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Star Wars: The High Republic: Path Of Deceit Book Review

“Star Wars: The High Republic: Path Of Deceit” is easily one of the best High Republic books.

Written by Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton, “Star Wars: The High Republic: Path Of Deceit” finds Jedi Master Zallah Macri and Padawan Kevmo Zink venturing to the planet Dalna to investigate a stolen artifact. While there they come across an organization known as the Path of the Open Hand (which is essentially a Force Cult). The Path (which is headed up by a mysterious woman known as The Mother) has a very different view of the Force to that of the Jedi, but there’s something very off about this group as The Mother has her “Children” steal force sensitive artifacts. She even possesses something that could prove rather deadly to the Jedi. The Mother’s grand project revolves around the building of a ship called the Gaze Electric in which the Path can spread the word of their beliefs across the galaxy.

Elsewhere in the story are plots concerning an extremely naive Path member named Marda Ro (who develops a connection with Kevmo) and her cousin and fellow Path member Yana who is looking to leave the Path alongside her lover Kor. 

As mentioned in my review of “Star Wars: The High Republic: Quest For The Hidden City,” it’s all a bit strange that Phase 2 jumps to the past, but if these first 2 releases of Phase 2 are any indication, this new phase may very well surpass Phase 1. “Path Of Deceit” is a refreshingly different High Republic story. Not only does it explore an unsettling Force Cult, but it takes bold, dark swings that took me by surprise. Without getting into spoiler territory, let’s just say the ending was unexpected and sets up what could be a thrilling arc for Phase 2. And yes, for those wondering, this does indeed tie into Phase 1 (no spoilers about that though).

Given that this is a YA Star Wars novel, there is some standard YA romance here between Kevmo and Marda and Yana and Kor. As mentioned above though, the story doesn’t go where you think it will though as Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton subvert common tropes to the benefit of the story. 

In terms of the new characters, there’s a lot to like here. The Mother is surely going to be a major player in Phase 2 and it will be intriguing to see where her arc goes. The utterly brainwashed Marda Ro is also positioned to be a key character whose arc will also no doubt be one to keep an eye on. Yana’s character is arguably one of the best here as her world has been turned upside down. The 2 main Jedi characters Zallah and Kevmo perhaps don’t get as much page time as one would hope. Zallah in particular could have used more characterization. Kevmo’s struggle with attachments and developing a romance with Marda proved to be one of the more compelling character elements though.

October 14, 2022 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | High Republic Phase 2, Jedi, Path of The Open Hand, Star Wars, Star Wars Books, Star Wars: The High Republic, Star Wars: The High Republic: Path Of Deceit Book Review