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.