About a month ago, Disney Books and Lucasfilm Publishing released the new novel Star Wars: The High Republic – Beware the Nameless, which is the second middle-grade entry in the multi-platform initiative’s third phase. Below are my thoughts on this release, after finally having found the chance to read it.
The Nameless are a bit of a conundrum as far as menacing threats go in the Star Wars galaxy. First of all, their name is a bit of a… well, a misnomer, in that they have several names– more than the usual creatures found in A Galaxy Far, Far Away, I would say. Beyond simply “The Nameless,” they have also been called the Shrii-ka-rai, Force Eaters, and Levelers, and throughout the three phases of The High Republic, their powers over the Jedi Order have been demonstrated time and again. As one of their above-stated monikers implies, they are capable of “eating” a Jedi’s (or any Force-user, really) connection to the Force, leaving their victims as ashen husks that will blow away in a strong gust of wind. And in author Zoraida Córdova’s (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – A Crash of Fate) new middle-grade book The High Republic – Beware the Nameless, a group of Younglings must face off against these deadly, otherworldly beasts in order to save their friends.
I struggled with Córdova’s last adult-targeted Star Wars novel Convergence, mostly because I found it difficult to care very much about the “Forever War” between the planets of Eiram and E’ronoh that served as its focal point. But Beware the Nameless, likely due to its younger demographic, is quite a bit more freewheeling and fun, unleashed from the restraints of a centuries-old conflict between two worlds. The story here involves several younglings (some of which were introduced in previous High Republic middle-grade novels by Daniel José Older) who accidentally stow away on a Republic mission to combat the Nihil: there’s would-be Jedi Jamil Sollis, Kildo, and Tep Tep, plus Zenny Greylark, the daughter of a senator who intentionally joined the quest in order to search for her lost sister. After their discovery by the crew of the Innovator, which is now being captained and piloted by Ram Jomaram, the team intercepts a distress call from a planet called Palagosal, which had been evacuated after being overrun by Nihil forces. So Ram and company continue on their way, while the Younglings are joined by an adult Jedi and a Republic Defense Coalition member to search for the signal’s source, in the hopes it’s coming from Lexi Greylark.
During this adventure our protagonists encounter two new characters: one named Churo the Hutt– who is a rather gentle, more scientifically minded member of the sluglike species we first met in Return of the Jedi– and a devious, sharklike bounty hunter named Haze Delik. There are also more surprises lurking around every corner on Palagosal, including of course the lethal Nameless creatures, two of which stalk these heroes as they seek survivors of the Nihil incursion. I don’t want to spoil anything plot-wise after that point, except to say that this group has their challenges ahead of them and that the back half of the book also ties into a significant additional threat that has reared its head in recent High Republic novels. While I definitely had a better time reading through Beware the Nameless than I did with Convergence, Córdova’s writing can still be a little dry and repetitive at times, though I understand the desire to remind younger, perhaps less-attentive readers of what occurred in previous chapters. Otherwise I enjoyed this novel for what it is: an entertaining expedition into the unknown, striving to survive numerous perils and conquer various fears with friends both old and new. And I believe the themes of found-family and being one’s own true self will resonate with Star Wars fans of all ages.
Star Wars: The High Republic – Beware the Nameless is available now wherever books are sold.