The Rising Storm Part 3

[colls]

Welcome to our third of four check-in and discussion posts for our Book of the Month.

This month’s book is The Rising Storm (The High Republic) by Cavan Scott
Chapters 39-57

The Rising Storm

1. This section of the book seems to contain quite the battle. What part of the chaos did you find most intriguing?

2. Elzar and Ty made a connection during the battle. Do you think it'll extend beyond the immediate? Any predictions on if Ty will return to the fold or if Elzar will leave the Order?

3. What do you think will happen to the Republic if Chancellor Loh is dead? What if she lives?

4. Other thoughts?




FYI - There's no need to answer all (or any) of the questions above - they're just talking points to get us started. Informal chatter is more than welcome! In-person book clubs often veer off-topic, it's okay if we do as well. :)
All I ask is that you try to avoid spoilers for things past Part 3 of the book.

Comments

[colls]

1. Not going to lie, I feared for the Chancellor's cats there for a bit. There was a bit more death and violence than I was expecting - but I'm glad to see most of the Jedi we knew have survived so far, that Bell still has his charhound, and that Ty made it.
The Torguta fleet showing up was a nice surprise!

2. I'm glad the author made clear there was no romantic possibility (Ty said he wasn't her type) so that the focus could solely be on another platonic sort of bond. I am having hopes here, but don't want to set them too high.

3. It was so hard to STOP and not continue reading to see if she truly died or not (the wording at the very end of the chapter was slightly vague).
We know the Republic itself doesn't fail at this stage, so what happens if she lives vs. if she dies?
If she dies, would that other politician be a logical choice to lead?
If she lives, the raid was destructive but unsuccessful. I guess it could technically be successful even with her death as between the Torguta and the media, it could serve to unite people.

[brokenmnemonic]

1. I wasn't expecting the Torguta fleet to arrive (although I keep thinking "Tortuga! Pirates!"). It made me wonder if this arc with the Nihil is intended to foreshadow the future arguments over whether the Republic should have a dedicated military organization or whether it can rely on contributions from individual worlds/realms. I was also expecting a bit more from the Vectors, although I'm not sure why. Possibly I expected more from Porter, given that he was Vector-surfing. Also, I really liked what we saw of our favourite gelatinous Jedi archivist here.

2. I don't know how much to read into Elzar and Ty. I found that I wanted to hear more about Ty's history and motivations - Elzar doesn't feel that interesting, although I'm vaguely curious whether he's being set up to be an antagonist in a future work.

3. Part of me wants to know if there'll be a continuity crisis if Chancellor Loh is dead. Is there a clear line of succession? I'm wondering how much power she actually wields as Chancellor. Projects like the fair and the Starlight beacon have been flagged up as being her projects, but I'm presuming that there must've been buy-in from the Senate to actually get them built. If Loh is dead, will we end up with a hawkish Senate running affairs and setting policy?

4. I'm relieved that the charhound is still around, but it feels like the characters from the first of the Nihil novels aren't playing a particularly big part in this - although at the same time, it feels like there are a lot of characters to keep track of in this novel.

[colls]

1. I suspect the argument over a Republic military is an ongoing one right up to the Attack of the Clones

2. I thought it interesting that Elzar recognized he needed Force-connection-guidance after the dark stunt he pulled and decided to connect to Ty (of all people) because she happened to be there. Is it a way to pull Ty into the narrative more? If so, I'm all for that.

3. I'm also uncertain how much power the Chancellor actually wields at this point, too.

4. There are a lot of characters! I guess that's helpful where there's a lot of planned material though. Not all characters will be the stars of every book. :/


Did you notice the post about the next book and those upcoming?
Do you have any books on that list you'd rather NOT read or ones you'd like to read sooner vs. later? Or any to add? Just let me know.

[brokenmnemonic]

1. I think you're right, and I can see good reasons both for and against having some form of organised military branch, and all the issues it brings with it. I'm wondering if we're going to get discussions in the future about whether it's fair for those worlds that are contributing ships to the battles with the Nihil - and losing ships - to carry on suffering losses in terms of people and expensive hardware in order to protect the entire Republic. Or would that cut a little too close to existing real world concerns about things like contributions to NATO and to UN operations?

2. I've been idly speculating if contact with Ty is going to cause either Ty to move closer to the Jedi order, or if it could be an influence towards Elzar potentially leaving the order in the future...

3. I've speculated a few times with friends that the world would be better if we put cats in charge. Perhaps the same holds true for the Republic?

4. I've found it easier following the characters in the comics, although thinking about it the comics haven't quite had all of these characters in the same arcs. I think I may find the audiobooks easier to follow when there are fewer characters, although the quandry is that with new releases, the audiobooks are cheaper than the ebooks.

I saw the upcoming books/next read post - I've been meaning to go back and comment on it, but I keep getting distracted. One of the things I want to do is dig out the Star Wars books I've picked up secondhand at various points, try and work out which ones I've not read, and see if any of them could make for a good monthly read.

[colls]

1. I feel like it's that meme where you check off your status and the answer is "it's complicated". But you make a good point about how the endless discussions about military aid, support, fairness, etc probably take the next 700 years for the Republic. By that point, Palpatine just anonymously hands them a Clone Army and they're too befuddled to wonder about it? Is that how it went? LOL

2. Me too! which way is their battle connection going to sway?

3. My cat, Malcolm, certainly agrees with you.

4. That's so weird that the audio is less costly.

Yes, please let me know what I can add - and also if you'd like any for March. Otherwise, I'll just spin the randomizer with the ones we have so far. Between the library app and Kindle, I can usually get my hands on things. I may also have a small pile of physical books that I've yet to read. Small(-ish). ;p