CLASSIC ART: THE JEDI THAT WAS, THE JEDI THAT WILL BE...

He'll be the mostly hidden underpinnings to the ultimate story of THE FORCE AWAKENS at cinemas this Xmas, but the earlier conceived, printed Expanded Universe was able to tell an altogether different future history for Luke Skywalker and his new Jedi Order, during the novel adventures of the nineties onwards. This is the impressive Japanese cover (artist unknown) for the first volume of Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy: Jedi Search.

For more on the worldwide art for this series, head here: The Early Bantam Era: John Alvin | Roqoo Depot

THE NEW HOPES! THE 'JEDI ACADEMY' TRILOGY CONCLUDES WITH 'CHAMPIONS OF THE FORCE'

Moving at lightspeed pace, the concluding part of Kevin J. Anderson's STAR WARS adventure-fest, now celebrating a landmark twentieth anniversary, gets off to a memorable and fiery start. One week on from Book Two's cliffhanger, the Sith-influenced, revenge-fuelled Kyp Durron uses his fearsomely powerful Sun Crusher weapon to destroy the Imperial Training facility world of Carida, though his rescue attempt of his brother, now a Stormtrooper, proves tragically doomed to failure, sending him into a firestorm of pain and anguish. As Kyp threatens further intergalactic annihilation, can his friends Han Solo and Lando Calrissian win him back from evildom's grip?

Meanwhile, back on Yavin Four, our Jedi icon Luke Skywalker's body is now in a cadaverous state- his mind and spirit trapped in a Force limbo controlled by the feared Exar Kun, determined to extinguish his heart of good forever by using Luke's now dispirited and unsure what to do trainees against him. Arriving at the Academy, its here that Princess Leia, despite her pain at Luke's condition, gives one of her finest moral-boosting speeches, ending his disciples continued state of quiet disarray, pulling them together in this difficult time, in a way that will see them ultimately taking the fight, with a little help from the Jedi-sensitive babies Jacen and Jaina Solo (finally getting some good moments in the trilogy), to the Dark Spectre plaguing the Massassi temples. Unfortunately, Leia's inner strength isn't available to them for long, soon making a desperate journey to Anoth, the secret location of her third baby-Anakin, in order to stop him from being kidnapped by the remaining Imperial fractions of Carida, intent on grooming him as their new Dark Side leader- a memorable sequence for Timothy Zahn's created character of minder/nursemaid Winter, gamely holding off the advancing firepower of Anderson's new Imperial creations, the Spider Walkers, thanks to a little technological help, nicknamed FIDO, created by Admiral Ackbar...

Finally, lovable Falcon first-mate Chewbacca, intent on freeing his Wookiee slave brethren at Kessel, brings Threepio, and assists General Antilles and his assault team, as they make their bid to capture the no longer Imperial protected Maw installation. But time and courage ultimately prove not on their side, as the Maw's protective Death Star prototype soon escapes the conflict, now fully armed and operational, ready to cause destructive turmoil to the New Republic, of which Imperial Admiral Daala, having previously cheated death from Kyp Durron's attack in book two, additionally brings further chaos. How can they be stopped?

Ending on a huge space battle, and a lone act of almost self-sacrifice, the ending of the Jedi Academy trilogy reminds us of those nostalgic days when the Expanded Universe had lots of future potential, not yet a bloated, continuity trapped beast. Champions of the Force wraps things up with fast paced enthusiasm and efficiency, of which all prior plot/character strands are generally, satisfyingly tied up. Only the lack of really memorable material for Luke and Leia in the drama stakes proves disappointing.

AFICIONADO RATING: Genuinely keeping the spirit of the post ROTJ era alive and well,  forging new characters and new scenarios for future books to exploit, Champions of the Force may not boast the sophisticated writing style of Timothy Zahn,  but Kevin J. Anderson's enthusiasm for telling a good yarn shines through. IMHO, it's certainly worthy of reprinting within the new LEGENDS branding of the STAR WARS book publishing program. 3.5 out of 5

GUERILLA WAR! REMEMBERING 'DARK APPRENTICE' - BOOK TWO OF 'THE JEDI ACADEMY TRILOGY'

Book Two of Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy- Dark Apprentice - speeds along as AFICIONADO celebrates both its place in the Expanded Universe and as an ambitious action successor to Timothy Zahn's opening trilogy- quite big shoes to step into!

Whereas Han and Chewie had the most action in Book One, this time out the adventure feels much more of an ensemble piece, particularly continuing to show us more of the mentioned but previously unexplored realms of the STAR WARS film universe. Now removed from the Maw sector of Kessel, wannabe Imperial tyrant Admiral Daala, thirsting revenge on the New Republic for the defeat of Tarkin and the Empire as a whole, begins her series of hit and run guerilla assaults alongside her remaining Star Destroyer fleet- first on a Rebel transport, then on the newly seeded colony world of Dantooine (literally massacred by spacial bombardments and AT-AT's). Then comes the big attack: on the undersea realms of the Mon Calamari (realised by the author in 1994 in a subtly different, but no less effective way to how it would eventually appear in THE CLONE WARS animated series). This is easily one of Book Two's highlights, where Admiral Ackbar, disgraced after almost prior killing Leia in a B-wing shuttle crash (later discovered as sabotage), gets to show his mettle as leader and strategist, whilst also saying a new variation on his classic line from ROTJ: "It's a Trap!" Meanwhile, other Imperial fractions on the training world of Carida gather strength in their plans to wrestle control from the New Republic: firstly, secretly poisoning Mon Mothma with a unique wasting virus, then planning to use an elite Stormtrooper squad to capture Leia and Han's third child, Anakin, from the safety of his secret location on the planet Anoth. More on this to come in Book Three.

Things aren't getting any easier for Luke in his setting up of the new Jedi Academy, either. Firmly settled on the Fourth Moon of Yavin (where Anderson reveals more about the planets history and its abandoned Massassi temples),  he has gathered his first twelve students, plus an inquisitive Mara Jade (a bit more friendly now towards her once enemy), but one- Gantoris- is soon murdered in mysterious circumstances (before his demise, linked to a fateful prophecy, he wields an impressive, extendable lightsaber blade weapon to Luke in a show of Dark Side strength), whilst the Master's most powerful star pupil, 18 year old Kyp Durron, previously rescued from Kessel by soon friend Han Solo, equally turns (perhaps too quickly in novel time) to evil, caught in the temptations and machinations of the reappeared spirit of one of the early Sith Lords: the formidable Exar Kun- leader of The Brotherhood of the Sith. Luke, previously resisting Kun's temptations (having used the appearance of the Sebastian Shaw version of Anakin Skywalker), soon has no choice but to battle both Kun and Durron. But will he be powerful enough?

In between all these events, Han and Lando are sidelined, engaged in constant friction, and Sabaac match battles, over ownership of the Falcon, General Wedge Antilles, on numerous assignments for the New Republic, gets to fall in love with one of the alien designers of the Death Star, whilst Chewbacca wants to free some prior prison-held wookiees from slavery on the Kessel Maw Imperial installation. Finally, young Jedi offspring Jacen and Jaina Solo get to show their Force powers after getting separated from Threepio and Chewbacca, going off to explore the underbelly of Coruscant/Imperial Center, in what is ultimately one of the weakest parts of the book.

Keeping the EMPIRE tradition, Dark Apprentice ends on an intriguing cliffhanger note, as Dark Forces of evil build: Durron, bordering on final Dark Side capabilities, salvages the Sun Crusher weapon and uses it against Daala's fleet, with catastrophic results, whilst Luke Skywalker's previous attempts to stop Kyp, and the corrupting influence of the immensely powerful spectre-like Exar Kun,  prove dangerously ineffectual. Soundly defeated, his mind separated from his body in Force limbo, it seems that his Jedi colleagues are now seemingly powerless to help him!

AFICIONADO RATING: A solid enough mixture of old and new from Anderson. 3 out of 5

CLASSIC ART: THE NEW JEDI ORDER...

Another classic Chris Trevas image, showing us Luke at the head of his New Republic-era Jedi, based within the Massassi Temples of the Fourth Moon of Yavin, as begun in the fateful events of Kevin J. Anderson's JEDI ACADEMY trilogy, and further cemented in other Expanded Universe books later down the line.

Whether Luke did indeed gather a new assemblage of Jedi outside the unofficial Expanded Universe, within the timeline of official events after EPISODE VI, and before the likely tumoultous 35 years after events of EPISODE VII, is unknown. Will young rising stars Daisy Ridley and John Boyega be the proper start of the next generation of Jedi from 2015?

Attending MARVEL's UK premiere of sci-fi comedy GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, Mark Hamill was interviewed by the BBC about EPISODE VII, and the contractually-obligated growing of his Alec Guinness-inspired beard: BBC News - Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker, on Star Wars: Episode VII

FORGING THE FUTURE! CELEBRATING TWENTY YEARS OF 'THE JEDI ACADEMY TRILOGY'

Timothy Zahn had gotten the new STAR WARS Expanded Universe off to an incredible, blockbuster start with The Thrawn Trilogy, now it was Kevin J. Anderson's populist turn to build on its solid foundations, creating a history-setting series of storylines and character developments that would equally make as an indelible a mark on the continuing book series and generally satisfy its burgeoning and beloved fan base for the next twenty years. I would be very unsurprised if some of the ideas from this book, as well as Zahn's first trilogy, didn't make it somewhere into the story DNA, even if only at a subtly noticeable level, of EPISODE VII and beyond.

Jedi Search- Book One of Anderson's then all-new THE JEDI ACADEMY trilogy- is a fun and zippy affair, though, of all our STAR WARS heroes old and new featured within the book, it's Han and Chewbacca who have the best scenes and get into the most trouble: the Falcon severely crippled and the duo captured by a renegade force controlling the now famous Kessel spice mining system (mentioned several times in the original STAR WARS and finally realised here, in novel form), located near the dangerous Black Hole-parked the Maw, itself soon discovered as a home to a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers (one of which later gets caught in the natural space and time devourer- an image I'd love to see translated to film or animation!) and a weapons research base with created terrifying power for destruction rivalling the original Death Star (as well as a lethal prototype Sun Crusher fighter), bearing operators and legions of Stormtroopers unaware of the Empire's prior defeat at the Battle of Endor. It's here that Imperial bitch Admiral Daala, groomed to her fullest potential by the Grand Moff Tarkin himself, makes her first embittered and revenge-fuelled entrance, staying in the EU right up to the FATE OF THE JEDI series.

Meanwhile, knowing that the Republic has never been in more danger and disharmony, Luke Skywalker, with help from Lando and trusty Artoo, travels the universe in search of new Jedi apprentices (including the soon discovered Kyp Durron), all to be trained in isolation on the fourth moon of Yavin- a nice idea/continuity exploiter, of which this first book also features a return visit to the wild clouds of Bespin and descriptively explores several other key environments created/expanded by Ralph McQuarrie for Anderson's popular The Illustrated STAR WARS Universe hardcover book, as well as the prior established Imperial Centre of Coruscant (named before it was officially given the title by Lucas for EPISODE I). And as for Princess Leia, well, she doesn't get any action duties yet-this first entry sees her confined to the New Republic's political centre, with the uneasy duty of dealing with a planet still sharing strong ties to the last remnants of the Empire, whilst poor old Threepio has the unenviable task of acting the Nanny to her two newly arrived, no longer in hiding young children- Jaina and Jacen. Golden Rod has his hands full there!

AFICIONADO RATING: 3.5 out of 5