Star Wars: Brotherhood

*Very mild spoilers*Mike Chen truly knocked this one out of the park, for me. He successfully plumbed new depths of Anakin and Obi Wan's characters, in ways that none of the media (canon and EU) up to this point has be able to do, for me. Having both characters actively contemplate how they've changed individually and as a unit (including what they each got wrong over the apprenticeship years) finally fills a crucial narrative and emotional gap that has existed between the snarkiness, condescension and resentment of Attack of the Clones, to the heartbreaking emotional revelation by Obi Wan on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith: "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!" I include all the comics, novels and animated series in this. Aside from maybe a couple moments in the Clone Wars series, and the spectacular opening sequence of Revenge of the Sith, I've never felt like Obi Wan and Anakin had ever been more than teacher-student/master-apprentice/exhausted parent-uncontrollable teenager - until now. All of this, plus *very* cool additions to canon small moments and Big Moments (i.e. "That business on Cato Neimoidia..") which truly add that much more weight to the Tragedy of the Chosen One, and a galaxy "(left) in darkness." If you yell "Noooo!!" at the screen every time you see Anakin chop off Mace Windu's hand, or get emotional every time you hear the words "Execute Order 66," then this is a perfect addition to your Star Wars collection.

Chen does such a great job of breathing new life into these characters!

This was such a good book. I absolutely loved it. The plot was simple, a bombing on Cato Namodia, and Obi-Wan was sent to figure out who did it, and keep the peace. Meanwhile, we see Anakin's first time teaching a Jedi Youngling, a zabrak by the name of Mill Ailbeth. Which was an incredibly heartwarming part of the story.He's also very good at writing Anakin and Padme, which I know other authors struggle with.Also, a brief appearance by Cal Kestis and Jaro Tapal which was amazing. And a Dynamic-class freighter, gotta love the KOTOR callback.It definitely reminded me strongly of the Revenge of the Sith novel throughout when it was focused on Anakin, which I absolutely loved as that's like my favorite SW book of all time. I saw the author took a lot of inspiration from it.Great book in all. I'd love to see Mike Chen write more in the prequel era. He nailed the characters.

I love the book so far! I’ve been excited to read it for a while now🥹 My only complaint was that I paid extra to pre-order it and have same day shipping when it was released. When I got the book, the cover was damaged and sticky. It came with other books I ordered and they too were damaged so I suppose shout out to Amazon? Yikes but oh well😅

Star Wars: Brotherhood by Mike Chen follows newly promoted Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi after the events of Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The entire plot springs from a line of dialogue at the beginning of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith when Anakin says he saved Obi-Wan’s life for the tenth time, to which Obi-Wan promptly corrects him with, “Ninth time. That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn’t…doesn’t count.”A brutal attack on Cato Neimoidia, a neutral planet but also home of the Trade Federation, brings Master Kenobi into a pivotal diplomatic role to solve the crime–the results of which could turn the tide of the new Clone War. We also get to experience Neimoidian culture and people beyond what we know of the Trade Federation. There was an interesting examination of how the Neimoidians often feel stereotyped or put into a box by the Republic with the thinking that all Neimoidians are the Trade Federation and are aligned with the extremist views of Nute Gunray (so, essentially, #NotAllNeimoidians, but on a serious note, akin to how not all people who follow the faith of Islam are terrorists.)Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker enjoys stolen moments with his new wife Padme Amidala. I really loved getting to see their blossoming relationship and their “date night” in the lowers levels of Coruscant. I wish we’d gotten more moments of them together, but I understand the book was meant to be a focus on the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan.Additional POV chapters include a Neimoidian special ops soldier who becomes an unlikely ally to Obi-Wan (I could have done without her POV chapters to be honest, but I understand the narrative importance,) Asajj Ventress who has been appointed Dooku’s “agent” into the investigation, and Mill Alibeth, a youngling taken under the wing of Anakin Skywalker. I enjoyed the mentor-apprentice dynamic between Anakin and Mill because it not only showed Anakin’s compassion and growing maturity/wisdom, but it also foreshadowed his mentorship of Ahsoka Tano.I found Brotherhood to be one of the more well-written Star Wars novels. I also really loved and appreciated the continuity with E. K. Johnston’s Padme novels, the Clone Wars series, as well as bringing back (or recanonizing) details from the Gendy animated Clone Wars series such as Mace facing down hundreds of battle droids and Ki-Adi-Mundi fighting General Grievous. We also get a cameo of Padawan Cal Kestis and his master Jaro Tapal from Jedi Fallen Order. I love when Star Wars stories, whether they’re films, shows, novels, or comics, fully utilize existing canon to strengthen that continuity and world building.

This book is the perfect bridge for how we get from the end of Attack of the Clones to the start of The Clone Wars. If you enjoy prequel era you won't be disappointed. I personally couldn't put the book down. Really hope to see more Star Wars books from Mike Chen in the future!

This book hits the time period after Attack of the Clones and the Animated movie/series The Clone Wars. It has the first meeting of Obi Wan and Ventress as well as the Anakin’s first days as a Jedi Knight and Obi Wan’s start on the Jedi Council. If you are a fan of the Clone Wars you will very much enjoy the many connections from Point A (AOTC) to Point B. A great read before the upcoming Kenobi series.

This is literally the story we never knew we needed.Kenobi has just started to figure out Anakin & Padme’s romance, and are sent on 2 separate missions that ultimately overlap.Kenobi is sent to Neimoidia to investigate a devastating terror attack that looks as though the Republic did it, and encounters one of Dooku’s best apprentices.Anakin goes on a different mission that results in him taking on a temporary Palawan in Mill, a young Zabrak with an unusual connection to the Force.This book has the high capers you expect from the Clone Wars era, politics cleverly woven in as good as Claudia Gray’s Bloodline, and Mike Chen writes Anakin and Padme’s relationship without toxicity and in the spirit of the movies and animated series.Overall this was a great read, and I hope Chen gets to write more Star Wars

An excellent book, that gets better as it goes along. I was a bit worried because the book started out a bit slow, and not very action packed, but as the further I read the mire the pace of the book made sense.This is book covers the transition period, after Atrack of the Clones, (and Queen's Hope), Anakin becoming a Jedi Knight from a Padawan. The change in rank also affects his relationship with Obi-Wan. Though technically Obi-Wan still outranks him, he us no longer has direct master. I also like Obi-Wan's insecurities about his worthiness of his new position. Another great touch in this book is the fact that Obi-Wan recognises a position Anakin is in as he could have made a similar choice in his life.The side/supporting characters in this book are also great. They really add to both Obi-Wan and Anakin's development. Also the plotting and grooming of Anakin by Palpatine. As well as the first meeting on another classic Clone Wars character.Another great think about this book gets points for is dealing with Anakin's physical injury from Dooku. This is a great transition book for growth and character development. In the acknowledgement page thanks other writers and the collaboration between them is obvious.

Mike Chen loves the prequels. So much he seems less concerned with character development, finding an interesting angle to pit us us in the action or to find a rhythm/pace of his own and just tackling issues, such as line readings or dialogue, much mocked from George Lucas's ATTACK OF THE CLONES.It comes across, as if Chen wants to lend weight or a broader understanding of such lines as, "I don't like sand!" that, and many other pieces of prequel lore that's faced critical mauling. It's rather Reddit fan-fictiony.Don't bother. It adds nothing.

The other reviews say it all really, the author manages to capture Obi-wan and Anakin’s voices perfectly. A transitional time for the former Master and Apprentice, really shows them evolve from the characters they are in Ep2 to the Clone Wars series. Some foreshadowing of Anakin’s future choices as you’d expect but explained well and even made understandable. The Nemoidian characters were well done, albeit a little predictable on the part of Ketar. Add Asajj Ventress a gifted youngling and an interesting location and you’ve got a compelling story and a fine addition to the Star Wars Saga. ‘This is the book you’re looking for.’

The best writing and layout of any book I've ever read, the short chapters each from a different characters perspective just make it so easy to read chapter after chapter. It's a phenomenal book with a really well thought out explanation for Anakin as a person and why he is the way he is. The ending just...makes sense and personifies Anakin to a whole other level.