Star Wars: Cataclysm (The High Republic)

Lydia Kang

Apr 2023 · Star Wars: The High Republic: Prequel Era Book 2 · Sold by Random House Worlds

About this ebook

After the thrilling events of The High Republic: Convergence, the Jedi race to confront the Path of the Open Hand and end the Forever War.
 
After five years of conflict, the planets Eiram and E’ronoh are on the cusp of real peace. But when news breaks of a disaster at the treaty signing on Jedha, violence reignites on the beleaguered worlds. Together, the royal heirs of both planets—Phan-tu Zenn and Xiri A’lbaran—working alongside the Jedi, have uncovered evidence that the conflict is being orchestrated by outside forces, and all signs point to the mysterious Path of the Open Hand, whom the Jedi also suspect of causing the disaster on Jedha.
 
With time—and answers—in short supply, the Jedi must divide their focus between helping quell the renewed violence on Eiram and E’ronoh and investigating the Path. Among them is Gella Nattai, who turns to the one person she believes can unravel the mystery but the last person she wants to trust: Axel Greylark. The chancellor’s son, imprisoned for his crimes, has always sought to unburden himself of the weight of his family name. Will he reconcile with the Jedi and aid in their quest for justice and peace, or embrace the Path’s promise of true freedom?
 
As all roads lead to Dalna, Gella and her allies prepare to take on a foe unlike any they’ve ever faced. And it will take all of their trust in the Force, and in one another, to survive.

Ratings and reviews

It's a book that feels incomplete because you have read the YA novel to understand what's actually going on. Also, witness characters make stupid actions and then surprised Pikachu face when they witness Newton's third law in action. Unfortunately the author does not believe in Darwins Theory of Natural Selection because the character somehow survives being impaled. With all that one cannot fathom how ironic the title of this book is.

Definitely an improvement over Convergence as it relates to The High Republic (at least phase two) as a whole. Some of the characters are... frustratingly stubborn to say the least, but that's more a problem with Star Wars as a whole than this book. The action scenes are well written, and a chancellor became one of my favorite characters. Never would have guessed.

About the author

Lydia Kang is an author of adult and young adult fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. She is also a doctor and practices internal medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. She became a Star Wars author with the short story “Right-Hand Man” in the 2020 anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, which describes the critical scene in which 2-1B attaches Luke Skywalker’s prosthetic hand. Her historical fiction includes the bestselling titles Opium and Absinthe, A Beautiful Poison, The Impossible Girl, and The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding. She is the co-author of Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, an NPR Science Friday Best Science Book of 2017, as well as Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World’s Worst Diseases. She lives with her three kids, physician husband, and two very codependent dogs, one of which looks uncannily like an Ewok.