For over a year, Jedi Masters Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann were kept apart by the Nihil’s Stormwall. After Avar makes a daring escape from inside the Occlusion Zone, the star-crossed Jedi are reunited. But while the physical distance between them has evaporated, their shared grief over their failure to protect the galaxy from the Nihil threat remains.
To rally the Jedi Order and the Republic, Avar and Elzar cling to their belief in serving Light and Life. Together, they lead a daring mission into Nihil space to liberate the planet of Naboo and show those trapped behind the Stormwall that the Jedi will never abandon them. Now back within close orbit of each other, the two Jedi Masters can no longer deny the bond that has always drawn them back together and made them stronger.
After finally embracing their true desires and imbued with renewed purpose, Avar and Elzar devise a plan to turn the tide of the conflict with the Nihil once and for all. Accompanied by Jedi Knights Bell Zettifar, Burryaga, and Vernestra Rwoh, the Jedi begin their hunt for Marchion Ro. But to seek out the Nihil’s dangerous leader, the Jedi will have to survive the Nameless terrors that thus far they have been powerless to stop.
I usually don’t struggle to start/write/finish Star Wars reviews, but for one reason or another, this one has been extra hard to get going on. Maybe just a combination of travel, sickness, and slowly roasting alive in the summer heat? Who could say.
But the end is nigh for The High Republic, and Tessa Gratton’s TEMPTATION OF THE FORCE is such a gorgeous, sweeping, epic Star Wars novel & for sure ranks among the very best of what The High Republic has to offer.
This one is set a few months after THE EYE OF DARKNESS, but also picks up some of the storylines from DEFY THE STORM, the most recent YA High Republic book (by Tessa Gratton & Justina Ireland). As evidenced by that beautiful cover, TEMPTATION OF THE FORCE finally brings Elzar Mann and Avar Kriss back together after much time apart. Significant portions of the novel are dedicated to the complicated relationship between these two, as they try to navigate their own feelings for one another, and to understand what it all means in the context of the Force, and the Jedi Order, and within all this turmoil and conflict and despair and grief that surrounds them.
Oof.
When I posted my “Currently Reading” picture for this on Bookstagram, I had at least one or two people ask me “Is this a kissing book?”, to which I will just say…maybe.
The book finds Marchion Ro kind of off on his own, investigating with a keen eye the mysterious new planet-eating plague we found out about in DEFY THE STORM. His attempts to bring this plague under his control & weaponize it will for sure play a major part in the final books of The High Republic!
TEMPTATION OF THE FORCE is also extremely heavy on scenes with Bell & Burryaga, which I couldn’t have been happier about. They’ve become one of my favorite duos in The High Republic, and really in all of Star Wars. Gratton really brings out the soulfulness of Burryaga in ways that we haven’t quite seen before. We know him as this badass Jedi, someone who has survived the impossible. But here we see him as a gentle caretaker of all living things, in a way that is as surprising as it is heartbreaking.
It’s cool to see Vernestra Rwoh here, with The Acolyte finale airing the same day that I’m writing this. Overall, I’ve enjoyed the show. But haven’t exactly felt the same connection to Vernestra on the show as I have in the books. Obviously, she’s been a pretty minor character on the show, but even still…it just hasn’t clicked for me that that’s the same person. Curious to see how things shake out with the season finale, and with the remainder of the The High Republic books…kinda hoping that gap will close between the two versions of one of my favorite Star Wars characters!
Feels a bit like shrieking into the void at this point, as I’m not sure anyone is keeping up with my reviews for The High Republic, but this whole publishing initiative has been so incredible. Some of my favorite Star Wars novels ever have come from this time period, and I’ll always credit The High Republic with being the thing to finally push me into reading the new Star Wars comics!
It might sound like a backhanded compliment (and I’m sure you’ll see me post things like I’M NOT READY with a dozen crying emojis when the cover(s) for the final books are revealed) but I feel ready to say goodbye to this era of Star Wars. I think the storylines have been so compelling & it really feels like each and every character has been given the attention they deserve. I’ll be sad when this is all over, but I’m doing a lot of reflecting on what these books have meant to me & the urge to start all over from the beginning is strong! FOR LIGHT AND LIFE!!!
May the Force be with you!!
Grimdark Dad 