Reviews

Into the Dark by Claudia Gray

brittbarnim's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

caaleros's review against another edition

4.0

Claudia Gray has been established as the best SW writer in my opinion since Bloodline came out. The trademarks of a Claudia Gray SW novel are thought-provoking storylines, complex characters that break out of their molds, and a diverse and populated SW universe that builds on and adds to the films. I was so excited to hear that her book, Into the Dark, was one of the new novels to begin establishing the High Republic era.

Part of the appeal of starting fresh in a new era is that the familiar dramas in the Jedi Order and the Senate don’t have to be adhered to. This is a new era that does not have the problems for the future one, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have it’s own problems. This novel introduces two of the main villains for the High Republic era: the Drengir and the Nihil. But just because we have some big-bads doesn’t mean that the general drama inside the Jedi order goes away.

There are multiple POVs, but the main characters seem to be two Jedi, a padawan, and a young member of a shipping guild. I enjoyed each character’s personal journey, but they never really managed to come together as a team for me, so when one of them starts referring to the others as their friends it just doesn’t feel earned. That could be because most of the characters are jedi and they’re really not good at sharing their own feelings or making deep connections. I’m not gonna lie, I much prefer stories that focus on the non-jedi in the SW universe, but I know each fan has their own faction they prefer focusing on. I believe fans who loved Master and Apprentice will continue to enjoy Gray’s portrayal of the Jedi in this novel.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

dietzt23's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

dadverine's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nerdynatreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

 
Okay, so this isn’t quite the horror story I was hoping for, but it has still been a bit unique and exciting!

I actually really like following a Jedi who’s less interested in the daring adventure parts of the life. Reath is a total history nerd who’d rather spend his time studying artifacts and researching ancient texts, but his Master sends him on this quest to get him outside his comfort zone. This makes him a lot of fun to follow, seeing how an archivist Jedi would work, but also watching him become more comfortable and find joy in the more knight parts of being a Jedi. There’s a fellow Jedi archivist we see from as well, Cohmac, and something I’ve enjoyed with both of them is learning pieces about the history of this universe and the Jedi themselves. For example, the Kyber Arch, which is made up from the lightsaber crystals of Jedi killed in battle was a really cool bit.

Another character is actually in the process of transitioning to a role as a Jedi Wayseeker, Orla. Though we see some specifics about Jedi life and the struggles of sticking to the major tenets with every Jedi character, I’ve been really enjoying Orla’s struggle with her role. It reminded me of both Gella in Convergence/Cataclysm as well as Ahsoka in Clone Wars. After all, the Jedi live a life very based in doctrine, but they’re still human, err, well… sentient beings? So I always find it interesting to see these characters struggle with their beliefs and the philosophies they’ve been taught.

I do think this book is also falling prey to the issue of too many perspectives. We’ve had 4 Jedi, 2 pilots, and then a past timeline as well. The plot sort of takes place during the hyper-lane disaster from Light of the Jedi, but also calls back to events that took place some 25 years prior between Eiram and E’ronoh, continuing the conflict these planets have had for centuries. I don’t really think these two plots really wove together well? I understood the connection at the end, but it didn’t seem like a big enough part of the story to really warrant a whole additional section of the book. Rather, if we’d focused solely on this mysterious space station and the Dark Forces found there, I think we could have expanded on the history and emotional struggles of the Jedi characters we’d been following, which would have mirrored their more physical battles with the Dark Forces.

In the end this one was fine, but not especially enthralling. I do hope to see more of Reath, Cohmac and Orla, however. 

latrumpet's review against another edition

4.0

This book really dragged for a long time. I took a break part way in, and struggled to really get back into it. Reath is a compelling main character, and the side characters are interesting as well, the storyline just wasn’t doing much for me until the final 25% of the book. That being said, the last part of the book flew by, and I considered giving this a 5 star review based on how satisfying the ending was.

braganina's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sarkenobi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

austex_93's review against another edition

4.0

I was quite surprised how great this book turned out to be. I was worried it would be too lovey dovey, but it was far from it. Claudia has a talent of letting us readers feel the moments of tragedy and victory. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

eladams07's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25