How to Start Reading The High Republic
A guide to getting started with The High Republic.
So you want to start reading The High Republic, huh? But there are so many books. And they’re all different colors and sizes! Perhaps the only High Republic-adjacent things you know about are Nubs (no shame) and something about people turning into dust. You want to know more, but no one has been able to give you an actual answer when you’ve asked how to begin.
Thankfully, I’m a Star Wars book expert and High Republic enthusiast. I’ve interviewed the majority of the authors writing these stories (with a goal to catch ‘em all, as they say), and Krystina Arielle once responded to my cold media request with “Oh, I know who you are…”
I’m here, I’m eager to help, and now that I’ve gotten my Luminous credentials out of the way, let’s dive into everything you need to know to start reading The High Republic.
The High Republic Timeline
In 2021, Star Wars publishing entered a new era — in more ways than one. Not only did the initiative begin a new literal era on the larger Star Wars timeline, but it also created a brand-new concept: A series of books not just written by different authors, but a series of multimedia stories all interconnecting as one body of work as well.
The initiative includes books (adult, young adult, middle-grade, and young reader categories), comics, manga, and audio dramas. The Jedi are major players in these stories, but they’re not quite like the Jedi you might be used to.
The High Republic takes place a few hundred years before the events of The Phantom Menace. Phase I, which starts with Light of the Jedi, begins in 232 BBY. Phase II backtracks, with Convergence taking place in 382 BBY. Phase III (not yet finished at the time of publishing this) jumps back to 229 BBY.
It’s a new point in the timeline with some familiar but mostly new characters, a genuinely terrifying set of enemies, a little bit of romance (just a little), and some of the most impressive storytelling you’ll have encountered yet. A small group of writers has worked tirelessly to create a very large and complex continuity of stories, often passing characters back and forth while keeping everything cohesive and exciting.
The High Republic is a true marvel — and it’s not even done yet. But you’re here to figure out how to read these books, maybe in order, maybe not. Let’s jump to that next.
The High Republic Reading Order
Everyone wants to know the reading order! And while “release order” used to be the simplest way to guide readers through these books, things got a little more complicated when Phase II came out and the story went backwards in the linear Star Wars timeline.
To keep things simple (link to two recommended reading orders below): You should probably start with Light of the Jedi and make your way through Phase I, then move on to Convergence and the rest of Phase II before returning to Phase III. You could start with Phase II for a chronological read, but you might find yourself confused and missing some important context.
Do not start with Phase III. You will be lost, overwhelmed, and unhappy. But trust me, reading what comes before and then diving into Eye of Darkness will be worth the wait.
Here is a full rundown of my recommended High Republic reading order, both chronological and by release order (Phase I, Phase II, Phase III - so far).
What to Read, What to Leave Behind
Many people ask me some variation of this question: “Do I have to read the young adult/middle-grade books or comics or manga or audio drama scripts to understand the story?”
People ask me this question — or a variation of it — because they want to know, basically, if they have to read everything in The High Republic to enjoy it. The simple answer is … no. Technically not. But I also don’t think you will enjoy The High Republic as much without consuming all of it.
I don’t believe that there’s such a thing as “required reading” in Star Wars. Books aren’t homework assignments you have to complete in order to get a good grade. This falls into a dangerous line of thinking that leads to things like gatekeeping in fandom — it implies, even if it isn’t true, that if you don’t read everything or know every detail of an overarching story, you aren’t a “real” Star Wars fan. I reject this treatment of media and the people who consume it. The only prerequisite for being a fan of Star Wars books is that you like Star Wars books.
When it comes to The High Republic specifically, technically, the entire initiative is designed so that you absolutely can comprehend and enjoy isolated pieces of media in the series even if you haven’t read everything that comes before it. You can skip all the comics that are part of Phase I, for example, and still understand everything leading up to Midnight Horizon.
This makes the initiative more inclusive and less intimidating for beginners, and this is a good thing. However — this does lead to many good stories being skipped largely because they are viewed as “less than” or “not important,” and I don’t like that side of it.
Young adult and especially middle-grade books set in the Star Wars universe are the first to get skipped, ignored, and forgotten across this hyper-specific realm of publishing. Not because they’re badly written or poorly made, but because we as a fandom have yet to erase the stigma surrounding what’s really nothing more than a marketing label. A middle-grade book is marketed toward younger readers, and often features younger characters. But that doesn’t mean adult novels, for example, are automatically better or more worth reading than these books.
This is why I hesitate to stop with a simple “no” when answering this question. While I don’t want to imply that you have to read every High Republic book to enjoy the series, I also don’t want to discourage people from reading stories that are most likely to get overshadowed.
While you absolutely don’t have to consume every story in every form of media in The High Republic, I do recommend that you give everything a chance. While it may not be “for you” or end up being your favorite story, all of these stories deserve love. All of them are equally important.
Is The High Republic Worth Reading?
This is both one of the most common and most difficult Star Wars book questions I get asked these days. Common, I suppose, because there are a lot of books and people want to make sure they aren’t wasting their time on a series they aren’t going to like. Difficult because, well, whether or not a Star Wars book or book series is “worth reading” is a matter of personal opinion.
My short and simple answer is: Yes. But if that response doesn’t quite satisfy your curiosity, let me elaborate just a little bit more.
What I’ll say is this: If you are curious about The High Republic but aren’t sure whether or not you’ll enjoy it, I highly recommend starting out by reading Light of the Jedi. If you enjoy that book, you have the option to move on to the next one in the series. If you don’t enjoy it, you have the freedom not to pick up the next book or continue the series.
I want to gently and hopefully helpfully remind you that you personally won’t know how you feel about a book until you read it. Someone else’s opinion of a book can persuade you one way or the other, but that opinion is still someone else’s, not your own original thought. If you really want to know if a book is “good” or “worth your time” or “for you,” sorry — you have to read it yourself.
But as always, what you do with the information and suggestions I provide is not up to me. I think these books are thrilling, thought-provoking, and emotionally stimulating. That is my personal opinion. You might not share it — and that’s okay!
Do I think The High Republic is worth your time? I don’t think I can answer that the way you want me to, because I don’t know you, what you like, or the kinds of stories that leave marks on your soul.
Journey ahead how you will. I hope whichever choice or series of choices you make are the best for you and your well-being.
And as always, if I haven’t answered a question you have here about The High Republic or anything Star Wars book-related, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Now This Is Lit is a podcast (and newsletter!) about Star Wars books, the people who make them, and the readers who just can’t get enough of them. You can find the show wherever you get your podcasts, and subscribe to the Substack for more deep dives, guides, interview transcripts, and book love.