Vector prime

I've been struggling with Star Wars High Republic, to say the least. I've been trying to read Light of the Jedi since 2022, but to no avail. I don't what happens, but I must say I don't enjoy Charles Soule writings (comic books included). Instead, I moved to “the old, but gold” New Jedi Order and I've just finished Vector Prime, by R. Salvatore. I also have my problems with Salvatore, but this book is so much more compelling.

One of the best things of going back do the old Star Wars Expanded Universe is... going back to the Expanded Universe! I really like that idea of Han and Leia having children, and the marriage of Luke Skywalker (and a kid also), that was interesting. It showed us that Star Wars was growing old with its readers in a respectful manner. Sometimes I think the new Disney cannon patronizes its readers because the writing is so lazy. 

I have read several books and comics of the new canon and several times I have had the impression of being treated like a child. It seems clear to me the new editorial policy of Disney Publishing to think of Star Wars as aimed solely at YA. Whether by the way these books and comics are being written, or by the absurdly childish plots. Star Wars has never been the supreme of literature, but it also does not mean that its readers are dumb.

Of the new books, some writers are really great. I really like Claudia Gray's writings and Alexander Freed's Alphabet Squadron series. However, two writers are not enough to sustain a whole new canon. The old Expanded Universe ends up being more solid and consolidated than much that has been published in the new canon.

The first book in the New Jedi Order series has some flaws, of course. Still, Vector Prime is an excellent opening for this series of 19 books. The series itself presents the Star Wars characters aimed at an adult audience that has already established their families and has to deal with the hardships of everyday life.

In this book something happens that marked the history of Star Wars as a whole. A great character in the franchise ends up dying, showing in fact that the characters are not immortal. The scene itself was shocking and impactful. However, my favorite parts are those where we have Luke and Mara Jade. I was really scared when they end up making a great and terrible discovery. The way this chapter was written was really interesting. 

Another very good aspect of this book is that it already presents the dimension of the great threat in a clear way. Both the characters and the readers already learn from a very early age the severity of the situation and in a very real way. The characters and the readers are not dumb! This is very different from the construction of the “Great Accident” from the book Star Wars: High Republic - Light of the Jedi, which develops the plot in a too nebulous way.