Light of the Jedi, published in 2021 and written by Charles Soule, was one of the first canon novels in the Star Wars series after Disney purchased Lucasfilm, set during the "High Republic" era. This is when the Republic is at its height before Palpatine starts setting in motion the events that would result in his power grab. The book is set about 230 years before A New Hope, so about 200 years before The Phantom Menace. The beginning of the book involves a series of hyperspace disasters when pieces of shrapnel traveling at light speed start hitting ships and moons in the outer rim. The Jedi are called in to stop the accidents (called Emergences) and come up against a group of pirates called the Nihil, who are holding systems hostage, telling the leaders of the systems that they can prevent the Emergences for a fee.
The book has some strengths and weaknesses. The biggest strength is a deviation from the Jedi vs. Sith storylines. The Nihil present a formidable foe for the Jedi without being Force-users. The biggest weakness is the lack of recognizable characters. Yoda is mentioned but does not appear, despite being at an age when he is likely at his most powerful and could absolutely help the other Jedi, especially toward the end of the book. The book also jumps into the action without devoting a lot of time to character development for the new characters. There is some character development as the story progresses, but I think the book could have done more to establish who the new characters are. It is made more challenging by the fact that the book introduces many new characters, making it difficult to keep track of who is who. I think a better approach would have been to introduce just one master and one padawan as the primary characters and center the story around them. Another strength is that the book does not tie up everything in a neat bow at the end. It leaves the fate of one of the characters in danger and uncertain, and the book clearly sets up what will be a series of novels set in this time period.
The hardcover version of the book is moderately long, just under 400 pages. Ultimately, the book is good, but not great. It is absolutely setting up the overall storyline for the High Republic era, and very much feels like the first book in the series. I definitely think the subsequent novels could be better than this one, depending on what direction the story is taken. Hopefully, Yoda and Yaddle, who are really the only characters from the Phantom Menace onward who are alive at this point, will be incorporated into the subsequent novels, beyond just a name drop that Yoda got in this book. They do not necessarily need to be the main characters in every book. Still, I think their inclusion in the books (especially Yoda's) would help tie this era to the movies and animated TV series eras. So, while it is not perfect, it is worth reading.
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