#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Long before the First Order, before the Empire, before even The Phantom Menace . . . Jedi lit the way for the galaxy in The High RepublicIt is a golden age. Intrepid hyperspace scouts expand the reach of the Republic to the furthest stars, worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate, and peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the … wisdom and strength of the renowned order of Force users known as the Jedi. With the Jedi at the height of their power, the free citizens of the galaxy are confident in their ability to weather any storm But the even brightest light can cast a shadow, and some storms defy any preparation.
When a shocking catastrophe in hyperspace tears a ship to pieces, the flurry of shrapnel emerging from the disaster threatens an entire system. No sooner does the call for help go out than the Jedi race to the scene. The scope of the emergence, however, is enough to push even Jedi to their limit. As the sky breaks open and destruction rains down upon the peaceful alliance they helped to build, the Jedi must trust in the Force to see them through a day in which a single mistake could cost billions of lives.
Even as the Jedi battle valiantly against calamity, something truly deadly grows beyond the boundary of the Republic. The hyperspace disaster is far more sinister than the Jedi could ever suspect. A threat hides in the darkness, far from the light of the age, and harbors a secret that could strike fear into even a Jedi’s heart.
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Light of the Jedi is a start to a new era in Star Wars. Both legends and canon have not touched this era. I was excited to read this since the announcement. This story was an exciting opening. It was fun and felt very Star Warsish. There are a few issues I have, but books are never perfect, right? The first half was great, I enjoyed it very much; the tempo was great, but I found it really hard to finish the second part as the adrenaline slowed down.
Because of this being the first book in this era, there is a lot of development in this book. As readers, we learn many things. We learn about the state of the galaxy, who is currently in charge of the Republic, the antagonists, and the state of the Jedi Order. The author explained these well, and it did not feel as if it held the book back. I realize the first book in a series can feel a little overwhelmed because of all this new information, so I try to give these set up books a benefit of the doubt.
The alternative way of visualizing the force was one of my favorite things in this book. The author explains how each Jedi reads the force differently. My favorite one was how Master Avar Kriss visualized the force as music. This was something, as a Star Wars nerd, I found interesting and would love to read deeper into this information. Another way was color. This was my second favorite. I mean, we describe music as color, why can’t the force?
There are so many new characters. I feel all but maybe the Nihil (or the antagonists in this novel) were well rounded and can not wait to see more character development with these characters. It took a while for me to know these characters. Again, I am aware this is a startup book for not only this series, but for this era as well. The Nihil for me felt flat. They did not impress me as I would have hoped. Their ways were confusing for me, no matter how many times the author explained them and their hierarchy. I am hoping the series will develop the Nihil in the following books.
The setting in this novel is everywhere. There are new planets, planets Star Wars nerds have heard, but the state of the planet is different, the outer rims, and space. To those who are new to Star Wars may not have thought there was enough development or description, and as a reader, I can understand. As a Star Wars nerd, I felt there was enough to understand without drawing out the story.
I would recommend this book for any Star Wars nerd who loves the books and loves the eras predating Episode 1.
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Great plot! The characters though fall flat due to there not being a main character and just a collective of side characters. Therefore, you tend to not care much about any of them. Also, the writing is just okay, it’s the worst thing to be, boring.
I enjoyed the interplay of the characters and insight into how each jedi sees the force and uses it, sometimes together as one to accomplish a big undertaking. The enemy is well thought out.
A great start to a new era of Star Wars and introduces many new and intriguing characters.
It starts off with a bunch of characters and view points. And at first it was hard to keep track of them all as the book jumped around from character to character so that I couldn’t become attached to a character until half way through the book.
But it is well worth it.
The characters are great and the story they tell is great.
(me thinking) I would love to see Thrawn in this, if Timothy Zahn, wrote one of the books….
Overall I think this suffered a bit from too many perspectives. I really enjoyed the story and was curious to see how it all played out, but I think I would have been a bit more invested in the characters had it focused on a few instead of the many it did so I could have gotten to really know those few. It also felt like a lot of setup for more to come from this era. But it’s Star Wars so still good and I also really liked seeing the Jedi in their prime days. These Jedi perspectives are very refreshing and it’s clear they help the Republic but are not as tied up in it as they later become and it’s interesting to see the Jedi as they were intended. Definitely interested to see how the rest of the High Republic era plays out.
I was glad to see the beginning of a new era, and I enjoyed the plot of the book quite a bit. I understand there’s a lot of heavy lifting to get a project like this off the ground.
I was less enamored by the voice. I felt like the prose could be tightened up in places. Honestly, it felt like an epic fantasy novel in Star Wars. Nothing wrong with that, but it didn’t feel like the author’s strongest voice.
If it had been tightened up a bit in editing, it would have been a much better read. I’m looking forward to the next installment of The High Republic!
Why is this franchise spiralling out of control? Because of books like this. This didn’t even need to be made for a newly created era of the Republic, it could have just fit fine in the old one just as well, but… there it is, nonetheless. I’m sure the writer probably worked hard in his lil’ think-tank bubble with all the other “high” authors, and tried like hell to make it all work. But for this book I read… it did not.
What is it about Star Wars book authors (not all mind you) and filling these books with so much fluff writing. It took three chapters for action to happen, and not even action, a painfully slow… highly over descriptive inner thoughts that’s in the moment of the action. I mean, if things are launching out of hyperspace, don’t pause in thought about past moments, and just deal with it… immediately.
The characters weren’t that engaging either. It was a nice attempt, but no, I wasn’t really caring about any of them. I felt the same way while reading though the SW Aftermath books as well, and this book was very much like those… dreadful.