Review: Star Wars The High Republic: The Rising Storm

June 29th marked the release date of the adult novel The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott. This is the second main entry into the High Republic publishing initiative, following Charles Soule’s Light of the Jedi. This novel continues the story of the conflict between the Jedi and the Nihil, along with the Drengir threat introduced in the Marvel comics and Claudia Gray’s Into the Dark. Set almost a year after Light of the Jedi, the Republic has begun to move on from the Great Disaster and is preparing for Lina Soh’s next Great Work, The Republic Fair, a showcase of the technology, innovation, and culture of the Republic worlds. However, with the Nihil and Drengir threats still looming across the galaxy, the Fair may not be the showcase of hope Chancellor Soh seeks.

For this review, I will be starting with a non-spoiler section, sharing my overall thoughts on the book. After that I will get into a spoiler review, going over major plot points and characters. If you are looking to go in completely blind, I would recommend reading The Rising Storm before continuing. If you’ve already read it or aren’t avoiding spoilers, then let's dive into the newest entry of the Star Wars publishing canon.

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

The Rising Storm continues the trend of High Republic books being incredible stories. The story kept me hooked from the first sentence to the last, and everything in between was wonderfully written. Similar to Light of the Jedi, The Rising Storm contains a large cast of characters, but they are all handled very well and at no point did it feel like the spotlight was in the wrong place. Each character’s story weaves between the others, creating a tapestry of plots that lead to a satisfying, if devastating, conclusion. By the end of this story, you will be hurt but eagerly awaiting the next entry in the series.

Now, from this point onward, I will be discussing heavy spoilers from the book, including main story points and the fates of characters.

SPOILER REVIEW

This story contains countless powerful moments for the cast of characters. There is a perfect mix of joyful and devastating moments, delivering a full range of emotions within just a few chapters. The meat of the book, during the Nihil attack on Valo, is where the true excellency of this shines. With each Jedi facing their own section of the battle, every character has a unique story that connects with the others. This led to one of the best moments in the book, where the comms are restored and Jedi are able to communicate again. However, this ecstatic moment is soon contrasted with a devastating scene at the conclusion of the battle. Stellan Gios holding Chancellor Soh’s body was such a tragic scene that it brought me to tears. It shows just how human the characters in this book are, and gives a second to consider just how grim this battle is.

One thing that stuck out to me as very intriguing was the further exploration of this era’s politics. This book shows the inspiration the High Republic authors took from the Kennedy administration, known as the “Camelot” era of the 1960s, with the Republic Fair taking clear influence from the 1964 World’s Fair. What The Rising Storm does to make this idea unique is that the Nihil threaten to break the “idyllic happiness” of this time. However, Chancellor Soh fights to ignore the Nihil threat and focus on the prosperity of the era, which her political rival Senator Tia Toon disagrees with. Toon is a very interesting character, as he is presented as an antagonist to Chancellor Soh, and yet he wants the same goal as her, which is to protect the Republic. I think this debate between Soh and Toon is a great one, as it can be applied to the rest of the Star Wars universe and even real world debates. How far can ideals carry us before we need to take action? This is a discussion I’m glad Scott opened, and I would love to see it continued throughout the High Republic’s narrative.

The Rising Storm continues the High Republic trend of having incredibly well-written characters. The cast of returning characters from Light of the Jedi transition to Scott’s writing seamlessly, and the new characters are amazing additions to the High Republic roster. The Jedi’s stories each felt unique and it never seemed like anyone got too much or too little focus. Bell’s struggle reconnecting to the Force, Elzar’s fear of his visions and draw to the Dark Side, and Ty’s conflict between her morals and lifestyle all worked perfectly in the story, allowing for very interesting character team-ups to occur. The Nihil were not left out of this, as we see Marchion Ro’s plan from Light of the Jedi continue to progress, and lots of great moments for the Nihil tempests. Lourna Dee in particular has much more development than she gets in Light of the Jedi, and it puts her character into much better focus that quickly made me more invested in her story. We learn she’s strong enough to hold her own against a Jedi and as ruthless as Marchion himself, giving so much potential for stories with her in the future.

Overall, The Rising Storm is an incredible story and a worthy sequel to Light of the Jedi. The powerful moments paired with the deep and well-written characters create a novel that digs into your heart. It continues to build on the interesting narrative being built throughout the High Republic and plant the seeds that will be grown throughout the next many years. If you enjoyed Light of the Jedi or just enjoy character focused emotional roller coasters, this is definitely the Star Wars book for you.

What do you think? Feel free to discuss in the comments or keep the discussion going on my twitter, @FloridianJedi.