Into the Dark Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count:

Author: Claudia Gray

Timeline: High Republic era which precedes the Skywalker Saga

Main characters: Reath Silas, Dez Rydan, Orla Jareni, Cohmac Vitus, Leox Gyasi, Affie Hollow, Geode, and others.

Brief synopsis: Following a hyperspace lane disaster, the protagonists of the story find shelter at an ancient abandoned space station that is full of mystery and danger.

Gut Feeling

I haven’t been more hyped to read a book in a long while. Claudia Gray is my favorite Star Wars author (I know I’m not alone in saying this) and the High Republic novels already have a lot of existing hype. So, this created a pretty rare combination of hypeness. While Light of the Jedi was world building and A Test of Courage was an exciting self-contained story, I expected Into the Dark to be a character driven masterpiece. While that is mostly true, the surprising strength of the book was what it added to Star Wars lore (although, maybe not so surprising considering the book’s title). This really does increase the strength of this novel. However, parts of the book surprisingly felt incomplete. Almost like Gray had to finish the book against a deadline, but I’ll talk about that more a little later. It didn’t take away from the fact that this was a fantastic novel and will likely rank with the best of them. Let’s get into the details.

Characters (9.25/10 pts)

Because Into the Dark was largely character led, it is no surprise that it scores well in this category (that and the fact that it is written by character master Clauda Gray). The talk of the book is certainly Geode, who is one of the most unique characters ever introduced to the Star Wars universe. Geode is basically just a rock surrounded by mystery. Just like the Jedi in the book, the reader never really gets to understand Geode. How does he move around? How does he communicate? How does he do anything? Who knows! And with that character limitation Geode will likely steal your heart (if he hasn’t already). Pretty creative and impressive writing from Claudia Gray.

Alright I had to talk about Geode, but it is now time to discuss the characters that have some real depth to them. Somewhat similar to Light of the Jedi, Into the Dark has many quality characters (as you can see from my “main characters'' list above). However, it is on a smaller scale than Soule’s High Republic novel. This is advantageous because it allows the characters to have more depth and they are easier to keep track of. Just examining the Jedi alone, there are some unique and strong characters. Reath Silas is coming into his own and offers us a “coming of age” archetype, Orla Jareni is the Qui-Gon Jinn pseudo Gray Jedi type, Cohmac Vitus is a scholar, and Dez Rydan seems like the closest thing we’ll get to a “celebrity Jedi''.

The only real criticism I have for the characters is I never really got the moment in the book where I felt completely gripped by the characters. This is common in books by Claudia Gray, notably near the end of Lost Stars. Claudia Gray is excellent at having these moments surround romantic relationships. I felt that there was potential for this book to have a moment like that, but it just needed more development. This is one of the areas this book didn’t feel like it met its full potential. I will likely discuss this more in the Twin Suns Book Club podcast. However, the book is still getting a strong score of 9.25 points.

Writing Style (9.5/10 pts)

Claudia Gray isn’t just one of the best Star Wars authors at creating stories, she’s also one of the best at telling them. At her best, she has a distinctive style that is compelling almost regardless of the content of the story. For the most part, Claudia Gray was at her best in Into the Dark. Even though certains aspects of the book may have had more potential, Gray doesn’t ever miss when it comes to her writing quality. With little surprise, I am giving a strong score of 9.5 points.

Plot (8/10 pts)

In a book that I must search hard to find a weakness (weakness when compared to the other strong parts of the book, the plot is still good), the plot is the only place I can turn to. For the most part it was excellent though. It felt balanced throughout with peaks and valleys that built up to a climactic finish. It was also high stakes throughout with some twists and turns that I wasn’t able to predict. This describes a pretty awesome plot for a book that is character driven. However, this section gets hurt the most by the fact that it didn’t reach its full potential. There were two key things that were mentioned in the book never really amounted to anything. They were introduced as seemingly key parts of the plot and then somewhat forgotten, or oddly written out of the plot. Great and purposeful authors like Gray never put something in a story unless it has a meaning later in the story. This is the reason why it feels like Gray may have been working against a deadline. However, that shouldn’t deter you at all from reading it. It just means that it could have been even better! I am giving a still good score of 8 points for the plot.

Intrigue (9.5/10 pts)

Intrigue was pretty high throughout the book and I think it never had a chance not to be.  A High Republic novel would have to be pretty bad for it to have low intrigue. This book was written well, had an exciting plot, and compelling characters. And Gray also took advantage of the fact that this was a new time period in Star Wars. She was really allowed to get creative with what she could add to Star Wars. So, along with the great story causing me to read on, I was also compelled by the new Star Wars things that I was being introduced to. I am giving a near perfect score of 9.5 points.

What does it add? (10/10 pts)

In a book with many strong points, what it adds to the Star Wars universe stands out the most. Gray was certainly given the freedom to explore some interesting parts of this unexplored era. There are multiple things for me to touch one, the first being the Drenger. They are the villain of this story (alongside the Nihil) that frighten both the Jedi and the Sith. They seem to have an interesting relationship with the dark side of the Force causing them to be truly treacherous. I expect that we will learn even more about them in future High Republic novels (and will hopefully, hopefully see them in Acolyte). We also get some new glimpse into the Force and Sith lore which I wasn’t really expecting. I was consistently intrigued by what tidbits Gray was dropping into the story. Finally, like the other High Republic novels, we learn more about the Jedi in this period. I would go into more detail on these subjects, but that is a bit too sensitive to spoilers. You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out exactly why I am giving a perfect score of 10 points.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in Into the Dark that adds to or takes away from the logic within the Star Wars universe So I am neither adding or taking away extra points for the logic. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for Into the Dark is a 9.25 out of 10, or an A minus. This makes it my fourth highest ranked novel so far, out of 32 novels. So I think it is easy for me to say that it lived up to the hype. I know it is a theme in this review that it felt a little incomplete, but that is only because I think it could have been even better. This had potentially to be the best Star Wars novel in Canon. While Light of the Jedi is most important to the High Republic era regarding world building, I believe this is the best story. I have no doubt that you would enjoy reading it.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change). 

A Test of Courage Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Paperback, 248 

Author: Justina Ireland

Timeline: High Republic era, which precedes the Skywalker Saga

Main characters: Vernestra Rwoh, Avon Starros, Honesty Weft, Imri, and J-6

Brief synopsis: While aboard a luxury ship, disaster strikes sending a brand new Jedi Knight grouped with inexperienced, yet talented, children on a dangerous mission.

Gut Feeling

In the first phase of the High Republic novels, A Test of Courage brings with it much excitement. While it may not have been hyped up as much as Light of the Jedi or Into the Dark, this book is still set within the new period of the Star Wars universe. So, I was expecting something good from it. Admittedly, I was not a fan of the other book I’ve read by Justina Ireland, Spark of the Resistance, but that didn’t hurt my expectations. Even though this book was intended for the middle school age, I still enjoyed the read. I figured it wouldn’t have the depth of Light of the Jed, but that is ok. For the most part, it was just a fun, exciting, and self-contained adventure. Nothing about it was very complex, but it was still a good read and I’m interested in what score it is going to get. 

Characters (8/10 pts)

A little bit surprisingly, characters were the strongest section of the book. The story follows a brand new Jedi Knight (who is actually the youngest to ever be a Jedi Knight, very cool!), three children, and a droid. In many ways, this felt like a classic coming of age story. These kids are all brimming with talent and wanderlust, but also feel anxious about being on their own and not being able to live up to their own expectations. Even though these characters have these similarities, they are all unique in their own ways as well. We get to see the classic internal conflict of good and evil, the immediate attempt to cope with trauma, the feeling when one is thrust into a leadership role when they don’t feel ready, and we get to see all of these personalities interact with each other. None of the characters themselves were overly complex, but the character development done by Ireland was still excellent. I even enjoyed J-6. While a droid being reprogrammed to attain some sentience isn’t overly unique in Star Wars, J-6 was still a nice compliment to the group dynamic. I couldn’t really expect characters to be better in a novel intended for a younger audience, I am giving eight points.

Writing Style (7.5/10 pts)

After reading Spark of the Resistance, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. Because the book is intended for a younger audience, I thought that the writing style was going to be a major downside. However, I was wrong. I feel similarly when it comes to A Test of Courage. While the style does lack some depth and complexity, it isn’t to a point that makes it distracting from the story. Plus, the lack of depth does add to the readability of the book. It just flows really well. When details are added, it can take away from this (although, the best books have flow and depth). I will be giving a slightly below average score of 7.5 points, but that is great considering I am grading it for young adult to adult readers.

Plot (7/10 pts)

The plot is where the score is going to take its biggest dip. While I did expect most aspects of this book to be simpler than a book intended for my age, the plot was just a little bit too simple. It was just a little bit too linear. The entire plot consisted of just a few different events that were delved into. While it was exciting, most parts of the plot were high stakes, just not enough happened in this book. Spark of the Resistance is the other junior novel by Ireland and its plot was much more complex. While that is my biggest critique of the plot, the foundation of the story was still decet. What was in the book was good, I just wanted a little bit more. I am giving 7 points for the plot.

Intrigue (8/10 pts)

There are a couple of things that really worked for the intrigue of A Test of Courage. The simpler writing style made it easy to read. It never felt like it took effort to read large portions of the book at a time. And shorter chapters really keep the book moving. With a faster paced novel, the excitement just keeps coming. Also, most of the book’s plot was high stakes. From the beginning to end, the main group of characters were tasked with tackling danger. The threat was always real and I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. There were also a few twists and turns that kept me on my toes. The only critique that I have again is the complexity. With a little more depth, I wouldn’t be even more invested in what was going on. However, I am still giving 8 points for the intrigue.

What does it add? (8.25/10 pts)

Because A Test of Courage is set in a new time period of Star Wars, there is a ton of potential for what it could add to the universe. While it certainly doesn’t add as much as Light of the Jedi (this book did the most world building of this first trilogy of High Republic novels), it still added something pretty cool to Star Wars lore. While there were some cool additions unique to the time period, the coolest thing has to be Vernestra’s lightsaber whip. For the most part, most lightsabers are effectively the same. While some can have different hilt designs, colors, and even multiple blades, this is the first time (to my knowledge) that we’ve seen a lightsaber like hers. It is certainly something that I think would look great in live action, and I hope that one day we will. I am giving 8.25 points.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in A Test of Courage that adds to or takes away from the logic within the Star Wars universe So I am neither adding or taking away extra points for the logic. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for A Test of Courage is a 7.75 out of ten, or a C plus. Keep in mind that I am giving this score for a young adult to adult audience, which is outside of the intended audience of the book. I understand that when read by a junior audience, this book should be received better. Still, it is a book that I enjoyed. It was a fun and easy read that added a little bit to the Star WArs universe. The common theme is that it needed some more depth but it is still a good read. I know many of you are excited about the High Republic universe, so this book is worth a read. But if you just have the time to read one or two, I would recommend Into the Dark or Light of the Jedi over this one.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Star Wars The High Republic Adventures #1 "Collision Course" Review

By: Kyle Scully

Written by: Daniel Jose Older

Art by: Harvey Tolibao

Colors by: Rebecca Nalty

Letters by: Jake M. Wood 

The stories of the High Republic are strong with the Force and the first issue of Daniel Jose Older’s Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #1 aptly continues this trend. The book opens with the Great Disaster already in full swing. Padawan Lula Talisola is on her way to save Bralanak City on Trymant IV from falling debris caused by the disaster. Master Yoda and Torban Buck join her but are mostly relegated to cameos. 

The book splits focus between Talisola and a Bralanak citizen, Zeen Mrala. Mrala is afraid of her potential force abilities, a power she’s kept hidden her whole life. This effort is challenged during the course of the story and reaches a tipping point before the final page. The pace is quick and the artwork is detailed without ever feeling cluttered. Older’s attention to character is the book’s greatest strength. 

Talisola and Mrala are introduced to the audience through intimate confessions about what they’re hiding from everyone else. It’s a nice way for the reader to really feel like they’re getting to know their lead characters almost immediately. It’s like reading a diary or overhearing a private conversation. These are people who are afraid and it’s those fears that they’ll be forced to confront sooner than later. Great heroines like the two in this book are only great because they have things to overcome and this duo are no different.

Despite some great character work the book wasn’t quite perfect. Part way through there was an odd page featuring a map that described the various locations of the Great Disaster in relation to the events on Trymant IV. It felt like it belonged at the front of the book rather than in middle. 

Additionally, I believe the Nihil make an appearance in this book but it was never clear. Maybe I needed to read other material to better understand this but I don’t think that should be the case especially with a first issue. The Jedi also tried to force the Nihil to give up their ship for their own evacuation. It wasn’t really clear up to that point that they were evil or that the Jedi knew who they were so it felt like a bit of misfire that they would be so confrontational so quickly. I wish they had made some sort of diplomatic effort to start. 

The artwork featured fine details and great color. Mrala was a standout with her vibrant pink and purple hues. I appreciated that Talisola was a young woman of color. I love representation and it needs to be much more prevalent in Star Wars. Splash pages, something I’m a big fan of, make some truly spectacular appearances. I did find a few pages difficult to follow. The action seemed to jump ahead a little too much and it got slightly complicated.

While not a perfect first issue, there was a lot to love from Older’s initial offering. I’ll definitely be picking up the second issue to see where this story goes and more importantly to see the continued evolution of these new and exciting characters. 

Light of the Jedi Book Review

By: Christian Corah

Descriptives

Page count: Kindle version, 368 pages

Author: Charles Soule

Timeline: High Republic era, which precedes the Skywalker Saga

Main characters: Avar Kriss, Loden Greatstorm, Bell Zettifar, Chancellor Lina Soh, Sskeer, the Nihil, and others (there’s a lot of characters)

Brief synopsis: In an attempt to bring the Republic to the Outer Rim territories, Chancellor Lina Soh plans the launch of the Starlight Beacon. However, this presents a new dangerous enemy to the safety of the Republic: the Nihil.

Gut Feeling

This is easily the most hyped up book in recent memory (perhaps of all time for Star Wars, but I’m not too familiar with Legends), so I had some pretty high expectations. This is our first glimpse into the High Republic era. I was immediately drawn into this book. I thought that the new Jedi and glimpse into the Force would be the most exciting part of it, but it is the Nihil that made the story gripping. They are a unique villain to the Jedi that I wasn’t really expecting. That’s not to say that Soule didn’t do a great job with expanding what we know about the Jedi, because he did. The Nihil were just my favorite part. This book certainly lived up to the hype, so let’s get into the details.

Characters (8/10 pts)

There were a LOT of new characters in Light of the Jedi. Mostly new Jedi, but it seemed like every different kind of character had many different types. Those that didn’t like this book mostly point to this as one of the issues. It really is difficult to say who the main character was (it may be easier to detect the main villain) because there are just so many. I do understand this critique because it really does take some intentional focus to keep track of all the characters. However, that being said, the point of this book is to introduce us to a whole new world of Star Wars characters. Because of that, I think it is OK to judge the characters more by their quantity instead of their quality. If the book just focused on developing a few characters, it wouldn’t have done as good a job as introducing us to these characters. That being said, there are still characters that I loved and want to see more of. These include two of my favorite new Jedi, Avar Kriss and Loden Greatsorm, and one of the best new villains in Star Wars, Marchion Ro. Having this many characters can be hard to keep up with, but Soule did a great job with them so I am giving 8 points.

Writing Style (9/10 pts)

Seeing as the High Republic is a prominent Star Wars book project, the best authors were chosen for it. I’ve only read Charles Soule’s comics, so I didn’t really know what to expect in this book. I was pleasantly surprised with how good Soule’s writing style was. He does a great job of establishing depth without using too many words. The book felt deep and intellectual while being able to flow well. This is sort of the gold standard for adult novels. Even for the high quality writing of all Star Wars books, Light of the Jedi is receiving an above average score of 9 points.

Plot (9.25/10 pts)

There really isn’t anything bad to say about the plot of Light of the Jedi, and there is a lot of good. From the very beginning of the book, Soule establishes the direction that the novel will take. There is a tragedy which represents a new problem that the Jedi of the High Republic must work to solve. It also introduces and establishes new characters in Star Wars amidst excitement, which completely bypasses the sometimes boring introductory parts of the book. The book did slow down a little bit about a quarter in, but it really did need some time to develop the world and story. The rest of the book was a series of peaks and valleys that all led up to an exciting and climatic finish. Even though this book wasn’t not the full story (as we know, there are other novels in this series), it felt like it could stand alone. The exception is the Epilogue which opened the door to continue the story. The plot was complicated, hard to predict, made sense, and very exciting. I am giving a nearly perfect score of 9.25 points.

Intrigue (9.5/10 pts)

Like many others, my intrigue for this book was basically peaked even before I started reading it. Especially because the release was pushed back, my excitement to read Light of the Jedi was high. This book probably could have been below average and my intrigue for it still would have been high. And this book was actually a really good book, even if it wasn’t establishing the High Republic era. This is fairly evident given the scores for the other sections. Soule just wrote a really good book. I was intrigued to learn more about the Jedi, fascinated by the complexity of the Nihil (whenever they start bumping music during a battle, I just get hyped), and compelled by the plot. 9.5 points for intrigue.

What does it add? (10/10 pts)

I expected this section to be the strongest for Light of the Jedi, and that is certainly correct. Now, I do want to mention that this book will obviously score well in this section. It quite literally establishes  a new time period for Star Wars with many new Jedi. Because of that, I raise the bar a bit for this book. I think it is fair to expect Light of the Jedi to add even more to Star Wars to get the same score as other books. Well, it certainly did that. How the Jedi operate in this book is vastly different than what we see in the Prequel trilogy. We really see what it looks like when the Jedi are operating at their peak. With this, we get glimpses of new Force powers. There are many different Jedi who all have different perspectives of the Force. What this adds to Star War lore is awesome. Also, the Nihil build on some lore that was established in the new Thrawn book with how they create their Paths. If you have read both books, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about and probably agree that it is very cool. Light of the Jedi went above and beyond adding to the Star Wars universe, easily earning 10 points.

Logic (0 pts)

There is nothing in Light of the Jedi that adds to or takes away from the logic within the Star Wars universe So I am neither adding or taking away extra points for the logic. 

Final Thoughts

My final score for Light of the Jedi is a 9.15 out of 10, or an A minus. This ranks it as tied for the fourth highest ranked book that I’ve scored so far (out of 30). I was pleasantly surprised by just how good this book was. I said it earlier, but it was a high quality book and would be even if it wasn’t about Star Wars or the High Republic. I don’t even think I have to say it, but you should really read this book (if you haven’t already). It really does have a lot in it for ANY Star Wars fan.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and if there is a book that you want me to read or review, please let me know at christiancorah@gmail.com. As for now, I will only be doing Canon books (but in the future that might change).

Star Wars: The High Republic #1 Review

By: Kyle Scully

STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC #1

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Ario Anindito

Inker: Mark Morales

Colorist: Annalisa Leoni

Letterer: VC’S Ariana Maher

Cover Artist: Phil Noto

The High Republic is here! The exciting new Star Wars storytelling initiative arrives with several new books (including Light of the Jedi) as well as a terrific new comic book written by Cavan Scott. 

All the stories tie together but what’s nice is that it’s immediately clear you don’t need to read everything to enjoy some things. The comic references events I’m unfamiliar with but keeps a pace that makes those gaps feel irrelevant. The crux of the story focuses on Keeve Trennis, a young padawan, facing her trials on the way to becoming a full-fledged Jedi Knight. She’s guided by her Jedi Master, Sskeer, but ultimately deviates from the planned trial to take on one of her own. The story is constructed in a way that centers on Keeve’s personal journey but still manages to incorporate a larger threat to the Starlight Beacon, a High Republic cornerstone. 

Keeve herself is a great character in all facets of storytelling including action, dialogue and design. It’s no wonder she was chosen to lead this book. In addition, I love that she is a person of color. Star Wars needs more representation and this is a very small step but one I still appreciate. 

To be fair, this is not a fresh story. Many padawans have faced their own trials in many different incarnations but its familiarity is the perfect way to be introduced into this new world. Keeve’s journey brings her to the Starlight Beacon where she meets other Jedi including Avar Kriss (also featured in Light of the Jedi). This book presents her as a bit of an enigma. There just isn’t enough time to truly meet her but she’s a strong presence. Yoda makes an appearance and while he doesn’t have a lot to do he definitely feels like Yoda. If you’re talking Yoda his voice is the most important part. The scenes on the Starlight Beacon feel a bit like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which is the highest compliment I can give. If Kriss is anything like Kira then this book is going to be something truly special. 

The art is another wonderfully strong element in this book. Star Wars is for everyone and the art always has to reflect that. A book like this can’t be too dark or too cartoony and it finds a smart balance. The colors are bright and vibrant, the characters are expressive but the threats always feel real and compelling. 

I love the little details found within the artwork. Keeve’s saber is so delicately drawn it feels like you could almost reach out and touch it. There are also some great splash pages including a ripping action beat featuring Keeve and Sskeer. Keeve herself goes through a lot of emotions and the art highlights each one without falling into any repetitive traps. 

The final pages leave you with some lingering questions. Sskeer seems upset about something despite Keeve becoming a Jedi Knight. It’s not a strong finish. The book almost feels like a one-shot but it’s enough to leave you curious. This book does enough to hook me and I’ll be using all my Jedi powers to pick up the next issue.