Review & Thoughts - Star Wars the High Republic: Cataclysm
Star Wars Read-A-Thon
When I received Cataclysm by Lydia Kang, the latest installment in Star Wars’ High Republic era on Tuesday, I pretty much picked it up and didn’t put it down. I think it arrived around 3 PMish, and I finished the nearly 400 page book by 11:30 that evening. It has definitely been a minute since I’ve done a read-a-thon like that! At the time, I had been reading Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars and I just couldn’t wait. Sorry Cal Kestis. I can go back to you now.
I am obsessed with the High Republic Era.
Cataclysm takes place 300-some odd years before the beginning of the Skywalker Saga with The Phantom Menace. It is in Phase 2 of the High Republic’s three phases, and, for reasons I don’t know but are completely unsurprising with how we receive Star Wars content, Phase 2 takes place before Phase 1.
To be frank, The High Republic stresses me out. I absolutely love it, but it stresses me out. Naturally, we know the handful of recognizable Jedi - Yoda, Yaddle, Yarael Poof, and Oppo Rancisis - will survive because we meet them hundreds of years later. Everyone else is fair game, and Jedi are facing a foe that takes away their upper hand - the ability to reach the Force.
Phase I ended with some serious unknowns, despair, just mainly negative emotions. There’s been plenty of despair in Phase II, but I think knowing what is coming in Phase I makes it worse.
Non-Spoiler Thoughts
It is just a well-written novel. Very readable, very engaging. It is a literal page-turner. I typically read more nonfiction than fiction - Star Wars is the biggest exception - but I just couldn’t put this down. Couldn’t tell you the last time I was so engrossed in a novel. It's gripping. Just awesomeness.
Lydia Kang is just good. She wrote the short story “Right Hand Man” for The Empire Strikes Back: A Certain Point of View anthology (if you haven’t read these for ESB and A New Hope, please pick them up now!) which is from 2-1B’s perspective while attaching Luke Skywalker’s new prosthetic hand. And now I want to read all of her other books, basically.
This novel does, however, suffer from one of my biggest (primary?) complaints about the High Republic era: There are so many people doing so many things. There is just a ton going on (Actually, to be honest, I’ve seen this happen a lot in the current canon novels. So. Much. So much that could honestly be divided into their own novels instead of 400-ish page ones.)
I need a character map, I need a Bingo card for who lives and who dies, and I need an app where I can look up Star Wars species and it shows a photo. I really, really need the app.
I just learned there’s a character encyclopedia coming out in the fall. Thank goodness.
Everything in the High Republic era leaves me wanting more, or wanting to reread all the other books. The only “positive” when the three phases ends is that I can read everything in chronological order. Looking forward to that.
We have Jedi here, there, everywhere. We’re picking up pretty much from where Convergence and The Battle of Jedha left off, which is to say total chaos (Also, both of those are amazing. I’m not a huge audiobook person, and I’ve struggled with some of the script novelizations before, but not The Battle of Jedha). Cataclysm is an excellent transition and follow-up to those two novels. I feel like Cataclysm is a really good connector to a few different aspects of the Star Wars universe which was great.
After the failed peace treaty signing on Jedha, the Eiram and E’ronoh basically throw their ceasefire out the window and begin again their war, despite the fact that the planets’ respective heirs, Phan-tu and Xiri, recently married in order to bring peace to their people.
War is waging, and the Jedi are being blamed. The mysterious, extremist cult the Path of the Open Hand is definitely involved on multiple levels, and different Jedi pairings/groupings make plans to visit their compound on Dalna, to see what their endgame is.
The novel is fast-paced and full of action. During the climactic battle, I felt like I was bouncing around a pinball machine at times. My only complaint here is that I felt like I was missing something with the Path of the Open Hand, like a sentence or something was missing.
Some parts are slightly cheesy, but whatever. It also isn’t like Star Wars hasn’t had any cheesy moments, ever. It does give a slightly different vibe, but it also demonstrates the era of prosperity that the Republic is currently in. We also get to see that not every Jedi was as serious as Mace Windu. We have Jedi like Master Orin Dargha with his terrible puns, but full of wisdom and rational.
But with the breadth of the High Republic, between the novels and comics (and I hope eventually live action!), you get to see so much more of the galaxy. People just trying to live their lives. Not everyone is a Rebellion leader, grand Jedi Master, or famous smuggler. Not everyone is living these high stakes, adventurous lives. I love learning all of this and seeing so much more of the galaxy, but I think I would enjoy it more if we had more, shorter novels (All the books!).
Spoilers Ahead
I needed a chart for this novel. I found myself going back double-checking who was on which mission and why, plus the groupings and relationships. Everyone was going to Dalna, I don’t think any one person knew of each group going to Dalna.
The Leveler stresses me out, and I’m trying to figure out how it relates later to the Drengir we meet in Phase I. The Drengir also stresses me out. I have a suspicion that the Unknown Regions are involved, and I’m getting Legends EU Yuuzhan Vong vibes; instead of being impervious to the Force, they destroy it.
If I never read that someone was turned into a husk again, it’ll be too soon.
What confused me was Cippa - has Yaddle been gone for years trying to tutor this kid? She has a master, but hasn’t been to the Temple? Has she been at a Jedi outpost? Cippa’s unfamiliarity with the Jedi was quite evident. Just - what? The Cippa storyline was slightly distracting and seemed unnecessary. However, I would not be surprised if there is a payoff to it later on. No one can add significance to a minor or background character like the Star Wars universe does - looking at you, R5 (what the hell was he doing during the Rebellion??).
Like I said, I’m not sure what I missed when it comes to the Path of the Open Hand, but something felt like it was missing or undeveloped, specifically concerning its transformation/eruption. The climatic battle itself confused me at times, but I think some of that was intentional to show how the Jedi and the Republic failed. The Night of Sorrow isn’t helping the Jedi’s shaky reputation nor moving the blame target.
I love that we are seeing more into the relationship of the Force, a Jedi, and their lightsaber. The High Republic was already giving us really badass lightsaber designs (There’s a lightsaber whip). The novel examined the Jedi’s relationship with their kyber crystals, which I loved. We’re seeing the lightsaber more as a living thing; not a weapon, but part of the Force itself. More appropriately, as Obi-Wan Kenobi once said “An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.” I hope we get to see more into lightsaber lore, especially the building process and how a Jedi connects to it. There’s so much opportunity here!
Star Wars: The High Republic concept art by artist Phil Noto
Cataclysm explores both Jedi Knight Gella Nattai’s and Jedi Padawan Enya Keen’s connection with their crystals and being able to feel the crystal. Enya even can identify Orin’s crystal as his own after his death when she uses his lightsaber. It even recognizes her as a Light Side user.
Phan-tu and Xiri better live happily ever after.
I am over the “Jedi Master dies and Padawan receives a new Master, either someone they just worked with or a slightly troubled character” trope we see all the time in this era. I think it’s been at least four times.
Gella and Axel were kind of frustrating. Everything about Axel was frustrating, and he shouldn’t have survived the story. All these great characters who have died in this era, and freaking Axel who acts like he’s in a pinball machine survives. All this talk of second chances, and he has to be on chance 200. Does not deserve the cover.
I don’t have sympathy for him. And the flip for Kyong and her relationship with Axel was also kind of sudden. I think it goes with the pacing of the book, but this is also where so much going on gets overwhelming. I have no desire to see any more of Axel or Kyong.
I would, however, like to see more into the two chancellor setup the Republic had and how Chancellor Mollo transitions into being the sole leader of the Republic. Even though we are centuries from the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire, I like these little peeks into what may ripple into the galaxy’s future. If Kyong doesn’t resign, maybe the two chancellor team-up doesn’t end, and how would that have boded for Darth Sidious?
Along that same line of thought, I think we are starting to see the blindness of the Jedi. Creighton and Yoda both realize that the creatures on Dalna are having this torturous and potentially deadly effect on the Jedi. It's disconnecting them from the Force. Creighton recognizes that it could destroy the entire Jedi Order.
And Yoda and Creighton decide they aren’t telling anyone else about it, and they won’t talk about it again until they know more about it (But they aren’t talking about it. There’s literally no plan here).
In Attack of the Clones, Mace Windu comments that he believes they should inform the Senate of their diminished ability to use the Force, in light of their realization that they did not sense the creation of the clone army. Yoda says no, that only the Sith know of this and this information would result in the Jedi facing more enemies.
Alrighty:
Exactly how is their ability diminished? At other times throughout the prequel trilogy, the Jedi speak of being able to sense the Dark Side but, in the biggest miss ever, don’t realize Palpatine is a Sith.
Is this diminished ability related to what Creighton and Yoda are learning during the High Republic era?
Is this the beginning of Yoda’s clouded judgement?
I don’t know if this is going to relate to the Skywalker Saga, but I find it really interesting that Yoda goes total silence to this threat against every Jedi.
Catalyst is an excellent novel, and it was nice to not end on a horrifying cliffhanger. It’s a ride. I really hope we see more Star Wars content from Lydia Kang!
