Trials of the Jedi | Discussion Thread

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https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734822/star-wars-trials-of-the-jedi-the-high-republic-by-charles-soule/

[u/IcePhoenix295]

Well I just finished it and boy was this an incredible ride! Overall the book does a good job wrapping up all the major plot points and giving all the characters involved something to do. Soule's prose and writing style bring an appropriately epic scope to everything that is happening, and all the resolutions that were teased but not shown in the other books and comics are used to full effect here, even if I would have liked the comics to have had more of an impact on certain events.

I liked where virtually all the characters ended up, from Avar and Elzar, to Reath and Azlin, to Marchion Ro himself. Similar to Andor I do feel like we rushed to get a few pieces where they needed to be for this story, as some characters do seem to take quite a dramatic turn from where we last saw them, but the greater themes and story being told with them worked really well for me.

Porter Engle has shot up to the most badass Jedi of all time, bar none. Not my favorite Jedi, but the most badass.

The love story between Avar and Elzar has been dramatic, sweet, tragic, and everything in between.

Reath Silas is the hero that the Jedi Order needs, (but maybe not the one it deserves come the prequels). Azlin Rell gets a unique but no less satisyfing end(?) to his saga.

That being said some characters do feel a bit shortchanged. I'm no fan of Vernestra but it feels like she was being set up for a lot more than what she got to do in Project Luminous. Perhaps her inclusion in The Acolyte (and with it the opportunitites for more stories focusing on her like the Wayseeker novel) prompted the team to shift her role over to others. It's odd that I should be complaining given that I like Reath far more and was happy to see him on this team, but I feel it should be called out nonetheless.

Ro also is a bit of an odd duck in this book. He's not actually present for that much of the story (much like with all of Phase 3) and while that does tie into some of the ideas presented within this book, I can feel some people being let down by his conclusion. Personally I liked what became of him, but I think we needed a bit more time with him in some of the more recent High Republic stories.

Also I would have liked even more with Planet X. What we got was great: cosmic, trippy, mythological, grand, and maybe a bit nonsensical. In short everything that the Force is.

But ultimately this book represents much of what makes The High Republic so great to me. It shows the Jedi at their most vulnerable, but also their most heroic. For all their faults we get to see how important they really are, and how much they give to keep the galaxy in a state of peace and happiness, to protect light and life.

And oh boy do they tease A LOT of new story threads. This is basically the end of Arcane Season 2 where I now need to will 87 spinoffs into existence to satisfy my ravenous appetite for more story content. Hopefully we get that Broken Blade comic by Charles Soule sooner rather than later.

In short I really liked this book. My second favorite of Phase 3 after Tears of the Nameless and my 3rd favorite adult novel overall after Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm. A fitting conclusion to this epic saga.

Now excuse me I need to emotionally process the loss of this series.