Book Review: Temptation of the Force
It occurred to me, about halfway through Tessa Gratton’s Temptation of the Force that this is the second to last adult novel of The High Republic. Of course, we’ve got the audio drama coming this December, and several more books, and even more comics coming between now and the end, but that sense of building to a grand finale became harder to shake once it settled in. Fortunately, Temptation of the Force doesn’t ask you to shake that feeling. It embraces it wholeheartedly, setting the stage and building everything to a boiling point in a way that makes it impossible to put down.
The story follows both the Jedi and their Republic allies, as well as the Nihil as the two engage in a fight over the Stormwall — with the Jedi fighting to take it down, or at the very least breach it — and the Nihil fighting to maintain the power they’ve won. At the same time, both sides are now dealing with a new Blight, first seen in Defy the Storm, that destroys all life it comes in contact with.
Where this book truly stands out, particularly with the real world climate in which it is released, is how spread thin the characters are. There isn’t one Big Battle they’re all gearing up to fight — though I’m certain that’s where the series will culminate. At this stage, we just find our heroes each pursuing their own avenue all in the name of doing what they consider to be the right thing. Communication isn’t always possible, nor is mobilization. Instead they’re just left to survive and fight in the best way they can, sometimes contradicting the efforts of others, including those they love, but with everyone united in a vaguely common cause.
That really is what’s at the heart of this story. As Gratton mentions in their author’s note at the end of the book, Temptation of the Force is truly a story about love, and that shines through on every page. Whatever kind of love it might be, it has a home in this book. That line in Attack of the Clones where Anakin tells Padmé that the Jedi are, in their way, encouraged to love, is really examined here in the way the characters all interact — or in some cases, don’t — with one another.
RIP Anakin Skywalker, you would have loved Temptation of the Force.
Temptation of the Force hits shelves on June 11. Special thank you to Random House Worlds for the advance copy for review purposes.