Brotherhood, a mature-audience novel penned by Mike Chen, was brought to readers by Del Rey. Its release date was May 10, 2022. The story centers around Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker during the era of the Clone Wars. Concurrently with the novel's release, an unabridged audiobook version became available.
As the Clone Wars escalate, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker must navigate the conflict and strengthen their bond as Jedi Knights.
The Clone Wars have erupted, with battle lines forming across the galaxy. The Jedi Order struggles to maintain peace as more worlds align with the Separatists.
Following a devastating explosion on Cato Neimoidia, a Trade Federation stronghold, the Republic faces blame, endangering the planet's neutrality. The Jedi send Obi-Wan Kenobi, a skilled diplomat, to investigate and restore balance. Alongside a courageous Neimoidian guard, Obi-Wan uncovers a Separatist plot and the presence of Asajj Ventress.
Amidst the growing turmoil, Anakin Skywalker achieves the rank of Jedi Knight. Defying Obi-Wan's orders to travel alone, Anakin's determination leads him to join the mission, accompanied by a promising but conflicted youngling.
Once Obi-Wan's Padawan, Anakin now stands as his equal, creating tension between them. To protect Cato Neimoidia and its people from war, they must learn to cooperate and evolve beyond their master-apprentice relationship, becoming true brothers.
During its conceptual phase, Brotherhood was internally referred to as "Playground Fight." StarWars.com announced the book on October 7, 2021, alongside other forthcoming titles. Chen collaborated closely with fellow Star Wars author E. K. Johnston during the development process. Johnston's novel, Queen's Hope, takes place slightly before the events of Brotherhood. The two authors worked to synchronize their narratives and establish connections between them. Chen drew inspiration for the character Ruug Quarnom's mannerisms, voice, and attire from Kira Nerys of Star Trek. The name of the Korgee beast was inspired by the corgi dog breed.
The mission to Cato Neimoidia depicted in the novel is the same event initially referenced in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. A 2021 issue of De Agostini's Star Wars Encyclopedia series, "Anakin Skywalker," previously indicated that Kenobi and Skywalker engaged in an operation on Cato Neimoidia shortly before the Battle of Yerbana, which it identified as the event mentioned in Revenge of the Sith. This account aligns with the Star Wars Legends continuity's portrayal of the event in the 2005 novel Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno. Mike Chen has said that fans are free to view the events of Labyrinth of Evil as "that business" and that the two stories can co-exist because of his love for Labyrinth of Evil and the fact that his book takes place earlier in the timeline.
Another connection to a Legends novel exists through a link to the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover. Stover's novelization includes a mission to an unidentified dead star system from Anakin Skywalker's perspective, while Chen re-canonized the scene from Kenobi's perspective. The image of Anakin and Obi-Wan running together on the inside cover of the book comes from the cover of the 2002 Legends comic book Practice Makes Perfect.
Chen intentionally incorporated references to the Star Wars: Clone Wars microseries. He suggested that the microseries could be interpreted as dramatized HoloNet versions of actual events, where liberties were taken for entertainment purposes but the core events remained accurate. He felt this was partially due to the stylized way action is portrayed in the Clone Wars series feeling disconnected to the films. The author also noted that his personal approach helped him consolidate what had happened in the films to what had happened in the series effectively during the novel's planning process.
The phrase "Like fire across the galaxy" originates from Clone Wars. The novel also references Windu's involvement in the fighting on Dantooine and Grievous's battle with Ki-Adi-Mundi. Chen deliberately alluded to the duel on Yavin 4 between Skywalker and Ventress depicted in Clone Wars, adding "some caveats." His mention of agents of Count Dooku targeting Skywalker previously alludes to the duel. Chen proposed that the Clone Wars duel occurred in a dark, rainy setting, allowing Skywalker to fight Ventress without recognizing her. Skywalker believed he had defeated the enemy, but he recognizes her Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter, while Ventress is fully aware of the Jedi's identity. The book omitted further details to avoid excessive exposition.
The cover of Brotherhood portrays Kenobi and Skywalker with appearances inspired by Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, with Skywalker's design updated to include his gloved right hand. However, the novel describes Skywalker's "once-short hair" as beginning to grow out, suggesting a transition between his Attack of the Clones hairstyle and his Star Wars: The Clone Wars style, meaning that his hair would be longer than depicted on the cover. Skywalker considers allowing his hair to grow even longer after Padmé Amidala comments on it, foreshadowing his future hairstyle in The Clone Wars. Kenobi's hair is also mentioned to have grown out since Attack of the Clones, despite its cover appearance.
Brotherhood concludes with Kenobi and Skywalker adopting appearances similar to their Star Wars: The Clone Wars designs. Kenobi cuts and parts his hair to match his The Clone Wars look, and both characters examine pieces of body armor that they wear in The Clone Wars. This suggests that appearances closer to their Attack of the Clones designs precede Brotherhood, while The Clone Wars-inspired designs follow the novel. However, the novel also states that it is the first time Kenobi and Amidala have seen each other since the Battle of Geonosis. This would imply that the events of Hyperspace Stories 1, in which Kenobi and Skywalker (a Jedi Knight without a Padawan braid) resemble their Attack of the Clones designs, must occur after Brotherhood due to Kenobi and Amidala's interactions.
Furthermore, Hyperspace Stories 5 depicts Skywalker as familiar with Ventress, placing it after Brotherhood despite using the Attack of the Clones-inspired design. "Practice Makes Perfect" shows Kenobi with longer hair and Skywalker with a shorter haircut than usual during Ahsoka Tano's apprenticeship. Therefore, Kenobi and Skywalker must alter their clothing and hairstyles multiple times during the Clone Wars. Indeed, Skywalker remarks at the end of the book that he only wants to try the armor as a trial period instead of committing to it full time as he has by the time of The Clone Wars. The claim that Kenobi and Amidala had not seen each other since the Battle of Geonosis would later be contradicted by Star Wars: My First Comic Reader 1, which, judging by Skywalker's Padawan braid, is set during his apprenticeship to Kenobi. As the events of Brotherhood pick up sometime after Skywalker's apprenticeship is over, Kenobi and Amidala cannot meet for the first time since Geonosis during the novel.
- ISBN 9780593358573 ; May 10 , 2022 ; Del Rey ; US hardcover [1]
- ISBN 9780593358580 ; May 10, 2022; Del Rey; eBook download [1]
- ISBN 9780593499153 ; May 10, 2022; Del Rey; US paperback, export edition [28]
- ISBN 9780593358597 ; May 16 , 2023 ; Random House Worlds ; US trade paperback [29]