The Rising Storm

What a fun story. I'm enamored with every single new Jedi that gets introduced and I can't wait to see how things unfold in the next part of phase 1!

Now is such a great time to jump into becoming a star wars lore nerd. I am having so much fun


Burryaga is the best part of the entire High Republic era, you can't convince me otherwise.

Less confusing than the first book but there are still too many characters and, confusingly, they're referred to by their forename and surname at different times, meaning you have to remember who's who. Additionally the author sometimes refers to a character by their race, meaning you have to remember who's an ithorian, who's a Sullustan etc. if the author needed notes to keep track of who was who and what, so does the reader.
An editor needed to step in here.
All that said, the main sequence was compelling and unlike another reviewer, I found the switching between scenes to be cinematic and compelling.
But bring a notebook- you'll need it.

The face collapsed in on itself, the entire husk crumbling to dust before his eye, and for the first time since he was a child, Stellan Gios was afraid...

The best thing about the Rising Storm is that the battle of the fair (which makes up like half of the book) really succeeds in creating a great sense of claustrophobia through the use of the Nihil war cloud. It makes every chapter therein feel like a desparate struggle only to be given one of the most satisfying moments to read so far, where Stellan finally gets into contact with multiple Jedi, all calling in one by one and proving that the strength of the Jedi truly is their unity.

But then when you think you're finally out of the death surrounding the book, the High Republic team really through a curveball and have the nerve to end the second book with the very same heartbreak as the first but now even worse. How dare they!