Ratings30
Average rating3.7
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this gripping sequel to Star Wars: The Rising Storm, the light of the Jedi faces its darkest hour. 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.
Series
1 released bookStar Wars: The High Republic is a 48-book series first released in 2020 with contributions by Justina Ireland, Lydia Kang, and 11 others. The next book is scheduled for release on 12/3/2024.
Series
1 released bookStar Wars (Canon and Legends) is a 48-book series first released in 1976 with contributions by John Jackson Miller, Mike Chen, and 28 others.
Reviews with the most likes.
What a fun read, I'm so happy with how this story has progressed.
If Claudia Gray actually killed Burryaga off though....I will riot.
Fallen star is a great conclusion to the first phase of the High Republic that mostly sticks the landing (pun intended). It’s a powder keg of dramatic irony as well all know how it will end and we’re forced to just sit and watch the disaster unfold.
No one feels safe at any point, characters are getting death flags left, right, and centre and not just the ones who do die so none are too predictable by the end and the characters that do die are all done effectively and really gives it this larger than life feeling. I do have some issues with how the fall of Starlight has been handled in books/comics after this but none of that is the fault of Fallen Star.
The fact that pretty much the entire book takes place in this one location with very little happening outside the station gives the book great flow and a focused sense of direction that results in time flying by when reading.
Even with all the disaster and tension, Fallen Star does still manage to make room for levity at times though. New jedi, Regald Coll was a great introduction who’s attitude had me laughing quite a bit and of course the return of the Vessel crew, especially Geode, continue to be expertly written by Claudia Gray to deliver the funniest, most brilliant character in all of Star Wars. I will genuinely never tire of Geode based humour i think.
tl;dr; Just not for me.
I've read most of the adult focused High Republic and whatever the prequels were called, books. They're just not that engaging and rely way too much on the reader having read the comics, and the YA books.
I knew going in they'd do that so, so that's not part of my rating, just a general gripe. :)
My rating is because the story just took forever to not get very far.
(Audiobook note: Listening to this book directly after The Rising Storm was jarring, as Disney/TPTB/the narrator mysteriously decided to change the pronunciation of both Marchion AND Nihil. Does pronouncing it like part of “annihilation” make sense? Yes, of course. Do I think they should have just chosen one pronunciation and stuck to it? YES. This might just be my brain being difficult, but every single time I heard either one, it was like hearing someone play the wrong chord in a song. I actually switched to the ebook for the majority of the time.)
And LMFAO at Gray's heavy-handed attempts to get me shipping Elzar/Avar. Maybe it's because it's been so long since I read Light of the Fallen, but I felt absolutely Nothing for them??
As for the book as a whole, though: while I think it needed another editing pass (there were at least two chapters that contained nearly identical lines at different points, which is the kind of thing that should happen in first and second drafts, not published works), it was very good. It really sucked me in, and I wasn't bored for a second. I felt a myriad of emotions throughout the story, and I thought Gray juggled the various POVs very well.