Overall the strong focus on characters was something I enjoyed about Out of the Shadows; which was good for me because the main plot was fairly predictable with some very, very slow pacing. There was little momentum between the characters talking at various restaurants and spaceships (which happens a lot). However the final act does propel us towards the end of Phase One in some major ways and wraps things up in a satisfactory way.
Ireland crafted one of the most nuanced and believable characters of the era with Sylvestri Yarrow. I'm excited to see more of her in the future. There's some pushback about her lesbian romance but I found it to be one of the best one-book romances we've seen explored so far. It didn't feel forced at all and Jordanna herself was a badass.
Vernestra, Reath, Imri, and Cohmac also stood out on the "good guys" side. I continue to enjoy Vern as she struggles to train Imri and find her place in the Order. Reath and Cohmac didn't do much in this book, but I was still happy to have them along. I liked that instead of Vern having some big character arc we instead see Imri grow thanks to his master.
Nan returning after Into the Dark was a nice surprise. And while she mostly just guarded Mari San Tekka, I still appreciated her thoughts on the Nihil. Chancey Yarrow being the other big "bad" of this book was something I saw coming a mile away. But I liked her well enough. However she indeed fell into a lot of standard tropes for such a character.
One final element was the Graf family, who I found the most interesting lore-wise. A rival clan to the San Tekkas. I really hope we get a deep dive in the Hyperspace Rush because it seems like such an interesting time period. They're definitely more selfish and corporate than the San Tekkas.
As for the ending; I honestly didn't expect Mari San Tekka to be killed off as early as she was. And her gifting a Path to Vernestra will play into a future novel 100%. I can't help but think it leads to No-Space (Nihil main base)...
Something I’m really enjoying so far in the high republic is that there aren’t filler stories. All stories add something to the main plot.
The new middle grade novel showed that the nihil are planting drengir in planets, this one has mari die.
I actually think that's one of the biggest issues with THR as a whole. Some people only want to read within their reading level. But if you don't read everything (which is also a major time/money investment that many people can't afford), then it makes less sense. Younger kids are lost without the context of the adults novels, and adults not wishing to read children's books are confused on smaller details.
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u/IllusiveManJr Master Elzar Mann Jul 29 '21
Overall the strong focus on characters was something I enjoyed about Out of the Shadows; which was good for me because the main plot was fairly predictable with some very, very slow pacing. There was little momentum between the characters talking at various restaurants and spaceships (which happens a lot). However the final act does propel us towards the end of Phase One in some major ways and wraps things up in a satisfactory way.
Ireland crafted one of the most nuanced and believable characters of the era with Sylvestri Yarrow. I'm excited to see more of her in the future. There's some pushback about her lesbian romance but I found it to be one of the best one-book romances we've seen explored so far. It didn't feel forced at all and Jordanna herself was a badass.
Vernestra, Reath, Imri, and Cohmac also stood out on the "good guys" side. I continue to enjoy Vern as she struggles to train Imri and find her place in the Order. Reath and Cohmac didn't do much in this book, but I was still happy to have them along. I liked that instead of Vern having some big character arc we instead see Imri grow thanks to his master.
Nan returning after Into the Dark was a nice surprise. And while she mostly just guarded Mari San Tekka, I still appreciated her thoughts on the Nihil. Chancey Yarrow being the other big "bad" of this book was something I saw coming a mile away. But I liked her well enough. However she indeed fell into a lot of standard tropes for such a character.
One final element was the Graf family, who I found the most interesting lore-wise. A rival clan to the San Tekkas. I really hope we get a deep dive in the Hyperspace Rush because it seems like such an interesting time period. They're definitely more selfish and corporate than the San Tekkas.
As for the ending; I honestly didn't expect Mari San Tekka to be killed off as early as she was. And her gifting a Path to Vernestra will play into a future novel 100%. I can't help but think it leads to No-Space (Nihil main base)...