Star Wars: The High Republic: Path of Deceit by @tessa.gratton & @justina.ireland kicked off Phase 2 of the The High Republic publishing initiative from @eastarwars & @delreystarwars, with this story arc beginning approximately 150 years before the events of Phase 1. Here we are introduced to many characters and ideas that we’ve seen established in Phase 1, so getting to see the building blocks of Phase 2 in the works is interesting.

I won’t lie, I had a bit of a time getting into the groove of the story. There are a lot of characters introduced in quick succession, so keeping them all straight at first was a bit of a challenge for me. However, by half to 2/3 of the way into the book, I had everyone figured out and was moving along quite well with the story.

The Jedi play a part in this book, but ultimately it is setting the groundwork for the Ro family and the building of what would become their flagship, the Gaze Electric. Seeing the Ro’s and their ties to the Jedi and the Path of the Open Hand, as well as the introduction of the Nameless, made for an intriguing read, given what we know (and still don’t know) from Phase 1. Also, as the name of the book implies, the Path of the Open Hand may not be as open as it appears to be.

While it took me a hot second to get into the groove of the book, this is an excellent kickoff for this next wave of High Republic books and I’m looking forward to where these stories take us.

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Star Wars meets the Wicker Man, basically. Authors Gratton and Ireland do a good job of fleshing out the main protagonists, Jedi Kevmo Zink and cultist Marda Ro, and plugging them into the broader High Republic canvas. The novel suggests that the creepy cult featured in this novel is going to play a major role in setting the stage for the High Republic stories set 150 years later. ( )