This week, the team over at Del Rey Publishing released Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star. The final adult novel in Phase One of the High Republic media franchise, it is also the direct sequel to The Rising Storm, which was released this past summer. Following the Jedi Order and their war against the Nihil, also known as “space Vikings”, The Fallen Star is written by Claudia Gray.

Up front, if this is your first foray into the world of The High Republic, I strongly suggest, at minimum, reading a synopsis of the two previous adult novels in this series, the previously mentioned The Rising Storm as well as the first novel in the series, Light of the Jedi. Shortly after starting the audiobook for The Fallen Star, I found myself needing more background on these characters that were totally new to me. While I’m now inclined, and probably will, read the first two novels in this Phase, even the Wikipedia synopsis of the books gave me enough of a base of knowledge to not be totally in the dark with these characters.

Gray, who has been part of the Star Wars writing team since 2015, craftily concludes this Phase, set about 200 years prior to Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. This novel showcases the aftermath of the attack on the Republic Fair by the Nihil and its leader Marchion Ro, and the struggles of the surviving Jedi Order stationed on Starlight Beacon, a massive space station built to bring hope back to the galaxy. Loyalty is questioned and relationships tested. Will it all be enough to defeat the Nihil, or will the Jedi Order fall?

For audiobook lovers, prolific voice-over actor Marc Thompson is once again lending his talents to the Star Wars: The High Republic series. Voicing Star Wars novels for the past fifteen years, Thompson has a wonderful skill at creating his character voices. I personally admire actors who can do that, and Thompson is definitely one of them. In this audiobook, I was especially amused by Thomason’s Shyriiwook dialect for Wookiee Padawan Burryaga Agaburry, as well as his chosen timbre for logistics droid JJ-5145.

Overall, this first delve of mine into The High Republic franchise has left me wanting more. While my first go-to is expansion in the Star Wars timeline most of us know and love, I am excited to see how this timeline unfolds… and maybe how it’s tied into more of what we already know now. 

Thanks to Disney Lucasfilm Press for the review sample for free

Please click HERE or below to pick this up, it’s out TODAY!