Books The High Republic: The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott

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Perhaps Leveller once was a sentient being who (along with others - future Nameless) was transformed by Sith into living weapon ("the sin" from prophecy).

 

I'm cautiously excited about this author. This was very good and it was his first proper SW book and I can see him growing into the next Luceno

 

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Race To Crashpoint Tower has one of the Elders tell Master Sy that Ro's people originated from with their sect.

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Amazon UK delivery lady just brought the order containing this. Hopefully it will be next on the reading list!

 

I'm about a third of the way through, and one thing I'm really liking about it is the absolute variety of aliens on display here. For every human there's five races that e have to search for, because I can't even tell what they are

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Having a germaphobe species with droids that are essentially hand sanitizer dispensers makes me both roll my eyes and chuckle a lot.

 

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from the jump I just really appreciated the use of Tython's moon, Ashla, as a place of retreat, pilgrimage and meditation for Elzar.

I assume the Jedi still have an outpost on Tython itself, and they still go to Ashla in much the same fashion as we saw in DOTJ.

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I just finished.
Excuse me while I burn Marchion Ro from his extremities in.

 

Going to start this later today.

 

Listening to the audiobook. Not liking Thompson's choice for Stellan's voice. I chose an American accent to set him apart from Kenobi in my mind.

Mantessa sounds like Dr Evil.

The new Nihil Tempest Runner sounds like Arnim Zola.

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I enjoyed the book but perhaps not as much as Light of the Jedi.

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Although I knew the incident at the fair would be a prominent piece of the book I didn't really expect it to take up this much volume. I thought the extended battle here dragged a little bit and had the effect of making the book feel smaller in scope. I might have liked it better if the attack were just an inciting incident that launched the rest of the story spanning multiple locales rather than the bulk of the book. That said, I enjoyed it well enough for what it is. I really enjoyed the High Republic characters although the downside of this is that there are so many I had trouble keeping track of the some of the less prominent people as we jumped around perspectives.

One other thing was that I thought the connection between this and Race to Crashpoint Tower was a bit clunky. I read this book first and the jail scene just screamed "check out this other book to find out how our characters got here". I also didn't like how this book kind of spoiled Crashpoint a little with offhandedly mentioning the Drengir connection. Little bit of catch 22 in that it spoils the other book here, but if it hadn't been mentioned it would have felt like an oversight. After reading Crashpoint I also thought that would have spoiled The Rising Storm a little. I just think the connection in this case damaged each book a smidge rather than building each other up.

 

I'm about halfway through this - enjoying it so far.

 

Just finished it. Liked Light of the Jedi better, but this one was one hell of a page turner, with tension building up right until the last chapter.

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Yeah, I was absolutely in love with this book until the moment the Nihil attacked the fair. Then it was a seemingly unending slog that took me forever to get through. I still haven't started Race to Crashpoint Tower because I don't know if I can relive my torment again! I am just so over anything having to do with the Republic Fair.

 

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I can see that -- since I read Crashpoint first I had the advantage of wondering how its Fair stuff fit in there as a bonus point of interest. And that fact that TRS kept going after the Fair, including some of the best stuff in the book, was a bonus.

However, with regard to the Drengir spoiler in TRS, reading Crashpoint first was slightly maddening in that The Rising Storm spends so much time on Nihil plans and never once is this whole "let's seed Drengir at their communications tower" thing mentioned, nor any Nihil-Drengir connection at all, as big a deal as that would seem to be. Until that one mention in TRS I was sort of losing my mind thinking that it wasn't going to be acknowledged at all!

 

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Yeah, I preferred how the connectivity in "wave 1" and the Great Disaster was handled. Since the Great Disaster was so wide ranging you could have these completely separate stories that revolved around the one event but didn't really spoil each other. Since the fair is so self contained, its more challenging to cover multiple angles without spoiling or ignoring the events from the other stories.

It just feels like the format they've chosen for the series worked in wave 1 but just hasn't gelled as well in wave 2.

 

Finished it. Was good overall.

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I like how this story became a disaster film part way through. The attack was good. But that saber-for-hire, was just SOOO unlikeable. She almost killed a jedi during the attack, wtf. She hit him in the head and thought that it might kill him.

Also are Jedi required to be celibate in canon? Or was he just angry cause he got distracted. The attack on the Nihil at the end was good but rushed. Also can someone just shoot Ro.

 

I finished this in about a week. I really enjoyed it--to the point I think I'm going to try to read the other novels at least.

 

Finally got around to finishing this. I agree with @Daneira that

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the disaster porn at the Republic Fair stretched on for wayyyy too long.

I really enjoyed the plot line concerning Republic-Togruta relations, though. Looking forward to seeing more of Regasa Elarec Yovet in coming High Republic stories. I reckon that Shili must have integrated into the Republic quite quickly and effectively for Kirames Kaj to have become Supreme Chancellor two short centuries later!

 

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I don't think celibacy has been a thing in any of the continuities, you just can't form personal close attachments, plus in Claudia Grey Master and Apprentice their is a Jedi who is defiantly not practicing celibacy

 

Then why

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Does he act like he has done some horrible crime by sleeping with her?

 

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If it's the instance I'm thinking of, it's because in doing so he neglects his duty as Marshal of Valo. At least that's how Elzar feels.

In books like Dooku: Jedi Lost, Master and Apprentice and Into the Dark, views on celibacy seem to vary between characters. Rael Aveross maintains that there is wriggle room in whatever code the Jedi refer to but we never see. Whereas other characters view it as strictly forbidden, which, if so, it certainly isn't a rule that's enforced.

 

Spoilers for more than one thing here...

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I think that various conversation in Into The Dark make it seem like a pretty strict rule even in the looser HR code that allows for Wayseekers and stuff. Elzar's really bending some stuff in Rising Storm, though, he's using one not-too-kosher attachment as a rebound from his even-less-kosher attachment to Avar. And when Ty finds his actual physical fling with Avar in his mind, she's pretty shocked based on what she recalls of her padawan days. Definitely seems like it's not something that should be happening. And yeah, bad stuff happens as a result of his distraction from his duties, but I think he links it more to to the act itself than just the distraction. I mean, religious people in general tend to ascribe just random bad stuff that happens to them as punishment for unrelated sins... it felt to me like there was a little bit of that going on with him. Granted, he's a hot mess on a lot of levels and does a lot of rationalizing... one of the coolest things about him is that he realizes he needs help on his own.

 

Senator Tia Toon is the only rational being in the story.

 

Why do you think that? (not arguing as I largely agree)

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Because he wants a standing armed force? or that he can set aside his personal hangups for the greater good? (which I really liked)