– Spoiler Review –
As one of The High Republic’s Phase II final acts, Cavan Scott’s The High Republic – Path of Vengeance is a tome packed with revelations, fantastic character work, and a riveting final act as he’s been known to deliver, marking this as an ending you don’t want to miss, even if some things feel too little too late.
As giant and sprawling as The High Republic tale is across novels, comics, and more, the luminous masterminds behind the initiative have purposefully created it in such a way you could read any given item and largely feel like you haven’t missed out. A lot of Phase II has been met with contention regarding how little other aspects of the Phase’s story are mentioned across various mediums, something I’ve pointed out in Cavan Scott’s The High Republic – Phase II series from Marvel with how it seemed divorced from the events of The Battle of Jedha despite taking place in the same city, but this design is on purpose to make these stories self-contained enough if it’s all you read. With Path of Vengeance, which is the closing novel of the Phase, it would seem to reason you really should’ve read something else beforehand to understand its events, at least the previous young adult entry Path of Deceit, but their maxim of you could pick up any part and still enjoy even remains true to Vengeance. The structure of the novel, focusing mainly on the Ro cousins of Marda and Yana, and picking up with their story during the events of previous books set after Deceit, allows us to get a big picture view of the Phase so I honestly never felt like I needed to read the previous works. Having read all that’s come before bolsters Vengeance’s story, its characters, and shows how it provides more context to all the events of Phase II so far, but if you asked me with a lightsaber to my heart to pick one single item from this Phase to read, I’d say Vengeance without question. It’s always a reward to read it all, but it’s not always feasible for all fans, monetarily or otherwise, and I really appreciated how complete Vengeance feels on its own for this Phase. And in the larger context of not just this Phase, but Phase I and even beyond, it’s truly a marvel overall what it all explores and adds context to, even if some reveals felt like they should’ve come sooner or it didn’t get to marinate long enough before it all ends.
Focusing on Ro cousins Marda and Yana mainly, with Jedi Padawan Matthea “Matty” Cathley from Scott’s comic also featured heavily, Vengeance uses their journeys as dual beating hearts for its story. Marda is the ardent believer in the Path of Open Hand cult, which thinks the Force needs to be free and Jedi using it is abusing it, while Yana is the reluctant follower, if only to avoid her past and get to know a lovely young lady amongst the Path and run away with her. Things have changed, much of which the opening chapters fill readers in on, as Marda is even more fervent in her beliefs, fanatically so, but is still too naïve to see the way she’s being used, a twisted version of a young Jedi she fell in love with haunting her every move. Yana is rudderless without her girlfriend Kor, whom a twisted version of haunts her, flush with anger as she hopes to take vengeance on the Mother, the leader of the Path, for setting them up to die, while she wants to save her only family, Marda, from losing herself to the vipers around her. Marda’s fanatism gets tested like never before throughout Vengeance, as while she starts falling for someone, the Mother lashes out at Marda and the walls of her naivety start to come down. She goes on an absolutely fascinating journey to Planet X (like, I cannot stop thinking about it and what it means for the larger story of the era), the home of the Nameless, as a way to gain back favor, but what happens on the strange planet’s surface, and beneath it, lays the groundwork to change everything for her going forward. What she does afterwards, and how the walls finally come down on her naivety, and what she does once they do, plants the seeds for Phase I in a big way. Honestly, with Deceit and Vengeance together, Marda’s overall journey this Phase was the most intriguing, even over characters like Axel Greylark, as it never feels like what transpires is due to plot, but rather her choices and reactions to others’ choices, while seeing how she goes from a sweet, calm member of the Path to the seed which grows into Marchion Ro and his goals feels like a worthy reason to come back and tell this story. This is one of the many places Vengeances ends before it gets a chance to deal with the immediate fallout, instead of the 150 years later fallout in Phase I, but it’s more about the journey than the destination and this is why Marda’s tale was so captivating regardless of where they chose to close out this chapter of it.
Yana’s attempts to expose the Path of the Open Hand and its leader for what they really are, hopefully freeing her cousin from its enthralling hold on her, is also an enticing part of the book because she’s stuck in such a larger conflict without really being on either side. She breaks the Herald of the Path of the Open Hand (and her dead girlfriend’s father) out of jail on Jedha to complete a mission for the Mother despite her animosity for the woman and later teams up with Jedi briefly for help exposing the Mother’s true self, never quite picking a side besides her own and that of her cousin. Yana’s struggles with what happened to Kor and making it right propel her through such swings, and I loved watching how she adjusted to every situation, always thinking on her feet, leaving me curious which direction she might go. As Marda changes and dives deeper into the cult, the friction between the two cousins tests the two Evereni women and their bond in ways that left me both hoping one might win over the other and at the same time wishing they could work together, even if it was against Jedi or characters I liked. I’d hesitate to ever call Marda or Yana a villain, as their reasons for what they do have nuanced layers and leave readers understanding why they make the choices they do, even if you don’t agree with them, and I like how Path of Deceit had me assuming outcomes for both characters and I left Vengeance somewhat surprised, yet delighted it went a different way than I was expecting, especially as it ebbed and flowed throughout for both before settling on the ending.
Outside of their cousins’ journeys, Padawan Matty Cathley’s, even if she’s new to readers compared to Marda and Yana, is just as compelling throughout. I’ve grown to like her in Scott’s comic yet felt like she has been underserved there (she isn’t the focus, so it makes sense), so her big part of Vengeance more than makes up for her sparing usage there, as her internal dialogue, and excess external dialogue, offers a funny, yet layered character who has surprises of her own throughout. Because of when this takes place, readers of the comic will find the story there covered here in full, though not in great detail, but it could still be considered a ‘spoiler’ to read Vengeance. Regardless, Matty’s journey is just starting as the comic ends, and now with two supportive dads, aka her new master Vildar Mac and a thief-with-a-heart-of-gold Tey Sirrek, she’s trusted to watch over Jedi Knight Oliviah Zeveron, who’s acted weird since the dust settled on the Battle of Jedha. Given such a mission is empowering for Matty, though she must contend with herself and another in a long line of people who look down on her, Oliviah. As for herself, Matty has trouble concentrating, almost reading like she has ADHD or lingering stress from events in the comics (which includes the loss of her last Master), and I love how Scott takes care of this aspect of her character through his writing, giving her a breathing exercise she walks through that not only helps her concentrate, but helps her fight back some very deadly situations other, more experienced Jedi don’t make it through. Her overtalkative self provided some fun in the comic, but it goes to another level here, as she’s often fed up with how she’s treated and is unable to censor herself, especially around Oliviah, who she sort of has a little crush on despite the dismissive way the older Jedi treaters her. Much like with Marda and Yana’s stories, it really feels like we’re just getting started by the time Vengeance ends, but once again it’s just the strength of the journey here which makes the desire for more from her so strong once it’s all over. Hopefully we’ll revisit many of these characters in stories over the years.
As for Oliviah, she had an even smaller role in Scott’s comic, but it was all thanks to a Characters of the High Republic video where she rose to prominence next to another figure of the era: the Path of the Open Hand’s Mother. How come? Because the video revealed the Mother’s full name is Elecia Zeveron and there was no way it was coincidence she and Oliviah shared the same last name. The Mother has been of interest throughout Phase II, never quite rising to any hefty point-of-view sections in other books, but making many appearances as she positions the Path for her own interests, which seems to be a bone to pick with the Jedi, hence why she’s collecting artifacts related to the Nameless monsters and wielded them under the guise of the Path’s mission to free the Force from those who abuse it. What’s her deal? Why does she want to go after the Jedi? How did she learn about the Nameless monsters? The other artifacts? Where did she get all her money? Are her and Oliviah related somehow? Not every question finds an answer, but the ones which do help add some context for her actions throughout the era, while the biggest answer comes so late in the novel, we don’t get to see much of fallout, so it feels semi-anticlimactic. It certainly makes me wish Oliviah and Elecia were more prominent throughout the Phase, as it would’ve made the revelations here hit with more impact, but they at least give enough context that eventually revisiting one or both could be quite entertaining in future stories. Otherwise, the Mother’s role in Vengeance felt very prescient about political leaders these days, especially of a certain persuasion, as they are chameleons, never really caring about the virtues they claim to support, only looking for personal gain and power rather than what the people actually want. In fact, she’s always felt like a bit of a commentary on such leaders, but she’s never been given enough page-time to showcase like she can here in Vengeance’s many, many pages.
If there’s anything I’d lobby against Vengeance, and I’ve mentioned it a few times already, it’s that we don’t get to marinate in any of the immediate fallout from these events. Cataclysm, which covers the Battle of Dalna from a different angle than Vengeance, has a few chapters wrapping up character arcs and story afterwards, but there are plenty of intriguing questions left neither book, nor this Phase, particularly take the time to answer. I never went into this Phase expecting answers to everything nor hoping for anything in particular to be the answer, so the feeling from Vengeance is less to do with answers and more to do with how they are handled. The Night of Sorrows has a mythical feel to it in Phase I, especially to the Dalnans, so across the two aforementioned books we see it’s a confusing melee of misunderstandings, where Jedi, Path members, and Dalnans all perish due to the schemes of the Mother and those around her. How it necessarily ends up being such a point of contention by Phase I isn’t quite covered or hinted at much, as we don’t get tons of time with non-Jedi or non-Path characters or see some reactions from locals. Do we actually need this though? I’d argue it would’ve been nice, as having a little glimpse at some Dalnan reactions could help fit more with how it seemed Phase I set this up, but it isn’t necessary, as how often do we have events and conflicts from 150 years ago in our own history which have taken on mythical proportions or thrown under the proverbial rug by the places and people who live there now? And is needing a story to fit characters’ feelings on an event actually important here or more how these events and those involved lead to what we have in Phase I and beyond? We’ll cover this more on the Manor in our Phase II retrospective (out prior to Phase III’s start), as it’s not on this book to answer for all of Phase II’s pros and cons, but I will say for now I came into Vengeance interested more with how these characters were involved and what choices they made rather than the destination, and closed the book satisfied, but there was a feeling of needing a bit more clarity (I’d LOVE to read Catalyst and Vengeance spliced together!) and allowing certain revelations to simmer with these characters beyond a few paragraphs in the last chapter or two, as they feel too little too late to the overall Phase and era in entirety. As for what some of those revelations are, check out the spoiler section below for more detail…
There are paths for deceit and vengeance…
…but walk this one and it’s the path to spoilers!
Here are a few other things:
- There’s still some remaining Phase II content as of publishing for this review. There’s the next manga entry, The Edge of Balance – Precedent on May 23, while The High Republic #10 – Phase II wraps up Scott’s comic on May 24, while The High Republic Adventures – Phase II has a few issues left, one on May 31 and the remaining three all dropping on June 28!
- Before Phase III starts in earnest in October, with one still unannounced title, there’s going to be the big Tales for Light and Life anthology novel to enjoy, where the stories range from all over the Phases, but don’t quite cross over into Phase III. For tales set around Phase II there are: one with Marda Ro post-Phase II; another has Axel Greylark and the Mother during Phase II; one is set after Phase II with my favorite Jedi of the Phase, Silandra Sho; while one more introduces new characters after Phase II but not quite Phase I. It’s out September 5!
The High Republic – Path of Vengeance by Cavan Scott is a thrilling read thanks to the dual beating hearts of the Ro cousins, wonderfully bookending Phase II while also serving up enough to be read on its own, even if some of its final explanations don’t get their due
+ Ro cousins as its beating heart
+ The care and humor of Matty’s part
+ Everything about Planet X
+ The ways it sets up Phase I and maybe beyond…
– …though certain reveals come too little too late
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.