Publisher’s Blurb:
The Republic Fair is coming! Visitors from all over the galaxy are traveling to the planet Valo for a massive, awe-inspiring festival celebrating the Republic. While his fellow Valons prepare for the fair, Jedi Padawan Ram Jomaram is hiding out in his favorite place: a dingy garage filled with mechanical parts and tools. But when a security alarm goes off on the nearby hilltop nicknamed Crashpoint Peak, he ventures out with his trusty droid V-18 to investigate. There he discovers that someone has knocked out Valo’s communications tower—a frightening sign that Valo, and the Republic Fair, are in danger. Sure enough, as Ram races to warn the Jedi, the dreaded Nihil unleash a surprise attack! It’s up to Ram to face down the enemy at Crashpoint Tower and send a call for help to the Republic. Luckily, he’s about to get some assistance from unexpected new friends…
My Take:
The Good… I have enjoyed the majority of this new point in the timeline. New characters and new adventures, but same rules (Jedi, dark side… The Galaxy!) I like this character Ram. He’s a Jedi who thinks he will easily slide into the mechanical aspects of shipbuilding, general repair, and lottsa droids, but when things are busted, he may have to take care of the bad guys who do the busting… A challenge, an uncomfortable situation.
The Bad: My big critique of this novel is amount of background knowledge needed to understand some of the plot points. I’d say that I’m pretty well versed in SW lore, but some of the assumptions made by the author needed a good deal of reach. I wonder how this will be viewed by a younger reader who hasn’t been exposed to as much of the SW universe.
The Ugly:
The Nihil. Ugly in a good way. It’s hard for the young idealistic Jedi to understand the motivations of these marauders. Steal and kill. Profit and purge.
Race to Crashpoint Tower is a middle-grade book that has good crossover appeal for an older audience if you want some gaps filled in in The High Republic story arc. Justina Ireland and others have done a great job in introducing us to this new time period and characters and Older does a good job with this book.
4 out of 5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley, Disney Publishing, and the author for a copy for review.
Paul's Picks 
The Star Wars universe is never going to die. There are so many tie-ins, nearly half a century after its release, that it will keep going and going … and going … just like the Energizer rabbit. Go to DIsneyland, see the Millennium Flacon!
— Catxman
http://www.catxman.wordpress.com
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Some of these hit for me and some just don’t work. Most do though!!
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