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A review by jaredkwheeler
The Shadow Trap by Jude Watson
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #92
Background: The Shadow Trap was written by [a:Jude Watson|11912|Jude Watson|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1403530689p2/11912.jpg] and published in May 2003. It is the sixth book of the Jedi Quest series, following [b:The School of Fear|359790|The School of Fear (Star Wars Jedi Quest, #5)|Jude Watson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328869632s/359790.jpg|777687] (my review).
The Shadow Trap is set a few months after The School of Fear, 26 years before the Battle of Yavin, when Anakin is 15. Obi-Wan and Anakin are the main characters, along with Jedi Masters Yaddle and Yoda, and the recurring series villain Granta Omega.
Summary: The infrastructure of the planet Mawan has collapsed and various criminal organizations have moved in to take advantage of the chaos. Obi-Wan and Anakin accompany Master Yaddle on a mission to "persuade" the crime lords to move on, but Anakin is troubled by ominous visions of a possible future that may not bode well for the Jedi. Meanwhile, an old enemy has a plan of his own, and the Jedi have just walked directly into his path.
Review: I'm just going to get this out of the way first . . . The Shadow Trap runs right up against the biggest problem I've had with this portion of the timeline ever since I first sat in a theater and watched Attack of the Clones many years ago: Shmi Skywalker is still a slave on Tatooine. There is no good reason for this, and it isn't Watson's problem to fix. But she doesn't have to bring it up and then totally not explain it. A major piece of Anakin's emotional journey in this story hinges on an offer for him to go free his mother on Tatooine, and Obi-Wan commiserates with him about the difficulty of that choice.
No. Nope. No way. Obi-Wan is a major reason why Anakin had to make a choice he should never have had to make, because Shmi should long since have been rescued by the Jedi and set up for life. And we never get any kind of remotely reasonable explanation why she hasn't. We know the Jedi have huge monetary and political resources. They have plenty of time (Anakin and Obi-Wan frequently go on R&R missions where they just hang out on cool planets for a few weeks to bond . . . how about a bonding mission to go rescue Anakin's freaking mom from slavery?!). There have even been Jedi missions on Tatooine during this time period. This completely unexplainable "oversight" is, to me, easily one of the most infuriating details of this entire era, and Watson shouldn't have brought it up if she wasn't prepared to offer a rationale for it.
Anyway, that aside, this book continues the trend of solid storytelling of most of the series so far. I grow a bit weary of the "Next time, Gadget" narrow escapes by Omega, and I really don't buy the big reveal about his identity here. It strikes me as unnecessary and implausible, but your mileage may vary. I know she was going for interesting links to her earlier series, I'm just not sure this lands that way. But, there are several interesting twists and turns, and this is probably the best portrayal of Yaddle I've come across. I really feel like she deserved more time in the spotlight as a character. She's not really just Lady Yoda.
However, I've probably hinted at too much already, and I don't want to give things away. I'm definitely hooked into where all this is going, particularly with Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship. I felt like drama between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon was dragged out too long in the Jedi Apprentice series, and this series could be in danger of doing the same thing, but it's not there yet. We'll see.
B-
Background: The Shadow Trap was written by [a:Jude Watson|11912|Jude Watson|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1403530689p2/11912.jpg] and published in May 2003. It is the sixth book of the Jedi Quest series, following [b:The School of Fear|359790|The School of Fear (Star Wars Jedi Quest, #5)|Jude Watson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328869632s/359790.jpg|777687] (my review).
The Shadow Trap is set a few months after The School of Fear, 26 years before the Battle of Yavin, when Anakin is 15. Obi-Wan and Anakin are the main characters, along with Jedi Masters Yaddle and Yoda, and the recurring series villain Granta Omega.
Summary: The infrastructure of the planet Mawan has collapsed and various criminal organizations have moved in to take advantage of the chaos. Obi-Wan and Anakin accompany Master Yaddle on a mission to "persuade" the crime lords to move on, but Anakin is troubled by ominous visions of a possible future that may not bode well for the Jedi. Meanwhile, an old enemy has a plan of his own, and the Jedi have just walked directly into his path.
Review: I'm just going to get this out of the way first . . . The Shadow Trap runs right up against the biggest problem I've had with this portion of the timeline ever since I first sat in a theater and watched Attack of the Clones many years ago: Shmi Skywalker is still a slave on Tatooine. There is no good reason for this, and it isn't Watson's problem to fix. But she doesn't have to bring it up and then totally not explain it. A major piece of Anakin's emotional journey in this story hinges on an offer for him to go free his mother on Tatooine, and Obi-Wan commiserates with him about the difficulty of that choice.
No. Nope. No way. Obi-Wan is a major reason why Anakin had to make a choice he should never have had to make, because Shmi should long since have been rescued by the Jedi and set up for life. And we never get any kind of remotely reasonable explanation why she hasn't. We know the Jedi have huge monetary and political resources. They have plenty of time (Anakin and Obi-Wan frequently go on R&R missions where they just hang out on cool planets for a few weeks to bond . . . how about a bonding mission to go rescue Anakin's freaking mom from slavery?!). There have even been Jedi missions on Tatooine during this time period. This completely unexplainable "oversight" is, to me, easily one of the most infuriating details of this entire era, and Watson shouldn't have brought it up if she wasn't prepared to offer a rationale for it.
Anyway, that aside, this book continues the trend of solid storytelling of most of the series so far. I grow a bit weary of the "Next time, Gadget" narrow escapes by Omega, and I really don't buy the big reveal about his identity here. It strikes me as unnecessary and implausible, but your mileage may vary. I know she was going for interesting links to her earlier series, I'm just not sure this lands that way. But, there are several interesting twists and turns, and this is probably the best portrayal of Yaddle I've come across. I really feel like she deserved more time in the spotlight as a character. She's not really just Lady Yoda.
However, I've probably hinted at too much already, and I don't want to give things away. I'm definitely hooked into where all this is going, particularly with Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship. I felt like drama between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon was dragged out too long in the Jedi Apprentice series, and this series could be in danger of doing the same thing, but it's not there yet. We'll see.
B-