2007-01-11 "If I do end up collapsing the Jedi Order, remember one thing. You started it."

THE STORY:
Set 3,964 BBY (or 8 years before the first KOTOR game) this is the story of the inept Padawan Zayne Carrick. He finds himself framed for the murder of his friends by their Masters and his own. Fleeing into the streets of the city planet Taris, he finds an unlikely ally in his former nemesis the criminal Gryph. Zayne then undertakes a desperate mission to clear his name and find out why the Jedi Masters turned murderers in the first place, all the while pursued by them.

WHAT'S GOOD:
Whilst the whole 'framed for a crime he didn't commit' thing is fairly old territory, the masterstroke of this book is the discovery of why the Masters murdered their own students. It's so surprising and, fitting, that it just makes the whole book. I also liked that the main character is actually failing his training, rather than being an exceptional but troubled student. I won't ruin the story, but there's been some (unconfirmed) online speculation that Darth Nihilus could be in Zayne's future.

WHAT'S BAD:
Aside from a few incidentals, such as the planet Taris and a brief appearance by the Dantooine Council, this book fails to take advantage of it's connections to the hugely popular KOTOR games. As a big fan of those games, this left me feeling slightly disappointed. If you've not played the games then you'll have no such gripe and should enjoy this adventure in Star Wars' ancient history.