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Star Wars: The High Republic
The Rising Storm
The heroes of the High Republic era return to face a shattered peace and a fearsome foe, following the dramatic events of Light of the Jedi.
In the wake of the Great Hyperspace Disaster and the heroism of the Jedi, the Republic continues to grow, bringing more worlds together under a single unified banner. Under the leadership of Chancellor Lina Soh, the spirit of unity extends throughout the galaxy, with the Jedi and the newly established Starlight Beacon station at the vanguard.
In celebration, the chancellor plans The Republic Fair, a showcase of the possibilities and the peace of the expanding Republic-a peace the Jedi hope to foster. Stellan Gios, Bell Zettifar, Elzar Mann, and others join the event as ambassadors of harmony. But as the eyes of the galaxy turn toward the Fair, so too does the fury of the Nihil. Their leader, Marchion Ro, is intent on destroying this unity. His storm descends on the pageantry and celebration, sowing chaos and exacting revenge.
As the Jedi struggle to curb the carnage of the rampaging Nihil, they come face-to-face with the true fear their enemy plans to unleash across the galaxy-the kind of fear from which even the Force cannot shield them.
In the wake of the Great Hyperspace Disaster and the heroism of the Jedi, the Republic continues to grow, bringing more worlds together under a single unified banner. Under the leadership of Chancellor Lina Soh, the spirit of unity extends throughout the galaxy, with the Jedi and the newly established Starlight Beacon station at the vanguard.
In celebration, the chancellor plans The Republic Fair, a showcase of the possibilities and the peace of the expanding Republic-a peace the Jedi hope to foster. Stellan Gios, Bell Zettifar, Elzar Mann, and others join the event as ambassadors of harmony. But as the eyes of the galaxy turn toward the Fair, so too does the fury of the Nihil. Their leader, Marchion Ro, is intent on destroying this unity. His storm descends on the pageantry and celebration, sowing chaos and exacting revenge.
As the Jedi struggle to curb the carnage of the rampaging Nihil, they come face-to-face with the true fear their enemy plans to unleash across the galaxy-the kind of fear from which even the Force cannot shield them.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 29, 2021
1266 people are currently reading
8013 people want to read
About the author
Cavan Scott
842 books433 followersis a freelance comic writer and author. He is best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from both Doctor Who and Star Wars, as well as comics and novels for Vikings, Pacific Rim, Sherlock Holmes, and Penguins of Madagascar.
Cavan Scott, along with Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel Jose Older, and Charles Soule are crafting a new era in the Star Wars publishing world called Star Wars: The High Republic. Cavan's contribution to the era is a comic book series released through Marvel Comics titled Star Wars: The High Republic.
Cavan Scott, along with Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel Jose Older, and Charles Soule are crafting a new era in the Star Wars publishing world called Star Wars: The High Republic. Cavan's contribution to the era is a comic book series released through Marvel Comics titled Star Wars: The High Republic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,475 reviews
January 8, 2023
4.5
*clenches fist* I am traumatized and shaking my fists at the sky like an ancient Greek hero cursed by the machinations of an unfair, cruel god. AHHHHHHHHHH
*clenches fist* I am traumatized and shaking my fists at the sky like an ancient Greek hero cursed by the machinations of an unfair, cruel god. AHHHHHHHHHH
December 24, 2025
A great book. I enjoyed this book even more than the first book (Light of the Jedi). This book is a lot more action-packed and a lot more character development.
I also like the serve of certain characters and situations. As soon as I thought I had a read on a character, they would switch or take a path I did not expect. For example, I thought a character might have one redeeming quality, and then they dast that idea completely. Another I see the signs of a Jedi falling and when I thek they are too far gone they surprise me.
One of the things I did not like about the Disney era Jedi is that I felt they were too watered down. Either is not powerful enough or too much power compared to the others. Also, I did not think they were great warriors. In the High Republic era, this makes a lot more sense as these Jedi have gone more than a couple generations without any real adversaries. Now, they are fighting a war on two fronts.
I like the conflict in these characters. It makes them interesting. I like the way these naive Jedi deal with relationships, their own feelings, their egos, actual combat not in a training setting, and the lure of the dark side. I also like the writing style of shorter chapters and giving all the characters time to shine or fall.
A great continuation of the series, the left me wanting more as soon as I finished it. On top of everything covered in this book, there are still so many more characters and things to explore, and something new unleashed. I am really enjoying the High Republic series. Not everyone survives, and not everyone dies.
I also like the serve of certain characters and situations. As soon as I thought I had a read on a character, they would switch or take a path I did not expect. For example, I thought a character might have one redeeming quality, and then they dast that idea completely. Another I see the signs of a Jedi falling and when I thek they are too far gone they surprise me.
One of the things I did not like about the Disney era Jedi is that I felt they were too watered down. Either is not powerful enough or too much power compared to the others. Also, I did not think they were great warriors. In the High Republic era, this makes a lot more sense as these Jedi have gone more than a couple generations without any real adversaries. Now, they are fighting a war on two fronts.
I like the conflict in these characters. It makes them interesting. I like the way these naive Jedi deal with relationships, their own feelings, their egos, actual combat not in a training setting, and the lure of the dark side. I also like the writing style of shorter chapters and giving all the characters time to shine or fall.
A great continuation of the series, the left me wanting more as soon as I finished it. On top of everything covered in this book, there are still so many more characters and things to explore, and something new unleashed. I am really enjoying the High Republic series. Not everyone survives, and not everyone dies.
December 18, 2021
>>Sigh<< This ensemble style of storytelling isn't working for me. Every time you get interested in one of the characters or something begins to happen in one of these stories, the chapter ends and flips to another story. By the time we return to the character, I've forgotten the "cliffhanger" we were left with. Cavan Scott has also forgotten the cliffhanger in a lot of cases. Instead of picking up where we left off, the scene has already happened and we're left to figure out what happened while the pieces are being picked up. It's a storytelling device that saps any kind of excitement out of the story. Speaking of excitement. Nothing of note happens in the first 200 pages. Then we get to a major threat but by that time, I'd set the book down multiple times out of lack of interest.
These space pirates, the Nihil, should be fantastic villains. My problem is they keep getting written as zealots, performing kamikaze tactics and the like. It makes no sense. Pirates are driven by money and power. They wouldn't repeatedly sacrifice themselves to kill more people. Their leader, Marchion Ro, was interesting in Light of the Jedi. Here though he's on the search for all these artifacts for some reason. Scott should have done a better job of revealing his motivations if not his overall plan. He's just out there doing random things for, I guess, nefarious purposes. He finds some device called the Leveler, which follows the HP Lovecraft school of eldritch power. It's all unexplained horror so horrific it can't be described. Since Scott can't seen to be bothered to describe it, I can't be bothered to care. So far, the High Republic era of Star Wars seems to just be an extension of the Prequels instead of anything unique or new.
These space pirates, the Nihil, should be fantastic villains. My problem is they keep getting written as zealots, performing kamikaze tactics and the like. It makes no sense. Pirates are driven by money and power. They wouldn't repeatedly sacrifice themselves to kill more people. Their leader, Marchion Ro, was interesting in Light of the Jedi. Here though he's on the search for all these artifacts for some reason. Scott should have done a better job of revealing his motivations if not his overall plan. He's just out there doing random things for, I guess, nefarious purposes. He finds some device called the Leveler, which follows the HP Lovecraft school of eldritch power. It's all unexplained horror so horrific it can't be described. Since Scott can't seen to be bothered to describe it, I can't be bothered to care. So far, the High Republic era of Star Wars seems to just be an extension of the Prequels instead of anything unique or new.
July 22, 2021
4.75 stars.
This was such an amazing continuation to what is quickly becoming my favorite time in the Star Wars canon timeline. If I had to describe it in one word I would say intense is the best one for the job.
Light of the Jedi was, without a doubt, my favorite Star Wars book to date, following those footsteps was a steep hill to climb for The Rising Storm but I can honestly say that this book blew my mind and surpassed any expectations that I had for it, and those were already quite exuberant, to begin with.
With a fast-paced, engaging, and action-packed narrative there is really not a moment wasted where I could have grown bored. And the many twists and turns it took just made me gasp and reel with excitement at any opportunity.
Cavan Scott made nothing but a magnificent job at following and increasing the tension of this massive story we're being told.
One of the things that is simply necessary to know when entering The High Republic era is how everything that is being published over it counts towards the overall plot. That is made very plain on this book.
So far, we have been following three books and two comic series and all of them play some part in the final showdown that we have here. From brief cameos to supplying vital pieces of information of what is happening elsewhere or the direct situations that lead to the current event, all of it enriching and contextualizing the story and making it feel exactly how a Star Wars story should feel, big and all-encompassing.
It is so incredibly satisfying to be able to see all these little things contributing to making everything so much complete and way more frightening. Star Wars is supposed to be filled with the unknown but also with so many connections and I truly believe that this new era we are getting to explore presents to us the best of this wonderful galaxy.
The pacing of this book was just magnificent. There was not a moment where I wasn't hanging from a thread and just absolutely hooked to every page.
From the very beginning, it is clear that we are gonna have an intense ride ahead of us. No, actually, from the epilogue of the previous book we can see this. It did not disappoint. Though the first 50% of the book may have felt like more of a build-up we get so much information and inner tensions running wild that the moment everything explodes, well, it explodes and doesn't pull any punches.
It's intense in its very own way and I had my hackles so raised that I could barely contain the anxiety I was feeling. But it was also intriguing and putting the emotional foundation over which we were gonna work.
The second half of the book, nearly to the exact measure, was just in an atomic level of intensity that can surely not be good for anyone's health.
One thing happening after the other. One thing unraveling after the next. One pay-off after the last pay-off. It all condensed so well that finding a good stopping point for the most basic of things was a toll-order.
Accounting for all the unexpected things that happened through it all is a lost cause and one I will not even attempt for the exercise in futility it is. Even when I could predict some of the things that were gonna occur they all did it in the most unexpected of ways and going to levels I was not expecting that I can safely say I was not ready for it.
The stakes were high, to begin with, and this book has accomplished bringing them to a whole new level to the point I almost think it is unfair for the next books in the collection.
The characters are just as lovable, complicated, well-fleshed-out, and iconic as I remembered them to be and squeezed my heart many, many times.
One thing I do want to complain about right from the get-go is the unforgivable absence of Avar Kriss in this book. I'm starting to believe that something truly terrifying will need to transpire before we are able to see the Three Firebrands together for the first time. A thought that excites me and saddens me in equal measures.
Still, having the rest of the cast was a good enough compensation. Especially when dealing with the mess that the galaxy is right now and how it affects them all, in particular, is such an interesting thing to see.
There's no doubt that Elzar Mann is one of my favorite characters. His unconventionality is delightful - even as much as many of this time's Jedi are as well - and accompanying him in his journey was both fun and distressing.
I was not expecting Stellan Gios to be so much fun and a character that I enjoyed so much, yet I find myself not at all surprised either. His pompousness and love for teaching were truly endearing and reminded me somewhat of Obi-Wan, which is really the fastest way to my heart.
Bell Zetiffar burrow his way into my heart and had Ember seared it close. His arc is one of my favorites from the whole book and I'm sure it will be quite something to continue to see him mature into a full Jedi.
Honestly, there are so many characters that I loved that if I even tried to mention them all I would never finish. Let it be enough to say that I did not feel disinterest for even one of them, even when they made me mad and disgusted - the Nihil - with their actions seeing their reasoning/scheming made it worth it.
With all the very physical action going on and the cool Jedi saving and adventuring we have it's somewhat easy to overlook one of my top favorite things about this book, and that is: the politicking.
The Republic as a whole is a huge and very central part of, well, The High REPUBLIC era. We need to be able to see the other things that made this golden era so important and marvelous and Lina Soh and her great works play an all too important part in it.
From the moment we meet her I was fascinated by this strong-willed, resourceful, and ambitious woman that rules will her kindness and ironclad resolution. We get to see so much more of that. We get to experience so much more of her. And it is simply glorious.
Not only is the Chancellor quite the formidable woman but the affairs dealt with in the Senate as a whole - that can easily be corrupted or veered off course - were incredibly intriguing and thought-inducing.
Having more than one side to a story is easily conducive to having more nuanced and contradicting ideas that can really enrich any given party. Even more, I was fascinated by the dynamics it created.
Embracing the politicking we have another side of it, the ideological side. One just as enrapturing and intriguing and one that really delivered. It was just fascinating to finally get some answers as to the position of the Jedi Order over subjects such as love and attachment and seeing how they diverged and compared to the ones we are all familiar with.
All of it made for much more of a compelling and fuller story that consists of more than the simple thrill of battle or adrenaline from danger.
Last but not least, I really like how each book seems to have a simple but very well-defined motto. On Light of the Jedi we had For Light and Life; it really resonates with everything that is happening and it is extremely easy to remember. Now we have The Spirit of Unity, which is very inspiring and hopeful.
It really is all the little details and simple things that make a story shine hard.
Like all the downright scandalous things that delighted my soul to no end. Or the beautiful writing that managed to capture every single emotion in few, concise words. Or the ending that left me even more shocked and confused than the previous one had managed.
All of it made The Rising Storm a simply fantastic book that I wish I could re-read without memories of already having done so just so I could experience it all over again for the first time.
________________
I am not okay. I repeat, I am not okay.
That ending blew my mind. After a super intense book that was just the perfect way to end it all... I'm obsessed with The High Republic era.
The review may take a while because I have both, tons of things to say and too many entangled feelings.
RTC
________________
I'm so anxious to read this continuation!
With all the content that we have been getting both from the previous arc of books and the comics, we have gotten such a good situation for all the events that are to take place now. Things are tense and eerie and finally taking shape.
That combined with the loose ends that we were left over with from the first wave of books and we have a lot of things happening at once in this one. I'm ready to feel despair and overwhelming sadness.
“The Spirit of Unity.”
This was such an amazing continuation to what is quickly becoming my favorite time in the Star Wars canon timeline. If I had to describe it in one word I would say intense is the best one for the job.
Light of the Jedi was, without a doubt, my favorite Star Wars book to date, following those footsteps was a steep hill to climb for The Rising Storm but I can honestly say that this book blew my mind and surpassed any expectations that I had for it, and those were already quite exuberant, to begin with.
With a fast-paced, engaging, and action-packed narrative there is really not a moment wasted where I could have grown bored. And the many twists and turns it took just made me gasp and reel with excitement at any opportunity.
Cavan Scott made nothing but a magnificent job at following and increasing the tension of this massive story we're being told.
“But know this; the one thing we will not do, that we will never do, is live in fear of something that might happen with no discernible evidence that it will happen. If we did, if we halted our plans even for a second, then the Nihil or the Drengir or anyone else who conspires to disrupt our way of life would win without even firing a shot.”
One of the things that is simply necessary to know when entering The High Republic era is how everything that is being published over it counts towards the overall plot. That is made very plain on this book.
So far, we have been following three books and two comic series and all of them play some part in the final showdown that we have here. From brief cameos to supplying vital pieces of information of what is happening elsewhere or the direct situations that lead to the current event, all of it enriching and contextualizing the story and making it feel exactly how a Star Wars story should feel, big and all-encompassing.
It is so incredibly satisfying to be able to see all these little things contributing to making everything so much complete and way more frightening. Star Wars is supposed to be filled with the unknown but also with so many connections and I truly believe that this new era we are getting to explore presents to us the best of this wonderful galaxy.
“The screams were louder than ever. Harsher than ever. And his scream was loudest of all.”
“If he could, if the anguish and the misery didn’t cut him to the quick, then what kind of Jedi would he be?”
The pacing of this book was just magnificent. There was not a moment where I wasn't hanging from a thread and just absolutely hooked to every page.
From the very beginning, it is clear that we are gonna have an intense ride ahead of us. No, actually, from the epilogue of the previous book we can see this. It did not disappoint. Though the first 50% of the book may have felt like more of a build-up we get so much information and inner tensions running wild that the moment everything explodes, well, it explodes and doesn't pull any punches.
It's intense in its very own way and I had my hackles so raised that I could barely contain the anxiety I was feeling. But it was also intriguing and putting the emotional foundation over which we were gonna work.
The second half of the book, nearly to the exact measure, was just in an atomic level of intensity that can surely not be good for anyone's health.
One thing happening after the other. One thing unraveling after the next. One pay-off after the last pay-off. It all condensed so well that finding a good stopping point for the most basic of things was a toll-order.
Accounting for all the unexpected things that happened through it all is a lost cause and one I will not even attempt for the exercise in futility it is. Even when I could predict some of the things that were gonna occur they all did it in the most unexpected of ways and going to levels I was not expecting that I can safely say I was not ready for it.
The stakes were high, to begin with, and this book has accomplished bringing them to a whole new level to the point I almost think it is unfair for the next books in the collection.
“Stellan, Avar, and Elzar. Three Padawans, three Masters, and yet kindred spirits. Always seeking one another out the moment they returned from missions, so different and yet so alike. One bound by tradition, one by duty, and the other… well… Elzar knew his faults. He was always driven to push the boundaries and try new things… things that usually ended with all three getting in trouble. Together. Always together.”
The characters are just as lovable, complicated, well-fleshed-out, and iconic as I remembered them to be and squeezed my heart many, many times.
One thing I do want to complain about right from the get-go is the unforgivable absence of Avar Kriss in this book. I'm starting to believe that something truly terrifying will need to transpire before we are able to see the Three Firebrands together for the first time. A thought that excites me and saddens me in equal measures.
Still, having the rest of the cast was a good enough compensation. Especially when dealing with the mess that the galaxy is right now and how it affects them all, in particular, is such an interesting thing to see.
There's no doubt that Elzar Mann is one of my favorite characters. His unconventionality is delightful - even as much as many of this time's Jedi are as well - and accompanying him in his journey was both fun and distressing.
I was not expecting Stellan Gios to be so much fun and a character that I enjoyed so much, yet I find myself not at all surprised either. His pompousness and love for teaching were truly endearing and reminded me somewhat of Obi-Wan, which is really the fastest way to my heart.
Bell Zetiffar burrow his way into my heart and had Ember seared it close. His arc is one of my favorites from the whole book and I'm sure it will be quite something to continue to see him mature into a full Jedi.
Honestly, there are so many characters that I loved that if I even tried to mention them all I would never finish. Let it be enough to say that I did not feel disinterest for even one of them, even when they made me mad and disgusted - the Nihil - with their actions seeing their reasoning/scheming made it worth it.
“We are one, we are many. We are me, we are you. So much joy, so much love. So much peace, it is true. From distant worlds, distant planets. We stand together and sing. The future’s bright and united. Let the galaxy ring.”
With all the very physical action going on and the cool Jedi saving and adventuring we have it's somewhat easy to overlook one of my top favorite things about this book, and that is: the politicking.
The Republic as a whole is a huge and very central part of, well, The High REPUBLIC era. We need to be able to see the other things that made this golden era so important and marvelous and Lina Soh and her great works play an all too important part in it.
From the moment we meet her I was fascinated by this strong-willed, resourceful, and ambitious woman that rules will her kindness and ironclad resolution. We get to see so much more of that. We get to experience so much more of her. And it is simply glorious.
Not only is the Chancellor quite the formidable woman but the affairs dealt with in the Senate as a whole - that can easily be corrupted or veered off course - were incredibly intriguing and thought-inducing.
Having more than one side to a story is easily conducive to having more nuanced and contradicting ideas that can really enrich any given party. Even more, I was fascinated by the dynamics it created.
Embracing the politicking we have another side of it, the ideological side. One just as enrapturing and intriguing and one that really delivered. It was just fascinating to finally get some answers as to the position of the Jedi Order over subjects such as love and attachment and seeing how they diverged and compared to the ones we are all familiar with.
All of it made for much more of a compelling and fuller story that consists of more than the simple thrill of battle or adrenaline from danger.
“That is why you should fear them, his father whispered in his ear. They are indomitable. They are unstoppable.”
Last but not least, I really like how each book seems to have a simple but very well-defined motto. On Light of the Jedi we had For Light and Life; it really resonates with everything that is happening and it is extremely easy to remember. Now we have The Spirit of Unity, which is very inspiring and hopeful.
It really is all the little details and simple things that make a story shine hard.
Like all the downright scandalous things that delighted my soul to no end. Or the beautiful writing that managed to capture every single emotion in few, concise words. Or the ending that left me even more shocked and confused than the previous one had managed.
All of it made The Rising Storm a simply fantastic book that I wish I could re-read without memories of already having done so just so I could experience it all over again for the first time.
“While Rana Kant would have been the first to remind him that a Jedi thought only of the present, Stellan saw nothing wrong in acknowledging the promise of a bright future. It gave hope, and hope fueled the Force.”
________________
I am not okay. I repeat, I am not okay.
That ending blew my mind. After a super intense book that was just the perfect way to end it all... I'm obsessed with The High Republic era.
The review may take a while because I have both, tons of things to say and too many entangled feelings.
RTC
________________
I'm so anxious to read this continuation!
With all the content that we have been getting both from the previous arc of books and the comics, we have gotten such a good situation for all the events that are to take place now. Things are tense and eerie and finally taking shape.
That combined with the loose ends that we were left over with from the first wave of books and we have a lot of things happening at once in this one. I'm ready to feel despair and overwhelming sadness.
May 13, 2022
Long ago in a franchise that seems to have become increasingly diluted … So, ‘The High Republic’ is a massive new Disney multimedia project that includes novels like this one, as well as comics and other books aimed specifically at a YA audience. (It follows Disney’s controversial decision to rebrand the ‘Expanded Universe’ as ‘Legends’, divorcing it from ‘true’ Canon. And there you thought the Skywalker family tree was complicated.)
The ‘High Republic’ is a sub-era of the Age of the Republic. To give it context, we are looking at 200 years prior to the Star Wars films. And 800 years after the fall of the ‘Old Republic’. I assume the idea was to have a clean slate in which to tell new stories. Or new versions of the old stories. What a great pity then that the first two books have focused largely on pitting the Jedi against a decidedly underwhelming enemy, a sort of binary ‘good vs. evil’ morality tale.
‘Light of the Jedi’ (2021) by Charles Soule kicked off the sequence of adult novels by focusing on an event known as The Great Disaster, triggered by the Nihil, an avowed enemy best described as … ‘space Vikings!’ Yup, that is a good indication of the amount of originality here.
‘The Rising Storm’ by Cavan Scott focuses on the Republic Fair, a Star Wars version of the 1964 New York World’s Fair on the Jedi outpost of Valo. It is orchestrated by Chancellor Lina Soh as a demonstration of solidarity across the diverse planets and inhabitants of the flourishing High Republic. Which I was astonished to learn even has a planned fleet of science vessels to “explore and map previously uncharted areas of space…”
Chancellor Soh seems to be high on her own hubris though and has clearly forgotten the events of the previous novel, because lo and behold who pops out of hyperspace to rudely interrupt the Fair and blow everything up like a Michael Bay movie? You guessed it, the dastardly Nihil!
From that point on the book dissolves into a series of ‘by the number’ action set pieces that are sometimes hard to follow in terms of their physical reality, not to mention that the large cast of characters is fairly interchangeable.
I must say though that this is a far more cohesive book than its predecessor, with Scott trying his best to keep the Nihil in the background and focus on the wonders of the High Republic itself. Which are many.
The ‘High Republic’ is a sub-era of the Age of the Republic. To give it context, we are looking at 200 years prior to the Star Wars films. And 800 years after the fall of the ‘Old Republic’. I assume the idea was to have a clean slate in which to tell new stories. Or new versions of the old stories. What a great pity then that the first two books have focused largely on pitting the Jedi against a decidedly underwhelming enemy, a sort of binary ‘good vs. evil’ morality tale.
‘Light of the Jedi’ (2021) by Charles Soule kicked off the sequence of adult novels by focusing on an event known as The Great Disaster, triggered by the Nihil, an avowed enemy best described as … ‘space Vikings!’ Yup, that is a good indication of the amount of originality here.
‘The Rising Storm’ by Cavan Scott focuses on the Republic Fair, a Star Wars version of the 1964 New York World’s Fair on the Jedi outpost of Valo. It is orchestrated by Chancellor Lina Soh as a demonstration of solidarity across the diverse planets and inhabitants of the flourishing High Republic. Which I was astonished to learn even has a planned fleet of science vessels to “explore and map previously uncharted areas of space…”
Chancellor Soh seems to be high on her own hubris though and has clearly forgotten the events of the previous novel, because lo and behold who pops out of hyperspace to rudely interrupt the Fair and blow everything up like a Michael Bay movie? You guessed it, the dastardly Nihil!
From that point on the book dissolves into a series of ‘by the number’ action set pieces that are sometimes hard to follow in terms of their physical reality, not to mention that the large cast of characters is fairly interchangeable.
I must say though that this is a far more cohesive book than its predecessor, with Scott trying his best to keep the Nihil in the background and focus on the wonders of the High Republic itself. Which are many.
November 26, 2025
Cavan Scott’s “The Rising Storm” is the follow-up to Charles Soule’s “Light of the Jedi”, the underwhelming first novel in the High Republic series, Disney/Lucasfilm’s answer to the question, “What the hell do we do now, after “Rise of Skywalker”?”
“The Rising Storm” is slightly better than the first novel, which is, sadly, not saying too much. Don’t get me wrong: I was still entertained by the book. It kept me engaged, at least.
One of the problems, I figured out, is that everyone involved in the High Republic experience—-from writers, artists, publishers, up to the ones in charge of footing the bill (the producers)—-has made a conscious effort to not become like the Star Wars Expanded Universe (SWEU) “old canon” series, where continuity wasn’t always followed to a “t”.
Elzar Mann, one of the dozen or so characters that I don't care about
Now, I loved the old canon, but I understand that, occasionally, storylines didn’t always mesh up. This was partly because some of the prequels hadn’t come out yet. It was also because teams of writers were working on novel series, and they didn’t always confer with the teams of writers working on the comic books or the video games. Hence, lack of continuity. Hence, problems.
Adhering to an extremely strict continuity, however, engenders its own problems. Hence, “The Rising Storm”.
One of the problems is that not everybody who reads novels reads graphic novels, and vice versa. And this novel requires readers to understand not only what happened in the last novel but also what happened in the concurrent graphic novel series. Thankfully, I have read the comic book series of The High Republic, an excellent series and one that I recommend highly.
But when references are made to storylines that are happening concurrently and from sources that readers may not even want to bother with, confusion arises.
I never had this problem with the old canon. I understood that a whole slew of stuff was happening in the video game worlds of Star Wars, but it never affected me, because it never spilled over into the worlds of the novels. I also detest video games, so I knew that I was never going to play them. Likewise, the stuff going on in the comic books stayed within the world of the comic books, which was great since I didn’t really read comic books at that time either.
But it seems like this High Republic series is trying way too hard to be all-inclusive and multi-media, which may not appeal to all readers. Like me.
Then again, what the hell do I know? From a purely profit-motive business perspective, it’s probably brilliant. Because it basically forces readers to go out and gather all the books and comic books and YA novels and video games just in case they missed any references. Consume, you lemmings! Consume!
Maybe I’m just being a curmudgeon. (And a hypocrite. I am, after all, consuming as much as the next lemming.)
Anyway, here’s an actual review of the book: Scott does a decent job of balancing numerous (way too many, still, in my opinion) characters in numerous locations. In some ways, Scott does as decent a job as some of the writers of the SWEU (the late Aaron Allston comes to mind, an author who wrote some of my favorite old canon stuff), given that he is dealing with characters that still aren’t nearly as developed or established as they should be.
Logistically, Scott focuses on a few characters and tries to develop them further. I like Elzar Mann, a Jedi Knight who has “issues” with the Force, as well as personal hang-ups, one of which is that he’s a horndog. (OMG! Sex in Star Wars?) I also like Ty Yorrick, a former Jedi Padawan who got tired of the Jedi bullshit and became a rogue monster-hunter-for-hire.
Marchio Ro, one of the dumbest Star Wars villains ever
Scott’s attempts to develop Marchion Ro, the villain of the novel, fall flat, however. Probably not his fault, as I feel Ro is just a lame villain. I actually think the Nihil—-a disorganized band of multiple species working together as pirates and ne’er’do-wells—-is the lamest group of villains to ever be featured in Star Wars. They remind me too much of an attempt at the Pirates of the Caribbean in space. Disney already tried this. It was called “Treasure Planet”, and it kinda sucked.
Overall, though, despite my problems with the book, it had plenty of action and suspense, including light-saber duels and spaceship dogfights, which managed to check off some of my personal boxes.
“The Rising Storm” is slightly better than the first novel, which is, sadly, not saying too much. Don’t get me wrong: I was still entertained by the book. It kept me engaged, at least.
One of the problems, I figured out, is that everyone involved in the High Republic experience—-from writers, artists, publishers, up to the ones in charge of footing the bill (the producers)—-has made a conscious effort to not become like the Star Wars Expanded Universe (SWEU) “old canon” series, where continuity wasn’t always followed to a “t”.
Elzar Mann, one of the dozen or so characters that I don't care about
Now, I loved the old canon, but I understand that, occasionally, storylines didn’t always mesh up. This was partly because some of the prequels hadn’t come out yet. It was also because teams of writers were working on novel series, and they didn’t always confer with the teams of writers working on the comic books or the video games. Hence, lack of continuity. Hence, problems.
Adhering to an extremely strict continuity, however, engenders its own problems. Hence, “The Rising Storm”.
One of the problems is that not everybody who reads novels reads graphic novels, and vice versa. And this novel requires readers to understand not only what happened in the last novel but also what happened in the concurrent graphic novel series. Thankfully, I have read the comic book series of The High Republic, an excellent series and one that I recommend highly.
But when references are made to storylines that are happening concurrently and from sources that readers may not even want to bother with, confusion arises.
I never had this problem with the old canon. I understood that a whole slew of stuff was happening in the video game worlds of Star Wars, but it never affected me, because it never spilled over into the worlds of the novels. I also detest video games, so I knew that I was never going to play them. Likewise, the stuff going on in the comic books stayed within the world of the comic books, which was great since I didn’t really read comic books at that time either.
But it seems like this High Republic series is trying way too hard to be all-inclusive and multi-media, which may not appeal to all readers. Like me.
Then again, what the hell do I know? From a purely profit-motive business perspective, it’s probably brilliant. Because it basically forces readers to go out and gather all the books and comic books and YA novels and video games just in case they missed any references. Consume, you lemmings! Consume!
Maybe I’m just being a curmudgeon. (And a hypocrite. I am, after all, consuming as much as the next lemming.)
Anyway, here’s an actual review of the book: Scott does a decent job of balancing numerous (way too many, still, in my opinion) characters in numerous locations. In some ways, Scott does as decent a job as some of the writers of the SWEU (the late Aaron Allston comes to mind, an author who wrote some of my favorite old canon stuff), given that he is dealing with characters that still aren’t nearly as developed or established as they should be.
Logistically, Scott focuses on a few characters and tries to develop them further. I like Elzar Mann, a Jedi Knight who has “issues” with the Force, as well as personal hang-ups, one of which is that he’s a horndog. (OMG! Sex in Star Wars?) I also like Ty Yorrick, a former Jedi Padawan who got tired of the Jedi bullshit and became a rogue monster-hunter-for-hire.
Marchio Ro, one of the dumbest Star Wars villains ever
Scott’s attempts to develop Marchion Ro, the villain of the novel, fall flat, however. Probably not his fault, as I feel Ro is just a lame villain. I actually think the Nihil—-a disorganized band of multiple species working together as pirates and ne’er’do-wells—-is the lamest group of villains to ever be featured in Star Wars. They remind me too much of an attempt at the Pirates of the Caribbean in space. Disney already tried this. It was called “Treasure Planet”, and it kinda sucked.
Overall, though, despite my problems with the book, it had plenty of action and suspense, including light-saber duels and spaceship dogfights, which managed to check off some of my personal boxes.
July 9, 2021
This is my 3rd High Republic book and my 3rd disappointment. Once again, the story seems like it could be pretty amazing in the hands of competent writers but that's not who they've chosen to write these books. Cavan Scott wrote this book like he was still writing a comic book, rife with phrases like "Meanwhile back on xyz..." and terrible onomatopoeia like "pew-pew."
This book is written with 200 pages of slow-paced, unnecessary setup followed by 200 pages of non-stop action that, for an admitted literary action fan, was still too much. Action only improves the pace for so long. After a while it all becomes white noise.
As for the characters... Sheesh. There are so damn many of them. Each is a different species. I felt like Scott was trying to set a record for most species in a Star Wars book. He does a terrible job of describing them, so unless you've got Wookieepedia open and ready or you've spent way too much time studying Star Wars minutia the reader is often left wondering what these characters look like and what characteristics they may have. When you're writing comics, you have someone drawing characters for you so you don't need to describe them. When you're writing fiction, it's kind of a must. There are so many characters in this book and so many points of view. It's a jumbled mess and there's not much character development. The story is told through the characters but for the life of me I don't know how anyone can connect to any of these characters or care about them too deeply.
There's a decent plot somewhere under all this mess. In the hands of a writer--a book author--instead of a multi-media writer who is probably concurrently working on different projects, this could have been something. The whole arc of the High Republic series could be something, but instead of bringing in good, proven authors, they seem to be trying to integrate everything and everybody and the result is this muddled hybrid comic/novel/script.
Plain and simple, this is an inexpertly written book. It's amateurish in places. It's lazy in others. It's affected in even other places.
The book ends on a roll, at least, but even that felt jumbled and done in a cursory manner. This book's blurb talks about the unleashing of a new evil. And it delivers. In the last 10 pages. The rest of the book is essentially about how dumb the Jedi are--time and time again leaving a foe, who is attacking a bunch of civilians, alive instead of killing them in battle and that coming back to hurt/harm/kill them. That felt like part of what could become an arc in a future book, changing who the Jedi are, but in a book that had no arc of it's own, it just felt stupid.
This book was a waste of time. I expect better of something with Star Wars on the cover and Lucasfilm Publishing has really dropped the ball on it's choice of writers, on producing a cohesive story, theme and style in these books and it might be the end of the line for me with this series.
I've always loved reading Star Wars books but this is just crap. It's a 1.5 star book for me and I do not recommend reading it.
This book is written with 200 pages of slow-paced, unnecessary setup followed by 200 pages of non-stop action that, for an admitted literary action fan, was still too much. Action only improves the pace for so long. After a while it all becomes white noise.
As for the characters... Sheesh. There are so damn many of them. Each is a different species. I felt like Scott was trying to set a record for most species in a Star Wars book. He does a terrible job of describing them, so unless you've got Wookieepedia open and ready or you've spent way too much time studying Star Wars minutia the reader is often left wondering what these characters look like and what characteristics they may have. When you're writing comics, you have someone drawing characters for you so you don't need to describe them. When you're writing fiction, it's kind of a must. There are so many characters in this book and so many points of view. It's a jumbled mess and there's not much character development. The story is told through the characters but for the life of me I don't know how anyone can connect to any of these characters or care about them too deeply.
There's a decent plot somewhere under all this mess. In the hands of a writer--a book author--instead of a multi-media writer who is probably concurrently working on different projects, this could have been something. The whole arc of the High Republic series could be something, but instead of bringing in good, proven authors, they seem to be trying to integrate everything and everybody and the result is this muddled hybrid comic/novel/script.
Plain and simple, this is an inexpertly written book. It's amateurish in places. It's lazy in others. It's affected in even other places.
The book ends on a roll, at least, but even that felt jumbled and done in a cursory manner. This book's blurb talks about the unleashing of a new evil. And it delivers. In the last 10 pages. The rest of the book is essentially about how dumb the Jedi are--time and time again leaving a foe, who is attacking a bunch of civilians, alive instead of killing them in battle and that coming back to hurt/harm/kill them. That felt like part of what could become an arc in a future book, changing who the Jedi are, but in a book that had no arc of it's own, it just felt stupid.
This book was a waste of time. I expect better of something with Star Wars on the cover and Lucasfilm Publishing has really dropped the ball on it's choice of writers, on producing a cohesive story, theme and style in these books and it might be the end of the line for me with this series.
I've always loved reading Star Wars books but this is just crap. It's a 1.5 star book for me and I do not recommend reading it.
June 28, 2021
FULL REVIEW: https://www.friendsoftheforcepod.com/...
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The Rising Storm clocks in at about 450 pages, but that’s nothing to be intimidated about. The book itself is compelling and a page-turner. Just when things are getting exciting (aka: bad for our heroes), they somehow get even more exciting (aka: worse for our heroes) and you have no choice but to read on! Yet, even when we aren’t in battle, this book is still a thrill ride. I personally adored the politics in this book and hearing how the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace Disaster affected perceptions of the Republic and Chancellor Soh. I also enjoyed getting to know some of these characters better and learn more about their relationships with their friends and peers.
The standouts in this book are the relationships between characters. Without getting into spoilers, the constantly shifting dynamics between Marchion Ro and his Tempest Runners is wild to watch play out. Getting more Padawan Bell Zettifar and his charhound Ember is absolute perfection. The rapport between my personal favorites Stellan Gios and Elzar Mann is a delight. Speaking of Elzar Mann, his relationship with everyone and everything is fascinating to watch unfold, without a doubt providing me with some of my favorite moments in this book. I hope we get to see more of this interpersonal character exploration in future installments, now that we’ve been introduced to such a strong host of Jedi in this era. They are original and fun to watch!
For those that struggled with the scope and breadth of characters in Light of the Jedi, I’m not sure you’ll have an easier time in this installment. While Scott’s writing feels less choppy than the heavy-on-the-details world building of Light of the Jedi, the book still bounces from many points of view and characters, especially during our big battle. While I enjoy the cinematic scope of this era of Star Wars and find following many characters a gift (it’s like Christmas but for the whole book!), even I have struggled to keep up with the settings and figuring out where we’re hopping to during particularly intense sequences. I hope this is something that The High Republic will continue to refine, and I hope that we will get some smaller stories for adult audiences too.
Ultimately, The Rising Storm is a thrilling second installment in the adult offerings of The High Republic. It completely surpassed my high expectations, shocking me more than a few times. It has emotional highs, emotional lows, and provides the same level of excitement and enjoyment that you’d expect from your favorite Star Wars movie. It has set us up for even greater stories, and I applaud author Cavan Scott and the whole High Republic team for making me even more worried than before.
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The Rising Storm clocks in at about 450 pages, but that’s nothing to be intimidated about. The book itself is compelling and a page-turner. Just when things are getting exciting (aka: bad for our heroes), they somehow get even more exciting (aka: worse for our heroes) and you have no choice but to read on! Yet, even when we aren’t in battle, this book is still a thrill ride. I personally adored the politics in this book and hearing how the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace Disaster affected perceptions of the Republic and Chancellor Soh. I also enjoyed getting to know some of these characters better and learn more about their relationships with their friends and peers.
The standouts in this book are the relationships between characters. Without getting into spoilers, the constantly shifting dynamics between Marchion Ro and his Tempest Runners is wild to watch play out. Getting more Padawan Bell Zettifar and his charhound Ember is absolute perfection. The rapport between my personal favorites Stellan Gios and Elzar Mann is a delight. Speaking of Elzar Mann, his relationship with everyone and everything is fascinating to watch unfold, without a doubt providing me with some of my favorite moments in this book. I hope we get to see more of this interpersonal character exploration in future installments, now that we’ve been introduced to such a strong host of Jedi in this era. They are original and fun to watch!
For those that struggled with the scope and breadth of characters in Light of the Jedi, I’m not sure you’ll have an easier time in this installment. While Scott’s writing feels less choppy than the heavy-on-the-details world building of Light of the Jedi, the book still bounces from many points of view and characters, especially during our big battle. While I enjoy the cinematic scope of this era of Star Wars and find following many characters a gift (it’s like Christmas but for the whole book!), even I have struggled to keep up with the settings and figuring out where we’re hopping to during particularly intense sequences. I hope this is something that The High Republic will continue to refine, and I hope that we will get some smaller stories for adult audiences too.
Ultimately, The Rising Storm is a thrilling second installment in the adult offerings of The High Republic. It completely surpassed my high expectations, shocking me more than a few times. It has emotional highs, emotional lows, and provides the same level of excitement and enjoyment that you’d expect from your favorite Star Wars movie. It has set us up for even greater stories, and I applaud author Cavan Scott and the whole High Republic team for making me even more worried than before.
November 17, 2021
This book is part of a series. It can be read as a stand alone but you would be better off reading the whole series in order. In this one, there is a huge fair being held in which different worlds are participating. The Nihil attack this fair and battle the Jedi.
I am disappointed in the "High Republic" series as each book is repeating the same mistakes. There is absolutely no connection to the characters. Once again I was reading a book that I could not tell you anything specific about the characters. In a universe where we have a huge amount of diverse species I cannot tell you which species each character was in this book. The characters are not fleshed out at all. When tragedy or something personal happens to them it does not hit home. I attribute this problem to the large ensemble cast. It is like watching a show with a huge cast (I am looking at you The Walking Dead) and you don't visit a personal character for weeks. All the momentum is lost. That is how I feel about this book and series. The only thing that saved this book was the confrontation between the Jedi and the Nihil. Actually, the Nihil are fleshed out more than the Jedi and I enjoy them.
The protagonists in this book are bland and basically unknown. I cannot enjoy a book where I am not connected to the characters and that is what happened in this book. I do have a theory that individual characters are not being fleshed out as we are meant to view the Jedi as a whole. The problem is that this comes across like a cult. I am just not feeling this book and this series overall.
I am disappointed in the "High Republic" series as each book is repeating the same mistakes. There is absolutely no connection to the characters. Once again I was reading a book that I could not tell you anything specific about the characters. In a universe where we have a huge amount of diverse species I cannot tell you which species each character was in this book. The characters are not fleshed out at all. When tragedy or something personal happens to them it does not hit home. I attribute this problem to the large ensemble cast. It is like watching a show with a huge cast (I am looking at you The Walking Dead) and you don't visit a personal character for weeks. All the momentum is lost. That is how I feel about this book and series. The only thing that saved this book was the confrontation between the Jedi and the Nihil. Actually, the Nihil are fleshed out more than the Jedi and I enjoy them.
The protagonists in this book are bland and basically unknown. I cannot enjoy a book where I am not connected to the characters and that is what happened in this book. I do have a theory that individual characters are not being fleshed out as we are meant to view the Jedi as a whole. The problem is that this comes across like a cult. I am just not feeling this book and this series overall.
July 6, 2021
One part High Space Opera Adventure, one part creeping horror, and one part character study of a number of key Jedi central to the events herein depicted Cavan Scott hits an indisputable homerun in his debut Star Wars prose novel after achieving notable success previously in the realm of comics set in the Galaxy far, far away.
"For Light and Life!"
This book kicks off Phase Two of the High Republic publishing line/era, so it does some heavy lifting of scene setting and did not quite blow the doors off like Light of the Jedi, but it comes closer than anything else I've read in this initiative up to now.
Chancellor Soh's Targons aren't intimidating at all, I'm sure...
Definitely looking forward to reading Scott's next novel(s) set in this period, plus getting my hands on Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1: There Is No Fear so I can check out his comics run as well.
"For Light and Life!"
This book kicks off Phase Two of the High Republic publishing line/era, so it does some heavy lifting of scene setting and did not quite blow the doors off like Light of the Jedi, but it comes closer than anything else I've read in this initiative up to now.
Chancellor Soh's Targons aren't intimidating at all, I'm sure...
Definitely looking forward to reading Scott's next novel(s) set in this period, plus getting my hands on Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1: There Is No Fear so I can check out his comics run as well.
May 26, 2021
Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm was written by Cavan Scott. Scott has written several Star Wars stories such as the audio-drama script for Dooku: Jedi Lost, comics, and young reader books.
SUMMARY: Marchion Ro, The Eye of the Nihil, demands that the raiders stay hidden in the shadows to ease the tension in the galaxy before making their next move. Since the events of the first High Republic novel, Light of the Jedi, the Republic and the Jedi have been on the lookout for the vile group. Although the galaxy is still recovering from the damage the Nihil have caused, the Chancellor has prepared a Republic Fair on the world of Valo, to celebrate the Republic and its cultures.
This story is gripping from page one! Just... wow!
Tension stirs within the Nihil! The raiders are anxious to get back to work, to emerge from the shadows to pillage and kill. Marchion Ro eases the tension by ordering the Nihil to crash the Republic Fair. This is their time to strike, to spread the storm over Valo, to bring destruction and death!
CHARACTERS: The High Republic characters continue to impress! Here's a breakdown of a few before getting to my overall thoughts.
Bell Zettifar, the former Padawan of Loden Greatstorm, struggles to accept the loss of his old master. Loden had told Bell that he was ready for the Jedi trials, to rise up from Padawan to Knight. However, Bell feels he isn't ready. He has remained a Padawan, under Master Indeera. Indeera also believes Bell is ready for the trials, but Bell feels so empty, a piece of him is missing. In this novel, Bell attempts to overcome his fears, to reconnect and trust the Force.
Tia Toon, the Sullustan Republic senator, is an annoyance to Chancellor Soh. He is dead set on the creation of a Republic Defense Force Program, and any time he has the opportunity to speak his mind to the chancellor and challenge her decisions and actions, he does. While the Chancellor and some of the Jedi find his tactics annoying and rude, Toon certainly proves valid points. While billions have died throughout the galaxy and planets work to rebuild their cities, Toon is furious that the Chancellor would rather fund a giant party with the Republic Fair, than establish a defense program that could potentially prevent the galaxy from suffering at the hand of the Nihil.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Canan Scott, well done sir! This book knocked me off my feet! The Rising Storm is a sequel to Light of the Jedi and ties in with other High Republic material such as Young Adult novels, Junior Reader books, and comics. I highly recommend that you read that other material from the first wave of The High Republic before diving into this book.
I seriously did not want to put The Rising Storm down! Each chapter kept building up tension, mystery, or awesome revelations were spilled. A real page turner for sure! The Rising Storm seriously has one of the greatest openers to a Star Wars book to date!
Star Wars politics is a touchy subject for some... but really, what part of Star Wars do folks not complain about? The politics were handled wonderfully! I love how it was a recurring theme in the book. The Republic is under the leadership of Chancellor Soh, some like that, others don't. The conflict taking place between members of the Republic Senate was just as tense as all the other action and drama taking place throughout the story.
Scott handles each character so well. It really feels like I've been reading about most of these characters for a long period of time now, knowing their traits and how they'll react. In my opinion, that is excellent character development. The dialogue is fantastic as well! The relationships between characters are mostly great, I do have a few issues with a few, which felt a bit unnatural and awkward. However the friendship and banter between Elzar Mann and Stellan Gios is absolutely fantastic.
Honestly, I do have a few issues with the story. I mentioned some of the relationships felt odd, but the other issue I have, is that some teases at the end of a chapter really didn't pay off in the next or following chapter(s).
The plot of the story is great, yet extremely dark. The book is loaded with destruction and death. Scott explores new areas of the Force and how the Jedi can manipulate it for the greater good, and also abuse it. The Nihil are disgusting, geocidal maniacs. Yet, Scott creates a unique power struggle within the group that somehow leaves you routing for one of the villains in a strange twisted way. I really enjoyed The Rising Storm. The plot was driven forward by familiar characters while many new characters are also introduced.
RATING: I give Star Wars: The Rising Strom, an A!
SUMMARY: Marchion Ro, The Eye of the Nihil, demands that the raiders stay hidden in the shadows to ease the tension in the galaxy before making their next move. Since the events of the first High Republic novel, Light of the Jedi, the Republic and the Jedi have been on the lookout for the vile group. Although the galaxy is still recovering from the damage the Nihil have caused, the Chancellor has prepared a Republic Fair on the world of Valo, to celebrate the Republic and its cultures.
This story is gripping from page one! Just... wow!
Tension stirs within the Nihil! The raiders are anxious to get back to work, to emerge from the shadows to pillage and kill. Marchion Ro eases the tension by ordering the Nihil to crash the Republic Fair. This is their time to strike, to spread the storm over Valo, to bring destruction and death!
CHARACTERS: The High Republic characters continue to impress! Here's a breakdown of a few before getting to my overall thoughts.
Bell Zettifar, the former Padawan of Loden Greatstorm, struggles to accept the loss of his old master. Loden had told Bell that he was ready for the Jedi trials, to rise up from Padawan to Knight. However, Bell feels he isn't ready. He has remained a Padawan, under Master Indeera. Indeera also believes Bell is ready for the trials, but Bell feels so empty, a piece of him is missing. In this novel, Bell attempts to overcome his fears, to reconnect and trust the Force.
Tia Toon, the Sullustan Republic senator, is an annoyance to Chancellor Soh. He is dead set on the creation of a Republic Defense Force Program, and any time he has the opportunity to speak his mind to the chancellor and challenge her decisions and actions, he does. While the Chancellor and some of the Jedi find his tactics annoying and rude, Toon certainly proves valid points. While billions have died throughout the galaxy and planets work to rebuild their cities, Toon is furious that the Chancellor would rather fund a giant party with the Republic Fair, than establish a defense program that could potentially prevent the galaxy from suffering at the hand of the Nihil.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Canan Scott, well done sir! This book knocked me off my feet! The Rising Storm is a sequel to Light of the Jedi and ties in with other High Republic material such as Young Adult novels, Junior Reader books, and comics. I highly recommend that you read that other material from the first wave of The High Republic before diving into this book.
I seriously did not want to put The Rising Storm down! Each chapter kept building up tension, mystery, or awesome revelations were spilled. A real page turner for sure! The Rising Storm seriously has one of the greatest openers to a Star Wars book to date!
Star Wars politics is a touchy subject for some... but really, what part of Star Wars do folks not complain about? The politics were handled wonderfully! I love how it was a recurring theme in the book. The Republic is under the leadership of Chancellor Soh, some like that, others don't. The conflict taking place between members of the Republic Senate was just as tense as all the other action and drama taking place throughout the story.
Scott handles each character so well. It really feels like I've been reading about most of these characters for a long period of time now, knowing their traits and how they'll react. In my opinion, that is excellent character development. The dialogue is fantastic as well! The relationships between characters are mostly great, I do have a few issues with a few, which felt a bit unnatural and awkward. However the friendship and banter between Elzar Mann and Stellan Gios is absolutely fantastic.
Honestly, I do have a few issues with the story. I mentioned some of the relationships felt odd, but the other issue I have, is that some teases at the end of a chapter really didn't pay off in the next or following chapter(s).
The plot of the story is great, yet extremely dark. The book is loaded with destruction and death. Scott explores new areas of the Force and how the Jedi can manipulate it for the greater good, and also abuse it. The Nihil are disgusting, geocidal maniacs. Yet, Scott creates a unique power struggle within the group that somehow leaves you routing for one of the villains in a strange twisted way. I really enjoyed The Rising Storm. The plot was driven forward by familiar characters while many new characters are also introduced.
RATING: I give Star Wars: The Rising Strom, an A!
July 3, 2021
A disappointing sequel, not nearly as entertaining and compelling as the first High Republic novel. The plot, especially in the middle, drags on for way too long. Key characters from the previous novel are missing entirely, and the author's explanation for this is not entirely convincing (I get that these characters are featured in other stories published in this second wave, but their absence in Storm disrupts what should ideally be a cohesive narrative). None of the book's events move the story forward in any meaningful way. A clear case of all flash and no substance.
September 8, 2021
Ugh.
This is the kind of Star Wars book that drains all my enjoyment of Star Wars. It’s not a story—it’s a series of plot points that have to happen because everything must lead to the next book, and then the next one. The characters aren’t characters—they’re one-note cardboard cutouts. The main villain is a cruel, power-hungry man who wears a mask, has father issues, and wants to wipe out the Jedi. The High Republic era so far is not fulfilling its lofty PR promises of being a bold new era of storytelling, to say the least.
It turns out that the “golden age” of the Republic is pretty much the same as all other eras of Star Wars. The Republic is struggling with contentious factions, some of which appear to want to leave the Republic. The Jedi are despicable and arrogant, believing themselves invincible and above the law, and, it seems, are quickly being drawn into serving as the army of the Republic. Political leaders are laughably clueless. The average citizens of the Republic (and their interests and struggles) are invisible, in favor of showing us only the “one-percenters” at the very top of the power structure. It’s hard to imagine that any of the characters introduced so far in the High Republic books has ever even met a normal, average citizen of the Republic. Any characters who aren’t Force users are still super-intelligent or super-organized or super-strong.
As for the writing itself, my biggest annoyance with The Rising Storm is this pattern:
This book seems to be sponsored by Wookieepedia, because there is no way to remember what each species looks like without frequently looking away from the book and onto the screen for a hint. A whole book where in my mind I have this kind of running dialogue: “Is this the one who looks like Ahsoka? Or wait . . . is the one she’s fighting the same as that huge orange guy in Maz Kanata’s castle? And wasn’t there a Twi’lek somewhere? Were there two Twi’leks?” Sigh. And in the end, it’s all pointless anyway. You could easily just imagine all the characters as humans and it wouldn’t affect anything in the slightest.
At many points in this novel, Scott needed someone to step in and tell him, “No, please, you can’t do that.” I’m talking about moments like putting Disneyland in a Star Wars story, complete with a version of “It’s a Small World After All” (“We are one, we are many, / We are me, we are you, / So much joy, so much love, / So much peace, it is true.”). Moments like describing a ferocious beast in a cage, in such a way that we know exactly what’s going to happen later in the book, and then it does. Moments like direct quotes from the original trilogy (“It’s a trap” and “a presence he hadn’t felt since . . .”). Just: stop. Star Wars should be more than cutesy gimmicks and self-referencing.
Star Wars books make it so hard to like Star Wars books. I’ll read the two Vernestra Rwoh books, which people seem to regard as the best of the High Republic so far, and then I think I’m done with the High Republic. Mediocre Star Wars makes me sad.
This is the kind of Star Wars book that drains all my enjoyment of Star Wars. It’s not a story—it’s a series of plot points that have to happen because everything must lead to the next book, and then the next one. The characters aren’t characters—they’re one-note cardboard cutouts. The main villain is a cruel, power-hungry man who wears a mask, has father issues, and wants to wipe out the Jedi. The High Republic era so far is not fulfilling its lofty PR promises of being a bold new era of storytelling, to say the least.
It turns out that the “golden age” of the Republic is pretty much the same as all other eras of Star Wars. The Republic is struggling with contentious factions, some of which appear to want to leave the Republic. The Jedi are despicable and arrogant, believing themselves invincible and above the law, and, it seems, are quickly being drawn into serving as the army of the Republic. Political leaders are laughably clueless. The average citizens of the Republic (and their interests and struggles) are invisible, in favor of showing us only the “one-percenters” at the very top of the power structure. It’s hard to imagine that any of the characters introduced so far in the High Republic books has ever even met a normal, average citizen of the Republic. Any characters who aren’t Force users are still super-intelligent or super-organized or super-strong.
As for the writing itself, my biggest annoyance with The Rising Storm is this pattern:
[character] diesThis happens over and over and over in the novel—and with one character in particular, it happens so many times that I assume it must be intentionally comedic. There are only so many times a reader can invest in this “he died . . . but . . . here he is again!” routine, and by well before halfway through this book, Cavan Scott had spent all his currency. The entire novel felt like it was yanking me one way and then the other, repeatedly. It is lousy storytelling.
(2–3 chapters later . . .)
[character] is alive!!
(Repeat)
This book seems to be sponsored by Wookieepedia, because there is no way to remember what each species looks like without frequently looking away from the book and onto the screen for a hint. A whole book where in my mind I have this kind of running dialogue: “Is this the one who looks like Ahsoka? Or wait . . . is the one she’s fighting the same as that huge orange guy in Maz Kanata’s castle? And wasn’t there a Twi’lek somewhere? Were there two Twi’leks?” Sigh. And in the end, it’s all pointless anyway. You could easily just imagine all the characters as humans and it wouldn’t affect anything in the slightest.
At many points in this novel, Scott needed someone to step in and tell him, “No, please, you can’t do that.” I’m talking about moments like putting Disneyland in a Star Wars story, complete with a version of “It’s a Small World After All” (“We are one, we are many, / We are me, we are you, / So much joy, so much love, / So much peace, it is true.”). Moments like describing a ferocious beast in a cage, in such a way that we know exactly what’s going to happen later in the book, and then it does. Moments like direct quotes from the original trilogy (“It’s a trap” and “a presence he hadn’t felt since . . .”). Just: stop. Star Wars should be more than cutesy gimmicks and self-referencing.
Star Wars books make it so hard to like Star Wars books. I’ll read the two Vernestra Rwoh books, which people seem to regard as the best of the High Republic so far, and then I think I’m done with the High Republic. Mediocre Star Wars makes me sad.
June 30, 2021
After a wildly successful first wave of The High Republic stories, the expectations for the second wave, and particularly for its adult novel The Rising Storm, were very lofty. Not only did it meet these expectations, I think it exceeded them tenfold. Despite taking place about one year after the Great Disaster, this book doesn’t lose any momentum. After the first few chapters, I was instantly hooked. The stakes were still high, but not in an overly predictable way. We get answers to some lingering questions, but for every solved mystery another one seemed to take its place. Cavan Scott’s writing was phenomenal, leaving some pieces of knowledge for only the characters to be aware of and then shocking us with a culmination of smaller and seemingly inconsequential moments and conversations later on in the novel. This might just be my favorite Star Wars book of all time because of how it ties in to every other High Republic book and comic with phenomenal precision. You’re rewarded for diving deep into the era, and that’s the best feeling. Speaking of feelings, the cliffhanger at the end of the novel, while not surprising that Scott would choose to end it this way, was extremely intense and impactful. I desperately need to know what happens next, and I know whatever does come next will be just as epic as everything that came before.
July 15, 2021
Oh man…. Sorry for this one but I had to do it. I wish I could record my rant about this but I’m going to have to do a small summary.
1-does this dude normally write books? A good book you can picture characters, form worlds, and the imagination goes wild. The problem with this book (and frankly this series) is that there are 30+ characters, each different in species, what side they are on etc. i don’t know species? I honestly couldn’t tell you five of the main characters physical descriptions at all because it’s never given to us…? I don’t know who is who, the chapters flip between so many different perspectives, it’s hard to follow. There are also many different places that are not described… at all… you can’t just dump us into random worlds and random ships or fights and expect us all to be all knowing with the universe. who is who? Where are they?
(Side note I’m reading a YA series in a “different world” sci-fi type scenario and I could solidly paint you the main characters and locations within two chapters of starting… sooooo 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ DESCRIPTIONS PEOPLE)
2- what is ever going on you ask?? Who the hell knows?! Seriously, I restarted this one a couple times. I also frequently would reread a chapter thinking it would help but I could not take anything in at all. There was no catching storyline 🤷🏻♀️ also it was always changing between different stories (much like a movie would) but it takes a while to catch onto who’s story we are following at the time.
3-I find it discouraging when the wookiepedia helped me “read” the book more than the book did. Also having to look up what the characters even look like because I don’t know based on the authors descriptions…?
4- I don’t wanna be a Star Wars hater. I love Star Wars, but this whole new era of books has me very discouraged and disappointed in the fact that I bought them all 😬 can I return them all? I’m sorta regretting dipping my toe into this. Anyone wanna buy all the Star Wars books from me 😂😂😂😂
1-does this dude normally write books? A good book you can picture characters, form worlds, and the imagination goes wild. The problem with this book (and frankly this series) is that there are 30+ characters, each different in species, what side they are on etc. i don’t know species? I honestly couldn’t tell you five of the main characters physical descriptions at all because it’s never given to us…? I don’t know who is who, the chapters flip between so many different perspectives, it’s hard to follow. There are also many different places that are not described… at all… you can’t just dump us into random worlds and random ships or fights and expect us all to be all knowing with the universe. who is who? Where are they?
(Side note I’m reading a YA series in a “different world” sci-fi type scenario and I could solidly paint you the main characters and locations within two chapters of starting… sooooo 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ DESCRIPTIONS PEOPLE)
2- what is ever going on you ask?? Who the hell knows?! Seriously, I restarted this one a couple times. I also frequently would reread a chapter thinking it would help but I could not take anything in at all. There was no catching storyline 🤷🏻♀️ also it was always changing between different stories (much like a movie would) but it takes a while to catch onto who’s story we are following at the time.
3-I find it discouraging when the wookiepedia helped me “read” the book more than the book did. Also having to look up what the characters even look like because I don’t know based on the authors descriptions…?
4- I don’t wanna be a Star Wars hater. I love Star Wars, but this whole new era of books has me very discouraged and disappointed in the fact that I bought them all 😬 can I return them all? I’m sorta regretting dipping my toe into this. Anyone wanna buy all the Star Wars books from me 😂😂😂😂
October 25, 2023
this book didn't just hurt me, it took my heart, broke it in two, threw the pieces on the ground and trampled on them
Okay, let's be realistic: The Rising Storm was a fantastic, albeit dreadful read. While the first third lacked a bit of coherency, the story took me by full surprise when the attack on the fair finally started. Cavan Scott did great when it came to further fleshing out characters we already know and also managed to introduce compelling new players. What I loved the most is how he subtly weaved empathy (or the lack of it, regarding the villains) into the story and never failed to portray emotions.
This book is an absolute must read, just like Light of the Jedi. You really shouldn't miss out on this. And get ready for the ending, because nothing will prepare you for ... that.
(rating was rounded up from an actual 4.5*)
Okay, let's be realistic: The Rising Storm was a fantastic, albeit dreadful read. While the first third lacked a bit of coherency, the story took me by full surprise when the attack on the fair finally started. Cavan Scott did great when it came to further fleshing out characters we already know and also managed to introduce compelling new players. What I loved the most is how he subtly weaved empathy (or the lack of it, regarding the villains) into the story and never failed to portray emotions.
This book is an absolute must read, just like Light of the Jedi. You really shouldn't miss out on this. And get ready for the ending, because nothing will prepare you for ... that.
(rating was rounded up from an actual 4.5*)
March 29, 2023
this was an absolute SLOG to get through, the fully narrated audiobook with sound effects kinda distracts you from the book. not in a bad way but it distracts you from how fucking boring it is because the audiobook is so fun you don’t realize anything until you start to wonder why the book is so long. i couldn’t fully connect with the characters and i didn’t really care for the plot either. a bit longer than it needed to be i think.
July 28, 2021
The Nihil aren’t strong villains. I can’t suspend my disbelief with them. It just doesn’t do it for me.
And tooooooo many characters! Hard to keep up with and connect with enough to care about them. 🤢😔
And also, where is Avar?!? I just want Avar and Elzar! 😩😩😩
And tooooooo many characters! Hard to keep up with and connect with enough to care about them. 🤢😔
And also, where is Avar?!? I just want Avar and Elzar! 😩😩😩
July 20, 2021
Where Light of the Jedi introduced us to a new era of Star Wars with interesting characters in a galaxy that felt familiar but also new and different, The Rising Storm was a return to some of the worst aspects of legends era book series. It was methodical with most of the interesting characters either not seeing any significant development or missing entirely (Avar Kriss), the motivations of Ro and the rest of the Nihil are no more explored or understood than after reading the first book, and it was so melodramatic that by the seventh fake out death I grew numb to the possibility of ANY major repercussions. I’m very disappointed in this offering from The High Republic as it did little to further the overall plot or give us any hints at why this story even matters. Letting us know even just a bit as to why Ro wants to take on the Jedi, or even how he’s doing it would be great, instead it’s left as a mystery with no real clues for anyone in the story or in the audience. I’ll stick with it, but things really need to start moving. We’ve had enough set up.
Also, as a lifelong Trekkie, this feels too much like Star Trek. An organization with military vessels that claims not to be a military exploring the galaxy by utilizing a series of starbases encountering new life and new civilizations.
Also, as a lifelong Trekkie, this feels too much like Star Trek. An organization with military vessels that claims not to be a military exploring the galaxy by utilizing a series of starbases encountering new life and new civilizations.
July 23, 2021
A good second installment in the High Republic (main) series, but not amazing. The ending was very weird, and I hate how a certain character has endured so much these past two books, only to die like that. Very unsatisfied with that if I’m being honest. Also this reminds me of Jora Malli dying in the first book which only makes me more mad lmao, that was some bullshit. But I digress.
Overall the High Republic has not given me what I was expecting, and lowkey it’s disappointing. Hopefully the comics will be better once I can get my hands on the trades. The Nihil are just kinda boring and I don’t really get the point of them. Space pirates was a cool concept but not enough to base a majority of the High Republic around. I wish Marchion would’ve just been connected to the Dringir (sp?) because they’re so much cooler.
But that ending makes me think the Sith are being teased, but idk how much that would mesh well with canon.
Overall the High Republic has not given me what I was expecting, and lowkey it’s disappointing. Hopefully the comics will be better once I can get my hands on the trades. The Nihil are just kinda boring and I don’t really get the point of them. Space pirates was a cool concept but not enough to base a majority of the High Republic around. I wish Marchion would’ve just been connected to the Dringir (sp?) because they’re so much cooler.
But that ending makes me think the Sith are being teased, but idk how much that would mesh well with canon.
July 1, 2021
I was absolutely blown away by The Rising Storm! I won’t lie, I was intrigued by Light of the Jedi but was overall a little disappointed in the characters. It’s like Cavan Scott read my mind; he fleshed out every character in this book so well, making me feel so connected to them. Plot and story wise were outstanding as well. The first half is like a slow cooker; you know something is about to go down, and Scott provides the groundwork to get you ready. My one complaint would be that I wish the ending felt more connected to the rest of the book. As is, I almost feel as if part of the story was missing but I’m sure it'll be addressed eventually.
All and all, this is now one of my favorite Star Wars books and I can't wait to see more from Cavan Scott!
All and all, this is now one of my favorite Star Wars books and I can't wait to see more from Cavan Scott!
December 27, 2021
HOW LONG UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK??
2nd read: just as good
2nd read: just as good
July 17, 2021
meh.
the main action of the story lasts over 40% of the book which is too much. any writer knows you can't stretch it for so long, especially when the cast is so big (and i kept forgetting who was who)
WHERE WAS AVAR? yes, i know that her part is taking part in the comics but she should be here. isn't this the main source for the high republic? i shouldn't need comics to know what's going on.
the nihil are still not good villains.
i just want more avar and elzar 😤
the main action of the story lasts over 40% of the book which is too much. any writer knows you can't stretch it for so long, especially when the cast is so big (and i kept forgetting who was who)
WHERE WAS AVAR? yes, i know that her part is taking part in the comics but she should be here. isn't this the main source for the high republic? i shouldn't need comics to know what's going on.
the nihil are still not good villains.
i just want more avar and elzar 😤
December 10, 2022
quando comecei a ler os livros d Star Wars, eu tava em busca d saber mais sobre um universo q eu já amo e, claro, poder me alienar. nunca q eu ia esperar chegar ao fim d um livro dessa saga EM PRANTOS
honestamente eu ODIEI esse livro, achei tudo PODRE, sofri a CADA PÁGINA e pra que, senhor cavan scott? a troco d absolutamente NADA
5 estrelas e favoritado
honestamente eu ODIEI esse livro, achei tudo PODRE, sofri a CADA PÁGINA e pra que, senhor cavan scott? a troco d absolutamente NADA
5 estrelas e favoritado
July 20, 2021
I enjoyed "Light of the Jedi," and so was looking forward to this book 2 in the series, "The Rising Storm." Unfortunately, it did not hold up to my scrutiny. As a literature teacher, I have to point out that the pacing and plot structure of the story had some problems. In short, I think the book was too long. There is nothing wrong with long books, but the issue is that there were vast tracts of uneventful pages, then vast tracts of eventful pages. The action could have been interspersed better (a plot stages diagram could have benefitted the author). I thought the novel could have ended at the resolution of the Republic Fair arc. Instead, a new conflict was added three-fourths through the book... and I took off an additional star just for how the story ended. Cavan Scott is a talented writer, but I did not enjoy how he subverted expectations on the last page. Perhaps he was going for an "Empire Strikes Back" emotional ending and I won't be able to even out those feelings until I've read the following book. Heart-wrenching, though.
August 4, 2023
I... Uh.... I just spent the last day and a half reading this... the ending took everything to new heights, everything was just that good, and then Cavan Scott went and punched me in the guts.
The book refused to be set down, made me cry, and left me with more questions than answers. Can not wait till the next one!
Edit: Just finished reading it a third time. What the hell! Go read Phase 2 (especially Path of Vengeance) and then reread this! I promise you won't regret it.
The book refused to be set down, made me cry, and left me with more questions than answers. Can not wait till the next one!
Edit: Just finished reading it a third time. What the hell! Go read Phase 2 (especially Path of Vengeance) and then reread this! I promise you won't regret it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 29, 2021
4 stars!
*
Please do not read this before reading Light of the Jedi! The Rising Storm is a direct sequel and deals with the aftermath of the main conflict in that book.
That said, I did quite enjoy this, but not as much as its predecessor. The pace was a bit slower and there was a bit of a tone shift towards something more somber and I wasn't, personally, that into it. It was still pretty fun, though! The writing was engaging and the plot development was pretty satisfying as well.
I did like the different perspectives once again. They were very well done and brought the story together as the conflict rose between distinct character ensembles. There were also some twists and turns that were very interesting and make me wonder about what's to come for The High Republic.
*
Series: Part of the Star Wars: The High Republic series.
POV: Told from a looooot of different POVs.
Content Warnings:
Cliffhanger: No?
HEA:
*
Always forward.
Please do not read this before reading Light of the Jedi! The Rising Storm is a direct sequel and deals with the aftermath of the main conflict in that book.
That said, I did quite enjoy this, but not as much as its predecessor. The pace was a bit slower and there was a bit of a tone shift towards something more somber and I wasn't, personally, that into it. It was still pretty fun, though! The writing was engaging and the plot development was pretty satisfying as well.
I did like the different perspectives once again. They were very well done and brought the story together as the conflict rose between distinct character ensembles. There were also some twists and turns that were very interesting and make me wonder about what's to come for The High Republic.
*
Series: Part of the Star Wars: The High Republic series.
POV: Told from a looooot of different POVs.
Content Warnings:
Cliffhanger: No?
HEA:
July 8, 2021
Solid Middle Chapter of New Era
Cavan Scott picks up the baton from Charles Soule and delivers a solid middle chapter that adds political intrigue on both sides of the conflict while advancing the character arcs of Elzar Mann and Bell Zettifar, properly introducing Stellan Gios, and introducing Ty Yorrick, a Force-wielding monster-hunting mercenary who is getting her own graphic novel later this year.
This book is definitely a middle chapter in the sense that it moves the High Republic era forward in interesting ways, but does not function as well as a self-contained narrative. The Republic Fair on Valo serves as the main event for this wave of the storytelling, but unlike the Great Disaster, which drove an action-mystery plot in Light of the Jedi, the Fair is more of a backdrop here, functioning as a setting that expands the world-building but ultimately feels more like a set-piece than a story.
Herein lies one of my reasons for only three stars. I enjoyed the political intrigues in the beginning and end of the novel, but got bogged down in the extended action scenes in the middle section. Whereas the victims of the Great Disaster were introduced with character vignettes that made them immediately likable, most of those imperiled at the Fair are ciphers without any backstory or interest other than an exotic alien species (kudos to Scott for really dredging the depths of Wookiepedia for a fun range of obscure aliens even if they are underdeveloped).
A second reason for only three stars is the chapter and story structure which relies heavily on “cliffhangers” in which a character seems to be obviously killed often to recover and carry on without much apparent impact when their story without apparent impact. These grew a bit tiresome for me as the shock value wore off and the action started to feel repetitive. The exception here would be the son of Chancellor Lina Soh who had a more complex portrayal.
Finally, because we are fully in the multi-platform High Republic publishing initiative now, many characters appear without context and rely upon their development in other books to make sense here. For those who are featured in already published books (like Porter Engle, Nib Assek, Mikkel Sutmani, Burryagga, and Vernestra Rwoh among others) this works. For those like Ty Yorrick and Lourna Dee, who have upcoming books, it wasn’t as effective. As I said above, this is a middle chapter, and it shows for better and for worse.
All in all, it’s a solid Star Wars book that didn’t grip me on every page like Light of Jedi but makes me want to keep see Ming where this story is going and celebrate collaborative Star Wars storytelling!
Cavan Scott picks up the baton from Charles Soule and delivers a solid middle chapter that adds political intrigue on both sides of the conflict while advancing the character arcs of Elzar Mann and Bell Zettifar, properly introducing Stellan Gios, and introducing Ty Yorrick, a Force-wielding monster-hunting mercenary who is getting her own graphic novel later this year.
This book is definitely a middle chapter in the sense that it moves the High Republic era forward in interesting ways, but does not function as well as a self-contained narrative. The Republic Fair on Valo serves as the main event for this wave of the storytelling, but unlike the Great Disaster, which drove an action-mystery plot in Light of the Jedi, the Fair is more of a backdrop here, functioning as a setting that expands the world-building but ultimately feels more like a set-piece than a story.
Herein lies one of my reasons for only three stars. I enjoyed the political intrigues in the beginning and end of the novel, but got bogged down in the extended action scenes in the middle section. Whereas the victims of the Great Disaster were introduced with character vignettes that made them immediately likable, most of those imperiled at the Fair are ciphers without any backstory or interest other than an exotic alien species (kudos to Scott for really dredging the depths of Wookiepedia for a fun range of obscure aliens even if they are underdeveloped).
A second reason for only three stars is the chapter and story structure which relies heavily on “cliffhangers” in which a character seems to be obviously killed often to recover and carry on without much apparent impact when their story without apparent impact. These grew a bit tiresome for me as the shock value wore off and the action started to feel repetitive. The exception here would be the son of Chancellor Lina Soh who had a more complex portrayal.
Finally, because we are fully in the multi-platform High Republic publishing initiative now, many characters appear without context and rely upon their development in other books to make sense here. For those who are featured in already published books (like Porter Engle, Nib Assek, Mikkel Sutmani, Burryagga, and Vernestra Rwoh among others) this works. For those like Ty Yorrick and Lourna Dee, who have upcoming books, it wasn’t as effective. As I said above, this is a middle chapter, and it shows for better and for worse.
All in all, it’s a solid Star Wars book that didn’t grip me on every page like Light of Jedi but makes me want to keep see Ming where this story is going and celebrate collaborative Star Wars storytelling!
January 4, 2023
The Rising storm is mostly just a list of idioms transformed into Star Warsisms. Between a Rock and a Ganjuko butt. It's raining Cthons and Dianogas. Not to mention the pointless and seemingly never-ending character fluffers: so and so hadn't seen anything like that since huffing puffers on Chandrila for the such and such cartel led by Glarg-Sharn. Oh, and easily, this book holds the world record for 'burbled' as a verb.
This writing is really really bad. I've read some of Scott's comics, and he's much better in that medium than this. Plus, whatever Hutt cartel is over-looking the overarching story here isn't helping. I have trouble placing all the blame on Scott for the umpteen trillion characters that just become a name, an alien race, and a line of backstory, before often just being dropped after getting killed or saying a line or two.
Most tragically, in the few moments where the story and main characters actually have time to do anything, it isn't too bad. With some focus and some hefty trimming, this could be a fine media tie-in novel or novella.
To all the people out there four and five starring this book, I'm thrilled it brought you some joy, but I'm as flummoxed as a Profogg juggler as to what you loved about it.
1.5 stars.
This writing is really really bad. I've read some of Scott's comics, and he's much better in that medium than this. Plus, whatever Hutt cartel is over-looking the overarching story here isn't helping. I have trouble placing all the blame on Scott for the umpteen trillion characters that just become a name, an alien race, and a line of backstory, before often just being dropped after getting killed or saying a line or two.
Most tragically, in the few moments where the story and main characters actually have time to do anything, it isn't too bad. With some focus and some hefty trimming, this could be a fine media tie-in novel or novella.
To all the people out there four and five starring this book, I'm thrilled it brought you some joy, but I'm as flummoxed as a Profogg juggler as to what you loved about it.
1.5 stars.
February 23, 2022
A slap in my face.
This book exceeded all of my expectations for story and character development, plot treatment, and action. Cavan Scott's writing is fantastic, punchy, and manages to quickly immerse you in a scene or a character's mind. The chapters are short (I love it) and thrilling; each chapter ending makes you want to keep reading.
The characterization is probably the most successful of all that I have read of the High Republic so far. I managed to get even more attached to a lot of characters that I already liked but didn't feel like I really knew. In summary, it's a wonderful success that makes me look forward to discovering the rest.
AND THAT ENDING!!
This book exceeded all of my expectations for story and character development, plot treatment, and action. Cavan Scott's writing is fantastic, punchy, and manages to quickly immerse you in a scene or a character's mind. The chapters are short (I love it) and thrilling; each chapter ending makes you want to keep reading.
The characterization is probably the most successful of all that I have read of the High Republic so far. I managed to get even more attached to a lot of characters that I already liked but didn't feel like I really knew. In summary, it's a wonderful success that makes me look forward to discovering the rest.
AND THAT ENDING!!
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