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Interests Anakin Skywalker
Books
For a while, I was trying to track down every book out there in which Anakin
appeared. But things started going out of print, and my life got busy
as new ones were released I didn't catch them... but this is still a fairly
comprehensive list. I've included brief descriptions next to the
links. I will try to add more. Books (about the
movies)
Phantom Menace: Episode I
Attack of the Clones: Episode II
Revenge of the Sith: Episode III
Star Wars Original Trilogy Set: Episode IV-VI
Books (in the expanded universe)
Anakin's Fate
-- this is a kid's book that describes certain events that occurred for
Anakin just prior to Phantom Menace, including the podrace he was in.
Emissaries to Malastare
-- I include this here only for the sake of thoroughness. Anakin is in
this graphic novel only two pages. It's set just after Anakin comes to
the Temple, and he is telling Ki-Adi-Mundi about podraces. And that's
it.
Deceptions
-- this is one of those children's books that deals with a two-part
storyline covering Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan/Anakin (Jedi Apprentice
Special Edition 1)
Rogue Planet
-- while this is an "adult" book, the story is set when Anakin is about 12
and has not yet gotten his first real lightsaber
Path to Truth
-- a children's book about Anakin's time as an apprentice, describing Anakin
building his first lightsaber and more (Jedi Quest unnumbered)
The Way of the Apprentice
-- this is the first in a series of children's books about Anakin's time as
a Padawan at the Jedi Temple (Jedi Quest 1)
The Trail of the Jedi
-- the second book in the series, four sets of Master/Padawan teams are sent
to deal with an environmental accident, but when the Masters are separated
from their Padawans, can Anakin really be a team player? (Jedi Quest 2)
The Dangerous Games
-- even as a Padawan, Anakin just can't resist Podracing (Jedi Quest 3)
Master of Disguise
-- story arch with Granta Omega (Jedi Quest 4)
The School of Fear
-- Anakin is sent undercover to a school that trains future politicians to
investigate the kidnapping of a student (Jedi Quest 5)
The Shadow Trap
-- Anakin feels responsible for the death of a Jedi Master (Jedi Quest 6)
The Moment of Truth
-- continuing Anakin's time as an apprentice; want to know how much stress
there is being the Chosen One? (Jedi Quest 7)
The Changing of the Guard
-- Anakin develops some new Force abilities in this one that warrant an
"Impressive" from Mace Windu; too bad he can't use them on Palpatine in the
next book (Jedi Quest 8)
The False Peace
-- (Jedi Quest 9)
The Final Showdown
-- this ends the Sith cult story arch and the series, but I have to admit,
it was my least
favourite of the Jedi Quest books (Jedi Quest 10)
The Followers
-- this book is a split book between Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan/Anakin
about a group of people in a Sith cult, trying to get the attention of the
Sith Lord they know
is around someplace, and their interest in Anakin. (Jedi Apprentice
Special Edition)
Anakin: Apprentice
-- this is a really short little book for the littlest kids that summarize a
couple stories from the Jedi Quest series
Outbound Flight
-- this is the lead-up to a famous plotline about the Chiss Empire at
appears in post-imperial books. Anakin appears in the story, but only
briefly and somewhat woodenly.
The Approaching Storm
-- this is set immediately prior to Attack of
the Clones (the
Clones novel starts out
with them landing on Ansion in the prologue, but they skip the rest of the
story because they just want to highlight that he's been having nightmares
for a while now); one of the characters in this book reappears in
Medstar II: Jedi Healer,
where she thinks back on these events, but Anakin only is referred to in
that book, he doesn't appear as a character.
Secrets of the Jedi
-- another two generation book with Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan/Anakin, in
this case after Anakin's marriage to Padme. The key thing is that
Obi-Wan was in love once, too, and about how this affects his willingness to
keep Anakin's secret
Dark Rendezvous
-- well, Anakin's in this one a little bit, at the beginning and the end, as
I recall, but most of the book is really about Yoda and Dooku... of course,
there is an allusion in the Revenge of the Sith
novel that goes back to the end of this book that does involve Anakin
The Cestus Deception --
Anakin appears in this one only briefly as well--a hi and goodbye at the
beginning--the rest of the book is just about Obi-Wan
Honor and Duty
-- while the main character in this story is a Senate guardsman, Anakin is
in it both as a padawan (a whiny one) and as Darth Vader.
The Defense of Kamino and other Tales
-- this is a graphic novel set immediately after Geonosis; Anakin appears in
one of the three stories included (Clone Wars Volume 1)
Victories and Sacrifices
-- this is a graphic novel, Anakin is in the first of the three stories, and
oh-so-briefly in the second (Clone Wars Volume 2)
The Last Stand on Jabiim
-- this is a graphic novel describing a disastrous pull out from the planet
of Jabiim, where many young Jedi died and Anakin was the only one to
survive, because he was ordered to leave by Palpatine. It was also
believed for a time that Obi-Wan had been killed as well. (Clone Wars
Volume 3) [Note: Anakin does not appear in Volume 4 of this series.]
The Best Blades
-- Ki-Adi-Mundi has taken over as Anakin's master temporarily until some
more permanent arrangement can be made. Anakin is still having dreams
about Obi-Wan and believes that he is alive, but everyone believes it is his
wishful thinking. Little do they realize that Obi-Wan had been
captured by Ventress. However, in the middle of a battle, Anakin
senses Obi-Wan nearby and in danger, and despite resistance from Ki-Adi-Mundi,
Anakin goes off to rescue him, and arrives just in time. (Clone Wars
Volume 5)
On the Fields of Battle
-- most of this volume is about Quinlan Vos, but Anakin does make an
appearance in a couple stories. The most important of note is the
story in which he gets the scar on his eye battling Asajj Ventress.
(Clone Wars Volume 6)
When They Were Brothers
-- as the title suggests, most of this volume is about Obi-Wan and Anakin.
They are pursuing Asajj Ventress who is apparently not dead. (Clone Wars
Volume 7) [Note: Anakin doesn't appear at all in Volume 8]
Clone Wars Adventures Volume 1--
The graphics in this book are considerably degraded from the above graphic
novels in that they are based on the TV series. The story in which
Anakin appears is hardly crucial, and I haven't noticed it referenced
anywhere.
Clone Wars Adventures Volume 2
-- the story Anakin is in this book is a little more interesting than the
previous book in that it is told mostly as a flashback, beginning in Obi-Wan's
cave on Tatooine talking to Luke about what a great pilot Anakin was--then
the story--and ending with Vader standing over Obi-Wan's body, suggesting
that Anakin was thinking of the same story, too, but for very different
reasons.
Bob Fett: Pursuit
-- this is Boba Fett 6; Anakin is a character, and Boba and Anakin "chat";
an interesting prelude to Boba Fett's relationship with Darth Vader.
Technically, Anakin is also in
Bob Fett: A New Threat
but in truth, it's really only his starfighter that buzzes by, though it
does set up Anakin's attempt to arrest Boba in
Pursuit
Jedi Trial
-- this is not my favourite book, but it's about the battle that earns
Anakin his Knighthood
Labyrinth of Evil
-- the story that leads directly into Revenge of
the Sith; your last chance to read about Anakin
as a good guy
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
-- this is a great novel set right after Revenge of the Sith that talks
about Anakin's next steps into embracing the Dark Side, forgetting his old
self, and hunting down more Jedi.
paperback
Desperate Mission
-- Vader himself does not appear in many of the books in this series, and
when he does, he does so only briefly, but the first two books of this
series Obi-Wan reflects on him quite a bit, and the fourth book is about
preserving the secret of Anakin's children. (Last of the Jedi 1)
Dark Warning
-- more reflections on Anakin here, and Obi-Wan keeps the secret of Vader's
identity from Ferus Olin. (Last of the Jedi 2)
Death on Naboo
-- Ferus Olin is trying to protect the secret of Padme's death and the
identity of the father of her children, even though he doesn't know what the
secret is. (Last of the Jedi 4)
Betrayal
-- this series of graphic novels of is set during the imperial period.
This book deals with a story about a group of Imperial officers trying to
kill Palpatine and Vader. (Empire Volume 1)
Imperial Perspective
-- this graphic novel looks at certain events in the Empire from the
perspectives of the traditional bad guys, such as Vader's escape from the
destroyed Death Star. (Empire Volume 3)
Star Wars Tales, Vol. 2
-- this is a collection of short comics in the Star Wars universe, one of
which is an interesting story with Anakin as a boy, and Vader during Empire
Strikes Back, involving C-3PO.
Infinities: New Hope
-- this book represents a non-continuity story about, really, the entire
trilogy if the Death Star had not been destroyed and Leia turned to the Dark
Side.
Splinter of the Mind's Eye
-- this is certainly my least favourite book, even more so than Jedi Quest
#10. Vader only shows up at the very end. This was written
between New Hope
and Empire and thus
no one knows that Luke is Vader's son, but apparently, least of all Vader
himself--which is obviously non-continuous. Besides, Vader is still
depicted as being a pretty shallow, one-dimensional bad guy.
Vader's Quest
-- set between A New Hope
and Empire Strikes Back,
this story describes Vader's growing obsession with Luke Skywalker
Shadows of the Empire
-- set between Empire Strikes Back
and Return of the Jedi,
this is a story of Luke completing his training as a Jedi and Vader
searching for his son... along with some other stuff
Infinities: Return of the Jedi
-- this is an alternate version of the end of the original trilogy, if one
thing early on in the movie had gone differently. Here it's Leia who
saves Vader; he lives and Palpatine escapes. Vader in white?
Yeah. With plans to hunt down the Emperor.
Truce at Bakura
-- the Emperor is dead, but the Empire has not fallen. Anakin appears
in this book as a vision to Leia, trying to convince her to let go of her
anger at him so that she doesn't turn to the Dark Side as he did.
Tatooine Ghost
-- a really interesting book for Anakin fans. The plot is not that
compelling, except that it brings Leia to Tatooine and permits her to
discover the man Darth Vader used to be, the good man that destroyed the
Emperor, the tortured young man who watched his mother die in his arms.
Anakin's not actually in it, of course, but he's referred to so much he
might as well be.
The Unifying Force
-- this is the last book of the New Jedi Order series (#19), some 20+ years
after the death of Darth Vader. However, it relates to the topic at
hand because Anakin Skywalker returns from the Force to speak to Jacen Solo.
Jacen also believes it is his voice that has been speaking to him in his
dreams. And the story relates all the way back to Rogue Planet.
I haven't read the book yet, just glanced at it, but I anticipate I will
have to read several books backward in the series (and re-read Rogue Planet)
just to make sense of what's going on.
More to come
Non-Fiction Books
Star Wars and Philosophy
-- this was a really interesting book, and they talked a lot about the
character of Anakin/Vader. Really worth a read, and one chapter at a
time, it's a great jumping off point for discussion. I found at least
three topics I need to research further.
Now that the Clone Wars is out, we have more books and comics coming out all
the time with Anakin as a good guy, and that's just the way I like it.
So, there is still much more to add.
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