Daniel José Wraps the YA Run of Phase I with Midnight Horizon

Phase I of the High Republic continues its conclusion with Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older, and the Jedi are not out of the woods just yet. Jedi Masters Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy along with their Padawans, Reath Silas and Ram Jomaram, are sent to Coronet City on Corellia to investigate the disappearance of a handful of the planet's elite. Along the way the Padawans encounter Alys Ongwa, otherwise known as Crash, who helps them infiltrate Coronet City’s nightlife with the help of Zeen Mrala. The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray provides a front row seat to the destruction of the “light of the Jedi,” and Midnight Horizon is separated just enough from the events on Starlight so we get to experience reactions to the news from citizens as well as fellow Jedi. In sum, Midnight Horizon is an unexpected adventure between two unlikely partners, Reath and Ram; but despite the initial surprise, their dyad is a prominent and interesting aspect of this book. Ram and Reath continuously learn from each other - a detail that Older wrote well - and Reath taking on the role of a big brother to Ram was heartening. Older successfully continues meaningful character development for Reath as well as expand upon Ram in a light-hearted way that not only remains true to this character, but allows Ram - and Reath - to see glimpses of fun in the midst of chaos. Beyond our Padawans, exploring Kantam Sy’s internal conflict and learning more about them was a highlight since not much has been revealed about them up until this point. Additionally, it’s always lovely to see Lula and Zeen; but to my surprise, Zeen has a larger role in this book while, unfortunately, Lula falls to the wayside. Zeen and Lula’s appearance is heavily connected to IDW’s High Republic Adventures series that’s also written by Older, and the main events of Midnight Horizon overlaps with the plot comics. If you don’t want to spoil the Adventures comics of if you want the context going into Midnight Horizon, I recommend reading up to the latest issue - issue 12 at the time of writing this review - as well as taking a gander at the Adventures Annual.

If you’ve been following the High Republic releases, then you’re familiar with how every installment runs over events of the last book and/or comics before diving into the action - along with intermittent refreshers along the way - and Midnight Horizon continues this trend, especially when it comes to the events in IDW’s High Republic Adventures. At this point in the series I could do without the constant reminders; however, this appears to be a component of the series that won’t be going away any time soon. Furthermore, it took me a few chapters to adjust to Older’s style; but despite finding my groove later on, I didn’t gel with the delivery. Although, Midnight Horizon is my favorite book Older has written for Star Wars, and I enjoyed this book significantly more than Race to Crashpoint Tower.

Final Thoughts: Midnight Horizon is a great conclusion to the YA run of Phase I, and Older introduces audiences to an entertaining duo in Reath and Ram. Despite not completely filling in gaps to the devastation of Starlight Beacon, there are losses and unexpected turns of events that will heavily shape the series moving forward so the events in Midnight Horizon are a must know.

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