Lucasfilm has revealed the covers for the three books releasing in early 2022 as part of the third wave of the High Republic project’s first phase.
First up is The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray. I’m very excited for this one – Gray is one of my favourite canon authors thanks to Lost Stars and Bloodline (I still need to read Master & Apprentice and her previous High Republic novel, Into the Dark, is sitting on my shelf as we speak) so I’m looking forward to another adult novel from her, particularly as the conclusion to this phase of High Republic storytelling. The synopsis makes it sound like we’re headed for a Nihil attack on Starlight Beacon, which would certainly be a suitably compelling climax. If we’re presuming that the Beacon is no longer around come the time of the films, I could certainly see its fall as being symbollic for the beginning of the Republic’s decline. Indeed, the title of the novel would appear to imply that we’re going to see its destruction, but it could also easily refer to something less literal (Elzar Mann, perhaps? Even Ty Yorrick?).
The cover itself is fine. The art itself is quite nice but I do wish that the adult High Republic novels had gone for a bit more dynamic of a design than just ‘a collection of Jedi characters stand around with their lightsabers out.’ Regardless, I suppose the characters featured give us a hint of who the protagonists are for this novel; Indeera Stokes (who I admittedly mistook initially for another HR Tholothian, Ty Yorrick), Stellan Gios, Bell Zettifar, Burryaga Agaburry and Orla Jareni. This era has done a fantastic job of getting me invested in all these different Jedi and I’m quite pleased with this selection. I enjoyed Stellan and Bell a lot in The Rising Storm, and of course I love Burryaga as much as the next guy. Orla was pretty badass in the Marvel comic’s ‘Heart of the Drengir’ arc, and of course is a Gray creation by virtue of her first appearing in Into the Dark (again, I’ll get to it soon). Indeera hasn’t made as much of an impression on me, simply because she’s mostly been on the periphery of these stories, but she’s very central on this cover so hopefully Fallen Star will give her a chance to shine.
Curiously absent is Avar Kriss who, as you’ll remember, is the Marshal of Starlight Beacon. Sure, it’s entirely possible that she’s in the novel but just not on the cover, but I’m wondering if it’s more likely that some sort of threat in the comic will take her out of the Starlight equation. The comic has featured Starlight far more heavily than any other medium, so one would imagine that Fallen Star will cross over with it pretty substantially. Is it too much to hope for a Keeve Trennis appearance (potentially with her still undercover as a Nihil)? The Marvel gang were absent on Valo during The Rising Storm (apart from, thanks to a continuity error on Cavan Scott’s part, OrbaLin) so it’d be nice to see them incorporated into the adult novels a bit more.
Next is Wave 3’s young adult novel, Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older. Older has been killing it over at IDW with The High Republic Adventures (don’t let the younger target audience for the comic put you off, they are far more mature than I expected, while still being a really fun romp that will appeal to fans of all ages) and I’m ecstatic to see him make the jump over to the novels’ side of the project. Here’s hoping that he’ll incorporate some of his Adventures characters – it was amazing and very unexpected to see Buckets of Blood turn up in The Rising Storm. We could even see him follow up on where exactly Yoda is at the moment, a plot thread that was left dangling a while ago in Adventures. I much prefer this cover to Fallen Star‘s and it might even be my favourite of the High Republic thus far – it’s simple and very effective. The two featured characters are both from Into the Dark – Reath Silas and Cohmac Vitus. Man, I’ve really got to get around to that book (and its successor, Out of the Shadows) soon.
The final one of the novels is the one that I’m probably least likely to read (at least on release), Mission to Disaster by Justina Ireland. Nothing against Ireland or her books, but this is aimed at a much younger audience than the one I occupy so I find it a little hard to justify buying it over any of the other Star Wars novels I could be getting. It’s for that reason that I’ve not read A Test of Courage nor Race to Crashpoint Tower. There’s not much, lore-wise, to be gleaned from the cover – just Vernestra Rwoh and Imri Cantaros fighting some space crocodiles. As you do. It doesn’t imply much of a connection with the events of Fallen Star (though neither did Midnight Horizon‘s cover, to be fair) so it’s likely skippable if you’re just looking for the main story.
There were also some comic covers revealed, with probably the most interesting being that of the first issue of Charles Soule’s Eye of the Storm miniseries:
First off, love the cover. Second, interesting that Marchion is pictured as possessing Loden Greatstorm’s lightsaber. We’ve been told that this miniseries will reveal aspects of Ro’s origin story, which a lot of us assumed to mean that the comic would be a full-on prequel, but the fact that Marchion has the lightsaber indicates that it will at least partially be set in the relative present (or at the very least, post-Light of the Jedi). I’m really looking forward to this one – Soule’s been surprisingly absent from the High Republic since LOTJ, probably because he’s been too busy running Marvel’s current War of the Bounty Hunters crossover and planning for the rest of his Qi’ra trilogy, so his return will certainly be a welcome one. His last origin story, The Rise of Kylo Ren, was one of the best canon comics to date so I can’t wait for this one.
There was also this cover for the fourth issue of Older’s Trail of Shadows miniseries. I probably wouldn’t mention it except some fans on Twitter are convinced that the creature behind the central Jedi (Emerick Caphtor, who apparently appeared in Out of the Shadows) is the Great Leveler, which would certainly be an interesting place to take this comic following the events of The Rising Storm. I’m pretty excited for the series overall. Like I said, I’ve been enjoying Older’s High Republic work and the premise of a Jedi murder mystery with big implications is certainly appealing.
We’re also getting a High Republic Adventures annual in December which will feature stories from each of the five High Republic authors, but there’s not really much to be gleaned from the cover. It seems there’ll be Lina Soh and Vernestra Rwoh stories, as well as one featuring Lourna Dee and Porter Engle. I’ve not yet listened to Tempest Runner so I don’t know whether a potential showdown between those two connects to or follows on from anything in that audio.
All up, I’m very excited for the third and final wave of the High Republic’s first phase. The project has exceeded my expectations up to this point despite the occasional misstep, and I can’t wait to get to all of this new stuff, not to mention the stories that I missed when they first came out.
I loved pretty much everything about the first issue of Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito’s The High Republic ongoing series, which just debuted. I’ve not yet had the opportunity to obtain a copy of Light of the Jedi (I could have gotten the audiobook but my policy with canon novels is to get them physically – with Legends I don’t care as much because physical copies are harder to track down) so, barring Charles Soule’s short story in the last issue of Star Wars Insider, this is my first foray into the High Republic era and its associated multimedia event. And I’m very impressed.
First off, I loved the protagonists. When Lucasfilm initially started revealing all these new characters I was concerned that the stories would end up overcrowded, with the writers unable to develop all of them in interesting ways. Luckily, my fears were unfounded – The High Republic #1 does have a lot of characters in it (including one familiar face), but for the most part it smartly zeroes in on just two – Keeve Trennis and her Trandoshan Jedi Master Sskeer. I instantly became invested in these protagonists. Keeve is capable yet fallible, and serves as an excellent audience surrogate with her youthful perspective on the High Republic. Plus, she has an awesome double-bladed lightsaber to boot, which you can see on the cover above and in the image below:
If you’re worried that the High Republic era is going to be devoid of internal and interpersonal conflict – fear not. Sskeer is still reeling from the events of Light of the Jedi (this issue does – I imagine – spoil a couple of elements from the novel, which is irritating but understandable) and clearly will have a few personal demons to deal with over the course of the series. Above all, it’s nice to have a Trandoshan ‘good guy’ (let alone a Jedi) for once.
Avar Kriss, as you can probably guess from her prominent inclusion on the cover, makes a small appearance. I don’t feel like I know much about her character yet but I guess that’s what Light of the Jedi is for. She does certainly make an impression in this issue, if only because of Keeve’s excitable reaction to meeting her for the first time.
Aside from the characters, the issue is just very well-written. The pacing is great – it throws some exposition at the reader but you never feel like you need to be taking notes or anything. The main plot of the story – Keeve’s Jedi Trials – might come across as a side quest in the overall High Republic narrative initially, but it’s a good way to establish her character and do some worldbuilding around what the Jedi Order looks like at this point in history.
Overall, I was really impressed by The High Republic #1. Despite taking place after Light of the Jedi, it also serves as a fantastic introduction to the era and its characters, and I can’t wait to devour as much of this publishing initiative as possible.
QUICK SPOILER SECTION:
Yoda shows up for a brief appearance in this issue, and we learn (this may have been established in Light of the Jedi, but this was my first exposure to it) that he is a) one of multiple Grandmasters and b) is not currently hanging around with the Jedi Council since he’s off exploring the galaxy on a ship called the Star Hopper. I know he’s going to be a prominent fixture in IDW’s The High Republic Adventures series, and I hope we get to learn more about whatever he’s doing in there. Is he expanding his knowledge of the Force, like he was doing in The Clone Wars Season Six? I don’t know, but disengaging himself from the Council politics and going off on some sort of Padawan-training road trip feels very in-character for Yoda. Looking forward to seeing how that storyline pans out.
Welcome to The Great Legends Journey, a series in which I watch/read/play through the entire Legends canon in chronological order (barring the odd story that I can’t get a hold of). Most of this is new to me, and in the interests of capturing my blow-by-blow thoughts, I’m going to be writing as I experience these pieces of fiction, specifying page numbers, time codes or whatever else. This is Part Two, in which we continue the Pre-Republic era with the first Dawn of the Jedi comic…
Initial Thoughts: After reading and enjoying Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, I’m very enthused about this whole era. Like Into the Void, this comic – subtitled Force Storm – is completely new to me and I don’t have any preconceived notions going in, other than that I hope they continue to expand on the different worlds of the Tython system and the space beyond. I also hope they answer the question of what the crashing alien ship was at the end of Into the Void, though I’m not especially optimistic about that one since it was probably intended for a sequel novel. Mostly, I’m just hoping for some good Star Wars set in this era that I’m already quite fond of.
(It should be noted that the page numbers I specify are not included in the comics themselves and will be established simply by me counting the pages as I go, not including the front cover or any ads. It’s way messier than my process for a novel, but you’ll just have to bear with me)
Issue One:
Is that a proper lightsaber? I guess that means this comic will mark the introduction of lightsabers into the GFFA? Also, purple lightsaber!
p.1: Ooh, here’s the Je’daii Oath. It does seem way more Dark Side-y than the Jedi Oath (“there is no fear; there is power”). I suppose that’s appropriate for an Order that’s committed to balance rather than the Light Side.
p.2: We’re finally getting to meet Dai Bendu monks! I’m still not entirely sure what purpose they serve in the galaxy, hopefully this issue will enlighten me.
p.3: I love the design of the Tho Yor. I wonder what secrets await inside… Could one of these have been the ship that crashed on Tython at the end of Into the Void? Did they ever specify an appearance for that one?
p.5: Dathomirians riding rancors like horses… why not?
p.7: So the Tho Yor each picked up a bunch of people from random worlds (all beyond the Tython system, I think) and brought them to Tython. But for what purpose?
p.8: Ooohhh, so is this like, the origins of the Je’daii Order? That’s pretty cool. Were the Tho Yor present on Tython in Into the Void? They probably were and I just forgot about them. (looks back at Into the Void) Hang on, they’re literally on the cover! I’m such a dumbass.
p.11: Well I guess the Tho Yor explain how the Tython system can be so multicultural despite only containing a handful of planets with no means to travel elsewhere.
p.12: Nice to have a bit of a flashback to the Despot War. I’m eager to learn more about it, but we probably never will.
p.13: “In the light, there is a darkness and in the darkness, a light.” That pretty much sums up the Je’daii. It’s so cool to have an Order completely devoted to balance.
p.14: Wow, Tatooine looks different. It has cities and seas! I like that they’re not presenting the planets exactly as we remember them – obviously they would have evolved over 25,000 years and this story reflects that.
I love Xesh’s design. It kind of reminds me of Ren from The Rise of Kylo Ren.
p.15: I think that’s the first time we’ve seen a person use Force lightning in this era thus far.
p.17: I love the shot of the ligthning reflected in Xesh’s visor.
p.18: I’m loving the character designs in this era. They’re very creative.
p.19: Ooh, so is the Infinite Empire (cool-if-a-bit-optimistic name, by the way) going to invade the Tython system? That’s a pretty good setup.
p.21: So both Xesh and Trill have lightsabers. This’ll be interesting. Love their hilt designs, by the way. I’m a sucker for a good lightsaber hilt.
p.22: So what role does a Force Hound play? I’m guessing they’re kind of like security, judging by how Tul’kar treats Xesh?
p.23: Hmm, a good setup for the series. Not sure who the main characters are for Force Storm, though. Are we going to be following Xesh and the Infinite Empire? Or will another Je’daii character be introduced next issue? Either way, I’m eager to see what happens next.
Issue Two:
Is that a… flying rancor?
p.2: Ooh, we’re finally getting to see Furies Gate!
p.3: Ay, Hawk Ryo from Eruption! Nice to see a familiar face in the absence of Lanoree Brock.
I like the design of Hawk’s Pteron fighter. It kind of looks like a real-world jet fighter, except in space.
p.4: And we’re getting to see the Chasm as well! This is like a tour of all the elements featured in Into the Void and Eruption.
p.6: Is “space me!” the ancient Je’daii equivalent of exclaiming “fuck me!”? Not sure about that one.
p.8: So Shikaakwa is like the Star Wars equivalent of Feudal Japan? That’s pretty awesome.
Oh, and Hawk’s crime lord brother is mentioned, too! Nice.
p.10: It looks like the blasters fire actual bullets, judging by this page. I guess that makes sense, if the Tython system hasn’t developed lightsabers yet.
p.14: “Mmm… Sek’nos can experiment with me anytime!” That made me laugh. It’s nice seeing Je’daii be looser than their Jedi counterparts.
p.16: So why is Xesh appearing to all these random Je’daii? Is it just a vision, or a deliberate trap?
p.18: Ooh, was that Daegen Lok? Nice to finally see him in the flesh after all these mentions of him. I hope he’s a big presence in these comics.
p.20: Is Tasha Ryo directly related to Hawk or is it more of a clan thing?
Is this burning fireball the ship from the end of Into the Void?!? (I bet I’m going to spend all my time theorising about that ship and then my questions will never be answered)
p.23: Xesh has landed on Tython! I’m really looking forward to seeing his confrontation with the Je’daii, and their reaction to his lightsaber.
Issue Three:
p.2: I love the way all the temples on Tython are visualised. They’re very different settings to what we’re used to in Star Wars and they look awesome.
So does this page basically confirm that the ship that crashed at the end of last issue was the same one that crashed at the end of Into the Void? That’s pretty good connectivity if so.
p.4: The panel of Xesh going into battle is truly epic. I really like this character.
p.5: So lightsabers can cut through Force-imbued blades. The Je’daii must be shitting themselves.
p.6: Sek’nos is definitely going to go full Dark Side if we get to see the origins of that division.
p.8: Did Xesh just kill Shae?
p.10: That’s quite funny. Sek’nos grabs Xesh’s lightsaber off him but can’t figure out how to turn it on. Shows how alien this technology is to the Je’daii.
p.11: Interesting that Xesh refers to the lightsaber as a forcesaber. Is it actually powered by its user’s Force, or was the word lightsaber just not in common currency yet?
p.12: It looks like the forcesaber is powered by the Force since Shae seems to turn it on involuntarily.
p.15: That abyss creatures looks a lot like the one in the hyperspace skipping scene in The Rise of Skywalker. Same species?
p.18: Tasha is so annoying, seriously.
p.22: Ah, so it is Daegen Lok on the moon. I’m interested to see what role he’ll play later on.
Issue Four:
p.2: It’s a shame they couldn’t work Lanoree in here somewhere. I know this came out before Into the Void, but a little reference or something in the next two arcs would have been nice.
p.4: Tasha is once again being useless. I hope she does end up serving a purpose in this comic eventually.
p.5: I didn’t even think about it, but Shae must be the first Je’daii/Jedi to wield a lightsaber. Imagine the Twitter comments if this came out today – “a woman wielding the first lightsaber?!? Disgusting!”
p.7: Nice little moment here when our Je’daii trio finally comes together, even if I strongly dislike one third of them. For me, the panel mainly highlighted how revealing the Je’daii liked their costumes. I know we had people like Aayla Secura and Ahsoka Tano later on, but you can’t imagine Plo Koon walking around shirtless!
p.8: Hey look, the Predors have lightsaber pikes.
p.10: So the abyss is kind of like Tython’s equivalent of the cave on Dagobah, except on a much larger scale.
p.14: Nice to get some backstory for Xesh, and to see how he learnt his combat skills.
p.17: “Yeah, you slime-sodden pile of worm droppings – I threw that!” Not John Ostrander’s finest line.
p.18: Are the glowing auras around Force-users hands actually there, or are they more of a stylised visual representation of their power?
Also, the rift worm breathes Force lightning like a dragon breathes fire. That’s pretty awesome.
p.20: I’m not sure if Xesh’s exaggerated sexism is funny or a bit much. I guess we’ll see as the comic progresses.
p.22: The Je’daii really walked into that trap. Of course Xesh was going to leave them there to die. What did they think was going to happen? Anyhow, onto the final issue of Force Storm…
Issue Five:
p.2: Jeez, Butch has gone through a lot this miniseries. Give the poor flying rancor a rest.
p.4: “…that greasy pile of rancor droppings…” Please, Ostrander, stop.
p.5: This scene of Xesh planning out how to pick the Je’daii off one by one is quite good.
p.7: It came out of nowhere a bit, but I do like this respect Xesh now has for Shae after seeing her willing to defend her allies to the death. He’ll probably end up trying to kill her later, but let’s just enjoy the moment.
p.9: Xesh stabbing the rift worm in the eye is pretty brutal.
p.10: Aaaannnd it just electrocuted him. Solid defence mechanism.
The panel of the Force lightning going up into the storm reminds me a lot of the tree-burning shot from The Last Jedi.
p.12: So is Quan-Jang bringing all the Je’daii Masters together to put their power behind him, like Rey in The Rise of Skywalker?
p.14: Nothing more Star Wars than a self-sacrifice. RIP Quan-Jang.
p.15: I like Xesh’s acceptance of his imminent death, even if Shae doesn’t end up going through with it. I think he could become a Je’daii or at least turn to the Light Side/strike balance eventually.
p.16: Xesh not knowing what a healer is due to his violent and unloving lifestyle is a nice detail.
p.17: Nope, Quan-Jang’s alive again. Dawn of the Jedi doesn’t like to follow through on protagonist deaths, does it? They copped out on Tre Sana in Into the Void, too.
p.20: Is Xesh a clone? Or was he genetically engineered?
p.21: Sending Xesh to Bogan is a bit harsh, especially considering that he’s not a Je’daii and isn’t one of their underlings.
p.22: Yep, Xesh is definitely on the path to redemption. Called it.
p.23: And I guess he’s now about to be pulled into a confrontation with Daegen Lok?
I enjoyed Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm. While it’s biggest flaw is the fact that it feels more like set-up for other stories rather than a fully-rounded story in its own right, it was able to introduce and develop several good characters with interesting potential, most notably Xesh and Sek’nos. Hopefully the next two arcs will provide a well-crafted continuation of this story.
I’d give Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm a 7/10, and it is now #3 (of 3) in my overall ranking.
Join us next time as the Dawn of the Jedi story continues with the second comic story, The Prisoner of Bogan!
Welcome to The Great Legends Journey, a series in which I watch/read/play through the entire Legends canon in chronological order (barring the odd story that I can’t get a hold of). Most of this is new to me, and in the interests of capturing my blow-by-blow thoughts, I’m going to be writing as I experience these pieces of fiction, specifying page numbers, time codes or whatever else. This is a huge undertaking and will almost certainly not succeed. This is Part One.
Initial Thoughts: I’ve never read Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void before. In fact, this is by far the furthest back I’ve gone into the Legends canon, timeline-wise, so I’ll be approaching this ‘Before the Republic’ era with the freshest eyes imaginable. I’m quite intrigued by the prospect of seeing the origins of the Jedi and the Sith, and the development of the Force within these individuals. Here’s the cover of the novel, which was written by Tim Lebbon:
This character appears to be wielding a katana-like sword instead of a lightsaber, which is quite cool. I have no idea when lightsabers actually came into being within the universe, but I’m sure I’ll find out as we move forward.
Of course, before we get to the novel, we have to read what is chronologically the earliest story in all of Legends, John Ostrander’s short story Dawn of the Jedi: Eruption, which was originally published in Star Wars Insider #141, and was included in at least the hardback edition of Into the Void. I will not usually cover short stories (or back-up comic stories, for that matter) and will only do so when they’re presented as part of a larger collection, as Eruption is here or in one of this continuity’s several collections. With that in mind, let’s begin.
p. 269: On my eBook of Dawn of the Jedi, Eruption begins on page 269. This may differ for your edition if you’re reading along with me.
“Hawk Ryo drifted in and out of the shadows, a shadow himself.” What a great way to start the story.
So the Jedi are called the Je’daii in this period of time. That’s cool, and one would expect a call back to the original drafts of Star Wars, where (if I recall correctly) George Lucas named his space wizards the Je’daii?
p. 270: In a good way, this opening kind of reminds me of The Phantom Menace. Two Jedi Knights (sorry, Je’daii Rangers) on a mission, trying to resolve a dispute, discovering something shady going on. I guess this means that by this point on the timeline (25,793 BBY, if you’re taking notes) the Je’daii are already an established diplomatic presence in the galaxy?
Okay, so Hawk’s brother is a crime lord. That ought to make for an interesting dynamic.
p. 271: This page informs us that the Je’daii are both “respected and feared”, and are mysterious nomads in the galaxy who go where they please. Interesting.
Lanoree Brock is a bit of a badass. She’s your classic hotheaded young Jedi. Or Je’daii.
p.272: I like the idea of the Je’daii forcing people to negotiate with each other. This should make for some interesting stories, though given only one novel, two short stories and a handful of comics are set during this period, it’ll be a limited amount of interesting stories. Judging by the dates in which these stories were released, I’m guessing they were trying to start up a new line (i.e. The Old Republic) but were interrupted by Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm and the scrapping of the Legends timeline?
A few new lore bits now. There is a Je’daii Council, and they send Rangers who drift too close to the Dark Side to the moon Bogan, which is definitely a reference to the original drafts of Star Wars. It’s cool that they’ve appropriated so much from those original drafts.
It sounds like, despite Hawk’s previous temporary exile to Bogan, that the Je’daii are more comfortable in utilising both sides of the Force than their Jedi counterparts. Should make for some moral ambiguity. “Hawk felt his death in the Force, and part of him, the part that fed on the dark side, felt a deep satisfaction.”
p.273: I have to say, the volcano erupting right as Hawk is wishing for a diversion is a little too convenient for my liking.
p.274: That being said, the ensuing fight scene is pretty awesome.
p.275: Does the aside about Je’daii not being able to control other peoples’ thoughts signify that they haven’t mastered the ability of the Jedi mind trick yet?
As cool as the two Je’daii Rangers are, the side characters are pretty irritating. The dispute between the two families has started to feel like a bit of a distraction from the much more interesting Je’daii characters.
p.276: The idea of Furies Gate is quite interesting. I love the idea that the galaxy is far from being fully colonised, at least not to the level that it is by the time the Empire rolls around.
p.277: And that’s it! Personally, I really enjoyed Dawn of the Jedi: Eruption. It was a concise and intriguing way to introduce this period of Star Wars lore that I am exceedingly unfamiliar with, and introduced two characters that I’m already warming to and hope have many chances to shine over the course of these Dawn of the Jedi stories.
I’m thinking that I’ll keep an ongoing ranking of the stories I’ve read, so for that purpose I’ll give Dawn of the Jedi: Eruption, a 7/10, and it is now #1 (of 1) on my overall ranking.
And now, onto Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void.
p.3: We begin with an ominous epigraph from the imaginatively named ‘Unknown Je’daii’. I guess that means that this novel will deal with the idea of not having the Force while others around you do?
p.5: A flashback, I presume?
p.6: Interesting to note that the Je’daii do not isolate children from their families in the same way the Jedi do.
p.7: It seems a weird idea to write the flashbacks in present-tense and the present day in past-tense. Surely it should be the other way round?
p.8: Now a mention of a place called Ashla – they’re definitely pulling a lot from those early Lucas drafts. It also would seem that the Je’daii trainees are already referred to as Padawans.
p.11: So are these Journeyers a lower rank of Je’daii?
p. 12: Always nice to see a Wookiee Jedi. Or Je’daii.
p. 13: Hold up! Xiang, a “female of the Sith species”? Might want to watch out for her.
p.14: Another reference to a battle on Ska Gora. Hopefully this is explored in more detail over the course of the novel, because it sounds quite intriguing. It’d be a shame if it’s not, because that’d mean that we’ll never get to see the full extent of what happened there.
p. 15: So what’s a hypergate? I’m assuming that it’s some sort of gateway through which people can traverse hyperspace. The way Lanoree and the other Je’daii talk about it makes it sound more mystical than man-made, which is quite cool.
p.16: The stakes just got raised a lot. The hypergate could destroy Tython (the Je’daii planet), not to mention the entire system. Now this is what I want from the Dawn of the Jedi line. All-powerful super-weapons and Force users, battling it out.
p.17: There’s always some sort of familial connection between the protagonists and antagonists in Star Wars, isn’t there?
p.18: These Je’daii Masters seem more amiable than the latter day Jedi Masters, which is a nice change of pace.
p.20: Well, that’s certainly an engaging set-up to the story. Hopefully the rest of it will follow suit.
p.21: Okay, so Lanoree and Dalien used to be Journeyers, so I guess Journeyers are a lower rank?
p.22: That’s quite cool – many different temples exist on Tython, each specialising in a different area, and young Je’daii go on a sort of pilgrimage to each one. I’m guessing that’s why they’re called Journeyers?
p.26: Sounds like this Twi’lek Tre Sana will be the arbitrary scoundrel character within the story. This is probably a good thing; the Jedi can get a bit much if you’re with them 100% of the time. Just look at the Prequels.
p.29: Hmm, not sure about this scene with the hypnotising birds. They’re cool creatures but it feels like this bit was only put in to break up the dialogue scenes, which is fine but it feels a bit jarring given the pace of the novel thus far.
p.30: And now we’re into another arbitrary ‘fight-with-nature’ scene. Look, I know that creature battles are a staple of Star Wars (i.e. the wampa, the rancor etc.) but two in quick succession? It’s really messing with the pacing. I don’t really need an action scene every few pages, and it doesn’t help that Lebbon is nowhere near as good as writing them as Ostrander was in Eruption.
‘Force punch’? Really?
p.34: It’s cool that the galaxy hasn’t discovered how to traverse hyperspace yet, so it takes them ages to get anywhere.
p.35: Hmm, two Kalimahr Defence ships following Lanoree’s Peacemaker for an hour is a little suspicious, don’t you think?
I really like this passage about Lanoree flying over the planet’s sea. It’s quite beautiful and vividly described.
p.36: Kalimahr strikes me as an interesting planet. Sort of like a mix between Kamino and Canto Bight?
p.37: “Would losing your life constitute a special occasion?” Ha, that’s quite funny. I’m warming to Lanoree.
p.38: So I’m guessing these ‘Dai Bendu’ monks are like Grey Jedi?
p.39: Okay, so Tre Sana has a third lekku? That’s pretty interesting. He probably looks more like a Togruta than a Twi’lek. By the way, the significance of us having seen only like five alien species isn’t lost on me. It’s fascinating to see a galaxy where only a handful of species have actually met each other and worked together due to the lack of hyperspace travel.
p.42: So Tre Sana’s mind has been altered so that is closed off from Force-users, possibly by a Je’daii. That’s quite an interesting mystery to set up. Is that why certain species are immune to mind tricks? Did they have an ancestor who was experimented upon and they just sort of evolved that way?
p.45: Was it really a good idea to give the temple of Qigong a name that sounds exceedingly similar to that of a famous character from the same franchise?
p.46: I like Master Ter’cay. He’s kind of a Yoda-like figure. In fact, I like all the Je’daii we’ve met so far. They’re much more charismatic than the Jedi I’m used to. Though whoever named these characters and factions seems to have bought a bunch of apostrophes in bulk.
And here we have a lesson in Force illusion, which is quite cool. Especially since we’ve now seen it on screen with The Last Jedi, even though the two stories don’t share the same continuity.
p.51: Lebbon does a great job at writing sequences where Lanoree is using the Force in an investigative manner.
p.52: Chase scene! This is much better-written the previous action sequences.
p.53: So I guess the Je’daii swords function in a similar manner to lightsabers in that they block blaster shots.
p.54: Lanoree deliberately dropping the Noghri from a height to hurt him shows the balance between the light and dark sides within the Je’daii, and also why the Je’daii are already so much cooler than the Jedi.
p.63: Kalimahr has a lot of depth to it, which I appreciate, as does Tython. I get the feeling that Lebbon is committed to fleshing out these planets, which is cool.
p.64: I appreciate that Tre is a bit less aloof than your average Star Wars scoundrel. There’s a bit of a sadness to him, as well as a more bitter cynicism than, say, Han.
p.65: As we explore Lanoree and Dalien’s s backstory more, it’s occured to me that, unlike most of Star Wars, this novel focuses on not a battle between the light and dark sides but between those who have the Force and those that do not. Intriguing.
p.66: Dalien wouldn’t pass an RSPCA evaluation, let me tell you. Whenever he sees an animal he tries to shoot it!
p.67: The flame tygah is quite a cool idea, particularly the aspect of its claws causing fires.
p.68: Look, as much as I liked the flame tygah, that scene was the third creature fight in less than 70 pages. Surely Lebbon has other ideas.
p.69: It’s a bit jarring to begin Chapter Five with Lanoree already in the middle of a conversation with Kara, who she hadn’t even met when we last chronologically saw her, but I understand how it makes for a bit of a chapter-starting surprise.
p.70: Lebbon’s description of Kara certainly conjures up a grotesque image.
p.72: I like how the prospect of the galaxy being mostly unexplored is folded into the story with the Stargazers. Lebbon does a great job of illustrating why so much of it remains uncharted, between the lack of lightspeed, the danger of the journey to Furies Gate and, in the case of Lanoree, a general disinterest or even aversion to progressing beyond the star system that you call home.
p.77: I want to know what this Despot War was all about. Characters keep mentioning it.
p.79: Ah-ha, jumping from a window onto a ship. Classic Star Wars. Given how far removed this story is from the main Skywalker narrative, I’m impressed that Lebbon has managed to capture the feel this well.
p.86: Nice, another Wookiee Jedi! Or Je’daii.
p.92: “I had to make a creative exit.” Understatement of the century.
p.93: So is this Daegen Lock character some sort of erstwhile Je’daii who went on an exile to Bogan and stayed there? If so, that’s pretty cool.
p.98: The dichotomy between Lanoree and Tre is growing on me. They could turn into quite a compelling dynamic duo.
p.101: Ah, the ol’ leave a bomb in your former headquarters trick.
p.105: Setting this novel entirely within the confines of one system was a good idea. It gives Lebbon a chance to really flesh out all the various planets.
p.108: It took me a couple of pages to clock onto the allusion – the Darrow Sphere is like the origin of the training ball from A New Hope. That’s awesome.
p.109: These Je’daii Masters seem to physically abuse their students a lot. Kin’ade just knocked Dalien out!
p.118: If my sibling shot me, I’d be way more pissed than Lanoree is.
p.119: Dalien reminds me a bit of Kylo Ren.
p.121: I think this fear of space travel thing is all on act on Tre’s part. I suspect he’s more capable than he lets on.
p.122: Ooh, nice, some backstory on this Despot War.
p.123: So Nox is kind of like Vietnam or Iraq, if we’re to take the Je’daii/Tython as America. Interesting. I can’t believe that people can say with a straight face that Star Wars wasn’t political before Disney took over.
p.125: Interesting reflection on Lanoree’s part about the pilots she just casually killed. It makes for an intriguing look at the dichotomy between the Je’daii/Jedi’s love for all living creatures and their need to murder some of them.
p.137: I think there’s a heavier emphasis on combat with the Je’daii than there is with the Jedi. You couldn’t imagine Yoda instructing his pupils to beat each other up.
p.142: Sheesh, Greenwood Station is a pretty grim setting, especially in the scene with someone having being run over by a train, which is not being attended to by security because they exist only to make sure the industries keep going, rather than to ensure the safety of civilians.
p.144: Lanoree reading Domm’s mind to figure out the trap he’s planning for them is both extremely badass and very Dark Side-y. I think the balance between light and dark in the Je’daii is probably the most interesting aspect about them.
p.146: Woah, Lanoree just wiped Domm’s memories. That’s very Dark Side, and pretty painful for Tre since similar experimentation happened on him. I wonder if the Jedi and the Sith will be created because the Je’daii Order splits into those who think that these methods are necessary and those who have ethical issues with them.
p.149: That’s an interesting angle to take on the Force, the idea that its users do not harness it so much as serve it, or are perhaps manipulated by it.
p.151: Oh great, another creature fight. At least this one only lasted for a paragraph.
p.156: So Maxhagan has technology in his skull that prevents him from being mind-read? That’s new.
p.158: Hmm, short flashback to Daegen Lok. I hope he gets explored more in the comics, or in the remainder of this novel.
p.161: Nice to finally get the full backstory (as far as we know) for Tre. I’ll be interested to see where his character goes from here.
p.165: The Chasm is an awesome creation and I hope that it got explored a bit before the Legends continuity was wiped from existence (if it sounds like I’m bitter about that, I’m not. I understand completely the necessary to have a clean slate going into the Sequel Trilogy, but it definitely left a lot of interesting plot threads hanging).
p.166: The commercialisation of drinking water is a great way to illustrate the capitalism dominated planet of Nox.
p.169: “Lanoree did not have time to be killing” I’m not sure if that pun was intentional or not, but if it was… bravo, Lebbon.
p.174: That was a pretty brutal fight scene. Lanoree was just slicing through people, without the comfort of a lightsaber’s instant cauterisation.
p.175: Lanoree and Dalien, finally reunited. It feels well-earned after all this setup.
p.176: Ironic that the young Je’daii would be taught by a member of the Sith species.
p. 181: “I’ve grown in every way. See. Feel.” Phrasing, Dalien!
p.186: Bloody hell, Lanoree just blinded a man by ripping his eyes apart with scientific tools. That’s pretty dark.
p.198: This must be the earliest chronological full-scale battle in Star Wars, as far as ones that we actually get to see go. Awesome.
p.212: Sunspot? As in, Sunspot Prison from the New Canon? Pretty cool if that’s where the prison got its name (both in-universe and out).
p.213: The detail about Sunspot and Malterra orbiting close enough to one another and making nearby space flight impossible is quite cool. There’s clearly been a lot of thought put into the various planets in the Tython system and I appreciate it a lot.
p.217: I wonder if I’ll get to try out these Force-imbued swords for myself once I get to KOTOR and TOR. They’ll probably be obsolete at that point in the timeline, but maybe they’d make for a good starter weapon?
p.219: Dalien’s ship is called a Deathblaster. That’s all I have to say.
p.220: Lanoree just decapitated someone! (I’m well aware that much of this post has just been me reacting to stuff that Lanoree does, but still)
p.223: Another creature fight, but the blood spites are pretty cool creations so I’ll let this one slide.
p.227: I really like the dynamic between present-day Lanoree and Dalien. Yes, it’s fairly similar to the one between Luke and Vader, but still; it’s an old trope well-executed.
p.230: Cool for Lebbon to intercut more frequently between the two timelines for this bit. It’s a small thing, but it really does add to the impact of the moments.
p.235: Lanoree saving herself was a nice way to bring the whole alchemy thing into the climax.
p.239: The navigation of the space between Sunspot and Malterra was quite an exciting and well-executed action scene.
p.243: Force storm! There’ve been a lot of thunderstorms lately where I live so this feels oddly appropriate.
p.245: Ooh, so Force storms generate Force lightning in the atmosphere? That’s pretty cool.
p.249: The Je’daii Council might be 25,000 years removed from the Council we’re familiar with, but they’re still up to the same old tricks; keeping secrets and pulling the strings.
p.251: Tre’s dead! No! He was one of my favourite characters. Poor Tre… (insert sad face emoji here)
Oh no, Tre’s not dead! Huzzah!
p.254: Lanoree using memories to fight Dalien was a great way to justify all the flashbacks we’ve had so far. They’re both very well-rounded characters, even with only one novel to their names.
p.255: A good and suitably brutal death for Dalien.
p.256: So are the Je’daii going to use Dalien’s work to travel beyond the Tython system eventually?
p.258: I wonder who or what was on the crashed ship. Hopefully it’ll get explored in one of the remaining stories before this era got prematurely closed off.
p.261: So is Lanoree essentially experiencing the pre-Republic version of falling to the Dark Side? I guess it could be the Light Side, since we only know that her ‘balance is unsettled’.
p.263: A very good end to a story that probably won’t get picked up on again. Overall, I really liked Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void. Yes, it relied a bit heavily on creature fights, but you can’t fault its expert worldbuilding and well-constructed characters. Wookieepedia tells me that this is Lanoree’s last appearance, and although I’m sad to see her go I’m content with her development and would comfortably put her on the upper-tier of Star Wars characters. It’s really just a shame that this era wasn’t expanded on further, even if I still have a solid amount of comics to go.
I’d give Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void an 8/10, and it is now #1 (of 2) in my overall ranking.
Join us next time as we delve into the first arc of the Dawn of the Jedi comic, entitled Force Storm!
SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW FOR THE SEASON 2 PREMIERE OF THE MANDALORIAN! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
That was a pretty good opener for the season. I watched it last night and I’ve now digested it enough to put down some thoughts. First off, this had a lot of connections to the wider universe, much more so than last season, and it was fun ticking off all the Easter eggs in my head. Notice, if you will, that Peli Motto now owns R5-D4, the same droid that would have been purchased by Owen Lars instead of R2-D2 but malfunctioned (intentionally, according to From a Certain Point of View) just in time. I’m pretty sure that in this episode you can see the missing panel from R5 blowing his top off, but I wouldn’t swear to it.
A more obscure (yet much more prominent) inclusion was Cobb Vanth, a character introduced waaaaay back in the 2015 novel Aftermath in one of that book’s interludes. Who would have thought that that story would later be continued in what is probably themost popular SW property at the moment? Not me, that’s for sure. I reread said interlude last night after watching the episode (I might reread his chapters from Life Debt and Empire’s End too if I get a chance) and I must say that Jon Favreau and Timothy Olyphant captured his voice and mannerisms perfectly – that’s got to be one of the smoothest transitions from EU to live action yet (much more consistent than Saw Gerrera, who was nothing like his Clone Wars character. I’m not complaining though – Forest Whitaker’s version of the character was awesome). Nice for Favreau to pick up on the thread of Vanth owning Boba Fett’s armour – I’ve heard some fans saying that it contradicts Aftermath, which was my first reaction but upon rereading that section of the novel I’m forced to disagree. The prose scene does involve Vanth with the Jawas and Fett’s armour but (and this is crucial) he never actually takes the armour in the story. He looks at it, shoots another guy (a member of the Red Key Company, who also appear in this episode) and then leaves the sandcrawler. I reread it a couple of times, and I’m 97% certain that it never says that he takes the armour. Therefore, I can only assume that he didn’t have anything to trade with the Jawas at that point in time, and thus didn’t retrieve the armour until later on, when Mos Pelgo was attacked by the Mining Collective and he was found by the Jawas with the crystals.
I’ve heard a couple of other interpretations that also work fine: one is that both events took place in close proximity and the Aftermath interlude simply happens while he’s still on board the Sandcrawler (this is Wookieepedia’s version of events). Another (and this is my personal favourite) is that the Aftermath version was what actually happened, and Vanth’s recounting of the events in Mando was simply him embellishing them to make himself seem more heroic. All of the three ideas I’ve put forward make sense, I think.
We also got to finally see a Krayt Dragon in the flesh, and it was awesome. Very Dune-esque, I say as someone who hasn’t read nor seen Dune. I do think that The Mandalorian should maybe ditch the whole ‘kill-a-monster-to-help-a-village/people’ episode structure, since it’s maybe getting a little old at this point. Ah, well, I can’t complain too much when the Krayt was as well executed as it was. The show feels like it’s had a massive injection of money from the higher-ups this season, and it was never more evident than when the aspect ratio expanded from the usual 16:9 to a taller one, which I can only assume to be the result of IMAX cameras. I love it when directors switch between aspect ratios for a storytelling reason (in this case to tip us off that some epic shit is about to go down), and Favreau pulled it off beautifully.
Okay, enough beating around the bush. The real talking point of the episode, the one that sent hearts a-fluttering and Wookieepedians rushing to their keyboards, is Boba Fett’s appearance at the end. Not exactly a surprise, given the copious rumours and plenty of foreshadowing from the episode itself, but undoubtedly a welcome addition. It’s just felt wrong to have Fett dead for this long in the New Canon, especially since Legends resurrected him just a few months after his death on the silver screen. It’s great to have him back, and I’m interested to see what exactly his goals are now, considering he must have been hanging out on Tatooine for a few years at this point. I feel like he’s after his armour – you might ask why it’s taken him this long to track Vanth down, for which my reasoning would be that he’s a) probably not in the best of shape following the Sarlacc, even years later and b) on a planet where his own incompetence got the world’s foremost ruler killed, thus there might be a lot of people out to kill him (maybe he has a bounty on his head from the Hutts?), which would prevent him from taking obvious forms of transportation. He may even be travelling with Tusken Raiders, given the weapons he’s carrying, a Tusken cycler rifle and a gaffi stick.
Overall, a very good start to the season. It’s maybe a little light on character development but it makes up for that with its glorious reveals and immensely entertaining action scenes. It makes for perhaps an even more intriguing set-up for Season 2 than Baby Yoda was for Season 1, so I can’t wait to see how it all pans out.
I’m beginning to become very excited about The High Republic despite the fact that it’s still three months away, and so I thought I’d channel that excitement into a post about all the era’s Jedi that we know about thus far. Lucasfilm has been revealing a few each month, so I thought I’d break each of them down in turn including discussion of their species, role and (best of all) lightsabers. It will likely be very rambling and incoherent, but that is the new direction I’m taking Hyperspace in. Let’s get started with the first batch of characters, which were unveiled on April 2nd and include both Jedi Masters and Knights.
First off, if you’re mad about Light of the Jedi having a female lead, this blog is not for you. Go back to watching videos from the Quartering, ya loser. For the civilised members of our fandom, Avar Kriss seems to be a worthy face of the High Republic initiative. She’s described by starwars.com as “the best of the best”, an embodiment of all that is noble about the Jedi in this period. On the surface, one could worry that this character will come across as too perfect, but since Light is written by the indomitable Charles Soule, I’m sure this won’t be the case.
Loden Greatstorm, despite his slightly dodgy surname, looks like he’ll be a pretty good character. You can tell just from his flowing robes that this is the Yoda of this era (even if Yoda is in it too, but we’ll talk more about that later). I almost think it would make sense for this guy to be the idyllic example of what a Jedi should be instead of Avar, but I’m sure they’ll make it work either way.
I’m quite excited about Keeve Trennis. Historically, I’ve always loved slightly rebellious Jedi, be them Qui-Gon, Quinlan Voss, Anakin, Ahsoka or even Obi-Wan at points. Keeve seems to fulfil a similar role to Ahsoka as a sort of headstrong Jedi eager to prove herself to her superiors, and I’m excited to see how it all plays out. Plus, it’s cool to see some more double-bladed lightsabers, particularly one with a hilt as nice as Keeve’s.
Stellan Gios seems to fulfill a similar purpose to Loden (except with what seems to be a closer relationship to Avar), so I guess a better talking point would be his lightsaber, which is awesome and already stands as one of my favourites thanks to both its blue blade and it’s completely unique hilt, which can be seen in more detailed fashion here. I’m liking these old-timey versions of the crossguard lightsaber (even though the less archaic Kylo Ren-type ones had already been invented at this point if we’re to go by Rebels).
Vernestra Rwoh (nicknamed Vern) is the protagonist in the junior novel A Test of Courage and she seems like she’d be a good fit for that sort of audience. A nice identification character to induct younger readers into the High Republic era. Being way too old for that short of thing, I probably won’t read it, but she seems cool so I hope she shows up in some of the other material. She has a purple lightsaber and that’s the best lightsaber colour, so she’s alright in my book.
Now onto the second batch, featuring more Knights and Masters…
Is it weird that after playing Squadrons I now think of Frisk whenever I see a Trandoshan, not Bossk? Either way, it’s pretty awesome to see a Trandoshan Jedi – have we ever had that before? Not off the top of my head. I like his lightsaber design, too. Unfortunately, the second batch didn’t have character information so I can only really guess at Sskeer’s personality.
Yes, that’s just Avar Kriss again, but it’s Avar Kriss in mission attire, which is cool. It’s nice for the Jedi to have both robes and costumes that are more appropriate for fighting – yeah, it was a thing in The Clone Wars but I feel like that was more of an animation design choice, whereas this feels more practical.
Not a new character, but here’s Yoda, now 200 years younger! Until they announced that he’d be featuring in the publishing line, it had completely slipped my mind that he was already alive at the time when it takes place. Not just alive, but having been around for about 700 years. It seems like his appearances will most be confined to the young readers’ comic The High Republic Adventures from IDW, which probably makes sense as it gives children a recognisable character to latch onto. Hopefully he’ll cross over into the other mediums – I find it interesting that it doesn’t seem like he’s top dog in the Jedi Order at this point, more of just another Jedi Master. It’ll be an interesting new dynamic for the character. Which reminds me, who is the Grand Master at this point? Does such a role exist yet?
Now onto the latest batch, released just a day or two ago, featuring the Padawans of the era.
First off, nice to see another Wookiee Jedi. Second, how cool is Burryaga’s lightsaber?!? It’s like a proper medieval sword but with a lightsaber’s blade! It’d be worth getting a live action or animated TV show or movie out of this, just to see it in action. Hopefully he/she (I’ve heard conflicting reports) features in the comic so I’ll be able to spend many pages staring at its luscious awesomeness.
Reath Silas is the protagonist of Claudia Gray’s novel Into the Dark, so he’ll probably be very well written. I think Gray and Soule are my favourite writers in the New Canon (not counting films, in which case Rian Johnson would be up there too) so they’ve really brought together a dream team for this initiative. I’m interested to see where this character goes.
Lula Taliosa is, it seems, the protagonist of The High Republic Adventures and she seems like a good fit for that comic. I can see her being a good identification character for its readers, as a Padawan eager to prove herself, but with a hint of mischievousness about her, which contrasts with the other similar characters in the line. She’s sure to be a fun new presence within the galaxy.
Bell Zettifar is a Light of the Jedi character, and apparently the apprentice of Loden. That seems like a lot to live up to, and it’ll be interesting to see a character deal with that within the context of an adult novel. Of all the characters we’ve seen, Bell kind of looks like the one who’d fall to the Dark Side, just because of that aspect and the fact that he’s tamed what looks like a demonic greyhound, which feels a bit Dark Side-y. I don’t think we’ll see any Sith in this line (maybe one isolated one, but no more than that), so it’d be interesting if we get to see some sort of dark Jedi.
And those are all the High Republic Jedi that have been revealed thus far. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about them as much as I have.
Now that ten months have passed and my initial disappointment in The Rise of Skywalker has dulled somewhat (my opinion remains the same, but distance has removed some of the intensity), I’m actually quite interested in some of the lore that it set up. I’d like to learn more (outside of novelisations, which tend to be canon-adjacent at best) about Exegol and this new idea of “I am all the Sith” and how Palpatine resurrected himself. This isn’t just me wanting to fill plot holes in the movie, I actually have a genuine interest in how it all came about. This is quite a turnaround for me, given how disillusioned I was by the whole “the dead speak!” plot point back in December. I might even rewatch TROS for the first time since then at some point. I’ll update you on my opinion if it changes (as tends to happen with the Sequel Trilogy, I’ve discovered).
(as a side note, this is the first post in a new initiative of mine to pivot this blog away from structured reviews and more into stream-of-consciousness, irregularly sized and released posts about the Wars. I’ll still review stuff but I’ll take a more informal approach in the future. I kind of like it like this – I’m a blogger, not a critic).
I don’t usually cover news on this blog but this is too exciting to ignore…
After many months of rumours and hints at a previously unforeseen ‘High Republic era’ in the pages of The Rise of Kylo Ren and Dooku: Jedi Lost, Lucasfilm has finally thrown their cards on the table regarding the long-teased Project Luminous, a multimedia project in the style of Shadows of the Empire with instalments ranging from novels to comics.
Thanks to a video announcement, we now know that Project Luminous is in fact Star Wars: The High Republic. Ostensibly a new idea but more a revival of the Old Republic stuff from Legends, this new line will tell stories based around a period two hundreds years before The Phantom Menace, when the Republic and the Jedi were at the height of their powers (and presumably much less corrupt than they were in the Prequels). The Jedi of this period were described by the video as “Jedi Knights of the Round Table”, while the main villains are the Nihl, who, according to the writers, are basically space vikings who have come to use “hyperspace in a dangerous way” (Charles Soule as paraphrased by Star Wars Explained).
New, new, new. What have we never seen in Star Wars that still feels like Star Wars.
– Charles Soule on the driving force behind The High Republic
Without further ado, here are the five stories that kick off The High Republic:
Light of the Jedi will be, as far as I can tell, the earliest story chronologically and is an adult novel written by Charles Soule, who’s been churning out banger after banger for Marvel’s Star Wars range. It will be released on August 25th this year. The centred Jedi Knight on the cover is Avar Kriss, who made a preemptive cameo via Holocron in The Rise of Kylo Ren #3 a week or two ago (looking forward to reviewing that series here once the fourth issue comes out. Spoiler – it’s another banger from Soule).
A Test of Courage will release on September 8th (that’s my birthday!) and will be aimed at the tween crowd. This is Justina Ireland’s third junior Star Wars novel. I haven’t read the others so I can’t vouch for their quality but we do have a publisher summary for this one. To summarise, it follows sixteen-year-old Jedi Vernestra Rwoh, whose transport ship is knocked out of hyperspace following the Great Disaster (an event said to be detailed in Light of the Jedi), stranding her and an ambassador’s son on a hostile jungle moon. Note, if you will, the presence of a Huyang-looking droid on the cover. This one probably won’t add a whole lot to the canon but it’ll flesh out the life of what I can only assume is a Padawan, if such a role exists in the High Republic era.
Star Wars: The High Republic (Marvel)
I don’t have a good quality image for this one but basically it’s a comic series. I don’t have a line on whether it’s a miniseries or it’s ongoing but I’d assume it’s the latter. Apparently it will focus on the people aboard Starlight Station, which is that space station in the top right-hand corner of Light of the Jedi‘s cover. I don’t have a release date for this, but StarWars.com said that comics from this range are to debut at Celebration Anaheim in August, so I’d assume that it’s beginning around the same time that Light of the Jedi is released.
Into the Dark would appear to be a young adult novel, given that it’s being published by Lucasfilm Press and written by Claudia Gray. Of the novels I’ve read, Gray is by far my favourite New Canon author (see Bloodline and Lost Stars) so I’m pretty excited for this one. The publisher’s summary says it follows padawan Reath Silas, and it would seem that his story will also revolve around being knocked out of hyperspace in the Great Disaster and being stranded in some hostile environment. In this case, the hostile environment is an abandoned space station with some strange going-ons, which seems to imply, at least to me, a slight horror bent to the story. I can only hope. No release date.
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures(IDW)
From IDW is a spin-off from their Star Wars: Adventures comic series, focusing on this era. I imagine it’ll be similar to that aforementioned range – family-friendly anthology storytelling. No release date.
And all this is just the beginning. Lucasfilm still has more licensing deals for this line with many other companies. I would expect that these new stories will be announced after this first phase of The High Republic wraps up. Are you excited for these books and comics? Because I certainly am.
I ❤️The Clone Wars: Before I get into the episode, I would like to give you the backstory of my relationship with The Clone Wars. Basically, I love it. I watched it from the very start in 2008, when I was pretty young. I laughed at James Arnold Taylor’s pitch-perfect Obi-Wan, became invested in the arc of Ahsoka Tano, thrilled at the action involving Pong Krell, Maul or Palpatine, and marvelled at Season Five’s bittersweet, perfect ending. But that’s not me saying that the show should have ended with Season Five. The show was cancelled (probably due to the fact that each episode cost about $2 million USD on severely declining ratings) before Dave Filoni and co. reached the conclusion of their storyline, the planned epic series finale ‘The Siege of Mandalore’, not to mention the many other exciting episodes planned for Seasons Six and Seven. The team was already close to completion on thirteen episodes for Six, so they dropped them on Netflix under the banner of The Lost Missions, basically becoming the shortened Season Six. It was alright; bookended by a couple of cool arcs but filled in by yet another Anakin-and-Padmé-have-marital-issues storyline and a bloody Jar-Jar two-parter. It was a far cry from the storylines we had been promised, but at least we got something. And so we went on to the next thing, think that The Clone Wars was over for good. In 2018, we found out that it wasn’t.
SPOILERS BELOW! I’m not doing spoiler-free thoughts for these episodes as they’re only twenty-five minutes long. I know Disney+ is still not available in some countries – that’s messed up. I should also mention at this point that I have not seen the unfinished animation for the ‘Bad Batch’ arc that got released a few years back. This is all new for me, and I’ll be reacting to the story as such.
The Animation: Firstly, I’d like to write about the animation. They are fantastic. The original show had groundbreaking visuals that steadily improved over time, but the quality of this episode’s CGI was on a whole ‘nother level. The faces are more expressive, the costumes and environments are more detailed and the colours are more vibrant than they’ve ever been.
The Action: The way the show handles action is also greatly improved. With the exception of lightsaber duels, the close-quarters combat in Seasons 1-6 always felt a little stiff, probably due to the characters not really having been designed to move in the way such scenes require them to move. This problem is not present here – the action is actually quite impressive (probably better than anything we saw in Rise of Skywalker, let’s be honest). At least two of the episode’s action setpieces are done in one or two shots, which might not sound impressive given that the show is animated but is actually a lot more complicated to coordinate given the number of moving parts that have to be on the screen at all times. The camerawork was very realistic and fluid and the blocking of all the characters made the fights both balletic and easy-to-follow.
The Bad Batch: The big addition to the canon from this episode is Clone Force 99, AKA the Bad Batch, a squad of defective maverick clones. It consists of Hunter, a Rambo-esque bandanna-wearing leader whose skill is tracking, Tech, a hyper-intelligent tech specialist, Wrecker, a huge hulk of a guy, and Crosshair, a sniper who is the coolest and most intriguing member of the group. They’re great characters and actor Dee Bradley Baker (who voices almost every character in this episode) does an excellent job of making their voices distinct from one another.
Echo: Like I said, I never watched the animatics for this arc, so the revelation in this episode that the clone trooper Echo (previously seen to be killed at the Citadel back in Season Three) is still alive and the Separatists are using him to predict the Republic’s military movements on Anexes. This, I feel, will tie into Rex’s storyline this season, which will probably end up with him attempting to rebel against Order 66.
Anakin and Rex: Speaking of speculation… There’s a bit in the opening scene where Rex and Cody are telling Anakin and Mace Windu their theory about the battles they’re fighting, and at the end of the scene Anakin pointedly asks Rex whether there’s anything else he needs to tell him. Rex says no and Anakin looks disappointed. This could just be Anakin sensing that Rex is troubled by his hunch about Echo, which is elaborated on in the next scene, but my immediate reaction was that Anakin has either a) enlisted Rex to keep tabs on Ahsoka or b) enlisted Rex to investigate the clone chips that got Fives killed at the end of Season Six. If I’m correct either way, this’ll definitely tie into the season finale.
Verdict: A really good season opener that took me back to the days of 2008 – 2013. The storyline is intriguing, the characters old and new are excellent and the animation is superb. I’m so glad that Disney+ chose to air this season over twelve weeks rather than dropping it all at once (it helps bridge the gap between now and Season Two of The Mandalorian), and I can’t wait to see where not only this arc but the rest of the season takes us.
SPOILERSSPOILERSSPOILERS: I’M NOT DOING A SPOILER-FREE SECTION FOR THIS MOVIE PLEASE LOOK AWAY IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET SPOILER SPOILER THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING I’M SERIOUS GO IN BLIND OK HERE WE GO YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!
The Structure of the Review: The only way I can think of to structure this review is to talk about the things I liked, the things I didn’t like, and then my overall thoughts. Here we go…
Good Things
Kylo Ren: Spoiler for the bad section – I didn’t love what they did with Kylo for like the first half of the movie. But, once he turns back to the Light Side, he’s actually a really good character. That scene with him and Han hit me right in the feels. Seriously, I was almost crying, and not just because Leia just died. After that, I really liked the scene where Rey hands him the lightsaber through the Force (and it was great how he did the Return of the Jedi Han Solo shrug just before he proceeds to tear through the Knights of Ren. Adam Driver is a fantastic actor and he can do so much with so little.
The Gang: Though some of their dynamic was a bit strange (i.e. Rey and Poe having a bit of tension in the first act that is not present for the rest of the film), I did really enjoy seeing the ST team of Rey, Finn and Poe together. This is what I thought this Trilogy would be like since before I watched The Force Awakens, and it’s nice to finally see these characters together after being apart for so long.
‘I Am All the Jedi’: Though the execution of some of it was a little much (it’s no ‘I am a Jedi, like my father before me’), I did like the idea of Rey’s triumphant scene, in which she channels the power of the thousand generations of Jedi to defeat Palps. It was a very nice touch to include a bunch of voices from Jedi we know, and an even nicer touch to include non-movie Jedi such as Ahsoka Tano and Kanan Jarrus. I thought it was funny that they also included some rando Jedi like Luminara Unduli and Aayla Secura. It’s a good moment and a good way to bring this nine-film, forty-year saga together.
Babu Frik: No explanation needed.
D-O: No explanation needed.
The Opening: Say what you will about the underutilisation of Mustafar, but it was pretty cool to open the movie with a slow-motion scene of Kylo tearing through some colonists to find a Sith wayfinder (why didn’t they just make them Sith holocrons? They look exactly the same!). It’s emblematic of how he’s settled into his role as Supreme Leader and Master of the Knights of Ren (and makes his submissiveness in the next scene all the more confounding).
Lando: He was a little underused in the movie, but it was so much fun to see Billy Dee Williams back in the role of Lando Calrissian. It was also interesting to hear that he went on some sort of Jedi adventure with Luke at one point, which I’m sure will make a good comic or book somewhere down the line.
Chewie Almost Gets Blown Up: I really liked the scene in which Rey blows up the transport with Force lightning and she thinks she’s killed Chewbacca. I would have preferred it if he actually had been blown up, not because I bear any ill will towards the Wookiee but I think it would have been more impactful and given Rey more of a reason to want to kill Palps. Also, he has nothing to do for the rest of the movie so you may as well have removed him from the equation.
Clever Scheduling: I thought that having The Mandalorian cross over with Rise of Skywalker in terms of release dates would pay off somehow, and I was right. Episode 7 of The Mando (at the bottom of this post you’ll find a link to my spoiler review of that episode) introduced Force healing to the New Canon, and it became a major plot point in TROS, which was released a day later. That’s pretty clever.
Zorii Bliss: She was underused in the movie, but Bliss was a pretty intriguing character with a cool design and I can’t wait to see more of her in the Expanded Universe. I’m guessing she’ll be the Boba Fett of this movie – the cool-looking character with not a lot to do who becomes a fan-favourite.
The Entertainment Value: The biggest compliment I can lay at this movie’s feet is that it’s entertaining. Consistently. I was excited and ‘into it’ the whole way through. Even as my brain was screaming about all the points I’m about to bring up below, I was having a good time. That might be all you want from this film, and if it is more power to you. I just need a little more staying power, the X-factors that the Original Trilogy, The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens, Rogue One, Solo and The Last Jedi have.
Bad Things
The Politics of the Knights of Ren: This is not so much a negative but just one of the many things that TROS failed to explain. I’m really confused about the Knights of Ren and their loyalties. Everything that we’ve seen so far in both the Sequel Trilogy and the EU has implied that Kylo is the leader of the Knights, but in this movie as soon as he switches sides the Knights turn on him, as if they’re loyal to Palpatine, not him. So what changed? Did the Emperor tempt them over to his posse? Were they always working for him? I’m sure these questions will be answered eventually in a book or a comic, but it was very confusing in the moment.
The Kiss: Another nitpick but… that lesbian kiss? I mean, it’s more than Disney, Pixar or Marvel have done, but it still feels very ‘look at me, I’m progressive’ and also ‘don’t worry, corporate overlords, we can edit it out for the Chinese market’. This isn’t progressive, it’s pandering. Wow, I’m so glad that two background characters are the first Star Wars movie characters we’ve seen in a same-sex relationship. This kind of thing is going to put Disney on the wrong side of history. Also, I love how Oscar Isaac totally agrees with me and keeps saying so in interviews. That man cannot be stopped. While we’re on the subject of kissing, that Reylo kiss was a little too fan-service-y.
Kylo’s Loyalties: It felt very off to me that Kylo immediately succumbed to Palpatine’s leadership at the beginning. It feels very inconsistent with where we left him at the end of The Last Jedi, having killed Snoke and having more or less left the past behind him. To be fair, I’m not even certain J.J. Abrams watched The Last Jedi, given this movie.
Abrams’ Attitude Towards TLJ: Let’s be honest, he did. And he clearly hated it. People think that The Last Jedi tore down what The Force Awakens built. I disagree, I think it just built on it in a different way to what people were expecting. The Rise of Skywalker does not build on The Last Jedi. It looks at what Johnson was building in that film, this beautiful thematic tapestry that is as much apart of the wider saga as it is innovative, and tears it all down. I’m not going to speculate on Abrams’ actual opinions on Johnson’s film – they’re hard to gauge under all the PR. But what it feels like is that Abrams was salty about the direction the previous movie went and included many moments and elements in his that feel like barely disguised middle fingers towards that film. Let’s go through a couple of them, shall we?
Rose: Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico was a good character trapped in a superfluous subplot in TLJ, which led to a lot of fans disliking her, somewhat understandably. What wasn’t understandable was the fans who took their dislike of the fictional character and aimed it at Tran, bullying her off social media. How do Abrams, Terrio and co. choose to deal with this blatant cyberbullying and harassment? Reward the behaviour of those bastards by making Tran more of an extra in Rise of Skywalker than a real character. She’s stuck on Ajan Kloss for most of the movie with nothing to do. Snap fucking Wexley has more to do than she does! This is actually disgraceful and something that made me really angry while watching.
Kylo Gets His Helmet Back: I don’t really get the point of him getting his helmet back at all, to be honest? Does he even wear it past the first act? I can’t remember. I think it’s meant to be a symbol of his submission, but that just loops back to my earlier point.
Snoke: Hey, you! Yes, you. Did you like the bit where Snoke died in The Last Jedi? Did you like how it was the perfect conclusion to Kylo’s character arc in that movie? Guess what? Snoke was just a genetically engineered clone created by Palpatine and the whole thing was the latter pulling the strings, removing the agency from Kylo’s character! What do you mean, that’s a bad character choice?
Contradictory Canonically: I’d like to preface this point by saying that I am not one of those fans who believe that the films should be chained to the canon. A director/screenwriter should not be barred from a great idea because it contradicts a throwaway line said by a background character in issue seventy-two of the Marvel comic. That kind of viewpoint is counterintuitive. However, the previous four films that have been released since Disney took the reigns to the saga have all been very consistent with the canon established in the books, comics and video games. This was because the Lucasfilm Story Group was there to ensure that the New Canon did not become self-contradictory like much of Legends did. This has established a precedent that has led me to expect that a new movie won’t contradict the extra material I’ve spent many hours reading/watching/playing. Unfortunately, I guess the Story Group took the week off for The Rise of Skywalker, because it contradicts the canon in many ways (along with it’s Last Jedi retcons). Luckily, I have Wookieepedia handy to list these transgressions.
Finn says that Endor was where the Empire had it’s last battle. As anyone who’s played the Battlefront II campaign or read any number of novels (including Lost Stars and Aftermath: Empire’s End) knows, the Empire had its last stand on Jakku. This contradiction is particularly egregious since the whole Battle of Jakku was created because of all the debris seen on the planet in The Force Awakens, and so much of the New Canon is based around the battle.
Zorii Bliss (cool character, by the way) says that Poe was a spice runner (basically the Star Wars version of a drug dealer) before joining the Resistance. This flies in the face of material such as the novel Before the Awakening, which states that Poe worked for the New Republic before joining the Resistance.
Another Last Jedi contradiction – in that movie you see that Luke is using one of his X-Wing’s wings as the door to his cabin on Ahch-To, but when he lifts it out of the water in TROS it’s fully intact. Furthermore, The Last Jedi‘s Visual Dictionary states that the X-Wing is no longer functional.
Yay, more Snoke retcons! The Visual Dictionary added some backstory to Snoke that is in direct conflict with the idea of him being created by Palpatine, and the novelisation of The Last Jedi (admittedly, the novelisations should be taken with grains of salt) states that before his death Palpatine sensed Snoke in the Force.
Also, not a contradiction but kind of a weird thing given the wider canon: Snap Wexley gets blown to smithereens (I’m certain I was the only person in my theatre emotional about this) and then Wedge Antilles shows up and immediately starts joking around with Lando. A bit strange, given that his stepson just got blown to bits. Also, where the hell was Norra? Shriv? Zay?
Finn’s Storyline: It felt like a lot of John Boyega’s scenes were cut out for whatever reason. The first two acts of the film set up something that he wanted to tell Rey, but we never actually learn what it was. I, and most other viewers, were led to believe this was a romantic thing. However, JJ Abrams has gone on record saying that Finn was in fact going to tell Rey that he was Force-sensitive. This is hinted at throughout the latter half of the film after he meets former stormtrooper Jannah, who is also implied to be Force-sensitive, adding credence to the fan theory that all of the First Order’s stormtroopers are Force-sensitive. It appears these two plotlines were heading in the same direction, but neither are given conclusions for some reason. This leaves a disjointed subplot that raises more questions than it answers and ultimately goes nowhere. Confusing, to say the least.
Palpatine: I decided to save this until last. Most of my biggest problems with the movie stem from one man – Sheev “Daddy Palps” Palpatine. When he spouted a meme line almost immediately after appearing on screen, I was a bit concerned (and he said ‘dew it’ later, making the proceedings even harder to take seriously). Ultimately, the whole idea of Palps having this entire secret fleet with a bunch of random followers (who only serve the purpose of chanting in the background) and red stormtroopers (I know they’re called Sith Troopers but still – also if Palpatine’s so isolated why do his troopers all have the exact same design as the First Order’s?), and then trying to trick Rey into getting possessed by telling her that he’s going to trick her into getting possessed is a ridiculous plan. It’s very cartoonish and feels like something out of fan fiction (or a ’90s comic book), as does the bit where he shoots a bunch of lightning into the sky while cackling. I’m not saying his schemes made sense 100% of the time in the Original and Prequel Trilogies, but at least there I could understand what he was trying to do. But the stupidity of this pales in comparison to the idea of Rey Palpatine. The line M in which this piece of canon is revealed almost made be groan in the theatre. I did not want there to be a (grand)parental revelation in this movie at all. The Last Jedi set up this excellent idea of Rey not being of any special lineage, proving that you do not have to come from anywhere to achieve greatness. This is an important message to send to the younger viewers watching the films. However, this movie just throws it all away. Maybe this would have been more bearable (though no less frustrating) if it had been Rey Kenobi, or Rey Skywalker, or Rey Solo, Rey Chewbacca for all I care. But the fact that it’s Rey Palpatine feels so out of left-field and weird and fan-fiction-y that I’m having a hard time accepting that it is actual canon (so Palpatine… you know? Was this before or after he started looking like a 150-year-old?). But it is. Thanks for that, JJ. And then there’s the debate of what name to refer to Rey as. For this, I refer you to the Talk page for Rey’s Wookieepedia entry, in which editors are battling over it:
My favourite bit is ‘she can call herself Rey Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers, but she IS a Palpatine’. That made me laugh. My biggest issue with this whole plotline is that I don’t feel it contributed in any significant way to the story of the film. Yes, Rey is frightened of turning to the Dark Side, but she never feels conflicted in the same way Anakin did in the Prequels (can’t believe I’m comparing the writing of that character favourably to Rey) – there not a single kernel of doubt in my mind that Rey would end the movie firmly on the side of the Light. It’s as if the screenwriters are telling us that being of the Palpatine bloodline somehow makes you inherently evil, which is practically the opposite of the Original Trilogy’s thesis, as well as The Last Jedi. The whole Dark Rey vision is a sorry attempt to make the threat of Rey turning to the Dark Side seem more tangible when in reality – due to the screenwriter’s lack of work into that character – it is nonexistent. 90% of this movie’s problems stem from Palpatine (I haven’t even mentioned how they fail to explain how this character who appeared quite dead at the end of Return of the Jedi managed to return), and it seems like the best solution would have been to just take him out of it. Kylo should have been the main villain of this movie – don’t distract us with this other, less interesting villain, make the whole movie about the struggle between Rey and Kylo and the latter’s struggle between the Light and Dark Sides. Now, you could say, ‘well, doesn’t Return of the Jedi sideline Vader for the Emperor?’ No. No, it doesn’t. Vader isn’t redeemed halfway through the movie. The struggle between Luke and Vader is the main plotline of the film. Palpatine’s just pulling the strings. I’m not saying that The Rise of Skywalker needed to copy Return of the Jedi (God knows it could have used some more originality), but the former needed a lot more thought, the kind of thought Lucas, Kasdan and Marquand gave the latter in the 1980s.
Overall Thoughts
Do I hate The Rise of Skywalker? No, of course not. It’s certainly better than, say, Attack of the Clones, and possesses much more filmmaking talent in the areas of direction, editing, visual effects etc. It also has it’s fair share of good moments, another great performance from Adam Driver and it is constantly enthralling. Unfortunately, these bright spots are for the most part fleeting moments of brilliance in what is otherwise a very messy film with plot holes all the way through and many scenes that feel reverse-engineered to undo the previous film’s contributions to the Skywalker Saga. The biggest problem with the film is the antagonist, Palpatine, who is not in the movie enough to make much of an impact. To add to this, the ramifications of his presence poison what could have otherwise been good continuing plotlines, such as Rey and Kylo’s storyline and conflict. At best, the movie is an entertaining mess. At worst, it’s a disappointing conclusion to a forty-year saga.
SCORE: 5/10
Woo, that review was longer than I expected. Well, thanks for sticking with it. The fact that this was so disappointing would be more soul-crushing if we didn’t have so much great Star Wars elsewhere at the moment, on TV and in gaming. Speaking of TV, stay tuned for my review of the Mandalorian finale, as well as my Star Wars 2020 Preview, in which I run down all the things to be looking forward to in the New Year.
Hyperspace 