MY ⭐️ RATING: 4/5
FORMAT: Kindle Whispersync
BOOK DESCRIPTION
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this gripping sequel to Star Wars: The Rising Storm, the light of the Jedi faces its darkest hour.
Time and again, the vicious raiders known as the Nihil have sought to bring the golden age of the High Republic to a fiery end. Time and again, the High Republic has emerged battered and weary, but victorious thank to its Jedi protectors—and there is no monument to their cause grander than the Starlight Beacon.
Hanging like a jewel in the Outer Rim, the Beacon embodies the High Republic at the apex of its aspirations: a hub of culture and knowledge, a bright torch against the darkness of the unknown, and an extended hand of welcome to the furthest reaches of the galaxy. As survivors and refugees flee the Nihil’s attacks, the Beacon and its crew stand ready to shelter and heal.
The grateful Knights and Padawans of the Jedi Order stationed there finally have a chance to recover—from the pain of their injuries and the grief of their losses. But the storm they thought had passed still rages; they are simply caught in its eye. Marchion Ro, the true mastermind of the Nihil, is preparing his most daring attack yet—one designed to snuff out the light of the Jedi.
MY REVIEW
This is the final book of phase 1 in the High Republic series. While this was good and I did enjoy it, it just didn’t live up to its predecessors for me. For most of the book it just felt like there was a lot going on with nothing actually going on. I know that sounds a bit confusing, but it just seemed like there was a lot happening but the story barely progressed. There were times where it was trying to be intense but it came off a bit boring with several anticlimactic deaths. My biggest problem is that the 2 biggest antagonists of the series, Marchion Ro and Lorna Dee took a massive backseat to be no more than side characters.
“This is what hope is. It isn’t pretending that nothing will go wrong if only we try hard enough. It’s looking squarely at all the obstacles in the way knowing the limits of our own power, and the possibility of failure and moving ahead anyway. That is how we must proceed. With hope.”
Now let’s talk about some of the good. Despite saying it felt like nothing happened, the book finished off pretty strong and emotional. Claudia Gray introduced several new characters, and one of those will end up being a big favorite as he does remind me a bit of Han Solo, plus Marc Thompson’s narration also made him even cooler by basing Leox’s voice and mannerisms from Matthew McConaughey. This also included an “alright, alright, alright” which literally made me jump out of my seat with excitement! Also, I can’t believe it took me 3 books to realize that he made Stellan Gios sound like Chris Hemsworth.
The action really didn’t pick up until around the 70% mark, which was far too long of a wait. I would 100% suggest doing the audio, or like I did, kindle whispersync. The audio does wonders and definitely helps out in the parts that I described above that felt boring. If I was to grade the book alone it would be 2.5-3 stars, and the audio 5 easily. I really hope phase 2 picks back up with how books 1 and 2 went.
Wolfmantula.com 