A few weeks ago at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, Lucasfilm Publishing and Disney Books released advance copies of the highly anticipated new short-story collection Star Wars: The High Republic – Tales of Light and Life for sale. The book will also go on sale to the general public at the beginning of September, and I recently received a review copy from Disney as well.
Having just now finished reading Tales of Light and Life, I can say that it will quickly and easily become a must-own for those who have been following The High Republic publishing initiative from its very beginning from its start in early 2021. This anthology brings together all of the talented authors who have contributed to the project so far, each of whom have contributed tales that fill in some of the narrative gaps between and around Phases I and II. For example, in the first story contained within the book, entitled “The Queen’s Bloom” and written by Zoraida Córdova (Star Wars: The High Republic – Convergence), the writer revisits the popular aristocratic scoundrel character of Axel Greylark, bringing him back to his younger days at a prestigious university… and a misadventure that will change the path of his life forever. I found this story to be fun and impactful on me as a reader in a way that I wish Cordova’s novel had been as well, but I think the restrictions of the short story form actually helped her keep things tight and intriguing in this case. All of the Tales of Light and Life are somewhere between 25 and 40-ish pages, and there are nine total in the standard release– with a tenth by writer Alyssa Wong (of the Star Wars: Doctor Aphra comic book) available in the upcoming Barnes & Noble exclusive edition. I have not read that final story, as it was not included in my review copy, but I will say I really enjoyed most of the others.
My absolute favorite short story in the book was the second one (with the tales being presented roughly in chronological order, story-wise), entitled “A Closed Fist Has No Claws” by Tessa Gratton (co-author of Star Wars: The High Republic – Path of Deceit). This narrative follows the character of Marda Ro after the conclusion of Phase II and charts the course of her Jedi-hating Force cult, formerly known as the Path of the Open Hand, as it gradually evolves into the ruthless band of marauders known as the Nihil that we are familiar with from Phase I. Of all the stories in this book, this is the one I’d say could most entertainingly be turned into a full-length novel itself, as I’m fascinated by the birth of the Nihil and how the High Republic villain Marchion Ro eventually came to be. Somewhat less interesting to me were the stories that just focuses on Jedi Knights and Padawans going about their day-to-day business, with my least favorite being “The Lonely Traveler Is Home” by Daniel José Older (Star Wars: The High Republic – Midnight Horizon). This tale follows Padawan learner Ram Jomaram on the doomed space station Starlight Beacon as he plans a surprise party for one of his friends who he believes is homesick– it’s about as inconsequential as it sounds, and I still haven’t warmed up to the touchy-feely way that Older writes his Jedi characters.
Other stories involving the Jedi in the back half of the book did work for me, however, like Charles Soule’s (Star Wars: The High Republic – Light of the Jedi) tale of Bell Zettifar entitled “All Jedi Walk Their Own Path.” This one is set after the fall of Starlight Beacon (as seen at the end of The High Republic’s first phase) and involves Bell refusing to give up on his faithful Wookiee friend– and fellow Padawan– Burryaga, even after the rest of the Jedi Order has assumed him to be dead. That’s probably the story that most High Republic devotees are going to want to make sure they read before Phase III starts in the fall, but there’s also “Light In the Darkness” by Cavan Scott, which gives us a revealing look at what happens to remote civilizations in the Outer Rim after the light of Starlight Beacon goes out and the Jedi are seemingly no longer a presence in the galaxy’s frontier. Plus, I enjoyed “After the Fall” by Claudia Gray (Star Wars: The High Republic – The Fallen Star) which focuses on the crew of the Vessel pitching in to help in the Starlight Beacon recovery effort, and the concluding story “The Call of Coruscant” by Lydia Kang (Star Wars: The High Republic – Cataclysm), which teases the next stage of the Jedi Order’s ongoing battle against the Nihil and the terrifying, Force-eating monsters they have at their command.
Like I said at the top of this review, Tales of Light and Life is going to be essential reading for those keeping abreast of all of The High Republic’s goings-on, and it’s also a terrific reminder of the intricate web of characters and situations that the creative team behind this initiative have woven over the past few years. It’s an impressive achievement already, and one that promises to become even more rewarding as Phase III approaches. This book is a great appetizer for that tantalizing main course coming later this year, and it makes me even more excited for Star Wars: The High Republic to continue.
Star Wars: The High Republic – Tales of Light and Light is available for pre-order right now.