For as little effort as Disney-Lucasfilm Press has put into marketing these Star Wars Audible originals, they have quickly become something worth looking forward to. Last year’s Padawan’s Pride was a nice Obi-Wan and Anakin story. Then the High Republic publishing initiative came in and released Seeds of Starlight. That was the first part of a two-part story, revealing the dark secrets hidden inside the sunken wreckage of Starlight Beacon. In case you missed the Phase 3 memo, the Drengir are back.
The recently released Haunted Starlight is the second half of this “audio-saga.” Writer George Mann has been on a tear lately, and he’s once again left his mark. Seeds of Starlight was a tightly crafted story that had several noteworthy moments. Haunted Starlight takes a little while to get going, but it turns into a thrilling must-listen — for High Republic fans — that has massive ramifications for the last stages of the era’s storytelling.
Haunted Starlight picks up after the events of Seeds of Starlight. The Drengir are regrouping back at Starlight Beacon after being thwarted by the people of Eiram and the Jedi. Jedi Master Eve Byre, her Padawan Cam Lindon, Tep Tep, and Kildo have stuck around to ensure Barraza City’s safety. Unfortunately, the Drengir quickly creep back in. This leads the Jedi to take a dangerous expedition to the remains of Starlight Beacon to get to the bottom of what’s really happening. What they find is their worst nightmare.
I can’t talk much more about the plot without diving into spoilers. The audiobook is geared toward younger audiences, but Haunted Starlight still has several interesting things going for it despite a lack of depth. We spend more time with the Hurricanes, a group of former Nihil that turned their backs on the pirate gang. Or have they? How is Eve Byre recovering after being attached to the Drengir’s hive mind? Meanwhile, Tep Tep has another of my favorite moments in a High Republic middle-grade book to date. What a reliable duo she and Kildo are becoming whenever they appear.
Mann also brings back some body-horror elements that he introduced in Seeds. I could feel a love for classic monster movies shining through whenever he would write for the Drengir. On the technical side, narrator Todd Haberkorn is quite strong. His limited vocal range for humans has always been a sticking point whenever I listen to him, but Haunted Starlight offers several unique voices, and he shines. I loved the small details he incorporated for one of the book’s villains, a human-Drengir hybrid. (I’ve already said too much.)
The sound design and music were also much more in-your-face, making this a more complete Star Wars audiobook than what Disney Books usually offers. This is one of the best audio experiences I’ve had from this publisher in a while. Maybe that’s the “audio-only” medium talking, but it was still used to its fullest potential.
Overall, Haunted Starlight is another solid entry into the High Republic lexicon. If there’s a spare four-ish hours in your day, there’s enough here for fans of this era to enjoy. For those who would rather skip it and read about what you need to know going forward, let’s go.
Spoilers below!
The Great Progenitor is Back
Once upon a time, Avar Kriss and the Jedi Order were pushed to the absolute limit in their fight against the Great Progenitor and the Drengir. What was left of the Drengir was then kept on Starlight Beacon. Of course, the Nihil would blow up the beacon. The Great Progenitor survived the plummet into Eiram’s oceans and lay in wait. In Haunted Starlight, we learn she was awoken after sensing a warning from Banchii about the coming blight.
Similar to the calcification of a Jedi when attacked by the Nameless, the blight is a broader infection that sucks the life from anything and everything it touches, turning it to dust. Not much is known about its origin or how it spreads, but in Temptation of the Force, Marchion Ro learned he has some ability to control it. The Eye of the Nihil spent that book conducting experiments with the blight, inflicting a lone Drengir with the sickness. We’ll certainly get some form of answers in Trials of the Jedi.
For now, that Drengir’s blight-induced death is what truly set the Great Progenitor off. And so began the attempts to escape Eiram and find safety. Their first try saw the Drengir kidnap and possess civilians and Jedi alike to build a ship. Jedi Master Eve Byre was used as the new center of the hive mind while the Great Progenitor remained dormant, but Cam was able to free her.
Their second attempt featured the Great Progenitor in a more active role. The goal was to turn Barraza City into a cocoon, and they would try extracting themselves that way. Once again, they were met with resistance by the Jedi. This time, however, the Drengir won the day. Facing death (or worse), the Jedi proposed a truce after learning the truth behind the Drengir’s actions. They offered them the Innovator to leave Eiram and start fresh.
The Drengir are Heading to Kashyyyk
After leaving Eiram, the Republic officer onboard sets a course for a planet named Floris. But a villain is gonna do villain things. The Great Progenitor takes control of the poor lad and changes course to the Wookiee homeworld, Kashyyyk. Besides the fact that this might lead to answers from a long-gestating question from Marvel’s 2021 Life Day one-shot, it also sets the stage for Claudia Gray’s Into the Light. The Drengir left Eiram to escape the blight. Lucky for them, this choice may lead them directly into that and an old friend.
We don’t know much about the final young adult novel in the initiative, but we do know Jedi Knight Reath Silas will be combatting the blight on Kashyyyk. Hot off the heels of his discoveries in Tears of the Nameless and Echoes of Fear, Reath is uniquely positioned to make a real difference. How do the Drengir complicate that? Well, Reath is one of the people who released them into the galaxy way back in Gray’s Into the Dark. The similarities between Into the Dark and Into the Light continue to pile up, with a meaty reunion on the horizon.
Before we go, here’s a quick shout-out to Tep Tep. In Beware the Nameless, she stood tall against the Nameless and seemed to form a brief connection with them through the Force. That is picked up again here when she calls out the Great Progenitor on the Drengir’s nonsense in a glorious sequence that had me hooting and hollering. Is there something to Tep Tep being able to connect with the galaxy’s most deadly creatures? Or is she simply the bravest youngling in all of Star Wars? Either way, you go girl.
Haunted Starlight is available now with an Audible subscription. If you haven’t subscribed before, Audible offers a free trial. Into the Light will be available on April 1 and is available for pre-order now.
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he’s not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
source: www.starwarsnewsnet.com