Into The Dark Book Review [SPOILERS]
This was the second High Republic novel for me, and Claudia Gray is my favorite Star Wars author so there was a bit of pressure for me. Into the Dark is a Young Adult novel, but we know from Lost Stars that is no problem. I loved this entry into the High Republic story but I don’t think it quite cracks my Claudia Gray top 3.
Claudia Gray’s biggest strength is getting inside characters heads, and each of her previous books has really focused on one or two characters, but Into the Dark is far more of an ensemble, and I did miss that laser focus a little. However I really liked all of the characters in this book and they all get plenty of development, Reath, our main protagonist I really connected with. He is a bookish and studious padawan, who prefers to read about adventure rather than experience it and I found it interesting that he was described as not having as strong a connection to the force but making up for it with hard work and knowledge. I don’t want to ignore the rather large rock in the room, Geode is a crazy idea, and one that shows the skill of the author to pull off, he is brilliantly written, we never see him move or communicate but it is implied, the perfect blank slate for others to project onto.
The story takes place at the same time as the events of Light of the Jedi, and you really could read this book first and it would not affect things as the reader would be as in the dark as the characters. The action mainly takes place on an Amaxine space station, where various survivors of the great disaster have to come together to survive. The book really catches light when we get 3 twists in quick succession about halfway through, then it grips you and doesn’t let go until the end. I liked the Drengir as the villains of the piece a lot, I actually read issue 3 of Marvel’s High Republic the day before first meeting them in Into the Dark, which was a really cool coincidence. They are very horror sci-fi and reminded me of Day of the Triffids, Stranger Things or Star Trek, and I really like the idea of the Drengir and Nihil as dual protagonists going forward in the High Republic. The flashback segments of the story featuring Cohmac and Orla didn’t feel very essential, maybe because they were too short and spread out so you couldn’t really get into that aspect of the story but were tied in really well at the end by Queen Thandeka’s speech on Starlight Beacon.
One of Claudia Gray’s strengths is rapidly becoming Jedi philosophy, as in Master & Apprentice, and we get more here. Which helps to highlight the differences between the Jedi now and in the Fall of the Jedi (prequel) era. But where Light of the Jedi shows the them as near flawless, Into the Dark starts to show some cracks. Cohmac’s anger at what he see’s as the order’s denial of these feelings, and the Council’s coldness and lack of communication & support for Reath around Jora Malli’s death. That being said, we also see how the order as whole seems to be less dogmatic, where questioning the Jedi Code is ok, maybe even encouraged, I can’t help but feel the Council we met in the Clone Wars would have punished Cohmac, Orla & Reath. All of this is well summed up by the following Reath remembering a lesson from his former master Jora;
“When you cannot achieve balance within yourself” Master Jora had said, “simply lean toward the light and do your best. There’s no point in reacting to a lack of calm in a way that makes you even less calm.” (p349)
I loved where Into the Dark finishes and leaves all of our main characters in really interesting places, and I want to see what happens next to all of them. I’m sure we’ll see how Cohmac and Reath develop as master and padawan, hopefully the crew of the Vessel show up again somewhere, and it seems Nan may be being taken into Marchion Ro’s confidence. I’m very interested to see Orla again as a Wayseeker Jedi is a concept I really want to know more about, but I do worry we may not see Dez again, as his Barash Vow seems like something that would take him out of the story.
Into the Dark is a very good book on it’s own and a great addition to the first phase of the High Republic project. One concern with a publishing project as big as this is whether every entry will feel essential, or become confusing and unwieldy, but Into the Dark adds a lot to the story and feel of the era and treads that fine balance superbly.
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 / 5
Jonny O
I've been a bit out of the loop in regard to High Republic stuff and some of the recent canon material.... Love review mate
ReplyDeleteLuke @Onequarterportion
WHATTA LEGEND
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