There is a great disturbance in the force. From the sleek ships of the glimmering coruscant skyscape to the lush gardens of pastoral naboo, dissent is roiling. The republic is failing, even under the leadership of supreme chancellor palpatine, elected ten years earlier to save the crumbling government. Separatists threaten war, and the senate is hopelessly divided, unable to determine whether to raise an army for battle or keep the fragile peace. It is a stalemate that once broken, could lead to galactic chaos. Mischievous and resolved, courageous to the point of recklessness, anakin skywalker has come of age in a time of great upheaval. The nineteen-year-old apprentice to obi-wan kenobi is an enigma to the jedi council, and a challenge to his jedi master.
