Max Nocerino 
Max returns to the galaxy far, far away to review “Defy The Storm” the latest volume in The High Republic Star Wars initiative
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC Phase III started immensely strong with the “Eye of Darkness” novel. The arena of YA novels and Middle-Grade novels remains potent as well. I have often said that I enjoy author Justina Ireland’s writing style. Here, she comes together with Tessa Gratton to deliver a slightly different AND interesting novel in “Defy the Storm.”
AVON STARROS RETURNS
The book’s main protagonist (arguably the lens of the story) is Avon Starros. The girl genius kid who we were introduced to in Phase I of The High Republic in the middle-grade novel “Mission to Disaster.” In that story, Avon was a scientist apprentice working on the power-generating properties of kyber crystals. The “living” mineral that powers Jedi lightsabers (and will one day power the dreaded Death Star). In this book, while stranded on a strange world, due to the Nihil, Avon befriends Jedi prodigy Vernestra Rwoh. She, like Avon is very precocious in her abilities as a Jedi and reached Knighthood at the tender age of 15. Vern proved to be a defacto big sister to Avon, and Avon struggled to connect to the other “kids” in that book due to her advanced intelligence. As well as her disproportionately lacking social skills.
DEFY THE STORM
“Defy the Storm” takes place a year after the previous adventure. I am pleased to say that Avon has matured as a person and has improved her social skills (likely through the process of making friends in the first place). The title of the book ‘Defy the Storm’ is fitting as Avon finds herself in quite a dangerous predicament at the beginning of the novel. Her mother Ghirra was once a Senator in the Galactic Republic. But she has since joined forces with the Nihil and is Marchion Ro’s mistress. Ro is the Evereni leader of the Nihil. He is as cold and cruel as they come, rivaling Emperor Palpatine in levels of sadism and nihilism.
Ghirra is just, well…evil. She cares for nobody and nothing but power and has no qualms about killing innocent people. She loves her daughter, but doesn’t seem too concerned about the assassination attempts Avon faces among jealous Nihil members. Especially when attending their gruesome dinner parties. Avon could not be more different if she tried. She has a moral compass and cares deeply for other living beings. The thought of killing fills her with shame and remorse.
THE NIHIL
She wants NOTHING to do with the Nihil or her mother anymore and wants to pursue science studies abroad on Coruscant. Eventually, she gets her way and leaves the Occlusion Zone (the Nihil fiefdom) with a Nihil woman who has sworn to her protector. While on Coruscant, she looks for her friend Vernestra, who has vanished following her decision to take a break from the Jedi Order. The whole adventure unfolds and Avon decides that it’s her responsibility to break the Stormwall cutting the Occlusion Zone from the rest of the galaxy and destroying the Nihil.
I like the character-building in this tale. I feel it is its strongest point, even if the story isn’t as dynamic and exciting as “Eye of Darkness.” Vernestra is a fun character to read as she is a leader, mentor to Avon, and very compassionate about the lives of all living beings.
We also get to see that pompous, rich jerk Xylan Graf again. He has been blackmailed into maintaining the Stormwall by the Nihil and finds himself trapped with our heroes on an adventure that he hopes will net him his freedom (and more credits of course). Xylan was first introduced to us in the YA “Out of the Shadows,” where he was involved in theoretical hyperspace physics that the Republic was doing. He crossed paths with renegade Sylvestri Yarrow, also the daughter of a Nihil collaborator (like Avon). His rule in the book was much more muted than what we are given in “Defy the Storm.”
STAR WARS AND LGBTQ
We learn that Xylan is gay and has a husband. While I have no problem with the recent heavy surge of LGBTQ+ characters in the Disney Star Wars Canon, the authors went a bit overboard by portraying him as a stereotypical gay man. Xylan is petty, hedonistic, selfish, snobbish, sarcastic, self-entitled, fashion-obsessed, and gossipy. All the stereotypes of a feminine gay man are completely ridiculous and untrue. Portraying him as such is almost an insult to the LGBTQ community. I feel they should have toned it down considerably. However, I love the moral ambiguity of his character as he is not truly evil. However, he looks out for his own skin and has no qualms about betraying or double-crossing his allies.
Sylvestri is briefly in this tale, but only at the beginning. They instead fleshed out her girlfriend, Jordanna Sparkburn as she becomes an unlikely partner in this story. She wants to penetrate the Stormwall to find the members of her family that she left behind. She is a San Tekka, and the San Tekkas and Grafs are two powerful families in the galaxy that were the trailblazers of the Hyperspace mapping gold rush a few centuries prior.
SAN TEKKA
They have as much regard for each other as the Hatfields and McCoys do on Earth. They are also like a mixture of the Kennedys and the Vanderbilts in their morals and intentions. Yet, Jordanna is not a bad person. I like her as a character. She is a lesbian, and while this is not a problem for me, I do find it interesting that we are given two major LGBTQ+ relationships in one book. Jordanna is not stereotypically overly masculine. But I do see that she is a warrior and that may be a bit of an overreaction as well. I like how she hates Xylan and the foil between them was entertaining.
The second part of the plot was far more interesting than the first. The Republic has another new “pandemic” situation that the Nihil could weaponize against them. I won’t spoil what it is, but it got me thinking back to the fear of the COVID pandemic days, and I feel that it is a great parallel.
VERDICT
This book was fun. It wasn’t an ultra-exciting or captivating adventure, but it was different and built well on the character arcs. I also thought Xylan’s husband’s revelation was pretty obvious, but I’ll let the readers see if they could figure it out. B-
Star Wars: The High Republic – Defy The Storm hits bookshelves today.
FORCE FACTS
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The Stormseeds have been revealed to work through a gravitational distortion that knocks ships out of hyperspace. This technique will be utilized centuries later by the Empire to make Interdictor Cruisers, and this makes me believe that the scientists in the Star Wars galaxy have a full theory of quantum gravity
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It is implied that Star Wars computers all have a form of droid intelligence. Fascinating
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The deceased Mari San Tekka continuously appears in Vernestra’s hyperspace-related Force visions, and it gets me wondering. Is she Force-sensitive?
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The Nameless’s effect on Vernestra is compared to that of a black hole, and I feel that is a “stellar” metaphor for the effect they have on Force-users
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The term kriffing is used constantly throughout the novel, and it is obvious that it is the Star Wars equivalent of the f-word.
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Hyperlanes are revealed to truly be “constructs” that you need to travel through to enter hyperspace. Hmm.
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
