The time is upon us, dear readers, when Phase 3 of the High Republic is near. And I don’t know about you, but I’m super excited! Here’s what we’ve got coming up:
Eye of Darkness, by George Mann, November 14th, 2023. Wave 1 of Phase 3 starts with the adult book The Eye of Darkness by George Mann. After the fall of Starlight Beacon, Marchion Ro has erected a Stormwall around a portion of the Outer Rim, called the Occlusion Zone, which he rules. All worlds within that section are subject to the whims of the Nihil leader. Those Jedi caught behind the Stormwall, like Avar Kriss, must fight to protect these worlds. Outside the Wall, Jedi like Elzar Mann and Bell Zettifar must find a way to tear down the wall and free those behind it from Ro’s reign of terror; all the while enduring the threat of the Nameless, creatures that feed off of Force-users and drain the very life from them.
Escape from Valo, by Daniel Jose Older and Alyssa Wong, January 30th 2024. This is the middle-grade book that focuses on Padawan Ram Jamoram and others, trapped behind the Stormwall in NIhil-controlled space.
Defy the Storm, by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland, March 5th, 2024. This young adult novel focuses on Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh and her scientist friend Avon Starros. They work to find a way through the Stormwall to save those trapped on the other side.
I’m looking forward to getting back to these Phase 1 characters after backtracking a hundred or so years in Phase 2.
And now for something completely different….there’s a pre-Phantom Menace novel coming out by John Jackson Miller in April of next year:
The Living Force, by John Jackson Miller, April 9th 2024. This one sounds really interesting; I’m just going to copy and paste Amazon’s blurb about it:
“In the year before The Phantom Menace, Yoda, Mace Windu, and the entire Jedi Council confront a galaxy on the brink of change.
The Jedi have always traveled the stars, defending peace and justice across the galaxy. But the galaxy is changing, and the Jedi Order along with it. More and more, the Order finds itself focused on the future of the Republic, secluded on Coruscant, where the twelve members of the Jedi Council weigh crises on a galactic scale.
As yet another Jedi Outpost left over from the Republic’s golden age is set to be decommissioned on the planet Kwenn, Qui-Gon Jinn challenges the Council about the Order’s increasing isolation. Mace Windu suggests a bold response: All twelve Jedi Masters will embark on a goodwill mission to help the planet and to remind the people of the galaxy that the Jedi remain as stalwart and present as they have been across the ages.
But the arrival of the Jedi leadership is not seen by all as a cause for celebration. In the increasing absence of the Jedi, warring pirate factions have infested the sector. To maintain their dominance, the pirates unite, intent on assassinating the Council members. And they are willing to destroy countless innocent lives to secure their power.
Cut off from Coruscant, the Jedi Masters must reckon with an unwelcome truth: While no one thinks more about the future than the Jedi Council, nobody needs their help more than those living in the present.”
As always, some great-sounding canon books coming up in the months ahead, and I’m totally there for it.
Are you planning on reading any of these books? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
Star Wars and Other Obsessions 
Hi Tina, if I have the time and money I’ll probably take a look at “The Living Force” novel as it has Qui-Gon in it. However I have sensed that there is a new wave of graphic novels coming out soon and one edition in particular also features Qui-Gon heavily so I’ll look out for that one. A YouTuber who ponders Star Wars theories posted a video about the comics, stating that there are about eight issues due to be released but we don’t know which writers and artists are working on each story. Might be of interest to you.
(p.s. It was the Star Wars Theory channel that posted the vid if you want to check it out.)
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Hi FT! Thanks for the heads up. I don’t normally read comics (though I try to keep track of what might be going on in them), but graphic novels could be interesting.
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Hi there, I only noticed because it said the comics were set just before the Prequel Trilogy and had Qui-Gon heavily featured in one (maybe more) issues. I struggle getting comics as the comic/memorabilia store in my town never seems to be open – maybe one or two afternoons a week – and even then their prices are a bit much for me.
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Yeah, I buy so many books I don’t really want to spend so much more on comics, too, lol.
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