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Star Wars: The High Republic - Shadows of Starlight
Star Wars: The High Republic - Shadows of Starlight #2
More SECRETS are revealed from the "MISSING YEAR" following the fall of STARLIGHT BEACON! ELZAR MANN and AVAR KRISS, star-crossed JEDI MASTERS, attempt to navigate a galaxy that seems determined to keep them apart… What is the STORMWALL, and what danger does it pose to THE REPUBLIC and THE JEDI ORDER?
26 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 8, 2023
14 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Charles Soule
1,519 books1,689 followersCharles Soule is a #1 New York Times-bestselling novelist, comics author, screenwriter, musician, and lapsed attorney. He has written some of the most prominent stories of the last decade for Marvel, DC and Lucasfilm in addition to his own work, such as his comics Curse Words, Letter 44 and Undiscovered Country, and his original novels Light of the Jedi, The Endless Vessel, The Oracle Year and Anyone. He lives in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 11, 2023
"We mourn everyone who has joined the Force. Stellan is simply the melody to the song of our grief.”
Issue 2 of Shadows of Starlight follows masters Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann during the year after the fall of Starlight Beacon and the death of Master Stellan Gios.
This issue was, just like the first one, really good! But while issue 1 focused on the change occurring in the ways the Jedi operate and in the grander scheme of things, this issue felt much more personal and intimate. Avar and Elzar are both at probably the lowest points in their lives, and they are dealing with intense guilt and sorrow over not just the thousands of needless deaths caused by the Nihil's violence but also by the loss of their polestar, their old friend Stellan Gios. I love the trio of Avar, Elzar and Stellan a lot, so all the stuff with Elzar and Avar talking about Stellan got me right in the feels, as did Elzar finding strength in thinking of what Stellan would do and what choices he would make. I am ready to get my feelings even more hurt later on this year when The Eye of Darkness comes out and we get even more into how Elzar and Avar are feeling about Stellan's sacrifice.
This issue developed both its lead characters well and offered the reader an intriguing glimpse as to what might be going on with them in the first novel of this phase. I especially liked how this issue got into Avar's character. She has grown so much from the woman we met in Light of the Jedi, and I loved how Soule explored the way her reputation as Hero of Hetzal and this great, invincible protector has gotten into her head, but not in a hubris way. She is not arrogant nor does she think herself better than everyone else, but she has taken on those roles in a way that prevents her from accepting herself as a vulnerable, flawed human. She cannot allow herself to fail and if she does, it kills her and she won't rest until she can make it right. I'm always intrigued by the contradictions between what someone's reputation is and what they truly are, and how both affect the other, so I am pumped for Avar's story to come.
Avar and Elzar's relationship is one of my faves in the High Republic. I love that while they are in love with each other, they are also friends, colleagues and, above all, Jedi. Their romance is not at the center of their characters or even their dynamic, as there is, alongside that, so much more. There is a real sense of history between them and in their interactions. Of course I hope them to kiss and find some peace in what they have, but I'm also loving the way their love is on the sidelines, a constant presence in their interactions even if it's not central to them. I love them.
This series continues to kick ass. Charles Soule truly is a masterful comic author!
Issue 2 of Shadows of Starlight follows masters Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann during the year after the fall of Starlight Beacon and the death of Master Stellan Gios.
This issue was, just like the first one, really good! But while issue 1 focused on the change occurring in the ways the Jedi operate and in the grander scheme of things, this issue felt much more personal and intimate. Avar and Elzar are both at probably the lowest points in their lives, and they are dealing with intense guilt and sorrow over not just the thousands of needless deaths caused by the Nihil's violence but also by the loss of their polestar, their old friend Stellan Gios. I love the trio of Avar, Elzar and Stellan a lot, so all the stuff with Elzar and Avar talking about Stellan got me right in the feels, as did Elzar finding strength in thinking of what Stellan would do and what choices he would make. I am ready to get my feelings even more hurt later on this year when The Eye of Darkness comes out and we get even more into how Elzar and Avar are feeling about Stellan's sacrifice.
This issue developed both its lead characters well and offered the reader an intriguing glimpse as to what might be going on with them in the first novel of this phase. I especially liked how this issue got into Avar's character. She has grown so much from the woman we met in Light of the Jedi, and I loved how Soule explored the way her reputation as Hero of Hetzal and this great, invincible protector has gotten into her head, but not in a hubris way. She is not arrogant nor does she think herself better than everyone else, but she has taken on those roles in a way that prevents her from accepting herself as a vulnerable, flawed human. She cannot allow herself to fail and if she does, it kills her and she won't rest until she can make it right. I'm always intrigued by the contradictions between what someone's reputation is and what they truly are, and how both affect the other, so I am pumped for Avar's story to come.
Avar and Elzar's relationship is one of my faves in the High Republic. I love that while they are in love with each other, they are also friends, colleagues and, above all, Jedi. Their romance is not at the center of their characters or even their dynamic, as there is, alongside that, so much more. There is a real sense of history between them and in their interactions. Of course I hope them to kiss and find some peace in what they have, but I'm also loving the way their love is on the sidelines, a constant presence in their interactions even if it's not central to them. I love them.
This series continues to kick ass. Charles Soule truly is a masterful comic author!
December 11, 2023
There is a very fine line when it comes to correctly breaking an Avar, Elzar & Stellan fan into a million pieces and then very slowly and deliberately putting them back together and it's perfectly being walked by Charles Soule in this second issue of Shadows of Starlight. It feels incredibly validating to read a story and see everything you have imagined these characters going through be told on page, with intricate dialogue, heavy emotional beats and a wonderfully consistent characterization of two lovers whose history has so many layers, unfolding them would take a novel. But teasing them, setting these characters on their journeys, showing us how even apart, they belong together, that takes exactly the 26 pages of this issue and the brilliant mind of Charles Soule.
April 22, 2025
the trenches
in all seriousness Avar going on her own within the Stormwall is so interesting. But also I feel sad bc she blames herself for stellan’s death and the failure of starlight beacon. When she told Elzar that she couldnt ‘get angry’ I was just like 😕 she is so devoted to her abilities and occupation as a Jedi that she forgets to sit down and take a rest. She also doesn’t allow others to share the weight for her, but will happily take it from them. someone hug Avar and sign her up for therapy PLEASE
in all seriousness Avar going on her own within the Stormwall is so interesting. But also I feel sad bc she blames herself for stellan’s death and the failure of starlight beacon. When she told Elzar that she couldnt ‘get angry’ I was just like 😕 she is so devoted to her abilities and occupation as a Jedi that she forgets to sit down and take a rest. She also doesn’t allow others to share the weight for her, but will happily take it from them. someone hug Avar and sign her up for therapy PLEASE
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2023
It was nice to see the increased focus on Elzar and Avar, including their relationship and how Stellan's death impacted them both. Also interesting how it was Avar's determination to not be a failure (she sees Starlight Beacon's destruction and Stellan's death as her failure) be what ends up driving her behind what becomes the Occlusion Zone.
I think it sets up the upcoming Eye of Darkness book fairly well based on the published summary of that novel.
I think it sets up the upcoming Eye of Darkness book fairly well based on the published summary of that novel.
November 17, 2023
Avar is really taking all of this to heart.
December 28, 2023
So good, I just love High Republic literature to damn much.
January 20, 2024
Te amo Avar
April 10, 2024
Never been big on Elvar, but this was real good content of them dealing with the aftermath of Starlight Beacon's fall.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews