The Dangerous Games (Star Wars: Jedi Quest, Book 3)

Anakin had not seen a Pod Race since Tatooine, but racing action combines with intrigue to equal an enjoyable read.

The Jedi Quest series is primarily for readers aged 9 to 12 , and are the tale adventures of Obi-Wan and his Padawan, the future Darth Vader. I read them for their insights into these key SW characters and the fact that the books are fun. A pleasant surprise has been that these books are also available on Audio Cassette Unabridged. Watson is a good job weaving a story with some action and mystery to hold a readers attention while delving into the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Young Jedi Knights is another younger reader series written by Anderson and Moesta as well as the 18 book series called Jedi Apprentice about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.


The best so far!!   September 27, 2002
 5 out of 8 found this review helpful

Fourteen year old Anakin Skywalker has been a padawan for nearly six years, and in that time he has learned much, despite his lingering difficulties in controlling his anger. He and Obi-Wan are sent with two other Jedi teams, one containing Anakin's rival, on a fairly routine mission, to mediate and oversee the Galaxy Games (The Olympics, Star Wars style). It doesn't take Anakin long however, to discover another event going on, an illegal one. Podracing. To give away more of the plot would be a crime to this wonderful book, but let me just say that this one is most definatelly full of suprises. I read it in a few hours, and hated putting it down even for a minute. I recommend it to any and every Star Wars fan, young or old.


More Continuity   September 3, 2002
 8 out of 11 found this review helpful

This third installment by Jude Watson is one of the stronger offerings in this relatively new series. The author has a formidable task, as the cinema experience of Episode II was the culmination of all of Anakin's actions that these books will cover. This series does seem to have the books follow each other more closely in time than past series. She has the same challenge as the movies, she is telling a story about characters that we already know how many of their lives will evolve and in some cases end.

The Pod Racing sequence in Episode I is easily one of the best sequences that Lucas ever brought to the screen. In, "Dangerous Games", which are like the Olympics on a galaxy level, Pod Racing is back and Anakin is racing once again. The cover art is exactly what it appears to be, Anakin is racing, but he is being chased by the same Pod Racer he built many years ago on Tatooine. The pilot of his old craft is also a surprise, but that is best left for the book.

Anakin is again fighting himself and his emotions that always seem to lead him either away from, or just off the path he is expected to follow and learn from. This time around Anakin is not alone in making errors, and they are not as potentially bad as they have been in the past. If there is one aspect of his personality that continues to develop is his anger. He continues to keep it largely under control, but it is clear that it will eventually break loose.

This book is a good addition to the Star Wars saga.