The High Republic General

[StorageEnjoyer]

I enjoyed all of the Phases quite a bit but the third one was in my opinion the most crazy. The plot kind of clashes with the whole concept of this being the "High point" of the Republic considering the stakes of whats happening. I feel like the threat level is too great whilst the resolution is left too vague for my tastes.

Spoiler

What is most critically missing is the resolution on the Nihil technology being sold to the Trade Federation by Starros, alongside any mention of the Trade Federation and every other later Seperatist power player. Apparently the chaos of the Occlusion Zone became the greatest opportunity for the TF to rise to prominence protecting shipping and keeping commerce alive without Republic judiciary around to help. Thats a fantastic concept and sets up the idea of corporate control outpacing Republic control that is the foundation of the Seperatist movement. But it feels like that could have been explored more thoroughly. Starros entire arc revolves around turning the Nihil territory into something resembling a rival government a la CIS, and seeing how the tech she sells to the TF gets used for the development of future Seperatist weaponry would tie the HIgh Republic more closely into the rest of the franchise (plus it would just be nice to see some early Trade Federation shenanigans), with the added benefit that it makes the TF not just look like another generic bad guy gang but a group with its own interests, constituents and dealings to look after beyond "senseless" evil for the sake of evil.

[StorageEnjoyer]

I've never actually given HR a fair shot tbh. I didn't care for the look when I first saw it/the aesthetic felt weirdly different for being only 1-2 hundred years pre PM (that's my understanding of it, pls correct me if I'm wrong). Plus, more importantly, I never had anyone say, "this is good, you gotta check this out" so I didn't.

I've been pleasantly surprised by books I've passed by before, though, so if anyone has a sales pitch for High Rep, I'd love to hear it.

Mhhhm a major part of the conflict throughout the Phases of the High Republic is what if we took space pirates but led by an ISIS level anti Jedi fanatic

Spoiler

with pet cat creatures that entomb Jedi Medusa style

jumped up on drugs and chemical weapons and just unleashed that across the entire Outer Rim. Next to that, we got carniverous

Spoiler

dark sider

plants and the usual Republic wheeling and dealing, all tied together by Jedi involvement, in a period where there is more of a focus on artistry, diversity and securing the frontier of the Outer Rim compared to the standardisation of equipment, vehicles and locations that we see in the prequels, so for example we have Jedi unique ships that essentially only work if you are force sensitive, more variations in Lightsaber color than we are used to, more Jedi temples/outposts scattered throughout the galaxy, less or maybe even no widespread use of bacta (might be wrong on this but im pretty sure). And despite it being called the "High" republic era, the stakes are not any lower than in other eras of the franchise, arguably the final plot point is too high tension in my opinion. They dont pull punches either, when characters fail they fail, no resetting, no redo (cough Dark Empire II cough).

If any of that sounds appealing to you, then go for it. I would suggest going in release order, so Phase I first, then Phase II, lastly Phase III. The second Phase is chronologically a prequel to the first one, sets up the pieces needed for the final Phase (and has great stories too). I personally skipped the Middle Grade books and only did Young Adult and up, though I heard you might miss some good characterisation if you do that. Comics are worth it I would say, the context they give is nice and they expand on several characters you will see often. I believe chronologically the last story of the three main Phases is a comic. Audio Dramas I recommend listening to, reading a script just doesnt feel right to me but thats just my taste, and the plot in these is not the best in the world but it touches on my GOAT Lourna Dee so I have to recommend. I dont think its required though, the main books (Young Adult + Adult) should suffice for the main plot

[jordanisfett]

In general I think Phase 1 is probably best, but I do prefer Phase 2, because it got Axel Greylark and I got a massive fucking crush on that hot, awful, sexy asshole of a man.

Axel is one of my favorite characters too. Generally speaking, I think Convergence is one of the most polarizing books amongst High Republic fans. Whenever I see tier lists people either have it in C or all the way up in S. I’m one of the latter people. But I think it truly comes down to whether or not the Axel/Gella dynamic worked for you. That’s one of my favorite relationships in THR. The contrasts between them, the way they playfully hate each other. The way Axel hates Jedi but he is just absolutely puzzled by THIS one. There’s something different about GELLA. Man that scene dance scene… Good stuff. But yea, if that particular dynamic doesn’t work for you, then I wouldn’t be surprised that you found the book to be “boring”.

Everyone almost unanimously prefers Cataclysm (from what I’ve seen), especially people who didn’t care for Convergence. I get it. Cataclysm has lots of plot momentum and payoff from the first book. But it doesn’t do anywhere near as much of the impactful character work that Convergence does, for me at least.

Had to acknowledge a fellow Axel enthusiast. Love that guy.

[Jaxtonian]

Mhhhm a major part of the conflict throughout the Phases of the High Republic is what if we took space pirates but led by an ISIS level anti Jedi fanatic jumped up on drugs and chemical weapons and just unleashed that across the entire Outer Rim...

Well, I find this compelling as a start. I got started on Krytos trap tonight so I've got a nice full plate but I really appreciate the rundown here, it's enough to at least get a good-faith-attempt from me! I'll wishlist the first book of phase 1 when I find my phone and log back in to audible.