Review: Defy The Storm

By Alberto Calderón

Spoilers!

In a book filled with the devastation the Nihil have spread throughout the Occlusion Zone, Defy the Storm highlights our heroes staying true to their core values and choosing a path of helping those in needs instead of seeing them fall into revenge, and violence. For some, this means stepping away from the institutions they’ve devoted their lived to.

Story: 3.5 out of 5 Probe Droids

In what feels like a direct sequel to Justina Ireland’s Out of the Shadows, Tessa Gratton joins Justina in crafting a story where Avon Starros, Vernestra Rwoh, and Jordanna Sparkburn join forces with well-dressed backstabber Xylan Graf and notorious Nihil Deva Lompop. The mission: rescue Vernestra’s Padawan, Imri Cantaros, who was thought lost after the fall of Starlight Beacon. As expected, Avon and Xylan have their own plans once they get back behind the Stormwall.

Nihil Tempest Runner, Kara Xoo (Mission to Disaster), is on the planet Aricho harvesting glaka root, a herb that was highly valued by the Hutts and their syndicated as it was used in their mating rituals (good luck taking that image out of your head). And as luck would have it, this is where Jedi Imri Cantaros had been hiding all this time.

The Lightning Crash, the space station that powered the Nihil Stormwall, which had been built around the technology of the Gravity’s Heart, Chancey Yarrow’s hyperspace weapon, is Avon’s main target as she wants to put an end to the war and sees the destruction of the station, along with Nihil scientist Dr. Mkampa, as the quickest way to do so. But does she have the killer instinct that her mother, Senator Ghirra Starros, now the Nihil Minister of Information, obviously had.

Sylvestri Yarrow and Jordana Sparkburn had been running jobs for Maz Kanata delivering food and supplies to people in need outside the Stormwall but Jordanna had always felt bad for leaving her family, especially her brother, behind the wall and after joining forces with Avon, Vernestra, and Xylan, knew that it was now or never.

“You’re my home.”
Jordanna to Sylvestri

After a brief encounter with the Nameless on Seswenna, Avon leaves Vernestra under the care of Deva Lompop and becomes the team I didn’t know I needed. A sadistic Nihil who had become Avon’s caretaker and bodyguard and a talented Jedi Knight who was trying to find her place back in the Order.

“Death is natural, and I have no problem with killing.”
Deva Lompop

With our group divided into three teams, Avon and Xylan find out that destroying the Lightning Crash would not bring down the Stormwall but the chaos that followed Avon’s sabotage placed the Nihil on high alert. Jordanna and Xylan’s husband, Cair San Tekka, find Jordanna’s brother and his family on the moon of Arli which had been poisoned and was quickly rotting and turning everything it touched to a calcified husk while Vernestra and Deva located Imri and J-6 as they mount a rebellion against Kara Xoo and the Nihil on Aricho.

“Rescue me? Vern, I’m exactly where I need to be.”
Jedi Imri Cantaros

Were the Nihil weaponizing the effects the Nameless have on Force-users and wanted to exploit this to spread even more fear among the residents of the galaxy? With Avon and the Republic now in possession of codes to access the Stormwall, the confrontation with the Nihil seems closer than ever.

Ease of Reading: 3 out of 5 Probe Droids

Although a good story with interesting characters, Defy the Storm is one of those books which enjoyment might be tied to having read a few other High Republic titles. Justina and Tessa do a good job in telling a story that can be enjoyed on its own, but to be fully invested in the characters motivations and story beats, having read A Test of Courage, Out of the Shadows, and Mission to Disaster certainly help.

Characters: 3 out of 5 Probe Droids

Our main characters, Avon, Vernestra, and Jordanna are all going through a change during this past year. Avon is determined in killing Dr. Mkampa and maybe falling down the same path her mother did. But when she accidentally kills a Nihil and is succumbed by horror and regrets, along with surprising help from Xylan Graf, she comes to understand that if she kills without remorse, there was no turning back.

Jordanna wants to take the fight to the Nihil. They had taken too much and she was done hiding. But after meeting up with her brother and the rest of the survivors of the moon, she realized that what matters is helping and saving those that need it and not falling into the same behavior as those that she hated.

For Vernestra Rwoh, the last year had been spent meditating in solace and trying once again to connect to people after her connection had been damaged by the loss of Stellan Gios and her Padawan. But seeing that Imri was not only alive but thriving gave her the spark she needed. He was following his Jedi teachings of helping others, without the need of being a Jedi that fought the Nihil. I love that Vernestra was able to knight him.

There are a lot of characters that show up in Defy the Storm, and unfortunately this isn’t always for the better. I love the crew of the Vessel but having Leox, Affie, and Geode be the ones to give Avon a lift seemed more of a “remember these guys” than actually giving them something to move their stories forward. They were there for one chapter and they could have been any other members of a transport.

The same goes for Jedi Jacek Sparkburn and Lyssa Votz. They were on Aricho leading the revolt with Imri but I don’t even remember if they had any spoken lines in the book. Master Miro Lox and his padawan Amadeo Azzazzo also make a brief appearance.

Canon Connections: 5 out of 5 Probe Droids

We mentioned earlier how Defy the Storm connects to the other books by Justina Ireland and that is to the benefit of it. Having the Stormwall be connected to the Gravity’s Heart was a great way to keep that storyline moving forward and when you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

Finding Vernestra on Thelj connects directly to her story in Tales of Light and Life and her visions of Mari San Tekka and the Paths, take center stage in her story.

Avon still holding on to Imri’s kyber crystal since A Test of Courage and Maz Kanata being this connection between all characters, Jedi, pirates and Nihil, keeps the mystery of this character introduced in The Force Awakens alive and well.

Expand Star Wars: 3.75 out of 5 Probe Droids

I love the implication that the Nihil, but probably just Baron Boolan, have been testing and trying to expand the effects of the Nameless to use it against non-Force users.

The mystery of why Mari San Tekka gave Vernestra a secret Path coordinate and appears to her keep expanding as now Vern has conversations with Mari as a messenger of the Force and that this last Path, thanks to Deva Lompop, would take her beyond Wild Space to a place filled with wild stories and fearsome creatures. The Inverted Path or Path of Contradictions. Is this the home planet of the Nameless?

“The moment we stop questioning the why of the things we do, well, that moment is when we begin to become inflexible.”
Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 Probe Droids

I enjoyed Defy the Storm but its most exciting moments are when it sets up future stories. Vernestra confronts Elzar Mann with the murder of Chancey Yarrow. Will he tell the Council about it and how will they and Avar Kriss react?

Reath Silas visits Azlin Rell with the desiccated hand of Cair San Tekka and the “fallen” Jedi gives an ominous prediction. With the Republic close to finding a permanent way across the Stormwall, how soon will the Jedi and Republic forces take the fight to Marchion Ro and the Nihil?

“It’s coming for them.”
Azlin Rell

In the end, Defy the Storm as a title is not about the heroes surviving a battle against the Nihil but the storm inside each of them to not fall to those dark places but come out the other end, steadfast in that the way forward is helping those in need.