Book Review: Beware the Nameless
When I first heard the synopsis for Zoraida Córdova’s Beware the Nameless, two things caught my attention. The first was that the book would in part star a tween Hutt named Churo, and second, it would also star another tween by the name of Zenny Greylark. Fortunately, neither of these two characters disappointed in the slightest.
The story follows Kildo and Tep Tep from Escape from Valo, along with newbies Zenny and a Jedi youngling named Jamil as they accidentally stow away during a rescue mission led by Ram Jomaram. With Zenny determined to find her missing sister, the group are sent on an away mission of their own, where they meet the wholesome, bug-loving, vegetarian Hutt, Churo, and come face to face with the dangers of the Nihil and the Nameless.
I keep saying it, but the thing the middle grade High Republic books do best is take us on a little self-contained adventure that stands on its own (or stands comfortably within the middle grade books as a series on its own), but is also a wonderful piece of the puzzle for those reading the High Republic books more widely.
On that last note, as the mystery of the Nameless and Blight deepen, the story of Beware the Nameless bleeds in so well with the story from Temptation of the Force, particularly the bits with Burryaga as he tries his hand and understanding the source of the Blight.
As for two of my favorite new characters. Churo is, frankly, adorable. He’s sweet, he means well, he tries to do the right thing and he is generally an anxious mess (relatable). I really hope we get to see more of him somewhere down the line because it would be such a shame not to.
As for Miss Zenny…while we do know through context clues that Axel Greylark is her direct ancestor, there’s no confirmation about whether a certain dark-haired Jedi had anything to do with the next generation of Greylarks. But they’re not NOT saying that either. Yes, I am a delusional Axel/Gella shipper, and no you cannot take this from me.
Beware the Nameless is out on August 27, 2024. Special thank you to Disney Books for the advance copy for review purposes
