The High Republic: Tears of the Nameless Review

spoilers ahead!!

Tears of the Nameless is George Mann's latest Star Wars novel, and it is a spectacular exploration of Reath Silas, Cohmac Vitus, the Nameless, Baron Boolan's Children of the Storm, and the Star Wars mythology as a whole. The book follows Reath and Amadeo Azzazzo as they seek out knowledge about the Nameless and the Blight in hopes of finding a solution to the Jedi's problem. Learning from Azlin Rell, Reath embarks on a dangerous quest, but is Azlin's influence too much for him to handle?

This book was my favorite THR novel of phase III so far, and I think in large part that is because of the reigned-in nature of the story. By following Reath, Amadeo, Cohmac, and a couple chapters with Affie and Vernestra, we really get to stay with these characters that we've grown to love over the past three years, and aren't distracted by having to learn about too many characters, which was the problem, I felt, with both Temptation of the Force and Defy the Storm. But centering Reath and Amadeo's journies made for a great story which still felt fast, breathtaking, and scary at times. I actually did a large chunk of the reading for this book on Halloween, and it very much fit the vibe of the book.

To get into the plot of the book, I want to first touch on how refreshing it was to have a singular adventure be the main premise of a book. Reath and Cohmac's trip to Tolis felt properly built up, and we spent an appropriate amount of time there. Seeing Reath and Amadeo consult the Jedi archives for information, as well as Reath's interactions with Azlin made for a very interesting read. Not knowing if we're able to trust old legends, or Azlin himself was interesting, and added a touch of nuance to the otherwise fairly straight-forward conclusions the two Jedi made. Reath and Cohmac's reunion meant a lot to me, as Into the Dark was one of my favorite phase I novels. Seeing how Cohmac understands that what he did to Reath may have been wrong, but that he couldn't have not made that decision was very meaningful, and Reath's reluctance to trust him was a realistic response that shows both the emotional investment he has/had in his relationship with his master and the emotional maturity he has gained over the past (I think three/four) years.

Amadeo, our other hero, was a great character! I've been attached to Amadeo since I read his story in Tales of Light and Life, so getting to see him in a much larger role was really great. His connection to his master, Mirro Lox, really endeared him to me, and it sucks so bad that he had to watch his master get husked :(. Nevertheless, Amadeo's growth was immense, and I can really see him growing into a favorite character of mine as his story continues. Maybe Reath Silas padawan name Amadeo Azzazzo?? We'll have to see! I also really enjoyed the explorations of queerness through Amadeo. He tells us that he's bisexual in the text, and his conversation with Dorian, who is a trans-man, really gave insight into how queerness plays such a pivotal role in the themes of The High Republic and Star Wars as a whole.

As for other characters, the introduction of Sicarus gave us unique perspective and insight into how the Nihil work, as well, perhaps, as a clue on how the Jedi can circumvent the effects of the Nameless. Seeing his devotion to the Nihil and the Nameless just goes to show how powerful Boolan is as a mad scientist. In addition, I loved the (sparing) use of Vernestra in this book, which is saying something cause I lowkey was kinda hoping she wouldn't be in this one! I feel like The Acolyte made Vernestra a recognizable character, and she's been jammed into a lot of THR stories since, but she was used in a sparing and effective way in this story to unwravel the mystery of the Jedi Temple traitor.... which, thinking about it, did we ever actually solve that mystery? Unclear! Affie was great as well, how can you go wrong with the crew of the Vessel? Geode killed it as always; I think Mann's short quips about Geode got the biggest laughs out of me when I was reading. Oh, Geode, stoic as ever!

I was already excited about the prospect of missions to learn about the Nameless and the Blight, but the raised stakes of the Blight spreading from within the Jedi Temple just blew me away. I was not expecting the threat to be so close to home for the Jedi, and it gave Reath and Amadeo's respective missions that much higher stakes. Speaking of those missions, Reath and Cohmac's adventures on Tolis were maybe my favorite part of the book. I'm a sucker for ancient history in my Star Wars stories, so seeing them travel to long, lost planets and ruins was sick as hell. Plus, the way they uncovered the repository of the Tolemites was badass (a leviathan??). Out of everything on Tolis, however, I think my absolute favorite part was Reath's vision when he touched the kyber tombs. Just getting to see so many dots get connected was brilliant, and getting to see Planet X again, at least in vision-form, was so awesome for my constant phase II brainrot. We will be back there very soon, I think, especially since we got another mention of the path Mari San Tekka gave to Vernestra. I also really enjoyed how the way Reath's vision was written was reminiscent of the way Rey's vision looked in The Force Awakens. Little connections like that really go a long way to make it feel like this is all one big connected universe.

I don't think I have much else to say about this book, other than reiterating that I liked it! DTS and ToTF had, honestly, not really been it for me, so fully enjoying a THR novel was something that I wasn't really expecting at this point in the story. I definitely feel less burnt out on THR after reading this book, and I eagerly await the final wave of the final phase early next year! I would definitely recomemnd this book to anyone who likes the THR — it's a must-read of the series!! Also, any space-queers enjoyers, you will appreciate. Lastly, any fans of archeology, or the ancient, more mystical side of Star Wars will really enjoy the way this book plays out. 9.5/10, amazing read!