Review: Zoraida Córdova Brings the Best of ‘Star Wars’ to The High Republic in ‘Convergence’

Star Wars is hope. Hope is where it began, and hope is where it’s best. Hope is the emotional alchemy of optimism, courage, faith, and love. To hold hope and carry it is not easy, whether you’re a character in a galaxy far, far away or a reader beginning the journey down a few hundred pages filled with it. Convergence, the third novel in the new phase of The High Republic, is brimming with hope against the starkest contrast.

 

Author Zoraida Córdova brings as many elements composing hope as it crosses genres: war story, romance, political thriller, but most importantly, a love story. A story about what it takes to find the courage to love, to hope, and to fight for most authentic in each.

 

The High Republic - The Fallen Star

 

This phase of The High Republic jumps back so far in time it could be freeing to authors who are picking up the pieces of vary bleak phase one ending. Instead, Córdova goes back where the last novel, The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray (our review here), ended. Whether the intention was to bookend the Jedi’s first presence on Eiram with its last is unknown. Córdova does some extremely heavy lifting world building of the tragic, hostile relationship between Eiram and its sibling planet, E’ronoh. At the beginning of Convergence, the two worlds sit simmering in a ceasefire, but hope to catch their breath and determine whether their forever war will continue.

 

This review will contain mild spoilers but I’ll be careful not to give away important plot points. The characters and story Córdova introduces take several windy turns. If you want to go in fresh, I encourage it. What I can say without spoiling anything: this is my new favorite Star Wars novel and sets the standard for The High Republic going forward. This also begins to expand the scope in this phase of The High Republic, with the previous two novels being very contained, granular stories. We get a sense of where the Jedi and the Republic are in the galaxy and where they may be going. And why we should all be very worried about the Path of the Open Hand.

 

The High Republic - Convergence scenery

 

With the ceasefire in place, Xiri, who we later learn is heir to the monarchy of E’ronoh, waits for an ice hauler to deliver much needed moisture to her planet. Eiram is in the same state, worn down by a forever war both sides are paying a steep price for. When something goes wrong with the careful delivery, all chaos breaks loose, risking resumption of the forever war and mutual annihilation, whether that’s instantaneous or a slow death through lack of resources. Xiri fights with the ferocity of a warrior ready to defend her world and the desperation of someone trying to preserve it. Córdova lets Xiri show you who she is from the first time we meet her, a moral through line of courage, empathy, and someone who wants to do the right thing in an impossible situation.

 

 

The Republic arrives, carrying medical supplies needed by Eiram, and it only further complicates the situation. We meet Jedi Gella Nattai, who’s aboard the Longbeam headed for Eiram. Immediately, she detects the chaos outside isn’t just a supply run gone wrong. When Xiri loses control of her fighter, Gella disregards the orders of her senior Jedi and takes a Vector, hoping to help. Xiri’s ship crashes into the sea of Eiram, as its prince, Phan-tu, watches. His first instinct: help the pilot in distress.

 

Xiri and Phan-tu bring nuance to the broad, aloof perspective their parents carry on in the forever war between their two worlds. Both of their parents were born into a war fought on the foundation of old biases and presumptions. Their children are poised to take up those positions, but for the first time they are allowed to see each other when Phan-tu rescues Xiri. Xiri’s instincts are those of her people, putting a blade to Phan-tu’s throat because she’s so used to the cycle of death shared between the two worlds. When they both are given a moment of pause, they can begin a dialogue. What’s remarkable about this scene and Xiri’s subsequent stay as a guest on Eiram is the subconscious olive branches passed between the two worlds through their heirs. Córdova presents Xiri as someone who’s been fighting for a better day but wants another option. They’ve both watched their people suffer and die but they don’t know how to get there. And there are outside forces, some hoping to foster peace while others hope to continue this endless war built on prejudice. Xiri and Phan-tu are seen as both the antidote and the weapons by each side.

 

Eiram’s queen, Adrialla, sees an opportunity to open a dialogue with E’ronoh. Eiram is covered in water, but it’s salt water, and many of their people are starving. E’ronoh is covered in sand. Both planets share a scarcity in resources, so she’s called the Republic here to help. Chancellor Mollo, one of the Republic’s two chancellors, is ambitious to leave his mark on the galaxy’s history. Mollo inserts himself as a neutral party and offers to host a peace talk between the two worlds. His eagerness to forge peace between these two planets is not shared by his other half of the executive branch, Chancellor Greylark. Though Córdova clearly establishes this new phase as an era of exploration for the Republic and the Jedi, Chancellor Greylark feels they should be very careful not to interfere and make things worse. There’s no direct mistrust of Mollo; to involve himself in a complicated war between two worlds who are not part of the Republic understandably makes her nervous. Chancellor Greylark can’t be there, so she sends her son Axel.

 

 

Axel Greylark is someone I’m expecting we’ll see and hear a lot about as this phase of The High Republic continues. We meet him in the lower levels of Coruscant, somewhere between gambling away and winning back a large part of his inheritance. Being the chancellor’s son has put Axel in the public eye of the galaxy far, far away and a past trauma has pushed Axel to the fringes of the galaxy. Instead of magnificent galas and schmoozing with fellow debutants, Axel chooses the backroom card tables and every shadowy corner of the galaxy where being a chancellor’s son doesn’t matter. It’s as if Han Solo was raised by Padmé Amidala (there you go, fanfic authors). Axel is as charming as Lando Calrissian but when he’s called by his mother for help, we learn this facade is to compartmentalize. Axel is still mourning a father whose death is a mystery through most of the book while dealing with the wild expectations of the galaxy. His relationship with his mother is not great, but by promising him the rest of his inheritance she’s able to persuade Axel to go to the Eiram system as her proxy.

 

When Axel arrives, we learn there are forces on both planets working to keep this war going. And everyone is turned upside down when Xiri and Phan-tu propose invoking an old tradition to forge peace between their planets. They agree to marry, as heirs of their planets the union will create a bond. As they’ve grown to know each other, they’ve shared the horrors each of their people have suffered during this war. They are tired of watching it unfold and this is they feel this symbolic union will be the antidote for healing. Córdova doesn’t give these two naivety, they are both wise beyond their years and know the marriage will only be a first step. But those who oppose it are quick to speak up through acts of terror. When the two heirs solidify their commitment, they head out into the desert of E’ronoh to deliver supplies on a goodwill mission. Because of the attacks on them, Gella and Axel travel with them.

 

Córdova sets up a dramatic, beautiful backdrop of these four traveling on a sail barge between remote villages who’ve only known to hate Eiram. Now, their princess is showing up telling them the war is over and their planets are uniting. Bringing Phan-tu to the most vulnerable of her population is a huge act of trust, but a risky one. The princess and prince of these troubled worlds know there are targets painted on their backs. They are trying to draw out their attackers while Axel and Gella wait to catch whoever seeks to disrupt their union.

 

Without going too deep into spoilers, this is where the love story begins. And not only for the monarchs, Gella and Axel have their moments to bond. The dogma of the Jedi is still not as rigid as it is in the prequel trilogy, but Gella is committed to the Jedi Order first. As the four of them began to remove their emotional armor, we learn what trauma life has given them to make them take up such protection in the first place. This act of the book is where Córdova’s writing not only shines, it emanates pure joy. This scenario of two pairs of potential lovers trying to survive the odds of a galaxy against them probably sounds familiar. That’s because Córdova has taken beats from some of the best Star Wars love stories and given them fresh life in The High Republic. There are many echoes of Padmé and Anakin; Leia and Han; Rey and Ben; but it’s completely new and filled with the best hope each story has to offer. While there are some very perilous moments for this collection of potential lovers, as a reader I always felt better knowing they had each other. And no, I won’t be spoiling what becomes of each duo, you’re just going to have to enjoy the ride.

 

But there are always secrets and my goodness, when the secrets are revealed, it’s hard to believe how many of them were there all along. And if you’re looking for clues, look no further than the Path of the Open Hand. We learn the Mother has not only been busy with her plans on Dalna, but she’s got her hands in the affairs of these two worlds. I’m being careful with spoilers, but she’s been able to proliferate a terrible weapon on one of these planets, one whose existence is so deadly that when it’s revealed it could threaten the peace between them and plunge them deeper into the forever war. And the Mother had help. These secrets and the way they unfold are some of the biggest twists in the book, so I’m holding back. Typically, I’m skeptical of big twists, but Córdova flips the switch brilliantly.

 

By the end of Convergence we understand what challenges these planets will face moving forward. By specifying the ending, I’d be giving out huge spoilers. What I can speak to is the journey Córdova took these four on from the desert to the stars they part ways in. Gella is changed, affected in ways she didn’t expect and she must reassess her place in the Jedi Order. Of the characters we’ve met so far, Gella is my favorite and I’m most curious where her story goes next. Axel has made some difficult choices as well, and if you’ve seen the cover of Lydia Kang’s novel featuring him, you’ll be just as confused as I am. One thing is clear, Gella and Axel have left indelible marks on each other and I feel it’s just the beginning of their story. Xiri is leaving behind the life of a warrior who fights blindly to embrace one where the fight and the stakes are very clear, not requiring the typical weapons. Phan-tu finds a peace he’s always hoped for, but the new people in his life will no doubt teach him it is something which must constantly be worked on.

 

The High Republic - Convergence author Zoraida Córdova

 

Author Zoraida Córdova poured a lot of love in Convergence and every chapter demonstrates this. Not only is this story compelling and filled with wonderful characters, many of Córdova’s passages are just breathtaking. Bring a pen and notebook, there are several worth keeping. One I will share with you embodies so much of what this story is about:

 

A chancellor holding on to the threads of hope. The Jedi searching for the shadows of disruption. A man scratching the surface of the chaos in his heart, and a Jedi Knight seeking out her path. Two hairs walking toward each other, toward their future, by clasping the tender seeds of peace, vowing that nothing and no one would stand in their way, because this–this is how peace holds on.

 

Zoraida Córdova reminds us constantly through Convergence how amazing and how delicate each character’s role is. This story is often on the edge of disaster, but because these four characters reach deep and find the best of themselves, they are able to defy the fate of their collective history and begin writing their own stories. Convergence is about stepping away from what everyone tells you the greater good should be and finding that truth for yourself.

 

The High Republic – Convergence cover

 

Convergence is a triumph on many levels. I’m grateful for the reminder these stories are about hope and love, even when the characters find themself in the worst of places. Star Wars challenges us to bring our best to these stories but is still there to pick us up when we need it. These stories still resonate with us because they touch the subconscious and stir up everything which helps get us through our worst days. Convergence is the distillation of that alchemy and a masterclass in good storytelling. Do yourself a huge favor and pick this book up, find a quiet afternoon, and do what Star Wars fans were always meant to do: escape to a galaxy far, far away. These are the stories of hope and love. That is Star Wars and that is what Zoraida Córdova has given us.

 

RATING: 10/10

 

Star Wars: The High Republic: Convergence is available wherever books are sold. Special thanks to Lauren Ealy at Del Rey for the advanced copy used in this review.

 

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Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.

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