Ever since its introduction in Rogue One, the moon of Jedha has been one of the most fascinating mysteries in Star Wars. Although Rogue showcases the holy city as a timebomb for revolution and eventual Death Star weapon testing, recents books and comics have revealed more and more about Jedha’s history, people, and its place in the Star Wars timeline.
Phase II of The High Republic has been particularly filled with references to Jedha’s importance on the galactic chessboard - perhaps most clearly in Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito’s revamped comic series. Various factions and religious sects have flocked to the city’s Convocation to share their views on the future of the Force; and while these events have been mentioned in Path of Deceit, Quest for the Hidden City, and Convergence, they have all been leading to one specific moment:
With the second full length audio drama in The High Republic initiative, George Mann brings together characters and plot points from the entirety of the Phase to compose a story that is one part detective story, one part epic battle sequence, and all parts pure excitement to fans of this brave new era of Star Wars.
Plot
Phase II of The High Republic has been centered around two main entities: The Path of the Open Hand and The Forever War between Eiram and E’ronoh. The Battle of Jedha finally brings these two forces together as the warring planets seek to sign a peace treaty on the fabled moon that will bring an end to the conflict seen up close in Zoraida Córdova’s Convergence.
Unfortunately, there are more than a few reasons to keep a good war going. Not only has Jedha been visited by ambassadors from both planets and a few Jedi to keep an eye on things, but The Path of the Open Hand has made their presence known through a few select acts of chaos hidden behind a guise of charity and aid to those who agree with their cause.
This setup is handled deftly by George Mann as he assigns an appropriate amount of exposition to various characters that represent the different factions present on Jedha, but a cursory knowledge of the previous entries in Phase II is highly recommended to follow all the ins and outs of the story. Not only will this assist listeners in understanding the weight behind each story beat and character decision, but with the significant amount of characters named, even the most seasoned reader may have trouble keeping everything straight.
Better keep that cast list handy!
Once the stage is set with all of the various religious organizations, political leaders, and bar patrons, the story unfolds in a relatively straightforward manner. Despite the peaceful intentions that brought all of our players to the table, the desire of others for chaos to persist is sometimes too strong, and through a few key demonstrations of destruction, the end of an era marred by violence and death transforms rapidly into the titular battle.
Until the battle properly begins, there is a wealth of investigatory storytelling that takes place and necessitates a slower start than some listeners may prefer, but once blaster bolts start flying through the streets and lightsaber blades are ignited, the action moves as such a breakneck speed that an occasional rewind becomes a necessity to pick up on every important moment.
By the end of the production, it’s clear that this battle has furthered the cause of the Phase’s villains and continued to test the resolve of the Jedi, but there are still a few too many mysteries for those that are looking for a bit more resolution in the ending of a High Republic Wave. While it cannot be denied that The Battle of Jedha presents a solid beginning, middle, and end, a slightly larger sense of purpose and finality regarding the further plans of The Path may have provided a bit more impact as we now wait a few months for the next chapter of the initiative to begin.
Characters
One of the greatest joys about authors tackling multiple projects within the Star Wars universe is their ability to bring their previously established characters into new stories. Certain writers clearly latch on to certain characters within the canon, but there’s always something special about the bond when an author gets to bring back one of their originals.
George Mann gets to complete this task by bringing Jedi Master Silandra Sho from the pages of Quest for the Hidden City right into the fray of The Battle of Jedha. While there are a number of phenomenal new additions to the cast of The High Republic within this audio drama, Sho’s scenes stand out with a special prevalence thanks to Mann’s clear enjoyment when it comes to writing her.
Her leadership style harkens back to Loden Greatstorm while her efficiency in combat combines the best traits of Avar Kriss and Stellen Gios, and as lead detective on the main case surrounding the adventure, she would give Emerick Caphtor a run for his money. While there are many plots that interweave throughout the story, using Sho as a guiding light to connect many of the different factions is incredibly effective in keeping track of the narrative throughline.
That being said, Silandra Sho is not necessarily the intended protagonist of The Battle of Jedha. That task is largely placed upon the shoulders of the featured cover stars, Creighton Sun and Aida Forte. Both of these folks have technically been introduced in previous High Republic stories, but The Battle of Jedha gives them an arena to properly shine. Even though their narrative roles slide them into modes of exposition more often than not, the two form a highly charismatic pair, and they serve as intensely important grounding forces as the story grows more and more chaotic.
Aside from the Jedi stars that are constantly attempting to hold the universe together, The Battle of Jedha reveals a few more surprising stars in the form of the ever-curious Keth Cerapath and his droid, P3-7A. This unlikely duo is revealed rather early in the story, and they are thrust into the depths of the action almost immediately. While the specifics of their story interactions contain a few too many spoilers to provide much detail within this review, it is safe to say that Keth provides the source of one of the more interesting character arcs in The Battle of Jedha, and P3 continues Canon’s strong tradition of particularly excellent droids.
Just wait until you discover his rather eccentric speech patterns.
Finally, no great Star Wars cast is complete without its signature villains, and The Path of the Open Hand continues its ever present dominance of Phase II with a strong showing from Marda Ro, The Mother, The Herald, and others. Almost every chaotic turn in the battle could be traced back to their nefarious deeds, so fans who missed out on Path of Deceit may be slightly lost when it comes to the specific actions the Path takes within this story. Nonetheless, The Battle of Jedha establishes yet again how credible they are as a threat to the Jedi and the whole of the Republic - even if their Littles tested our patience just a bit too much at times.
Originality
Over the past few years, we have been treated to a number of wonderful audio dramas from the Star Wars universe. While these productions have all been fully cast with a number of actors that make their return in this story, the contents have been mostly focused around a single character like Dooku, Doctor Aphra, or most recently, Lourna Dee.
The Battle of Jedha changes that in a rather intense way.
While The Battle of Jedha has plenty of wonderful character moments laced throughout its narrative, it is an epic conclusion to a bunch of different intertwining stories rather than a temporary detour to dig through a single protagonist’s history. This distinction not only gives The Battle of Jedha a bit more importance in the grand scope of The High Republic narrative, but it also lends even more validity to the idea of audio drama in the eyes of more recent converts to the medium.
Does this add a bit more homework to understand the story than audio dramas we’ve received in the past? Possibly. But is that trade off worth the higher stakes and impact that this story is able to convey? We definitely think so.
Beyond the woven interconnectivity of the subject material, The Battle of Jedha’s originality shines brightest by showcasing the holy moon at its prime. You can hear the streets bustling, you can feel the liveliness of the people as they cheer, flee, and battle. Jedha is a thriving place filled with different sorts of people who are living different lives and hatching different plans, and even though other parts of The High Republic have begun to showcase a bit of Jedha here and there, listening to the fantastic audio production puts the audience on the very streets unlike anything else outside of the films.
The streets of Jedha have been filled with questions of faith since the Guardians of the Whills first fought against the Empire in 2016, and The Battle of Jedha follows that instinct to the fullest by infusing faith as a core part of the moon’s culture. Faith in the Force is not simply a tool for Jedi, but it is a complex, diverse, and nuanced issue facing multiple sects. The way that Mann uses these varied beliefs to construct a breathing ecosystem filled with passionate people makes Jedha feel more organic and lived in than ever before, all while creating the perfect breeding ground for conflict and chaos.
Writing
George Mann has been a delightful addition to the Star Wars Canon over the past few years. Most of Mann’s work has been geared towards younger audiences with middle grade novels and story anthologies emphasizing the importance of storytelling and myth, but The Battle of Jedha expands his repertoire just a bit more.
While there is nothing exceedingly graphic or vulgar within this story, Mann definitely doesn’t shy away from the cost of battle and conflict. The violence is unforgiving and the emotional and logical depths of the conversations between characters are fascinating and thought provoking. However, Mann’s trademark ability for prose and dialogue that is remarkably smooth and accessible remains intact throughout.
Previous audio dramas like The High Republic: Tempest Runner and Dooku: Jedi Lost have employed time jumps and frame stories in order to further their respective events, but we have previously noted in our past reviews that these abrupt shifts could occasionally reduce comprehension. The Battle of Jedha adheres to a strictly linear timetable, and by creating checkpoints in the story with time markers related to the battle’s beginning, the complexities of each storyline are much easier to follow.
Mann’s previous experience with audio drama outside of the Star Wars universe is also extremely evident when it comes to his skills surrounding exposition. Because of the lack of narration possible within this dialogue-centric medium, Creighton Sun, Aida Forte, Silandra Sho, and more are responsible for not only reacting to the events and mysteries around Jedha, but also explaining them to the listener. This could easily lead to forced dialogue and overly exhaustive moments of description, but Mann keeps the action and intrigue at a maximum while letting us know precisely what we need through each individual moment.
By limiting the scope of The Battle of Jedha to a singular timeline filled with multiple fascinating, unique narratives, George Mann proves why he is becoming one of the most consistent and versatile writers that Star Wars has to offer.
Entertainment
The emergence of the Canon audio drama as a consistent Star Wars release is a pure gift. Audio talent at Star Wars has been immaculate since the sound mixing for A New Hope, and each audio drama produced by the folks at Penguin Random House Audio continues that grand tradition with spectacular voice talent and thrilling effects from beginning to end.
While the cast of The Battle of Jedha features some of the greatest voice actors and narrators working in the Star Wars space, there are a few standouts that we have to highlight from veteran January LaVoy as The Mother, John Pirkis as The Herald, Catherine Ho as Silandra Sho, Brandon McInnis as Keth Cerapath, and Raphael Corkhill as the strong, measured Creighton Sun.
Each of these performers perfectly utilize the dramatic strengths of the medium to bring these characters to life with just a bit more energy and passion than you may find in a standardly narrated audiobook. Every character has a distinct tone and flare that avoids any confusion about the current speaker (one of our minor critiques from Tempest Runner), and once the battle properly erupts, the chaotic sound design infuses the story with thrills that approach the fervor of an opening night screening.
Perhaps most importantly, every section of the narrative is crafted with a specific audio landscape to help fully immerse the listener into the story. Dark corners are filled with murky melodies and malicious vocal effects while the light of the Jedi shines as brightly as ever thanks to thrilling crescendos and echoes of victorious battle.
Even though the earlier half of The Battle of Jedha is a bit light on the “battle” side of things, the production and care put into creating this project guarantees an experience that delivers pure Star Wars entertainment from the moment you press play.
Our Verdict
The Battle of Jedha makes its mark on the Star Wars Canon by establishing itself as one of the first truly essential audio dramas that not only presents a thrilling look into the moon’s history, but also acts as a great launchpoint into the back half of Phase II of The High Republic. Although the story starts a bit slow and may contain a few too many threads for every listener to follow, by combining an intriguing mystery with a turbulent battle, George Mann crafts a story that is sure to affect the entire momentum of the initiative for years to come.
The Battle of Jedha is available now on Audible and is presented by a full cast.
