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INTO THE DARK is the first YA Star Wars book set in the High Republic era. The book takes place kinda concurrently with the first adult novel set in this era, LIGHT OF THE JEDI, but the two books could be read in either order.

There’s a cool synergy to Claudia Gray writing the first YA book set in this era. Not just because she writes some amazing Star Wars novels, but because she also wrote the very first YA novel in the new canon, LOST STARS.

My initial reaction to INTO THE DARK was just wild enthusiasm. And all told, I think this is for sure one of the best YA Star Wars novels! The first (maybe) 2/3 of this book is about as much fun as I’ve had reading a Star Wars book, with Gray really pushing this story to some places I haven’t seen any Star Wars story go. For me, there was a bit of a lull leading into the last 50-75 pages or so, but yeah…I fucking loved this. A lot.

While this is an ensemble cast with multiple POVs, Padawan Reath Silas is ostensibly the main character. He’s bookish, introspective, curious, and has just about the bare minimum of interest in action & adventure. He’d be content to spend his days in the Jedi Archives on Coruscant, but the Force works in mysterious ways, and Reath soon finds himself on a dark & dangerous adventure.

En route to the new Starlight Beacon, the ship that Reath is on (hilariously named the Vessel) is forced to leave the now-unsafe hyperspace lanes (due to an event dubbed the Emergence, much more of which we learn about in LIGHT OF THE JEDI). They come upon an abandoned space station, and dock there to regroup.

Things immediately go awry.

The book takes on almost a campy, horror vibe in a way, with Reath & co. exploring the desolate station, which is brimming with Dark side energy.

Also there are murderous gardening droids.

No, really.

The station is overgrown with plant life, which gives certain sequences almost a jungle-like vibe. It’s just really fucking cool!

The cast of characters is extensive & pretty well rounded. My favorite was definitely Orla Jareni, a Jedi Master who has recently declared herself as a Wayseeker. I can’t be certain, but this is my first encounter with the term. A Wayseeker is a Jedi who functions independently from the Jedi High Council. Orla has seen much action in her past (some of which we see through flashback sequences), and is ready to begin this next phase of her life at Starlight Beacon.

She’s just a total badass with her double-bladed lightsaber, she’s really humorous & insightful, and I’d love to read more about her in the future.

This was an awesome Star Wars book! Like I said, I thought there was a bit of a lull & this one could maybe have been just a bit shorter, but I think it’s one of the most unique & fun Star Wars books I’ve read in a long time!

I’m really loving the High Republic era so far, and can’t wait to see what’s next!