Brotherhood is a novel set shortly after the events of Episode II, with Anakin married to Padme and the two trying to hide their relationship, Anakin being promoted to full Jedi Knight, and both Anakin and Obi-Wan trying to find their way into a post-Master-Apprentice relationship. The main storyline is set on the planet Cato Neimoidia, which has been neutral in the new war between the Republic and the Separatists despite the trade federation throwing in with Dooku. The plot involves a bombing of one of the planet's cities, which kills and injures hundreds of Neimodians. The Separatists blame the Republic, and demand Chancellor Palpatine come to the planet in a show of goodwill. Sensing a trap, the Jedi convince Palpatine to send a Jedi emissary (Kenobi) to investigate the bombing, which leads to that "business" that was a throwaway line in Episode III.
This novel also establishes quite a bit of the storyline that we see throughout the animated Clone Wars series and Episode III, including introducing the character of Assaj Ventress, establishing Obi-Wan as "The Negotiator," and using the holonet to spread Republic propaganda. It also reveals that Obi-Wan knows much more about Anakin and Padme's relationship than he ever let on. Anakin also shows he has mentoring skills (despite insisting he will not ever take on a Padawan) when he helps (and is helped) by a youngling named Mill Alibeth, and has many parallels to his relationship with Ahsoka.
The book is paced very well, with a mix of action and suspense. It definitely has a lot of the political tone that all of the prequel movies did, establishing Obi-Wan's distrust of politicians, and it also fleshes out a bit more of Palpatine and Anakin's relationship, which helps to explain why Anakin turns in Episode III (and makes him look less like a mark than he does if you just watch the movies). Palpatine, Dooku, Yoda, Padme, and Mace Windu are all ancillary characters in the book, with the focus being on Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mill, Ventress, and a Neimodian named Rugg Quarnom, who leads the bombing investigation on behalf of the Neimodians.
The book is not overly long, about 330 pages, and is a fairly quick read. How quickly you get through it depends on how fast a reader you are and how much time you can devote to reading at one time. It can easily be read in a day or two if you have a lot of time to read or over the course of a few days if you read for half an hour to an hour before bed. It is definitely one of the better canon novels that have been released since the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm. So, if you are someone who reads some, but not all, of the novels, this is definitely worth your time.
This novel also establishes quite a bit of the storyline that we see throughout the animated Clone Wars series and Episode III, including introducing the character of Assaj Ventress, establishing Obi-Wan as "The Negotiator," and using the holonet to spread Republic propaganda. It also reveals that Obi-Wan knows much more about Anakin and Padme's relationship than he ever let on. Anakin also shows he has mentoring skills (despite insisting he will not ever take on a Padawan) when he helps (and is helped) by a youngling named Mill Alibeth, and has many parallels to his relationship with Ahsoka.
The book is paced very well, with a mix of action and suspense. It definitely has a lot of the political tone that all of the prequel movies did, establishing Obi-Wan's distrust of politicians, and it also fleshes out a bit more of Palpatine and Anakin's relationship, which helps to explain why Anakin turns in Episode III (and makes him look less like a mark than he does if you just watch the movies). Palpatine, Dooku, Yoda, Padme, and Mace Windu are all ancillary characters in the book, with the focus being on Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mill, Ventress, and a Neimodian named Rugg Quarnom, who leads the bombing investigation on behalf of the Neimodians.
The book is not overly long, about 330 pages, and is a fairly quick read. How quickly you get through it depends on how fast a reader you are and how much time you can devote to reading at one time. It can easily be read in a day or two if you have a lot of time to read or over the course of a few days if you read for half an hour to an hour before bed. It is definitely one of the better canon novels that have been released since the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm. So, if you are someone who reads some, but not all, of the novels, this is definitely worth your time.
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