When Marda and Kevmo meet, their connection is instantaneous and electric―until Marda discovers Kevmo is a Jedi. But Kevmo is so kind and eager to learn more about the Path, that she hopes she can convince him of the rightness of her beliefs. What Marda doesn’t realize is that the leader of the Path, a charismatic woman known only as the Mother, has an agenda of her own, and it is one that can never coexist peacefully with the Jedi.
I think I got so completely consumed by the first phase of The High Republic that I almost didn’t allow myself to believe there was going to be a phase two, and that (for the most part) it would feature an entirely different cast of characters.
The beginning of phase two felt somehow impossibly far away, and yet…here we are now.
One of the last things I did before the phase two launch was to quickly read the three middle grade novels from phase one, and I’m glad I did. Not only were the books a whole lot of fun, but it felt like those books, maybe more so than the YA & adult novels, were sprinkled with little clues about the direction the story might go in phase two.
The phase one stories take place roughly 150 years before the phase two stories, with PATH OF DECEIT taking place almost entirely on the planet of Dalna.
There’s a Force cult in residence there, called The Path of the Open Hand, led by a mysterious character known as The Mother. The Path takes a fundamentally different view of the Force than the Jedi, so the idea of say, using the Force to move a pile of rocks out of the way is unimaginable to them; an abhorrence.
But we also learn that the Path has methods of…liberating Force-related artifacts that are questionable, at best. But not every member of the Path is even aware of this darker side of their own organization.
Two key members of the Path are cousins, Marda and Yana Ro. Obviously we know the last name, and yeah, wow…clearly we are witnessing the origins of the Nihil here with these two characters. Marda is very naive, and very much a true believer in what The Mother is trying to achieve. Her cousin Yana is one of the Path members tasked with the often unsavory missions to claim the Force artifacts, and has grown quite restless & cynical, and wants nothing more than to escape Dalna with her girlfriend.
Through these two characters, we also really explore some of the galaxy-wide perceptions about their species, the Evereni. The Evereni are mistrusted by many, and it’s interesting to see the impact that has on Marda & Yana.
The two cousins are incredibly close, and fiercely protective of one another. But their relationship shows signs of strain, especially when the Jedi come looking into things.
The two Jedi in PATH OF DECEIT are Zallah Macri & her padawan, Kevmo Zink. I love these two so much…they are so completely different from one another…Zallah is almost eerily calm, composed, serene. Whereas Kevmo is like a ball of energy, outgoing, and just tirelessly enthusiastic. They make for such a great duo, despite their outward differences.
This is such a wonderful start to a new phase of The High Republic, which has really become one of my very favorite aspects of Star Wars in general. These are compelling stories, with incredibly diverse casts of characters. It’s also really cool to see some new names added to the list of High Republic authors…I’m just so excited to devour all the upcoming books & comics!
May the Force be with you!!
Grimdark Dad 