“May the Fourth be with you” is the word playful on the fourth of May, which fans around the world celebrate as “Star Wars” day. In line with this, we are presenting two books that have been published as part of the new series “The High Republic”.
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District of Böblingen – With the new series “The High Republic”, various authors are exploring a whole new era of the star saga at the invitation of Lucasfilm, the production company of “Star Wars” inventor George Lucas. The stories are set about 200 years before the events in “Episode I”, at a time when the Jedi were at the height of their power.
A dozen books and stories have been published since the project started in 2018. The streaming service Disney + has also announced the series “Star Wars: The Acolyte”. So far, three books under the title “Star Wars: The High Republic” are available on the German-speaking market. In addition to “The Light of the Jedi” published by Blanvalet, Panini-Verlag has published two books so far. The children’s and youth novel “The Test” is aimed primarily at children from the age of nine to eleven. The story is about the 16-year-old Jedi knight Vernestra, who gets into a wild adventure on her first real mission. Author Justina Ireland has already written several books that are located in the “Star Wars” universe, including the prelude to Episode IX (“The Rise of Skywalker”) and the young adult novel “Lando’s Luck” about Han Solo’s smuggler, which has not yet been published in German – and gambling friend Lando Calrissian.
Characters discuss whether Jedi can have sex
Claudia Gray’s contribution to the new High Republic canon is called “Into the Darkness”. This US author has already written a number of “Star Wars” books – including two novels about Princess Leia. Your novel is aimed at a slightly older readership – which is also evident from the fact that some of the characters are actually discussing the exciting question of whether Jedi are allowed to have sex.
At the center of the plot is the young Jedi student Reath, who sets off with the daring crew of a space transporter on the dangerous route to the Outer Rim. Sounds somehow familiar – and it certainly should. But don’t worry: a completely new story is told here that is well worth reading. The Padawan Reath is a level-headed academic who would rather rummage through the historical Jedi archives than plunge into wild lightsaber fights on distant planets. He meets his shirt-sleeved and very clever counterpart in the 17-year-old co-pilot Affie Hollow.
Master Yoda, who is a good 200 years younger than him, is also there
Their journey together to the remote Starlight station is suddenly interrupted when their ship is thrown out of hyperspace after a galactic catastrophe. The crew, which includes two Jedi masters as well as the charismatic pilot Leox and the silent (because stone-like) navigator Geode, discovers an abandoned space station. As the star travelers enter the mysterious structure, they discover disturbing evidence of a dangerous enemy.
Even without well-known characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia or Han Solo, the new “Star Wars” books should not only be a lot of fun for die-hard fans – although they will certainly be happy that a certain green dwarf with idiosyncratic syntax is at the start again is.
Claudia Gray: “Star Wars: The High Republic – Into the Darkness”. Novel for young adults; Justine Ireland: “Star Wars: The High Republic – The Test”. Children’s and youth novel. Both titles were published by Panini-Verlag in Stuttgart in 2021.
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