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July 2022 Legends Group Read: Labyrinth of Evil
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I've got my copy ready. When does this start?
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I have about 10 books to read for Jane Austen July but I'll try to read a couple of chapters every day.
Ok I'll aim for that too then
I love the book and Anakin Skywalker!
I'm interested in seeing the similarities and differences between this and the new Canon Brotherhood since they both tell different versions of events on Cato Neimodia.
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Anakin thinks among other things of his Yavin IV experience. It was his first battle with Asajj Ventress and you can watch it here:
https://youtu.be/HbBKHB1Sffg
This book was written 3 years before The Clone Wars 3-D animated series was created so it's no surprise that it contradicts what is considered to be George Lucas's canon. Before the series Anakin spent a significant portion of Clone Wars as a Padawan and it's implied in this book (which is set immediately before Ep III) that he hasn't been a Knight for long. It was later changed, and even in the Disney Canon he's been knighted not long after the end of Ep II.
Personally I much prefer Anakin being knighted right at the beginning of the war. It actually gives some credit to him being an unusually gifted warrior and it makes sense that the council would want to knight more padawans at the start of an uncertainly long feud.
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Only reason I can buy it is because of the number of knights being on its all time lowest due to so many dying in the Geonosis arena and the pressing need to replace them in the field.
True. He was rash and immature, but then so was Obi-Wan in Episode 1. His knighting was an unusual circumstance - he was basically thrust into the deep end to carry out Qui-Gon's final wishes but ultimately it matured him. Perhaps the council hoped that the same would work for Anakin. Wouldn't be the first irrational decision they've made.
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I respectfully disagree, Tarria. There are too many dissimilarities.
Ep. II - Anakin heavily contributed to the failure of the mission by disobeying a direct order. Moreover, he knew the reasoning behind the order. Obi-Wan explained that he couldn't take on Dooku alone, that they must do it together. The result: Anakin got maimed, Obi-Wan got injured, Dooku escaped. Overall outcome: failure.
Ep. I - Qui-Gon decided to engage Maul alone, while he could have/ should have waited for Obi-Wan (Maul had nowhere to go). It was Qui-Gon's error in judgment that eventually cost him his life. While rushing into the fight, Obi-Wan managed to win in the end. The result: Qui-Gon dead due to no error of Obi-Wan, Sith Lord dead (from the Council's point of view - we know Maul was neither a Sith Lord nor dead), Naboo saved. Overall outcome: success.
As a matter of principle, you don't reward failure and disobedience. You can sometimes overlook disobedience if the overall result is success. Though it could be bad for morale in organizations like police or military.
For the record I would have waited for the first or second instance of Anakin distinguishing himself (that would have come pretty swiftly) and then knighted him. I would expect it would take 2-6 months for him to achieve. Time to reflect on what he did wrong.
Tarria wrote: "he was basically thrust into the deep end to carry out Qui-Gon's final wishes but ultimately it matured him."
While Obi-Wan deserved to be knighted he should never have been made Anakin's Master. He was in a bad headspace (in deep mourning, probably depressed) & had no time to gather experience by going on solo missions - he wasn't ready to take any Padawan, let alone Anakin - a difficult case due to his age and upbringing, supposedly the Chosen One, somebody Obi-Wan didn't and wouldn't choose for his Padawan if he had any say in the matter. This was another one of Qui-Gon's errors. He should have asked Obi-Wan to get the child trained instead of insisting that Obi-Wan should be the one to do the training. Rash and stupid, but undestandable as he lay there dying in Obi-Wan's arms and had no time to think it through. BTW I would have loved to see Anakin trained by somebody like Plo Koon.
In the end Obi-Wan was forced to mature at a much faster pace than natural. He wasn't a bad Master as shown in the Jedi Quest series, just not equipped to deal with somebody like Anakin.
Tarria, sorry for rambling. I don't have many opportunities to discuss Star Wars in real life. In case it's not clear from the text above, these are all my opinions (not facts) and as such open to discussion. :D
Sorry for the late reply, and don't worry I'm open to rambling, I do it a lot myself :D and I like hearing others rant about the franchise. I agree with a lot of your arguments here except for:
Zuzana wrote: "while Obi-Wan deserved to be knighted..."
Sure he defeated Darth Maul but he lacked a lot of qualities essential to a Jedi Knight; mainly compassion and empathy. He displays the equivalent of racial aggression to Jar Jar, calling him a pathetic lifeform and is needlessly cruel to young Anakin, a scared child and slave. He also regularly argues and shows disrespect to Qui-Gon, his master (the same thing he berates Anakin for doing in Episode 2).
And:
Ep. II - Anakin heavily contributed to the failure of the mission by disobeying a direct order
Confronting Dooku alone was definitely a mistake on his part and that cost for him and many others but in regards to the mission, wasn't it to discover who was behind Amidala's assassination attempt? Yes it was terrible for Anakin, losing his arm and Dooku was able to escape but the mission itself wasn't affected by his actions.
(I haven't see Episode 2 for a while so please correct me if I'm wrong btw).
Completely agree that he should never have been made Anakin's master, though I also think that people tend to overrate Qui-Gon in that regard too. He may have been able to provide a stable father figure and understand him better but in the long-run Anakin had underlying attachment and emotional issues that made him entirely unsuitable for the Old Republic Jedi lifestyle. I dislike the concept of Grey Jedi but I feel maybe he would have eventually left the Order to become one, a bit like Ahsoka did.
Now, as for Plo Koon training Anakin, that's an AU I'd like to see too.
Completely unrelated question but I'm curious; do you prefer the portrayal of Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship in the CWMMP/Legends or Disney canon? I just have some thoughts reading this book straight after Brotherhood.
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I would argue that the mission changed the moment the open conflict between the Separatists and the Republic broke out. The objective at the moment was clearly to capture and interrogate Dooku (the leader of the Separatists).
Nute Gunray was behind the assassination attempts, and if I remember correctly his role was revealed either in the arena scene or during the trial on Geonosis. We buddy read Ep II novelization last year with Rebecca she might remember in greater detail.
Tarria wrote: "Completely agree that he should never have been made Anakin's master, though I also think that people tend to overrate Qui-Gon in that regard too. He may have been able to provide a stable father figure and understand him better but in the long-run Anakin had underlying attachment and emotional issues that made him entirely unsuitable for the Old Republic Jedi lifestyle."
Couldn't agree more. But then we're back to the majority opinion (of the Council and Obi-Wan) that maybe Anakin should never have been trained. Wouldn't he have been happier had he been pursuing his passion and talent attending a school for mechanics (a Coruscant equivalent of tech uni, there has to be one) and pursuing a civilian career? And yeah I know it's all hypothetical, because Palpatine's plot would have worked regardless of Anakin's involvement.
my wife just got me The Dark Lord Trilogy for my birthday, so I'm excited to participate in this group read. I also just finished Brotherhood which seems like a similar novel except from The Disney/Canon universe. it'll be interesting.
I'm a little over 200 pages in. I'm pleasantly surprised. I did not enjoy the last book I read by James Luceno. I am enjoying the fast paced nature of this book. I do think James Luceno includes too much exposition and name drops too many characters from other books.
I finished. I enjoyed it for what it is. I think it did a good job of rehabilitating Anakin's character. it added some depth to Obi-wan and Anikan's relationship. they felt more like friends. James Luceno also provided a backstory for General Grievous, who just seemed to drop up out of nowhere in Revenge of the Sith. I think he did a good job of building him up as a threat. he also laid the groundwork for Revenge of the Sith, which starts with a lot of stuff happening and not a lot not context.
I am reading the dark lord trilogy which includes Labyrinth of Evil and the novelization of Revenge of the Sith. these books put certain things in context that did not make sense when watching the movies. I always thought that Revenge of the Sith started off very strange. Chancellor Palpatine has been captured by Dooku and General Grievous. Dooku, the one villain that you are familiar with, is dispatched within the first few minutes of the movie. General Grievous, who is not introduced at all, and is a very strange character, survives.
General Grievous is kind of odd in the movie. visually, he looks just like the battle droids, who are simple cannon fodder that the Jedi easily mow down throughout the trilogy. However, he is portrayed as much more sinister villain who is capable of holding his own against a jedi. Is this guy supposed to be a robot? A cyborg? A dark jedi? How did he become aligned with Dooku and the separatists? Why is he so powerful? None of this was explained very well in the movie.
Labyrinth of Evil does a good job of explaining his background and why he is such a formidable foe.
In the movie, it was also strange to me that Anakin was able to defeat Dooku one on one when Dooku had defeated Obi-Wan and Anakin so easily in the previous movie. Labyrinth of Evil, and the novelization of Revenge of the Sith show how not only Anakin, but Obi-Wan, have been Fighting on the front lines of the Clone War for three years, honing their skills, and getting more powerful. This was not portrayed well in the movies.
I also thought that Anakin's turn to the dark side was not portrayed very well in the movies. He seemed like a whiny teenager that was upset that his mentor didn't give enough "atta boys" and then suddenly flips out and decides to kill children one day. The novelization does a much better job of showing what's going on inside. How he feels betrayed by the Jedi. How that leads to anger. How he is afraid for Padme. How Palpatine is there for him, telling him what be he wants to hear. how this slowly leads to his turn. It is much more believable.
I loved the Revenge of the Sith novelization. I actually preferred it over the film because it did such a great job of showing what was going on in Anakin's head. It's been a few months since I read Labyrinth of Evil, but I do remember thinking it was a great setup for ROTS.
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Check out his SW art here: https://www.steveandersondesign.com/g...
About 17 chapters in (roughly 30%), and I’m loving it—but wow, it leans heavily on prior knowledge of the EU prequel material. Luceno adds brief explanations here and there, but for the most part, this book is packed with tie-ins to other novels and comics.
Mod
A solid Star Wars read, though my expectations were a bit too high. I was hoping for something on par with Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization, but this didn’t quite reach that level of enjoyment for me. That said, there’s still plenty to like, and I highlighted several passages.
Palpatine’s trolling mastery was a highlight, as was the Jedi investigation into Darth Sidious -especially knowing that their search, quite literally at his doorstep, is what prematurely triggers the final stage of his plan. Some of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s interactions were fantastic, with the “infinite sadness” line hitting really hard. The first half of the book was exciting and flowed well, but the second half dragged, despite the large-scale action of the Coruscant attack.
Padmé’s role in the plot felt completely unnecessary. Her repeated crying for Anakin became grating, and her involvement in action alongside Bail and Mon Mothma lacked any real tension—we already know they make it through unscathed. Their action-hero moments felt forced, and I think the story would have been stronger if Padmé had simply been shown witnessing the attack from her apartment or from the shelter with other senators instead.
Grievous getting some extra characterization was nice, though it doesn’t align well with Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars series or later canon, which is a bit of a shame.
Overall, a solid Star Wars book, just not the masterpiece I had hoped for.
I will add some quotes later.
July 2022 Legends Group Read
Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno
The Group read starts on July 1st.
- Book 1 of The Dark Lord Trilogy
- First published in January 2005
- Set in the time immediately preceding Episode III
The war that erupted in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones is nearing its boiling point, as the dauntless Separatist forces continue their assault on the teetering Republic-and the diabolical triumvirate of Count Dooku, General Grievous, and their Master, Darth Sidious, fine-tune their strategy for conquest. In Episode III Revenge of the Sith the fates of key players on both sides of the conflict will be sealed. But first, crucial events that pave the way to that time of reckoning unfold in a labyrinth of evil. . . .
Capturing Trade Federation Viceroy-and Separatist Councilmember-Nute Gunray is the mission that brings Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, with a squad of clones in tow, to Neimoidia. But the treacherous ally of the Sith proves as slippery as ever, evading his Jedi pursuers even as they narrowly avoid deadly disaster. Still, their daring efforts yield an unexpected prize: a unique holotransceiver that bears intelligence capable of leading the Republic forces to their ultimate quarry, the ever-elusive Darth Sidious.
Swiftly taking up the chase, Anakin and Obi-Wan follow clues from the droid factories of Charros IV to the far-flung worlds of the Outer Rim . . . every step bringing them closer to pinpointing the location of the Sith Lord-whom they suspect has been manipulating every aspect of the Separatist rebellion. Yet somehow, in the escalating galaxy-wide chess game of strikes, counterstrikes, ambushes, sabotage, and retaliations, Sidious stays constantly one move ahead.
Then the trail takes a shocking turn. For Sidious and his minions have set in motion a ruthlessly orchestrated campaign to divide and overwhelm the Jedi forces-and bring the Republic to its knees.