Happy Tuesday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for INTO THE DARK! I’m so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so so excited to for you to find out more about it and Claudia Gray, PLUS enter for a chance to win a print copy of the book!
Into the Dark (Star Wars: The High Republic) by Claudia Gray Published on February 2, 2021 by Disney Lucasfilm Press
Genres: YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Retellings
Pages: 425
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Not everyone who hears the call to adventure wants to answer it....
Jedi Padawan Reath Silas loves adventure—reading about it, that is, not living it. Content to spend hours browsing the Jedi Archives on Coruscant, Reath dreams of being one of the great scholars of the Jedi Order. But Reath's master, the well-respected and virtuous Jora Malli, has other plans: she's taken a post at Starlight Beacon, the Republic's shining new outpost on the edge of known space. As her Padawan, Reath must join her, whether he likes the idea or not. (And he most definitely does not.)
So Reath reluctantly boards the ship that will take him and a few other Jedi to the dedication of Starlight Beacon, where Master Jora waits for him to start their new adventurous life on the frontier. But trouble in hyperspace leaves the ship and other nearby vessels stranded, with only an eerie abandoned space station reachable for shelter. And the secrets hidden there will not only bring Reath to a crossroads but, if left unchecked, could plunge the entire galaxy into darkness....
The station atrium echoed with shouts, bellows, and the clanging of metal. Master Cohmac nodded quickly as he righted himself. “Orla, are you able to fight?”
Her hand went to the lightsaber at her belt. “Always.”
Master Cohmac glanced at Reath, who gave him a quick nod. Then the four of them rushed back into the station. “Orla, take these,” Master Cohmac called, pointing at the second level up. “I’ll clear the top levels. Dez, head to the far side of the station and see what’s happening there. Reath, guard the airlocks.”
Reath nodded. Orla and Master Cohmac jumped at the same instant, both of them soaring meters high. Reath didn’t watch them any longer than that. Instead he ignited his lightsaber. It had been a while since he’d felt its hum, since its cool green light had bathed him in its glow.
But for someone who considered himself much more scholar than fighter, it felt surprisingly good to have the lightsaber in hand again.
A shriek drew his attention to a struggle taking place near another entrance to the airlock ring. Reath’s eyes widened as he saw Nan in the grip of an enormous human man.
Her arms were pinned to her sides, and though she thrashed her head from side to side, it was impossible for her to escape. She looked more furious than frightened, though she had to be terrified.
“Hague!” Nan cried out. “Hague, help!”
She had no one she trusted in the whole galaxy to take care of her except one elderly man. Reath didn’t doubt that Hague would hobble out there ready to pummel her kid-napper with his cane. Nor did he doubt that Hague would quickly be beaten or killed for his trouble.
Reath ran several steps toward them, then jumped. His leap took him five meters over the grass, through vines that smacked against his limbs, to a point directly in front of Nan and her would-be abductor. Both of them looked equally astonished to see him.
Another human, one wearing a red scarf, swaggered up behind him. “You here to tell us we’re not being orderly?” he said in a mocking voice. “No law in these parts yet, little boy. That means we can take as much off this station as we can carry. And we can carry her just fine.”
Nan’s eyes were wide. “Reath—what are you—” She lost her breath and could only stare at the lightsaber in disbelief.
He ran the scenarios in his head. There weren’t many. All of them were more violent than he would prefer.
Reath said evenly, “Put her down and walk away, or I’ll be forced to take action.”
“What, you think you can take both of us out with your little twinkle sword?” sneered the thug still clutching Nan in a death grip. “Looks like a toy.”
“It’s not,” Reath said quietly, putting power and intent into his words. “Put her down and walk away.”
But, like all his other attempts so far at using the Force to change minds, this failed. The red-scarved man swaggered forward, hands on his hips. “Do your worst, little boy.”
Never before had Reath been in this position—where he would have to be the first to take action, to do harm. He’d always wondered if he would hesitate. If he’d doubt himself.
When it came to saving a life, however, there could be no hesitation.
Instead Reath said, “I understand prosthetic arms are more advanced than prosthetic legs. More comfortable, too.”
No flicker of understanding showed in the man’s face, not until the moment after Reath’s lightsaber had swept through his arm, severing it at the elbow. A forearm tumbled down onto the ground. The red-scarved man’s expression shifted from smugness to disbelief, then crumpled into a grimace as his shocked nerve endings finally broadcast pain.
Immediately the bigger guy dropped Nan and ran into the shadowy jungle surrounding them. Nan put her hand to her mouth as she stared at the abandoned forearm. Reath said, “I have to stand guard at the airlocks. Come with me.”
The red-scarved man finally fell to his knees and howled. “What have you done to me?”
Reath holstered his lightsaber. “We’ll give you a full medical checkup as soon as the situation calms down.”
With that he pulled Nan against his side. He wasn’t sure how to balance himself for the leap while carrying someone else, so he recalculated swiftly. “Hang on.”
Her arms went around his neck. Reath jumped forward and upward in a sharp arc—until his free hand clutched one of the longest vines. Their momentum and weight did the rest, sending them swinging in a long curve back to the airlock ring.
No sooner had they landed than Nan dashed toward the lock where her ship, and Hague, awaited. Of course she’d want to find her guardian. But she glanced back over her shoulder and called out, “Thanks!”
Reath managed a brief smile for her before he took up his lightsaber again.
From Into the Dark. Copyright 2021 Claudia Gray. Reprinted with permission from Disney Publishing Worldwide.
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Week One
| 2/15/2021 | Two Chicks on Books |
Interview |
|
2/16/2021 |
What A Nerd Girl Says | Review |
| 2/17/2021 | _popreads_ |
Review |
|
2/18/2021 |
booksaremagictoo | Review |
| 2/19/2021 | Westveil Publishing |
Review |
Week Two
|
2/22/2021 |
@a_bookish_dream | Review |
| 2/23/2021 | Kait Plus Books |
Excerpt |
| 2/24/2021 | @fictitious.fox |
Review |
|
2/25/2021 |
Moonlight Rendezvous | Review |
| 2/26/2021 | Eli to the nth |
Review |
Enter here for a chance to win a print copy of INTO THE DARK by Claudia Gray!
(Open Internationally!!!)
Have you added this amazing book to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
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