More book recommendations for 'The Acolyte'
Plus: Star Wars books coming in July.
More books to read for The Acolyte
Perhaps more than any other Star Wars series, The Acolyte is ripe with nods to stories and characters from the books. As a High Republic show, it automatically comes with over 20 books to read in the era. Then, as episodes air each week, I think of more and more books to recommend based on obvious Easter eggs and overall story vibes.
These book recommendations are not set in the same era as The Acolyte or The High Republic. Some of them are no longer part of the canon but are Legends. Most tell very different types of Star Wars stories. Still, I’ll take the smallest details and run with them to recommend more Star Wars books to those inspired by The Acolyte.
**Spoilers ahead for the first 5 episodes of The Acolyte**
Books with cortosis and Tràkata
In episode 5, “Night,” the Jedi, Osha, and Mae come face-to-face with the mysterious dark side user known as The Stranger. As the red-bladed lightsaber-wielder fights with the Jedi, it becomes clear he’s using an obscure fighting style that, according to Yord, “doesn’t follow the rules of combat.”
The style in canon and Legends is known as Tràkata, which involves turning the lightsaber on and off to deceive and get the upper hand on an opponent.
The use of Tràkata is a deep cut from the EU — first identified as such in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook. According to the fan archivists at Wookieepedia, the fighting style first appeared (though not necessarily directly named) in the Dark Empire audio drama. A newer non-canon appearance of Tràkata is in the Visions episode “The Elder.”
The episode was an intense, aggressive fight, made more so by The Stranger’s use of cortosis helmet and gauntlets. Cortosis is a type of metal with a high energy absorption rate, allowing it to dispel blaster bolts and temporarily deactivate lightsabers. The Stranger’s cortosis helmet and gauntlets were put to good use in episode 5. He frequently used them to short out the Jedi’s lightsabers and even headbutted Master Sol’s.
In Legends, cortosis first appeared in the novel I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole. The novel follows Rogue Squadron X-Wing pilot Corran Horn as he embraces his Jedi calling to save his wife.
In canon, cortosis appears in A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller. In the novel, Count Vidian sports a cortosis mesh skin graft to stave off a blaster bolt shot by Hera Syndulla. The metal is featured more prominently in Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn. The novel covered both the Clone Wars era and the reign of the Empire from Thrawn’s and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader’s perspectives. During the Clone Wars, Anakin, Thrawn, and Padme Amidala discover the Separatists developing a new series of battle droids and clone trooper armor made with cortosis.
Bonus recommendations
The Rise of Kylo Ren: Is The Stranger/Qimir not a real Sith but instead the first Knight of Ren? It’s possible and would be a good way to expand the little bit of lore we have for the Knights of Ren. Either way, I love how Star Wars is transforming the old “good vs. evil - Jedi vs. Sith” debate into a spectrum of Force sensitivity and belief. If you want more Knights of Ren content, check out the trade paperback of The Rise of Kylo Ren.
Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade: I will shout about this book every chance I get. And these episodes of The Acolyte are giving me more reasons to love Star Wars stories that challenge the righteousness and morality of the Jedi Order. Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade does just that, offering a tragic perspective of ways the Jedi failed some of its youngest and most vulnerable.
Have more reading recommendations for The Acolyte? Share them in the comments!
Star Wars books and comics arriving in July
There are lots of excellent new Star Wars books and comics coming out next month, including The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, the Thrawn Trilogy omnibus, and the first comic in the adapted Ahsoka series.
July 2
Legends: The New Republic Omnibus Vol. 2
July 3
Inquisitors #1
The High Republic #9
July 9
The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire by Dr. Chris Kempshall
July 10
The High Republic Adventures (2023) #7
Ahsoka #1
July 16
Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy omnibus
July 17
Star Wars (2020) #48
July 24
The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire #4
Darth Vader (2020) #48
July 30
Legends: Tales of the Jedi Omnibus Hardcover
Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes omnibus
July 31
Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #4
This week’s Star Wars releases
June 26
The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire #3
The High Republic Adventures (2023) #7
Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3
Out of office
The Space Wizards Book Club is finally taking a vacation. Well, it’s technically a research trip, but I’m excited about it. So, I’m counting it as a vacation.
Anyway, my husband and I will be traveling next Wednesday through July 8, so there won’t be a newsletter next Friday. The next newsletter will arrive on July 9 with a review of The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, which I’m currently reading.
What’s the research trip for, you ask? I’ll share more details when I return😊
Never even heard of that metal before. I really liked the way the visualized the lightsabers shattering and shot circuiting in the show. It looked super cool and it served as a nice way to break up the combat.
There’s also the Hannd of Thrawn Vision of the Future where Thrawn used cortois to guard his clone to protect it against the Jedi and Bane used to mine cortois