Path of Vengeance by Cavan Scott (5/5) [CONTAINS SPOILERS]

Path of Vengeance by Cavan Scott is the second YA novel of Star Wars: The High Republic phase two. This novel encapsulates the events of the Battle of Jedha and the Battle of Dalna, with the Battle for the Path in between the two. These events have previously been seen through other perspectives in The Battle of Jedha by George Mann (audiobook), Cataclysm by Lydia Kang (adult novel), Quest for Planet X (middle grade novel) by Tessa Gratton, and The High Republic by Cavan Scott (comics). One of the biggest drawbacks from this book, through no fault of Scott or his co-writers in the initiative, is the fact that it does spoil the comics, as some have not come out yet due to delays. However, I find the story intriguing enough that knowing how it ends isn’t going to remove my enjoyment of the ending of the comics at all, this is just something that ought to be considered noteworthy.

Path of Vengeance follows not only the Ro cousins that we met in Path of Deceit by Justina Ireland & Tessa Gratton, Marda and Yana, it also includes two of the characters introduced in the comics, Oliviah Zeveron and Matthea “Matty” Cathley. Other characters from phase two of The High Republic are also included, but the four of these young women would best be described as the main characters of the novel.

From the moment I was able to acquire this book at Star Wars Celebration, I knew that I was going to be emotional over it. There is something about Scott and the way that he crafts a tale that grabs hold of me and doesn’t let go (I am still emotional over The High Republic: The Rising Storm and Dooku: Jedi Lost). This is part of the reason that I will herald him as my favourite author. Few works emotionally impact me quite as hard. I finished the book a week prior to its release and I was unable to pick up another book that night, I mostly stared at a wall before crying myself to sleep. So naturally, I gave it a five-star review.

One of the biggest pleasures of Star Wars Celebration was not only acquiring Path of Vengeance or having it signed by the legend himself, but getting to spend so much of my time with fellow fans of The High Republic (literally: there were 12 or so of us in a house together, shoutout to my THR Hype House Family <3). During our time together, we discussed the talents of the writers, and all of us noted how well Cavan Scott writes complex and interesting female characters. In our personal experiences as women, and those raised and socialized as women, we have had more than a fair share of experiences reading works written by men that severely lack in the characterization of their female characters. Never have I felt that way with Scott, and Path of Vengeance is no different. There is something about the way that the male authors of The High Republic write women that is so accurate and complex, and that is something that ought to be noted. The way that he carried Marda and Yana through this story, making the grief for the lovers that they lost in Path of Deceit is so unique even between the two cases. While Marda is confused as she begins to fall for another, Bokana, Yana feels angrier, and she lashes out at those she deems responsible, closing in and growing her bond with Kor’s mother, Opari. This may be a reflection of the depth of the relationships between Yana and Kor and Marda and Kevmo. In discussing Yana’s relationship in chapter nine, Scott writes that they “explored each other’s bodies” [Scott 96]. That level of intimacy is beyond what Marda and Kevmo (presumably) experienced in their short time together in Path of Deceit.

Another thing that I really adore that Scott has done with Path of Vengeance is giving us another female journalist! Many fans of The High Republic adored Rhil Dairo in The Rising Storm, and with Path of Vengeance, he introduces us to Ric Farazi. However, Farazi is so deeply different from Dairo in all but profession. They completely differ from one another in personality, tactics, grit, and yet, I wouldn’t call Farazi any less capable or amazing at what she does. Of course, different circumstances call for different measures.

Just a quick little side note here, but I did listen to the audiodrama for The Battle of Jedha (Mann), and nothing about the text there made me even briefly consider shipping Silandra Sho with The Mother. Yet, chapter two of Path of Vengeance really had me tilting my head and considering it for a moment. I suppose it must have been in the subtext, or maybe I need to relisten to The Battle of Jedha. Just my little shipping heart I guess, I don’t know.

Maybe I need to go back and re-read everything from this phase (I will be, that’s for sure) or maybe I misread something the first time, but I was not expecting that to be the relationship between Oliviah and The Mother. I thought that she was calling herself The Mother for two reasons, that she was a mother who never got to raise her child and because she was the matriarch of the path. I was not expecting them to be sisters, and I was not expecting that specific thing to be The Mother’s grift. My jaw was on the floor.

There is, I think, something to be said about Force sensitive folks aligning with the Path of the Open Hand/Closed Fist. If we take Force users to be minorities and the Path in either form, to be a cult that is, at least somewhat, bigoted towards that particular minority, it does speak to the world that we live in now. Many marginalized and minority communities have members who will join ranks with those that wish to oppress and harm us. They are used as a prop and then disposed of, and that is sadly exactly what happens here to Force users that Marda notes as being members of the Path. Heck, even the mother herself is Force sensitive! This is an issue in society that the authors chose to address in this story, and I think it’s really important, even if it’s not directly in your face. It will stand out and speak to those that it needs to stand out to. It may not have even been intentional, but it is how I read it.

Furthermore, Path of Vengeance is so Star Wars, and it is making me incredibly nervous for phase 3 of The High Republic, set to begin its release schedule this fall. Knowing more about the Levellers aka The Nameless aka the Shrii Ka Rai does not reduce my anxiety or fear for my favourites, if anything it makes it worse. We know more about the Shrii Ka Rai song that was introduced in phase one, and somehow it is creepier than I thought originally. I still love it all, but I am scared. Every single work in The High Republic makes me hungry for more. I get more and more excited for the following works and these works keep hold of me in a way that so many things don’t. In closing, We Are All the Republic, For Light and Life, and remember, The Force will be free.