Light of the Jedi

The High Republic was what the Star Wars canon needed. A time in the world of which we didn't know anything yet. Nothing is tied to the Skywalkers or the Death Star and we have no idea what's going to happen to any of these characters.

For a really great and surprising story in the Skywalker time, you pretty much had to get people invested in more smaller scale stakes, such as for characters or dynamics that weren't as fleshed out in the movies, while a lot of authors work better with larger stakes and getting more freedom with the world itself. Claudia Gray really excelled at a lot of the character stuff, but she was one of few.

In Light of the Jedi, the author(s) could go crazy with worldbuilding! Coruscant isn't the same Coruscant we've come to know. The state of the galaxy is different, and we have different enemies to deal with.

Gotta say, it was really enjoyable getting to see these Jedi in their prime. There was a lot of uses for the Force that were new, as well as how some of the Jedi saw the Force and how they interacted with it.

As this is an introduction novel, it serves very much as the starting point of the entire era, and is very plot focused. I've seen the event that happens here referenced in other High Republic novel summaries, so it's safe to assume that this should be your very first read if you wanted to get into this era.

It also had to introduce a lot of new characters and set things in motion, so there was not a lot of time for said characters to really shine individually. There are some cool moments, but I do really want separate novels for some of them. Especially Avar Kriss and Elzarr Mann. Ooooh, that dynamic! I absolutely love it.

I did not really care for the antagonist though. Or at least not the organization or the way they worked and operated. That got way more interesting at the end so I'm not actively hoping against them showing up again!

This is a really promising start and I'm looking forward to more!