'The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown' Book Review
Image Source: Wookieepedia
The second of two novels tied into characters from The Acolyte, The Crystal Crown, by Tessa Gratton, tells a fun story before the events of the show with links back to Gratton’s previous work in The High Republic publishing initiative. With some great explorations of Jecki Lon and, to a lesser extent, Yord Fandar, alongside a rich new planet built from the ground up, the novel stands shoulder to shoulder with The Acolyte: Wayseeker in expanding what the show brought us, and making its events all the more tragic. This review does NOT contain spoilers for The Crystal Crown.
The story of this novel is something worn on its sleeve, especially if fans recall Crystal Crown’s previous plot summary. While this reviewer is uncertain if the novel was rewritten or significantly changed at some point, those who do remember the old description will find that it isn’t much of a spoiler, given that events play out quickly, letting a reader begin to suspect something is afoot and just who might be behind it. But as for what we can say, the plot sees Jecki and Yord separated from their respective Jedi Masters, and joining a competition with other young people as part of a key cultural tradition among a warrior society. They quickly make friends, but find tough challenges ahead as the competition gets more and more complicated.
RELATED:
Image Source: StarWars.com
The characters we get in this novel are excellently realized, with the focus landing on Jecki Lon as the main POV character readers follow during the Jedi’s explorations of the world of Siline. She’s quite spirited here, showing some of the ferocity we only got a small taste of in The Acolyte, with her relationship to Yord matching well with what we got in the show as well. They truly are like bickering brothers and sisters, a detail noted directly once or twice in the story. Yord, for his part, gets less POV, and there is the interesting detail that he tries to avoid comparing Sol’s current Padawan to his previous one, Osha, Yord’s old friend. Very little about Osha comes up in this story, though, and Yord’s other frustrations and clashes with Jecki come down to differences in their personality. Where Yord is a perfectionist, always diving deep into historical and non-practical topics of learning, Jecki is more relaxed and happy with the present.
The two young Jedi are complemented by the presence of their Masters, who are well-realized, but whose brief pop-ins to the ongoing story let the focus instead land with the local population of Siline. Fans of the diversity of The High Republic will surely be happy with what they see here, as among these denizens is a member of the Graf family who identifies as they/them as well as a genderfluid Silinese who smoothly transitions between male and female several times during the story. We won’t speak too much about these various new characters, other than to say they’re all enjoyable, each with depths quickly established thanks to perceptive observations by Jecki, and these new characters getting POVs of their own.
Image Source: StarWars.com
Siline itself is a world rich from inventive worldbuilding. The landscape, while varied, is also covered in crystals, and the native Silinese even have crystal growths in their skin alongside unique bone structures, showing how deeply their biology ties into the world around them. A range of other animals and plants call the world home, and many are given time to shine due to the course of the novel’s plot. Silinese culture is also given a lot of development due to its connection with the reason the Jedi have been asked to come to the planet, but to also help explain and explore the mindset of the characters Jecki and Yord interact with. It all adds up to a deep, enjoyable dive into the world and makes a world we hope we see revisited in the future.
With a lot of thoughtful attention paid to the main characters of Jecki and Yord, alongside great new characters and an intriguing world built for the novel, The Crystal Crown is a great story for fans of The Acolyte to sink their teeth into. It will probably make the hurt of that show bloom up again in those particularly attached to the characters it involves here, but it will also make fans appreciate these characters all the more.
Rating: 9/10
READ NEXT:
Source(s): The Crystal Crown
Latest News
Featured
