Star Wars: The Acolyte: Wayseeker by Justina Ireland acts as a bridge between The High Republic publishing initiative and The Acolyte. Through its connections to both of these stories, Wayseeker is both a High Republic epilogue and an Acolyte prequel.
The novel is set about 20 years before the events of the Disney+ show and primarily focuses on Jedi Knights Vernestra Rwoh and Indara, who must work together to prevent the spread of a dangerous weapon. As indicated by the title, Vernestra has become a Wayseeker, which is a Jedi who can operate independently and without being overseen by the Jedi High Council.
Being a Wayseeker is an ideal position for a Jedi like Vernestra who wants to go out into the galaxy, follow the Force, and help those in need without having to deal with unnecessary bureaucracy. By the time Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Jedi Padawan, the Wayseeker role no longer exists, which is why it does not appear in the prequels.
Wayseeker successfully bridges the gap between The High Republic novels and The Acolyte, and it is now easier to understand how Vernestra becomes the character Rebecca Henderson plays in the Disney+ series. There is a good reason why she is no longer a Wayseeker then, and this novel adds more context to her feelings about the Jedi Order and the Senate's interconnected relationship.
How Vernestra, the Jedi Order, the Republic, and the galaxy have changed since the Nihil conflict ended is thoroughly explored and in many ways sets the stage for The Acolyte. This is not the story for answering The Acolyte's unresolved mysteries, though. There are no big reveals about what actually happened between Vernestra and the Stranger/Qimir, other than a couple of vague references to something traumatic that happened with one of her Padawans.
As for Indara, she feels like a very different version of the character played by Carrie-Anne Moss in The Acolyte. This version of Indara is not as stoic or sure of herself. In fact, Indara struggles deeply with self-doubt and spends much of the story learning to believe in herself again. She and Vernestra develop a compelling dynamic, and their relationship is the heart of the story. Their relationship also adds new weight to Vernestra trying to learn the truth behind Indara's death in The Acolyte, and now makes the loss more personal for her during a rewatch.
By the end of Wayseeker, Vernestra feels like she is on her way to being the character we see in The Acolyte. However, for Indara, I feel like at least one more story is needed to get her closer to the Jedi Knight seen in the Brendok flashbacks. Since Wayseeker is about 20 years before The Acolyte, and the Brendok flashbacks are 16 years earlier, there is still room for more Indara stories to bridge that gap in the timeline.
Vernestra and Indara's stories are further bolstered by the presence of the autonomous droid J-6, who was first introduced in Ireland's 2021 novel A Test of Courage, and who more recently was in Ireland's A Valiant Vow. If you like K-2SO in Rogue One and Andor, you will probably like J-6, who is a resourceful, hilarious, quirky, independent, and loyal droid.
J-6 is one of many elements in the novel that are rewarding for High Republic readers, making it feel like an extended epilogue to the end of the publishing initiative. Wayseeker even reveals the fates of several characters from the previous novels. A high level of connectivity is also present in the dangerous weapon Vernestra and Indara are trying to stop, as the seeds for this threat were first planted in Cavan Scott's 2021 novel The Rising Storm.
At the same time, there are no books that have to be read before Wayseeker, which makes it a viable entry point into the High Republic era. For anyone concerned about Trials of the Jedi spoilers, though, I highly recommend reading Trials first, as a major character from that book is in Wayseeker and ends up playing a vital part in Vernestra and Indara's mission.
The only drawback of Wayseeker is that the villains do feel somewhat lackluster. Given the time period and this being a single novel, it wouldn't make sense to introduce a major galactic threat or a long-term villain like Marchion Ro and the Nihil. At the same time, it is important to make the villains feel genuinely threatening and interesting. Wayseeker's villains never feel too threatening, and it isn't until some last-minute twists that the villains get more interesting, and by that point, it is too late to make a difference.
Other than this villain problem, Wayseeker provides a template for what High Republic era stories can look like after the conclusion of The High Republic publishing initiative. While the overarching story with the Nihil has ended, there can still be more stories in this era that spans multiple centuries, and these stories can be more standalone. Another one is already on the way with The Crystal Crown by Tessa Gratton, which will follow The Acolyte's Yord Fandar and Jecki Lon, and hopefully, more books set in this era will be released in the future.