Book Review: Into the Light

The High Republic publishing initiative is coming to a close (remember when it was Project Luminous? Fun times) and the most recent release was Claudia Gray's Into the Light, the last YA novel from the series. In this book you can find much of what you'll enjoy from Claudia Gray's other work in The High Republic- beloved characters like Reath Silas or Affie Hollow, high stakes and thick tension within a group trying to work together. This book tackles themes of trust and mistrust, duty and pleasure, and is as funny as it is dark as it is heartfelt. It's definitely a worthy addition to The High Republic series that ties up some loose ends as we head into the finale and one that fans of characters like Reath, Nan or the crew of the Vessel will find satisfying.

Catch up on The High Republic and pick up your own copy of Into the Light!

Spoilers ahead for Into the Light by Claudia Gray!

Like most of The High Republic, Into the Light features a big cast. The book kicks off dramatically with a team of Jedi trying to save as many people as they can on a planet crumbling in on itself due to the all-consuming blight. The team features characters like Reath Silas, but also Bell Zettifar, Burryaga, Vernestra Rwoh and many others. The mission is successful in evacuating the planet, but a collapsing tour leads to the unfortunate death of yet another member of the Jedi council, Master Adampo. This leads us into a Jedi funeral- not just for Master Adampo, but really for all of the Jedi that have died in the years since the Nihil conflict was sparked. The funeral was a really touching scene, and one of my favorites (as sad as it was) in the novel.

It's here that our team parts ways- some go on a mission searching for Nihil leader Marchion Ro, while our book focuses on the team going to investigate a new appearance of the blight on Kashyyyk. Our team includes Reath Silas, his former master, Cohmac Vitus, Avon Starros, the crew of the Vessel, Burryaga, Kelnacca (from The Acolyte, making his first novel appearance), and two unexpected tag-alongs: Nan, who claims to have left the Nihil and wants to feed them information, and the dark-shrouded Azlin Rell- much to most of the team's chagrin.

From here we get a variety of twists and turns throughout the story- studying the blight and trying to figure out what can be done to reverse it- both scientifically and through the Force, run-ins with Nihil scientist Dr. Mkampa, and run-ins with the aggressive Drengir. Through this book many of the long story threads that have run since The High Republic Phase I are concluded- the Drengir threat is officially completely handled, not passed off between characters or mediums, and Nan's story as a Nihil ends, with her now joining the crew of the Vessel as a navigator while Geode regrows. While characters like Reath, Avon and others will certainly have a role to play in coming stories as the blight and Marchion Ro are still a problem, they've reached a really strong point of growth since the beginning of the project and I feel very satisfied with how far they've come.

I do want to talk about my favorite part of the book, that easily being Kashyyyk as a setting. We've had Kashyyyk for years now, but rarely do we get to spend much time there, outside of Jedi: Fallen Order. In this book though, most of our time is spent on Kashyyyk, and the planet really feels like its own living, breathing character. We get to go really in-depth on what it's like to be on Kashyyyk- the flora and fauna, what Wookiees eat, how their society works, their connections to their homeworld and the spirituality that they share, connecting them to the planet and the Force. It was really, really cool to see Kashyyyk get this focus, and definitely something I'd like to see on more planets in the galaxy far, far away!