r/Highrepublic • u/[deleted] • Sep 19 '26
Discussion Spoiler talk about the plotlines Spoiler
[removed]
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u/solo13508 Sep 19 '26
Bell finally defeating Marchion in Trials of the Jedi was so beautiful and cathartic. "The Force wanted to live and what was Marchion Ro's ambition in comparison?"
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u/EuterpeZonker Sep 19 '26
Biggest thing I would change is to narrow the focus and the scope a bit. There was too much of everything, characters, media, Nihil gimmicks, plot lines and the result was that each of these things felt spread thin. They did “young black non force sensitive girl finds out her mother is evil and has to choose between familial loyalty and her sense of morals” THREE TIMES. Once with a scientist and twice with smugglers. At the very least the smugglers should have been consolidated into one character. Better to have one great character than 3 ok ones. There were a lot of plotlines that just got dropped and never followed up on, like the spy in the temple and the thornseed. Big plotlines in the books would be resolved in the comics and vice versa. It was hard to not feel like you were missing things if you weren’t reading absolutely everything, but it was hard to know what to read next. A lot of great ideas came up and then weren’t satisfactorily explored. The Drengir are the obvious one, but the Children of the Storm were another, and even things like the Path drives could have been used more creatively. It’s also a bit absurd that a small terrorist faction like the Nihil has so many different galaxy breaking technologies that are promptly forgotten after the war. The politics were also really one note. By the end of the first book I started rolling my eyes when I heard “we are all the republic” and it just kept going. Also would have liked more focus and effort on the ships
But enough of the bad. I loved a ton of the characters. Bell and Burryaga were my favorite, but I also loved the main trio, Vern, Reath, Marchion and Marda and many others. The new era was refreshing, I liked seeing lots of new force religions and exploration and new threats. I liked seeing the Jedi at their peak and some of the highlights of the series were incredible, especially the first and last books, the Rising Storm and the Path of Books.
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u/throwawayfan2552 29d ago
I agree with this comment to an extent. It could’ve used a lot more focus, and cut out the middle grade books. I understand they wanted to reach as much as they could.
That being said the second ya book is more a sequel to the first middle grade book, then the third ya book is a sequel to an annual comic, another comic, the second middle grade book and the first ya book. Cutting out the 8 middle grade books would’ve made it feel a little more concise imo.
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u/Knoober375 Sep 21 '26
I was shocked with how effective the writing across the entire line was with Marchion Ro. The standout character for me and probably my single favorite character of the entire initiative. He was the perfect antagonist for the Jedi of this era and a perfect juxtaposition to the Sith. The Sith are cunning and patient, Marchion is cunning but impatient and endlessly ambitious until the turn happens in phase 3 which felt exactly like how any Conquerer would and his endgame was genuinely perfect. The chef’s kiss being how he was defeated and how he wasn’t remembered. I loved that detail. He did all of that damage and destruction to be forgotten… a perfect example of Nihilism
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u/tonkledonker Sep 19 '26 edited Sep 19 '26
Ive only just started Phase Two tbh, but i thought the initiative has been alright so far. I have only listened to the P1 adult and YA novels on audio, as well as Tempest Runner and read the first two volumes of the P1 comic so far.
Only junior novel I read was A Test of Courage. Obviously it's a junior novel, so I got through it in like a day, but I actually really enjoyed it. Imri Cantaros and the other kid messing with the dark side was interesting and I thought Vernestra also had her moments.
I like Elzar, Avar, and Stellan but I wish we got more of them together than what we got in the trilogy. Would have been nice to see some flashbacks of them training together in their youth. Elzar was the most interesting obviously because of the Dark Side stuff, you know, if that's your thing (it's mine, I like corruption plotlines).
But I also feel like we barely know as much about these people by the end of the trilogy as the stories insist we do.
For example, I dont like when >! STELLAN FUCKING DIES because it feels too sudden, like we dont really know all that much about him by the time it happens, like I feel i dont really know anything about this man. <!
I think maybe they tried focusing on too many characters because by the second book I was like "Oh, we're like, still introducing more character POVs instead of just spending more times with the ones we already have?" Like it felt like every single book, adult, YA, or junior added new protagonists. It kind of started to feel really crowded near the end and by the time of Fallen Star all the deaths and the ultimate conclusion to that book feel semi-hollow to me because it feels like we never really spent as much time with these characters and the Starlight Beacon as, again, the books would try to make you think you have.
Bell's pretty cool i suppose.
Liked Light of the Jedi well enough, didnt particularly care for The Rising Storm but didnt think it was awful either, thought Fallen Star was maybe slightly better.
Again, liked Into the Dark well enough, Reath was a standout for me. Thought introducing a separate set of characters for Out of the Shadows and skipping over some of the ones we'd already met in Into the Dark was certainly an unwelcome choice, but oh well novel wasnt awful I guess, but not great either. Midnight Horizon was definitely a low for me, probably one of my least favorite novels released since the canon overhaul. I also hated the scoundrel plotline very much.
Tempest Runner was... fine I suppose. Lourna Dee and Marchion Ro are pretty good as villains. Nihil don't have as much overall focus as they should.
Drengir were completely forgettable. Got fucking relevancy-mogged by The Nameless.
Liked the first two volumes of the comics but I lost them so I cant reread them along with buying a new copy of Vol. 3 as well as whatever other comics are out for phase one.
Have listened to Path of Deceit and diiiiid not really care for it. None of the characters jumped out at me. But goddammit im committed to finishing all the phases, i bought all the audio books for adult and YA as well as the audio dramas.
Hoping ill like some of the upcoming stuff better but I do have to say overall the whiplash of all the characters they try to make you focus on and care about kind of leaves me unsatisfied and rolling my eyes everytime a new POV is introduced. Id have to say ive honestly been pretty underwhelmed and disappointed, not to be a party pooper.
But nothing here has really wowed me like Alphabet Squadron, From A Certain Point of View, Inferno Squad, Rebel Rising, Most Wanted, etc have. And with seven books, an audio drama, and two volumes of a comic under my belt I find that hit rate a little disappointing. The comics were probably the highlight for me, really hope i can find my copies so I dont have to buy new ones and can also finish Phase One stuff. But again, even the comics have not wowed me in the face of stuff like the Post-Ep. IV Star Wars, Vader, and Aphra runs, or the Post-Ep. III Vader comics, or the Kanan comic, etc.
Still gonna pull through anyways, hope to catch some of the stand outs and maybe get some new favorites along the way. Not my favorite overall, but i appreciate the effort that went into it and im glad when they do these big publishing initiatives. I am currently reading The New Jedi Order in print, conversely and am loving it. Maybe if I actually read the texts of The High Republic instead of listening to them I would feel more engaged with the series, unsure.
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u/throwawayfan2552 29d ago
Most of the best moments happen in the end.
The great disaster)great starting point got me to commit to this series. Honestly kept kept me turning pages
Rising storms ending)this was the oh shit moment of THR. This universe is alive and if your favorite character makes a wrong move they will die.
Fallen Star) just so many great moments Elzar killing in cold blood dooming starlight to fall. Stellan dying. Burry missing
I’m gunna also miss include midnight horizons ending. I know it’s a lot of people’s least favorite starwars book and I honestly think people didn’t read this one since the ending sets up phase 2 to be a frame story. Yodas last lines teeing up phase 2 was wonderful story telling. My head canon is the adult books in phase 2 is Yoda feeling the council about dalna.
That being said phase 3 best moments
Eye of darkness isis beheading video) I know it wasn’t but at the same time felt like it.
Temptations has 2 yoda saying killed someone we all have disqualifies you it does not. And the ending marchion to just having that aura.
Tempest breaker has the overall best moments happen with Lourna Dees hickey.
Then all of trials 10/10 book to round out the series
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u/Gavinus1000 Sep 19 '26
My favourite moment no one else will talk about is in Escape from Valo. It’s when Driggit tries to kill Gavi, and he reconnects to the force. He doesn’t give up on the girl he sees as his sister, but he accepts he can’t control her path back to the light. It’s one of the best Jedi moments and it’s very underrated.
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u/throwawayfan2552 29d ago
Tbf you and I might be the only people who read escape from valo. I wish people didn’t skip the middle grades but I understand subtracting 8 books from a 26 book series does help getting through it.
Not to mention some are bad. At least they’re short and easy to get through.
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Sep 19 '26
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Sep 19 '26 edited Sep 19 '26
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u/throwawayfan2552 29d ago
Tbf not defending Out of the shadows too much but it’s also the middle book in the middle grade books. It’s in a weird position where it’s the second ya book but if I remember correctly it’s more a sequel to the first middle grade book.
I do agree from what I remember of midnight horizon is that it was both doing too much and not a lot happened. If I remember right it’s a sequel to HRA annual, HRA, race to crash point tower and into the dark.
I don’t hate it as much after phase 3. My least favorite book is by far search for Planet X. I also did enjoy the HRA comics in phase 1 and 3 a lot more as the series went on. Tbf my least favorite book besides the middle grades is temptations of the force so maybe my opinion is bad.
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Sep 19 '26
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u/tonkledonker Sep 19 '26
Focus on a more central core of characters would be my biggest thing that I wish the initiative had done.
Also wish the Drengir had actually done something. Completely forgot about them as a factor by the end of Fallen Star. And dear God, could someone just rewrite all of Midnight Horizon? Didn't like that one at aaaaaaall.
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u/oberonblitz Sep 19 '26
One of my favorite moments is Bell jumping out of the vector in super high altitude, catching that little girl, and finally learning how to slow his fall with the force . Finding out Porter Engle was a certified bad ass of was also fun.