Book Review: The Eye of Darkness
Marchion Ro hive, make some noise!
I promise I’ll be serious now, but with a cover like that, how else did you expect me to kick this off? The High Republic Phase III has officially kicked off with George Mann’s The Eye of Darkness, which hops forward in the timeline, taking us to the year following the crash of the Starlight Beacon, and into a galaxy now partially under Nihil control.
Following their victory over the Republic, the Nihil — under the now-public leadership of Marchion Ro — have set up their base of operations in a portion of the Outer Rim now known as the “Occlusion Zone,” protected by a massive impenetrable “Stormwall” that keeps the Republic out, and keeps anyone stuck behind it in. Though it has been a full year since the fall of the Starlight Beacon, and the incident that claimed the lives of so many (including Stellan Gios, who despite my two years of delusions is apparently not residing with the mermaids on Eiram…that we know of), the Republic is still scrambling to pick up the pieces.
Communications are not what they were, the Jedi Order is becoming more and more entrenched in politics — a sign of things to come, perhaps? — and our Jedi heroes are scattered to the winds, with Bell and Burry on rescue missions, Avar roughing it in the Occlusion Zone, and Elzar now forced to play a political role he never really wanted. Not to mention, plenty of new characters/former background characters are brought more to the forefront and given a chance to truly shine, including Rhil Darios, who might just be one of my new favorites.
As for Marchion Ro, now saddled with a leadership position he doesn’t seem overly interested in, chaos continues to spread. He is a textbook example of the ends not completely justifying the means, but also the ends remaining just understandable enough that it keeps him compelling, and terrifying, knowing there’s little he won’t do to get what he wants. As for that shocking revelation about his affair with former Senator Ghirra Starros — who herself has a fascinating arc in this book — there is little I can say in any sort of intelligent or critical capacity, but lets just say there are ample ample crumbs.
With The Eye of Darkness, Mann is given the unenviable task of having to kick-off two timeline jumps — both back to this particular era, and also a year ahead of where we last saw these characters — and he pulls it off beautifully. The first 80 pages or so are reminiscent of Light of the Jedi in that they throw you into the action headfirst and offer very little room to breathe, but soon enough everything settles and allows the character work The High Repulbic does so well to rise to the surface. There is nothing easy about the dilemmas in The Eye of Darkness, no right answer for any of the characters, and it is that struggle that makes up the bulk of the book. It’s no longer a question about preventing a conflict, but rather one of choosing the best course of action when it comes knocking at (or blasting down) your door.
The Eye of Darkness is a welcome return to the High Republic, and to this era of characters in particular, and a fabulous kick-off for this final phase of storytelling that is sure to entertain and devastate in equal measure as we hurtle slowly but surely towards that grand finale.
The Eye of Darkness hits shelves on November 14. Special thank you to Random House Worlds for the advance copy for review purposes.
