Star Wars: The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life

Great bridge to reminded us of what phase one was about and also stories to lead into phase 3.

Some decent stories set in the High Republic series

This is a YA book with stories set in the High Republic from a variety of authors. If you are a High Republic fan you may enjoy them. Several were overly long for me. Few stood out for me. I listened to the audiobook version and the narrators were good and fit the characters. Some were stand alone tales and some relate to the larger story arcs in several phases of the High Republic. All were more of youth orientated stories. As a long time fan and SW book lover, I miss the more adult focus of the legends books. The vast majority of HR books and comics are aimed at younger readers and I skip most of them because there is so much content its overkill. It should be streamlined liked Phase 2 was, just a few books that allowed you to more easily follow the story. Fortunately, we are finally getting unabridged audiobooks of more legends novels.

Star Wars: Tales of Light and Life is a anthology collection of short stories set both during High Republic Phase 2 and just before Phase 3, making this sort of an epilogue and a prologue at the same time, and like all short story collections there are some good ones and some bad ones, as well as some really quite pointless middling ones. Still though, I love me some High Republic so I couldn’t pass it up.With the main overall plots of Phase 1 and 2 being so action heavy, with a lot of moving pieces and characters to check in with, it doesn’t leave a ton of time for the smaller character beats — backstory, one-off adventures, time for characters to really feel their feelings. This is where Tales of Light and Life truly thrives. I’ve long maintained that every part of The High Republic’s story matters, and these shorts are no exception. The actual events of the stories are remarkably self-contained, but the time they give us with the characters, and the increased understanding of who they are, is the real heart of the book. Without spoiling anything, here’s a quick round-up:Zoraida Córdova’s “The Queen’s Bloom” gives those of us already missing that rake with a heart of gold, Axel Greylark, a sweet, exciting prequel story that sets up how he became who we come to know in Convergence. This was what I wanted from the core four characters in Phase 2’s adult books. Who are they when removed from the larger issues at play, when they are arguably their own biggest issue? In this sense, “The Queen’s Bloom” delivered beautifully. It also features a blink-and-you-miss-it moment that I will officially be reading way too much into.Tessa Gratton’s “A Closed Fist Has No Claws” is perhaps one of the most chilling Star Wars short stories I have ever read, written with a narrative style that intentionally leaves the reader ill-at-ease. Things that should make the reader feel closer to the narrator instead reveal to us how little we actually know.George Mann’s “Shield of the Jedi” and Daniel José Older’s “The Lonely Traveller Is Home” are both sweet, slice-of-life stories that catch us up with some of The High Republic’s younger characters and act as a sort of reprieve in the chaos. Claudia Gray’s “After the Fall”, Justina Ireland’s “The Force Provides”, Charles Soule’s “All Jedi Walk Their Own Path”, and Cavan Scott’s “Light in the Darkness” are individual reflections of grief centered around characters reeling from the fall of the Starlight Beacon, and their own horrific losses they’ve had to endure in the lead-up to that, setting the stage for where we’ll find them in Phase 3. And finally Lydia Kang’s “The Call of Coruscant” brings new characters into the mix, widening the story and giving us some idea of the new avenues Phase 3 of the High Republic will explore.I would caution new readers interested in The High Republic when it comes to finding their entry point into the story. While these shorts are a perfect sampling of what’s available, every single one of them contains massive story spoilers for the rest of the books. If that’s not an issue for you, then this is a great place to start. If it is, consider it a treat for when you catch up. As for those looking for small doses of High Republic stories until Phase 3 begins in earnest, Tales of Light and Life is absolutely not one to be missed.Ultimately, If you’ve been following The High Republic this long, you will no doubt be on board with reading this new anthology book (especially if you are a huge fan of any of the characters featured here). If you’re picking and choosing what to read, you can probably skip this one as it is far from essential reading.

"Joss noticed how happy Pikka was at word of Geode's survival, and he no longer seemed worried about the connection his wife had made with the Vessel's navigator. Not that he had ever needed to be - Geode was an incorrigible flirt, but never followed through."

Tales of Light and Life is a book set during the two (so far) High Republic eras of Star Wars. The book published in 2023, is a collection of short stories from multiple authors who have written the High Republic era novels. The events in the stories occur between or after the major events during Phase 1 (the middle) and Phase 2 (the beginning) of the High Republic. Some of the stories involve new, non-Jedi, non-Nihil, or non-Path members who were present during the events in the books, and other stories involve the main characters from the books.The hardcover version of the book is a little over 300 pages but reads very quickly, especially for those who have read the other High Republic novels. In my opinion, the best stories are the last few that detail events that occurred after the events of the novel, The Fallen Star. Those stories will likely serve as the setup for the Phase 3 novels that detail the end of the High Republic era. The other stories in the book really felt like filler that did not add a lot to what was in the existing books. Ultimately, I think this is a book that most die-hard fans would read one time, but it is not a must-read.

I have recently become an extreme fan of The High Republic. When I started experiencing the project, Phase I and Phase II were done. I decided to start chronologically, which began with Phase II roughly 150 cycles before Phase I.This book starts with one of the main antagonists during Phase II, Axel Greylark. He is just a schoolboy during this short story, as this story is estimated to be told in 396BBY, 14 cycles before the majority of Phase II.So not to spoil anything the book follows many of the main characters and sets up the High Republic in Chronological order. Thoroughly enjoyed by this reader and gives me a brief understanding of the High Republic. If you wish to get a taste before diving in? Read (or listen on Audible)!

Des récits pour certains intéressants, pour d'autres moins passionnants. Quoiqu'il en soit, ces nouvelles permettent de bien approfondir certains personnages. Peut être que de tels éléments auraient eu le mérite d'apparaitre directement dans les romans ?Quoiqu'il en soit je suis aussi extrêmement déçu qu'il manque la nouvelle "Rogue element" d'Alyssa Wong, qui semble être exclusive à une seule édition, non disponible sur Amazon qui plus est. Donc quoi, je dois payer 20 euros pour me procurer une seule nouvelle ? Sans façon, tant pis pour l'autrice où son travail n'est pas mis en valeur.

Good reference to different narratives of Star Wars journey