– Minor Spoiler Review –
Combining the strengths of both Daniel José Older and Alyssa Wong into one novel is almost too much to handle in the best way possible, so it means The High Republic: Escape from Valo, the era’s latest Phase III novel entry, is brimming with complex and engaging characters (new and old), a whip-smart pace, meaningful representation, and a great mixture of hope and darkness.
Alone, both Daniel José Older and Alyssa Wong have written some of my favorite content in Star Wars to date, and some of my favorite books or comics of all time in all the media I’ve consumed, so learning these two would combine their impressive skills together for a High Republic Phase III middle-grade novel set some high and detailed expectations. I don’t know what Force-aided alchemy they cooked up to work so well together, though it’s clear their friendship is genuine beyond belief, but their individual strengths both shine through in The High Republic: Escape from Valo, as Wong brings an extra bite of darkness to Older’s more hopeful and bright adventures, while both of their penchants for complex characters with motivations which feel like they drive the plot more than the plot itself carries through. At times I was a little surprised how dark or violent the novel got, but it never felt like it pushed beyond what was appropriate for the age range, as it offered more tasteful ways of depicting when characters died or were eaten by a wonderfully fun surprising in the climax. The middle-grade novels might not move much of the era forward in terms of plot, but they do a lot of work for its specific story unfolding during the era, all while focusing more heavily on its characters and Escape from Valo hits all those marks, with its characters and messages keeping readers engaged from start to finish that it’s easy to realize larger plot movement isn’t important to make a story great. In fact, I loved the way Escape highlighted how much the Nihil occupation has affected those within the Stormwall’s borders, as The Eye of Darkness touched on it briefly but didn’t show as much as Escape does in terms of how much the new rulers could affect the populace, as the main POV characters of the novel are all connected to Valo in someway and what unfolds is all based off such an attachment, and I feel like this was from Alyssa Wong’s wheelhouse we were treated to such depth. Speaking of attachments, it’s a big part of many of the characters’ journeys in Escape and it explores the concept on a deeper level than many previous works, yet building off the conversation Older had about it in Phase I’s Midnight Horizon. Let these wonder twins activate their abilities together more often, as there’s a lot of nuance older readers will find in the text while younger readers will find an enjoyable story with hints at the larger world they’ll enter as they get older.
Escape, like many of the Phase III, Wave I entries, is set right around a year after the events of Phase I and Starlight Beacon’s fall, where the Nihil’s victories have led them to create an impenetrable Stormwall around a section of the galaxy. Whereas TEoD focused on the larger galaxy’s response and attempts to break through, Escape centers us on, you guessed it, Valo, the site of the Republic Fair that went south in Phase I’s memorable The Rising Storm novel. Efforts were underway to repair the damage the Nihil did, but the Stormwall cutting off Republic and Jedi Order support, followed by another Nihil invasion, has brought the planet to heel and left its population to suffer through Nihil rule. What follows in Escape is a smattering of different characters and their attempts to end the Nihil occupation, from Ram Jomaram moonlighting as the vigilante the Scarlet Skull, the feral Jedi youngling pack of Gavi, Tep-Tep, and Kildo trying to disrupt things, Valo native Driggit Parse having joined the Nihil to protect the city, and a famous pirates’ child looking to prove themself. Of this group, and while she didn’t have as much point-of-view time as the others, my favorite was Driggit, the feral pack came in second together (Tep-Tep gets the edge of the three), and then Ram, but he’s still a beloved one and he’d probably be higher if not surrounded by the rest of this great cast. Regardless of where each character falls in mine or your personal list, not only is the main cast an absolute blast, even the secondary or tertiary shine to some degree and I was always happy to see them appear, if even for a few pages.
Gavi and Driggit felt like the heartbeat of the novel, their parallel journeys, heading in opposite directions for the same reason, captivating in their own unique ways. For Gavi, fear clouds his ability to use the Force, but his fellow ferals look up to and rely on him for all their plans, though his feelings Kildo, Valo, and Driggit all weigh on his decisions and problems reconnecting with the Force. As I mentioned earlier, Older’s Midnight Horizon and its backstory about Kantam Sy’s are the basis for a great conversation on attachments and how the Jedi Order of this era was far more lenient on the definition and an individual’s exploration of those feelings. Escape revisits this conversation with many of its characters, even the non-Jedi ones, to broaden the scope and further hammer down how wrong the Order is about by the time of the prequels. Gavi is a big part of that conversation, from his feelings for his fellow Jedi, dashing and daring Kildo, his concern for his once close friend Driggit despite her being part of the Nihil now, and his commitment to keeping Valo safe and I love how Older and Wong handled the conversation he has with himself and others, especially with the ultimate answer he arrives on to reconnect with the Force. Driggit, who was a friend to the youngling ferals before the Nihil’s invasion, is dead set on saving her family and her beloved city from the Nihil, figuring being part of them will allow her to lessen their savagery to her people and eventually destroy them from the inside. Whereas Gavi has many people he can talk to about it, Driggit is largely alone, a situation brought on by her choice to join up, while her attachment to Valo and initial belief her friends were dead furnace the fire of anger inside. For her, the ends justify the means as her anger burns, but as she comes into conflict with the ones she used to call friends, there’s a fascinating war inside for readers to watch unfold as she figures out how far with those means she’s prepared to go for with the ends she wants. Both of their internal journeys, and what it means for the external events around them, lead to really engaging ideas to consider not just for the Saga but for those reading, while it aids the feeling they move the plot, making them the two I found myself thinking back about most on.
Revisiting Ram, whose attachment to Valo is what steers him back to the planet instead of Coruscant after the events on Corellia, being alone after having so many friends who care about him is an interesting counterpoint from when we first met him in Race to Crashpoint Tower. Ram was content with his Bonbrak pals and droid V-18, deep within the innards of various mechanical items, but without any of them, and only his aloof Jedi Master as company, the weight of wondering what happened to all of the new and old friends brings down the usually jovial character. His concerns with doing enough in the fight for Valo against the Nihil, masquerading as the “Scarlet Skull” to mess with the marauders, is a topical subject always, especially with many of the current conflicts in our world, the main one being the genocide happening in Palestine right now, as donating, reaching out to reps, or sharing Palestinian voices never quite feels like enough, but one always should keep doing it. Zyle Keem, whose grandparent is Saya Keem as seen in Older’s The High Republic Adventures – Phase II and mother is Tanana Keem, current leader of Saya’s old crew the Dank Graks, obviously has a lot to live up to reputation-wise. Proving themselves is what brings them to Valo and while they are out for the profit like any good pirate, it’s interesting to watch them come to find what their forebearers have: a crew, even in the most unlikely of places, another wonderful additional to the Saga’s themes of found family.
Tep-Tep was top of the feral group for me because of her abundant enthusiasm and her ability to commune with/befriend deadly, large creatures, which often was used in a very funny way yet was vital later. Her connection to Driggit plays an interesting part in both of their choices throughout and it was fun to watch her brand of chaos come into its own due to their unique situation, even if it pushes her emotions to a dangerous place her friends must help her with. I felt like I got to know Kildo the least, but he seemed like the most assured and put together of the group, though he too struggled with his feelings for Gavi against their greater struggles. On the Nihil side of things, beyond Driggit and Vark Tarpalin, the commander of the Nihil overseeing Lonsia City occupation who is there more for comedic relief than anything else, is the nefarious Niv Drendow Apruk. Based off the early descriptions and visuals of Niv Drendow, including how he looks at everyone else as Non-Player Characters (NPC) and him carrying around a little Nameless creature, I had some expectations for his deviousness and he didn’t disappoint in the slightest. In fact, he reminded me a lot of the character J.P. from the film Grandma’s Boy (a film most of the younger skewing Escape audience should not be watching), who is still a spot-on depiction of a certain subset of gaming culture, and this felt like a more modern, obviously Star Wars-leaning take on the character and what they represent. His work with the Nameless in Escape, as well as how the creature is often described throughout, contains some intriguing breadcrumbs of what’s to come with the creatures and their role in the era’s larger story, so even if this book focus so much on Valo and these wonderful characters, there’s more than meets the eye if you look closely enough.
I can’t review Escape without touching on its revelatory push on queer representation, a hallmark of both author’s works so it was no surprise it was included. For starters, we have the transgender female character in Tep-Tep, the revelation of which is made as reverently as one would expect from these two authors yet done so succinctly, making it a part of her character but not some defining trait or storyline. This is a big step in LGBTQIA+ representation in Star Wars but also a much more nuanced and approachable way to present any rep, as far too often a transgender (or well any queer) character’s story revolves around their specific spot on the spectrum, making it the only interesting thing about them, when in reality and truth, as we all know, LGBTQIA+ individuals are normal people like everyone else, so these aspects to them are one small part of a larger whole of themselves. This is the case with everyone in Escape, any rep on display here is simply one part of their much more important story or motivations. Beyond Tep-Tep, Kildo and Gavi have feelings for one another, which is all part of Gavi’s struggles with his attachments, his role as a leader, and his inability to use the Force, making it a small, but vital component in what makes his story such a layered and interesting one throughout Escape. Queer and all fans alike will have tons to appreciate and enjoy throughout all thanks to two wonderful authors who always do what they can to help everyone see themselves in the stories they enjoy!!
Back on art for the middle grade line is Petur Antonsson, who is just out here slaying it with some rather epic, yet restrained for the medium, additions to High Republic visuals. One of the best is the middle piece of work, which without spoiling too much, features the return of some of Ram’s friends while he and his youngling charges are out sowing chaos for the Nihil. Seeing the Jedi so happy, despite all that has happened, is a nice moment, and it really takes the celebratory mood to a whole new level to see returning friends. It even has Niv Drendow, wind swept from a nearby explosion, looking appropriately ticked. The first and final pieces of art feature Tep-Tep’s ability with creatures and I love the thematic difference between the two, as it’s a far more gentle situation in the first and a little more dramatic, especially as she deals with her anger, in the last.
Here are a few other things:
- It was such an absolute joy to follow Alyssa Wong’s #CountdownToValo on Twitter, especially as they started pulling in much of the delightful fan work celebrating and hyping up the release alongside them!
- Fans of the pirate crew from Older’s The High Republic Adventures – Phase II will likely enjoy the little appearances and revelations about many of the characters as I did, while I appreciated the chance Escape took here to clarify some stuff, like with the Eviscerator ship, and tease some interesting events since we last saw everyone. I particularly loved learning more about how Saya Keem was affected by her time with Sav Malagán, as we learned they met again and Saya found herself attracted to another Jedi, a story I’d love to hear one day! These connections go a long way to make the whole High Republic era of storytelling feel even more intertwined than we all originally imagined after Phase II.
The High Republic – Escape from Valo by Alyssa Wong and Daniel José Older is a joyous blast of a novel that’s not afraid to dig into some darker, yet still appropriate, aspects which will leave High Republic, all-ages, queer, and Star Wars fans in general delighted.
+ Engaging, layered characters
+ Well-paced and entertaining
+ Fantastic LGBTQIA+ representation
+ Loved the edges of darkness
– Vark and Kildo among a few characters who get short-changed a little
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.