Midnight Horizon: Star Wars: The High Republic

This is not my cup of tea. Don’t really feel like saying much more than that. Maybe you’ll like it, but it’s gonna be a no from me.

Midnight Horizon closes this chapter of the High Republic phase 1 novels beautifully and memorably. This novel revisits characters we are already familiar with yet Older brings even more to the table expanding upon these characters stories, history, and most of all deepens these characters connections to each other and their audience. Older is also able to introduce a cast of brand new characters and seamlessly integrate them into the universe and the plot, while allowing the audience to care about them just as much as the already familiar characters.Midnight Horizon picks up where we left off with these characters and as a comic reader I personally love that characters from the comics are introduced into a novel format which really allows to expand upon them, giving the audience much more time with characters such as Lula and Zeen, something that can often be limiting in a comic/graphic novel format. The plot is definitely a slow burn with a very satisfying and thrilling climax. There was a particular storyline with a character in this novel that revisits an age old conversation within the Star Wars fandom and provides more context to the inner workings and complicated history of the Jedi Order that deepens the impact of actions and events of stories much later in the timeline. The story is also able to wrap up nicely while leaving the audience wanting (and patiently waiting) to see these characters again.From reading Older's other published works, particularly those that exist within the star wars universe he has a very distinct style that works very well with the cast of characters and is really able to capture the individual personalities of characters while keeping a memorable tone within the narration of the entire story. Older is able to capture intense and amazing moments throughout the story that I found myself quite emotional multiple times, both happy and sad tears were shed.Above all my absolute favorite aspect of Midnight Horizon was the incredible inclusion of characters belonging to the LGBTQA+ community. These characters are well rounded and their stories are relatable, creating a more inclusive space in the Star Wars universe for the audience while also making the universe with such a wide variety of species and planets much more authentic.Midnight Horizon dives deep into intense and mature themes that is both palatable and digestible for its target audience. However don't let the YA label stop you from reading this novel, I highly recommend it to anyone.

The product mostly looks great except for the back cover is a little damaged. I bought as a gift, so thats a little disappointing. I'm they will still enjoy reading it.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Worldwide Publishing for providing a copy of the book. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***OMFG. This book was so good. I stayed up until 2:30 AM this morning because I could not put it down. It is hard to talk about this book without giving away spoilers because so much happens! So, I'll just start by saying something big to give you an idea of how much I adored this book. This is now my favorite of all The High Republic books! Not only that, this book has some of the best Star Wars scenes to ever grace the page. I read A LOT of Star Wars. So, for me to stay that is truly the highest praise I can think of.I was hooked from the opening scene. Older's style of describing action completely sucked me into the story, and the opening set the stage for all the awesome stuff to come. The world-building was excellent, and I loved the grittiness of Corellia and getting to see more of that world. Jedi in an all out bar brawl? Who knew that's exactly what I needed to read? lol. I will say, however, that it took me a while to get used to the writing of some of the main characters because the first two parts of the book utilized a more juvenile writing style. If you like Older's humor, you'll probably really like it, but if you don't, please hang in there because it faded more into the background as the book progressed. Personally, I didn't mind it and actually found some of the jokes quite funny, but the writing style for the first third of the book felt like it would have been more appropriate for a middle grade installment.I enjoyed each of the characters' journeys in this book. Reath struggled with finding his path, which is something I think most teenager's (and many adults) can easily relate to, and Ram had to figure out how to balance his extreme emotions. The characters from Older's comic book series also played a huge role here, and I enjoyed seeing Zeen grow up a lot while having to deal with her feelings about Lula and Krix. The new characters were enjoyable and had a found family feel to them, and Crash's character taught important lessons about the downfalls of isolating yourself from those you love and the privilege often associated with neutrality. I was quite surprised to see the adult characters get so much character development, as well. I loved getting to know Kantam better, and Cohmac made some big decisions here that left me feeling unsettled.There were so many great themes in this book, but the ones that resonated with me the most were attachment and emotional balance. All of the character's struggled with these topics as they fought for their lives and watched the horror at Starlight Beacon unfold from afar. Older used his words expertly to build scenes that had me right there alongside the characters as they tackled these things head on. I was an emotional mess by the end of this book, and I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever cried so much over a Star Wars book. All the danger, fear, loss, and fury just felt so real while reading. I was completely lost in it. On a lighter note, I have come away from this first phase of the The High Republic wondering how the Jedi could have screwed up so much with Anakin after pretty much ALL of them during this time period wanted to leave the Order because of attachment/relationship problems. lol. I guess Yoda didn't learn much from the struggles of his colleagues. ;)I'd be remiss if I didn't take a second to also point out that I think this is the queerest Star Wars has ever been. I loved all the representation in this book, and it was done in a way that was seamless.Overall, the action, emotion, and excellent character progression all combined to make this book one of my favorite Star Wars books ever. It was an excellent ending that wrapped up the YA trilogy storyline, and the larger phase one story, perfectly. The last part of this book blew my mind, and I would probably kill to see it on the screen. Sorry. That's not a very Jedi-like thing to say, but it's true. :) So, what are you waiting for?! Go read it now! Obviously, I rate this book 5 out of 5 shining stars!

Thank you Netgalley and Disney Worldwide Publishing/Disney Lucasfilm Press for allowing me to read and review this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.I have not been following the comics as closely as the novels. I don't think you absolutely need to read the comics to understand who is who and what's going on. I think the High Republic line of novels is such a fantastic way of keeping the Star Wars books alive especially when the original story has been written and watched so many times.Don't get me wrong I love Star Wars but I love learning about new characters, new lore, and new adventures.Midnight Horizon is a great continuation and builds on established characters and development on new ones.4.5 stars