Book Review: Padawan's Pride
Well I must say that of all the things I was expecting today, surprise Obi-Wan Kenobi was not one of them. And yet, lo and behold, Disney Books surprised us all today with an audible original story, Padawan’s Promise, which follows Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker only a few years after the events of The Phantom Menace.
Obi-Wan and Anakin have been Master and Padawan for a while but are still experiencing serious growing pains. Their dynamic is put to the test, however, when Yoda sends the pair on an undercover mission, where Anakin has to pose as a hotshot, trust fund baby podracer, with Obi-Wan posing as his attendant — a dynamic Anakin personally gets a huge kick out of.
Though short and sweet, Padawan’s Pride fills a spot that has actively felt empty in the new canon for me. No, I don’t just mean “early day Anakin and Obi-Wan” though that’s certainly true. Rather, for me, Padawan’s Pride was very reminiscent of the Jedi Apprentice series, following Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon in a similar point in their Master-Padawan relationship. It’s the same tensions and insecurities born of this not-quite parent child relationship that we usually only see at later points in other Star Wars media.
Padawan’s Promise does what Jedi Apprentice did so well, giving Obi-Wan and Anakin a low-stakes (in that, it doesn’t concern the fate of the galaxy) adventure wherein they get the chance to explore their own sense of identity, and their identity within their partnership. It’s a fun, breezy character piece, and I hope this is a sign that the short form middle-grade Star Wars book series is making a comeback, though even if it remains a stand-alone, it’s a welcome addition to the canon.
Padawan’s Pride is out now on Audible.
