Tears of the Nameless continues the story’s progress in Phase III of the High Republic. Specifically, after the events of Temptation of the Force.
Tears of the Nameless is written by George Mann. It is available in audio, physical, and digital formats. However, not all might be available in your region.
This is not an illustrated novel so most of the images you’ll see are for illustrative purposes for this article. Most of them are from High Republic media, a few are from other Star Wars sources.
The article contains light spoilers from this book and references events from other stories from this era.
A well-balanced story
Phase I of The High Republic was all about a grand conflict between The Nihil and the Republic. Many big-scale events with dozens of main characters involved on both sides. It was very fun to see something that resembled the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War that we saw in the movies.
Source: The High Republic promotional video
However, one of its drawbacks was that we weren’t able to really get to know many of the involved characters. Their backgrounds, fears, strengths, and weaknesses weren’t explored unless they were present during a very big event. To be fair, there were a good number of said events but I still wanted to get to know more of each character.
Phase II was the opposite, we got many small stories that allowed us to meet the characters involved on a much more intimate level. It wasn’t until the last part that everything combined to become a bigger story.
It felt very slow at the beginning but in the end, we had a cohesive story with a deeper understanding of everyone involved. While I enjoy both approaches, sometimes it can feel a little tedious to have too much of just one thing.
It was unclear if the stories of Phase III would be more similar to either Phase I or II in terms of size and importance. So far, I am pleased to say that they have been very balanced. We are getting to know more characters and seeing them evolve but the scale of the conflict is still massive. The stakes are huge and everything they do matters.
Tears of the Nameless is probably the best example of this. The journey of Reath Silas has become one of the most interesting stories of the entire High Republic era. He is leading the efforts to unlock the secrets behind the Nameless creatures and the mysterious blight that threatens every living creature.
This book is focused on Reath Silas but it never lets you forget that the entire galaxy depends on the outcome. Needless to say, this comes with a huge burden and even more risk for Reath. As a recently knighted Jedi, this is obviously a lot for such a young man. Nevertheless, he takes his job very seriously and does his best to ensure the future of the galaxy.
Source: StarWars.com
The Eye of Darkness and Temptation of the Force have a similar direction so I think it’s safe to assume that more of the upcoming stories will be of this nature, which is very exciting for me. Smaller stories with great impact are my favorite and it’s great that Phase III of The High Republic is leaning on this.
Bringing back the mysticism
One of my favorite things about Star Wars has always been its mystic and mythological aspects. The Force and all the cultures that are built up around it is something that I will never find boring. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a small part of the plot, it always makes things a lot more interesting.
While the Nameless have been around since Path of Deceit, we have never gotten any real explanation about their true origins, let alone how the Mother of the Path of the Open Hand got to learn about their existence and how to control them.
To uncover the mystery of these one-of-a-kind creatures, Reath Silas and his former Master Cohmac Vitus must head to a place that is extremely strong in the Force. An unexplored world that hides secrets regarding an ancient civilization that was built around the Force.
The two Jedi must find the relation between the Nameless and the blight, and figure out how to deal with them. This is the type of discovery that could turn the tide of the war in favor of the Republic.
Obviously, this wouldn’t have happened without Nihil sending a very disturbing character to hunt down the troublesome Jedi. This entire book reminded me a lot of both Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor.
Learning about a new force-related culture, encountering mythical beasts, and risking their lives to acquire some very ancient knowledge without any previous clue of how to do so is certainly not something new in Star Wars, but at least for me, it’s something that never gets old.
Source: StarWars.com
New levels of disturbing experiments
The Nihil has never been an example of decency by any means, but Tears of the Nameless show a new experiment that I consider to be too extreme even for their standards.
Baron Boolan, the Ithorian in charge of the “Ministry of Advancement” is a twisted scientist who isn’t concerned about morality or the implications of his experiments. He’s the classic example of someone who is willing to do anything in order to make the next diabolic invention.
Source: The High Republic #7 (Marvel)
It’s a character I both dislike and love. What he does to the Nihil Jedi Hunter to enhance him is one of the most disturbing things I’ve read in Star Wars. Just imagining the entire process gives me the creeps.
However, having someone who adds a little element of horror to the story is always welcomed. Chaotic and evil antagonists are fun and interesting but those that really make you despise them are great additions to the story.
Preparing us for what’s next
150 years after the events of Phase II, the nightmare-inducing creatures continue to lay siege to the Jedi Order. These Nameless beasts alone are the main reason why the Jedi can’t get anywhere close to Marchion Ro.
Source: Eye of the Storm #2 Cover (Marvel)
The way they can cause dreading terror to Force users and even cut them off from the Force inflicted so much fear in the Jedi Order they forced every Jedi to retreat to Coruscant unless under special circumstances.
This enemy is capable of rendering every nearby Jedi completely useless. Not even the most powerful and experienced Jedi are able to withstand the dreading terror that the Nameless create the moment they get too close.
Reath’s mission is probably the most important one, more than rescuing the people under constant Nihil assault and even more than granting safe passage to everyone who is still behind the occlusion zone.
It’s a make-or-break type of task, but even if the Jedi survive this conflict we still don’t know how much they will have to sacrifice. The High Republic is full of tragedy and characters that at least I don’t want them to have a sad fate.
Source: The High Republic Trail of Shadows #1 (Marvel)
Unfortunately, there are many great characters who are probably going to suffer a terrible death before it all ends at the end of Phase III.
Listening to the audio version
As with every other High Republic novel, I listened to the audiobook. This is the first time that I feel that the music and sound effects were lackluster. The entire point of getting the audiobook is to get an immersive experience but I didn’t feel that this was good enough.
To be perfectly clear, my issue is only with the selection of music and effects. Amber Lee Connors does a great job when narrating the story.
Sometimes it’s harder to connect with some of the characters due to the voices that she gives them but that isn’t entirely her fault. As a female, voicing male characters when her voice is high-pitched is a very difficult task. It’s obviously not close to being perfect but she does a fine job.
I also really enjoyed the pace of her narration. Marc Thompson tends to be quite slow when he’s in charge of voicing other High Republic novels and I always end up increasing the speed because of this so it was nice not having to do that for once.
Even with its flaws, getting the audiobook is worth it for every person who has a hard time concentrating when only reading.
Final thoughts
My only criticism is that the story feels very slow during the first third of the book. Sadly, this is a very common thing in High Republic novels. It doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re great stories but it can be hard to feel motivated to continue reading during that first part.
Other than that, I had a great time reading Tears of the Nameless. Learning about their origin was one of my favorite moments in the entire High Republic. It brought me back to my first time playing Knights of the Old Republic specifically when I learned about the mighty Terentateks, one of my favorite creatures in all Star Wars.
The experienced Jedi Knights like Elzar Mann or Avar Kriss had a big role in Phase I but with every Phase III novel that is released, the younger characters are starting to take over the spotlight.
I am certain that Burryaga, Bell Zettifar, Amadeo Azzazzo, Avon Starros, Vernestra Rwoh, and Reath Silas will have a very big role when the time to put an end to Marchion Ro and his reign of terror comes.
It’s nice to see how even during this era, the younger generations face very harsh circumstances that allow them to grow and eventually surpass their Masters. I can’t wait for the next part of the story.
If you are new to this multimedia project, we have a great guide to show you the recommended reading order for Star Wars: The High Republic books. This way you can start from the beginning and follow all events in the apropriate order as the unfold and connect each separate story from books, comics and even video games and TV series as of recently.
This entire review as well as the summary in the review card below are all based on our own opinions as fans of the franchise. We would love it if you shared your thoughts.
Full Title:
tears of the nameless
Author
George Mann
Genre
Young Adult
Release
September 24, 2024
September 24, 2024
Length
512 pages
13 hrs, 31 min
Similar
Jedi: Fallen Order
For
Anyone who has read Phase I
Fans of Force-related topics
The Good
A more intimate story
Explores the origins of the Nameless
The spotlight is focused on younger Jedi
The Bad
The first half is very slow
Ratings
Story
Character Depth
Surprise factor
Descriptiveness
Pace
Audio Version
Final Verdict
4.0
Average of the first 5 categories
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