Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: Tales of Enlightenment #StarWars

 

Tales of Enlightenment is a collection of six short stories set during Phase II of the High Republic (set about 150 years before the destruction of the Starlight Beacon by the Nihil). All of the stories are set on Jedha (which was first introduced in the movie Rogue One) in a bar called Enlightenment. The stories all involve a group of regular patrons of the bar interacting with people visiting the bar before, during, and after the events of the Battle of Jedha. 

The hardcover version of the book is just under 100 pages. The short stories take up about 2/3 of the book. The last 1/3 includes interview snippets and background information on some of the authors who have contributed to the High Republic stories, short synopses of the Phase I and II novels, and a listing of the chronological order of the Phase II and II books. There are also a lot of illustrations, so even though the book is about 100 pages long, there is much less than 100 pages of text, so it is very easy to read. Most people will likely be able to finish it in a day or less. 

Ultimately, I would not classify this as a must-read. The stories are fine but are very much filler stories that do not advance the main storyline of Phase II much at all. The writer interviews and bios are okay, but nothing to write home about. The chronological listing of the novels is helpful if you are one who gets the physical books and wants to put them on a shelf in chronological order.