John Jackson Miller’s Star Wars: The Living Force is now available to buy and read. This new book pushes the Jedi in a way we’ve never seen before.
The Jedi have always traveled the stars, defending peace and justice across the galaxy. But, the galaxy is changing, and along with it, the Jedi Order. More and more, the Order finds itself focused on the future of the Republic, secluded on Coruscant, where the twelve members of the Jedi Council weigh crises on a galactic scale.
As yet another Jedi Outpost leftover from the Republic’s golden age is set to be decommissioned on the planet Kwenn, Qui-Gon Jinn challenges the Council about the increasing isolation of the Order. Mace Windu suggests a bold response: all twelve Jedi Masters will embark on a goodwill mission to help the planet, and remind the people of the galaxy that the Jedi remain as stalwart and present as they have been across the ages.
To celebrate its release, I had the pleasure of talking to the author himself, and together we discussed Star Wars as a whole, as well as the shortcomings of the Jedi Council. It was an incredibly intriguing and enlightening conversation that really dived into the strengths and weaknesses of the Jedi Order.
Despite them keeping the Light in balance, it’s okay to look at the Jedi and admit that they didn’t get everything right. One of the best things that John said was how the Jedi Council, during the Prequel era, were in this state of decay in what John called “a slow moving car accident that we were watching.” I’m not sure why, but that phrase really stuck with me, especially when we started looking at the relationship between the readers and the characters. If you think about it, we as readers know more than the Jedi do because we know how these events unravel, so that always adds an interesting weight to these sorts of stories. Even though The Living Force is a hopeful transformation for the Council and its members, you can’t escape the looming shadow of the Sith.
Here’s a little taste of what we discussed:
James: “Having this sort of foresight as a writer and as an audueince, we know the inevitable fall of the Jedi is approaching. Order 66, the rise of Vader and Palpatine. What sort of opportunities does that afford you?“
John Jackson Miller: “We could throw in a little foreshadowing. We don’t wanna go too hard on it. You know we don’t wanna overdo it. This book is, I think, a very hopeful book despite the fact that it’s set when it is. It may be the last minute, or the last year, in which, you know, they’re all still pretty happy relative to the rest of how they will be in the rest of the series. You know, they’re obviously not happy about what they’re going through when this book starts but you know, they certainly don’t have this existential dread… that is gonna start. They are only then beginning to get the notion that yeah, things are out of balance. Things are not the way they should be, but at the same time they’re able to go to an island planet and have a reasonably good time.
Check out the full interview below:
John Jackson Miller is the New York Times bestselling author of the Scribe Award-winning Star Wars: Kenobi, which was released in 2013 – and it was actually my first ever Star Wars novel. In addition to Kenobi, Miller also wrote Star Wars: A New Dawn, Lost Tribe of the Sith, Knight Errant, and the Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic graphic novel. Miller is also no stranger to major franchises, in fact Miller has contributed to some of the biggest franchises out there including Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Halo, Mass Effect, Iron Man, and The Simpsons.
Star Wars: The Living Force is available right now. You can pick up your own copy from places such as Amazon, Waterstones, Blackwells, and Foyles. You can also enjoy it via Audible where the entire thing is narrated by Star Wars audibook veteran Marc Thompson.
