Trials of the Jedi Concludes a Captivating Journey of Hope When We Need It Most
A spoiler-free The High Republic: Trials of the Jedi review.
When it comes to Star Wars books, I’m always thinking ahead. It kind of comes with the job. Knowing that Trials of the Jedi was going to be a big deal — surely an emotional roller coaster and then some — I figured I’d do something for the podcast I hadn’t done before. As soon as I finish reading my review copy, I thought, I’ll immediately record a quick, raw reaction to the ending — obviously to be posted at a later date. I’ve always been fascinated by book endings, particularly with how they affect the reader upon finishing a book and in the hours and days that follow.
One thing you learn early on as a journalist is that almost nothing ever goes according to plan. And it’s always the plans you’re most anticipating that derail themselves with the most sparks and noise.
The moment I finished the final page of Trials of the Jedi, I picked up my phone to record a quick voice memo. Nothing fancy. I just wanted my listeners to be able to hear, at the very least, the emotion in my voice. But even before I hit the record button, I found myself absolutely speechless. This, I quickly realized, was an ending I could not, should not, react to instantly. I wanted to experience it alone. I needed to sit with it, to let myself feel it, process it, and begin the process of understanding what it meant to me — a longtime fan not just of The High Republic, but also of Star Wars in every aspect of its existence.
As I sit down to finally write this, it has been four days since I finished Charles Soule’s conclusion to the series as we know it. Even now, I find myself struggling to articulate exactly how it feels to be on the other side of this endeavor. To have reached the end of a collective journey that we’ve all also experienced in vastly different, individually unique ways. I could tell you about my High Republic journey — how I wasn’t sure, at first, if this new era and its new characters were going to grab and hold onto me. I could attempt to describe what it has been like to cover so many of the series’ releases, speak to its creators, and fall in love with the power of storytelling in a way I hadn’t before.
But I think chronicling that journey is best suited for another time, a different essay or episode or discussion. As I sit here, imagining you reading this, knowing you’re here to find out whether or not a book you’ve heard might be a big deal met my expectations, I have to be honest … I do not know how to properly review Trials of the Jedi as one individual story. Because it isn’t. It is the cultivation of dozens of people’s work, over a large number of years, that would not exist without the dozens of stories that came before it — in The High Republic alone, and otherwise.
I suppose, however, that I must deliver on the title of this review. It is, in a way, my promise to you — my commitment to explaining how this book performs as an ending, and as an individual story … as a work of art. As an entry into the vastly growing collection of Star Wars stories that define, in each their own way, what Star Wars is all about.
Trials of the Jedi is the story of The Nine who travel to an unnamed planet to save the galaxy. The Blight is devastating more and more worlds, with seemingly no way to stop it. The Nihil and their Nameless creatures are holding even healthy worlds hostage. Marchion Ro seeks the kind of power and influence only the Chancellor of the Republic might be able to grant him. There are a number of vital missions that must be completed if the galaxy is to be saved. If any of them fail, the entire galaxy will crumble to dust.
This is the most information I can give you about the book without spoiling even the smallest events that send this story on its forward trajectory. Many things will end here. Many discoveries will be made. Emotions will be felt … you’ve been waiting years for these events to unfold, and you’ve finally arrived. The question is this: Are you prepared for the end of an era that has changed Star Wars, for the better, forever?
Because I was not. I was not adequately prepared to say goodbye. Was the wait worth it? For me, it was worth everything — the hours I’ve spent reading, rereading these books, the months I spent this year alone catching up on comics. All the conversations I’ve had with these authors, knowing they couldn’t tell me how it would all end, knowing they were going to do their best to satisfy us all. It was worth all the pain, and all the joy. It has made me so grateful to be a Star Wars book reader, and a fan of a galaxy far, far away.
Most importantly, though, I have to acknowledge that this book was everything I personally hoped it would be and more. To be able to read a book chapter by chapter, literally on the edge of my chair, not knowing at any point whether or not I was going to sigh with relief or tremble with worry — I can’t remember the last time I have felt every page of a book so deeply. This is a story that does not let its readers rest. It does not have time for that. Soule does not waste pages on needless words. Yet every word he writes is poetic, his paragraphs filled with the kind of prose that begs you to keep reading — even though you’ll have to go back for a second read to truly appreciate how beautifully crafted each sentence truly is.
I do not know the weight of the pressure the author may have carried writing this larger story’s final chapter. Maybe I’ll ask him. But I do know that he agreed to a nearly impossible task and produced the best work this series has seen yet. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to know you were responsible for ending so many stories at once, knowing so many people would be reading and reacting to those endings, and still accomplish the task you were given with such grace and elegance that I’m not certain another Star Wars book will ever top it.
Who wins? Who lives? Who learns, grows, repeats old mistakes, finally gets what they’ve always wanted? I cannot say. Not yet. But I can assure you that everyone gets an ending. No one’s fate is truly left a mystery. This is not an ending that forgets to weave together its loose ends. But that’s not to say it does not leave room for future tales. This is Star Wars, after all. It never really ends. Not completely. Not forever.
When The High Republic began, we were promised an epic, overarching story about the Jedi of the Golden Age of the Galactic Republic. A story about hope, and fear, and shadow, and light. About the Force, and how it is used, and power — and what it means when someone will do anything to have it all. To say that Trials of the Jedi fulfills every original promise about this new era of Star Wars storytelling would be an unfair understatement. Trials is, as best as I can articulate, the epitome of a worthwhile conclusion. Writing an ending is easy. Writing an ending that matters is not. Soule has written an ending that matters. It speaks so clearly to our modern circumstances, and yet, defines the High Republic era so perfectly.
For what does it mean to gaze upon an ending that changes how you see what’s most meaningful to the living? If Star Wars is the story of hope, then Trails of the Jedi is the tale of hope’s power to heal the universe. When you look up at the sky, and it seems everything is coming down around you, it’s hope that gives you the strength to keep your eyes forward, to keep going even when it’s hard. To keep trying, even when you do not believe it’s worth the effort.
Hope alone does not save us. Hope empowers us — all of us — to save ourselves. To save each other.
I do not know if this is a good review. I do not know if my promising that this book will make you feel feelings and contemplate the value of your own existence in an increasingly uncertain world will prompt you to read it. But I do know that I worried, before opening to the first page, that this story would not be enough. That it would end, and I would not feel that it had given me all that I needed to feel whole.
If nothing else, I can honestly say that this book left me feeling fuller and more hopeful than I have in quite some time. I may be wary of endings in general, but this is a good one. I do not know what you want out of this book, if it will fulfill all your expectations, if you will finish it feeling a certain way. But The High Republic has never failed at is task of telling stories that shape us into better versions of ourselves, and Trials of the Jedi isn’t just a good example of that. It is the example we’ve been waiting for.
This series may be over — for now. But Trials of the Jedi will stick with me for years to come. It is Star Wars at its best. It is the beacon of hope we’ve needed all along. It is the light we have been missing. It will never leave us. We are all The High Republic.
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