DVD Corner

Star Wars: The High Republic: A Valiant Vow Book Review

“Star Wars: The High Republic: A Valiant Vow” is an eventful YA novel. 

Author Justina Ireland and illustrator Petur Antonsson return to the Star Wars Universe with “Star Wars: The High Republic: A Valiant Vow.” Even though the third phase of the multi-media High Republic saga is drawing to a close, this is essentially another side story as tends to be the case with the YA releases. Thankfully, there’s a lot going on in this post Stormwall coming down tale that acts as a sort of follow-up to “Star Wars: The High Republic: Beware The Nameless.” 

In this adventure, the action is largely centered on the planet of Aricho which has recently been liberated from Nihil control. Jedi Knights Imri Cantaros and Yacek Sparkburn have been stationed on the planet, but that is about to change as chaos erupts. Aricho’s President Sala has been kidnapped (which may be tied to its own scandal), the Blight has begun to spread at an alarming rate, and Nihil scav droids have attacked ships in the vicinity (which forces them to crash land). The other key storylines (all of which eventually connect together) involve Zenny and Lexi Greylark and Jedi Youngling Tep Tep embarking on a quest to Aricho to help their friend Churo the Hutt (whose ship crashed on Aricho) and to potentially find Zenny and Lexi’s missing father. Churro, meanwhile, was headed to Aricho with Professor Kip to research brora flowers and glaka root, but instead encounters someone quite familiar to him. To top it all off, the communications satellite is broken and is in desperate need of repairs and the Nihil might just be showing up on the planet again too.

It may be but a small storyline in the grand scheme of the High Republic timeline, but ‘Valiant’ is an eventful, fast paced, and ultimately uplifting story about communication, friendship, and working together in the face of a crisis. Ireland really ratchets up the drama by piling on more and more problems that arise, but she never forgets to focus on the characters (of which there are many here). It’s hard to say who exactly stands out here as every character has their big moment, but Imri’s arc is perhaps the most intriguing (especially in the end). If you’ve been following the High Republic this far, you’ll likely get more out of this story because it feels like a check-in with this batch of characters. Considering Star Wars fans have spent years reading these characters now, you certainly become attached to them no matter how small their role may be. It’s a shame the era is about to end because it would be appealing to see what happens with all of these characters.

“Star Wars: The High Republic: A Valiant Vow” hits stores May 6, 2025.

March 24, 2025 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | Jedi, Star Wars Books, Star Wars: The High Republic, Star Wars: The High Republic: A Valiant Vow Book Review