I am not the biggest fan of movie/tv show tie ins but they are important to have in a classroom library. Students who are not very motivated to read are more likely to pick up a book with familiar characters. Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark is nothing to write home about but it definitely has a place in the classroom.

I love Claudia Gray’s work for Star Wars! I haven’t been super invested in the High Republic, but Gray is a breath of life to what has felt like a stale franchise limb. I really liked the character of Reath in particular; I related to both his love of adventure (from a comfy chair!) and desire to be a scholar. The character interactions were great; Gray always nails her dialogue. Love her work!

I LOVE Star Wars and I really love adventures that take me on another Star Wars journey, I really loved the continuation of this story diving deeper in and getting to go further with Jedi Master Cohman Vitus, Jedi Knights Orla Jareni and Dez Rydan, and Jedi Padawan Reath Silas. Take this journey you will not regret it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Into the Dark is a horror story set in the SW universe. Mounting dread and twists and turns drive the story, while the protagonists — especially newcomer Reath — help situate the reader in the mystery.

As a huge Star Wars fan, I love when a book feels like Star Wars even if all the characters are new. This book immediately felt that way. A Jedi Padawan is sent with two Masters on a routine transport to meet his Master on the frontier. However, when the hyperspace lanes shut down unexpectedly, he finds himself in a supposedly long ago deserted spaceport that feels strongly of the dark side. This book was hard to put down and the characters were great.

Claudia Gray is my favorite author of all time. So I wanted to give this a try. Nope. All the nope. I wish she would go back to writing her own universes. I miss her work so much but I can't do the Star Wars stuff.

I am excited that books during the time of the High Republic are now being written, and Claudia Gray captures the essence of this time during The Star Wars Saga.

If you are a Star Wars fan you will enjoy this book. It has the voice of recent Star Wars worlds and of Star Wars origins. It is an interesting story and well done. Not only is the story compelling it has interesting characters as well. I recommend it and look forward to more.

I purchased this book for my high school library. My students have enjoyed it. and it has circulated well.

An enthralling introduction to the High Republic stories. This was like Star Wars meets Event Horizon. A hyperspace disaster lands Jedi and civilians alike on an abandoned space station. The darkness that is contained within the station is a danger to the entire galaxy and a young, sheltered padawan must find the strength within himself to fight the unknown. There are many supporting characters and a significant amount of world building in this mysterious adventure. If you’re a Star Wars fan, then this is a must read!

This is the finest entry to the High Republic series I’ve read yet. Claudia Gray scores yet again with a compelling small-scale story with huge implications to the Star Wars universe.

Although the Jedi and their allies are dealing with a problem centralized in an out-of-the-way space station, the introduction of new villains and the deep worldbuilding like introducing Jedi Wayfarers (an idea that I love) hits hard. The main characters are all individually lovable, and I would love to see any of them appear in future books. Claudia Gray should absolutely be writing more of Star Wars.

I really enjoyed this book. It was my favorite of all the High Republic books. The characters are well developed and interesting. I enjoyed how they added to the overall story line. The writing was excellent. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Into the Dark by Claudia Gray is the third book released in the new High Republic era of Star Wars storytelling. This is the young adult book coming after both Light of the Jedi and A Test of Courage which were released last month. I loved Light of the Jedi and thought A Test of Courage was good, so how does Into the Dark compare?

I’d place it right in between, which I think makes perfect sense. I didn’t love it on the same level as Light of the Jedi, but Claudia Gray has a reputation already as a fantastic Star Wars author, and she doesn’t disappoint. The story isn’t as big and expansive in scope as Charles Soule’s novel, but it definitely opens up some interesting and potentially terrifying new avenues for the future of the High Republic. And something I think Into the Dark does better than Light of the Jedi is highlighting some of the differences of the Jedi Order of this era versus how we see them in the prequels. A big question all the High Republic writers asked themselves is, “What do the Jedi fear.” That was a driving force behind a lot of their stories, and with a title like Into the Dark, you can absolutely expect to see some answers to that question. What drives the Jedi towards the dark? What could potentially cause them to lose their way in the following two hundred years? We’re already starting to potentially find out.

Similar to Light of the Jedi, everything kicks off with the Great Disaster, but our characters don’t really know what’s happening. They’re forced to exit hyperspace near a mysteriously abandoned space station. They set it up as a relief station for other ships in their situation during this crisis, and that’s the basic setup. And it’s a cool one. I got some serious Dawn of the Dead vibes at moments. A large group of different people, working to find common ground while they’re stranded in deep space. But there is a lot of mystery and danger in the space station, which is very fun to watch unfold.

The main character is Reath Silas, a Padawan who is more comfortable in the Jedi Archives than on an adventure. He’s joined by two Masters with some heavy emotional baggage and history that they have to work through during the Great Disaster, as well as basically his big Jedi brother, the Knight who was the last Padawan of Reath’s current master. Swept up with the Jedi are transport pilots Affie and Leox, and Leox is basically space Matthew McConaughey. And their navigator, Geode. Who is literally a rock. And here is how I know how great of a writer Claudia Gray is. I could not be more emotionally invested in Geode. But he’s a rock. It’s hard to explain, but seriously he was one of my favorite parts of the book.

Of course as a big, connected publishing effort Into the Dark benefits from having read Light of the Jedi first. You don’t have to at all, but I would recommend it. Because while the Great Disaster is a catalyst for the events of this story, most of the characters are...in the dark, pun not intended. They are stranded and unsure as to what’s happening, and dealing with their own, Lesser Disaster. I really appreciated that, I’m glad each book is showing us a different perspective on how the Great Disaster affects various people and locations differently. I like the variety.

And while I want to avoid spoilers, I’ll say that there are events in this book that could set off some big chain reactions for the rest of the era. Some big events I wasn’t expecting that will keep the High Republic a little more varied in danger. Let’s just say that the Nihil aren’t the only dangers out in the frontier of the galaxy.

I think some people tend to write off young adult books just because of the label, but Into the Dark could be as important as Light of the Jedi for the overall plot. But beyond that, because young adult stories are about young adults growing up, it has a lot of great, very Star Warsy lessons to pass on. Facing fears, not just physical but more abstract. Like getting outside of your comfort zone for personal growth. And there is a lot about questioning authority figures. Learning how to trust your gut and your conscience over the rules you may have been told were right your whole life.

So yeah, if you like the High Republic era so far, I think this is a great addition to the series with some important, galactic implications. But it’s also just a good Star Wars story, which shouldn’t come as a surprise when Claudia Gray’s name is on the cover.

This was a really good sequel not my favroite in the series so far but still overall enjoyed it! 3.5/5 Stars

Let’s go, we got her next one, Into the Dark by Claudia Gray pretty good book again. Just from the young adult book genre, it lives up to its name it goes into the dark. I don’t want to say too much but like they deal with a darker tone on a more personal level. They’re more generous and humane to the villains, the Nihl. They are more junior Nihl than in light of the Jedi ends up being. But it just it makes me want to explore them more and when I read in Light of the Jedi I found that that worked there. But there’s some cool Jedi stuff in here about characters are called wayseekers and the pattern one named Reath Sylis who must learn the ways of the Jedi and the way they have to feel the power of the force of every Jedi who ever lived and that’s pretty cool. Overall I liked the main story and had a pretty intriguing mystery and characters, at the start of the book it was a bit could they jump between all the perspectives but by the end of it I was like that’s pretty cool. They also had some good themes in this one with with the Jedi lessons and a sort of an arc between Master and Apprentice and this for Claudia Gray about going up against like slavery and indentured servants and it’s in the dark side of the private industry in the Star Wars universe so you got that and this book is not my favorite of hers but she is one of the Star Wars writers. But it’s definitely a good book and I would say that I enjoyed very much.

I've always loved Claudia Gray's Star Wars novels and this book is no exception. This is a creative entry in the new High Republic era and I can't wait for what comes next.

This book, was actually pretty disappointing. Every single time I open a Star Wars book, I have high hopes and expect excellent storytelling. I really want to enjoy the book I’m spending all my time on. Claudia Gray normally tells fantastic stories in Star Wars, sadly, this is the exception.

Reading Into the Dark was a chore! The magic of Gray’s storytelling was absent. The characters were bland, the villains were awful (as in unintentionally comical), and the story was absolutely boring. There was a secondary story being told in the book about a past mission by a few of the main characters. It was pointless and a waste of ink. Many parts of the story seem to just skip around details. Descriptions were lacking, but for the most part, dialogue wasn’t too bad.

The High Republic main villains are the Nihil. This book does have the Nihil, which come across as an afterthought without any sort of intimidation or disturbing factor. The other villains in the book, the Drengir, look creepy if you’ve seen the art. They are dumb in this story. If you’ve seen the film/musical of Little Shop of Horrors… you’ve seen the villains. (Yes, the plant villains speak basic.)

Many aspects of the story had potential had they been altered slightly. The twist that unfolds was disappointing and frustrating.

Into the Dark is het derde boek in de High Republic reeks. Het begint vlak voor de gebeurtenissen van Light of the Jedi, wanneer Padawan Reath Silas met drie andere Jedi op weg gaat naar Starlight Beacon. Onderweg wordt hun schip, net als velen anderen, door de Great Disaster gedwongen Hyperspace te verlaten en moeten ze in een, voor hun, onbekend gebied van het sterrenstelsel afwachten tot het weer veilig is om verder te reizen. Samen met een aantal andere schepen zoeken ze bescherming in een ”verlaten” ruimtestation. Eenmaal in het station steken er verschillende problemen de kop op, niet alle reizigers die aangekomen zijn in het station zijn vredelievend en de Jedi voelen een vreemde aanwezigheid in de Force en gaan op onderzoek uit. Ook komen de Nihil om de hoek kijken en worden we geïntroduceerd aan een andere grote nieuwe dreiging, de Drengir.

Het verhaal wordt verteld vanuit de belevingen van de vier hoofdpersonen, Reath, twee andere Jedi, Cohmac Vitus en Orla Jareni, en Affie Hollow, één van de piloten van het vrachtschip waarmee ze reisden. Het kost in het begin wat moeite om de vrij grote hoeveelheid personages uit elkaar te houden, maar ze hebben allemaal compleet verschillende persoonlijkheden en bewegen zich vooral in kleinere groepjes waardoor dat al vrij snel makkelijker wordt.

Reath heeft zijn leven tot nu toe vooral op Coruscant doorgebracht en is helemaal op zijn gemak in de Archives in de Jedi tempel. Maar zijn meester, Jora Mali, die we in Light of the Jedi ontmoetten, heeft een positie op Starlight Beacon aangenomen, mede omdat volgens haar de verandering in routine en omgeving goed zal zijn voor Reath’s ontwikkeling. Reath zegt aan het begin van het boek Coruscant vaarwel en is onderweg naar Starlight Beacon als hij met zijn reisgenoten strandt op het verlaten ruimtestation. De vier Jedi vinden hier een aantal standbeelden waar de Dark Side sterk omheen hangt en ze hebben het idee dat deze standbeelden gebruikt worden om een Dark Side entiteit gevangen te houden. Ze besluiten de beelden naar de tempel op Coruscant te brengen, wat potentieel nog meer problemen oplevert dan de Great Disaster deed.

Affie Hollow is een van de piloten van de Vessel, het schip dat de Jedi ingehuurd hebben om ze naar Starlight Beacon te vervoeren. Affie is de geadopteerde dochter van de leider van de Byne Guild en vliegt al twee jaar met spice-enthousiast Leox en levende steen Geode rond om de kneepjes van het vak te leren om later de leiding over de Guild over te kunnen nemen. Eenmaal gestrand op het ruimtestation ontdekt zij echter dat dit station voor de Byne Guild niet onbekend is en ze het voor onbekende doeleinden gebruiken. Affie gaat op onderzoek uit en komt van alles over haar adoptiemoeder en de Guild te weten dat haar helemaal niet aanstaat.

Orla Jareni is wat mij betreft het interessantste personage in het boek. Ze heeft net besloten om voorlopig als Wayseeker door het leven te gaan. Een Jedi Knight die zich tijdelijk niet door de regels van de Jedi Council laat leiden. Wayseekers hebben tijd nodig om zichzelf en hun connectie met de Force te herontdekken. Sommigen mediteren maanden- of jarenlang op een bergtop, anderen besluiten een tijdje als vrijheidsvechters voor onderdrukte volken op te komen. En weer anderen worden een muzikale sensatie op Alderaan (laat het boek over die Jedi maar komen!). Orla is vooral opzoek naar een doel in haar leven en wil er na de opening van Starlight Beacon op uit trekken.

Orla en Cohmac waren samen Padawans en ondernamen 25 jaar eerder een missie om twee gegijzelde staatshoofden te redden, dit verhaal wordt in flashbacks tussen het hoofdverhaal door verteld en die gebeurtenissen geven meer gewicht aan hun beslissingen in het hoofdverhaal en Orla’s beslissing om Wayseeker te worden. Dit verhaal is op zichzelf interessant maar wat vluchtig uitgewerkt en doordat het in stukken opgedeeld is komt het wat mij betreft niet helemaal tot zijn recht. Dit had het misschien beter gedaan als een comic zodat de lezer zich er meer in had kunnen verdiepen terwijl het hoofdverhaal van Into the Dark minder rommelig was geweest, want ook zonder de flashbacks gebeurt er al meer dan genoeg.

Into the Dark is een Young Adult boek, gericht op lezers van 12 tot 18 jaar. Gray’s schrijfstijl is dan ook relatief eenvoudig, maar dat wil niet zeggen dat het boek niet emotioneel heel zwaar is. De personages hebben met heel veel verlies, verdriet en verraad te maken en we krijgen als lezer een eersterangs stoel voor het schouwspel dat hun emoties heet. Tel daarbij de ronduit angstaanjagende Drengir, en de dreiging die zij in de toekomst kunnen vormen, op en maar weinig mensen zullen dit als een ”boek voor kinderen” zien. Los van het verhaal worden er ook nog eens een heleboel interessante ideeën en weetjes gedeeld die het hoofd van menig fan zullen doen tollen met vragen. Zo zijn er verwijzingen naar een Old Republic, de Sith Empire, de Sith Shrine onder de Jedi tempel op Coruscant, en maken de Jedi in deze tijdsperiode vaak genoeg gebruik van de Jedi Mind Trick om je te doen afvragen hoe het manipuleren van andermans gedachten goed te praten valt voor iemand aan de Light side van de Force. Helemaal omdat Jedi Council lid Master Adampo reflecteert op de reden van het bestaan van de Jedi Order. De gaven van de Jedi dienen enkel gebruikt te worden om anderen te helpen, het is de taak van de Jedi Order om er voor te zorgen dat de Jedi zich niet door hun gaven laten verleiden maar het sterrenstelsel en de Force verrijken met een onbaatzuchtig bestaan.

Wat ook een vermelding waard is is de Kyber Arch. Een boog in een van de meditatieruimtes van de Jedi Tempel die opgebouwd is uit de Kyberkristallen uit de Lightsabers van overleden Jedi. De beschrijving van de boog en hoe Jedi deze in hun meditatie gebruiken is adembenemend en ik zie deze graag een keer in een visueel medium terug om er echt een goed beeld van te krijgen.

Alles bij elkaar is Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark zeker een aanrader.

I loved this addition to the Star Wars Universe! It was the right balance of action/adventure/humor that would be perfect to recommend someone looking to get into reading the Star Wars books.