Hello and welcome back to another installment on my blog. This installment I’m making well past my usual hiatus between the months of January and March because I’m a lazy bones so I have delayed this blog for five months due to COVID the same as the High Republic books were delayed. Nevertheless I will try to keep going with my blog since this year is the start of the Star Wars High Republic publishing initiative. Part one of phase one was released in January and February. I read all of it in December and January then wrote most of this post but my lazy bones couldn’t get the energy to finish it until right before part two of phase one comes out. I will be taking the time to review the three released books today and sometime in the future I will review part two. I have not gotten around to reading the comics but I will read them in trade and probably talk about in my next review. For the record, I accepted digital review copies of A Test of Courage and Into the Dark, but I can’t be bought off and I’ll always keep it real.
A Test of Courage
So first off we have a middle grade book A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland that I did quite enjoy it I think it’s probably more interesting than most than most younger reader Star Wars books. One of the interesting things about it is the discussion force in some of the deeper things they are involved in during this book. My favorite character in this book was character by the name of Vernestra Rwoh, a young Jedi Knight. I think it definitely is separated from the high republic anyways but it also has many Easter eggs in reference to the larger galaxy that I was appreciated and intrigued by them I I don’t think it’s a bad first option especially if you’re like a kid or something . The interesting bits I’d say it was the discussion at the arc of some characters in the book particularly in Jedi characters with her like it something visit Greif and the dark side of the force and everything in the climax of the book you could say it ended a bit abruptly yet I think that this book is set up some potential follow ups that I do believe are happening, overall I think it was a very good book not my favorite but not bad at all.
Into the Dark
Let’s go, we got her next one, Into the Dark by Claudia Gray pretty good book again. Just from the young adult book genre, it lives up to its name it goes into the dark. I don’t want to say too much but like they deal with a darker tone on a more personal level. They’re more generous and humane to the villains, the Nihl. They are more junior Nihl than in light of the Jedi ends up being. But it just it makes me want to explore them more and when I read in Light of the Jedi I found that that worked there. But there’s some cool Jedi stuff in here about characters are called wayseekers and the pattern one named Reath Sylis who must learn the ways of the Jedi and the way they have to feel the power of the force of every Jedi who ever lived and that’s pretty cool. Overall I liked the main story and had a pretty intriguing mystery and characters, at the start of the book it was a bit could they jump between all the perspectives but by the end of it I was like that’s pretty cool. They also had some good themes in this one with with the Jedi lessons and a sort of an arc between Master and Apprentice and this for Claudia Gray about going up against like slavery and indentured servants and it’s in the dark side of the private industry in the Star Wars universe so you got that and this book is not my favorite of hers but she is one of the Star Wars writers. But it’s definitely a good book and I would say that I enjoyed very much.
Light of the Jedi
All right onto Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule and I should’ve read this one first but old Walt wouldn’t give me a copy. Though it was a very enjoyable book it’s a proper novel and Charles Soules first Star Wars novel. I know his comics are top-tier and so is this book. He doesn’t disappoint, it is one of the best Star Wars novels at least in the very high tiers of canon. I think that there are some arguable flaws in this book that might prevent it from being the greatest but it really really excels in many other ways. Foremost of those being a Soules writing and storytelling, he somehow manages to make every little detail of the story in the universe so interesting. It really does feel like the start of a new era of Star Wars and like a very fleshed out world yet a world that’s familiar and unfamiliar at the same time from what we’ve seen before it feels like a like a movie and important in the way that not many recent books have been. It really raises the stakes, just knowing that anything could happen here. But now one of the major flaws the lack of a central character necessarily to this book and while there are character arcs they’re relatively minor. But I’ll grant that this is the start of a series of books so that could definitely change down the road. Although there wasn’t a true protagonist, changing perspectives between the large cast was pretty easy to go through in this book and it always had me excited. Some of my favorite characters and I’m very glad he fleshed them all out and was so interesting was the Nihl specifically their leader Marchion Ro and he was very mysterious with many secrets up his sleeve that I think he will definitely pose a very good threat to the Jedi. Potentially, one of the best villains Star Wars has. I will say that some of the Jedi in the story are very good specifically probably Avar Kriss. Unfortunately Charles Soule is not writing the next High Republic novel. Now hold on, it’s Cavan Scott’s The Rising Storm, I’m a big fan of Cavan Scott’s Dooku audio drama and I’m excited to read this novel. I would presume that Charles Soule is going to be writing a Star Wars novel soon probably called Quest of the Jedi as there have been phases announced of the High Republic, the first of which being the title of his first novel so you can assume that his next novels would follow the title of the phases and then that would complete the main arc of the High Republic in forming a trilogy of novels for him and I hope it does. So yes I’m very excited to see where all the characters go from here and what he does next with them in his writing so yeah this is it absolutely superb book one of the best I’ve seen in this era of the wars in the stars.
Will I be back this year? Who knows, it still feels like February to me (even if it were this post would still be late.) Now I’m going to finally publish this and go e-beg Disney for review copies of the next set of books. Thanks for reading and stay connected.
