Out of the Shadows Review [Spoilers!]
Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland (Disney Lucasfilm Press)
I’ve honestly been struggling with how to start this review of Out of the Shadows other than to say that this may be my favorite book of the High Republic era so far. The second Young Adult book in the High Republic project is written by Justina Ireland, and the story brings together characters from the first YA book in Reath Silas, Cohmac Vitus and Nan, and characters from Ireland’s A Test of Courage in Vernestra Rwoh and Imri Canteros.
The story takes place several months after the events of the Galactic Fair on Valo and centres on Syl, a hauler formerly of the Byne guild who recently lost her ship and her mother in a Nihil attack when her ship was mysteriously pulled out of hyperspace in the Berenge sector. Together with Xylan Graf a wealthy businessman and the Jedi Cohmac, Reath, Vernestra and Imri she sets out to find out what happened.
The story is a slow burn but that is just fine with me, especially as across A Test of Courage and Out of the Shadows Justina Ireland has shown just how well she writes the internal life of her characters. Imri Canteros and his new master Vernestra Rwoh are both struggling with their abilities. Imri feels the emotions of others greatly and can even influence others emotions, something Vernestra does not approve of, and he can often be overwhelmed by powerful emotions the people he is around are feeling almost like someone overwhelmed by sensory stimulation. But we see several times during the story that he senses things the other Jedi do not which do not. His relationship with Vernestra is really growing, although Vern does doubt her ability as a teacher especially in regard to his abilities. Vernestra struggles herself with her unusual ability to put into a vision state when traveling in hyperspace, she tries to resist it and doesn’t want to work on it (this probably influences her attitude to Imri’s skill) but her former master Stellan Gios believes her ability may allow her to navigate hyperspace - at this moment i suddenly feared for her, that maybe she could replace Mari San Tekka as the Nihil’s Oracle.
I didn’t really take to Cohmac Vitus in Into the Dark but the scholarly jedi grew on me quite a bit here in his role as Reath’s new master. Reath Silas is one of my favorite characters in this era and we see how he has changed since we first met him when he returns to Coruscant, before he was reluctant to leave, afraid of adventure feeling at home in the library. Now while the Jedi Temple feels like home he sees his place as out in the galaxy making a difference, did I also detect a hint of romance between Reath and Vernestra? Because i would love that.
The two most important new characters in Out of the Shadows are Sylvestri Yarrow & Jordanna Sparkburn. When we meet Syl she is mourning the loss of her mother, her ship, and her relationship with Jordanna, she lays the blame at the door of Jedi for not being there when she needed them, she sees herself as a hard-nosed scoundrel in it for the money but just like another scoundrel we know she can’t help being on the side of good. Syl is probably my favorite character in Out of the Shadows, and you can’t help but desperately hope that she and Jordanna are reconciled, and I loved that she is vegetarian!
It was great to have another San Tekka, in Jordanna Sparkburn in the story, I love finding out more about the family, and Jordanna mentioning that her uncles are part of the Church of the Force was a great nod to Lor San Tekka. We also meet the San Tekka’s rivals in the Graf’s who are as much villains of the piece as the Nihil, and lead the Jedi to believe that Lourna Dee is the Eye of the Nihil. The two most impactful moments of the book both involve familial revelations, when Jordanna finds Mari San Tekka who her family thought long dead, and must then let her go, is heartbreaking. The other is Syl coming face to face with her mother Chancey and who she really is, her anguish and horror are visceral. Chancey Yarrow provides another fantastic link to Star Wars canon being the person who invents gravity wells as a weapon, something we have seen the Empire put to use 250 years later.
I really enjoyed the look we got at Starlight Beacon we got in Out of the Shadows, although it was only a few chapters at the beginning it felt like the best look at life on board the station we have got so far. We get great little connections like meeting Avon Starros’ (from A Test of Courage) mother, Senator Ghirras Starros, Syl name dropping Batuu, Xylan Graf mentioning Maz Kanata and a Yaddle appearance! I also really like Imri remembering his parents taking him to the Jedi Temple on his home planet when they discovered he had force abilities - can we please put this false narrative of the Jedi kidnapping children to rest now?
We do need to talk about Gungans now. We have had two named Gungan characters in the High Republic, first the Nihil Wet Bub, and here Professor Wolk, both have been unceremoniously greased. Which leads me to wonder just what do the High Republic authors have against Gungans?
Out of the Shadows really snuck up on me, while books like Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm are action packed, this was slower but I gradually fell in love with it and it’s characters. It may be less grandiose, it feels more like a classic Star Wars mystery set within the High Republic era. You know you love a book when you read it faster and faster, you know you really love it when you dramatically slow down reading it near the end because you don’t want it to finish. And just what was the path Mari gave to Vernestra before she died?
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕/5
Jonny O
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