Review: Star Wars: The High Republic - Trail of Shadows
Shrii Ka Rai Ka Rai
We're coming to take you away
They'll do what they can
They'll do what they must
But when they do find you
All there'll be is dust...
The battle of Grizal: Jedi vs Nihil. Jedi Master Loden lies dead in the rain. Cause of death? Unknown. As his body rapidly dissolves into dust it quickly becomes apparent to his brothers-in-arms that they are facing a threat that defies all rational explanation.
In Star Wars: The High Republic -Trail of Shadows by writer Daniel Jose Older and artist David Wachter the noble knights of the galaxy are shaken by this mystery. This story is set around 200 years prior to the events portrayed in the movies, during a time when the High Republic governed the galaxy with the help of the Jedi Order. Keeping the peace within such a vast territory often involves clashes with the Nihil, an organised group of marauders from the Outer Rim Territories who frequently raid worlds on the Frontier.
In the Jedi Temple on the Republic capital planet Coruscant, Stellan and Emerick discuss the events of that fateful day. They were attacked by someone, or something, that none of them can remember clearly... a mysterious entity that also had a profoundly disturbing effect on their minds: at least two of the Jedi present are in shock and Stellan still has nightmares about it.
And both he and Emerick are haunted by a strange old song...
Sian Holt is a musician, part of a live band that performs in the nightclubs of Coruscant. That is not all she is, however; she has a nice little side line as a private investigator. When she sees her mercenary friend Keefar Branto in the audience, associating with a shady character, her curiosity is piqued and she follows him into a very disreputable part of town. They are ambushed by a very large, very unpleasant alien. Branto dies in the skirmish and Sian barely survives.
Meanwhile, Jedi Emerick has been charged with investigating the mysterious entity that turned Master Loden into a pile of dust. Aided by Cuetoo, a droid mounted on his back, he strives to unravel the mystery. What is the connection of the strange old song? He and Stellan recall it from when they were both younglings, huddled terrified in their beds, haunted by dreams of a sinister boogeyman...
Emerick and Sian are both called to a meeting with the Supreme Chancellor of the High Republic, Lina Soh. They are told that Branto was working undercover for Republic security, trying to track down Nihil agents who are seeking to sell a weapon of immense power on the black market. Emerick and Sian have to work together to find this weapon which, Emerick feels certain, is connected to the mysterious power that caused the death of Loden and almost drove his fellow knights to insanity.
This is a compelling story that takes our two investigators to many exotic locations, featuring a rich array of alien characters (both familiar and new), imaginative landscapes and neatly designed spacecraft, smoothly illustrated by Wachter. The arena of the 'Old' Republic is brought vividly to life with elements that tie in nicely with the readers' collective memory of the original movies. Sian's band is an hommage to the classic Mos Eisley Cantina, and there are many recognisable species dotted among the diverse crowds.
The tone here is a little different to most Star Wars tales you might be familiar with. The grand space opera setting is very much in evidence of course, but our two heroes - like a transplanted Mulder and Scully - are space-faring sleuths confronting an enigma of paranormal dimensions.
There is a unique angle here that is refreshing for a franchise that has been reinterpreted many times, mostly in the same old vein: in this narrative, the Jedi - those super-powered saviours who can always call upon the quasi-mystical Force to save the day - are on the back foot. They are facing something which even they do not understand. This disturbing phenomenon, whatever it is, is something that they are not only matched by, it is something to which they are specifically vulnerable.
This shadowy, Lovecraftian horror only kills Jedis. The gallant superior warriors are now the helpless victims. In terms of the very ethos of Star Wars, this is a sickening lurch of a paradigm shift. It's Jedi kryptonite.
When your omnipotent heroes are dropping like flies, hope itself ... turns to dust.
STAR WARS - THE HIGH REPUBLIC: TRAIL OF SHADOWS on Marvel
Zak Webber
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