Continuing with the theme of reviewing Jaden Korr related material, this week I reviewed book II in the Dark Forces trilogy, Rebel Agent. This book does not actually mention Jaden Korr in any way, but is focused on Kyle Katarn, who later took Korr as his apprentice. Just like Soldier for the Empire, Rebel Agent is a graphic novel and is written by William C. Dietz. This time around, however, the artwork was done by Ezra Tucker. To see what I thought of it, check out the review after the break.

Rebel Agent opens with Morgan Katarn, two months before his death in Soldier for the Empire. We get some interesting insight into Morgan’s history, in that he was Force sensitive, but chose not to undergo training when he accidentally killed a bully while using the Force. Morgan takes some Rebel sympathizers from Sulon to Ruusan to give them refuge. After teaching them the basics of farming, Morgan ventures out on his own to explore the abandoned planet. One night he is found by Bouncers, and it seems they have been expecting him. Recognizing that he can touch the Force, they mistake him to be a Jedi Knight and the hero they have been waiting for. They take him to a valley filled with monuments, where he is expected to release the spirits of the prisoners. (I thought this was cool because it is the lingering spirits of the Jedi and Sith from the effects of Kaan’s thought bomb mentioned in Darth Bane: Path of Destruction.) Not being trained in the ways of the Force, Morgan cannot save the trapped spirits, and leaves the planet to head for home. He tries to convince his Jedi friend, Rahn, to go to the Valley of the Jedi. Rahn is too busy, so he and Morgan leave a map to find Ruusan along with Rahn’s lightsaber for Kyle to find one day. This was the map that Jerec was searching for in Soldier for the Empire. Now it makes sense.

Now we jump to five years after Morgan Katarn’s death. We find out that Jerec has 6 other dark Jedi working for him. He captures Rahn, and after trying to torture him into telling where the Valley of Jedi is, Rahn is killed. Jerec found a data disk at the Katarn’s house that he could not access. He hires a droid to track down Kyle, thinking he can get Kyle to open it for him. After a fight/chase sequence, Kyle ends up with the data disk, but is knocked unconscious on a rooftop and rescued by Jan Ors and taken to an Alliance medical frigate.

While Kyle is unconscious, Jan goes through his things and finds the data disk. She asks a slicer for help, and he gets it opened. It mentions a map to the Valley of the Jedi and a lightsaber left for Kyle at the Katarn house. Jan shares this with Mon Mothma, and for some reason Luke and Leia. It is deemed that Kyle will go to his old house to get the items waiting for him, but even after five years as a Rebel Agent, he still can’t be trusted, so Mon Mothma sends Jan to keep an eye on him and kill him if it turns out he can’t be trusted.

There were a few things that I didn’t care for in this book, although it was mostly little things that just didn’t seem to fit. Rahn is a Jedi and is killed about 5ABY. It is mentioned that Yoda told Luke about Rahn and also that Rahn was friends with Mon Mothma, but neither of them ever thought of introducing him to Luke. Boba Fett makes an unnecessary cameo, and refuses to take a bounty on Kyle Katarn because he is afraid of what might happen to him if he killed Katarn and the rebels actually won the war against the Empire. That does not seem like the appropriate response from the galaxy’s biggest badass. Kyle manages to deflect blaster bolts from stormtroopers the first day he ever holds a lightsaber. Jan rescues Kyle from certain death no fewer than four times in the Moldy Crow. Kyle has been a Rebel Agent for five years, and is still not trusted because he was trained at the Imperial Military Academy. There are many attempts to show the growth of the relationship between Kyle and Jan, but it falls flat for the most part. There were a few too many elements of the story that just seemed farfetched, and pull the reader out of the realm of believability.

Although this review may sound negative, this was actually an enjoyable read. Overall, I found this book to be a step up in terms of storyline, action, and pacing from its predecessor. The artwork in this book fits well with the story, and wouldn’t be out of place in a comic book. It works well as a bridge book in the trilogy, and does a great job to set up the events of Dark Forces: Jedi Knight.