Reviews

In the Star Wars universe, the Jedi are an order of powerful force sensitive beings that dedicated their lives and their powers to do good by preserving life and creating peace. That's a generally good trait for the hero of a story, but it makes writing an exciting story harder because such a hero would never fight to kill, only to disarm, but they show off all their fighting skills this way. In the original trilogy, this issue was handled in two ways: The stormtroopers of the empire were put in full body armor, their humanity was shrouded, so it didn't feel so unethical for the viewer. That was a lazy and inconsistent solution. But when it came to the big bad of the series, Darth Vader, another approach was used. The films discussed if there is pure evil of if every person has the potential to be good or bad in them. Luke believed that there was still good in Darth Vader and he was right. So he didn't fight to kill, just to disarm, and Vader turned. It is a core aspect of Star Wars philosophy that there is no inherent evil. The High Republic handled this issue in a good way so far. The Jedi tried to fight the Nihil without killing, and when someone killed anyway, it was out of self defense or a dark moment of the Jedi. And now we have this book. Silandra Sho is a prime example of the philosophy that one should never fight to kill. It is shown in a fight against predatory beasts. She even fights with a shield instead of a saber whenever possible. But then there are these crystals which turn Katikoot into zombies and are a life form of some sort. Suddenly, these life forms are considered as inherently evil and killing is justified so the Jedi slaughter them en masse. That seems inconsistent to me and bothered me while reading.

But apart from that, I was a fun read. I liked the characters, especially Rooper and her dynamic with Silandra. And the worldbuilding is great, the twin worlds of Audabas and Gloam are a nice addition to the galaxy. And the political commentary is also great.

beerd1's review against another edition

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5.0

Another brilliant High Republic book, not the direction I thought this book would go in, but really enjoyable all the same.

hallowwolf's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

big_lew's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

ocaz's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

theroguerebels's review against another edition

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5.0

George Mann brings us a spooky story set in the shadows of this age of exploration. Complete with winged monsters! Jedi with shields! Lost cities! Survival horror! Pathfinding and prospecting!

The story takes us through twists and turns in a haunting mysterious world and delivers timeless themes and lessons. Star Wars fits perfectly with this middle-grade tone in the way of some of my favorite scary things for younger ages. Things like Temple of Doom, The Goonies, or even Stranger Things. There’s a great place for “scary” stories for a younger audience that works here. I’ve been a fan of Mann’s other Star Wars works (Myths & Fables, Dark Legends, and Life Day Treasury) and am happy to see him write in a different style than those stories with more of that fairy tale quality. The story stands wonderfully on its own but also has a few threads that may lead through other Phase II stories to come!

This is a must-read for any fan of Star Wars spookiness!

Sal P.

whatiskendall's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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