I love these book reviews. I truly enjoy haveing a group give such a deep and discussion over a part of the star wars universe thats not as popular as the new canon matireal

Since you guys mentioned the Obsession Comic, I thought that scene of Obi-Wan finding Padme and Anakin's weekend getaway a little strange. I feel like Anakin would be more open with Kenobi after that since that scene pretty clearly shows that Kenobi does not care. But I really liked how that was played in Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi isn't so overt in that he knows about Padme and Anakin, but he kind of turns a blind eye to it to protect his friend.

Lol, of only I cared about sports discussions as much as I do about Star Wars. Awesome stuff, thank you for this.

42:00 Something I like about Palpatine in the extended version of the Darth Plagueis scene in the novel is that he basically a) doesn't give a shit at this point and b) he feeds his own ego by saying to Anakin that Plagueis's apprentice became the most powerful Sith which is basically him saying "I'm the greatest Sith ever in history and nobody will ever top me!"

"Well, what about the droid attack on the Wookiees" had me dead.

Palpatine's final seduction of Anakin is done so perfectly in the novel. Every statement from Sidious is even more calculated and aggressive than he usually is. Trying to put myself in Anakin's shoes here is truly chilling.

Anakin was so focused on getting access to the Jedi archives and having the power of rank-he was imagining all of his future actions with that-he never considered they would “passively aggressively” in his mind-deny him these things.

Love is more than a candle. Love can ignite the stars.

I think the subject of anakin is always kinda tricky. Cause i don't think most of us pictured the anakin we're shown when obi is telling stories about him. but at the same time, he couldn't have been this noble knight everyone loved and looked up to. Even adaptations of books or say the microseries, where i think this version of anakin is at his best, it's still always kind of a think where im thinking I'd have written him a different way right from the outset. Cause on paper there's a lot to work with young vader, and i don't feel almost any of either canon or legends ever fully realized that to the zenith

Fanalysis: "This is a nice discussion we are having, but what about the droid attack on the wookies ?" Evan: "Ah fine, I'll go." Video starts In my opinion Mandalorians are a meme that went way too far and never made sense, it only became worse with Jango, "oh no this guy with the body of a trooper and two blasters is really a threat to Mace Windu, even though a average jedi has precognition, telekinesis and can reach feats objectively beyond him." I know this is petty, but for that reason I am really not a fan of Karen Traviss and I also think one of the reasons why Fate of the Jedi is less of a mess than Legacy of the Force is that she got swapped out for Christie Golden. (not to say that she has a spotless record either, cough cough Dark Disciple) I definitively agree that it is hard to really fault Mace for his mistakes here, for me after reading Shatterpoint just seeing Mace be mentally and physically stable is a small miracle in and of itself. On a side-note I do think that indoctrination is always bad when used in it's modern variation of "the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically." since even kids should be taught to never be completely uncritical, although I can understand it's use short-term and it is almost inevitable for a parent to resort to it at some point, because it is so efficient and practical. (with the main flaw of this jedi order being that they intend it to be a long-term solution and they rely on it too much in general) The archaic meaning of "teaching; instruction." is obviously completely fine.

And the adventure continues. Looking forward to it!

Excellent, really enjoying the weekly breakdowns of this book, it thoroughly warrants it. Always a pleasure seeing these council discussions.

Best Star Wars book of all time.

@fanalysis It feels like now that the characters have been established, there's less to discuss, but the length of this video has proved me wrong I suppose. However, I feel this does have to be brought up. No matter what Mathew Stover does, he can't erase the fact that for the plot to work, Anakin has to be a moron. Even someone as painfully straightforward as him should know that when your trusted confidante reveals himself as a Sith Lord, you should take the time to analyse your preconceptions. Premise: Palpatine is THE Sith Lord. Argument: Palpatine says he's still my friend->Palpatine admits he's been in control of the war the whole time-> The war has been an exercise in torment for me in particular. Conclusion: Palpatine is not, and has never been, my friend. Suggested course of Action: call Obi-Wan right the fuck now. As a slight tangent, what do you think would happen if the Chancellor of the Republic was revealed to be a Sith Lord, but not in control of the war ie. he's defending the Republic as a function of his personal power? Can the Jedi still arrest him? Would Palpatine's argument about not being evil have merit? That's all for this section, I have some much more solid comments for the next one.

This was the perfect video to come home to after a bad day at work. I just had a coworker quit without a two week’s notice so these next few weeks are gonna be rough. Fortunately, your videos are an excellent pick me up for those few hours I have free.

Lol now I want to listen to this audio book again. Done so three times already.

Guys where are you I miss seeing your videos it brightens my day and we have had a episode 9 title reveal and 3 trailer I'd enjoy your views even though i know there will be a lot bad keep up the great content. :)

Anakin: How dare you! How DARE you see it that way! This will not be tolerated. Mace Windu: *Going full Sam Jackson* Boy, I'll slap the shit out of you.

1:07:32 I think that sort of thing was hinted at in the Jedi Conspiracy arc with Ahsoka Tano with the first episode being about a bombing that occurred within the Jedi Temple itself and a sizable protest happening at the steps to the Temple. It's too bad that the conspiracy was orchestrated by Barriss and her belief that the Jedi or Council has strayed so far from their roles as keepers of the peace instead of someone without the Force or an organization with militant anti-Jedi sentiments. It would've set a better precedent for the rise and even support of the Empire by the lay-people if that had been the case. Imagine if Rebels, coming off of TCW, took that idea and expanded on it with the anti-Jedi organization being either spec ops for the Inquisitorious or even agents for Imperial Security Bureau. It would make a better effort in setting the stage in making this be a Civil War. It's interesting coming from that point comes a conversation on Karen Traviss and how she took the Mandalorians as, having started to read her Republic Commando books, I have a newfound appreciation and respect for Mandalorians. I would like to see a future podcast discussing certain authors and even certain works that they did and the pros and cons with them. I know that you're doing it here with the book reviews, and I hope that the Republic Commando books could be touched upon, either individually or as a whole just so that this discussion can happen and get further context. 1:18:28 I thought that Fang Zar's reminded me of Mahatma Gandhi than the High Sparrow.

1:07:43 So her views when writing about Mandalorians and Jedi is basically the equivalent of how she turned the Kilo-Five Trilogy/Halo: Glasslands, Halo: The Thursday War and Halo: Mortal Dictata into the "I Hate Halsey" trilogy in the Halo universe.

This will be the best 1 1/2 hours spent today

This was a flaw of the Jedi-they still tried to stick to scruples even when they were trying to engage in spy games with the emperor. If you are going to spy-go all in-and keep your spy happy at least on a superficial level.

When ya’ll were talking about the whole “loyal to people vs. loyal to a cause/nation” I was reminded of a game called Spec Ops: The Line. If any of you have played it, one of the themes in that game is how far you’re willing to go for a cause. P.S. As much as I know The Last of Us was praised, I fell like it was a little cheap in how it tried to get it’s audience invested. I think anyone could tell, even without prior knowledge of the game, that Joel’s daughter may as well have had a target on her back from the beginning. Killing off a character’s child so quickly feels very lazy in terms of trying to establish an emotional connection with the audience.

I think the outburst from Anakin is taken a bit out of context here. The real reason he was so angry is because he was obsessed with saving Padme, if he got the rank of master he'd get access to the restricted archives. That's said right before his outburst. It was a little weird they didn't say anything about it but it could easily have been written in that there's something bothering him he isn't telling anyone. Yoda could then mention his vision of the future.

Clean shaved Matt. What’s going on here? new job new gf, appointed master to council?

Quick side note. Would love it if the next book you guys cover would be Lost Stars. Its one of the new canon materials that i find on par with some of my fav non jedi related eu material

obi wan should of said to Anakin we think "palpatine is in danger which is why the council needs you to report on his dealing to help us uncover Sidous before he has time to strike" saying it that way would look so much less dodgy when we want you to report on his dealing

I honestly get so excited to see a new upload on this channel, great stuff. Btw I was wondering do you have any plans to look at other legends books in the future like shatterpoint for example?

How important do you guys think the turn of Anakin was to Palpatine overarching plans? Could he have accomplished all he had without Anakin being turned?

Not sure if you'll see this, or have heard this before, But on the 2011 blue ray box set of the first six films, there was a scene that was cut (the one where Palpatine appoints Anakin to the council) where Palpatine tells him that the the office is going to have control of the council and it was cut. Here is a video with that scene. It's the first one of the video. So disheartening... kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mMCqpZpyzLebp4E.html

58:20 Obi-Wan s flaw is Anakin , things he compromises for him and overlooks certain things, other protocol jedi knights would not . waiting for that part 4 , loving these reviews , where is Evanova though ?

Christian Bale should’ve played Anakin Skywalker. Go to watch Equilibrium and you’ll see what I mean.

I really enjoy these but the guy in the left lower corner is a pain. Everything else is perfect.

Im curious since talking about padme. What do you guys think of the concept from the making of revenge of the sith i think is where i saw it where padme was going through like a super weird pregnancy because of the twins being collectively like insane with midi chlorian levels? And having her go to yoda about this cause it's so... weird? I always thought the idea of that was interesting like so much force is in one place now that it's causing like bleeding effects, changing dreams, giving her visions

At the risk of committing blasphemy against one of the great sacred cows of Nerdom, I can't help but wonder in times like this if Lucas actually hurt the long term stability of his story for the sake of a twist by making Anakin and Vader the same person. Even when trying to reconcile things in the prequels it's made more clear that Vader was or at least should have been Anakin's jealous rival that always fell short to him as opposed to Anakin himself. IE basically Xanatos. I don't know it just seems like Vader and Anakin were clearly different people not just from what Ben describes, but also Owen and Red Leader.

I don't have an issue with Padme having a more active role I just think that her trying to kill Anakin takes away from the tragedy of the two of them being able to have a life together if they were just left that way they are. I think Hayden was the perfect choice he was just given poor dialogue. It would've been interesting if Anakin went with Obi-Wan to face Grievous.

14:30 19:00 20:25 42:00 1:27:00

Oh? It's a council now? It's not just the two of you?

"Where the hell are the millitant anti-Jedi ists?" In the comment section lazy wookipedia recitation videos on youtube.

Just going to say it like it is: before Anakin becomes Vader the book is way better than the movie. After he becomes Vader the movie is better. Order 66, the death of the separatists, foundation of the empire, Anakin vs Obi Wan, Anakin’s maiming and everything except that horrible “no” is way better in the film. But everything else? The political intrigue, the mystery of Sidious, the opening fight with dooku? Novel nails it.

No Evan this time? Awh...

Did Evan not have time?