SWBC: What's next for The High Republic
Plus: Older Star Wars books to read and reread in 2024.
What’s next for The High Republic
We’ve got some exciting new Star Wars books coming this year, and many of them are part of the final phase of The High Republic, which celebrated three years of storytelling last week.
Phase 3 of The High Republic kicked off back in the fall of 2023 with a new adult book and three ongoing comic series. Now, readers are looking forward to the next two books in the first wave of this phase — the young adult and middle-grade stories.
Over the weekend, Disney Books sent me finished copies of those books for review.
Escape From Valo by Daniel Jose Older and Alyssa Wong (Jan. 30): Padawan Ram Jomaram and the planet Valo are back, along with a few new Jedi younglings, and fighting to stay safe and eventually escape the Nihil-run Occlusion Zone.
Publisher’s summary:
Journey to the embattled Occlusion Zone in this action-packed adventure set hundreds of years before the Skywalker saga! It’s a dark and dangerous time for the galaxy in which communication has been rendered nearly impossible in Nihil-controlled space as the nefarious pirates continue to threaten the Republic’s very existence. Join Jedi Padawan Ram Jomaram—and some Jedi younglings—as they plot their escape from enemy territory.
What to read before:
Race to Crashpoint Tower (middle-grade starring Ram on Valo)
Midnight Horizon (young adult starring Ram and other Padawans)
The Rising Storm (Phase 1 adult book featuring the Nihil attack on Valo)
Defy the Storm by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland (March 5): Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh and young scientist Avon Starros are back and working to help the scattered Jedi and Republic forces find a way through the deadly Stormwall.
Publisher’s summary:
One year after the fall of Starlight Beacon, the galaxy is in chaos. An anarchistic group known as the Nihil has taken over a section of space now known as the Occlusion Zone. Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh and scientist Avon Starros team up in an attempt to find a way through the Nihil Stormwall to save those on the other side.
But what are the Nihil's real plans? And what of the nameless creatures that can destroy the Jedi Order? The battle has just begun. . . .
What to read before:
A Test of Courage (middle-grade introduction to Vernestra and her Padawan Imri)
Out of the Shadows (young adult starring Vernestra)
Mission to Disaster (middle-grade starring Vernestra, Imri, and Avon)
What to know about Phase 3 of The High Republic
Phase 3 of The High Republic is set a couple hundred years before the events of the Skywalker Saga. Its stories are sequels to the events of Phase 1 and are set in 229 BBY (before the Battle of Yavin).
It’s been one year since the horrific attack on Starlight Beacon, the space station’s fall into the Eiram sea, and the loss of so many Jedi and Republic citizens. The ruthless Nihil — led by Eye of the Nihil Marchion Ro — have annexed a large portion of the Outer Rim and established the Occlusion Zone under their own lawless “government.” The droid-powered Stormwall doesn’t let anyone in or out unless they have a Nihil-supplied Path drive.
It’s a dark time for the Jedi and the Republic at large. But because this is Star Wars, there are kernels of hope sprinkled throughout the comics and the first book in the Phase — The Eye of Darkness by George Mann (review).
What upcoming High Republic books are you most excited to read? Share them in the comments!
Star Wars books to read and reread in 2024
In 2023, I reread several Star Wars books — Dark Disciple, The Fallen Star, and Midnight Horizon. Though I technically read Heir to the Empire again, it was the audiobook of the 20th anniversary edition, so I didn’t include it in my list.
This year, I’ve got a stack of Star Wars books I want to reread. My priority rereads are Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade and Alphabet Squadron.
Delilah S. Dawson’s Iskat Akaris biopic came out last year and when I finished the last page, I immediately wanted to turn back to page 1 and start reading it again. And I’ve been thinking about the book ever since.
Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed is, in my opinion, one of the most underhyped books and series in Star Wars. It’s been a few years since I read the trilogy, and I’m itching to dive back in and listen to the books.
I’d also like to reread the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy (especially the incredible Lesser Evil) and give A New Dawn another chance (I wasn’t a big fan of this book the first time around).
Other books I immediately wanted to reread right after finishing them were all of Phase 2 of The High Republic. I miss the stories and the characters so much, and I’m hoping to reread at least two young adult and two adult novels — Path of Deceit, Path of Vengeance, Convergence, and Cataclysm.
What Star Wars books do you want to reread this year? Share them in the comments!
Star Wars books and comics out this week
Jan. 10
Star Wars (2020) #42
The Mandalorian: Season 2 #8
I think the Alphabet Squadron books are really special, and a bit overlooked in the new canon. I think I will join you in rereading them this year!
My main Star Wars reading goal this year is to read all 19 of the New Jedi Order books and review them for my substack. I started Vector Prime the other day. We'll see how it goes.
I wouldn't mind re-reading the new Thrawn books. It's been a while since I've done that. And I hadn't thought about it in a while, but re-reading Alphabet Squadron would be fun. I really liked those books, I thought they had a lot of Rogue One vibes.