Max Nocerino 
Star Wars: The Acolyte – The Crystal Crown is an enjoyable read, skillfully structured and reflecting the care that Tessa Gratton has for the world she is creating, drawing inspiration from it.
Star Wars returns to the story of Padawans Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar, before their tragic demises at the hands of a would-be Sith apprentice in The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown. But is Tessa Gratton’s latest volume a worthy addition to the saga?
REVIEW
Star Wars: The Acolyte – The Crystal Crown is the second in an official series of “spin-off” novels from the underappreciated and controversial Disney+ series The Acolyte. This reviewer does not understand all the hate the series received, and I was excited to return to a story featuring some of the characters.
The main character of this YA is Jecki Lon, a Theelin-Human hybrid padawan, apprenticed to Human Jedi Master Sol. Sol features heavily in The Acolyte series as it explores the adventures of his former padawan Osha, who left the Order after failing. Jecki is Sol’s new apprentice, and besides a brief mention, Osha is nowhere to be seen. I believe that was the first good storytelling decision made by Tessa Gratton, and she made many more.
The adventure in this story is a bit bland, but it shines in other areas besides the plot.
JECKIE LON & YORD FANDAR
The characterization of Jecki and Yord is very well written. Jecki is a goody-two-shoes perfect apprentice, who never has a hair out of place and respects and obeys Sol more than any other Jedi apprentice depicted in any Star Wars medium. She is essentially an Anti-Anakin! I also love the subtle foreshadowing of Jecki’s Master Sol that we are treated to in this novel. Jecki holds her master in very high esteem and is enamored with the fact that he is so calm, gentle and focused. Yet, as The Acolyte TV show would later show, Sol definitely has a deep, dark side hidden under his placid demeanor.
Yord is stiff as a board, and even Jecki finds him to be irascible. This fits perfectly with his aggressive holier-than-thou attitude that he gives Osha in the TV series. He and Jecki openly compete with each other to be the perfect padawan, and Jecki hates that Yord is unable to loosen up and have fun. It’s very faithful to the on-screen depiction.
A NEW ADVENTURE
The story we are treated to is a mission to a planet called Siline, and Sol and Yord’s Master takes their padawans with them. The objective is to fix the diplomatic disaster that occurred between the Jedi and the Silinese. Siline is considering joining the Republic, and they have much to offer, as their planet possesses a unique mineral that is useful for maintaining hypermatter engines. However, the Jedi made a critical cultural violation by not agreeing to fight one of the Silinese leaders, as Jedi only fight as a last resort. Yet dueling and fighting in Silinese culture is customary, and refusing is a sign of disrespect.
To remedy the situation, Sol and Master Elish allow Jecki and Yord to participate in the Silinese Convocation. The competition is essentially a Hunger Games-esque survival and fighting competition in which many Silinese youths participate. Yord and Jecki are subsequently required not to use the Force to enhance their chances in their competition and use only their regular combat and survival prowess.
They also befriend the children of the AllVoice, a position of power in the Silinese government, and the older of the two siblings, Sitia Arthyst, is already a skilled warrior and projected to win the whole competition. Sitia also has a crush on Yord, which he doesn’t reciprocate. I find that mildly amusing. I also got my sociology motors running, as I was fascinated by the mechanisms of interspecific sexual attraction in Star Wars.
SILINESE CIVILISATIONÂ
The Silinese people, culture, and planet are all based on crystals, which may seem a bit hokey; however, the worldbuilding and lore generation that Tessa can do with it is just phenomenal. One of my biggest gripes about Star Wars, in general, is the tendency to treat new planets like water and rarely flesh out their features. Gratton does not even remotely do this, and Siline may be one of the most fleshed-out planets in the new canon (and that, sadly, really isn’t that hard to do).
As the kids need to survive in the woods, they encounter many creatively designed alien fauna and flora, some dangerous, some edible. As someone who wanted to be a zoologist as a child, I find reading about the wildlife of Siline to be very titillating and hope to see even more of this world. Not a single Silinese has ever been recorded as having been a Jedi, and this gets my imagination gears whirling to perhaps remedy that situation in the future. I mean, we’ve seen Hutt Jedi, so anything is possible.
MONSTERS FROM RYLOTH
The conflict that arises at the story’s climax is a bit underwhelming. But I wanted to squeeze in again how impressed I am with how Gratton treats existing lore as well. In the final stage of the tournament, someone has managed to sneak in Lyleks to disrupt the event. These creatures are well-known monsters from Ryloth. On a related note, I appreciate it when authors incorporate existing elements from the lore instead of randomly inventing obscure details that are never referenced again. Vader and Palpatine also fought lyleks when they were stranded on Ryloth in the Lords of the Sith novel, and the feeling of recognizing that is gratifying for a fan.
VERDICT
While the story wasn’t ground-shakingly exciting, there really is beauty in simplicity. Not all tales need to be outrageous. Most things that occur in a person’s life are only mildly interesting, and as this is Jecki’s first mission, it makes sense that it is very tame. Overall, I’m pleased with many aspects of this book. It was a fun read, as it was well-structured and showed how much Tessa cares about the world she is creating and drawing inspiration from. This book presents a continuous story without any interludes or flashbacks. Interludes were once a popular trend in recent Star Wars literature, and I have grown tired of them.
Star Wars: The Acolyte – The Crystal Crown is available to buy from all good book stores now.
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
