The fine folks at Del Rey have posted the blurb for Star Wars: Kenobi, my new novel due out August 27. You should totally follow the link to it here and preorder it from them, but I think I can exercise some author’s prerogative and share the description:
The Republic has fallen. Sith Lords rule the galaxy. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi has lost everything . . . Everything but hope.
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.
As I mentioned on Twitter, the description very much fits. Tatooine is one of the stars of the show — and not someplace where one can simply hide forever unnoticed. There’s a western feel to it: it’s a close-knit
community, and he’s very much the outsider, wanting to be anonymous. But that’s easier said than achieved, of course, particularly when one has the public-spirited instincts of a Jedi!
There’s definitely action here, as befits Star Wars — but we also get to see things from a different point of view, as Obi-Wan would say. We’ve seen the Sith nursing their hatreds, patiently plotting their revenge; now we see a Jedi hero having to prepare for a long vigil, protecting the new hope of the galaxy. It’s an interesting place that Obi-Wan finds himself in — I hope you’ll enjoy it.
More details as they become available… I would expect that they’ll be releasing the cover soon. (Update! They have! See it here.) In the meantime, you can preorder the hardcover from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Random House, and IndieBound. You can also preorder the audiobook from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
In the meantime, some housekeeping: The third episode of my Kindle Serial, Overdraft: The Orion Offensive is now available; $1.99 gets the entire storyline. And I will be appearing from 1-4 on Saturday at Galaxy Comics in Stevens Point, Wis., for Free Comic Book Day. May the Fourth be with you!