Things are beginning to pick up in The High Republic series. Now in its second phase, one hundred and fifty years before phase one and titled “Quest of the Jedi”. The previous two entries, Convergence and The Battle of Jedha have seen The Path of the Open Hand’s intentions become more clear as they stoke the fires of “The Forever War” between Eiram and E’ronoh. From the ashes of Jedha, the Jedi pursue answers to the mysterious Path, seeking to understand exactly what it is they are working towards. As tensions mount, peace seems to be farther away than ever.
Anyone that has read these reviews knows that I have struggled with The High Republic series. Its fractured story telling structure between comics, young readers, young adult and adult literature has made the series difficult to follow and even harder to find one’s footing with the series. Convergence, The Battle of Jedha and Cataclysm create the first run of adult works in a row, up to this point and the story is the better for it. Each of these works has been a direct sequel of the previous book, creating a sense of continuity Star Wars fans have come to expect from book series. It is hard to overstate just how refreshing this is. As an added bonus, the Jedi involved in these three stories is also consistent, which allows readers to be emotionally invested in their stories, because they’ve been given extended time with them.
Cataclysm is a story with a few mirrored characters. First there are the mothers, Kyong Greylark and the Mother of The Path of the Open Hand being the first. The Mother is the worst sort imaginable, caring nothing for her “children”, craving only power, willing to use anyone or anything to attain it. Whereas Kyong, regardless of her maternal faults, shows herself to be the kind of mother willing to lay down her power to save those in need, especially her child. The second mirror is Gella and a Jedi Youngling Cippa. They are both, two sides of the same coin who need to learn the importance of a teachable spirit and understanding it is okay to lean on others.
There are some wonderful legacy characters used in the story, I will not spoil who it is in this review but sufficed to say, I want to see one of them in particular, in more stories! Kang is able to bring to a close this trilogy of stories by superbly bringing some of the threads to an end, while flawlessly opening the door for others.
It should also be noted that this is Lydia Kang’s first full length Star Wars novel. Her work here is impeccable. The prose fits perfectly in the Saga and the voices of the legacy characters she uses are spot on. Honestly I’m looking forward to her writing more books for Star Wars because of this debut. Cataclysm is a fantastic book and is rated 4 out of 5 stars.
This review was completed with a review copy of Cataclysm from Del Rey Publishing.
Author: Matt Rushing
Matthew Rushing is the host of Trek.fm‘s The 602 Club and co-host of TheNerdParty.com‘s AggressiveNegotiations: A Star Wars Podcast. He can be found on Twitter @mattrushing02.