Star Wars: Defy The Storm Offers A Window Into A Major Acolyte Character

There will be spoilers for "Star Wars – The High Republic: Defy the Storm" by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland.

"Star Wars: The High Republic" continues its march through its third phase with the release of "Star Wars: Defy the Storm," which was co-written by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland. It builds off the events of "Star Wars – The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness" and shows us a galaxy in disarray thanks to the evil Nihil and their Stormwall. For those who haven't been keeping up with the High Republic era, these books are set more than a hundred years before the events of "The Phantom Menace" and are a look at the Jedi at their true height, just as they begin their descent that will ultimately lead to their destruction. They face an enemy called the Nihil, brutal pirates who will stop at nothing to take what they want. The Nihil also control monsters referred to as "The Nameless" that feed on the life of Force-users, leaving Jedi, no matter how powerful, ashy husks of their former selves.

This new novel revisits characters from previous books including Avon Starros, an ancestor of Sana Starros from the current run of Marvel Comics; Jordanna Sparkburn, a character living the life of a frontier marshal that we first met in Justina Ireland's "Out of the Shadows"; and Vernestra Rwoh, who was the youngest Jedi to pass the Trials and become a Jedi Knight at the age of 15. They are all set to cross into Nihil territory by any means necessary, each of them on a slightly different mission. Avon is hellbent on destroying the Stormwall itself. Jordanna is intent on saving her family that had been left behind in Nihil territory. Vernestra seeks out her old Padawan, Imri Cantaros, who she thought was dead.

As the three of them work together to accomplish their work behind enemy lines, they discover much more than they ever bargained for — a biological super weapon that can destroy all life in the galaxy.

Vernestra Rwoh is going to be one of the characters of most interest here, especially as we anticipate her appearance as a major character in Leslye Headland's upcoming "Star Wars" show "The Acolyte," as played by Rebecca Henderson. This book takes place many years before the events of the forthcoming television show, but certainly offers us a window into better understanding her character and giving hints about what her mindset could be as the show opens and she struggles in the battle against the Dark Side. 

When we meet Vern (which is what her friends call her) at the beginning of this book, a year has passed since the destruction of Starlight Beacon, which was the combination of communications satellite and Jedi outpost on the edge of known space. It was a beacon of hope and its destruction at the hands of the Nihil signaled to the galaxy that hope was forsaken. With her padawan seemingly killed in the conflict, Vern got that message loud and clear and went AWOL from the Jedi. She's disillusioned in what she thinks the order might be and disappointed in herself for being unable to save her padawan. Though she is able to work through that despair and find some of that optimism she had in her youth, she is certainly a slightly more cynical and jaded character now, if not simply more world-weary, traits that will likely carry over to her appearances in "The Acolyte."

Seeing her in action here will almost certainly prepare you for her appearances on Disney+.

The biggest revelation of this book is that it seems as though the Nihil have truly created a terrifying weapon, one that will test not just the Jedi, but all of the Republic. With the work of Nihil's scientists — though not specifically stated in this book, but likely the work of the mad Ithorian scientist Baron Boolan — it seems as though the Nihil have been able to weaponize the destruction of the Nameless. As the Nameless consume the Force within the Jedi, they've been able to take their effect, put it in some sort of weapon, and allow it to eat away at all life.

As Jordanna Sparkburn makes her way to her family on a distant moon behind the Nihil's Stormwall, they find that they've turned the effect of the Nameless into an infection that eats away at anything that lives, and just by touching it, people will turn into the same ashy husks that the Jedi turn into when they encounter the Nameless. This is not good news for the Republic. And the moon in question is left uninhabitable in a way that felt reminiscent of the exact opposite of the Genesis Device featured in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Where the Genesis Device destroyed a planet and brought it to a new, flourishing verdancy, this biological agent acts as a desiccant, scrubbing the life from everything.

The book offers a window into the Republic's start in dealing with this problem, but it's not going to be easy for them or the Jedi, and a lot of people in the galaxy are likely going to die because of it.

"Defy the Storm" is more grim in tone than the more recent young adult novels in "The High Republic" series, especially those starring Vernestra Rwoh. While the book is still impossibly fun, it has an undercurrent of dread to it, and that's not a bad thing. Part of that comes from the fact that the heroes in the galaxy are still on their back foot and the Nihil are reigning across a huge swath of the galaxy. Hope continues to fade, but this book offers a glimmer at the end of that tunnel.

Well-written and fast-paced, it's an enjoyable afternoon read, especially if you want to get a more detailed preview of what we might be seeing in "The Acolyte", which is set to premiere at some point this year on Disney+.

"Defy the Storm" also gets high marks for diversity and inclusion, which is really a great thing, despite the loudest voices trying to say otherwise. We've had plenty of stories in "Star Wars" of heterosexual couples, it's great to get a look at two different sorts of relationships in this book.

More than anything, it captures the spirit of "Star Wars" in new and interesting ways, even to the point of having the climax play out across three different settings, much like "Return of the Jedi" and "The Phantom Menace." I know it's something I say a lot about the books of "The High Republic," but they've captured (Force) lightning in a bottle with this series, making it innately "Star Wars" and inherently fresh and new.

You'd do well to pick this one up.

"Star Wars – The High Republic: Defy the Storm" is available now wherever you buy books.