"From spark to inferno - any connection to the Force chased away the shadows."
Light of the Jedi is the start of Disney's attempt to bring the Star Wars franchise back to life. I was cautiously optimistic ready for anything. Anything including that I would like it, and I very much did. Thankfully.
This story is set in the High Republic which approximately 300 years before the 4th movie, A New Hope. If you dont think too much of it, it shouldn't be an issue. I personally find it hard to suspend my disbelief as I wonder what happened in those 300 hundred years. For in this book we see crazy feats of Hyperspace travel, fascinating technology, especially when it comes to Jedi and the ships they fly. Where does this stuff go? Who knows, lets not think about it, because on its own, its a very good start to this era.
The first part of this novel is insanely intense. It immediately lets you know the stakes are high, and there will be consequences. However like the Jedi, it doesn't let you form any attachments to anything yet. I think if you are a character driven reader, you may not like the beginning. It does do a decent job of introducing some people and then having devastation strike. So you understand the impact, but don't particularly feel emotionally invested yet. And then others you dont get to know at all before they are obliterated. So the emotions may not be there, but there is a lot of build up.
So much build up in fact, that when IT happens for the first time. It just kind of took my breath away. It filled me with a swell of emotion. What is IT you may say? Jedi. This is entirely personal, and depends on your fandom for Star Wars. But for me, the Jedi just mean something. They symbolize something, and that something is hope. And I don't care if its cheesy. But this book had not 1 but 2 moments where when the Jedi finally arrived, I felt like I was there. In the shoes of that everyday normal person, when something of legend steps in to save the day. This is probably my highest praise in the book. In an era where Jedi should be very common, they still made them feel special.
"There will be no more Republic. Just worlds, alone in the dark."
I think a lot of the universe building was done very well. There were just little touches here and there. There was of course direct name drops like Yoda, Kashyyyk and so on. But there was other stuff I appreciated, like a moment where a character introduces us to one of last natural place on Coruscant (the planet famous for being entirely one connected city). But, at least to my knowledge, is the first time we see this mountain, that happens to exist still on Coruscant. The tallest of the planet before the city swallowed it. This was fascinating to me, because its something in Coruscant we've never seen. (Also helps put into perspective how massive the city is, imagine everything as tall as Everest on Earth...)
The story also often talks of a space station being build, Lights Beacon. And the way it discusses how it will showcase all the Outer Rim has to offer, in unique biodomes and such. It was just a cool bit of world building and has me interested in how it will effect the future of the era because it seems it will be our base of operation going forward.
But still my highest praise goes to the Jedi. It does a great job of letting us get to know some very deeply, and then others pass in and out, making the whole universe feel more full and diverse. Speaking of diverse I liked how they handled the force. It's handled in a very spiritual way. It describes how each Jedi see it differently, whether it be an ocean, a song, a fire. Just beautifully written sometimes. I think hardcore fans of the Jedi way will really appreciate it.
"Ugly as it was, it served as a perfect reflection of the great truth of the Force: no matter what a person was on the outside...inside, everyone was made of light."
It wasn't all perfect however. The mystery of it all had left me wanting. For instance there is this one part, where it ends a chapter foreshadowing a mysterious person. But the very next chapter just reveals them. And then toward the last quarter of the novel I realized that we the reader already knew all the secrets and were just waiting for the Republic to catch up. That can be frustrating.
Lastly I feel like someone who is most likely a major character, is the Chancellor. She shows up a lot, talks big about the future of the Republic and such. Honestly I was just like ok, lets move on. But then I kind of realized that she is probably the one that builds the High Republic into what it is so...maybe I should care more about her? Oops.
But overall I really enjoyed it. It also has some episodic moments. Where part one seems to be its own whole episode with a very intense opening. And then there are little side plots after that, all seemingly not connected until the end. It's a really good structure in my opinion. It gives you that large galaxy idea, of millions of stories all happening at once, and these are just a few.
The ending has me ready for what's next. Let's do it Star Wars!
