Here’s what reviewers are saying about The High Republic: Into the Dark

The next book set in the High Republic era of Star Wars finally arrived this week.

Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark, from fan-favorite author Claudia Gray, features many of the same characters introduced last month in Charles Soule’s Light of the Jedi. These major novels — along with several junior books and two comic series — mark a fresh start for the Star Wars franchise. They also delve into a chunk of the galactic timeline that’s never been explored before, even in the retconned Legends books.

The High Republic offerings are set about 200 years before the events of Episode I: The Phantom Menace and focus on the golden age of the Jedi and the Republic. The High Republic literary project has been years in the making, with the authors collaborating with one another and other Star Wars creators to essentially craft a whole new saga of stories and characters.

Reviews for Light of the Jedi were largely positive, and the same can be said for Into the Dark. One important note: the first round of reviews for both books dropped on Dec. 14, the day the embargo lifted for those who read advanced copies.

Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Dark reviews

Are you still deciding if you want to read Into the Dark by Claudia Gray? Here are some excerpts from recent reviews of the book:

Megan Crouse, Den of Geek:

"Ancient aliens, a space station haunted in more ways than one, and space pirates make it a grab bag of what the new era has to offer, all of it explored by well-meaning but burdened Jedi. The main character is the least compelling of the gang, and some twists are signposted as bright as a lightsaber. Despite that, Into the Dark, which is set 200 years before The Phantom Menace, is a good introduction to the High Republic era, and a fun but not particularly deep Jedi fantasy."

Meg Dowell, Youtini:

"From the book’s opening paragraphs, Gray proves her finesse in the art of immediately making you care about characters you’ve just met. Knowing some of them may die — this is Star Wars, after all, notorious for this sort of thing — you continue turning pages."

Mike Celestino, Laughing Place

"In this first batch of The High Republic books, Claudia Gray and her fellow talented authors are deftly planting seeds that are sure to come to fruition the further we get into this innovative publishing project, but they’re also doing a great job of making this era feel like it has actual connective tissue to the rest of Star Wars."

Kyle Larson, Star Wars News Net

"Into the Dark is as familiar to Gray fans like myself while offering new meta commentary and elements to the Jedi lore in a new era. Readers will likely get a sense of liberation in Gray’s exploration of the contradictions of Jedi dogma towards the fluid Force."

Star Wars fans like ourselves seem hooked on the new High Republic era and are excited to see what will come next. You can find more on the High Republic and other Star Wars reads in the Books section on Dork Side of the Force.

Are you reading Into the Dark? Let us know in the comments below!