Ireland, Justina
About the Author:
Justina Ireland lives in Maryland, USA with her family.
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
2.5 out of 5
(4 books)
TOP PICK:
Star Wars: The High Republic - Out Of The Shadows
Star Wars: Sana Starros - Family Matters
(Art by Pere Perez)
Following smuggler Sana Starros' upsetting break-up with Chelli Aphra (in 'Doctor Aphra: Ascendant' by Alyssa Wong) she seeks solace with her dysfunctional family. Sana then has to help rescue her cousin, who has married, fallen pregnant to and been kidnapped by a vicious Imperial officer.
When Marvel introduced Sana into the Disney canon they did so by having a cliffhanger in which she declared herself to be Han Solo's ex-wife (it turned out not to really be true) and I pretty much hated her from that moment. She was so cynically introduced to create online buzz and to try to add some unnecessary, never-before-seen, backstory to Han that I just couldn't engage with the character. She became a bit more interesting through her involvement with the Doctor Aphra series, but certainly not enough to make me think the character could ever warrant her own miniseries. And yet here we are.
The actual story on offer here is, frankly, pretty bland for the most part and where it's not so bland, it is derivative instead. The Starros women are so obviously meant to be archetypal capable badass women that they actually come across as a bit silly. The fact that every single one of them is a great fighter/great pilot/tech genius/deeply wise woman robs this book of any sense of them being realistic or engaging characters. It makes Sana seem more interesting by comparison because she at least isn't 100% certain of herself all the time.
I can't honestly say I hated this book (for example, I'd rather re-read it than sit and watch 'The Last Jedi' ever again) but I sincerely hope to God that Marvel don't decide to turn this miniseries into an ongoing series (although the ending suggests that's exactly what they've got planned).
2 out of 5
Star Wars: The High Republic - A Test Of Courage
A younger reader book set amid the events of Charles Soule's 'Light of the Jedi' (232 BBY). An attack by the vicious Nihil leaves a group of youths, including two young Jedi, stranded on a remote and hostile moon.
I've read a lot of Star Wars younger reader and YA fiction over the years and I have to say that some of it is so well-written that it totally transcends the intended age bracket. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. Ireland's prose is both obvious and at times awkward, the latter epitomised by the scene where one character has just lost their father and compares the feeling to poking your tongue in the hole where you've lost a tooth. The characterisations are, overall, similarly unconvincing, with characters engaging in childish banter (you know, the kind that no child has ever actually indulged in but which adults always feel the need to include) in the direst of circumstances or the most serious of moments. I know the author couldn't go too dark in a kids book, but a quiet moment to process the complex emotions in play might have been nice.
For those wondering, as I did for a time, this is also in no way essential reading for the High Republic narrative. Although elements of this book tie-in to the larger story of the era, nothing happens here that is truly of any major import.
Also, for some reason, there is also a Jedi called Douglas, which is stupid and jarring. I know real-world names have turned up in Star Wars since the beginning but this just does not work.
There is one element to this book that elevated it slightly for me, however, and that's both the characters of and the relationship between Vern and Imri. Vernestra Rwoh is a Jedi prodigy who was Knighted at only fifteen and is now on her first solo mission, whilst Imri Cantaros is a Jedi Padawan who loses his Master early in the narrative. Their respective uncertainties, being young Jedi facing an unprecedented situation, make for very compelling reading and I particularly liked how their relationship finishes up here, not least because it's on the other side of one of them touching the dark side of the Force.
3 out of 5
Star Wars: The High Republic - Mission To Disaster
A younger reader book set just before Claudia Gray's 'The Fallen Star', 230 BBY. The Nihil have been beaten back by the Jedi, so it comes a total surprise when they launch a raid against Port Haileap and kidnap Avon Starros. Her Jedi friends Vernestra Rwoh and Imri Cantaros then make it their mission to find their friend and uncover the Nihil plot.
This isn't a bad book and there's nothing I can point to and say "That was awful", but in some ways what this book is turns out to be worse; it's really bland. Bland is not a word that should ever apply to a story of Jedi charging into action to confront ruthless pirates and yet that's the word that kept jumping to mind as I read this one. I think it has a lot to do with Ireland's writing, which is pretty simplistic and totally fails to impart any sense of tension or drama to the story. It feels like she was dumbing-down her writing for fear of exposing the intended younger reading audience to any extremes of emotion. This, of course, totally overlooks the fact that kids and adults both like to be scared and excited, and don't need to have stories sanitised to protect them. Regardless of whether that's in any way the case, this book is definitely sanitised and, therefore, bland.
As a final insult, and a result of the jumbled way that the High Republic multimedia project has been planned, this book ends on two separate cliffhangers which, presumably, are resolved in some other medium (adult novels, comics or YA novels) meaning that we don't even get a satisfying narrative conclusion to our bland story.
2 out of 5
Star Wars: The High Republic - Out Of The Shadows
The second High Republic YA novel, set following the events of Cavan Scott's adult novel 'The Rising Storm', 231 BBY. Cargo pilot Sylvestri Yarrow finds herself drawn into Coruscant's politics when she is pulled into the sphere of rich businessman Xylan Graf. Graf is planning an expedition into apparently empty space to refute rumours that the Nihil have created a gravity weapon there. Also drawn into Graf's suspicious plot are Syl's ex-girlfriend Jordanna Sparkburn of the San Tekka clan and the Jedi Venestra Rwoh, Reath Silas, Cohmac Vitus and Imri Cantaros.
This book continues the trend set in Claudia Gray's 'Into the Dark' of the YA books being the most solid stories of the entire messy High Republic publishing programme. But, I have to say, that where Gray's book was really good, this one is not much more than 'solid'. It's well-told and has some compelling characters but lacks a certain flair.
Also, there are a couple of specific problems which hold this book back from greatness. The first of which is the fact that Syl, the freighter pilot protagonist with mummy-issues, is too close to the character of Affie Hollow from 'Into the Dark' for it to be allowed to pass unnoticed. It's also quite hard to understand why the main characters, who are at all times aware that they're being lied to and manipulated, allow events to more or less proceed uncontested. It makes the Jedi in particular look pretty weak-willed and gullible, which isn't something that helps the narrative or the Star Wars-y feel the book needs. Finally, particularly in the final confrontation, Ireland's writing skips ahead too fast, leaving me feeling almost like there were paragraphs missing between the ones I was reading.
3 out of 5
Collaborations & Anthologies:
Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca - The Crystal Run: Part One (here)
Star Wars Insider: The High Republic - Starlight Stories (here)
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures - Volume 2 (here)
Star Wars: The High Republic - The Edge Of Balance: Volume 1 (here)
Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters Companion (here)
Read more...
Star Wars (here)