Star Wars: All the High Republic Books You Need to Read to Get Ready For ‘The Acolyte’

Brush up on your Star Wars history with everything you need to know about The High Republic before the premiere of The Acolyte.

\The Acolyte is hitting our screens on June 4th. The new show is set during the High Republic period. This is a period of time set around 200 years before the Prequel trilogy. First released in 2021, the era has mainly been covered in books and comics. That’s about to change with the release of The Acolyte. The show is set during the waning days of the High Republic Era. So if you want to get into the show, what do you need to know about the era?

Well, the best way is to enjoy reading through the various books. These are broken down, so far, into three phases. Within those, you have adult books, YA books, and Junior novels, as well as comics. Knowing which is which can be confusing, but for now, let’s assume you want to mainly skip the YA and Junior novels.

Light of the Jedi

 Light of the Jedi is the book that kicked it all off. This was the first real introduction to the High Republic and had a lot of work to do setting up the new era. It introduces the Hyperspace disaster which is the major inciting event.  We also get our introduction to the Nihil. This is a group of strange space pirates that serve as the main antagonists of this phase of the plot. It’s a pretty fun introduction to the setting and you get to meet a lot of Jedi. If you like some weird force stuff it’s a good read.

The Rising Storm 

Rising Storm is the follow-up book to Light of the Jedi. It builds on a lot of the characters and ideas from the first book and brings us to a more open conflict. The backdrop of the book is the Republic Fair, held to celebrate the Jedi’s actions in Light. However, the Nihil have plans of their own and this brings them into a more direct and open conflict with the Republic and the Jedi as a whole.

The Fallen Star 

Fallen Star wraps up phase one of the adult trilogy for the High Republic. Resting after the battles of the previous book, the Jedi find themselves once again under attack. The Nihil are back and this time their target is the Starlight Beacon. This massive space station is a cornerstone of both the Republic and Jedi’s missions in the region. This book wraps up a lot of the early plotlines and finishes up the phase. It’s got a lot of elements of old disaster stories and of course, more Jedi, doing Jedi things.

Convergence and Cataclysm 

Convergence kicks off the phase two duology. Along with its follow-up Cataclysm, it is actually a prequel to the earlier books. Taking place over a century before Light of the Jedi it takes place in an age of expansion and exploration for the Republic. The two books cover the conflict between the worlds of Eiram and E’ronoh. These worlds have long been in conflict, but the Jedi and the Republic hope to end it. Amidst all this, you’ve also got action happening on Jedha (long before it became Death Star target practice). The books give us a look at yet another period in Star Wars history and help to show off more aspects of the High Republic era.

Eye of Darkness

Eye of Darkness kicks off phase three and takes us back to the “main” timeline of the High Republic. It takes place a year after The Fallen Star and things are not going well. The Nihil have managed to cut part of the galaxy off and are ruling it as their own little empire. They are also messing with the Force causing all kinds of problems for the Jedi. This is a bit of a darker book, with the bad guys ascendant and a lot of the heroes struggling with the price of their failures. This is the most recent High Republic adult novel to come out and really sets up the rest of the phase.

Temptation of the Force  

Temptation of the Force is the second book in the phase three trilogy. It’s not out till June so we don’t know a ton about it. The Jedi continue their fight against the Nihil and are trying to go after their leader. If you’ve gotten this far you’ll have to check it out once it lands!

Lets us know which of the High Republic novels you liked best, down in the comments!

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.