– Mild Spoiler Review –
Engaging new characters join fan favorites for an enjoyable and delightfully spooky tale in Zoraida Córdova’s The High Republic: Beware the Nameless!
Set after the events of the adult novel The High Republic: Temptation of the Force and yet more of a direct sequel to the previous middle grade entry, The High Republic: Escape from Valo, Zoraida Córdova’s The High Republic: Beware the Nameless ratchets up the tension alongside the former’s escalation while capturing the same joyous depths of the younglings from the latter. It’s a wonderful mix which gives fans of all-ages something to enjoy, and while at moments Beware felt like it pushes the grotesquery beyond the younger age boundaries, it really gives what could’ve been a straightforward adventure plenty of stakes to keep readers engaged. Beware and the other middle-grades might lack the scale and breadth of their older reading aged counterparts, but their focus on the younger characters and putting them in harrowing situations are the medium’s own strengths, and Córdova ensures this latest entry lives up to what’s come before by not only building on Escape from Valo’s development of its younglings, but also giving its own new characters plenty of nuance too. There were a few characters I wish we had a little more time with in Beware, especially Ram Jomaram and new character Haze Delik, the former since he’s been such a mainstay and had more to do in Escape, and the latter because her history and her decisions left me very intrigued to learn and see more of her journey, but overall the main cast felt appropriately developed and explored in the other point-of-views.
There are three main new youngsters Beware focuses on: Zenny Greylark, the daughter of a current Senator and a descendant of the Greylark family which counts both the chaotic Axel and a previous co-Chancellor in its ranks from Phase II; Jamil Sollis, a Master-less Padawan pulled from his Jedi Outpost due to the Order’s Guardian Protocols; and lastly, and certainly not least, Churo the Hutt, an often nervous and scientifically-minded Hutt whom every reader will want to protect with their life. Of these three, it took the longest for me to be interested in Jamil’s journey, but Beware isn’t long and patience is rewarded, as I came to slowly understand and appreciate what Córdova was attempting with the character and his ultimate decision about what he has to be to get what he wants from the Order. Zenny Greylark was one I was interested in sooner, as her desire to find her missing family and the helpless feeling bureaucracy can create drives a wedge between her and anyone else just looking to help. She’s quick to understand she’s been rude though, a rare trait for a character that isn’t a Jedi, and her openness to make it right leads to some great learning moments for everyone. I’m a sucker for a character which plays against type, especially in Star Wars and especially with its sometimes too monocultured species, so Churo the Hutt’s differences from the usual gangsters already made me eager to read more about him. His struggle with choosing to either strive for acceptance in his gangster-focused family or being true to himself and his new friends might be the most interesting aspect of Beware. While it would’ve been nice to get more about the Hutts in general and their role in this era and its struggles, especially since the little hints we do get are rather tantalizing, like mentioning events seen in the comics with Myarga in The High Republic – Phase I or Skarabda in The High Republic Adventures – Phase I, the focus is rightly on Churo and he makes it hard to care about anything else since readers will be too busy trying to protect him.
Returning to the star younglings of Escape from Valo left me more thrilled than I thought it would, as the impact they made in the previous novel was much stronger than I realized. They share the page with the above new characters, and a few others, so they aren’t as much of the focal point as they were before, but Córdova weaves them in thoroughly enough we get to explore much of the fallout from Escape and continue their character journeys. If readers haven’t checked out Escape before Beware, Tep Tep and Kildo will still be interesting, but their development here won’t have the full effect, and ends up making this feel more like a stepping stone than a full stop in their story. Tep Tep is still my favorite, as her commitment to the animals around her makes the group some cool new friends and later puts her in a precarious situation I eagerly need the follow-up on, and pronto. Kildo is still his devil-may-care-ish self, with plenty of jokes to help alleviate the stress of their little band of survivors trying to traverse from a crashed ship to a comm tower to call for help, but their previous experiences give him and Tep Tep an advanced maturity which helps all their new friends through their problems. Tep Tep and Churo go well together given their devotion to all forms of life and nurturing them, while Jamil gains some valuable insight into his new life and his own desire to become a Padawan through Kildo’s view of the galaxy. We only get mentions of other Escape characters like Gavi, Zyle Keem, and Driggit Parse, but Kildo and Tep Tep are more than enough for Beware’s already large cast. As I mentioned before, Ram only has a limited time on the page, and while I certainly felt like there was a story worth covering we missed with his part of the book (but it certainly might not have worked for this age-level), I enjoyed what little we did get due to his protective instinct about Tep Tep and Kildo, whom he considers his younglings after the events of Escape.
As mentioned earlier, Haze Delik was an interesting addition to the story, as her background regarding her family and how joining the Nihil appeals to her were a brief yet fascinating look at radicalization, while the Jedi’s attempts try to pick at her allegiance when she comes into conflict with them forced her to confront her choices. There are several non-human leads in the story, which is much appreciated, but Haze’s species is the most interesting since it’s a distant relative to the Karkarodons and has some unique features which lead to some surprises in Beware’s final act. Niv Drendow Apruk, an ambitious scientist under the Nihil’s Baron Boolan, is a distant threat throughout Beware, as his name is constantly dropped but he’s never really directly involved with many of the events. However, it’s the Nameless he and Boolan have transformed which star as the main antagonistic force, giving Beware a monster-movie sensibility and really driving home the terror these beasts can afflict on the Jedi and galaxy at large. Their presence leads to some thrilling chapters, tough situations for the characters, and some really creepy descriptions of them and what they do to Jedi, which were even a little unsettling for me. The final act hints at how much closer we are coming to understanding the Nameless themselves, as well as this mysterious blight spreading across the galaxy, but doesn’t provide any concrete answers, which isn’t surprising.
Petur Antonsson, beyond providing the cover art, also has three wonderful illustrations within the work itself. One of the three was revealed ahead of the book’s release (see below), and while I liked how it feels like a fun reference to the iconic poster for A New Hope’s original release, with Zenny holding a lightsaber above her head like Luke Skywalker did, my favorite has to be the one of the group riding the tortles native to Palagosal, the planet the main group is stranded on when attempting to find Zenny’s family, as I love the design of these mega-sized turtle-like creatures! As always, Antonsson brings a good level of joy but can convey some of the fear and darkness to the book’s events as well.
Here are a few other things:
- While we learn the fate of one of Zenny’s missing family, I was surprised the other’s is never resolved and the characters don’t dwell on it/deal with it much before Beware comes to an end. Maybe future stories will uncover what happened to them?
- Speaking the Zenny and the Greylarks, it was disappointing that, while we hear about some of the character’s ancestors and it certainly seems like Beware is heading towards revealing more details on who they all are aka fans wondering what happened, if anything, with Axel and Jedi Knight Gella Nattai, the book never decides to illuminate anything fully. Is this also waiting for an upcoming release?
- There’s a little Mynock Mention in this one that brought a smile to my face. It’s also the same chapter Haze refers to themselves as a meknek and that reopened the wound of The Acolyte not being renewed for season 2, so go sign the petition (it’s over 75k already!)!
- Now for a few recent and upcoming releases: The High Republic Adventures – Echoes of Fear #1 and The High Republic Adventures – Crash and Burn and The Acolyte: Kelnacca #1 all released on September 4; on September 18 comes The High Republic Adventures #10 – Phase III; and George Mann’s Tears of the Nameless closes out the month on on 9/24. And October 9 has a big drop: The High Republic Adventures – Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone #1, The High Republic Adventures – Echoes of Fear #2, AND the long over-due The High Republic Adventures – Saber for Hire #4. Check out the full release schedule here!
The High Republic: Beware the Nameless by Zoraida Córdova brings old and new characters together in an engaging, stressful, and fun story for all readers.
+ New cast shines alongside returning favorites
+ Monster-movie vibes thanks to the Nameless threat
+ Really pushes the stakes for an engaging adventure…
– …though it could be a little much for some younger readers
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.