REVIEW:  Star Wars - The High Republic - The Light Of The Jedi & More

After some considerable delays, the High Republic finally launched on January 5, 2021 (except technically not, there's the first part of a short story published in Star Wars Insider 199 in December). I'm not ashamed to say that I inhaled, deeply; and now I'm ready to pass on to you my deep thoughts about it. I read everything High Republic released in January, everything. So, let's take a look.

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Light of the Jedi
A Del Rey novel by Charles Soule (1/5/21)

This is the flagship launch title right here. It establishes the world of the High Republic, introduces us to numerous Jedi and other Republic type characters, depicts the hyperspace disaster that kicks off our story, and gives us The Nihil, a growing threat to the Republic. Charles Soule has already wowed me with his comic work, so I had high expectations for this. Honestly, I was not disappointed. It's not some genius work of fiction, but it is really good. I think the best thing about the book is The Nihil and how well they are developed, he really world-builds with these guys and then shows them evolving throughout the story. My only real complaint is that it kind of has a first season of TNG problem with the Jedi and Republic, everybody is pretty much perfect there's no interpersonal conflict, and the whole "we are all the Republic" thing got old. Nevertheless, once the story hits its tipping point and everything starts coming together plot-wise, it is a great ride. Buy it.

[Editor's Note: Yes, BUY IT. It's good.]

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A Test of Courage
A Disney-Lucasfilm Press junior novel by Justina Ireland (1/5/21)

So, this is a book aimed at readers between ages 8-12. As such, I don't feel qualified to judge it in the same way I would an adult or even young adult novel. It's about four kids who end up trapped on a planet after a ship they are traveling in is destroyed by the Nihil. One is a 16 year old prodigy Jedi Knight, another a padawan whose master was killed on the ship, the third a precocious child genius, and finally a moody boy whose father died on the ship. So, I mean, you can kind of see where this is going. The thing is, it's really not bad. It starts off slow, but once they get to the planet it's better. I'll say this, reading it wasn't exactly a chore. Is it essential in terms of the big picture? Hard to say, but characters introduced in this will return in later books. Maybe borrow it.

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The High Republic #1
First of a six issue mini-series from Marvel written by Cavan Scott with art by Ario Anindito (1/6/21)

So, I swore off individual comic issues a couple of years ago, but I wanted to go ahead and get a digital copy of this first issue just to get a sense of things. My sense is that this will be pretty good when it's all said and done. It takes place near the end of Light of the Jedi, so read that first. It's about a padawan whose Trandoshan master (who appears in Light of the Jedi) takes her to a planet for her trials. However, she is interrupted by some unexpected fallout from the hyperspace disaster. Yoda appears briefly. The art is very good and story left me wanting more. Buy it.

[Editor's Note: You're going to have to buy it digitally. Issue #1 is sold out everywhere.]

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The Great Jedi Rescue
A Disney-Lucasfilm Press young readers book by Cavan Scott with illustrations by Petur Antonsson (1/5/21)

This is a book marketed to readers 5-8. It depicts events from the first part of Light of the Jedi and it will actually spoil some important details of the first few chapters of that book. I bought this because I wanted to get everything from this first wave of High Republic stuff, but I used the excuse that I was getting it to read to my 6-year-old son. I read it to him, and unlike some of the books he has, I never got to the point where I wasn't actually reading it and instead just scanning the paragraph and summarizing. So that's something. He seemed to enjoy it, if that's important. If you're going to buy it for yourself or a kid you will read it to, beware doing so before you read Light of the Jedi. Nothing essential here, but a good kid's story with some nice art.

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So, we have the first wave of The High Republic. February will see the release of Claudia Gray's YA novel and the first issue of the IDW comic. We'll check back then.

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