Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Volume 1: Jedi Search

By: Kevin J. Anderson

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 3 hrs

Publisher's summary

As the war between the Republic and the scattered remnants of the Empire continues, two children, the Jedi twins, will come into their powers in a galaxy on the brink of vast changes and challenges. In this time of turmoil and discovery, an extraordinary new Star Wars saga begins.

While Luke Skywalker takes the first step toward setting up an academy to train a new order of Jedi Knights, Han Solo and Chewbacca are taken prisoner on the planet Kessel and forced to work in the fathomless depths of a spice mine. But when Han and Chewie break away, they flee to a secret Imperial research laboratory surrounded by a cluster of black holes - going from one danger to a far greater one.

On Kessel, Luke picks up the trail of his two friends, only to come face to face with a weapon so awesome it can wipe out an entire solar system. It is a death ship called the Sun Crusher, invented by a reclusive genius and piloted by none other than Han himself.

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If you're hesitant about trying these abridged audiobooks, here's my thoughts.

I was very hesitant to buy this because I have heard mixed things about Star Wars audiobooks from this era. Most of them are abridged, and this is no exception. I want to give a real review of this particular book for others who might be hesitant.

First, I have never read Jedi Search. There's something about KJA's writing that I've never enjoyed. I've heard others say the same thing about him. The story is okay. It's a typical Star Wars adventure. Nothing mind blowing. It's just the same old characters in a new journey. The most important part of this story is Luke's attempt to recreate the Jedi Order. That was why I wanted to listen to this trilogy. I had read about it in latter books by Timothy Zahn (much better all around series, by the way) and wanted to finally hear the story of how Luke made his Jedi Temple happen. As I said, the story is okay. I was never lost or left feeling that some major plot point was left out. 3/5.

The performance is okay as well. Anthony Heald is a brilliant narrator, possibly my favorite. Unfortunately, he is not the best choice for Star Wars material. His voices for Han and Luke make me wonder if he's ever seen Star Wars. Many of the voices sound similar. There's also audio effects that neither add nor detract from the experience. By the end of this book, I grew more accustomed to Heald's performance. Again, it's okay. He's certainly not monotone (thank God) but he's also no Marc Thompson or Jonathan Davis (two much better Star Wars narrators). He reads the material well, but lacks the Star Wars factor. 3/5.

If you want to power through some of these older books to get through the Expanded Universe, I would say to give it a shot. I know the abridged factor will turn some people off, but honestly Star Wars novels are often filled with things that don't generally serve the plot. Not every Star Wars author was able to do what Zahn did with his series. Just have reasonable expectations. I would suggest that you think of this as more of an audio drama than an audiobook. It's more akin to the Dark Empire audio dramas from the same era. More comic book than novel. I plan on finishing the trilogy and than moving on to the other books I never got around to reading back when the Expanded Universe was still going.

Good story but Terrible Narator

Narator gave the feeling that he did not watch the movies, did not know how to pronounce certain planets and did NOT know how Han Solo sounds like.

Narator gets 1 star
story gets 4 stars

Nice story

I'm glad to be able to continue with the Luke Skywalker story and adventures with the rest of the group.

Great, a little different

thought the book was great, sound effects were strange at first, but in the end I enjoyed hearing c3p0, and chewy.

good story

good story and good performance. hindered just because some voices hard to follow. worth it for star wars eu fans

A Classic Movie & Classic Books

What made the experience of listening to Star Wars the most enjoyable?

Listening to it like it was another movie. sound effects, characters.

What did you like best about this story?

the continuation of the saga is so good.

Have you listened to any of Anthony Heald???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes, but really wish it was unabridged.

Any additional comments?

need to make abridged and unabridged version

Excellent.

I love this book! One of my absolute favorites and a great first entry into the jedi academy trilogy. Natasi Daala is bae.

Cora-Skant, Beespin, Duran-Duran

Maybe because I’m such a SW fan. But the blatant mispronunciations of iconic worlds and characters not only sounds like nails down a chalkboard, but they almost come across as offensive. Fanhood blasphemy.

I’m just shocked that with how profitable and guarded the whole SW universe is that anyone in charge or green lighting projects could allow those errors to make it to final production.

Couldn’t imagine sitting in a history class learning about George Warshington fighting for independence from Inkland.

Agree with everyone complaining about the narrator’s performance as a whole. Could enjoy AH on a crime novel or historical novel. But he is def not suited for SW on any level.

Great story, but narrator ruins it for me

What did you like best about Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Volume 1: Jedi Search? What did you like least?

Great story, but bad narration with multiple mispronunciations. Coruscant is pronounced "CorusKant", Han Solo sounds like a 1940's gangster, and Wedge Antilles sounds like Scotty from Star Trek. Very distracting after hearing the amazing Mark Thompson in so many great readings.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Luke Skywalker

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Anthony Heald?

Mark Thompson! PLEASE!

Do you think Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy, Volume 1: Jedi Search needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It already has one

Great book, underprouced.

The books are amazing. The reader is ok. Reboot these in the same style as the special edition version as the Thrawn Trilogy and you'll make a fortune from those who are not so pleased with the less than ideal movie story arc we have been Forced to live with.