The Starbird Files

Phase II of the High Republic is here and with it comes hype, expectations, a new time period and new authors. I do have worries about this new phase, not the new authors but leaving behind the characters and time period we are used to, and the fact it feels like it’s been a while since Phase I finished, would I still be into the project as much? My other worry was because of the delayed UK release of Path of Deceit and Convergence being my first review copy from Del Rey, I received both books on the same day so I decided to read Convergence first in order to get this review out promptly. How would that effect my reading experience? Phase II is set 150 years BEFORE the events of Phase I, and the story is set on the twin planets, E’ronoh and Eiram who have been at war for decades and focuses on a ceasefire hanging by a thread on the the proposed marriage of Xiri and Phan-tu the children of the respective ruling families. The Jedi, Republic officials, Xiri and Phan-tu must win over the p...

Shadow of the Sith is one of the most anticipated Star Wars books of recent years, with a lot of pressure put upon it by many to explain events in the sequel trilogy. So did it live up to expectations? For me it does, not that I expected it to explain everything - we have plenty of time to explore and fill in the intervening years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Let’s not forget that it took    9 years for us to learn why the Clones turned on the Jedi so easily (season 6 of the Clone Wars in 2014). There are two main threads to the story, Lando trying to save Rey’s family from Ochi of Bestoon and Luke’s discovery of a mysterious dark side user. The book is littered with connections to all parts of Star Wars canon, the Acolytes of Beyond first mentioned in the Aftermath trilogy play an important part, Luke goes to Tython which we saw in the Mandalorian, a young Enric Pryde (TROS) makes an appearance as does Shriv Suurgav who first appeared in Battlefront II. T...

Tempest Runner Audio Drama by Cavan Scott This was my first Star Wars audio drama experience (thank you Audible free trial!), and I really enjoyed having a new Star War story in a different medium. The sound effects, music and voice cast really brought the story to life, compared to where I have struggled with audiobooks in the past. The only drawback I found was it could be somewhat difficult to remember who new characters were, as their names were repeated less than in a written book. Tempest Runner is the story of what happens to Lourna Dee after the events of The Rising Storm, and tells her backstory through flashbacks from various points in her life,   and Lourna is now my low key crush of the High Republic era! Lourna is captured following an attack on a communications outpost, but is able to deceive her Jedi captors calling herself Sal Krost. Through flashbacks we learn that she is the daughter of a privileged Twi’lek family, tricked into betraying her family and sold into s...

Race To Crashpoint Tower by Daniel José Older (Disney Lucasfilm Press) Race to Crashpoint Tower is the second junior novel in the High Republic era, and comes from Daniel José Older, writer of the High Republic Adventures comic series. The story is set at the same time as The Rising Storm and also on Valo at the Galactic Fair, making it a story within a story almost. In The Rising Storm we briefly meet Ram Jomaram when Ty Yorrick and Mantessa are in jail and the Nihil attack starts, here we find out why Ram was also in the cells and what happens to him afterwards, with the scene mirrored and told from his perspective in this book. Ram Jomaram is a padawan assigned to the Jedi outpost on Valo, and he reminds me of Reath Silas a little, but where Reath doesn’t like adventure and prefers to be in the library, Ram finds social interactions difficult and likes fiddling with mechanics and his droid V-18, this makes him very likeable and relatable to introverts and people on the spectrum alik...

  The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott (Del Rey) After a fantastic start to the High Republic with the first wave of books, the wait for the second releases has been excruciating, so I couldn’t wait to get stuck into the second adult novel of the era, even if it was written by Cavan Scott who has been torturing us in the Marvel High Republic comic series. And I am pleased to say that he doesn’t disappoint in quality or emotional torment. The story picks up several months after the events of Light of the Jedi with preparations for the Republic Fair, one of Chancellor Soh’s Great Works, in full swing. The opening half of the book takes it’s time showing us the preparations for the Galactic Fair on Valo which I liked but I wasn’t really gripped until we catch up with Loden being tortured onboard the Gaze Electric. The tension builds with a real sense of impending doom until the Fair is attacked by the Nihil, and from then on the pace is frantic, the story gripping, and it never slows down....

The Star Wars Archives 1977-83 by Paul Duncan (Taschen) Like me you may have had book envy over The Star Wars Archives 1977-83 since it’s release in 2018 but not been able to justify the cost. So imagine my delight when I stumbled across this smaller version in my local bookshop when we came out of lockdown. The Taschen 40th Anniversary edition was published in February this year and costs just twenty pounds, but how does it compare to the original XL version? Where the original is 33 x 48cm and 620 pages, this new edition is 22 x 16cm and 512 pages, so what is missing I hear you cry? Well according Paul Duncan himself, the opening chapter about George Lucas early life has been condensed and added to the Episode IV chapter, some appendices were removed and there are only around 500 images compared to 1,200 in the original.  I say only, but the number and breadth of color plates is stunning, from Ralph McQuarrie concept art and design sketches by the costume and prop departments...