Max Nocerino 
Max concludes his adventures in The High Republic initiative with Charles Soule’s Trials of the Jedi. But is this final salvo a fitting conclusion?
As they always say, all good things must come to an end. That is also true when it comes to the Star Wars: The High Republic initiative. First, I would like to congratulate the “Project Luminous” team on taking us on such a fantastic adventure over the past five years. Each author brought something different to the table in weaving this wonderful tapestry, and the varied writing styles of the individuals made it a beautiful patchwork quilt of perspectives and storytelling techniques. In a way, it’s more organic than having an entire series written by a single author.
History and events are messy and not always consistent when “retold”. From a “certain point of view,” could not have rung truer. While it’s hard to eclipse the magic I felt with the Legends Prequel-era material, this initiative earned my respect. It provided me with a modern yet equally satisfying perspective on Star Wars history.
CHARLES SOULE
Now to the last dance. It’s no coincidence that it’s penned by Charles Soule. He set the dominoes in motion back in 2020 with the first book in this project, Light of the Jedi. Charles introduced us to the NEW old Republic, Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann, the devious and terrifying Nihil space pirates, and many other creative concepts and characters that should be looked back on favorably in 20 years from now. Hopefully.
Paying homage to the structure of the three movie trilogies, The High Republic was divided into three parts. The first wave (known as Phase I) covered the Nihil threat under the leadership of the devious and psychopathic leader, Marchion Ro. However, after the Jedi took a severe beating from this heinous individual, The High Republic Phase II shifted into its own “Prequel trilogy” by going back a century to tell the story of how the Nihil came to be in the first place. How they evolved from a religious cult turned sour, and how Marchion’s ancestor, Marda Ro, went from an idealistic, kind individual to a cold-hearted and evil pillager.
This book is the final installment of Phase III, which returns to where Phase I ended, providing the conclusion to the Nihil threat and Marchion Ro.
THE JEDI ORDER
The story begins with the Jedi Order embarking on a potentially suicidal mission to eliminate the threat posed by the Nameless, Marchion’s secret weapon. The Nameless are grotesque and corrupted creatures that literally feed on the Force. They can turn a Jedi into a chalky husk by making physical contact with them. Many Jedi have died. To make matters worse, Marchion’s removal of these creatures from their homeworld kicked off an imbalance in the galaxy. Now, entire planets are being randomly infected with the Blight. The Blight is essentially the Nameless’s influence, but on all life. It spreads like a fungus, husking all organic matter (and even inorganic matter) as the Force is literally drained from the environment.
The current Supreme Chancellor, Lina Soh, feels powerless to stop this threat, and when the insidious Marchion offers to cure the Blight (as a way of establishing more dominance and control), Lina is torn. Her loyalty is to the people and their safety, and letting Marchion in will only act as a Trojan horse of sorts. She fears the citizens will see the administration as weak and unable to provide for its people. Therefore, Lina strongly declines this “generous” offer and throws her fate in with the Jedi. The Jedi plan to return a ship full of captured Nameless to their homeworld. They hope to correct the imbalance and stop the Blight from continuing to spread. There is also an issue of the Stormwall, a trans-galactic hyperspace barrier that Marchion has created to cut off swathes of the Republic, but crossing that bridge is a lot easier.
SOULE FOOD!
The beginning of the story seemed very well written, and I applauded Soule. I liked the Interludes, which showed a typical human family attempting to flee their homeworld ahead of the Blight. As a result, we got a rare opportunity to see a “normal” family in the Star Wars setting. However, I found myself frustratingly disappointed with Soule’s writing of the Jedi and the RDC characters. They sounded fake and poorly “scripted”, and many of the things Soule was trying to accomplish, fell flat. I rolled my eyes several times at his attempt at writing sex and sexual relationships into the plotline. I felt that they were more cringey than his colleague, Claudia Gray’s strange obsession with sex in Star Wars.
Sex can work in Star Wars, but it needs to be approached delicately and subtly. Soule went at it like a clumsy botched surgery cut, and I didn’t like how it affected the SW aesthetic. I also HATED the writing of Joss, the RDC member who (with his pregnant wife Pikka), was stranded on Eridau (behind the Stormwall) and was unable to help the Republic military and Eriaduans revolt against the Nihil. The domino he set off in the bar was cheesy and poorly written and made me, again, roll my eyes.
VERDICT
I was so turned off by this that I almost marked it as a failed story. However, I kept going as I was impressed by how Soule got into the head of Marchion and showed how the guy was basically a serial killer. A serial killer who only felt good when he was killing a lot of people. Also, as we reached the climax, I was impressed again by the way Soule concluded the entire initiative. It was flawless and unexpected, while still staying true to the Force and the Jedi in general. He also opened up great potential for further stories in the future (without shoehorning in the sequel obsession Hollywood has these days). Marchion’s end was fitting and satisfying. My advice. Read it. Power through the slop and bask in the conclusion.
Yes, it’s a weird grade.
Star Wars: The High Republic: Trials of the Jedi is available to buy now.
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!
