My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Earlier this year, Star Wars began one of its most ambitious publishing events since the pre-Disney New Jedi Order series with the publication of the first novel in the High Republic series. Taking place about 200 years before the prequel trilogy, the High Republic series sees both the Jedi and the Republic at the pinnacle of their power and prestige. Encompassing adult, young adult, and middle grade novels as well as comic books and, later this year, manga, the High Republic tells an interconnected tale across all these formats with the adult novels seemingly being the tentpoles. This being the second adult novel in the series, The Rising Storm advances the story into its next phase. And, following the best Star Wars tradition, this sequel surpasses the first in terms of action, storytelling, and raising the stakes for the entire series.
This novel takes place approximately a year after the events of the first adult novel, Light of the Jedi. Since then, Starlight Beacon has been in operation and the Nihil, the main villains of this series, have been laying low. Believing the Nihil to have actually been defeated, Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh and the Republic are about to welcome the galaxy to the Republic Fair, an exposition promoting “the Spirit of Unity” within the Republic and encouraging Outer Rim worlds to join them. But the Nihil have not been defeated and have their own dastardly plans for the Fair and when the dust settles at the end of this novel, the Jedi will discover their greatest challenge yet in this series.
This novel was amazing! The set up to the main action at the Republic Fair was great and Mr. Scott does a great job of showcasing multiple characters and their struggles throughout the narrative. Following multiple characters around can be a bit challenging, but Mr. Scott overcomes this challenge by keeping most of the chapters relatively short. The bulk of the action happens during the Republic Fair and Mr. Scott has a great knack for telling multiple, pulse-pounding action sequences. I could hardly put down this book by the end. Speaking of the ending, it was incredible! Just when you think the Jedi are about to salvage a victory from defeat and come out on top, Mr. Scott pulls the rug out from under you one more time in a devastating climax. This novel opens up so many possibilities for the future of this series while making the Nihil and its mysterious leader, Marchion Ro, a worthy threat to the Jedi and the Republic.
The only issue I have with this book is that a fear I had about this series might be coming true: that missing out on one format of the series means you might be missing out on things. This is particularly true of this series’s side villains, the Drengir. First introduced in the young adult novel Into the Dark, the Drengir are a sentient plant-life form that eats any other organic lifeforms it comes across. Think of them as large walking, talking Venus Flytraps that eat people and aliens alike. The Drengir playing a larger role moving forward was only hinted at the end of Into the Dark, but apparently they have been the major threat of the comics and get a brief, but significant mention in this novel. In fact, their threat appears to have an indirect effect on the events of this novel. Of course, if you haven’t read Into the Dark or the comics, you could be forgiven for having no idea what they are talking about. While missing out on the comics and Into the Dark probably won’t diminish your ability to enjoy this novel, it does make me worried that skipping one format will mean missing key plot points later in the series.
Overall, this was an outstanding Star Wars novel right up there with some of the best of them. My expectations for this series have been raised even higher than they already were. Though you might want to at least read Light of the Jedi first before this one, I highly recommend this book to all Star Wars fans and I highly recommend this series as a great introduction to anyone looking to jump into Star Wars novels.
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