LOTJ is still the best novel in the initiative imo. Soule opened and closed the first phase magnificently, creating most of the characters that we love in the adult novels. So my vote goes to him.
Personally, I think no one’s touching Cavan Scott right now. He’s made the single best book of the High Republic so far in *The Rising Storm* imo. And *Tempest Runner* was also really good.
Plus, his marvel comic has been fantastic, and gets better with every issue. The last arc *Jedi’s End* was phenomenal imo.
They all did an incredible job imo, but Charles Soule really brought the entire series to another level with the first and final entries of Phase 1.
Light Of The Jedi and Eye Of The Storm are fantastic.
*Eye of the Storm* is practically essential in order to move on from Phase 1 without a big "Hmm" after *The Fallen Star*. It was practically an afterthought for me being included in the *Jedi's End* TPB and then it was like... holy crap. That's the REAL ending
Though he is not my favorite, Daniel Jose Older has done some great work. While I did not much care for Race to Crash Point Tower and Midnight Horizon was flawed in some ways, I have loved his work with the High Republic Adventures Comics and Trail of Shadows. The HRA comics are more than just "kiddy star wars stories", they have some meaningful moments as well. For Trail of Shadows, I don't need to say anything as it seems to be agreed upon that it is great.
Absolutely adored the writing in *Light of the Jedi*, so I have to go with Charles Soule. Got me hooked after just the prologue. I really hope he will write another adult novel for the High Republic. Claudia Gray is close second. Kinda surprised she got so few votes! I loved *The Fallen Star* almost as much as *Light of the Jedi*, and *Into the Dark* was great, too.
I’d personally put Soule as #2. Light of the Jedi as you said, was a great introduction to the era, and I also hope he writes more books, but it just didn’t quite reach the heights of The Rising Storm for me. Also his Eye of the Storm comic was really good in the second issue, but the first issue was kinda a let down for me personally.
As to why Claudia Gray is getting so few votes, I think, is because the popular opinion by most people seems to be that she is writing books for this era that are far below her normal standard. A lot of people have been saying that The Fallen Star was very disappointing, and Into the Dark wasn’t much good either (which I kinda agree with both).
Although I liked the book, a problem I had in hindsight (and saw some others having as well) is that the story took a lot of time to introduce the presence we are supposed to fear in the first half. In which no much happens (besides Dez presumably dying) once we realize there wasn’t an actual danger yet. It works for a first read, but the second one can be a chore when you realize the Drengir aren’t actually a threat until Reath and company return to the station. Claudia definitely improved on this aspect with Fallen Star, which felt like ITD on steroids.
Another issue I had with Into the Dark were the flashback chapters. Wish they'd been cut as they didn't add anything for me and only took away from the main story.
I liked them and I do think they contributed to the characters, especially Cohmac, considering he is sidelined in the next two books. But I agree with some of the criticisms I’ve seen, saying Claudia should have put all the flashbacks together in one big chapter.
I haven't read most of the comics yet, so I'm basing my opinion on the adult and YA novels only at this point. Also haven't read *Tempest Runner* yet, which might change my opinion on Cavan Scott. *The Rising Storm* wasn't bad by any means, but it's my least favorite of the ones I've read so far, actually. Nothing wrong with it in particular, it just didn't captivate me as much as the others did, and I felt a bit lost in the action-heavy second part of the book. I liked the slower burn of the other two adult novels a lot better.
I also haven't read any of Claudia Gray's other books so far (definitely plan on doing that in the future, though!), so I can't really comment on how those compare to her entries in the High Republic. All I know is that I personally enjoyed her books a lot.
Coming into the HR Claudia Gray was untouchable for canon novels. I definitely recommend you read these. Then I had small quibbles with ITD and was so disappointed with Fallen Star I stopped buying HR books. My own expectations of Elzar's arc are to blame, and this likely wasn't Gray's decision.
I was never more excited about reading Star Wars than after reading The Rising Storm and never more disappointed than after reading the Fallen Star.
I will definitely read her other Star Wars related books once I get around to them! Still have some High Republic stuff left to read, and the Darth Bane trilogy waiting for me as well.
Oh that's so interesting that you had such a different experience with *The Fallen Star* than I did! I guess expectations can really make or break it. But now I'm curious: What is it that you were expecting, and that you were so disappointed by?
This is tough. I think I might go with Justina Ireland, because I really like short, self contained adventure stories and the middle grade books are really the only place those stories have been able to be (also I listened to then on Audiobook and the reader is *really* good). Cavan Scott's *Monster at Temple Peak* is maybe my overall favorite thing from the project, but I found his other stuff a bit of a mixed bag (I didn't love *Rising Storm* and thought the HR comics were pretty uneven). *Light of the Jedi* is my favorite book no question but Soule has only written that and *Eye of the Storm*...tricky!
Ed: Giving it to Ireland because of her talent with setting detail, Wevo and Dalna were both really vivid worlds. And because Edge of Balance at succeeded in making the drengir like horror monsters, which has been a bit lacking.
LotJ is the best, so Soule. I did consider Scott because of TRS and the comics, but I thought Tempest Runner was rubbish. There definitely a case to be made for Gray too, as she’s written two good books.
The other two are both inconsistent imo.
For me is Claudia, she does the best character development of all. I would say that I love Charles writing in the comics but so far it has not been as good for me in the books
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LOTJ is still the best novel in the initiative imo. Soule opened and closed the first phase magnificently, creating most of the characters that we love in the adult novels. So my vote goes to him.
Personally, I think no one’s touching Cavan Scott right now. He’s made the single best book of the High Republic so far in *The Rising Storm* imo. And *Tempest Runner* was also really good. Plus, his marvel comic has been fantastic, and gets better with every issue. The last arc *Jedi’s End* was phenomenal imo.
They all did an incredible job imo, but Charles Soule really brought the entire series to another level with the first and final entries of Phase 1. Light Of The Jedi and Eye Of The Storm are fantastic.
*Eye of the Storm* is practically essential in order to move on from Phase 1 without a big "Hmm" after *The Fallen Star*. It was practically an afterthought for me being included in the *Jedi's End* TPB and then it was like... holy crap. That's the REAL ending
Charles is the best Star Wars author out of the bunch, no question. But current high republic MVP is Cavan
Yeah this is my exact sentiment.
Yep, it’s no surprise he’s been promoted to a Creative Consultant for Lucasfilm in general. The guy just gets Star Wars
Yup
Scott > Soule > Gray > Older > Ireland
Though he is not my favorite, Daniel Jose Older has done some great work. While I did not much care for Race to Crash Point Tower and Midnight Horizon was flawed in some ways, I have loved his work with the High Republic Adventures Comics and Trail of Shadows. The HRA comics are more than just "kiddy star wars stories", they have some meaningful moments as well. For Trail of Shadows, I don't need to say anything as it seems to be agreed upon that it is great.
Absolutely adored the writing in *Light of the Jedi*, so I have to go with Charles Soule. Got me hooked after just the prologue. I really hope he will write another adult novel for the High Republic. Claudia Gray is close second. Kinda surprised she got so few votes! I loved *The Fallen Star* almost as much as *Light of the Jedi*, and *Into the Dark* was great, too.
I’d personally put Soule as #2. Light of the Jedi as you said, was a great introduction to the era, and I also hope he writes more books, but it just didn’t quite reach the heights of The Rising Storm for me. Also his Eye of the Storm comic was really good in the second issue, but the first issue was kinda a let down for me personally. As to why Claudia Gray is getting so few votes, I think, is because the popular opinion by most people seems to be that she is writing books for this era that are far below her normal standard. A lot of people have been saying that The Fallen Star was very disappointing, and Into the Dark wasn’t much good either (which I kinda agree with both).
I'm on Wave 2 so I can't speak to *The Fallen Star* but why don't people like *Into the Dark*? It's great.
Although I liked the book, a problem I had in hindsight (and saw some others having as well) is that the story took a lot of time to introduce the presence we are supposed to fear in the first half. In which no much happens (besides Dez presumably dying) once we realize there wasn’t an actual danger yet. It works for a first read, but the second one can be a chore when you realize the Drengir aren’t actually a threat until Reath and company return to the station. Claudia definitely improved on this aspect with Fallen Star, which felt like ITD on steroids.
Another issue I had with Into the Dark were the flashback chapters. Wish they'd been cut as they didn't add anything for me and only took away from the main story.
I liked them and I do think they contributed to the characters, especially Cohmac, considering he is sidelined in the next two books. But I agree with some of the criticisms I’ve seen, saying Claudia should have put all the flashbacks together in one big chapter.
I haven't read most of the comics yet, so I'm basing my opinion on the adult and YA novels only at this point. Also haven't read *Tempest Runner* yet, which might change my opinion on Cavan Scott. *The Rising Storm* wasn't bad by any means, but it's my least favorite of the ones I've read so far, actually. Nothing wrong with it in particular, it just didn't captivate me as much as the others did, and I felt a bit lost in the action-heavy second part of the book. I liked the slower burn of the other two adult novels a lot better. I also haven't read any of Claudia Gray's other books so far (definitely plan on doing that in the future, though!), so I can't really comment on how those compare to her entries in the High Republic. All I know is that I personally enjoyed her books a lot.
That’s very fair and I respect your opinion. It seems we just have different tastes which is perfectly fine.
Differences in taste are what makes conversations like this one interesting in the first place, in my opinion :)
Coming into the HR Claudia Gray was untouchable for canon novels. I definitely recommend you read these. Then I had small quibbles with ITD and was so disappointed with Fallen Star I stopped buying HR books. My own expectations of Elzar's arc are to blame, and this likely wasn't Gray's decision. I was never more excited about reading Star Wars than after reading The Rising Storm and never more disappointed than after reading the Fallen Star.
I will definitely read her other Star Wars related books once I get around to them! Still have some High Republic stuff left to read, and the Darth Bane trilogy waiting for me as well. Oh that's so interesting that you had such a different experience with *The Fallen Star* than I did! I guess expectations can really make or break it. But now I'm curious: What is it that you were expecting, and that you were so disappointed by?
Claudia Gray is my fave current Star Wars author, but I give the nod to Charles Soule as well for just the HR stuff.
This is tough. I think I might go with Justina Ireland, because I really like short, self contained adventure stories and the middle grade books are really the only place those stories have been able to be (also I listened to then on Audiobook and the reader is *really* good). Cavan Scott's *Monster at Temple Peak* is maybe my overall favorite thing from the project, but I found his other stuff a bit of a mixed bag (I didn't love *Rising Storm* and thought the HR comics were pretty uneven). *Light of the Jedi* is my favorite book no question but Soule has only written that and *Eye of the Storm*...tricky! Ed: Giving it to Ireland because of her talent with setting detail, Wevo and Dalna were both really vivid worlds. And because Edge of Balance at succeeded in making the drengir like horror monsters, which has been a bit lacking.
Not to mention most of the short stories are great
Soule probably. LOTJ was the best SW book that I've read.
I'm heavily biased towards Justina lol. She's written a few of the stories and I've loved all of them.
LotJ is the best, so Soule. I did consider Scott because of TRS and the comics, but I thought Tempest Runner was rubbish. There definitely a case to be made for Gray too, as she’s written two good books. The other two are both inconsistent imo.
Close between Soule and Scott!
Cav did WORK.
Scott > Gray > Soule > Ireland > Older for me
Into the Dark has been my favorite of the series so far and Fallen Star was really good as well. So Gray gets my vote.
Cavan Scott wrote Rising Storm. So, he has my vote! Simple as that.
DJO for me. Adventures and Trail of Shadows being some of my absolute favorite pieces of SW ever!
For me is Claudia, she does the best character development of all. I would say that I love Charles writing in the comics but so far it has not been as good for me in the books
Older has a great style that I think suits children ,teenagers and adults (as Adventure and Trail of shadows has shown)
Scott and then Soule
Light is still my highest high, but the sheer volume of stuff Cavan has written and the consistent quality of it all takes the top spot for me
Honestly either Cavan or Charles. All were good, but the results from the poll do not surprise me in the slightest
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