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"I'd rate the relevance to the E.U. a 5.
"While I thought the book was OK at best, it is an absolute must-read in terms of relevance to the Star Wars Universe. Luke establishes a Jedi academy, many important characters are introduced, and many important events happen.
"Luke's Jedi academy is in full swing, and trouble is brewing. Plus Admiral Daala has decided to cause all sorts of trouble for the New Republic.
"In retrospect, there were a ton of plot holes and silly character choices at the Jedi academy. I didn't realize they were there until Michael Stackpole wrote I, Jedi which is set at this academy but from the point of view of one of the students. His character criticized these plot holes and actually plugged them, but it was to the credit of I, Jedi, not this book. One complaint I had was with Daala, who was supposed to be this brilliant tactician, but seemed to get her butt kicked regularly. I thought Daala had so much more potential to be a interesting threat.
"About my Reviews:
"I've read/own all the adult books execpt the recent hardcovers and several of the kids books. My reading philosophy is that the books should be read in the order they were published, as skipping around will only cause you to miss nuances and get frustrated at references to previous books. I tend to favor reading about Han over Luke, and like plenty of space battles and swordfights. I also appreciate philosophical discussions of the Force and government, a "Star Wars" feel to books that capture the magic of the original trilogy, and the ability to make new characters/places come alive as well as tying in other characters. I'm in the process of rating all the books, and have tried to generate a genuine bell chart. I have 8 1s, 12 2s, 33 3s, 28 4s, and 16 5s. I'd rate ERAs as: Classic - 2, Bantam - 4, New Jedi Order - 5, Clone Wars - 3, Legacy - 3, and Junior Jedi Knights a 3 despite it being a kids series."

"Dark Apprentice is Kevin J. Anderson's second book in his Jedi Academy Trilogy. It takes place a short while after the first book, Jedi Search, which you obviously must have read before starting this novel.
"Luke has completed his search and found twelve trainees for his new Academy, plus the young Kyp Durron who helped rescue Han and Chewie from the Kessel system. Unfortunately, only a few of these twelve are mentioned by name in this book. I suppose this was to allow other authors to insert their own characters into this group in future novels. Meanwhile Admiral Daala plans her personal war against the New Republic while they struggle with new problems.
"This was another excellent read. It was fast paced with a good plot. Anderson doesn't waste a lot of time describing planets or background scenery, but he still paints a picture you can easily visualize. I wish more authors had that talent of word efficiency! These first two books in the trilogy are very enjoyable to read and provide a foundation that much of the Expanded Universe is built on. This trilogy is definitely require reading for anyone wanting to understand the basics of the Expanded Universe!
"That is not to say that this book is without flaws. The biggest complaint I have about this books is that, like Jedi Search, Anderson's characterizations are off the mark. This is painfully obvious with his portrayal of Han and Lando. Han receives an urgent call from Mon Mothma, leader of the New Republic, and he stops to play a sabacc game with Lando for ownership of the Millennium Falcon. Later, Lando acts like whiny teenager with his wanting to impress a woman - hardly Mr. Smooth that we come to expect from the man with the cape!
"Another problem I had with the book is how Luke "trains" his candidates. Yoda really put Luke through his paces on Dagobah. But on Yavin, it seems the candidates mostly wander around the jungle and lay around to meditate. The only real training shown in the book is Luke operating the Jedi Holocron, which is more show-and-tell rather than training. I was expecting more than this.
"Lastly, as a father myself, I can't believe that two year olds could act as mature as Jacen and Jaina did in this book. Yes I know they are Jedi and strong in the Force. However, their actions would be so much more believable if they were four year olds instead!
"If you enjoyed the first book, you will definitely enjoy this book as well. The books leaves enough open storylines that you will be wanting to get to the bookstore quickly to see how it all ends."