The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness Review

spoilers ahead!!

"One year after the tragic events of The Fallen Star, the Jedi fight to break the Nihil's control over the galaxy"

The Eye of Darkness by George Mann is one of my favorite high republic novels to date! The wildly entertaining introduction to phase III of the high republic follows our intrepid phase I heroes, alongside some villains, new and old. Elzar Mann (one of my all time favorite jedi) is working closely with Chancellor Lina Soh to break through the Nihil occlusion zone, Avar Kriss is trapped behind enemy lines trying to help the billions of sentients now under Nihil rule, and Marchion Ro, the eye of the Nihil, is revelling in his newfound power while using former senator Ghirra Starros to justify further Nihil overreach. This book had a lot of characters and organizations to catch us up with, but Mann did so brilliantly, switching back-and-forth between perspectives just enough to keep me wanting more without feeling too fast.

One important character I didn't mention in the above paragraph is Porter Engle, the blade of Bardotta!! His journey is written very well; I especially loved his continued vendetta against General Viess, whom he fought against in the phase II comic mini-series The Blade. I love the way that Mann was able to integrate elements of phase II while still naturally pushing the phase I characters into new situations. Engle's quest for the EX droid was a great callback to the pathfinders seen in phase II, as well as Azlin Rell's (albiet small) role in the book.

Avar's journey in this book is one of the things that worked the best for me. She fights so hard to provide basic necessities for a small Rodian colony who've been suffering under Nihil rule only to be heartbroken when she can't help them with their continued needs. Her reference to systemic issues holding back any real progress/change holds a mirror to our own society, which I love seeing in Star Wars. An additional part of Avar's story that I loved was the continuation of her complicated relationship with fellow jedi Elzar Mann. Their psuedo-romantic interaction in the epilogue of Light of the Jedi has always kept me wanting more, and Mann really delivered in that area.

I also loved Lina Soh's role in the novel, especially the way that she interacts with/has parallels drawn between her and Ghirra Starros. Both are expert politicians, but Starros has left the republic to be by Marchion's side as his Minister of Information. Being a political science major (please never let me say this again that was so cringe), I loved seeing the differences in ideology between Ghirra and Lina, as well as Ghirra and Marchion.

Marchion's role in the book is one of my few criticisms. I think for a book called The Eye of Darkness, he could've had a larger presence in terms of narration. His foreboding presence is felt throughout every storyline but I would've loved to see more of the inner-workings of his mind, especially because what little glimpses we got were so well done (I loved the parallels to Marda Ro seeing ghosts of her past). Another small criticism is that I would've loved to see more Bell. Mann expertly demonstrated how Bell (and any jedi for that matter) can be driven down a dark path by craving revenge, but I felt like I needed more from him in order to feel fully invested in his story

You know a book is good when your only criticisms are wanting more story! Overall I thought that The Eye of Darkness was an amazing start to the high republic phase III, and I can't wait to see what our characters do next. 9/10, great story!