April 2026

[colls]

This month's book was Brotherhood by Mike Chen


1. What are your thoughts about the Sun-dragon story Anakin's mother told him?

2. What does the difference in reaction from Kedar and Ruug say about things like loyalty and retribution?

3. How did this book portray Anakin's transition from Padawan to Knight compared to already established stories?

4. Any thoughts on the youngling, Mill Alibeth?

5. How did you like it?

COMING UP NEXT
May: Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs

Comments

[brokenmnemonic]

I found Mill Alibeth rather relatable in this. Watching her and the other Younglings adjusting to the Republic being at war hurt rather more than I anticipated. I knew as soon as they appeared that I'd have it in my back of my head all the way through the book that their fate was going to end up dying young; I didn't anticipate that we'd be spending so much time with Mill. Her connection to the Force felt new and interesting, and her inability to deal with the empathic burden of everyone else's feelings and her subsequent declaration that she didn't want to become a Jedi Knight felt very real. It made me wonder how many others there were like her. It also made me think that once Anakin became Vader, he'd hate her for her ability to see inside him with a touch in a way that others can't.

I found that Kedar and Ruug worked for me as parallels to Obi-Wan and Anakin, with Ventress playing the role of Palpatine. Anakin's interactions with Mill gave us some insight into who he could've been, but we know who he turned out to be instead as a result of Palpatine's influence and the flaws in his own nature, his susceptibility to feelings like revenge and pride. Kedar wasn't much younger than Anakin, and with Ventress able to manipulate his feelings he ended up going the same way. I notice that Kedar was noticeably younger than Ruug, and I found myself reminded that Obi-Wan wasn't all that old when he became a knight. Bad things seem to happen to youngsters a lot in the Star Wars galaxy, don't they?

I have mixed feelings about this book overall. I think it worked well to fill in a gap in the timeline while being consistent with what I've seen in some other sources, but I'm not sure how much impact it's had on my views of Obi-Wan and Anakin. It definitely made me want to read more about Mill and Ruug... assuming that Mill survived Order 66. The most interesting thing about Anakin's journey for me was his interactions with Mill, although that also emphasised one more moment where things could've gone differently, but never did. It also showed another opportunity for Obi-Wan to see what was going on with Anakin, but he was also distracted by Satine and his feelings around her. All in all, it felt like a story all about the flaws in Anakin and Obi-Wan that played a part in how their story would play out.

[colls]

Mill is so great! Very complex and I feared she would die in this book.

I hadn't considered Kedar and Ruug as parallels to Obi-Wan and Anakin, and it feels incredibly obvious now that you've stated it.

So many blind spots needed for Anakin to fall, and yes, this feels like just another missed opportunity on Obi-Wan's part. I do like how more and more stories show the cracks and flaws in the Jedi Order and the events leading up to Palpatine's rise to power.