Reviews

I wouldn't call this YA adventure a must-read for Star Wars fans, but it's a big step up from Light of the Jedi, the first book in this new prequel era for the franchise, roughly two centuries before The Phantom Menace. These novels overlap in their timeframe, so that while Light goes into more detail about the great hyperspace disaster and the Jedi government's interplanetary relief efforts, Dark focuses on one particular deep-space mission interrupted by the crash, resulting in the discovery of an ominous abandoned relay station. Author Claudia Gray nails the uneasy vibe of these travelers from the galactic core so far out from known civilization, and as usual for this writer, her characters feel fully-formed as distinctive personalities, making it easy to stay invested in their plot despite the objectively lower stakes. I especially like the ship's crew that includes both a canonically asexual captain and a sentient telepathic boulder operating as navigator, and the moments when these inhabitants of the outer systems react with confusion to basic Jedi concepts are pretty fun, too.

I'm still not totally convinced by this whole High Republic thing, but I'm assuming some of these protagonists will go on feature in later volumes, given how one seems poised on the verge of falling to the dark side of the Force at the story's end. Whether I continue or not, however, Gray's work has certainly (as expected) put forth a better argument for the venture than that fairly bland debut.

[Content warning for slavery and torture.]

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jorgenws's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

darthmage's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

4.75

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