The Jedi Council takes action in latest excerpt from 'Star Wars: The Living Force'

The newest excerpt from John Jackson Miller's Star Wars: The Living Force shows a Jedi Council undecided but also determined to fix... something. Thanks to a challenge from Qui-Gon Jinn, the group realizes how secluded they are from the rest of the galaxy.

StarWars.com shared the full excerpt, which showcases the 12 members of the Jedi Council put off by the challenge from the Jedi Master. The book takes place before the events of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which is out just in time for the movie's 25th anniversary and rerelease in theaters.

The Living Force sounds like a riot of a book, having been jokingly promoted as "Qui-Gon Jinn gets the Jedi Council to touch grass" and "The Jedi Council goes on a buddy road trip," which is excellent. As seen in the except, Mace Windu suggests that all the members of the Jedi Council handle a matter themselves as they visit a closing Jedi Outpost from the High Republic era (though it's been noted, that you don't have to know anything about this era even though several members of the Council are in those books too). Windu wants to show the galaxy that the Jedi will always stand with them and aren't simply tied pawns on Coruscant to the Senate.

A big part of the Barnes and Noble release of The Living Force is the addition of a map, which Miller helped design himself. He shared with StarWars.com:

“I’ve always loved maps — and especially ones in fiction; I pored over the ones in The Lord of the Rings as a kid, long before I ever read the books. So I was delighted when I started getting opportunities to add maps to my Star Wars work.

"I discovered while writing The Living Force that the planet Kwenn was as big a part of the story as any character. A series of archipelagoes, the Gem Cities of Kwenn feature in many different adventures, with members of the Jedi Council going to and fro. When what started as index cards on a magnetic board evolved into a detailed place, my Random House Worlds editor Tom Hoeler helped make it possible to go the next step, getting a black-and-white copy into every book. And then, yet another step, including a color version — with my own travelogue notes! — in the Barnes & Noble edition.

I’m delighted that we’ve been able to provide readers with this bonus material, and I can’t help but hope that there will be kids like I was, studying the map and envisioning their own adventures there.”

You can read the full except here at StarWars.com. The Living Force will be released on April 9 and is available for preorder.