Star Wars: The Fallen Star (The High Republic)

By: Claudia Gray

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this gripping sequel to Star Wars: The Rising Storm, the light of the Jedi faces its darkest hour.

Time and again, the vicious raiders known as the Nihil have sought to bring the golden age of the High Republic to a fiery end. Time and again, the High Republic has emerged battered and weary but victorious thanks to its Jedi protectors—and there is no monument to their cause grander than the Starlight Beacon.

Hanging like a jewel in the Outer Rim, the Beacon embodies the High Republic at the apex of its aspirations: a hub of culture and knowledge, a bright torch against the darkness of the unknown, and an extended hand of welcome to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As survivors and refugees flee the Nihil’s attacks, the Beacon and its crew stand ready to shelter and heal.

The grateful Knights and Padawans of the Jedi Order stationed there finally have a chance to recover—from the pain of their injuries and the grief of their losses. But the storm they thought had passed still rages; they are simply caught in its eye. Marchion Ro, the true mastermind of the Nihil, is preparing his most daring attack yet—one designed to snuff out the light of the Jedi.

What A Gut Punch!!!

You thought the end of Rising Storm was bad… take the whole book. That’s how sad you’ll be. This I’d definitely the climactic finale of Phase 1 and you can feel it. All of the main characters from the books are here and are at their most vulnerable. Gray excels at characterization, always has. Not like in this book though. She made characters I already loved from the other books even better. To the point where some of them die, it’s truly heartbreaking and I was really bummed. Marc Thompson’s narration is unmatched here, he’s gives that extra push that really enhances the story and makes it go from pretty good to great. I also loved hearing his McConahuey, very nice touch as Gray actually fan casts her characters. I have 2 problems though. 1. Focusing on the plot here I think inadvertently undermines the great disaster, largely because it’s 1/3 of Light Of The Jedi and this is a whole book about this one thing. 2. I could’ve done without some characters even though I really like the characters. Unfortunately, they really had no need to be in the book.

A Thrilling THR Plot

Prominent Characters:
>Bell Zettifar (Jedi Apprentice)
>Indeera Stokes (Jedi)
>Burryaga Agaburry (Jedi Apprentice)
>Nib Assek (Jedi)
>Elzar Mann (Jedi)
>Stellan Gios (Jedi)
>Affie Hollow (Vessel Crew)
>Leox Gyasi (Vessel Crew)
>Geode (Vessel Crew)

Hook Quality: The start is a little slow in plot but more than makes up for it with early character development.

Character Depth: Exceptional.

Strong Points: I’ve seen these character names in THR books prior, but I felt like I was able to understand them better and enjoy hearing what happened next to each in this book uniquely.

Weak Points: There is some plot armor that is hard to swallow at times, but it doesn’t ruin the book.

Writing Style: The narrative shifts between many different characters, but it does so very smoothly and in a way that keeps the reader's interest up.

Narrator Quality: Marc Thompson is very likely to be my favorite voice actor, he makes the book very engaging.

A great ending to phase 1 of The High Republic

A great story, with an amazing performance by Marc Thompson, as usual. My only complaint is the amount of Jedi characters that we've just been introduced to that had to end up dying in the book. Overall, an exciting, suspenseful story.

An incredible story that dives into the heart of the Jedi

Where do I even begin?

Claudia Gray tells a brilliant, striking story that not only gives great insight into its very human, very vulnerable cast, but manages to reframe the Jedi’s relationship with the Force entirely.

Gray paints the Force not just as all living things, or a tool for the Jedi, but as their support net. The Jedi look to the Force in their time of greatest need, and, unfortunately in this book, they are more deprived of it than ever before.

This book manages to simultaneously delve deeper into using the Force for concentration, for focus, and to make our protagonists feel vulnerable, to feel… mortal.

Gray also manages to give an air of horror to certain sections of this book, plunging you headfirst into the overwhelming fear the characters experience. It’s absolutely heart-pounding all the way through.

This, however, could not have been fully brought to life if not for the magnificent Marc Thompson, who again gives a stellar performance. Thompson manages to give each character a distinct voice, personality, and quirks with his frankly stupefying vocal range. When his voice switches to that grave, somber tone, you know something is going down.

Overall, this might be the best chapter in the story of The High Republic, and I cannot wait to find out what comes next!

THR makes me emotional yet again.

I love it I love it I love it.
First things first, if you haven’t experienced the rest of THR (not only the adult novels) then you’re missing the point. It’s all a big overarching story and THIS is the biggest climax yet! So don’t just rush through without hitting all of the emotional beats! How could you even feel for Leox, Affie, and Geode without reading Into The Dark!
BUT Claudia Grey has done it again, reaching into the emotional depths of these characters and really creating some horrific Star Wars spookiness. Marc Thompson continues to enhance EVERYTHING. It’s all so good. That’s all. I’m emotional now.