Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I check out four awesome Star Wars novels guaranteed to dazzle me in early 2022.

It has been a pretty awesome year for Star Wars novels, and I have had a wonderful time reading some of the fantastic 2021 books that tie into the elaborate Star Wars extended universe.  Well it looks like 2022 is going to be just as incredible as there are even more Star Wars novels on the way, with several great new entries in the franchise set for release in the next few months.  As all the relevant details of the earlier releases are available I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight them, especially as many are likely to become some of my favourite reads of the new year.

The first book I want to feature in this article is the exciting and fantastic sounding new entry in The High Republic range of Star Wars novels, The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray.  The High Republic books are a massive interlocked multi-media project that seeks to expand the canon universe by focusing on a range of interesting storylines from the High Republic era of Star Wars History, hundreds of years before the Skywalker Saga.  This series has already featured some exception novels, comics and audio dramas, and I am deeply excited to see what happens in the High Republic storylines next, especially after some recent compelling developments.

The Fallen Star looks set to be a particularly intriguing read, as it is continuing some of the main High Republic storylines that were set out in the epic preceding novels, Light of the Jedi and The Rising Storm.  The Fallen Star currently has a release date of 4 January 2022 and I think it has an immense amount of potential, especially as it is written by the talented Claudia Gray, who did such a wonderful job on her previous Star Wars novel Master & Apprentice.

Synopsis:

In this gripping sequel to Star Wars: The Rising Storm, the light of the Jedi faces its darkest hour.

Time and again, the vicious raiders known as the Nihil have sought to bring the golden age of the High Republic to a fiery end. Time and again, the High Republic has emerged battered and weary, but victorious thank to its Jedi protectors-and there is no monument to their cause grander than the Starlight Beacon.

Hanging like a jewel in the Outer Rim, the Beacon embodies the High Republic at the apex of its aspirations: a hub of culture and knowledge, a bright torch against the darkness of the unknown, and an extended hand of welcome to the furthest reaches of the galaxy. As survivors and refugees flee the Nihil’s attacks, the Beacon and its crew stand ready to shelter and heal.

The grateful Knights and Padawans of the Jedi Order stationed there finally have a chance to recover-from the pain of their injuries and the grief of their losses. But the storm they thought had passed still rages; they are simply caught in its eye. Marchion Ro, the true mastermind of the Nihil, is preparing his most daring attack yet-one designed to snuff out the light of the Jedi.

I really love the sound of this cool upcoming novel, and I think that The Fallen Star will end up being one of the best Star Wars books of 2022.  It is clear from the plot synopsis that the Nihil, the High Republic’s fascinating main villains, are planning to attack Starlight Beacon, which has served as a central location of the previous novels.  Considering some of the chaos that the Nihil have already caused in the previous High Republic books (the attack on the Republic Fair was just plain crazy), this will no doubt be a major and devastating event, and I am expecting a pretty dangerous death toll.  There has been some cool official artwork released that shows a falling satellite, hinting at a massive cataclysmic event occurring within the book, and I for one cannot wait to see what happens there.

I am also extremely invested in some of the amazing characters that have been introduced in previous pieces of High Republic fiction, and who will no doubt be strongly featured in The Fallen Star.  These characters have been extremely well set up and most of them have gone through some substantial development and devastating moments.  I look forward to seeing what happens to some of them in The Fallen Star, and I am particularly keen to see how the Jedi survivors of The Rising Storm are faring after that novel’s terrible events.  I have heard rumours that one of the Jedi characters may potentially fall to the Dark Side of the Force, and I will be interested to see if or who it will happen to (there are at least two potential options).  Whatever happens, I think we are in for a wild ride with The Fallen Star and I am planning to read it the moment it comes out.

The next Star Wars novel I want to discuss is Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older.  Older is a talented author who has been contributing several great novels to the Star Wars canon ever since his 2018 novel, Last Shot.  Midnight Horizon will be a young adult High Republic novel that will follow some younger Jedi and their masters as they attempt to defeat another Nihil threat.

Synopsis:

After a series of staggering losses, the Republic seems to finally have the villainous Nihil marauders on the run, and it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Until word comes of a suspected Nihil attack on the industrial cosmopolitan world of Corellia, right in the Galactic Core.

Sent to investigate are Jedi Masters Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy, along with Padawans Reath Silas and Ram Jomaram, all fighting their own private battles after months of unrelenting danger. On Corellia, Reath and Ram encounter a brazen young security specialist named Crash, whose friend was one of the victims of the Nihil attack, and they team up with her to infiltrate Corellia’s elite while the Masters pursue more diplomatic avenues. But going undercover with Crash is more dangerous than anyone expected, even as Ram pulls in his friend Zeen to help with an elaborate ruse involving a galactic pop star.

But what they uncover on Corellia turns out to be just one part of a greater plan, one that could lead the Jedi to their most stunning defeat yet….

This sounds like another extremely fun novel from Older and I am very excited to see what cool adventures happens here.  Set for release on 1 February 2022, Midnight Horizon will follow on from some of the previous High Republic young adult novels such as Into the Dark and Out of the Shadows, especially as it follows the character of Padawan Reath Silas and his master who have appeared in both of these books.  It also serves as a continuation of Race to Crashpoint Tower, with the character of Ram Jomaram, also being featured here.  I cannot wait to see what happens to these characters in Midnight Horizon, and I think it will turn out to be another awesome adventure.  I am also curious to see the High Republic version of Corellia and it will be fascinating to see what sort of attack the Nihil can pull off here.  Midnight Horizon is another High Republic novel that I think has a lot of potential, especially with its fantastic cover up above and I look forward to reading it.

I also wanted to mention the upcoming junior High Republic novel, Mission to Disaster by Justina Ireland.  While I do not usually tend to read some of the junior or young reader Star Wars books, I may make an exception for Mission to Disaster.  This is because it will follow on from Ireland’s last novel, Out of the Shadows, and features the fun team of Vernestra Rwoh and Imri Cantaros.  I look curious to see what happens to these two characters next, and I will probably quickly read Mission to Disaster to continue the interesting storyline they had in their last book.

Synopsis:

The Jedi think the dreaded Nihil marauders have been all but defeated. Their leader is on the run and their numbers have dwindled. Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh hopes this means she will finally have time to really train her Padawan, Imri Cantaros―but reports of a Nihil attack on Port Haileap soon dash those hopes. For not only have the Nihil attacked the peaceful outpost, they have abducted Vernestra and Imri’s friend, Avon Starros. The two Jedi set off for Port Haileap, determined to figure out where the Nihil have taken their friend. Meanwhile, Avon must put her smarts and skills to the ultimate test as she fights for survival among the Nihil―and uncovers a sinister plan. Can Vernestra and Imri find their friend before disaster strikes?

The final book I want to talk about here is the amazing sounding Brotherhood by Mike Chen.  Rather than another High Republic book, the early May 2022 release, Brotherhood, will instead focus on the team of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars.

Synopsis:

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker must stem the tide of the raging Clone Wars and forge a new bond as Jedi Knights in a high-stakes adventure set just after the events of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

The Clone Wars have begun. Battle lines are being drawn throughout the galaxy. With every world that joins the Separatists, the peace guarded by the Jedi Order is slipping through their fingers.

After an explosion devastates Cato Neimoidia, the jewel of the Trade Federation, the Republic is blamed and the fragile neutrality of the planet is threatened. The Jedi dispatch Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the Order’s most gifted diplomatic minds, to investigate the crime and maintain the balance that has begun to dangerously shift. As Obi-Wan investigates with the help of a heroic Neimoidian guard, he finds himself working against the Separatists who hope to draw the planet into their conspiracy—and senses the sinister hand of Asajj Ventress in the mists that cloak the planet.

Amid the brewing chaos, Anakin Skywalker rises to the rank of Jedi Knight. Despite the mandate that Obi-Wan travel alone—and his former master’s insistence that he listen this time—Anakin’s headstrong determination means nothing can stop him from crashing the party, and bringing along a promising but conflicted youngling.

Once a Padawan to Obi-Wan, Anakin now finds himself on equal—but uncertain—footing with the man who raised him. The lingering friction between them increases the danger for everyone around them. The two knights must learn a new way to work together—and they must learn quickly, to save Cato Neimoidia and its people from the fires of war. To overcome the threat they face they must grow beyond master and apprentice. They must stand together as brothers.

This sounds like another pretty fantastic Star Wars novel and I am extremely keen to get my hands on this one.  I love the entire Clone Wars period of Star Wars history (if you have seen The Clone Wars animated series you know why) and I am very keen to explore more of it here.  I love the idea of two Jedi attempting to solve a crime on a hostile Separatist World, which will no doubt result in much conflict, suspicion and political treachery.  I am also really keen to see the author’s take on the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan.  These two characters have always had an interesting and well-defined dynamic (when they’re not trying to kill each other), and I am curious to see how much this changes in the immediate aftermath of Anakin becoming a Jedi.  No doubt some of this tension and conflict will tie-into the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi television series that is coming out soon, and it is possible that Brotherhood might be connected to the planned show in some way.  Throw in an early sighting of Ventress, the awesome Dark Side assassin, and I think that Brotherhood is going to be a pretty exceptional read.

Well that is about it for upcoming Star Wars books at the moment.  There are a few other novels that have been announced for later in the year like Shadow of the Sith and Padawan, but I might wait until the covers are released before I cover them in a Waiting on Wednesday article.  E. K. Johnston’s third and final Padmé Amidala novel, Queen’s Hope, is also due for release in April after it was delayed, although I have previously covered that before.  I am deeply, deeply excited for all these cool upcoming Star Wars novels and I cannot wait to see what outstanding adventures happens within all of them.