Cordova, Zoraida
About the Author:
Zoraida Cordova was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and now lives in New York, USA. She also writes romance novels under the name Zoey Castile.
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
4 out of 5
(1 book)
Star Wars: The High Republic - Convergence
Phase 2 Book 1, set 382 BBY. The so-called Forever War rages between the neighbouring planets of Eiram and E'ronoh and has begun to disrupt the galaxy around it. Both the Jedi and co-Chancellor Mollo of the Republic decide it is time to step in and mediate a peace, with the young heirs of each planet proving key to the potential end of the war. Jedi Knight Gella Nattai and the son of co-Chancellor Greylark, Axel, are tasked with protect the heirs as they work to bring their worlds together. However, many parties wish to see the peace fail, not least the mysterious Path of the Open Hand.
Now, it has to be acknowledged that the core plot of this book feels a little cliche; with two warring worlds seeking peace through the marriage of their two young heirs. In fact, the warring neighbours theme is one that has played out in various Star Wars stories over the years and I was wryly amused to even see one of those stories (from Jude Watson's 'Jedi Apprentice' series) get name-checked with the mention of Melida/Daan. It's all just very... familiar.
However, that's not to say that this isn't an enjoyable exploration of those familiar tropes. Honestly, seeing Jedi thrown into this sort of situation, where their clean-cut ideas of right and wrong don't quite fit, makes for a pretty enjoyable story after the disappointing adult novels of the High Republic Phase 1. Thankfully, because this is set 150 years earlier (a publishing decision I'll never understand), you don't actually need any knowledge of the High Republic stories up to this point as this one stands quite comfortably alone.
My final positive point to make is simply to say how much I enjoyed the Jedi character of Gella Nattai. She's not some super-skilled or powerful prodigy but she's also not a constantly-doubting-her-every-decision type of character either. Instead she's a competent but humanly-flawed Jedi just trying to do her best and it makes her endlessly relatable and, therefore, engaging.
4 out of 5
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