This was a very good book, although it got a bit extreme for Star Wars at some points. Which was fine. I think they did a really good job with the build up and the ending was wonderfully done. I can't wait to continue reading The High Republic. - July 21, 2023 ( )

I need a book that's just about OrbaLin, please and thank you ( )

Cavan Scott’s “The Rising Storm” is the follow-up to Charles Soule’s “Light of the Jedi”, the underwhelming first novel in the High Republic series, Disney/Lucasfilm’s answer to the question, “What the hell do we do now, after “Rise of Skywalker”?”

“The Rising Storm” is slightly better than the first novel, which is, sadly, not saying too much. Don’t get me wrong: I was still entertained by the book. It kept me engaged, at least.

One of the problems, I figured out, is that everyone involved in the High Republic experience—-from writers, artists, publishers, up to the ones in charge of footing the bill (the producers)—-has made a conscious effort to not become like the Star Wars Expanded Universe (SWEU) “old canon” series, where continuity wasn’t always followed to a “t”.

Now, I loved the old canon, but I understand that, occasionally, storylines didn’t always mesh up. This was partly because some of the prequels hadn’t come out yet. It was also because teams of writers were working on novel series, and they didn’t always confer with the teams of writers working on the comic books or the video games. Hence, lack of continuity. Hence, problems.

Adhering to an extremely strict continuity, however, engenders its own problems. Hence, “The Rising Storm”.

One of the problems is that not everybody who reads novels reads graphic novels, and vice versa. And this novel requires readers to understand not only what happened in the last novel but also what happened in the concurrent graphic novel series. Thankfully, I have read the comic book series of The High Republic, an excellent series and one that I recommend highly.

But when references are made to storylines that are happening concurrently and from sources that readers may not even want to bother with, confusion arises.

I never had this problem with the old canon. I understood that a whole slew of stuff was happening in the video game worlds of Star Wars, but it never affected me, because it never spilled over into the worlds of the novels. I also detest video games, so I knew that I was never going to play them. Likewise, the stuff going on in the comic books stayed within the world of the comic books, which was great since I didn’t really read comic books at that time either.

But it seems like this High Republic series is trying way too hard to be all-inclusive and multi-media, which may not appeal to all readers. Like me.

Then again, what the hell do I know? From a purely profit-motive business perspective, it’s probably brilliant. Because it basically forces readers to go out and gather all the books and comic books and YA novels and video games just in case they missed any references. Consume, you lemmings! Consume!

Maybe I’m just being a curmudgeon. (And a hypocrite. I am, after all, consuming as much as the next lemming.)

Anyway, here’s an actual review of the book: Scott does a decent job of balancing numerous (way too many, still, in my opinion) characters in numerous locations. In some ways, Scott does as decent a job as some of the writers of the SWEU (the late Aaron Allston comes to mind, an author who wrote some of my favorite old canon stuff), given that he is dealing with characters that still aren’t nearly as developed or established as they should be.

Logistically, Scott focuses on a few characters and tries to develop them further. I like Elzar Mann, a Jedi Knight who has “issues” with the Force, as well as personal hang-ups, one of which is that he’s a horndog. (OMG! Sex in Star Wars?) I also like Ty Yorrick, a former Jedi Padawan who got tired of the Jedi bullshit and became a rogue monster-hunter-for-hire.

Scott’s attempts to develop Marchion Ro, the villain of the novel, fall flat, however. Probably not his fault, as I feel Ro is just a lame villain. I actually think the Nihil—-a disorganized band of multiple species working together as pirates and ne’er’do-wells—-is the lamest group of villains to ever be featured in Star Wars. They remind me too much of an attempt at the Pirates of the Caribbean in space. Disney already tried this. It was called “Treasure Planet”, and it kinda sucked.

Overall, though, despite my problems with the book, it had plenty of action and suspense, including light-saber duels and spaceship dogfights, which managed to check off some of my personal boxes. ( )

Picking up where The Light of the Jedi ends, the story centers on the Republic Fair where Chancellor Lina Soh hopes to make a statement on the growing Galactic Republic's unity. Meanwhile, Marchion Ro, the leader of loose organization of marauders faces dissension within his ranks and organizes an attack of the fair. The better part of the book is an action-filled depiction of the Jedi fighting the Nihil and hoping to protect the Republic citizens. The book ends with a startling revelation that hearkens a darker future.

I had a couple of quibbles with this book. One is that it still feels like there are a lot of characters and I'm having trouble connecting with all these different Jedi and their allies. That may be just be a "me thing" though. I am growing fond of Bell Zettifar, the Jedi apprentice who cuts himself of from the Force when mourning the loss of his Master. The other problem with this book is that it has a middle-of-a-trilogy feel to it where it's just spinning its wheels until it can get to the revelation that sets up the final book. But overall it's a fun read. ( )

4.75★
"A Jedi is the master of their emotions, never a slave."

It took me a while to put together something coherent here. After I finished the book I spent about 40 minutes in euphoria and texted half my friends with something like "man you won't believe what just happened".

Breaking any writing rule, I have to start by saying: that ending gave me whiplash. It was abrupt and dramatic and I loved it! Very glad I don't have to wait months for the next release!

Even with so many povs, I still cared for most characters; Bell Zettifar in particular is quickly rising in the ranks to my favorites in the franchise! I really like how he interacts with everyone, and his moments thinking about Loden, being adivised by Stellan, and continuing his arch from the previous book were just really nice to see!

Elzar also continues the trend of the High Republic books to question and play with the rules of the Jedi, their morals, and how far they can or should go. Everything is always very nuanced and careful and I really enjoy how they are finally exploring this beyond just telling the audience.

I'm not, personally, a big fan of long action-packed scenes, it's usually confusing and tiring , but the choice (both here and in Light of the Jedi) to spend the bulk of the story in a single event, hundreds of pages encompassing a couple of hours in ever-changing points of view, worked really well for me. It feels intense, and you can really grasp the terror of the situation.

The drawback is that, more prominently now, there isn't that much of a story being told. There are, of course, the growing themes of grief, duty, and hubris, but no intricate plot itself. But that's okay for me.

Sure, all those battle scenes could've easily been about 50 pages long without all the minutiae, but sometimes you just have to watch Jedi being badasses and vrumm-vrumm lasersword, you know? That's also what Star Wars is about. ( )