This is a great addition to the Star Wars cannon—I’m loving this look at the Jedi Order before it got too enmeshed with the Republic.

Claudia Grey excels at writing characters, and showing their inner struggles. And for Jedi, I feel like the inner struggle is most significant to their being and identity. So it was seriously cool to follow a host of characters who were all on varying degrees of their journey, struggle with the Force and the Jedi Order.

Light Spoilers…

One of the more profound moments, for me, was when Reath (a young, bookish Padawan) has doubts about his mission, and believes he is alone in this doubt. At that moment he thinks that as a Jedi Master, he’ll finally be free of that doubt. Then, we promptly cut to the other characters—two Jedi Masters and a Jedi Knight—who are waging their own inner battles.

The story is compelling, reveals much about the cannon universe, and introduces remarkable characters. And of course, it’s written in a tidy way—everything wraps up and no questions are left unanswered. That’s all you can hope for in a stand-alone, and I think Grey pulled it off with flying colors.

I can’t wait to read more High Republic books, I can only hope they’re as good as this one