Waterstones Star Wars: Light of the Jedi (The High Republic)
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Price: £10.99
Brand: Waterstones
Description: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Long before the First Order, before the Empire, before even The Phantom Menace. Jedi lit the way for the galaxy in The High Republic. It is a golden age for the galaxy. Intrepid hyperspace scouts expand the reach of the Republic to the furthest stars, worlds flourish under the benevolent leadership of the Senate, and peace reigns, enforced by the wisdom and strength of the renowned order of Force users known as the Jedi. With the Jedi at the height of their power, the free citizens of the galaxy are confident in their ability to weather any storm But the even brightest light can cast a shadow, and some storms defy any preparation. When a shocking catastrophe in hyperspace tears a ship to pieces, the flurry of shrapnel emerging from the disaster threatens an entire system. No sooner does the call for help go out than the Jedi race to the scene. The scope of the emergence, however, is enough to push even Jedi to their limit. As the sky breaks open and destruction rains down upon the peaceful alliance they helped to build, the Jedi must trust in the Force to see them through a day in which a single mistake could cost billions of lives. Even as the Jedi battle valiantly against calamity, something truly deadly grows beyond the boundary of the Republic. The hyperspace disaster is far more sinister than the Jedi could ever suspect. A threat hides in the darkness, far from the light of the age, and harbours a secret that could strike fear into even a Jedi's heart. Waterstones Star Wars: Light of the Jedi (The High Republic) - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: Waterstones
Product ID: 9781529101461
Delivery cost: 2.99
ISBN: 9781529101461
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Author: I. H. Espley
Rating: 5
Review: Physical product & delivery: The book arrived on time, but there was a smudge on the back of the dust cover (hardback). The books interior was good with no creases, printing errors or stains. The Book: A new (or more accurately an old) era in the star wars Universe begins here with the first instalment of the Star Wars Saga set in the "High Republic". The Hight Republic, formally known as "project luminous" during production, is a publishing campaign set out by lucasfilm which sets to open up a new frontier of the star wars universe in which the publishing side of the company takes the lead in development (similarly to how the "Old Republic" was developed by the gaming section of Lucasfilm years prior). Time line wise this first instalment of the High republic is set 200 year prior to the events of The Phantom Menace and around 800 years after the end of the last Jedi-Sith war (after which Darth Bane implemented the "rule of two" and took the Sith into hiding, perpetuating rumors regarding the orders extinction). Bar a few localised skirmishes and pirate raids the Star Wars galaxy is, surprisingly, at peace and as a result of this apparent peace the Galactic republic is expanding. Prospectors are flocking to the Outer Rim territories to start new lives on a new frontier and the Galactic Republic, under the leadership of Chancellor Lina Soh, is embarking on a number of construction projects, or "great works", to bring the galaxy together and the furthers reaches of the newly colonised outer rim with the vastly populated worlds of the core. The mantra espoused during this period is "we are the Republic", and although this mantra starts off sounding corny and idealistic we come to realise that this is a mantra by which many people live their lives and justify their actions. In a franchise where one group such as the rebellion or the republic defines itself by not being the opposition (the empire or the separatists), having a Republic define itself by this mantra during a period where it has no opposition is strange (corny and cheesy), but it also makes sense given the pioneering/frontier-esq setting of this timeline. But Star Wars would not be Star Wars unless there was some kind of calamity to move our plot forward, and this is where the High Republic begins. The first 140-pages of the book deals with "the great disaster", a calamity involving hyperspace which is initially treated like a natural disaster. Its during this first third that we are introduce to our High Republic Jedi, and it is at this point that we're made aware that this book follows an ensemble cast of characters rather than just one or two protagonists. Chapters are divided between different characters through which we are able to view the fallout and chaos caused by this disaster both in space as well as on the surface of the worlds affected, but we are also introduced to our various Jedi and gain an understanding of how the order operates during this time of peace, not through expositional dialogues but instead through their responses to this disaster. The ensemble nature of this book may not be to every ones liking (such as though who don't like the changing narratives of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series) but on a personal level I enjoyed it as it allowed us to gain a wider view of events, characters and the universe they inhabit. Throughout this first part of the book we get to experience the Jedi at the height of their power, not only in their numbers but also through their use of the force and their understanding of it. Unlike the Jedi we see come the Phantom menace who are unable to sense or identify the presence of their adversary whilst he sits across from them in the same room these High Republic Jedi come across as having a greater sense of understanding of their powers and are fare more entuned to the force. They're brave, caring, and kind but they're willing to take action if needed and are not above seeking advice and help from others. They are depicted as a noble and honourable order, embodying Obi-Wan Kenobi's original description of them as keepers of Pace and order which fuelled so many imaginations so many years ago. Following the events of "the great disaster" we are finally introduced to one of the two new Villains for the High Republic: The Nihil (the seconds set of Villains, The Drengir, will be introduced in the Young Adult book "Into the Dark", comming out in February 2021 - 1 month after Light of the Jedi). Prior to the publication of Light of the Jedi the Nihil were described as a chaotic group of marauders almost akin to space Vikings, but without any code of honour or creed. I'll admit that before reading the book I was intrigued to find out how the Nihil could be such a threat to the Jedi and the Republic (after all, the Sith have left some big shoes to fill), and upon our introduction to them I was intrigued by them and their "rule of three", but I still wasn't really sold on them as a threat to the Jedi... that is until the end. Unlike the Sith before who's mythology in the films pre-existed their appearance as the ancient enemies of the Jedi, and thus we see Palpatine not as the beginning of their mythology but the accumulation of millennia of myths and legends, the mythology of the Nihil begins here. By the end of the book I was convinced that these Nihil did pose a threat to the Jedi, and through the narrative we do see them as a threat to the Republic. Their presence and association with the "great disaster" highlighting that although the Jedi and Republic are in a golden age, it is an age where conflict has been lacking, so how would a republic which prioritises building and unifying (and a Jedi order focussed on peace, order and scholarly achievements) react to the reintroduction of conflict and chaos to the galaxy? Light of the Jedi kick starts the High Republic with a bang and opens up the way for many new stories and sagas (of varying genres) focussing on a cast of new and interesting characters in a galaxy which, old and familiar, is presented as new and unknown. Unlike many of the previous Star Wars books to have come out following the disney acquisition of Lucasfilm which, although good, felt like supplementary media to advertise (and correct plot errors) for the then soon-to-be released television shows, games and films "the Light of the Jedi" is able to stretch its narrative wings and tell large scale, galaxy impacting stories without having to worry about whether or not it contradicts the synopsis of the next show or film like the Old Republic games before it. We have new characters to invest in whose fates are unknown to use and whose stories could lead us to any destination, and new star ships whose unique designs would be a wonder to behold in other interactive media forms. Like the Old Republic games before the High Republic publication initiative is not required reading for the newest star wars films and series coming out in the cinema or on streaming services, but it does (currently) offer you a new and fresh entry into the star wars universe which doesn't require you to understand several years worth of publication history to understand. But narratively speaking the Light of the Jedi (and the High Republic as a whole) posses this one question to us: what happens to the Republic and the Jedi in the 200 years between Light of the Jedi and the Phantom Menace which see's the Republic fall from its Golden age, and the Jedi from the height of their power to the point where a Sith Lord is able to take control and manipulate both with nobody being the wiser?
Author: bread ROLL
Rating: 3
Review: I was not sure what I was going to make of this book, it was Star Wars so naturally, I had it pre-ordered as soon as it was announced but upon receiving it I couldn't bring myself to actually read it. Given Disney's mishandling of the franchise and their tendency to push political agendas over storytelling and entertainment, I was worried I was just going to be wasting my time on a load of far-left preaching within a beloved franchise. But after a few weeks, I decided to partake and I can honestly say, it was not as bad as I expected. Set hundreds of years before the movies but long after the events of The Old Republic, The High Republic: Light of the Jedi begins with a ship moving through hyperspace only to collide with an unidentified object. The event causes a catastrophe that results in debris exiting the hyperspace lane and causing a meteoric impact on planets in that system. The Jedi rally to the rescue and use their combined efforts to narrowly save the day but concerns grow due to the amount of debris that is still within the hyperspace lane. Knowing that the debris could exit at any moment and cause disaster, the republic and the Jedi scramble to try and detect where the next impacts may be. The set up was decent enough and a widespread disaster was a solid way to introduce the Jedi Order of this timeline and there collective impact on the wider galaxy. Viewed as being magical protectors and warriors of great skill, the Jedi are respected and feared throughout the Galaxy (depending on what side of the law you are on). We also get introduced to the new villains of the piece, The Nihil, a band of vicious marauders that are pretty much Vikings in space. They primarily operate in the outer rim regions away from the attentions of The Republic and The Jedi but have now got grand plans to unite their three clans into one army and make a bigger name for themselves. The Nihil were interesting and their class system was well-conceived, having a grand leader "The Eye" below were three "Tempest Runners" who controlled the three "Tempests" with three ranks below them, "Storms" "Clouds" and "Strikes". It is also interesting that they have been chosen to be the antagonists of the series considering they are a bunch of ragtag marauders, though dangerous and savage they have no special abilities and are facing the Jedi at a time where their numbers were great and their influence is felt strongly throughout the galaxy. If you thought the Jedi were pious and self-righteous in the prequels, that is nothing compared to how they come across here. They make Christians look humble by comparison and that is the issue, all I can see so far is Vikings (The Nihil) invading and most likely losing to the Christians (Jedi) of the 850 AD era. Time will tell but the core story was good enough to get things started. The core problem I had with this book was how badly it was structured. The chapters were fairly short which is not a bad thing on the face of it. The issue was how the author was trying to shove far too many characters down our throats that it was an effort to keep up with who is who and what each person was up to. The plot jumped all over the place and gave off the vibe that it was trying to be a screenplay for a TV series more than a coherent book. Usually, a book would take time to flesh things out a bit and invest you in the characters but that was completely out the window here, all we got was a garble of stupid names, and this is Star Wars we are talking about, stupid names should be fine but the ones used here were just ridiculous and uninspired save for a couple. Though I was impressed that there were quite a few deaths throughout the book they had very little impact as I could barely remember the importance, if any, of the person who croaked it. Certain terminology was a bit too fluffy and overused for my taste too, referring to the force as a song the Jedi can hear and tune into was eye-rolling and changing the name of the Mind Trick to the Mind Touch was just pointless. Overall: The book wasn't terrible, there is some potential for a good story to unfold especially with the setting now being far away from the movie timeline but I can't help but feel like this is going to end up like the recent movies, sacrificing great characters and engaging story in favour of pointless box-ticking. But I will be happy to be proven wrong and will certainly try the next book in the series.
