Star Wars: The High Republic: Character Encyclopedia Book Review
“Star Wars: The High Republic: Character Encyclopedia” is another gem of a reference guide.
Written by Megan Crouse and Amy Richau, DK’s “Star Wars: The High Republic: Character Encyclopedia” covers the relatively new timeline to the Star Wars Universe. The book kicks off with a foreword by “Star Wars: The High Republic Show” host Krystina Arielle, an intro, a timeline and a key to the books and comics. After that the book dives into 4 sections- The Jedi, Threats To The Jedi (The Path of The Open Hand, The Nihil, The Drengir and The Nameless), Galactic Republic (Pathfinder teams, Chancellors, Starlight Beacon) and Citizens (an all purpose section that contains the Convocation Of The Force, Enlightenment Bar, criminals, Hyperspace Path Creator, Guild members, politicians and more). Each character entry receives a brief rundown, a picture (usually comic art though not every character has a picture), sometimes a quote, pronouns, species, height, allegiance and first appearance. The book closes out with an index.
If you don’t have the time to pour over the numerous High Republic books and comics and “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures” or are in need of learning about this time period before the forthcoming “Star Wars: The Acolyte” Disney+ series, this is the book for you. For those already entrenched in The High Republic books and comics, this is a handy reference guide to keep track of the timeline of events and the many characters. Everyone you can possibly think of in this time period is here from old favorites (Yoda, Yaddle, and Dexter Jettster), new fan favorites (Marchion Ro, Elzar Mann, Avar Kriss, Stellan Gios, Nubs, The Mother, and, yes, Geode), and even the obscure (Breebak and Tip, Lu Sweet, and Waran Val).
Having read every High Republic novel thus far, I can attest that this is a worthwhile overview of the era. Although it seems a bit odd to release this book before the Third Phase includes, there’s always room for an updated version down the line especially as more media in this timeline is released. With all of that said, the book also serves as a good refresher of the era as it can be tough to remember every character and plotline that has occurred. On top of that, if you are a book only reader, you’ll be happy to know that this book covers the comic/manga characters that you may not be familiar with. There’s something for everyone here.
If there was one nitpick to be had here it’s that the Citizens section is too broad. It should have been categorized more into politicians, criminals, planet inhabitants (in the case of the Eiram and E’ronoh conflict), and so forth. It’s just a bit too cluttered as is and feels less defined when compared to the other sections.
Overall Thoughts: Star Wars: The High Republic is an ambitious and fresh era that continues to grow and it’s refreshing to see a book that provides a respectable overview of what has occurred within these 3 Phases set 500-100 years before ‘The Phantom Menace.’ Highly recommended.
No comments yet.
Share This Blog
Robert Ham
dmanderson
Andrea
nicklyons1
DVD Corner 
Leave a comment