Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm

 

The Rising Storm, published in 2021, is a main storyline novel by Cavan Scott set during Phase I of the High Republic era. At the time it was written, it was the second "main storyline" canon novel (basically meaning "adult" novel) set in Phase I of the High Republic era, the events of which are set about 200 years before the Skywalker Saga. As most know, since Disney took over Lucasfilm, everything released, regardless of format, is considered canon. The young adult and junior novels are ancillary to the main story told in the movies, TV series, and adult novels. In the High Republic era, the enemy of the Jedi is not the Sith, but a group of pirates called the Nihil.  In this novel, set a year after the hyperspace disaster recounted in Light of the Jedi, the story takes place at a Republic fair on the planet Valo, organized by Republic Chancellor Lina Soh despite warnings of a Nihil attack. Most of the book involves the various Jedi trying to stave off the Nihil attack and keep the people of Valo safe. Within that, infighting between members of the Nihil emerges, each seeking to take control of the group.

I think a lot of what has bogged down the two main novels is that it has a ton of characters, none of whom is the focus. Unlike the prequel movies and novelizations, which focused on about 4-5 Jedi and kept the rest in the background, the novels feel like an ensemble cast of characters we don't really know and don't get much development. So, keeping straight who everyone is can be challenging, and getting invested in all of them is hard. And I think it has been a mistake to exclude Yoda from the novels (aside from a couple of name-drops). He is probably the most powerful Jedi at the height of his powers, yet has been on the sidelines now for two major disasters in the Light of the Jedi novel and this one. 

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long, at about 430 pages. I would describe the story as good, but not great. The author does a good job with the story and keeps the chapters relatively short. The story jumps back and forth between characters who get separated during the attack, so the storylines kind of shift all over the place. Thus, it can be hard, especially if you take a break from reading for a day or so, to remember what was going on with the group discussed in the current chapter, because they may not have been mentioned for three or four chapters. But the fact that the chapters are short (about 10 pages at most, and some are about 2 pages) helps with that. 

This is definitely a "middle" novel that is setting up a larger battle/confrontation to come. It has a lot of action, some suspense, and drama. It is a relatively quick read and can be finished in a short time (depending on how fast you read and how much time you devote to reading). If you are a fairly quick reader and read a little every day, you can definitely get through this in a couple of weeks or less. If you are a fast reader, you can easily finish it in a few days. Ultimately, if you pick and choose which novels to read, this one is worth reading despite the issues, because it advances the overall story and clearly sets up elements that will be important in later novels.