Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule

“He closed his eyes and opened his spirit, and there it was, the small light within him that never stopped burning. Always at least a candle flame, and sometimes, if he concentrated, it could surge up into a blaze. A few times, he’d felt as bright as the sun, so much light pouring through him he was afraid he might go blind. Honestly, though, it didn’t matter. From spark to inferno—any connection to the Force chased away the shadows.”

Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule

Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule is the first book in Phase I of The High Republic series. This series is considered ‘canon’ and is already so massive for someone like me who is just digging in. In true Star Wars fashion, Phase II takes place before the events of Phase I, so you can read Phase II first for timeline or Phase I first for publication order. A very good friend sent me a great website that shows the reading order which can be found here. I chose to go publication order just because that’s what I felt like. This novel is absolutely fantastic and is a great starting point for Star Wars, too. Star Wars is such a massive universe. There are so many books, so many movies and tv shows, it can be overwhelming and daunting at times to navigate, but I’m loving the discovery and finding all the new characters through my reading.

This novel has one of the most gripping openings. It starts off with a massive destructive event that is about to take place, and each chapter is counting down to the final moments. It’s such a riveting opening that switches between different characters. Captain Hedda Casset is moving a large freighter, Legacy Run, to the Outer Rim where thousands of people plan to settle and restart their lives. She’s made this run many times before and she enjoys it. But then the unimaginable and seemingly impossible happens. There is debris in hyperspace. This shouldn’t be possible. It can’t be possible. But Captain Casset is unable to stop Legacy Run from hitting it, and the ship is torn into pieces and sent across the galaxy. Some of the pieces enter the Hetzal system, threatening to hit a planet, and this is essentially the catalyst that starts the novel.

The Jedi- Jedi Master Avar Kriss, Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm and Padawan Bell Zettifar, among others, work together to try to stop this catastrophe from happening. But this is only the start of what’s coming. The Republic has a new enemy, the Nihil. The Nihil are a band of marauders and raiders who inflict terror across the galaxy. It is going to take everything the Jedi and people of the Republic to rise up against them.

I don’t want to spoil too much because this book is so fast-paced and engrossing. It really is such a perfect entry point for the High Republic series (and now that I’ve read a few that come after), I can say with a lot of certainty that I’m absolutely and completely hooked on this series. It’s also so amazing to see a group of writers all take a different piece of the story and tell it their way, while building and adding to what is already an amazing and incredible universe.

I can guarantee a lot of the next books I review here will be Star Wars related. It’s such an amazing place to travel to, and I’m so stoked to keep traveling the galaxy and discovering what is coming next. If you have favorite Star Wars books to recommend, please let me know. I’m definitely trying to read as many as I can!