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Star Wars: The High Republic
Entre las Sombras
Sylvestri Yarrow decide viajar a Coruscant para pedir ayuda y así poder mantener a flote su negocio familiar. Sin embargo, se desvía cuando se ve envuelta en una disputa entre las dos familias más poderosas de la galaxia por el control de un sector del espacio. A Syl los problemas de los ricos no le interesan, pero quizá pueda sacar una buena recompensa.
La maestra Jedi Vernestra Rwoh ha sido convocada junto con su padawan, Reath, para mediar en el conflicto. Pero ¿por qué es tan importante un pedazo de espacio vacío? La respuesta llevará a Vernestra a poner a prueba sus capacidades y a Syl a enfrentarse a su pasado y a revelaciones que se esconden entre las sombras.
La maestra Jedi Vernestra Rwoh ha sido convocada junto con su padawan, Reath, para mediar en el conflicto. Pero ¿por qué es tan importante un pedazo de espacio vacío? La respuesta llevará a Vernestra a poner a prueba sus capacidades y a Syl a enfrentarse a su pasado y a revelaciones que se esconden entre las sombras.
472 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2021
331 people are currently reading
4173 people want to read
About the author
Justina Ireland
125 books3,130 followersJustina Ireland is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books including Dread Nation and its sequel Deathless Divide, the middle-grade novel Ophie's Ghosts, which won the Scott O'Dell award for historical fiction, and a number of Star Wars books including Flight of the Falcon: Lando’s Luck, Spark of the Resistance, A Test of Courage, Out of the Shadows, and Mission to Disaster. She is a former editor in chief of FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, for which she won a World Fantasy Award. She holds a BA in History from Georgia Southern and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 742 reviews
January 15, 2025
Leaving a 5-star rating because y'all butthurt fanboys suck.
May 1, 2023
Out of the Shadows is a Young Adult novel that is part of the new Disney Star Wars: The High Republic content.
This novel is set approximately a year after the galaxy-wide event known as the Great Disaster.
This is the fourth installment of the High Republic materials that I have read and I enjoyed watching some of the previous storylines converge in this one.
The larger, outlying picture is beginning to come into focus. This novel follows a host of different perspectives, including one of my favorite new characters, Jedi Vernestra Rowh, along with various other characters that I have come across in the earlier HR works.
As generally happens with Star Wars novels, there was quite a bit of action, but this additionally had a healthy dose of back-handed political maneuverings and finer details surrounding the Nihil raiders.
While the Young Reader installments, such as A Test of Courage and Race to Crashpoint Tower focus on a singular encounter with the mysterious Nihil, this one is broader in scope. It clearly shows that the Nihil are much more resourceful a foe than the Jedi initially surmised.
Following shortly after the Nihil attack on Valo portrayed in Star Wars The High Republic: Race to Crashpoint Tower, many of the characters are still reeling from that trauma and are ill-prepared for what may be coming next.
I appreciated how Ireland kept that a part of the narrative. Allowing even Jedi to question their role and feelings regarding the current threats in the galaxy. Particularly conversations between Vernestra and her Padawan, Imri, I found to be quite touching.
I am genuinely excited to see what happens from here. Also, I still have a couple earlier HR books I need to get to, so definitely plan to do that soon.
Like any Star Wars book, the HR books can be read in any order, as long as you are cognizant of where it falls within the timeline.
In addition to this fantastic novel, I would definitely recommend checking out some of the previously published HR books as well. To make things easier for you, I will list them below:
Light of the Jedi
Into the Dark
A Test of Courage
The Rising Storm
Star Wars The High Republic: Race to Crashpoint Tower
That's a lot of great content to sink your teeth into. Don't delay, start today!!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney LucasFilms Press, for providing me with an early copy of this to read and review. It has been my absolute pleasure to devour all these recent publications!!!
This is top-notch Canon content here and I'm living for it!
This novel is set approximately a year after the galaxy-wide event known as the Great Disaster.
This is the fourth installment of the High Republic materials that I have read and I enjoyed watching some of the previous storylines converge in this one.
The larger, outlying picture is beginning to come into focus. This novel follows a host of different perspectives, including one of my favorite new characters, Jedi Vernestra Rowh, along with various other characters that I have come across in the earlier HR works.
As generally happens with Star Wars novels, there was quite a bit of action, but this additionally had a healthy dose of back-handed political maneuverings and finer details surrounding the Nihil raiders.
While the Young Reader installments, such as A Test of Courage and Race to Crashpoint Tower focus on a singular encounter with the mysterious Nihil, this one is broader in scope. It clearly shows that the Nihil are much more resourceful a foe than the Jedi initially surmised.
Following shortly after the Nihil attack on Valo portrayed in Star Wars The High Republic: Race to Crashpoint Tower, many of the characters are still reeling from that trauma and are ill-prepared for what may be coming next.
I appreciated how Ireland kept that a part of the narrative. Allowing even Jedi to question their role and feelings regarding the current threats in the galaxy. Particularly conversations between Vernestra and her Padawan, Imri, I found to be quite touching.
I am genuinely excited to see what happens from here. Also, I still have a couple earlier HR books I need to get to, so definitely plan to do that soon.
Like any Star Wars book, the HR books can be read in any order, as long as you are cognizant of where it falls within the timeline.
In addition to this fantastic novel, I would definitely recommend checking out some of the previously published HR books as well. To make things easier for you, I will list them below:
Light of the Jedi
Into the Dark
A Test of Courage
The Rising Storm
Star Wars The High Republic: Race to Crashpoint Tower
That's a lot of great content to sink your teeth into. Don't delay, start today!!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney LucasFilms Press, for providing me with an early copy of this to read and review. It has been my absolute pleasure to devour all these recent publications!!!
This is top-notch Canon content here and I'm living for it!
February 6, 2021
Giving this a 5 star review, because I refuse to let a bunch of whiny fanboys tank the rating of a book that has a 1 sentence description, and isn’t even out yet. Will leave another review once I’ve read it :)
January 11, 2022
This is part of The High Republic series where several novels, short stories, comic books, and audiobooks cover this area. The author has previously written a short story with a young Jedi named Vern. She brings back that character which I was looking forward to because I believe that short story has been the best offering in this series up to this point. In this one, a couple of Jedi and their padawans are being called back to Coruscant as there is a new problem with dealing with the Nihil. There is an area in space where ships are being pulled from hyperspace and being attacked.
I have been vocal that I have not been overly impressed with this series. This book just reinforces my belief. There has been several reasons for this but the main one has been I feel no connection to the characters. Unfortunately that happens again with the main character of Syl. This is a YA novel and it leans heavily into that genre. Syl is suppose to come off as a loner who has suffered loss. Instead she came off as antagonistic and flippant and not in a way that is likeable. I didn't care for her arc which has a nice connection to this universe. Even the previously introduced character Vern was bland in this book. I could get past this if the story was exciting but it was not. It seemed like for a vast majority of the book was characters just talking and pondering about their situation. They also reminded us over and over that the Nihil are a threat. Add in some political intrigue and you have a recipe for a dull book.
For a project that spans different forms of material I have to say that Disney is striking out with this series. This book did nothing to sway my belief. There is nothing in this book to get behind and root for or connect. It isn't a badly written book as I had no problem visualizing the scenes. It just leaned heavy into the YA genre while being boring at the same time. Not my exact idea of a good time.
I have been vocal that I have not been overly impressed with this series. This book just reinforces my belief. There has been several reasons for this but the main one has been I feel no connection to the characters. Unfortunately that happens again with the main character of Syl. This is a YA novel and it leans heavily into that genre. Syl is suppose to come off as a loner who has suffered loss. Instead she came off as antagonistic and flippant and not in a way that is likeable. I didn't care for her arc which has a nice connection to this universe. Even the previously introduced character Vern was bland in this book. I could get past this if the story was exciting but it was not. It seemed like for a vast majority of the book was characters just talking and pondering about their situation. They also reminded us over and over that the Nihil are a threat. Add in some political intrigue and you have a recipe for a dull book.
For a project that spans different forms of material I have to say that Disney is striking out with this series. This book did nothing to sway my belief. There is nothing in this book to get behind and root for or connect. It isn't a badly written book as I had no problem visualizing the scenes. It just leaned heavy into the YA genre while being boring at the same time. Not my exact idea of a good time.
July 26, 2021
I have had a difficult time with Justina Ireland's Star Wars books. "Spark of Resistance" was a fun little story that built up hype for the Rise of Skywalker, but basically had no plot. "A Test of Courage" was a step up in that Ireland had an intriguing plot for such a short story. The problem there was that Ireland made a lot of small, subtle decisions in the story that made me frustrated with it. So I went in hoping that third time was the charm...
...unfortunately, it really isn't. This book has a much better plot than the other two(being YA and not Middle Grade). Unfortunately, Ireland had a LOT of things that irked me, and they were much less subtle than in previous books.
I'll start my review with some positives. I enjoyed reading about the Jedi in the story. Vernestra Rwoh is Ireland's "baby", and Ireland does a good job with her. I thought her handling of Vern's dynamic with Imri was decent, despite the fact that Ireland wrote herself into a corner in "A Test of Courage". The best part of the book was Vernestra's conversation with Master Cohmac, where Cohmac lays out exactly what I think is wrong with the set up of Vern's story.
As I mentioned earlier, this book has an interesting plot, that is much more character focused than the Adult novels happen to be. The problem with the plot is it relies on the audience connecting with the characters in order for it to have significance. The adult novels have such big plots that you don't have to like the characters in those books(even though I did in Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm). This book really relies on the audience liking Sylvestri Yarrow, and I just didn't. It didn't help that Ireland included something in her character that naturally rubs me the wrong way, which I won't get into here, but I found Syl very unlikeable and uninteresting.
I cannot believe I'm going to say this, because I usually like this sort of thing, but this book really suffers from "Small Universe Syndrome". There were numerous times where someone from a protagonists past would show up and just fit into the story. This happening a few times would be fine, but it happened with almost every major character, and thus felt cheap, unbelievable, and uninteresting.
Ireland also isn't as good with political intrigue as Claudia Gray and isn't as good at writing the force as Charles Soule or as good at writing plot as Cavan Scott. It really seems to me that of the authors of the High Republic, Ireland really is the weak link. This is bound to happen in any storytelling venture with multiple authors, but it sticks out here.
One thing Ireland did that worked was laying "pipe" for future stories. While the adult novels really are the main force of this publishing venture, the YA books are able to introduce elements that will be important. I think that it's more obvious the additions that this book makes to the story as opposed to "Into the Dark", which was a better read overall but I didn't realize the importance of the book until much later.
Overall, I was really let down by this book. That's really hard for me to say because I have loved the High Republic so far. Not every book has been amazing, but as a whole it's been enjoyable. That just isn't the case here. However, I will make a comparrison to the New Jedi Order, and while there were books in that series I didn't care for, I kept going because the series itself was great. This is just one of those duds. Sorry Justina Ireland, but I have to give this one a 4.0 out of 10.
...unfortunately, it really isn't. This book has a much better plot than the other two(being YA and not Middle Grade). Unfortunately, Ireland had a LOT of things that irked me, and they were much less subtle than in previous books.
I'll start my review with some positives. I enjoyed reading about the Jedi in the story. Vernestra Rwoh is Ireland's "baby", and Ireland does a good job with her. I thought her handling of Vern's dynamic with Imri was decent, despite the fact that Ireland wrote herself into a corner in "A Test of Courage". The best part of the book was Vernestra's conversation with Master Cohmac, where Cohmac lays out exactly what I think is wrong with the set up of Vern's story.
As I mentioned earlier, this book has an interesting plot, that is much more character focused than the Adult novels happen to be. The problem with the plot is it relies on the audience connecting with the characters in order for it to have significance. The adult novels have such big plots that you don't have to like the characters in those books(even though I did in Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm). This book really relies on the audience liking Sylvestri Yarrow, and I just didn't. It didn't help that Ireland included something in her character that naturally rubs me the wrong way, which I won't get into here, but I found Syl very unlikeable and uninteresting.
I cannot believe I'm going to say this, because I usually like this sort of thing, but this book really suffers from "Small Universe Syndrome". There were numerous times where someone from a protagonists past would show up and just fit into the story. This happening a few times would be fine, but it happened with almost every major character, and thus felt cheap, unbelievable, and uninteresting.
Ireland also isn't as good with political intrigue as Claudia Gray and isn't as good at writing the force as Charles Soule or as good at writing plot as Cavan Scott. It really seems to me that of the authors of the High Republic, Ireland really is the weak link. This is bound to happen in any storytelling venture with multiple authors, but it sticks out here.
One thing Ireland did that worked was laying "pipe" for future stories. While the adult novels really are the main force of this publishing venture, the YA books are able to introduce elements that will be important. I think that it's more obvious the additions that this book makes to the story as opposed to "Into the Dark", which was a better read overall but I didn't realize the importance of the book until much later.
Overall, I was really let down by this book. That's really hard for me to say because I have loved the High Republic so far. Not every book has been amazing, but as a whole it's been enjoyable. That just isn't the case here. However, I will make a comparrison to the New Jedi Order, and while there were books in that series I didn't care for, I kept going because the series itself was great. This is just one of those duds. Sorry Justina Ireland, but I have to give this one a 4.0 out of 10.
April 28, 2022
A solid entry into the High Republic series. It does get a bit too YA at times by focusing on a LGBTQ romance. However, this is also much more character focused than Light of the Jedi or The Rising Storm. There's a small group of characters that are focused on which makes this much more enjoyable to me than the galaxy sprawling character lists we bounce between in the adult novels.
The main character is Syl. She's a cargo hauler, down on her luck, and basically, on her own since her mom died. The other main character is Vernestra, the youngest of the Jedi Knights. If I have any complaints, it would be that the 4 Jedi in this feel consistently underpowered compared to the adult novels.
The story does concentrate on the Nihil quite a bit. The last 3rd of the book, advances their story quite a bit and we finally find out all about the Oracle. I was honestly surprised how much this book advances the overall High Republic story given that it's not one of the core novels. It's one of my complaints about this initiative. There are all these books for different age levels and it's completely unclear which ones I need to read to get the main story. Turns out this is one of them. Lucasfilm Press has really botched what should be easy entry points for a new Star Wars era.
The main character is Syl. She's a cargo hauler, down on her luck, and basically, on her own since her mom died. The other main character is Vernestra, the youngest of the Jedi Knights. If I have any complaints, it would be that the 4 Jedi in this feel consistently underpowered compared to the adult novels.
The story does concentrate on the Nihil quite a bit. The last 3rd of the book, advances their story quite a bit and we finally find out all about the Oracle. I was honestly surprised how much this book advances the overall High Republic story given that it's not one of the core novels. It's one of my complaints about this initiative. There are all these books for different age levels and it's completely unclear which ones I need to read to get the main story. Turns out this is one of them. Lucasfilm Press has really botched what should be easy entry points for a new Star Wars era.
October 11, 2021
This was the worst star wars book I've read yet. It read like a poorly written LGBTQ Romance with a bit if plot mixed in. Not my thing. I don't read Star Wars for angsty romance. I read it for a break from romance novels.
I'm confused by all the romantic interest inuendos as well. Jedi giving side eye looks to each other. I feel like I'm reading a completely different world than the Star Wars universe from the movies and novels from that time. Syl, who is the main character, who is not a Jedi, creeps on and checks out every female she sees. It was uncomfortable. If a guy did the same we'd call him a creeper or perv. It was so not Star Wars.
I'd say skip it BUT... the plot that occurs in the last 1/4 of the book actually progresses the overall story. I want to know what is going on with Vern. I do like her character and her padawan's. Their force powers are unique.
It's pretty much a poorly written romance prior to that last part though.
I'm confused by all the romantic interest inuendos as well. Jedi giving side eye looks to each other. I feel like I'm reading a completely different world than the Star Wars universe from the movies and novels from that time. Syl, who is the main character, who is not a Jedi, creeps on and checks out every female she sees. It was uncomfortable. If a guy did the same we'd call him a creeper or perv. It was so not Star Wars.
I'd say skip it BUT... the plot that occurs in the last 1/4 of the book actually progresses the overall story. I want to know what is going on with Vern. I do like her character and her padawan's. Their force powers are unique.
It's pretty much a poorly written romance prior to that last part though.
November 2, 2023
Chaos kittens 💖
April 3, 2022
Why are you mad? Is only book
October 6, 2021
4.75 stars.
As the last book of wave two of The High Republic Out of the Shadows did an amazing job at connecting preexisting plot points at the same time it added even more tension and expanded what it's happening on the galaxy.
It's been a year since the Hyperspace Disaster occurred and things, rather than calming down, are more muddled and complicated than ever before. With the key for everything being right in front of them.
This whole book was thrilling and emotional focusing a great deal on the politics of it all as well as the human component, all of which makes for quite the ride.
The fact that the cast was composed of both old and new characters was honestly exhilarating. Especially because I loved all of them so much and greatly enjoyed what they all brought to the story.
Seeing Vernestra and Imri again was incredibly nice because they are a pair that I've wondered greatly about. After the events of both, A Test of Courage and The Rising Storm, both of these beloved characters have been through a lot, changed enough to, but the fact that they are still great friends and trust each other so much makes me extremely happy. Seriously, all their interactions filled me with warmth.
The new characters were really interesting as well because they bring such different views of everything with them.
Our girls, Sylvestri - which is honestly such a pretty name - and Jordana, have such different personalities but are such great folds of each other that any time they interacted together was just incredibly interesting to read. Especially because of all the tension. Sylvestri's story arc, especially, was so heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time.
All of these characters felt very close and dear to my heart and the fact that I could relate to them so much and sympathize just endeared them more to me. Between Syl and Vern's struggles to be taken seriously in a world that doesn't respect them yet and Imri and Jordana's issues with who they are and how to best deal with that, well, I just felt like my heart was very full.
Having Master Comac and Reath as well was a great addition, though I would have liked it if more was done with them.
One of my favorite things about the High Republic is the politics of everything that is going on.
Politics are fascinating when explored in a fantastical setting, and the politics we encounter in this collection just keeps getting more and more complicated with the pass of time.
After the accumulated pressure of the most recent events that the Republic and the Jedi Order have been dealing with; after all the relentless unity and goodwill experienced over the last crisis, it comes as no surprise that factions and dissent would be a thing that needs dealing with.
Though not entirely the focus of the story, and certainly not been the first book to deal greatly with it all, we have a good deal of time spent over them and it remains a source of commentary and discourse.
Of course, politics are not the only well of deep-thinking moments, seeing as this particular installment is littered with philosophical points that are many a time opposed and, therefore, all the more worthy of discussion. It is not the first time that this collection does something philosophical, but by virtue of how things have escalated and where we are at the moment, I do have to say that this book's discourse is one of my favorites.
As for the proper plot of the story, well, it was really interesting.
Remaining mostly very predictable, it had a good number of very good and intense reveals and twists through the length of the book that were just surprising and incredibly fitting.
Is a short book, and the pacing is kept mostly relaxed, though it never lulls, so towards the end I was confused as to how things were going to be solved, well, it was beyond satisfactory, especially because it closes a plot point that we have been following for so long now. It definitely left me thrilled and excited.
One thing that I do think is worth mentioning is the relevance of previous books and, though perhaps to a lesser degree, comics.
Even though it doesn't say it, the fact that this is the sixth book in a series was readily apparent, not only for the recurrent characters but for all the plot points. The comics, though not often directly addressed have also been dealing with some major events that could lead this book to be disconcerting if not aware of.
The High Republic with all its comics and books, is really meant to be experienced together as a huge undertaking rather than selectively choosing parts and bits.
After how intense The Rising Storm was I thought I couldn't love any of the books that were yet to be released in this wave more, I thought that had been it for me, and though I still enjoyed it immensely I got to say that Out of the Shadows is a steep contestant for that place.
Not, it's not as intense or all-around devastating as its predecessor was but the quieter and charged energy and atmosphere combined with the incredible cast made this book one of my favorites from the whole collection.
I definitely prefer Ireland's second incursion into this wondrous time period over the first one.
____________________
Oh, this was good.
It was a lot different than I expected but in an incredibly good way.
And I gotta say, I really loved all the characters and the more sedate story didn't hurt either.
RTC.
____________________
I am genuinely so scared of what this book will do because after the ending of The Rising Storm it cannot go anywhere pretty.
That being said, I am also excited to see what we'll discover and just continue devouring this story as fast as I can.
“Things will work out for the best and as they must. That is what I know, because even though I’m not a Jedi, I do believe in the Force.”
As the last book of wave two of The High Republic Out of the Shadows did an amazing job at connecting preexisting plot points at the same time it added even more tension and expanded what it's happening on the galaxy.
It's been a year since the Hyperspace Disaster occurred and things, rather than calming down, are more muddled and complicated than ever before. With the key for everything being right in front of them.
This whole book was thrilling and emotional focusing a great deal on the politics of it all as well as the human component, all of which makes for quite the ride.
“My mother raised me to believe that the galaxy was uncaring and vast but that didn’t mean we should be selfish and irresponsible.”
The fact that the cast was composed of both old and new characters was honestly exhilarating. Especially because I loved all of them so much and greatly enjoyed what they all brought to the story.
Seeing Vernestra and Imri again was incredibly nice because they are a pair that I've wondered greatly about. After the events of both, A Test of Courage and The Rising Storm, both of these beloved characters have been through a lot, changed enough to, but the fact that they are still great friends and trust each other so much makes me extremely happy. Seriously, all their interactions filled me with warmth.
The new characters were really interesting as well because they bring such different views of everything with them.
Our girls, Sylvestri - which is honestly such a pretty name - and Jordana, have such different personalities but are such great folds of each other that any time they interacted together was just incredibly interesting to read. Especially because of all the tension. Sylvestri's story arc, especially, was so heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time.
All of these characters felt very close and dear to my heart and the fact that I could relate to them so much and sympathize just endeared them more to me. Between Syl and Vern's struggles to be taken seriously in a world that doesn't respect them yet and Imri and Jordana's issues with who they are and how to best deal with that, well, I just felt like my heart was very full.
Having Master Comac and Reath as well was a great addition, though I would have liked it if more was done with them.
“But remember that secrets too long held can become destructive.”
One of my favorite things about the High Republic is the politics of everything that is going on.
Politics are fascinating when explored in a fantastical setting, and the politics we encounter in this collection just keeps getting more and more complicated with the pass of time.
After the accumulated pressure of the most recent events that the Republic and the Jedi Order have been dealing with; after all the relentless unity and goodwill experienced over the last crisis, it comes as no surprise that factions and dissent would be a thing that needs dealing with.
Though not entirely the focus of the story, and certainly not been the first book to deal greatly with it all, we have a good deal of time spent over them and it remains a source of commentary and discourse.
Of course, politics are not the only well of deep-thinking moments, seeing as this particular installment is littered with philosophical points that are many a time opposed and, therefore, all the more worthy of discussion. It is not the first time that this collection does something philosophical, but by virtue of how things have escalated and where we are at the moment, I do have to say that this book's discourse is one of my favorites.
“We can only work with the truth before us.”
As for the proper plot of the story, well, it was really interesting.
Remaining mostly very predictable, it had a good number of very good and intense reveals and twists through the length of the book that were just surprising and incredibly fitting.
Is a short book, and the pacing is kept mostly relaxed, though it never lulls, so towards the end I was confused as to how things were going to be solved, well, it was beyond satisfactory, especially because it closes a plot point that we have been following for so long now. It definitely left me thrilled and excited.
One thing that I do think is worth mentioning is the relevance of previous books and, though perhaps to a lesser degree, comics.
Even though it doesn't say it, the fact that this is the sixth book in a series was readily apparent, not only for the recurrent characters but for all the plot points. The comics, though not often directly addressed have also been dealing with some major events that could lead this book to be disconcerting if not aware of.
The High Republic with all its comics and books, is really meant to be experienced together as a huge undertaking rather than selectively choosing parts and bits.
“Do you know why people join the Nihil? Because we all want a place to belong. The Nihil have given the castoffs and losers of the galaxy a home. They’ve given people with nothing something, and that is a very powerful thing. Are they bad? Of course. But they’re bad because it’s all a lie based around violence.”
After how intense The Rising Storm was I thought I couldn't love any of the books that were yet to be released in this wave more, I thought that had been it for me, and though I still enjoyed it immensely I got to say that Out of the Shadows is a steep contestant for that place.
Not, it's not as intense or all-around devastating as its predecessor was but the quieter and charged energy and atmosphere combined with the incredible cast made this book one of my favorites from the whole collection.
I definitely prefer Ireland's second incursion into this wondrous time period over the first one.
“She was done thinking about the past; it was time to turn toward the future.”
____________________
Oh, this was good.
It was a lot different than I expected but in an incredibly good way.
And I gotta say, I really loved all the characters and the more sedate story didn't hurt either.
RTC.
____________________
I am genuinely so scared of what this book will do because after the ending of The Rising Storm it cannot go anywhere pretty.
That being said, I am also excited to see what we'll discover and just continue devouring this story as fast as I can.
March 6, 2022
One of the poorest novels of the high republic series. It is essentially a non-book, nothing worth mentioning happens in %85 of the book, full of forgettable characters and a meaningless ending. Existing characters behave abnormally; stupidly like Marchion Ro, or extremely weakly like all Jedi, and Nan, to focus on this boring new character: Syl.
Syl, her story, her mom and her romance are all extremely boring and out of style for Star Wars, why the excessive focus on her love life and her creepily eyeing of every female character around? If it were a male character doing that, everyone would have found that disgusting. I think, the author, shamelessly, put herself as Syl into the story.
I did like the big cat petting moments, and the rich vs poor discussion within Star Wars universe, yet it was done very poorly.
Syl, her story, her mom and her romance are all extremely boring and out of style for Star Wars, why the excessive focus on her love life and her creepily eyeing of every female character around? If it were a male character doing that, everyone would have found that disgusting. I think, the author, shamelessly, put herself as Syl into the story.
I did like the big cat petting moments, and the rich vs poor discussion within Star Wars universe, yet it was done very poorly.
September 24, 2021
One thing that makes a truly good Young Adult novel stand out from the crowd is strong character work, and Out of the Shadows meets and exceeds this expectation in a big way.
Set a few months after the events of The Rising Storm and Race to Crashpoint Tower, this books follows a group of characters all dealing with the emotional and logistical fallout of the disaster at the Republic Fair. Some, like Sylvestri Yarrow, are characters we are meeting for the first time. But we also get to catch up with some of our favourites from the last wave of books, like Jedi Knight Vernestra, her padawan Imri, and fellow master/student combo Cohmac and Reath. The Nihil are building some mysterious weapon in a disputed corner of the galaxy.
Though on the surface the book is about larger than life conflict, it’s worth noting that Justina Ireland manages to thread in a clever commentary about colonization and capitalism that goes a long way to explaining why the characters behave in the way that they do. It’s hard to pick out a single instance of this - and I wouldn’t want to deprive you of the joy of discovery anyway - because it is so layered in every facet of the story, and the characters. Not a single character at any point believes that they’re in the wrong, as much as they might believe the others are wrong for acting as they do. It’s a rare novel that can make you root for *everyone*, but Out of the Shadows does exactly that.
[READ FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: https://thegeekywaffle.com/home/2021/...]
Special thank you to Lucasfilm and Disney Publishing for an advance copy of this book for review purposes.
Set a few months after the events of The Rising Storm and Race to Crashpoint Tower, this books follows a group of characters all dealing with the emotional and logistical fallout of the disaster at the Republic Fair. Some, like Sylvestri Yarrow, are characters we are meeting for the first time. But we also get to catch up with some of our favourites from the last wave of books, like Jedi Knight Vernestra, her padawan Imri, and fellow master/student combo Cohmac and Reath. The Nihil are building some mysterious weapon in a disputed corner of the galaxy.
Though on the surface the book is about larger than life conflict, it’s worth noting that Justina Ireland manages to thread in a clever commentary about colonization and capitalism that goes a long way to explaining why the characters behave in the way that they do. It’s hard to pick out a single instance of this - and I wouldn’t want to deprive you of the joy of discovery anyway - because it is so layered in every facet of the story, and the characters. Not a single character at any point believes that they’re in the wrong, as much as they might believe the others are wrong for acting as they do. It’s a rare novel that can make you root for *everyone*, but Out of the Shadows does exactly that.
[READ FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: https://thegeekywaffle.com/home/2021/...]
Special thank you to Lucasfilm and Disney Publishing for an advance copy of this book for review purposes.
August 20, 2021
Having read the authors' other book A Test of Courage, I didn't have high hopes for this book. I wasn't disappointed. Long, tedious and dull, this book was a chore to get though. The lead human character was similar to the last one, young lady with dark skin and curly hair. This one, Syl was very unlikable and her constant whining monologues became monotonous. The romance felt like a plot device. We meet characters from prior books and while they were interesting and unique in prior works, they were simplistic and dull here, including Vernestra. After the excitement of Rising Storm, this was a letdown. Major plot devices were included in this book, which really should've been in the major book. The audiobook was also a disappointment since it was produced by a different division and there were no sound effects, or music to enhance the story. Character voices were lame, Marc Thompson is sorely missed, a variety of major legends books are finally getting unabridged audio and he is doing many of them. Claudia Gray and Jude Watson are far better at writing YA and keeping things interesting. Disappointing and mediocre.
August 26, 2021
2.5 stars
So far, both of the YA High Republic books have been better than the adult ones, but in the end this one was better than its adult companion The Rising Storm only because I *hated* TRS but found this one to just be kind of boring.
I struggled for a good portion of the book to even really describe what the plot was. There is far less action in this book than in any other HR story I’ve read, and it seems ill fitting after the first YA book was so suspenseful and dealing with a big threat that is completely ignored here. This book basically involves people flying, talking, having visions, making mushy eyes at each other, getting tied up or shot at once or twice but escaping easily. The climax of the book was *so* short and the only resistance happened “off screen” so to speak, so it seemed that way too suddenly the answer to these visions was revealed, and the Nihil’s main advantage was gone, in such an anticlimactic way. The book makes it sound like their threat is basically over, but wow, if it is then this was an incredibly boring way to end their story. (And I don’t even like the Nihil. But it should have been more dramatic than this.)
There were other things that bothered me too—the Jedi were supposedly stretched super thin fighting the Nihil, yet somehow they agreed to let *four* Jedi go on this research flight? Also, Marchion Ro agreeing to let the Oracle go with the scientist away from him makes no sense given the paranoia necessary in the Nihil to keep from being backstabbed.
I liked the new Jedi main character, Vernestra Rwoh, but was kind of sad that my favorite from the last book, Reath Silas, had so little personality here. The new main character who wasn’t a Jedi, Syl, was not very likable. I felt like overall the characters didn’t attach me as much as they did in the last book.
So far, both of the YA High Republic books have been better than the adult ones, but in the end this one was better than its adult companion The Rising Storm only because I *hated* TRS but found this one to just be kind of boring.
I struggled for a good portion of the book to even really describe what the plot was. There is far less action in this book than in any other HR story I’ve read, and it seems ill fitting after the first YA book was so suspenseful and dealing with a big threat that is completely ignored here. This book basically involves people flying, talking, having visions, making mushy eyes at each other, getting tied up or shot at once or twice but escaping easily. The climax of the book was *so* short and the only resistance happened “off screen” so to speak, so it seemed that way too suddenly the answer to these visions was revealed, and the Nihil’s main advantage was gone, in such an anticlimactic way. The book makes it sound like their threat is basically over, but wow, if it is then this was an incredibly boring way to end their story. (And I don’t even like the Nihil. But it should have been more dramatic than this.)
There were other things that bothered me too—the Jedi were supposedly stretched super thin fighting the Nihil, yet somehow they agreed to let *four* Jedi go on this research flight? Also, Marchion Ro agreeing to let the Oracle go with the scientist away from him makes no sense given the paranoia necessary in the Nihil to keep from being backstabbed.
I liked the new Jedi main character, Vernestra Rwoh, but was kind of sad that my favorite from the last book, Reath Silas, had so little personality here. The new main character who wasn’t a Jedi, Syl, was not very likable. I felt like overall the characters didn’t attach me as much as they did in the last book.
February 26, 2024
UGH! I love Star Wars but I especially love Gay Star Wars.
I could say more but y'all this book had sapphics, gay Jedis, grumpy violent cats, badass rogues, and Force spirituality. I was never meant to be objective about this book. I just loved it.
4.5 Stars (Goodreads let me do half stars you cowards)
TW: Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Murder, and War
I could say more but y'all this book had sapphics, gay Jedis, grumpy violent cats, badass rogues, and Force spirituality. I was never meant to be objective about this book. I just loved it.
4.5 Stars (Goodreads let me do half stars you cowards)
TW: Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Murder, and War
September 25, 2021
I gave it a good try, but I am done with the High Republic.
May 22, 2023
+1 pra conta!
esse volume é quase que uma continuação direta do 'Ascensão da tempestade' e vai dar conta do núcleo mais jovem, como o anterior. foi mt doido ler esse livro já tendo lido o final da série adulta. pegar pra ler essas história já sabendo o desfecho é mt maneiro (e um pouco desanimador/triste, tendo em vista q vc já o que dá certo e o q não dá, no fim das contas). amei a qtd d viado e sapatão q tem nesse livro. justina ireland says LGBT RIGHTS
tô bem animado p pegar o 'Midnight horizon' p finalmente ver o CAOS q vai ser!!!
esse volume é quase que uma continuação direta do 'Ascensão da tempestade' e vai dar conta do núcleo mais jovem, como o anterior. foi mt doido ler esse livro já tendo lido o final da série adulta. pegar pra ler essas história já sabendo o desfecho é mt maneiro (e um pouco desanimador/triste, tendo em vista q vc já o que dá certo e o q não dá, no fim das contas). amei a qtd d viado e sapatão q tem nesse livro. justina ireland says LGBT RIGHTS
tô bem animado p pegar o 'Midnight horizon' p finalmente ver o CAOS q vai ser!!!
March 29, 2022
4.5 rounded up to 5. this book was insane !!!! i LOVED learning more about the hyperspace lore and my brain went absolutely wild coming up with new theories. and how can you go wrong with vernestra, imri, and reath ???? syl and jordanna are so so cute and i really hope i get to see more of them in the future because i’m really interested in seeing where life takes them.
September 5, 2021
Very slow but I loved the characters so it wasn’t a problem
August 3, 2021
OUT OF THE SHADOWS Non-Spoiler Review…
Sylvestri Yarrow hauls cargo and is definitely down on her luck. Her mother was killed by the Nihil, her ship was stolen, she’s lost her girlfriend, is up to her ears in debt, and things need to change! So Syl is on her way to Coruscant to make someone listen and do something.
Vernestra Rwoh is a Jedi Knight and doesn’t believe in luck. The Force provides and right now, it’s providing reassignment, hyperspace visions and who knew having a Padawan was this hard? Vernestra (never Vern) wants to help stop the Nihil, but instead a Senator has asked for her by name back on Coruscant…
OUT OF THE SHADOWS by Justina Ireland is a fantastic character-driven story brimming with intrigue, politics, romance and secrets. Set a few months after the disastrous Nihil attack on the Republic Fair, the galaxy has changed for everyone, and even the Jedi are at odds on how best to handle it.
The book slowly and carefully winds its way through four differing viewpoints - Syl, Vernestra, Padawan Reath Silas, and Nan - the Nihil we met in Into the Dark. Immediately, I was invested in each of their stories, never finding myself rushing to get back to a different POV.
It was delightful to check in after The Rising Storm and see how those events were affecting not only the Jedi, but regular people in the galaxy. We’re drawn to Syl because we can identify with her, and her struggles. She’s just trying to make her way in the universe as best she can, as her world falls apart.
The book’s leisurely pace will please some, and frustrate others, and the changing POVs flounder a bit near the end. Several characters are taken almost completely off the board as the action heats up, and the ending, even with its significant payoff, feels somewhat rushed.
Make no mistake, there are game-changing events which make this Young Adult book a must read for High Republic fans, as well as fantastic references to places and characters that will make you grin. I absolutely enjoyed this well-written, deep character dive and recommend it highly. The timing was perfect - we needed to catch our breath.
Four glasses of ice cold blue milk, out of five!
Longer review to follow…
Sylvestri Yarrow hauls cargo and is definitely down on her luck. Her mother was killed by the Nihil, her ship was stolen, she’s lost her girlfriend, is up to her ears in debt, and things need to change! So Syl is on her way to Coruscant to make someone listen and do something.
Vernestra Rwoh is a Jedi Knight and doesn’t believe in luck. The Force provides and right now, it’s providing reassignment, hyperspace visions and who knew having a Padawan was this hard? Vernestra (never Vern) wants to help stop the Nihil, but instead a Senator has asked for her by name back on Coruscant…
OUT OF THE SHADOWS by Justina Ireland is a fantastic character-driven story brimming with intrigue, politics, romance and secrets. Set a few months after the disastrous Nihil attack on the Republic Fair, the galaxy has changed for everyone, and even the Jedi are at odds on how best to handle it.
The book slowly and carefully winds its way through four differing viewpoints - Syl, Vernestra, Padawan Reath Silas, and Nan - the Nihil we met in Into the Dark. Immediately, I was invested in each of their stories, never finding myself rushing to get back to a different POV.
It was delightful to check in after The Rising Storm and see how those events were affecting not only the Jedi, but regular people in the galaxy. We’re drawn to Syl because we can identify with her, and her struggles. She’s just trying to make her way in the universe as best she can, as her world falls apart.
The book’s leisurely pace will please some, and frustrate others, and the changing POVs flounder a bit near the end. Several characters are taken almost completely off the board as the action heats up, and the ending, even with its significant payoff, feels somewhat rushed.
Make no mistake, there are game-changing events which make this Young Adult book a must read for High Republic fans, as well as fantastic references to places and characters that will make you grin. I absolutely enjoyed this well-written, deep character dive and recommend it highly. The timing was perfect - we needed to catch our breath.
Four glasses of ice cold blue milk, out of five!
Longer review to follow…
August 27, 2021
5/5 stars
This book is genuinely one of, if not the best star wars book I have ever read (and that's saying a lot because I read these books like they are going out of style). From the normal daring battles of star wars that we all know and love to the side love stories that make the characters seem a lot more human than aliens in a far off galaxy, Justina Ireland sincerely captures one of the most amazing portions of star wars in an equally amazing way. With Into The Dark being one of my prior favorite novels I truly didn't see how any other book in this series could top that but I now see how wrong I was, with every new addition to the high republic series both the stories and the authors add so much depth and excitement to a 50 year old classic. One of the things that really caught my attention in the first ever installment in this series was the representation. It is truly beyond anything I had ever seen in Star Wars before and genuinely made me happy to see, but Justina genuinely blew me out of the water with her characters. As someone who often has not been able to see myself connecting to a lot of star wars media for the crude lack of representation, this book was completely different, everything from the representation to the amazing writing made me feel like I was right there with these characters. This book was so hard to put down, the only reason It took me a bit longer to finish was because I got sick and couldn't keep myself awake long enough to read more than a few pages. {SPOILERS} With the end of the book always being the most exciting I was glad to see that this book was not lacking at all, if anything this is one of the most exciting endings to a star wars novel I have read through in a long while. I was rooting for Jordanna and Syl from the moment the bombshell of their breakup was dropped and I was truly not disappointed by the end. In the final moments of the book after I thought it couldn't get any better than that a familiar planet name was said, from the depths of my encyclopedic knowledge on star wars and my sequel loving self I was praying I knew where it was going and I was indeed right. When I tell you my friends got an earful of my excitement over the return of Maz Kanata that would also be a defining understatement. To finish this off I would like to say if you made it this war thank you and a big ol' thank you to Justina for writing what is now my favorite Star Wars novel. I cannot wait for the next instalments that are going to finish off this era of star wars but I know it's going to be amazing.
This book is genuinely one of, if not the best star wars book I have ever read (and that's saying a lot because I read these books like they are going out of style). From the normal daring battles of star wars that we all know and love to the side love stories that make the characters seem a lot more human than aliens in a far off galaxy, Justina Ireland sincerely captures one of the most amazing portions of star wars in an equally amazing way. With Into The Dark being one of my prior favorite novels I truly didn't see how any other book in this series could top that but I now see how wrong I was, with every new addition to the high republic series both the stories and the authors add so much depth and excitement to a 50 year old classic. One of the things that really caught my attention in the first ever installment in this series was the representation. It is truly beyond anything I had ever seen in Star Wars before and genuinely made me happy to see, but Justina genuinely blew me out of the water with her characters. As someone who often has not been able to see myself connecting to a lot of star wars media for the crude lack of representation, this book was completely different, everything from the representation to the amazing writing made me feel like I was right there with these characters. This book was so hard to put down, the only reason It took me a bit longer to finish was because I got sick and couldn't keep myself awake long enough to read more than a few pages. {SPOILERS} With the end of the book always being the most exciting I was glad to see that this book was not lacking at all, if anything this is one of the most exciting endings to a star wars novel I have read through in a long while. I was rooting for Jordanna and Syl from the moment the bombshell of their breakup was dropped and I was truly not disappointed by the end. In the final moments of the book after I thought it couldn't get any better than that a familiar planet name was said, from the depths of my encyclopedic knowledge on star wars and my sequel loving self I was praying I knew where it was going and I was indeed right. When I tell you my friends got an earful of my excitement over the return of Maz Kanata that would also be a defining understatement. To finish this off I would like to say if you made it this war thank you and a big ol' thank you to Justina for writing what is now my favorite Star Wars novel. I cannot wait for the next instalments that are going to finish off this era of star wars but I know it's going to be amazing.
April 25, 2023
I give this book 3.5/5 stars and thank you to Justina Ireland and Amazon for the unsolicited autographed copy!
This was by no means a bad book, though, I do feel it is the weakest Phase 1 High Republic book to date. It is also worth mentioning I am late the reading the High Republic series and am reading them all consecutively. I think the biggest suffering of this book is just how great it’s companions are.
This is definitely one of the more Young Adult, YA Novels in canon. It feels like it’s really geared towards people in their youth. There is a lot of romance in this which at different points feels disjointed. There was also a high level of LGBT+ inclusion for a Star Wars novel. This wasn’t as distracting as many other reviewers share.
I enjoyed reading more about Reath, Cohmac, Nan and learning more about both Mari San Tekka and Vernestra Rwoh (especially given we now know she’s in the Acolyte tv series). I was a little surprised they exploded Mari’s story so much in a YA novel, that seemed more driven for the normal novels given the importance on the Nihils successes but it was a nice inclusion.
Any of the chapters with new POV character Syl were very challenging for me to get through. Not only did she have the least compelling story (“woe is me, I hate rich people”), her chapters always seemed the longest.
I also thought there could’ve been a little more action. Besides some small quick sections, there was not as much actions as many of the other High Republic books. This deals more with personality, relationships and character building than keeping the momentum up.
I think this is an essential book to understanding the High Republic fully, but just be prepared for the roller coaster to suddenly bottom out.
This was by no means a bad book, though, I do feel it is the weakest Phase 1 High Republic book to date. It is also worth mentioning I am late the reading the High Republic series and am reading them all consecutively. I think the biggest suffering of this book is just how great it’s companions are.
This is definitely one of the more Young Adult, YA Novels in canon. It feels like it’s really geared towards people in their youth. There is a lot of romance in this which at different points feels disjointed. There was also a high level of LGBT+ inclusion for a Star Wars novel. This wasn’t as distracting as many other reviewers share.
I enjoyed reading more about Reath, Cohmac, Nan and learning more about both Mari San Tekka and Vernestra Rwoh (especially given we now know she’s in the Acolyte tv series). I was a little surprised they exploded Mari’s story so much in a YA novel, that seemed more driven for the normal novels given the importance on the Nihils successes but it was a nice inclusion.
Any of the chapters with new POV character Syl were very challenging for me to get through. Not only did she have the least compelling story (“woe is me, I hate rich people”), her chapters always seemed the longest.
I also thought there could’ve been a little more action. Besides some small quick sections, there was not as much actions as many of the other High Republic books. This deals more with personality, relationships and character building than keeping the momentum up.
I think this is an essential book to understanding the High Republic fully, but just be prepared for the roller coaster to suddenly bottom out.
July 31, 2021
I had such a great time reading this book. Justina Ireland really manages to focus on her characters and give everyone their moment to shine, even though the ensemble is pretty big. I love the lore we are getting in this and that we got a glimpse into both Starlight and Coruscant. We also got to see characters from the adult novels again (those were some of my favourite chapters) and also got some intriguing hints of what they are up to, as well as what their emotional state might be.
You really shouldn't miss out on this novel as it takes place after The Rising Storm and sets the stage for the final wave of the first phase.
My main issue with Out of the Shaodws is that - while at first it seemed pretty simple - in the end, the plot got kind of confusing. Everyone's real motivations was simply dropped on you and it took some rereading those paragraphs to get it all sorted out in my head.
I also felt way more connected with the characters we already know (Vernestra and Reath, mostly) and not as much with the new girls Syl and Jordanna. However, I LOVE what this book is doing for representation. Questions of sexuality and other philosophical topics were handled with such care and thoughtfulness.
I can't wait to see what kind of story Justina has in store for us next and what the revelations of this novel mean for the future. Don't miss out on it!
And also, if you understand German, consider checking out our podcast episode on the book: https://jedi-bibliothek.de/podcast/au...
You really shouldn't miss out on this novel as it takes place after The Rising Storm and sets the stage for the final wave of the first phase.
My main issue with Out of the Shaodws is that - while at first it seemed pretty simple - in the end, the plot got kind of confusing. Everyone's real motivations was simply dropped on you and it took some rereading those paragraphs to get it all sorted out in my head.
I also felt way more connected with the characters we already know (Vernestra and Reath, mostly) and not as much with the new girls Syl and Jordanna. However, I LOVE what this book is doing for representation. Questions of sexuality and other philosophical topics were handled with such care and thoughtfulness.
I can't wait to see what kind of story Justina has in store for us next and what the revelations of this novel mean for the future. Don't miss out on it!
And also, if you understand German, consider checking out our podcast episode on the book: https://jedi-bibliothek.de/podcast/au...
July 26, 2021
Family, romance, adventure, betrayal are the best Star Wars. Justina Ireland wrote a classic! Loved it! Full review goes live on publication date.
June 29, 2021
After heartily enjoying A Test of Courage I was excited for Justina Ireland’s next High Republic book, the young adult novel Out of the Shadows. I will unabashedly say Vernestra Rwoh is my favorite character of this era and I know Ireland’s writing is a huge part of that.
I loved that one of the main characters of this novel is a simple woman trying to make her way through the galaxy like her mother. Sylvestri Yarrow is a human pilot and trader. She is just trying to keep her family business going but the Nihl were attacking every ship they could. I liked seeing the state of the galaxy from an everyday person’s point of view.
This personally is now in my top ten favorite Star Wars books. The character focused narrative appealed to me.
I loved that one of the main characters of this novel is a simple woman trying to make her way through the galaxy like her mother. Sylvestri Yarrow is a human pilot and trader. She is just trying to keep her family business going but the Nihl were attacking every ship they could. I liked seeing the state of the galaxy from an everyday person’s point of view.
This personally is now in my top ten favorite Star Wars books. The character focused narrative appealed to me.
June 16, 2023
Look, I'm aware that this is a YA novel and it's not written for me, but this book was just awful. I hated it almost from page one, and I skimmed through a lot of it just to get through it. I don't even want to write any more about it.
January 14, 2025
"We go where we can best chase away the darkness in the galaxy, and we must not serve any other cause but that."
This one did not work for me. The pacing was off, and I feel like hardly anything happened until the last 20 pages...
This one did not work for me. The pacing was off, and I feel like hardly anything happened until the last 20 pages...
September 6, 2021
2.5 stars
October 14, 2021
This is more of a 4.5 but hear me out.For a long time Claudia Gray has been my favorite Star Wars author, and she has excellent work to show for it. But Justina Ireland is coming so, so, so, so close. This book was excellent. The characters were written seamlessly from both A Test of Courage and Into the Dark. While I liked Claudia’s YA High Republic book quite a bit, I LOVED this one. I’m excited for Fallen Star, Claudia’s next HR book, but I cannot wait to read more by Justina Ireland!
July 27, 2021
I will start this review by saying 2 very important things:
First, I think Vernestra Rwoh just might be my favorite High Republic character so far, so I was way too excited for this book.
Second, don’t read this until after you’ve read The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott if you’d rather avoid spoilers for that book. Chronologically, it takes place before this one.
Out of the Shadows has been my fastest read book in the High Republic series so far. I’ve had trouble putting down pretty much all of the books, but this one I was lucky enough to have an advanced reader copy (courtesy of Disney publishing) and audio ARC (courtesy of NetGalley), and so I didn’t have to stop reading just because I was doing something mundane like commuting to work or washing dishes. I flipped back and forth between the formats and finished it in 2 days. While we’re here and discussing audiobooks, I really enjoyed the narration by Keylor Leigh and loved that you could tell the difference between all of the characters. Sometimes that gets lost in translation but I had no trouble following along with this one.
This book features a lot of familiar characters from Ireland’s first High Republic book and Claudia Gray’s Into the Dark. As far as the High Republic goes, this was one of the first books where everything starts to click together – the Jedi, the Nihil, the Hyperspace pioneering families – all of those were introduced in earlier books and start to be fleshed out a lot more here.
Of those topics, the one that I was most excited to see more about in this book was the Jedi. We get to see the Jedi at work both on Starlight Beacon and in the temple on Coruscant. There’s an interesting dynamic happening between Vernestra and the order which I am still eager to see fully explored in the future as she matures and comes into her own even more. Seeing her as a teacher in this story felt like a satisfying continuation of A Test of Courage, where we see her offer to train Imri Cantaros after the loss of his master at the beginning of that story. There is a wonderful cameo by Yaddle, the female Jedi of Yoda and Grogu’s species. After getting to know her a little more in this book, I’m excited about the prospect that Grogu may not speak backwards like Yoda, after all, as Yaddle has a speech pattern like most others who speak Galactic Basic!
The relationships in this book are so incredibly wholesome and I just want to hug all of the characters. Like, they’re all adorable. Reath having a teenage crush on Vernestra? Too cute. Vernestra mentoring Imri and their conversations touching on attachments and relationships reminded me of siblings who are too uncomfortable to talk to grown ups about such things. Nan thirsting over Marchion Ro: aren’t we all? Sylvestri Yarrow’s connection to her crew? Chef’s kiss. She doesn’t do anything without thinking about them. Don’t even get me started on the most precious space gays I’ve ever seen.
I’m going to pause here to harp about representation because this. book. has. everything. Not every character in space is a cishet white dude? Check. Queer couples? Yup. An asexual Jedi? Also yup. This is the kind of YA Star Wars book that I was craving as a teen.
The story jumps around between the Nihil, the Jedi, and Sylvestri pretty often and keeps the plot moving along until all of the threads meet in the middle of nowhere where someone from Syl’s past is pulling and tugging on each of them like the yarn of a colorwork sweater.
Adults are definitely sleeping on these YA and middle grades High Republic books and they should not be underestimated. Kids will enjoy them, but that doesn’t mean that stodgy old grown ups (like me) should avoid them. They fill in a lot of gaps that devoted Star Wars fans would be missing out on if they only stick to the adult fiction and/or comics entries in this series.
My only one, and quite small, complaint is that the YA books aren’t illustrated the way that the middle grades books are. Ireland is very descriptive, but there are some things that exist in the galaxy far, far away that even her words can’t make my brain get a full visual of. For example, I definitely need to know exactly what a Vollka looks like. #thebellyisatrap
Star Wars The High Republic: Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland is available today wherever books are sold and in libraries near you.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Disney publishing in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my opinions.
Side note: It’s a really good book and I’m going to buy a hardcover copy for my collection because I’m a dork and gotta catch ’em all. 😉
First, I think Vernestra Rwoh just might be my favorite High Republic character so far, so I was way too excited for this book.
Second, don’t read this until after you’ve read The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott if you’d rather avoid spoilers for that book. Chronologically, it takes place before this one.
Out of the Shadows has been my fastest read book in the High Republic series so far. I’ve had trouble putting down pretty much all of the books, but this one I was lucky enough to have an advanced reader copy (courtesy of Disney publishing) and audio ARC (courtesy of NetGalley), and so I didn’t have to stop reading just because I was doing something mundane like commuting to work or washing dishes. I flipped back and forth between the formats and finished it in 2 days. While we’re here and discussing audiobooks, I really enjoyed the narration by Keylor Leigh and loved that you could tell the difference between all of the characters. Sometimes that gets lost in translation but I had no trouble following along with this one.
This book features a lot of familiar characters from Ireland’s first High Republic book and Claudia Gray’s Into the Dark. As far as the High Republic goes, this was one of the first books where everything starts to click together – the Jedi, the Nihil, the Hyperspace pioneering families – all of those were introduced in earlier books and start to be fleshed out a lot more here.
Of those topics, the one that I was most excited to see more about in this book was the Jedi. We get to see the Jedi at work both on Starlight Beacon and in the temple on Coruscant. There’s an interesting dynamic happening between Vernestra and the order which I am still eager to see fully explored in the future as she matures and comes into her own even more. Seeing her as a teacher in this story felt like a satisfying continuation of A Test of Courage, where we see her offer to train Imri Cantaros after the loss of his master at the beginning of that story. There is a wonderful cameo by Yaddle, the female Jedi of Yoda and Grogu’s species. After getting to know her a little more in this book, I’m excited about the prospect that Grogu may not speak backwards like Yoda, after all, as Yaddle has a speech pattern like most others who speak Galactic Basic!
The relationships in this book are so incredibly wholesome and I just want to hug all of the characters. Like, they’re all adorable. Reath having a teenage crush on Vernestra? Too cute. Vernestra mentoring Imri and their conversations touching on attachments and relationships reminded me of siblings who are too uncomfortable to talk to grown ups about such things. Nan thirsting over Marchion Ro: aren’t we all? Sylvestri Yarrow’s connection to her crew? Chef’s kiss. She doesn’t do anything without thinking about them. Don’t even get me started on the most precious space gays I’ve ever seen.
I’m going to pause here to harp about representation because this. book. has. everything. Not every character in space is a cishet white dude? Check. Queer couples? Yup. An asexual Jedi? Also yup. This is the kind of YA Star Wars book that I was craving as a teen.
The story jumps around between the Nihil, the Jedi, and Sylvestri pretty often and keeps the plot moving along until all of the threads meet in the middle of nowhere where someone from Syl’s past is pulling and tugging on each of them like the yarn of a colorwork sweater.
Adults are definitely sleeping on these YA and middle grades High Republic books and they should not be underestimated. Kids will enjoy them, but that doesn’t mean that stodgy old grown ups (like me) should avoid them. They fill in a lot of gaps that devoted Star Wars fans would be missing out on if they only stick to the adult fiction and/or comics entries in this series.
My only one, and quite small, complaint is that the YA books aren’t illustrated the way that the middle grades books are. Ireland is very descriptive, but there are some things that exist in the galaxy far, far away that even her words can’t make my brain get a full visual of. For example, I definitely need to know exactly what a Vollka looks like. #thebellyisatrap
Star Wars The High Republic: Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland is available today wherever books are sold and in libraries near you.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Disney publishing in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my opinions.
Side note: It’s a really good book and I’m going to buy a hardcover copy for my collection because I’m a dork and gotta catch ’em all. 😉
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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