This past week I read the new book Brotherhood! I really loved it, I think it might be one of my new favorite Star Wars books. It's really fun, and I love how we get to see more Jedi things and the early, early beginnings of the war immediately following Attack of the Clones. It was really cool to get in the heads of these characters at such a key place in the timeline.
Spoilers ahead for Brotherhood by Mike Chen!
Anakin's perspective was always interesting. Getting to know his thoughts as he adjusts to his new arm, new relationship, and new role as a Jedi Knight were really fascinating. This book really showcases the best of Anakin as he is a kind mentor to younglings and devoted to helping Obi-Wan when he's in trouble. He can sometimes come off as a bit of an unreliable narrator through things like his complete faith in Palpatine, but I think that it really fits his character and getting this perspective enhances the book a lot. I loved reading about Anakin coming to terms with the evolution of his relationship with Obi-Wan after he was no longer his Padawan, and realizing that this doesn't mean their bond has gone away. It's really sweet, but also kind of sad knowing how everything really ends up.
Chapters from Obi-Wan's point of view were my favorites. I loved getting in his head, and especially getting the version of Obi-Wan at this point in the timeline after getting his perspective as a padawan in Master & Apprentice. Seeing Obi-Wan justify the Jedi's changing role in a galaxy at war despite his own discomforts, how he handles the changing relationship between himself and Anakin after Anakin's knighting, and other things was really interesting. Plus, something exciting was getting to see Obi-Wan go to Dexter Jettster for help, and getting more information about that friendship after their scene together in Attack of the Clones is really fun. Plus, we get a good amount of Satine mentions in this book, which make me equally happy and sad. Not to mention that it all got me so, so much more excited than I even already was for Obi-Wan Kenobi to come out this week.
I love getting to see the Jedi in this book. In my opinion, Attack of the Clones is when they really hit the point of no return as far as involvement in the war and their eventual fall, so it's interesting to see the Jedi immediately following that, and how they're giving up some of their traditional ways and beliefs to fight a war. We also got a lot of fun little Jedi cameos, like Quinlan Vos or Jaro Tapal being followed by a red-headed youngling, which was just so cute. Getting these early Clone Wars politics is always so fascinating for me, and I'm always happy to have another book exploring it.
Something really new from this book was exploring Neimoidians. Neimoidians haven't been done well by Star Wars, we really only see them linked to the Trade Federation. In this book, we get to see how they push back against the galaxy linking all of them to the actions of the Trade Federation and Nute Gunray. We get to learn a little bit more about their cultural values and their art, and characters like Obi-Wan and Anakin reckon with their own biases. The plot of the story revolves around a bombing on Cato Nemoidia that Obi-Wan is sent to investigate to see who was responsible, and though it eventually comes to light that it was an unknown assailant framing both sides of the war, the whole investigation is interesting as Obi-Wan meets a cool new character to help him and flexes his diplomatic skills. Plus, through this book we get to know exactly what happened with "that business on Cato Nemoidia" that Obi-Wan mentions in Revenge of the Sith, and why it "doesn't count."
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