Between Books - Star Wars: The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown

 

Hunger Games meets The High Republic is not what I want to see on the back of a book. So clearly, I won’t care about anyone’s Crystal Crown!

Star Wars: The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown by Tessa Gratton provides a young adult prequel to the Disney+ show Star Wars: The Acolyte. The story follows Jedi Padawans Jecki and Yord Fandar as they join their masters on a mission to support an investigation into the failing negotiations with a potential new member of the Republic. The Silinese people appreciate strength, and to soothe relations, they invite Jecki and Yord to join their finest young warriors in their ritual contest, the Crowning Convocation. The three-part event includes a duel, a survival journey, and a wild hunt, with only the finest warriors passing to the next event. Jecki and Yord use this opportunity to learn about the young Silinese, make some friends, and have some fun, all while being restricted from using the Force. As the two Padawans participate, they find themselves pulled into a crisis as participants seek to make their name in this coming-of-age ritual.

You all know that the High Republic and I don’t always get along. But honestly, I really liked it. I found that Gratton gave a very character-focused story, which was founded on adventure. Now, I’m not a hunter or duelist or survivalist, but the fact that we got to meet other youngsters through Jecki’s and Yord’s eyes allows us to see a new world and people. As an audience, we know that the Padawans will make it to Star Wars: The Acolyte. But the new characters give us real stakes, because we get to know these youngsters, but have no idea what’s next for them. And this provided me, tension…Yes, I was tense.

One of the things I like about this story is that it’s what in the comics world we would label street-level. The scope of the threat is really Jecki, Yord, and their newly made friends. Sure, there are repercussions for the Republic. And I think Siline as a world may have some cultural stakes. But it’s a High Republic story that doesn’t feel like the entire galaxy, and its fate is dependent on this story.

As you know, one of my complaints is that sometimes Star Wars gives us new worlds and aliens that we don’t have a foundation of understanding for. This can be really harsh when they drop like 5 on us! The nice thing here is we have mental reference for Jecki, Yord, and Master Sol. So we really only have to weave images for Siline and the new young Silinese characters introduced in this adventure. We also get to know Jecki and Yord more, and maybe come to appreciate and see their interactions in a new light.

I don’t like The Hunger Games and a lot of The High Republic. But I do really like Star Wars: The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown by Tessa Gratton. It’s a character-based adventure that gives you plenty of time to get to know two characters that we’ve seen on Disney+. Best of all, it’s a street-level space adventure that allows our minds to visit new worlds and peoples.


Yoda, who’s Yoda?

 

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Between Books - Star Wars: The Battle of Jedha

 

Nope!

That’s how it started. I opened up the Kindle edition of Star Wars: The Battle of Jedha and saw it was a script, not a book and I could not do it. I returned the book immediately and requested the audiobook immediately! This was a good choice.

Star Wars: The Battle of Jedha by George Mann provides us with a narrative of a moment from the High Republic that other books have hinted at. The battle was a moment where the Path of the Open Hand challenged the Jedi’s ability to make peace in the Forever War, many Jedi were lost, and the Order was at a low point. The audiobook provides a dramatic account of the incident, complete with total audio production. The story covers a few days on Jedha as the Republic attempts to sign a major peace agreement, and the Path of the Open Hand attempts to strike silently at the prestige of the Jedi. The manipulations of the Path create a full-out battle on the world that we best know from Rogue One. There is a lot of action and fighting to keep the listener entertained.

No Yodas appear in this adventure.

I grew up loving audio shows. I had a volunteer experience where I could listen freely to old-time audio shows like The Shadow. And while I had read a script version of a Star Wars book/audio presentation in the past, I simply could not do it again. I needed the version as it was intended to be, an audio presentation with all its narration, acting, audio cues, and sound effects. And I was happy that I went to the story as it was meant to be. It was entertaining. It did its job, even being a tale from the High Republic which I am not in love with.

I do grumble a little bit about the Forever War…it’s lasted all of five years! That oddly does not feel like forever. Even in our world, the Forever War seems to have lasted a natural amount of time. I would have preferred a name like the War of Water and Sand! I just think the name was a little misplaced especially in a galaxy where the creators could have made it last 100 years or more.

This story also shows the Jedi to not be all the powerful and beloved space wizards we may expect. At Jedha, the Jedi are just one of many brands of Force users. Not everyone trusts the Jedi. This makes the manipulations of the Path even more believable. This is likely my favorite story point as we see Jedi vulnerable to galactic opinion.

I am a fan of audio productions. And Star Wars: The Battle of Jedha by George Mann is produced well with a professional cast and plenty of sound effects to keep a listener engaged. The voice actors help you care about these Jedi who you know nothing about due to voice inflection and acting. I support not reading this book and listening instead as the actors and production allow you to hear the script notes versus reading them and imagining what it should like instead. This entry is likely my favorite of the early High Republic stories, due to the well-executed production of the sound team to support Mann’s writing.

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