Image Source: Bluesky
Hiding from the Dark by Keirsten White is an interesting book. The second release in a new publishing plan by Lucasfilm, where books will be released under the banner of a specific genre they closely align with, this middle-grade tale sits in the genre of horror. While Hiding from the Dark has solid messaging about the environment and the nature of fear alongside an interesting look at Darth Vader in the galaxy far, far away, the text struggles to fully embrace the horror label applied to it, especially as the supposedly “first” Star Wars horror novel. Instead, it is more like a thriller, and rather than finishing on a satisfactory note, has a less conclusive ending that comes off as baiting for a sequel more than anything else.
WARNING: Spoilers are ahead of Hiding from the Dark.
There are many things to like about Hiding from the Dark despite some of its drawbacks. Its heroine, Bia, is not an unrealistic character, often being scared and confused throughout the story as she is left to reassess the life she had alone with her single mother. Yet she is also resourceful and inventive, quick to act when the moment comes, and makes some incredibly brave choices despite the fear that pulls at her throughout the story.
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The environmental message at play is also nice, though fairly on the nose and heavily Star Wars in nature. An ecological disaster that did not need to happen takes place because of human greed, with the outcome not worth the cost now incurred by those who live in the aftermath. Lastly, while he isn’t in the book much, Darth Vader still casts a very long shadow over Bia’s life. He is a relentless force, and the book emphasizes that the man projects an active aura of fear into others, wracking our heroine with terror. He is realized very well, even if we never get his POV.
Yet the book’s publisher-proclaimed status as the “first” horror novel in the franchise is left a little weak by the limits to the horror on display in the story. Does Vader make a brutal first impression? Absolutely. But the story centers a lot of its fear factor on creeping dread, and slow build-up, better suited to a thriller than a horror story. What terror elements do exist are often equal to textual jumpscares, a number of chapters ending on cliff-hangers or featuring sudden scares that are resolved barely a page later. While this reader is not in the demographic the book was aimed at, it does still seem unlikely anyone in the middle grades who reads this, would be left as terrified as the heroine when they go to sleep at night.
Image Source: Bluesky
The ending, though, has the biggest issue. Rather than satisfactorily resolve some of the plot’s biggest questions, like why exactly Vader is chasing Bia to get to her mom, we are left with the two heroes theoretically still in danger. While there is a horror-toned explanation for that ending (the big scary monster is defeated…for now, as our heroes drive away to hopeful freedom), in a Star Wars story and in an increasingly uncertain publishing environment, the ending instead reads as sequel bait, leaving us wanting a lot more to help fill in those critical blanks.
When one compares Hiding from the Dark against the recently released Audible Original story Terror on Mustafar, written by Cavan Scott, one sees a lot of parallels. Both see young people encountering Darth Vader, his terrifying aura, and feature transportation from a familiar location into a very unfamiliar, far scarier place that the protagonists ultimately must flee from. Hiding from the Dark, then, is not the “first” canon horror book in the franchise, but in bearing that moniker, a lot was riding on a book which definitely should have been upgraded to a YA story to better explore the horror genre with some more mature elements. As it stands, it is still an enjoyable Star Wars tale, and certainly a thematic read for the Halloween season, but its jaunt through the spooks and scares sometimes doesn’t pay off. Even so, we encourage readers to give it a try this season as the latest in a persistent stream of Star Wars horror-infused stories.
Rating: 7/10
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