Kenobi (novel)

"The greatest hero in the galaxy faces his toughest challenge yet: He must stop being Obi-Wan — and learn to live as Ben."

- John Jackson Miller

Kenobi is a novel written by author John Jackson Miller. It was released on August 27, 2013. The novel takes place between the events of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. It is set during the early days of Obi-Wan's exile on Tatooine.

The short story "Incognito" from Star Wars Insider 143 was written as a tie-in.

Hardcover
Back cover

'''The Republic has fallen. Sith Lords rule the Galaxy. Obi-Wan Kenobi has lost everything. Everything but hope.'''

Internal flap

''Tatooine—a harsh desert world where farmers toil in the heat of two suns while trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from the marauding Tusken Raiders. A backwater planet on the edge of civilized space. And an unlikely place to find a Jedi Master in hiding, or an orphaned infant boy on whose tiny shoulders rests the future of a galaxy.''

''Known to locals only as “Ben,” the bearded and robed offworlder is an enigmatic stranger who keeps to himself, shares nothing of his past, and goes to great pains to remain an outsider. But as tensions escalate between the farmers and a tribe of Sand People led by a ruthless war chief, Ben finds himself drawn into the fight, endangering the very mission that brought him to Tatooine.''

''Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice.''

Plot summary
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a new arrival on the planet of Tatooine. Now going under the guise of Ben, he has left the infant child of Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, in the care of Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun Lars. Kenobi sets up a house in the outskirts of the desert with his pet, Rooh.

Nearby, the settlers and moisture farmers of Dannar's Claim rally together under Orrin Gault against the threat of the Tusken Raiders, who are gradually losing morale and people against Gault's alliance of settlers.

Following another of the settlers' victorious battle against the Tusken Raiders, Kallie Calwell, the teenaged daughter of the owner of Dannar's Claim, Anileen, accidentally rides an animal toward a field of Sarlaccs. Annileen tries to save her daughter, but both women are saved by Kenobi, riding on Rooh.

After saving the Calwell women, Kenobi begins to visit Dannar's Claim on an irregular basis to the point where he soon sees what the united settlers are doing to the Tusken Raiders. Kenobi communicates with the Tusken's leader, A'Yark, who agrees that what the settlers are doing to the Tuskens is morally wrong. At the same time, Anileen starts to develop a fond attraction to Kenobi.

Kenobi decides to investigate Orrin Gault, who wants to marry Anileen. The former Jedi discovers that Gault is deeply in debt to Jabba Desilijic Tiure, and is rallying the settlers for his own financial benefit; as well, Orrin's desire to marry Anileen was also to plunder more money from her ownership of Dannar's Claim to give to Jabba. After stopping one of Gault's scams to get more settlers into his sham alliance, Kenobi becomes a pariah whom Gault wants dead. Thus, Kenobi teams up with the Tusken Raiders to take Gault down.

Kenobi comes up with a plan to gather the Tusken clan who has been attacked by Orrin's group. While Ben is preparing the Tuskens, Annileen calls Jabba's cronies to come and settle the large debt that has been accumulated. Orrin still tries to make Kenobi the scapegoat and get the other settlers to rally against the man, but in the end Annileen tells the settlers that Kenobi is a good person. This confirms the suspicions the settlers harbor of Orrin's goals. When being pursued by Orrin, a canyon krayt dragon attacks Kenobi. This is where he reveals himself as a Jedi to Orrin Gault as he battles the beast. After destroying the krayt dragon, Orrin schemes to reveal Kenobi to the Empire. Which could be his last card to play, despite his desperate situation with the settlers, the Tuskens, and Jabba's debt. Eventually Orrin tries to escape, making use of a damaged land speeder. In a face off with Anileen, Kenobi, and A'Yark, Orrin accelerates quickly towards the Tusken leader which sends them speeding off a cliff into the Tusken badlands. Orrin is no longer seen by Kenobi, Anilieen or the children at that point.

In the end, Orrin, thought dead, is paralyzed from the waist down and badly burned. He is taken in by the Tusken Raiders. He wakes up discovering that he is wearing a Tusken breathing mask. A'Yark reveals that Orrin is now a slave on the Tusken camp and will be used to repair moisture vaporators.

Anileen and her children meet Kenobi at his house in the Jundland wastes. Kenobi then reveals to Anileen that he has arranged for her to travel to Bestine and leave Tatooine for good. He also gives her news that he submitted her university application, that she had been holding onto the Claim for so many years. She will study exobiology and travel to multiple systems and planets to study different species as part of the program. She is overjoyed with the news. But Kenobi reveals that he will not be staying with her and her family. He explains has responsibilities on the planet to take care of another child. He also explains how he has been withholding information from her about his past. This upsets her greatly and causes her to feel sorry for Kenobi. She is saddened to lose her new savior, but finds a way to deal with her grief.

Behind the scenes
Kenobi is a sweeping story that’s all Star Wars, part epic western, part romance, and part high-stakes drama. Author John Jackson Miller has been working on the concept of this book for years.

Although the audio book version of Star Wars: Kenobi is narrated by Jonathan Davis, James Arnold Taylor narrated a preview excerpt of the book.