Temptation of the Force

by Tessa Gratton

Brought to you by Penguin.

The next adventure in Star Wars The High Republic. The sequel to The Eye of Darkness.

Genres: Star Wars

448 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2025

About the author

Tessa Gratton is the author of adult and YA SFF novels and short stories that have been translated into twenty-two languages, nominated twice for the Otherwise Award, and several have been Junior Library Guild Selections. Her most recent novels are the dark queer fairy tales Strange Grace and Night Shine, and queer the Shakespeare retelling Lady Hotspur. Her upcoming work includes the YA fantasy Chaos and Flame (2023), and novels of Star Wars: The High Republic. Though she has lived all over the world, she currently resides at the edge of the Kansas prairie with her wife. Queer, nonbinary, she/any.

Reviews

[Melanie Bailiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual raining: 4.5/5 stars or 9/10

Loved this penultimate adult novel for Star Wars: The High Republic! “Temptation of the Force” keeps up the epic story, character driven moments, and action sequences that make The High Republic great. It also gives fans a look into how the Jedi realistically deal with attachment. “Temptation” feels like a chess match, and all of the pieces are in place for the finale. It also directly correlates to “Defy the Storm”, which was fun, but also made the story drag a little because Tessa Gratton had to get everyone caught up on elements that had been established in that book. Also, loved Burry’s POV! It was cool to hear his perspective from him, not through Bell. It was good overall and I can’t wait to get the rest of the story!!

[John Noehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book ready for the next in the series

[Jim Dreier · Rating 4 out of 5]

The High Republic is building to its conclusion. As mentioned in the Eye of Darkness, I am not a fan of the Stormwall or Nihil controlling space. But we pick up those story lines. Now, the blight introduced in Defy the Storm becomes the focus.
We again have multiple storylines to follow. For the Jedi we have: 1. Bell and Burryaga search for Drengir which leads the to the blight. 2. Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann continue in temptation. 3. Porter Engle continues his pursuit of General Viess. For non-Jedi, we follow 4. Marchion Ro studying the blight. 5. Ghirra political plots and arrival on Courscant. 6. Cairo San Tekka and his marriage with Xylan Graf. 7. Avon Starros and her work to break the Stormwall.
These stories all culminate in two battles. First, the Republic breaks the Stormwall and liberates Naboo. Then, the Republic tracks Ro to Vixoseph for battle with Nameless and with the Drengir.
There is a lot to cover. Grafton’s description of the battles are not clear and sometimes confusing. And there seems to be too much exposition at times. My biggest surprise was the lack on consequences in this book. No major characters die. On a negative, Porter Engle and General Viess duel twice and both times Viess runs off like an 80s cartoon villain. On a positive, I thought either Elzar or Avar were going to die because of the setup.

[Federica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tessa Gratton ci offre un volume corposo (450 pagine) per approfondire il percorso della lotta fra Nihil e Jedi, fra Oscurità e Luce, fra potere assoluto e Repubblica, mentre nuovi pericoli e nuove paure si alternano a nuove scoperte ed alcuni personaggi conosciuti ci svelano molto di sè, dei propri desideri e delle proprie connessioni con la forza e con gli altri Jedi...
Un romanzo ben scritto, le cui pagine scivolano veloci e che prepara il lettore al finale ormai vicino dell'Alta Repubblica e degli intrecci tessuti attraverso le sue tre fasi.