Review: Star Wars- The High Republic: The Rising Storm
Quick Summary
Pros: The main narrative in this book is fun and engaging. The book significantly expands on the lore of the High Republic era in an interesting way. Marchion Ro’s story is extremely engaging and extremely interesting.
Cons: The story surrounding the heroes isn’t as enjoyable as it was in the previous book.
Overall: This is another compelling entry in this new era of Star Wars history. The book manages to tell an enjoyable story filled with thrills and action. It does this while also significantly expanding on the ongoing narrative stretching throughout this era. The book isn’t quite as good as the previous book in the series but it still makes for a solid read. Ultimately, this book is for readers who want to see more from the High Republic era, especially those interested in Marchion Ro.
Story
Star Wars The High Republic: The Rising Storm, by Cavan Scott, is a solid story that builds upon the High Republic era. It isn’t quite as good as its predecessor but still manages to entertain.
The main narrative running through The Rising Storm is engaging. It features a mix of action, suspense, and excitement that feels similar to the previous book in the series and to most Star Wars books in general. It is fun to see the villains’ plans begin to play out and exciting to see how the heroes react to these plans.
However, the book’s best feature may be the way in which it builds upon the High Republic era. Readers get to learn more about the Jedi of this era, get to uncover some of the politics within the Republic, and get to see the ongoing evolution of the Nihil. By the end of this book, all of these forces are interacting in a way that is compelling on its own but that also has the potential to create some really interesting stories.
The point where this is the most obvious is Marchion Ro. The High Republic era’s main antagonist really steps up in this book and becomes a seriously compelling piece of the era’s lore. The previous book hinted at his larger plans and the mysteries within his backstory. Now, this book begins to reveal them and utilize them in a way that is already having a big impact. However, there are still plenty of secrets reserved for the future, thus further building anticipation for the next installment in this series.
The only real negative in The Rising Storm is that the story surrounding the heroes is not as enjoyable as it was in the previous book. The previous book really focused on the amazing achievements of the Jedi and the wonderful way in which they work with a generally uncorrupt Republic. However, the heroes in this book are a little underwhelming, especially when compared to Marchion Ro. There are definitely some standout characters and moments, and their story is still enjoyable, it just isn’t as good as the last book.
Continuity
Star Wars The High Republic: The Rising Storm takes place in the High Republic era of Star Wars history. This occurs long before the events of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy.
Specifically, this book takes place about a year after the events of The High Republic: Light of the Jedi (Review).
This book also makes a few references to other Star Wars works:
- The Drengir were introduced in Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark (Review).
- More about Ty Yorrick is revealed in the comic book miniseries The High Republic Adventures- The Monster of Temple Peak, collected in Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Vol. 1.