With Asajj Ventress about to pop up in The Bad Batch, let’s explore the last time she appeared in the Star Wars timeline: the book Dark Disciple. This novel was initially an eight-arc story written by Katie Lucas, George Lucas’ second daughter, for The Clone Wars series. The show was axed before the story could be adapted to screen. The arc was given to author Christie Golden, who adapted the tale into the novel we’re not reviewing.
We’ve got two copies of Dark Disciple: a Kobo ebook edition and a physical copy. We are reading the Kobo ebook edition. This is just one of the many Star Wars books on our TBR list.
Dark Disciple Is Unlike Any Star Wars Book We’ve Ever Read
What makes Dark Disciple a fascinating Star Wars book is that it takes Ventress and humanises her in a way we didn’t quite get to see on screen. We saw her trajectory alter when she was framed for the Jedi Temple Bombing alongside Ahsoka Tano. She was willing at the time (it’s questionable where Dark Disciple sits in the timeline), to team up with Anakin Skywalker to save his Padawan from execution as Asajj had been wronged too.
Throughout the book, it is clear that Quinlan Vos has many of the same attributes Anakin does, though, as far as Obi-Wan Kenobi is concerned. Another frequently mentioned aspect is how Kenobi admires Ventress as an enemy. Vos thinks back to Kenobi’s words a few times in the early part of the book.
At this point in the timeline, it’s fascinating to see how Vos and Ventress operate individually and as a pairing. This book leans more towards an adult audience, though The Clone Wars Wiki page describes it as a young adult novel as the series itself is for kids.
Is Dark Disciple A Young Adult Star Wars Book Or One For Adults?
The book heavily implies many adult situations, so we’d say the story is more for adults than young adults.
The themes of the novel also lean into adult territory. It centres on how enemies become passionate lovers ripped apart by death and how love can be brought back from the darkness. This conversation is touched upon by Anakin and his wife, Padmé Amidala, later in the story.
Dark Disciple’s Themes
The book’s theme is finding a new purpose during a time when there are no winners. Ventress and Vos’s love story is very reminiscent of Anakin and Padmé, where one dies, and the other has to cope without the other.
Though we know from The Bad Batch and Obi-Wan Kenobi that both survive, we don’t know if Vos discovers that Ventress has been resurrected. The story also delves into what happens when the Jedi attempt to use Dark Side methodology to pull off an impossible mission: assassinate Count Dooku.
Jedi don’t assassinate. This goes against their morals. If they had succeeded, it would make them no better than the Sith. However, it does lay the groundwork for Anakin’s killing of Dooku not long after the events of the book. Towards the end of the novel, Obi-Wan points out that Ventress is why the Jedi had to be called out for their actions. He knew from beginning that assassination was not a good idea to use. Yet he was constantly shut down by Windu and the other Council members.
