Reading Wrap-Up: April 2023 Part I
May. 4th, 2023 12:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
justanorthernlightMaking these posts on a monthly basis made significantly more sense when I was only reading around 4 books per month, but here we are.
Star Wars: The High Republic: Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland -
The Nihil seem to be responsible for mysterious disappearances in a sector of space that should be empty. While trying to sound the alarm about these happenings with the Republic, recently-orphaned teenage freighter captain Sylvestri Yarrow is drawn into a web of politics, corporate infighting, and uncomfortable family secrets. In order to help, Vernestra and Imri from A Test of Courage are tasked by the Jedi Council to join in the investigation, while each tries to manage their own unusual Force talents.
Overall this was an enjoyable story. It had a lot more of the typical YA tropes than Into the Dark had and certain parts of the story felt a little rushed/underdeveloped, but I liked that it got back to the weird hyperspace stuff introduced in Light of the Jedi. Also, the F/F couple was allowed to do things like display physical affection and use the term "girlfriend", which has been sorely lacking in the Star Wars YA novels to date (see my complaints about Ahsoka and Queen's Shadow for more on that).
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Volume 2 ("Attack on the Republic Fair" , Issues #6-8, 2021 Annual, by multiple artists and authors) -
This volume is a collection of somewhat disconnected adventures. It starts with the 2021 Free Comic Book Day story which is a coda to Race to Crashpoint Tower, then issues #6 & #7 involve Lula's friend Farzala having a solo adventure in Hutt space during The Rising Storm (feat. Affie & Leox from Into the Dark).
Issue #8 seems to be a bit of a bridge to the next arc of the story. The main characters are reunited on Starlight Beacon, but then the Nihil attack a Jedi temple near Maz's castle on Takodana (cue cliffhanger). The 2021 Annual is a collection of even shorter adventures with established characters including Loden Greatstorm, a glimpse at Vernestra's time as Stellan's padawan, and Porter Engle outsmarting some Nihil.
I really liked Farzala's adventure and the mini-stories from the Annual issue. I'm a little disappointed that Volume 3 does not seem to have been published anywhere in the US (it might have been published in the UK, but I can't find any copies for sale for international shipping), and I can't find the individual issues to finish the arc (#9-13).
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore (nonfiction) -
The story of factory workers who fell "mysteriously" ill after working with luminous, radioactive paint during and after World War One, and their medical and legal battles against the companies that employed them. This was compelling, if often depressing, and and interesting peek into the evolution of workers rights and health & safety regulations in the US.
Star Wars: The High Republic: Tempest Runner by Cavan Scott (full-cast audiobook original) -
During a battle with the Jedi, Tempest Runner Lourna Dee fakes her death but is captured and imprisoned by the Republic under a false identity. In between navigating life on the prison ship and contemplating escape, she flashes back to her childhood and the events that led to her joining the Nihil and becoming a Tempest Runner.
This is a "full cast audiobook original" that feels a lot more like an old-style radio drama than a traditional audiobook. The story is conveyed entirely through dialogue and sound effects, with no narration or internal monologue. In Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm, Lourna is described as subtle, icy, and extremely self-controlled, while here she screams, monologues, and hulk-smashes things wherever she goes. I get that it's hard to portray a quiet protagonist in audio-only media, but the change in characterization is kind of irksome. Also, all action scenes and injuries are portrayed by characters screaming/moaning/heavy breathing their way through their dialogue in a way that I did not enjoy listening to. On the other hand, the plot was relatively interesting and I liked how it made Lourna's backstory interesting without trying to make her particularly sympathetic.
Star Wars: The High Republic: Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland -
The Nihil seem to be responsible for mysterious disappearances in a sector of space that should be empty. While trying to sound the alarm about these happenings with the Republic, recently-orphaned teenage freighter captain Sylvestri Yarrow is drawn into a web of politics, corporate infighting, and uncomfortable family secrets. In order to help, Vernestra and Imri from A Test of Courage are tasked by the Jedi Council to join in the investigation, while each tries to manage their own unusual Force talents.
Overall this was an enjoyable story. It had a lot more of the typical YA tropes than Into the Dark had and certain parts of the story felt a little rushed/underdeveloped, but I liked that it got back to the weird hyperspace stuff introduced in Light of the Jedi. Also, the F/F couple was allowed to do things like display physical affection and use the term "girlfriend", which has been sorely lacking in the Star Wars YA novels to date (see my complaints about Ahsoka and Queen's Shadow for more on that).
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Volume 2 ("Attack on the Republic Fair" , Issues #6-8, 2021 Annual, by multiple artists and authors) -
This volume is a collection of somewhat disconnected adventures. It starts with the 2021 Free Comic Book Day story which is a coda to Race to Crashpoint Tower, then issues #6 & #7 involve Lula's friend Farzala having a solo adventure in Hutt space during The Rising Storm (feat. Affie & Leox from Into the Dark).
Issue #8 seems to be a bit of a bridge to the next arc of the story. The main characters are reunited on Starlight Beacon, but then the Nihil attack a Jedi temple near Maz's castle on Takodana (cue cliffhanger). The 2021 Annual is a collection of even shorter adventures with established characters including Loden Greatstorm, a glimpse at Vernestra's time as Stellan's padawan, and Porter Engle outsmarting some Nihil.
I really liked Farzala's adventure and the mini-stories from the Annual issue. I'm a little disappointed that Volume 3 does not seem to have been published anywhere in the US (it might have been published in the UK, but I can't find any copies for sale for international shipping), and I can't find the individual issues to finish the arc (#9-13).
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore (nonfiction) -
The story of factory workers who fell "mysteriously" ill after working with luminous, radioactive paint during and after World War One, and their medical and legal battles against the companies that employed them. This was compelling, if often depressing, and and interesting peek into the evolution of workers rights and health & safety regulations in the US.
Star Wars: The High Republic: Tempest Runner by Cavan Scott (full-cast audiobook original) -
During a battle with the Jedi, Tempest Runner Lourna Dee fakes her death but is captured and imprisoned by the Republic under a false identity. In between navigating life on the prison ship and contemplating escape, she flashes back to her childhood and the events that led to her joining the Nihil and becoming a Tempest Runner.
This is a "full cast audiobook original" that feels a lot more like an old-style radio drama than a traditional audiobook. The story is conveyed entirely through dialogue and sound effects, with no narration or internal monologue. In Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm, Lourna is described as subtle, icy, and extremely self-controlled, while here she screams, monologues, and hulk-smashes things wherever she goes. I get that it's hard to portray a quiet protagonist in audio-only media, but the change in characterization is kind of irksome. Also, all action scenes and injuries are portrayed by characters screaming/moaning/heavy breathing their way through their dialogue in a way that I did not enjoy listening to. On the other hand, the plot was relatively interesting and I liked how it made Lourna's backstory interesting without trying to make her particularly sympathetic.
