, the series of conflicts known collectively as the Clone Wars looms large as the catalyst for the rise of the Galactic Empire, the destruction of the Jedi Order, and the transition of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker from impetuous hero to the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. But as important as the war between the Separatists and the Republic is, moviegoers only get to see the beginning of the galaxy-wide conflict in and its tragic ending in . (Cable and satellite television subscribers who get the Cartoon Network – and now, DVD owners – have seen other engagements in the animated micro-series

Fortunately, a series of interconnected novels published by Del Rey, a subsidiary of Ballantine Books chronicles events that take place in the three-year period between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith; David Sherman and Dan Cragg’s Jedi Trial covers the Battle of Praestlyn, which occurs six months before Darth Sidious utters the command “Execute Order 66.”

As the novel begins, almost three years have passed since the Clone Wars began at the Battle of Geonosis. Anakin Skywalker has grown stronger in the Force and has become both a cunning warrior and one of the best starpilots in the galaxy, but his immaturity and the demands of the war against the Separatists have precluded the young Jedi Padawan from going through the Trials, the last part of his training before earning the rank of full Jedi Knight. Since the events on Geonosis – where he lost his right hand to Count Dooku – young Skywalker has grappled with his resentment over being passed over for the Jedi Trials and the strains of keeping his marriage to Senator Padme Amidala a secret. Only the steadying influence of his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and their success as a dynamic Jedi duo keeps Anakin from the temptations of using the dark side of the Force and keeps the young man from drifting too far from the Jedi Order.

But a sudden assignment change separates Obi-Wan from Anakin, who must stay behind on Coruscant, capital of the Republic, to be debriefed on the last mission by the Jedi Council and study the strategies and tactics of past campaigns to gain insights that might be helpful in future battles.

But as Anakin waits for his Master’s return from his solo mission, events on the planet Praestlyn, the site of an important Republic communications station, will see the young Padawan in the thick of battle. Count Dooku, leader of the Separatists, has dispatched a huge fleet under Admiral Pors Tonith, a cold-blooded and ruthless banker-turned-military leader from the planet Muunilist, whose tactical genius is exceeded only by his casual demeanor; he’s always drinking dianogan tea, a concoction that leaves his teeth stained purple and has a mild narcotic effect. A member of good standing of the Intergalactic Banking Clan and undefeated in battle, Tonith barely tolerates what he considers to be incompetence from his staff officers and, even more so, having to deal with Dooku’s Dark Jedi acolyte, Assaj Ventress.

In a swift and bloody invasion, Tonith’s army of battle droids takes over Praestlyn, and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is forced to send a detachment of clone soldiers from the Grand Army of the Republic to liberate the planet before the rest of the galaxy discovers that the Separatists have taken the communications center. With most of the Jedi Masters already busy elsewhere, the Jedi Council decides – reluctantly – to give command of the clones to Nejaa Halcyon, a Corellian Jedi Master who is under semi-retirement after his ship was stolen by a renegade he’d been assigned to arrest, and Anakin Skywalker.

Although Jedi Trial delves deeply into the relationship of these two somewhat unconventional and potentially troublesome Jedi, it also introduces readers to a cast of supporting characters that serve as windows to the Clone Wars from other, non-Jedi or Sith eyes. Among these are:

Zozridor Slayke, the daring and charismatic mercenary leader of the pro-democracy fighters known collectively as the Sons and Daughters of Freedom. Once considered a renegade and criminal by the Senate, he is Nejaa Halcyon’s old adversary…and now, possible ally.

Erk H’Arman, a young lieutenant in the Praestlyn defense force’s starfighter pilot corps who, after being shot down in a dogfight with Separatist fighters, must now see the horrors of war on the ground up close and personal.

Odie Subu, a young woman in her early 20s and one of the finest recon scouts in the Praestlyn ground force under the command of General Khamar. Odie carries out several daring scouting missions in the course of the novel, rescuing and teaming up with Erk in a series of adventures and near disasters that will bring them closer together than they bargained for.

Because the authors are both veterans (Sherman is a former Marine who served in Vietnam, and Cragg was an Army sergeant major and former Pentagon analyst), this is one of the few Star Wars novels that really gets into the more war-like aspects of the storyline. Even dressed up in the guise of George Lucas’ space-fantasy mythology, Jedi Trial describes war and the consequences of war in more gritty and human terms than the films or other writers’ works. Yes, there are space battles and some lightsaber wielding, but instead of reading simple “the good guys shot the stormtroopers/battle droids” battle sequences that seem rather bloodless, the reader is shown the suffering of even the mass produced clones; in one scene, an elite ARC scout trooper is caught behind enemy lines by an artillery barrage from his own side and bleeds slowly to death when his leg is blown off by friendly fire.

Sherman and Cragg are also adept at character development; in Jedi Trial we still see the good man who will be Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa’s father as a young warrior who is in love with his wife and wants to be a good commander for his clone soldiers. Nejaa Halcyon, who was mentioned in several of Michael A. Stackpole’s Corran Horn novels, is also very likeable as a Jedi Master who, like Qui-Gon Jinn, bucks some of the Jedi Order’s more strict rules and is shown to be very human and flawed. And even in their brief cameo appearances in Jedi Trial, Jedi Masters Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan Kenobi are so vividly rendered that the reader can almost hear the voices of Frank Oz, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ewan McGregor when they speak.