Star Wars: The Fallen Star (The High Republic)
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Description
Time and again, the vicious raiders known as the Nihil have sought to bring the golden age of the High Republic to a fiery end. Time and again, the High Republic has emerged battered and weary but victorious thanks to its Jedi protectors—and there is no monument to their cause grander than the Starlight Beacon.
Hanging like a jewel in the Outer Rim, the Beacon embodies the High Republic at the apex of its aspirations: a hub of culture and knowledge, a bright torch against the darkness of the unknown, and an extended hand of welcome to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As survivors and refugees flee the Nihil’s attacks, the Beacon and its crew stand ready to shelter and heal.
The grateful Knights and Padawans of the Jedi Order stationed there finally have a chance to recover—from the pain of their injuries and the grief of their losses. But the storm they thought had passed still rages; they are simply caught in its eye. Marchion Ro, the true mastermind of the Nihil, is preparing his most daring attack yet—one designed to snuff out the light of the Jedi.
Book Information
Posts
Reread Review: 2.5/5For context, here's my spoiler-free review from last year. The Fallen Star - 3.5/5 I'll try to go spoiler free on this one - The Fallen Star is the last adult book of the first High Republic phase and it's been made no secret that the Republic doesn't have much to celebrate here and yes - as in "The Rising Storm" the Nihil do throw some serious punches at the Republic. From the middle on, the novel is a real Page Turner - you feel for the characters and I had tears in my eyes at the end. But unfortunately the novel has a lot of wasted potential in the first half. A large part of the book takes place on Starlight Beacon, but unfortunately Claudia Gray hardly makes anything out of this location. One could have beautifully described Starlight Beacon here, explore interesting rooms, etc. But unfortunately that doesn't happen. And with some things I asked myself "How does that make sense?" e.g. Starlight Beacon is a station where many different species, of different sizes etc. are - but there are only escape pods where with effort 2 Humans fit in? Also, a lot of tension is taken out of the story by telling us readers directly what is going on, but the characters are unknowing. The Nihil succeeds partly already too easily at certain things. Also is the novel disappointingly not really stand alone. I myself have read the first two waves of High Republic - But someone who hasn't will not know who is who with some characters. Also, a major plot twist is simply brushed off in a side sentence and people who haven't read the whole Series do not even know who that person is. Unfortunately a lot of wasted potential. But still a good book. NEW REVIEW - SPOILERS!!!!As you can see, my score has changed compared to last year - why is that?Firstly, upon rereading, my criticisms from back then have become even more negative. There are significant structural issues. The book doesn't stand on its own; the twist that Ghirra Starros - a character you wouldn't know if you haven't read the young adult and middle-grade books - is a spy for the Nihil is simply handled in a passing remark. Yes, there was setup in "Mission to Disaster," but it's disappointing that "The Fallen Star" itself doesn't provide any setup or explanation.Also, the scale of the entire story is much too small for what it's supposed to be. We get barely a dozen characters who are truly relevant to the plot. All other characters are nameless extras. The fall of Starlight Beacon doesn't feel like a catastrophe where many beings lose their lives or anything of that sort. Yes, we lose a truly important character with Stellan Gios, but his death simply feels like "Yes, we need someone else to die," and that's apparently exactly what happens. Originally, Stellan was supposed to survive.This book is the only one among the three adult novels that actually takes place on Starlight Beacon itself, and it doesn't make the most of this potential. The story mostly unfolds in five rooms of the station, and the characters constantly move between these locations. These rooms feel more like stage sets - there's no detailed description. Nothing. It's very, very disappointing, especially considering that the other two adult novels and the young adult and middle-grade books handled it much better.What's especially surprising in the context of Phase Two and "Into the Dark" is that although the entire story takes place in the Eiram system, neither the unique constellation of the twin planets Eiram and E'ronoh nor the moon is mentioned even once. Not a single mention. It could just as well be a completely different planet. The absence of any mention of the centuries-long conflict is also very strange. Something odd is that ships from all over the galaxy come to help Starlight - why don't E'ronoh and Eiram send ships? Both should have fleets.And even though an attempt is made to half-heartedly explain that a "comm loop" prevents anyone from noticing that something is wrong on Starlight, I don't buy it. Logically, there should be constant communication exchange between Starlight personnel and others, similar to an airport tower. Speaking of personnel - the book seriously wants to explain that Starlight has no security forces? Nothing at all? And that just three Nihil can sabotage the entire station?Apparently, some of these things are explained in the Starlight Insider Short Stories, but that's not a justification for not explaining them in the novel itself. The short story "The Tenebrous Way" is also incredibly interesting, but you can still understand the plot of "Darth Plagueis" without having read that short story.Overall, it's a bit more disappointing upon rereading. I hope that Phase Three won't have another total failure like this...
Ein gelungenes Finale, das sich gut lesen lässt, Emotionen auslöst und einen mit dem Wunsch verlässt, dass viele der Figuren hoffentlich eigenständige Bücher zugestanden bekommen. Wie schon bei den Vorgängern kamen mir persönlich eben viele der Charaktere zu kurz. Auch der Plot ist zu überladen. Gray macht mit ihrem Talent das beste draus und schafft es so, die Trilogie zu retten. Andere hätten das wohl nicht so galant hinbekommen. Hinweis: Diese Trilogie unbedingt der Reihe nach lesen. Ansonsten hat man keine Ahnung, was vor sich geht.
Description
Time and again, the vicious raiders known as the Nihil have sought to bring the golden age of the High Republic to a fiery end. Time and again, the High Republic has emerged battered and weary but victorious thanks to its Jedi protectors—and there is no monument to their cause grander than the Starlight Beacon.
Hanging like a jewel in the Outer Rim, the Beacon embodies the High Republic at the apex of its aspirations: a hub of culture and knowledge, a bright torch against the darkness of the unknown, and an extended hand of welcome to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As survivors and refugees flee the Nihil’s attacks, the Beacon and its crew stand ready to shelter and heal.
The grateful Knights and Padawans of the Jedi Order stationed there finally have a chance to recover—from the pain of their injuries and the grief of their losses. But the storm they thought had passed still rages; they are simply caught in its eye. Marchion Ro, the true mastermind of the Nihil, is preparing his most daring attack yet—one designed to snuff out the light of the Jedi.
Book Information
Posts
Reread Review: 2.5/5For context, here's my spoiler-free review from last year. The Fallen Star - 3.5/5 I'll try to go spoiler free on this one - The Fallen Star is the last adult book of the first High Republic phase and it's been made no secret that the Republic doesn't have much to celebrate here and yes - as in "The Rising Storm" the Nihil do throw some serious punches at the Republic. From the middle on, the novel is a real Page Turner - you feel for the characters and I had tears in my eyes at the end. But unfortunately the novel has a lot of wasted potential in the first half. A large part of the book takes place on Starlight Beacon, but unfortunately Claudia Gray hardly makes anything out of this location. One could have beautifully described Starlight Beacon here, explore interesting rooms, etc. But unfortunately that doesn't happen. And with some things I asked myself "How does that make sense?" e.g. Starlight Beacon is a station where many different species, of different sizes etc. are - but there are only escape pods where with effort 2 Humans fit in? Also, a lot of tension is taken out of the story by telling us readers directly what is going on, but the characters are unknowing. The Nihil succeeds partly already too easily at certain things. Also is the novel disappointingly not really stand alone. I myself have read the first two waves of High Republic - But someone who hasn't will not know who is who with some characters. Also, a major plot twist is simply brushed off in a side sentence and people who haven't read the whole Series do not even know who that person is. Unfortunately a lot of wasted potential. But still a good book. NEW REVIEW - SPOILERS!!!!As you can see, my score has changed compared to last year - why is that?Firstly, upon rereading, my criticisms from back then have become even more negative. There are significant structural issues. The book doesn't stand on its own; the twist that Ghirra Starros - a character you wouldn't know if you haven't read the young adult and middle-grade books - is a spy for the Nihil is simply handled in a passing remark. Yes, there was setup in "Mission to Disaster," but it's disappointing that "The Fallen Star" itself doesn't provide any setup or explanation.Also, the scale of the entire story is much too small for what it's supposed to be. We get barely a dozen characters who are truly relevant to the plot. All other characters are nameless extras. The fall of Starlight Beacon doesn't feel like a catastrophe where many beings lose their lives or anything of that sort. Yes, we lose a truly important character with Stellan Gios, but his death simply feels like "Yes, we need someone else to die," and that's apparently exactly what happens. Originally, Stellan was supposed to survive.This book is the only one among the three adult novels that actually takes place on Starlight Beacon itself, and it doesn't make the most of this potential. The story mostly unfolds in five rooms of the station, and the characters constantly move between these locations. These rooms feel more like stage sets - there's no detailed description. Nothing. It's very, very disappointing, especially considering that the other two adult novels and the young adult and middle-grade books handled it much better.What's especially surprising in the context of Phase Two and "Into the Dark" is that although the entire story takes place in the Eiram system, neither the unique constellation of the twin planets Eiram and E'ronoh nor the moon is mentioned even once. Not a single mention. It could just as well be a completely different planet. The absence of any mention of the centuries-long conflict is also very strange. Something odd is that ships from all over the galaxy come to help Starlight - why don't E'ronoh and Eiram send ships? Both should have fleets.And even though an attempt is made to half-heartedly explain that a "comm loop" prevents anyone from noticing that something is wrong on Starlight, I don't buy it. Logically, there should be constant communication exchange between Starlight personnel and others, similar to an airport tower. Speaking of personnel - the book seriously wants to explain that Starlight has no security forces? Nothing at all? And that just three Nihil can sabotage the entire station?Apparently, some of these things are explained in the Starlight Insider Short Stories, but that's not a justification for not explaining them in the novel itself. The short story "The Tenebrous Way" is also incredibly interesting, but you can still understand the plot of "Darth Plagueis" without having read that short story.Overall, it's a bit more disappointing upon rereading. I hope that Phase Three won't have another total failure like this...
Ein gelungenes Finale, das sich gut lesen lässt, Emotionen auslöst und einen mit dem Wunsch verlässt, dass viele der Figuren hoffentlich eigenständige Bücher zugestanden bekommen. Wie schon bei den Vorgängern kamen mir persönlich eben viele der Charaktere zu kurz. Auch der Plot ist zu überladen. Gray macht mit ihrem Talent das beste draus und schafft es so, die Trilogie zu retten. Andere hätten das wohl nicht so galant hinbekommen. Hinweis: Diese Trilogie unbedingt der Reihe nach lesen. Ansonsten hat man keine Ahnung, was vor sich geht.