Space Disaster!: A Review of Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray

The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Since Star Wars first appeared in theaters in 1977 and authors such as Timothy Zahn have expanded that universe in later years, a plethora of novels, comic books, and TV shows have played around a lot with different genres and styles. For example, in the novel Death Troopers, you have an example of zombie horror; in the novels Shatterpoint and Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, you have psychological thrillers. But never before, in my mind at least, has a Star Wars novel ever taken on the genre of disaster novel. Thus, Claudia Gray breaks new ground for Star Wars by writing its full disaster novel in this stunning conclusion to the first phase of The High Republic publishing series.

Since the start of The High Republic series last year, the brutal villains the Nihil have instigated several disasters.  There was the Great Hyperspace Disaster that kicked off the first novel, Light of the Jedi, and there was the attack on the Republic Fair in The Rising Storm.  But each one of those involved some kind of battle between the Jedi and the Republic against the Nihil.  But in this novel, aside from a few surprise attacks on helpless planets at the beginning, there is no engagement between the Nihil, the Jedi, or the Republic.   Instead, the novel is entirely consumed up with the sabotage and destruction of Starlight Beacon, the symbol of the hope and peace promised by the Republic and the Jedi to the Outer Rim territories, which was introduced in the first High Republic novel.  Thus, the station's impending doom forces the main characters to deal with the disaster on hand.  There are no battles, only tough decisions to be made by Jedi and regular people on how to get the most people out alive and what sacrifices everyone is willing to make to see that happen.  Like the 1997 film Volcano,  this book has a certain feeling of inevitability and the only question is who will survive.

At the same time Starlight Beacon is falling from the sky, another threat lurks in the shadows of the station.  The creature unleashed by the Nihil's leader, Marchion Ro, at the very end of The Rising Storm, has found its way onto the station and has its sights set on any Force-wielder it can get its hands on.  There is still no real answer as to what exactly this creature is, what exactly it looks like, or how it seems to kill Jedi so easily, but these creatures may remind fans of the old, pre-Disney expanded universe of the ysalamiri creatures introduced in Timothy Zahn's classic Heir to the Empire that could temporarily dampen a Jedi's connection to the Force.  However, these creatures are far more malevolent than the ysalamiri ever were. 

My only complaint about this novel is that, with The High Republic series encompassing multiple mediums, including YA novels and comic books, some plot threads that make their way into this novel may leave some fans confused.  As an analogy, imagine you had skipped over the film Ant-Man and the Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and started watching Avengers: Endgame.  You would have no idea why Ant-Man just materialized in the back of a van at the beginning of the movie or why he knows so much about the Quantum Realm.  Similarly, I know that I have not been keeping up with The High Republic comics and because of that I feel there have been some plot points that I have missed leading up to this novel.  This is becoming a growing problem with multi-media stories like the MCU in general and The High Republic series in particular, one that, I fear, might not be resolved in the future.  That said, this feeling of missing key details is not necessarily Ms. Gray's fault and should in no way dampen a casual fan's enjoyment of this novel as long as they have been keeping up with the previous adult novels in the series at least.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this conclusion to phase I of The High Republic.  By setting The High Republic in a time period never before explored with brand new characters, not even by the pre-Disney expanded universe, no character is safe.  Indeed, quite a few characters, including perhaps one or two fan favorites, meet an untimely death in this novel.  Thus, as the first phase of this series closes and a new phase is set to begin, fans are reminded that this is not the film eras, which means that no character is truly safe and everyone is in danger.

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A Surprisingly Deep Thriller: A Review of Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When it comes to kids spy thrillers, my only past exposure to it had been either campy kids movies like Spy Kids or cartoon shows like Codename: Kids Next Door. So when I picked up this middle grade spy thriller, my expectations were pretty low. Now having finished this book, I have to say not only is it not campy at all, but it is incredibly fast-paced, deep, and intense. In fact, this may be one of the best books I have read this year so far.

The plot of the book starts with the famous scientist Albert Einstein creating a secret formula known as Pandora that could unlock unlimited energy for the world, or bring about massive destruction.  This equation has been lost for decades, but a new clue sets off a race to discover it amongst rival intelligence agencies and a group of international white supremacist terrorists.  Unable to make head or tails of the clue, CIA agent Dante Garcia taps child genius Charlie Thorne, a 12-year old girl who may be the only person smart enough to figure out the clues and find Pandora before anyone else.  Thus, Charlie gets pulled into this world of spies and intrigue in order to find Einstein’s lost equation and save the world.

While the premise of the CIA tapping a 12-year old girl, even a child genius, may sound like a stretch, Mr. Gibbs does a tremendous job of selling it.  Charlie is scary smart and surprisingly competent, if a bit reckless.  But beyond making Charlie herself an entirely believable character, Mr. Gibbs does an outstanding job of making this book an intense spy thriller with some deeper subplots going on.  The connection between Dante Garcia and Charlie Thorne was surprising, but also makes up the heart of Charlie’s character development throughout.  Mr. Gibbs also avoids tropes that could’ve made this book a campy mess.  For example, at one point Charlie Thorne uses a skateboard to pursue one of her antagonists.  On the surface, this may sound rather hokey, but it really isn't.  In the moment, it is surprisingly practical and leads to a great fight scene.  Speaking of fight scenes, there is no campiness whatsoever in the threats posed in this book.  The danger is sky high for everyone, including Charlie, and people do die.  One person in particular dies a pretty horrible death.  Parents need not fear though as there are no gory descriptions of violence.  Blood is not mentioned a single time in this book, though people do get shot.

Another great thing about this book is the main antagonists.  Known as the Furies, this group of white supremacist terrorists are given great characterization for a middle grade novel.  Their motivation is chilling because it is so relevant to what is going on in the world today and is especially poignant as Charlie herself is mixed race.  It does turn out that the Furies are being controlled by someone else and they did get despatched towards the end in a wee bit of an anticlimactic moment, but they are still a formidable threat in their own right.  Speaking of that someone else, the reveal of who is behind the Furies is the only weak point of this book.  Unlike the Furies themselves, the person pulling the strings just doesn’t have a very compelling motivation.  Sure, their reveal is a bit of twist, but not a very interesting one.

One more thing I would like to mention in more detail is just how deep this book is.  The premise of this book is Einstein’s powerful Pandora equation, which a middle grade author might be forgiven for having their characters work to turn it over to the US government because, “Hey! We’re the good guys.”  But throughout the book, Charlie raises the point that maybe no one should be trusted with Pandora.  It’s even hinted that maybe Charlie herself, due to her recklessness and past criminal behavior, may not be the best person to have Pandora either.  This is a rather surprising thing to be discussed in a middle grade novel and Mr. Gibbs shows a great deal of trust in his middle grade audience understanding why even their own government may not be completely trustworthy.

Overall, this was an outstanding book.  Not only is this a great book for middle grade readers to transition from middle grade books into young adult or even adult novels, but is surprisingly deep and thrilling for older readers as well.  Whether you are young or young at heart, I highly recommend this book to anyone look for a great thrill ride of spy novel.

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A Fair to Remember: A Review of Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott

The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott

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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Dark Messiah: A Review of Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Over the last few years, fantasy has been moving in a very positive direction with more diverse authors writing from diverse perspectives and backgrounds, thus moving the genre away from the medieval European setting it has been stuck in since J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. In the last year, I have read fantasy books from both African and Middle Eastern traditions, but this one is special because Ms. Roanhorse draws on Pre-Colombian Central and South American mythologies (with a bit of Pacific Island folklore thrown in for good measure) to craft a wonderful start to what I believe will be a great fantasy trilogy.

Set in a fantasy world known as the Meridian, which very much echoes the Central American/Caribbean region, this book follows three primary characters.  Xiala is a Teek, a human-mermaid hybrid.  Banished from her homeland for some unknown reason, Xiala takes on a job to take the mysterious blind human named Serapio across the sea to the holy city of Tova.  Meanwhile in Tova, the young religious leader Naranpa sits on a powder keg of a city divided by ancient wounds, discrimination, and political intrigue, which threatens the peace of Tova as well as her own life.  These three characters soon find them on a collision course with destiny and an ancient prophecy.

This is an absolutely wonderful start to what I think will be a great fantasy trilogy.  Each of her characters are unique, damaged, and nuanced in their own way, which makes it easy to invest in their stories.  Though Ms. Roanhorse employs flashbacks throughout the novel to explain some key background, it never feels gimmicky, forced, or disruptive to the overall story.  And the climax is incredible- and incredibly bloody.  The fact that this is set in a fantasy world that is both familiar and different also helps to make this an engaging novel.

This is not a perfect story though.  There are a few things that keep me from giving this a full five stars.  First, there is a slight romance that develops between Xiala and Serapio that feels natural, but it also feels a little sudden at times.  Though Ms. Roanhorse does take time later in the novel to develop their relationship, it does make me wonder how necessary it really was.  Another issue I have is that a fourth POV character, Okoa, is introduced about halfway through the novel.  Though he does play a significant part in events in both the second and third acts, his introduction does feel a little sudden and jammed in.  I wish Ms. Roanhorse had introduced him a little earlier in the novel as his introduction would not have felt so disruptive had she done so.

My biggest gripe though is one that I am noticing in fantasy novels in general, which is that authors seem to be chickening out of killing key characters.  The plot for at least two of the three main characters could have led naturally to their deaths.  And yet both of them end up living by the end, though one is pretty badly injured.  One character’s escape from death felt natural and I am sure will inform some of the plot of the next novel, but the other character’s escape felt a little too convenient.  Perhaps I have been a little too spoiled by George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series and I can understand how authors might want to keep certain characters alive for future use or out of a sense of love, but it always runs the risk of being too convenient or tangling the narrative up in unnecessary explanations.  Though I don’t want to give too much of the narrative away, I believe at least one of our main characters, and the most obvious one at that, should have died at the end of this novel.

That said, this is a truly wonderful start to what I believe will be a great fantasy series.  The world building is great and the characters and plot are highly engaging.  I look forward to reading the next book in this series and I highly recommend this book to fantasy novel fans looking for something new.

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Love and War From a Different Point of View: A Review of Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back in 2019, I read Madeline Miller’s amazing book Circe, a retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey, but from the point of view of the witch Circe, who famously had turned Odysseus’s men into pigs before becoming his lover for a time. It was one of my most memorable reads in recent years as it breathed new life into that classic tale. But this was not Ms. Miller’s first time retelling a classic Greek myth from an interesting point of view. Back in 2012, she debuted with this book, which is a retelling of Homer’s The Iliad, from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles’s lover. Now that I have finally read this book, I am pleased to say that if you loved Circe, then you are also going to love The Song of Achilles too.

As said above, this book revolves around Patroclus, the companion and lover to the greatest of the Greek warriors during the Trojan War, Achilles, whose tragic death in battle at the hands of the great Trojan warrior Hector spurs Achilles into a vengeful rage on the battlefield until he has killed Hector himself.  Patroclus is not at all like Achilles, who was descended from the king of Phithia and a sea-nymph.  Instead, Patroclus has no godly blood and, though he descends from royalty, he finds himself exiled at a young age to Phithia.  He has no special talents, except perhaps at healing, and he is certainly not a great warrior like Achilles.  Yet Achilles takes a shine to Patroclus soon after his arrival and the two become unlikely friends and then lovers.  But when the Trojan War calls Achilles to the battlefield and his destiny, Patroclus follows him and seals his own tragic fate.

Just like Circe, telling this story from the point of view of a minor character such as Patroclus, Ms. Miller gives a fresh perspective on a familiar story that is thousands of years old.  Though Patroclus is no demigod nor a great warrior like Achilles, it is absolutely surprising how many great figures he stumbles across in his travels.  Odysseus, Agammemnon, and Helen are just some of the famous characters Patroclus interacts with.  Ms. Miller is even able to connect other minor characters in The Iliad to other famous Greek myths.  For example, Ms. Miller points out that Nestor, who is just an old man and an advisor to Agammemnon in The Iliad, was actually one of the Argonauts who travelled alongside such mythological figures as Jason and Herakles (i.e. Hercules).  This not only fleshes out a minor character in The Iliad, but shows just how interconnected Greek mythology was, sort of like how all of the movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are connected to each other today.

Another wonderful part about this book is how it relates stories that were not even in The Iliad.  After all, the Trojan War lasted ten years, but The Iliad happens years after the start of the war.  So events such as Helen’s choosing of Menelaus for her husband, the blood oath Helen’s suitors swore to protect her, and Agamemnon’s sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia, which were not included in The Iliad, are all related in this book.  Ms. Miller has synthesized most of these stories into one book, which gives readers a fuller picture of the Trojan War than The Iliad or any of the classical Greek plays do.

The only issue I had with this book was with the ending.  As mentioned above, Patroclus tragically dies in The Iliad at the hands of Hector and that’s what happens here too.  But while that would seem to be a natural ending point for this book, Ms. Miller finds a way extend the tale to keep Patroclus as the main POV character, but relate events that happened well after his death.  I won’t spoil how she does that and it’s not an entirely unwelcome plot device, nor is this book concluded in an unsatisfactory manner because of it.  But by using this plot device, I felt as though Ms. Miller extended the story just a bit too far beyond its natural end point.  That said, this is a very minor gripe that I have with the book that does not diminish my overall enjoyment of it.

In short, The Song of Achilles is a fabulous book that, like Circe after it, retells a familiar Greek myth in a way that breaths new life into it.  If you liked Circe or if you are just a fan of ancient mythologies and retellings, you should pick up and read this book right away.

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Into the Unkown: A Review of Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray

Into the Dark by Claudia Gray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With the end of the Skywalker saga of movies and shows like The Mandalorian, Star Wars has begun to move away from the titular Skywalker family drama and delve into the unexplored eras of that galaxy far, far away. With Light of the Jedi, Star Wars began to tell the tales of the High Republic, an era in Star Wars history between the Old Republic and the Prequel era. Not even the pre-Disney Expanded Universe had touched upon this roughly 1,000 year period of Star Wars history where the Sith are believed to be extinct and the Republic and the Jedi are at the peak of their influence and power. In this first YA novel of the series, Ms. Gray has written a great action story that connects well to the events of that first novel, but is far enough removed from that book’s events to tell its own exciting tale.

Reath Silas is apprenticed to Jedi Master Jora Malli, a member of the Jedi Council who has just taken an assignment on the Republic’s new Starlight Beacon, an assignment Reath is not particularly fond of.  While Master Malli goes on ahead, Reath takes passage with two other Jedi Knights and a Jedi Wayseeker aboard a small vessel with an unusual crew.  But when a disaster in hyperspace strands them on an uncharted space station, this motley crew must work together to uncover a hidden evil and keep it out of the hands of others.

While I have read many Star Wars novels, this is actually my first YA Star Wars novel.  But don’t let that designation deceive you.  This book is just as exciting as any Star Wars novel written for adults.  Indeed, despite there being only one lightsaber fight in the entire book, there is a great deal of excitement throughout.  But there is also a mystery too as the abandoned space station harbors an evil that is making both Jedi and non-Jedi characters very nervous.  The reveal at the end is incredibly satisfying too and sets off a climatic battle to contain this evil and keep it out of the hands those who would seek to abuse its power.

But this isn’t an isolated tale.  As part of the High Republic series, this book is connected to a larger story in two ways.  First, the hyperspace disaster that grounds our main characters on this space station is the same disaster from Light of the Jedi.  Also, the main villains from that novel, the Nihil, make an appearance in this novel.  What is great about this novel though is that while connected to and informed by this larger story, Ms. Gray is telling her own tale.  You do not have to have read Light of the Jedi to enjoy this novel and vice versa, though I would recommend that you don read both.

Another great aspect of this book is the characters.  All of the characters are engaging on every page.  Reath is a book nerd on his first big adventure; Affie Hollow is a teenage pilot with a tragic past and a colorful co-pilot; Jedi Knight Dez Rydan is a former apprentice of Master Jora Malli’s who craves adventure and acts as an older brother to Reath; Jedi Knight Cohmac Vitus harbors an old, private grief that he has never fully reconciled; and Orla Jareni is a Jedi Wayseeker, a newly introduced category of Jedi who are still a part of the Order, but have made a formal decision not to be bound by the Jedi Council’s orders so that they can explore the deeper meanings of the Force in new ways.  But the most interesting character is Geode, the third crew member aboard Affie’s ship.  As his name suggests, he’s just a very large rock.  That’s it.  No cute catchphrase like “I am Groot” or hidden transformation from rock to rock creature.  He’s just a rock.  At first, this is played for laughs as nearly all the Jedi just assume that he is just a rock, because that’s exactly what he is.  And yet, Geode plays a critical role at key points in the narrative.  He may not speak much, or at all, but I look forward to reading many more adventures with Geode.

One thing I did not like about this book was a side story with Orla and Cohmac that is told in flashbacks.  It involves a mission 25 years before the events of this book that went bad.  While it is an interesting story in its own right and does much to explain how Orla and Cohmac became the Jedi that they are now, the flashbacks are dropped in the middle of certain chapters, which kind of took me out of the present action.  I think it would’ve been better if they had been their own separate chapters rather than airdropped into the narrative.  But, as I said before, it is important for Cohmac and Orla’s character development and it happens infrequently enough to not become a nuisance.

Overall, this is another great story set in the High Republic that both connects to and enlarges the boundaries of this era.  Both adult and young adult readers should find this book highly enjoyable and I recommend it to all Star Wars fans.

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"Hello Magic, welcome to the war!" A Review of Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some authors are able to catch lightening in a bottle with the first novel in a planned series. Tomi Adeyemi did just that with here incredible, fast-paced YA fantasy Children of Blood and Bone. However, it is very difficult to sustain that same momentum into the sequel. So has she done it? I would emphatically say yes! Ms. Adeyemi picks up the baton where she left it off and gives us another incredible and fast-paced YA fantasy adventure that should please those who fell in with the first novel. 

Set just a few weeks after the end of the previous novel, this book follows the same four characters as before: Zelie, the fierce village maji who brought magic back to Orïsha; Tzain, Zelie’s older brother; Amari, the runaway princess looking to take control and rule as a better monarch than her father; and Inan, the prince who ascends to the throne after his father’s death.  Zelie, her brother Tzain, and Amari have successfully brought magic back to the land, but because the ceremony was bungled now both the maji and supporters of the monarchy with magical ancestry have powers too.  This plunges all of Orïsha into a brutal civil war and threatens their morals, friendships, and lives.  The result is absolute dynamite!

Just as before, Ms. Adeyemi writes at an incredibly brisk pace.  Even some of the down moments where little action is happening feel rather fast.  What is different though is that, with magic now flooding Orïsha, Zelie is not the only person with magical powers.  Though there were not enough of these moments, I really enjoyed seeing Zelie and her other maji users test their abilities.  I also enjoyed the absolute raw emotions that all of our main characters are dealing with.  Every single one of them has already lost a low before the events of this book, and how they react to those loses and to each other is great.  This could’ve easily devolved into teen melodrama, but Ms. Adeyemi handles her characters and their motivations very well.

I only have two small gripes about this book.  The first is how quickly characters move from one location to the next.  While I didn’t quite catch how distant some of these locations are from each other, based on the map provided in the front and back of the book, it feels like her characters get teleportated around the map a lot.  It might have added some pages, but a chapter here and there with characters transiting between one location and the next would’ve allowed for some quieter character-building moments and wouldn’t have felt like characters were traversing the land so quickly.  Another small gripe I have is the ending.  Just like in the first book, Ms. Adeyemi ends the book with a heck of a cliffhanger.  Unlike the first book though, this book’s cliffhanger feels like it came straight out left field and, quite honestly, a bit like a deus ex machina to keep a few of the main characters alive.  This is both exciting as I can’t wait to see what happens next, but also a little frustrating as I am once again left scratching my head as to what exactly happened.  That said, these are both very small gripes and they aren’t enough to keep me from giving this book a full five stars.

Pulse pounding action, magic, raw emotions, moral ambiguity.  Ms. Adeyemi imbues this fantasy world with more than magic, but with real stakes for all of the characters involved.  If you loved the first book, you will love the next one too.

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