– Slight Spoiler Review –
The beginning of the end to The High Republic‘s first Phase of content kicks off with Claudia Gray’s The Fallen Star, a riveting novel full of hope, heartbreak, and terror, that grips you in its tension-filled opening pages and doesn’t let up, offering moments of levity giving readers a breath before pulling them back in. It’s a fitting, important ending to the hope-filled beginning of the era a year ago, setting the stage for what’s yet to come in Phase II and beyond.
Much has happened since the hopeful opening wave of Phase I for The High Republic, as Light of the Jedi began with the Jedi seemingly victorious over the marauding Nihil and the Republic’s symbol of prosperity and hope hanging in the cosmos, Starlight Beacon. However, short afterwards the vicious Drengir arose and split the Jedi and Republic’s attention, leading to the devastating attack by the Nihil at the Republic Fair. While the Jedi were able to drive the Nihil back, one of their best died by mysterious circumstances and the search regarding what happened began, while other anomalies appeared in a prototype gravity weapon that threatened to rip peace apart once again but instead led to Nihil benefactors on the run or arrested. As the investigation into Loden Greatstorm’s death continued and Avar Kriss left Starlight to chase down the supposed leader of the Nihil, Lourna Dee, the actual leader, the enigmatic Marchion Ro, had much bigger and deadlier plans up his sleeves. While that sounds like a lot to take in, especially if you’re only reading the books or even just the two previous adult books, the opening crawl (which I’ve posted with this review) sums things up well enough and Claudia Gray provides accessibility to all readers to enjoy The Fallen Star, as obviously reading all the content adds more stakes and potential emotional investment, and offers lots of great references to content all across the era’s already expansive story, readers who aren’t diving into all the content (for whatever reason, be it not enough time/money/whatever) won’t be left out and can still get hooked by the book’s riveting structure. At the start of The Fallen Star, Starlight Beacon arrives above Eiram, a somewhat unremarkable Outer Rim world first mentioned in Gray’s previous entry Into the Dark, to assist with issues facing their planet. As various Jedi and other characters across the books arrive at the station, renewed attacks from the Nihil across the galaxy bring many of the injured to Starlight to use its considerable resources, but unbeknownst to many, Nihil on a secretive mission sneak amongst the throngs. As The Fallen Star jumps different POVs throughout each chapter, it doesn’t take long for TFS to rev into its spiraling, gripping action, building towards an ending that changes the balance of the galaxy in this era and will affect all aspects of the story going forward.
Whereas The Rising Storm focused on a handful of characters, The Fallen Star reads more like Light of the Jedi, with a much broader set of character POVs, this time pulling in many recognizable faces from other books (though not much from the comics) in the era so far, as well as a few new faces. TFS focuses mainly on Jedi characters again, but it brings in a good portion of non-Force using ones as well, while offering a few Nihil POVs too. On the Jedi side of things, there’s: Stellan Gios, newly appointed Council member and public face of the Jedi after his heroics at the Republic Fair, who takes over Starlight Beacon after Avar Kriss goes on her crusade against Lourna Dee. His journey, especially since he rose to POV prominence in TRS, is one of the bests of the book, as he struggles with the new responsibilities, the growing threats aboard Starlight Beacon, and who he is a person outside of the Order; luckily, the other part of his Force constellation, Elzar Mann, takes up considerable time in TFS as well, dealing with the fallout from his brush with the dark side still and learning to trust himself again. His journey also is a highlight and the repercussion of his actions here will only serve to test him and make for good POV moments in future stories; Bell Zettifar, the rising star of TRS, still deals with the loss of his previous master, Loden Greatstorm, and much like in TRS he comes into his own here as the threats rise and he must learn to move on or face more losses. That also means Ember and his new master, Indeera Stokes, are in TFS, though they don’t have as big of roles as they’ve had previously; Burryaga, the Wookiee Jedi and his Master Nib Assek, also feature in the story, with Bell and Burry becoming close friends and relying on one another as Starlight faces growing peril, making for my favorite friendship and connection in TFS; Orla Jareni, the Wayseeker introduced in Gray’s Into the Dark and later seen in The High Republic comic helping fight back the Nihil alongside Keeve Trennis, is the unexpected mentor to Elzar’s recovery. Her unique perspective is exactly what Jedi like Stellan and Elzar need and I hope we have more Wayseekers in the future to see how else they relate to the Force; and even some POV moments focus on Avar Kriss, a character in desperate need of more POV in the novels, as while she’s been in the comics a bit, it’s certainly not enough for such a vital character as we haven’t come to learn what she thinks and feels about events much as we have Stellan and Elzar, her closest friends and Jedi. It’s a wide swath of Jedi, really pulling in some of the era’s most beloved and important together at another time of crisis, and this variety allows Gray to explore their strengths and weaknesses in this era, as while they certainly seem like miracle workers, they too have their own problems and lot of it stems from how these attacks from the Nihil really jab at their heavy helpings of attachments to one another. One of the biggest threats of the novel, the same creature Marchion Ro used against Greatstorm, tests the Jedi of this era like no other threat before it and many questions remain how they’ll ever be able to conquer the beasts that bring them so low so easily.
On the non-Jedi side, there’s an entertaining variety as well! Gray brings in her crew of the Vessel from Into the Dark, the young yet righteous Affie Hollow, who’s learning to deal with her choice to turn in her adopted mother and becoming the captain of the ship, the McConaughey of Star Wars Leox Gyasi himself, his old-fashioned ways offering laughs and tales of caution against technology, and the absolute unit Geode, the Vintian navigator who provides as many laughs and delights as he did in his opening appearance (and every one since). They’ve made for great guest stars in the comics but having them in the forefront resolves some lingering aspects to the characters since Into the Dark and offers opportunities for them to grow as well. Then there’s Nan and Chancey Yarrow, the former the ambitious young member of the Nihil who leaves it after the events of Out of the Shadows, and the latter the brilliant mind making gravity weapons for the Nihil only because they’ll fund her research. These two start off in Jedi custody but as the situation worsens aboard Starlight, they both have to chose what side they are on, the Nihil or their own, in hopes of saving their own skins. Nan’s been an interesting character to follow since her initial introduction, a Nihil die-hard who understands looking out for herself might mean going against the Nihil despite how badly she wants leader Marchion Ro to trust her, while we already got to see her run into Reath Silas again and the potential for her and Affie to deal with lingering threads hangs over every moment as well. I had some confusion as to how/why they were captured, especially considering when we saw them last in OotS, but it might become clearer in other sources or in the end, it’s technically not vital considering what all transpires in TFS. Ghirra Starros reappears but I felt like what happens with her here was too sudden considering we only just met her in OotS, but there’s potential to explore it more in upcoming works. One new character I wanted to jump into the book and shoot myself, but Gray has a great knack for making such characters. A new character amongst the Nihil, Taryn Ferr, is a pleasant and unique surprise with her lack of ambition and fealty to Marchion Ro, though I left Fallen Star unsure what her purpose could be going forward. And of course there’s some time with Marchion Ro, and while we don’t learn anything new about him or the Leveler/beasts like it that Ro has access to, we do see what all the in-fighting and fallout from Lourna Dee’s actions in her audiobook do to him. If you want more about Marchion Ro, make sure to read the upcoming mega-two-parter comic Eye of the Storm by Charles Soule, which promises to unveil the truth behind the character; the first issue is out January 12 and we’ll have a review here then! It’s important to have this cast of non-Jedi to help expand and reveal the galaxy’s reactions to such a crisis, as it’d be difficult to maintain the flow of the book and its tension if we constantly broke to the rest of the galaxy dealing with the events on Starlight Beacon. There is more content coming in Phase I, Wave III, of which Fallen Star is just the kick-off, so we might begin to see how the galaxy deals with these events that way and then of course whenever the era picks up at the start of Phase II.
The Rising Storm had a much longer build-up period before all hell broke loose and The Fallen Star doesn’t take that luxury, focusing shortly on some peaceful moments but ratcheting up the tension throughout it until it all comes crashing down on readers and characters alike. It felt like it could’ve benefited from a larger page count, to help flesh out more of the events and locales, though I’m curious if the same tension would be attainable. There’s a lot of fun and terror to be had as we gain more information than certain characters do, only furthering the tension as they go about things in their own way, often missing or hastening other details we already know. The pace of the book does and, while its cast is expansive, its core characters sometimes makes the bigger picture shrink, Starlight Beacon sometimes feeling a little more hollow than expected, but its bustling hallways and Republic/Jedi pride make it clear how easily the Nihil could wreck havoc on the station. There’s plenty of emotional moments throughout TFS, as all the teases by the creatives and Lucasfilm, like the ominous poster about who will fall, pay off big-time, often in the saddest way possible. Plenty of characters die, some unexpected, some expected, while others it’s less their deaths that hit but rather how it effects those left behind, leaving me in tears a few times and angry in one instance as one character was quickly becoming a favorite and another because it almost felt a little too sudden/cruel. In another instance, there’s some hope by one character assuming the presumed dead actually isn’t and it’ll be interesting to see how their conviction and search are handled in stories going forward; it’s definitely hinting at why the prequel Jedi are even more cautious on attachments than these of this era are, as one’s attachment has lead to a potentially foolish quest. As much as it hurt to lose certain characters, I’m glad the luminous team hasn’t shied away from death, helping rise tension the longer the story of this era goes on, because who can truly be safe if these and other favorites won’t make it?
One thing I truly appreciated about this book was how it managed to be a conversation on loss, a very prescient topic as we enter year three of a world-wide pandemic. The Fallen Star talks about what individuals can lose, even in the middle of a bigger catastrophe, what we have already lost, and what we don’t want to lose, all while pointing out how accepting loss and its importance in life can set one free. Elzar Mann has lost trust in himself and the Force after his dip with the dark side, Affie lost her motherly figure after turning her in and now she doubts herself and the path forward, Chancey Yarrow lost her daughter and thinks working with Nan can help her set it right, Stellan has lost his fellow stars in his Jedi constellation leaving him lost inside as well, Marchion Ro has lost his trust in anyone but himself though I imagine he’s never quite trusted anyone, and Bell Zettifar lost his Master and believes his lack of conviction made it permanent, among many other characters and what they’ve all lost. Each character in TFS struggles with some form of loss and their journeys to acceptance of those losses and what they can learn from them drive all the relatable and intriguing character arcs, which I again I feel Stellan and Elzar’s were some of the best in the book. Loss brings with it so much more than simply losing something/someone, as the emptiness afterwards is tempting to fill up with the next available, easy to reach option and thankfully none of these characters do that, instead taking most of the book for each of them to figure out how to deal with the loss, what they can learn from it, and how to carry on afterwards, hoping to prevent that loss again. It’s not all metaphysical, as the affects the Leveler and its ilk, the Nameless (though they aren’t named it yet we have a brief glimpse in a video to guess it for now), have on the Jedi throughout the book show the loss of the Force and what it could mean for the Jedi: are they ready to be without it? do they rely on it too much? Considering characters like Luke, Leia, and Rey grew up without it or knowing they had it, it feels like Jedi like that would be better to deal with this problem, as they already understand who they are without it, not allowing the Force to define them but instead they’ve defined themselves. I’ll be curious to see how more and more Jedi deal with the loss these creatures force on them and what it’ll mean for this era and how we get to the Jedi of the prequel era. Overall, I loved Gray’s theme of loss, as well as the options she offers to push on from it, a potent message to explore amidst such a moment in our lives.
Here are a few other things:
- UPDATE 1/4: The Anniversary Special revealed some pretty intriguing teases of what’s to come in Phase II: Quest of the Jedi, launching in October 2022. It’s set 150 years before the start of Phase I…so something truly different and unique is coming our way! Original Point as Follows: Also releasing the same day as The Fallen Star is The High Republic Anniversary Special, a livestream much like the one a year ago when the initiative launched that will feature interviews with the luminous writers and other special guests, while also promises announcements about what’s to come in Phase II: Quest of the Jedi! We’ll have a round-up on the site tomorrow!
- UPDATE 1/4: Surprise! While the physical version of Mission to Disaster was delayed, it’s still out on digital today!
We’ll have a review as soon as we canWe have a review out now!. Original Point as Follows: Typically the adult novel of each Wave has launched alongside a middle-grade novel, but due to paper shortages/printing issues, Justina Ireland’s Mission to Disaster, which gets referenced here somewhat with all the mentions of a mission to Dalna, won’t be out until March 1. I am VERY sure it’ll be worth the wait: it has Vernestra Rwoh and Avon Starros, how could it not?! Read one for what else is coming in Wave III… - What’s all next for Phase I, Wave III? In January there’s the aforementioned start to Eye of the Storm, digging into Marchion Ro’s past; The High Republic issue #13 which will reveal what Avar was doing off-screen during portions of TFS; The High Republic Adventures has both a delightful Bake-off Spectacular issue and its penultimate issue #12; Trail of Shadows‘s fourth issue will see if the investigators can get any closer to understanding what the Leveler and its like are; and The Edge of Balance Vol. 2 releases digitally. In February, the young adult novel Midnight Horizon launches, while tons of finales happen: The High Republic comic has its final two issue of Phase I; The High Republic Adventures has its grand finale; Trail of Shadows closes with its fifth issue; and Eye of the Storm reveals all it can for now on Marchion Ro. You can find all the release dates on our The High Republic page! We update it as often as we can!!
- It’s not even been a month since it was announced but the hashtag against Star Wars Eclipse continues strong. The BlackoutStarWarsEclipse hashtag on Twitter has trended, helping spread the message that Quantic Dream’s David Cage and his bigoted views are not to be tolerated, especially for the first video game set within the High Republic era. Hopefully Lucasfilm Games can respond to the push against the game soon, though it seems it might implode on itself, but that doesn’t mean we should give up having the conversation.
- I also received the audiobook version of The Fallen Star and I adored and feared the ominous music they used whenever Jedi began to feel the creatures roaming the station without knowing what they were or what they were doing to them; I felt the same tension reading the book as I did listening, but this was an added bonus.
The High Republic – The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray will grip you from page one until it closes, offering an important conversation on loss especially as characters you know and love bite the dust, while featuring a lovely large cast of characters, but it feels too propulsive for its own good at times.
+ Page turning tension
+ Wide cast of characters
+ Theme of loss and how to deal with it
+ No one is safe
– Would’ve benefited from longer page count
– Tight focus sort of loses larger picture
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.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher at no charge in order to provide a review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.