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Star Wars. High Republic III: Temptation of the Force
Brought to you by Penguin.
The next adventure in Star Wars The High Republic. The sequel to The Eye of Darkness.
The next adventure in Star Wars The High Republic. The sequel to The Eye of Darkness.
- GenresStar Wars
456 pages, Paperback
Published April 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 6, 2026
229 BBY, Phase III Book 2.
Reunited, Jedi Masters Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann lead the push to widen the cracks in the Nihil's Stormwall. As they plan to launch a strike deep into the Occlusion Zone, other Jedi begin to discover a mysterious blight that is destroying areas of planets in and around Nihil space.
This book is a microcosm of the structural problems of the High Republic series as a whole.
Here the story builds nicely to climactic clash which sees the Lightning Crash destroyed, the Stormwall dropped and Naboo liberated from the ruthless Nihil General Viess. Except the problem is that this climax happens about halfway through the book and pretty much all of the forward plot momentum is almost immediately reset back to the starting status quo (the Stormwall goes back up, Viess lives to fight another day etc.). We're then dropped into a far less engaging plot in which the Jedi investigate a blight that is the new terrible threat, having to replace the threat posed by the Nihil themselves, the Nameless and the Drengir, all of whom have become so ubiquitous in the countless High Republic stories as to be actively boring now.
It's frustrating, because this book is well written and those scenes with the Republic and Jedi striking back (pun intended) against the Nihil were genuinely great Star Wars.
But a bunch of Jedi stood around watching grass slowly die is not great Star Wars.
One final note I'd make is that while reading this I got the very strong impression (later confirmed by the author bio at the back) that the writer is not heterosexual.
There's nothing wrong with that (I hate homophobia) but it did mean that the romantic scenes between Elzar and Avar were awkward and a bit weird. I could be wrong, but my feeling is that no straight woman ever leaned in to kiss a man's beard (not his bearded face, specifically his beard) and no straight man ever dipped his head to kiss a woman's headband (diadem, in this case) during moments of passion. It felt like finally seeing the opposite side of when straight people write clunky and unrealistic lesbian sex scenes because they just totally lack the experience to write them authentically.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
Reunited, Jedi Masters Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann lead the push to widen the cracks in the Nihil's Stormwall. As they plan to launch a strike deep into the Occlusion Zone, other Jedi begin to discover a mysterious blight that is destroying areas of planets in and around Nihil space.
This book is a microcosm of the structural problems of the High Republic series as a whole.
Here the story builds nicely to climactic clash which sees the Lightning Crash destroyed, the Stormwall dropped and Naboo liberated from the ruthless Nihil General Viess. Except the problem is that this climax happens about halfway through the book and pretty much all of the forward plot momentum is almost immediately reset back to the starting status quo (the Stormwall goes back up, Viess lives to fight another day etc.). We're then dropped into a far less engaging plot in which the Jedi investigate a blight that is the new terrible threat, having to replace the threat posed by the Nihil themselves, the Nameless and the Drengir, all of whom have become so ubiquitous in the countless High Republic stories as to be actively boring now.
It's frustrating, because this book is well written and those scenes with the Republic and Jedi striking back (pun intended) against the Nihil were genuinely great Star Wars.
But a bunch of Jedi stood around watching grass slowly die is not great Star Wars.
One final note I'd make is that while reading this I got the very strong impression (later confirmed by the author bio at the back) that the writer is not heterosexual.
There's nothing wrong with that (I hate homophobia) but it did mean that the romantic scenes between Elzar and Avar were awkward and a bit weird. I could be wrong, but my feeling is that no straight woman ever leaned in to kiss a man's beard (not his bearded face, specifically his beard) and no straight man ever dipped his head to kiss a woman's headband (diadem, in this case) during moments of passion. It felt like finally seeing the opposite side of when straight people write clunky and unrealistic lesbian sex scenes because they just totally lack the experience to write them authentically.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
January 24, 2025
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!!
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!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2026
Great book ready for the next in the series
July 18, 2025
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.
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2025
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.
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.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews