Books The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life (YA anthology)

https://ew.com/books/star-wars-high-republic-for-light-and-life-cover-excerpt/

Spoiler

Since The High Republic's debut with 2021's Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, Lucasfilm has explored a whole new era of Star Wars stories. It's an era where Jedi are bountiful, bacta hasn't been invented yet, and hyperlane exploration is at its peak. But even though the Sith are barely a whisper in the Force, the Jedi still face all sorts of villains who threaten the peace and prosperity of the High Republic.

So far The High Republic stories have involved the best and brightest Lucasfilm Publishing has to offer and Phase II is in high gear with Lydia Kang's upcoming Cataclysm set to be released on April 4 (You can listen to EW's Dagobah Dispatch interview with Kang here).

There has been an almost overwhelming amount of Phase I and II novels and comics already, but EW has an exclusive except and cover reveal for the next big project: Star Wars: The High Republic: For Light and Life (out 9/5/23), a YA anthology featuring stories by High Republic authors Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Lydia Kang, George Mann, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule.

About the new anthology, Michael Siglain, creative director, Lucasfilm Publishing says "Star Wars: The High Republic: For Light and Life has a little bit of everything. It features all of our High Republic authors in one novelm and includes stories from every Phase of the initiative. We'll get glimpses of stories yet to come, see events that happened in between our novels and comics, shine a spotlight on certain characters, and even learn the fate of others. I think fans will find it both exciting and unexpected."

EW also has an exclusive excerpt from Claudia Gray's phase 1 story After the Fall, which takes place the day after the Republic's Starlight Beacon has been destroyed by the havoc-wrecking Nihil in Gray's novel The High Republic: The Fallen Star.

 

Finished reading this anthology of short stories on my commute today. Like any volume of short stories, some tales are stronger than others, but the good news is that, in my opinion, even the weaker stories in this compilation are still pretty well-written and enjoyable. So while there are some very real highs with this book, there aren’t that many true lows, which is nice.

Overall, the structure feels fairly chronological and thus straightforward to follow with the tales progressing from those set in Phase II, to Phase I, and then in the aftermath of Phase I in the wake of the destruction of Starlight Beacon, and thus feeling like transition stories from Phase I era to Phase III. This book in general feels like a connective one, linking both Phase I to Phase III and Phase II to Phase I.

More detailed thoughts on the contributions of individual authors and stories is below the spoiler tag for those interested.

Spoiler

With “Queen’s Bloom,” I did appreciate this look at a younger Axel Greylark in his university days. This was probably my favorite iteration of his character in all of the High Republic content so far, and I especially enjoyed the chance to meet his father and to get a glimpse of their relationship. It wasn’t one of my favorite short stories in the volume, probably because Axel isn’t one of the High Republic characters who has resonated with me on a deep level, but I think for Axel fans in particular it will be a treat.

I enjoyed "A Closed Fist Has No Claws,” and Tessa Gratton’s writing style continues to work really well for me. She gives Marda Ro a very distinct voice here (one of the more distinct and experimental in Star Wars prose, in my opinion) and we really see how Marda has been radicalized from the girl we met at the beginning of Phase II and get some strong insights into the transformation of the Path of the Open Hand cult into the criminal organization that is the Nihl and how the legacy of the Leveler is carried from Marda to Marchion. Also interesting to get some more information on Marda and Marchion’s species.

“Shield of the Jedi” by George Mann was really moving and satisfying for me to read. I loved checking in with Rooper and Silandra again and to see Rooper pass the unique Jedi Trial that Silandra imposes on her was awesome. They continue to have a magnificent relationship that warms my heart (with Silandra’s pride in Rooper and belief in Rooper being so palpable) and the moment where Silandra passes her shield with all its history and symbolism (which is developed even further than in other Phase II entries) is a gem. I have become so attached to Rooper and Silandra, and I do hope that we might get more stories about them one day, because these are two of my favorite Jedi ever.

“The Lonely Traveler is Home” is probably my favorite Star Wars story written by Daniel Jose Older. Perhaps his writing style with its quirks works better for me in small doses like this. Either way he succeeded at making me care more about Ram’s character than I had in some previous High Republic entries, and got me laughing aloud sometimes while still being able to address genuine emotional issues (like homesickness) and having an uplifting ending. It was nice to see some lighter moments on Starlight Beacon prior to its destruction, and I think this story is a good example of how a short story can have “low stakes” but be compelling if the heart and the character development is there.

“After the Fall” was a tour de force by Claudia Gray (but really I’ve come to expect nothing less from Claudia Gray). It was a treat to be able to check in with characters like Leox and Geode and to see the nascent rebirth of the Byne Guild in a way that is supportive of its pilots rather than exploitative of indentured labor. Claudia Gray does a truly powerful job of looking at life on Eiram after the Starlight Beacon’s disastrous destruction in terms of the compassionate impulse to volunteer, the natural impulse toward anger at those who caused the catastrophe, the grief for the lost, and the need to still see the beauty as well as the tragedy (the image of the sunset beyond the ruin of Starlight Beacon being a great visualization of this). As someone who lived in the NYC area after 9/11, I was reminded of some of the emotions I felt after that tragedy, which really made me think that Claudia Gray nailed the impact of a traumatic event in a way that is evocative and healing. The story just rang very true to me and deeply resonated with me.

“The Force Provides” offered a nice check-in with Vernestra Rwoh and insights into her inner turmoil after the destruction of Starlight Beacon. We learn that in addition to losing her former Master Stellan Gios, her Padawan Imri Cantaros perished in the Starlight Beacon disaster, which she feels especially guilty about. I was pretty devastated to learn of Imri’s death (I had been hoping that he had survived along with Vernestra since he had endeared himself to me in Phase I, but one thing I do like about the High Republic is the stakes do feel very real in that characters we come to care about do indeed die), but I think that is a big catalyst for Vernestra to become a Wayseeker here. As always, I think Justina Ireland does a good job bringing Vernestra to life, and I remain intrigued by where Vernestra’s journey will take her next. Vernestra has developed into a character who really wants to follow the will of the Force as she sees it rather than the decisions of the Jedi Council, and we see how the events of Phase I have led her to that place and position.

I really loved “All Jedi Walk Their Own Path,” because not only were the dual timelines with Bell and Loden’s past mission and Bell’s search for Burryaga both compelling in their own way but they felt very interconnected and as if the lessons that Bell had learned from Loden on their prior mission were shaping how he conducted himself in his search for Burryaga. And I was so pleased that Bell’s persistence in searching for Burryaga when all the other Jedi believed him to be dead paid off and the detail of it being Burryaga’s Wookie totems that ended up pointing to where to find him was chef’s kiss perfection. It was so cathartic to be able to see Bell and Burryaga have their embrace at the end.

With “Light in the Darkness,” it felt different from a lot of Star Wars stories in terms of style to have a tale told both in first person and present tense. Overall, I think the style worked even though it differed from many Star Wars stories. I liked the chance to check-in with Keeve Trennis, and she remains a great character. I did feel like the plot might have bitten off more than it could chew and at times have been uneven in its pacing as a result. Sometimes smaller scale and stake events actually end up working better for short stories.

“The Call of Coruscant” did a good job introducing another great High Republic Master and apprentice duo (always a plus) and again touched upon the impact that Starlight Beacon’s destruction had on the Jedi. That being said, I didn’t feel as invested in this story as some of the others in the anthology. Perhaps because this story was focusing on new characters that I hadn’t met before.

Stories I would consider the “strongest” in the collection:
“A Closed Fist has No Claws” by Tessa Gratton
“Shield of the Jedi” by George Mann
“The Lonely Traveler is Home” by Daniel Jose Older
“After the Fall” by Claudia Gray
“All Jedi Walk Their Own Path” by Charles Soule

Stories I would consider the “weakest” in the collection:
“Queen’s Bloom” by Zoraida Cordova
“The Force Provides” by Justina Ireland
“Light in the Darkness” by Cavan Scott
“The Call of Coruscant” by Lydia Kang

But as I said even the weaker stories have their bright spots and are enjoyable fare for Star Wars and High Republic fans.

I have ordered the Barnes and Noble special edition with the extra short story but it hasn’t arrived yet.

My overall rating based on this Kindle edition is 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would say it is one of the stronger entries of the High Republic era, which itself has been an initiative I have really enjoyed.

This book did a nice job whetting my appetite for Phase III. In that way, I say well done to all authors involved in this project!

 

This was really quite good. A very useful way to get back into Phase III.

 

My Barnes and Noble Special Edition with the extra short story by Alyssa Wong arrived, and I was able to read the bonus short story.

I enjoyed the story and it was one of the more action-packed tales in the volume, but it wouldn't change my overall rating of the anthology, which I would keep at a 4.5 out of 5 as I mentioned in my earlier review.

My spoiler thoughts on Alyssa Wong's story are below:

Spoiler

As I said this is one of the more action-packed tales in the volume, and it is laced with a good amount of intrigue. Readers who enjoyed Daniel Jose Older's Midnight Horizon will enjoy checking in with Corellia and with familiar characters like Crash in the aftermath of events that took place in that book. My favorite aspects of the story were the lore on Corellia, on the Lucem species, and the relationship between Ruu and his former Jedi Master. Ruu is an interesting character in terms of how he no longer wants to be a Jedi since the Jedi left Corellia to return to Coruscant per the Council's orders(and he feels if the Jedi had stayed to help his Master, his Master might still be alive) and how he doesn't care whether he uses the Light or Dark Side of the Force as long as he gets justice. Basically, justice is what is important to him more than following a particular side of the Force. In other words, we are seeing more of the fallout and consequences of the destruction of Starlight Beacon and the Jedi's decision to retreat to Coruscant in the wake of that disaster.

My overall verdict on the story would be that while it was action-packed and had some elements that I found engaging, it wasn't one of my favorites in the volume. Personally, I don't think that it is worth buying the Barnes and Noble Special edition just to read this short story unless you are 1) a big High Republic completionist and don't want to miss any High Republic content, which props to you if you are, or 2) you were a big fan of Midnight Horizon by Daniel Jose Older, in which case I think you will relish the opportunity to return to Corellia and many of the characters introduced in that book.