Writing a book set in the Star Wars universe — even a young adult one — was an incredibly intimidating experience. As somone who has read and edited “shared universe” fiction before, I know just how tricky it can be to tow the canon line while trying to stay fresh and relevant. I will always love Star Wars, if only for the Empire Strikes Back, which is possibly my very most favorite film (the art direction of Bespin and Williams score for this film are cinematic perfection, and the actors were never better), but truth be told, I’ve only dabbled with the franchise in recent years, sticking mostly to video game incarnations. I was terrified that when The Way of the Jedi came out, it would be torn apart like an ewok in a Rancor cage by fans more intimately versed in all things Star Wars. How happy I was, then, to find out that the folks at TheForce.net really liked it!

Way of the Jedi is a well designed adventure that is true to the spirit of Star Wars. Depending on the choices you make, enemies can become allies, and vice versa. You can win by engaging in a starfighter dogfight, leading your army of clone troops to victory, turning your friend back from the dark side, engaging in a lightsaber duel, or even just negotiating with hostile aliens. By choosing different paths, you can learn different things about the characters. And of course, Way of the Jedi includes many entertaining ways for your character to fail on his mission.

The book was so much fun to write, so I’m glad that star wars fans young and old are enjoying it. The best compliment  the book received, however, came from a girl who was happy that the main character isn’t called out as a boy or a girl. Hooray for gender-neutral 2nd person fiction!

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