It feels like a century has passed since The High Republic was first teased at Star Wars Celebration Chicago (thanks, 2020!) but at last, it has arrived! A new era of Star Wars publishing kicks off on January 5th, 2021 with the publication of Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule (and A Test of Courage by Justine Ireland) with comics and books by their fellow co-conspirators soon to follow. But is this era of publishing going to be as luminous as we’ve been promised? So far… seems like that answer just might be a resounding yes.
Light of the Jedi kicks off as something very bad about to happen in the Outer Rim. A ship has been torn to pieces in hyperspace and some of those parts are hurtling towards Hetzal Prime. All seems lost but the planet send out a distress signal nonetheless… and the Jedi respond. But will it be in time to save the billions of people in the Hetzal system who have no way off world? And there are still an unknown number of pieces of the Legacy Run drifting in hyperspace… with no way to know where and when they might emerge. The consequences could be disastrous for the Outer Rim systems and for the Republic itself.
Without having read any of the other books in the first wave of The High Republic yet, it’s still easy to see why it’s recommended to read The Light of the Jedi first since the novel details the catastrophe and does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to world building. Yes, this is still the Star Wars universe we all know and love with more than a few familiar names and planets popping up throughout but it is such a distinctly different era. To that point, a dramatis personae list like the Star Wars Legends books used to have would have been incredibly useful here as readers are introduced to new characters from varying species every single chapter for the large portion of the book. Some, like Avar Kriss and Burryaga, are easier to keep track of than others; possibly because they’re both featured on the cover and were some of the first characters fans were introduced to in the promotion leading up to the launch. One might suspect that the characters will be easier to keep straight once we’ve read more in this era and get to know the characters better. That said, some personal standouts amongst this cast include the master/padawan team of Loden Greatstorm and Bell Zettifar. The latter is a Good Soft Boy who must be protected at all costs and the former is just one of those fun sorts of Jedi Masters who you immediately want to learn more about.
As a whole, the book feels like a delightful melding of the Legends books of old with the stories told around the Knights of the Old Republic but in a fresh new era for storytelling. We were promised the Jedi at the height of their power and that’s absolutely what we’re getting here. It was somewhat startling to realize how many of the Jedi Order stories we’ve had in canon have shown the Jedi while they’re at war; something that seems like it conflicts with the idea of Jedi being keepers of the peace. The Jedi in this book certainly see combat but it has such a decidedly different feel to it. There are no generals or commanders here… except within the Republic’s fleet. It will be interesting to see if this feeling persists especially as the Nihil continue to threaten the stability of the Republic in the Outer Rim.
Speaking of which, the Nihil are an interesting choice for a villain and, quite honestly, a welcome relief from dark side Force users or yet another Empire. Much of what makes them so distinct would be a spoiler but needless to say, this is not just another pirate gang. Where they go with the Nihil will be the true test of just how effective of a bad guy they are. (Could that sentence possibly be any vaguer? Maybe.)
The Light of the Jedi kicks off The High Republic with a strong start and simultaneously makes it feel tricky to judge the book entirely on its own merits. Is the book good? Yes, but the truly exciting thing about The Light of the Jedi is how it is the start of something new. Bring on the golden age of the Jedi! (And also maybe give us more stories about Bell. Please and thank you.)
Thank you to Del Rey and Disney Publishing for providing an early copy of the book for review purposes.
