Reviews with content warning for Violence - Star Wars: The Rising Storm

Man, this book had me gripped by the balls and dragged through, beginning to end. There were twists where I expected them, and ones I never saw coming. I got the vindication of figuring things out as well as being taken by surprise. The character exploration and development were brilliant across many characters. The changing PoVs were executed exceptionally well, to excellent comedic effect at certain points. And of course, there was devastating heartbreak. Cavan Scott, I am coming for you over that last paragraph

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phantasmaboo's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott is the second book in the High Republic Series. The book follows several characters introduced in the first book as they navigate the opening of the Starlight Beacon while under threat from the Nihil.

I very much wanted to love this book, and there were some highlights:

Diversity
As in the first book, the cast of characters is diverse. Although the text doesn’t delve too deeply into these areas, it was nice to have Black Jedi and LGBTQ characters highlighted throughout the text. There is a brief exposure to a LGBTQIA+ relationship.

Compelling Arcs
We see characters introduced in the first book really dealing with their demons in this one. Topics such as anger, grief, loss, and trauma are handled well. The characters’ flaws are on full display and, for the most part, we see them working through them.

There were, however, some issues with this text that made me rate it 3.5 stars instead of 4 stars:

Too Many Characters
Nearly every character in this book (and there are many) is treated as a main character. At last count, there were over ten major characters that the reader has to keep track of. Most of them were not even introduced in this book. I felt like I needed a notebook to keep track of who was who and who was doing what at all times. Moments of significant character growth and progression were lessened by the constant interruption of secondary characters. It was very frustrating to read.

Too Many Plots
There are several plots at play in the book, and I think that it overall weakened the experience. The two main plots were fine, but were weighed down by the remaining secondary plots. This is ultimately tied to the number of characters. Several significant plot points were not resolved, as if the author just kicked them down the road for the author of the next book to take care of (which they will have to).

Overall, the book was worth the read, but it was significantly weaker than the first book (which also had a touch too many characters). My experience was neither good nor bad. I am still thinking about some of the major revelatory plot points. I just hope the third book is more streamlined than this one.

My recommendation: Read this as soon as you are done with the first book. That way, you’ll h fully remember everyone and maybe your experience will be more positive .

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darthban's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

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margaridams's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.75

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ehmannky's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.5

It took me a second to get into this one, but it's still a fun ride through the High Republic era. Picking up about a year after the last main High Republic novel left off, we meet our heroes trying to set up for a big ol' intergalactic fair while also dealing with the threat of the lawless and violent Nihil. I usually struggle to get through the villain's chapters in Star Wars books that aren't already focused on them, and there's a lot of set up we go through with the villains in the first half. But all of my favorites (except for Avar, my beloved) and new really fun (and gay) characters show up along the way.

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