Midnight Horizon

Midnight Horizon is a mixed bag for me. I think the character work is really solid with some great dynamics at play (mostly from pre-existing characters) but the actual story feels a bit all over the place and messy at times.

Ram and Reath’s friendship is the saving grace here. They are great together as a true pair of dumb and awkward teens out in the city for the first time. Ram’s constant optimism and enthusiasm plays well with Reath who is a bit more serious but still up for the journey and every scene they are in together is genuinely a joy to read. At the same time, Kantam and Cohmac are also a good pair bringing a more serious and mature side to the book while grounding it more into the wider THR storytelling.

The new characters are a bit of a mixed bag. I liked Crash but I felt like her crew was introduced way too quickly with such out there names that it was hard to keep track of them and their personalities.

Just like Into the Dark, I can’t say im a fan of these interspersed flashback chapters with Kantam. Slows the pace down and didn’t add much for me.

This is a Star Wars High Republic book and is a part of an overall plot. However, I would say that this tilts more toward character driven than plot. 

I struggled with the number of characters and sometimes knowing which character perspective I was reading from. Some of the characters were hard to solidify in my mind as I'm not as well versed in the different races in the prequel and sequel movies that are represented in this book. 

This was a slow start and I wondered if I would continue at one point. However, Older does bring the characters journey into a satisfying and exciting conclusion.