Charles Soule set out to bridge the gap between Phase 1 and Phase 3 of The High Republic Era with the Marvel comic Shadows of Starlight. With the fourth book out now focused on Marchion Ro and the Nihil, he has successfully landed his mission.

As mentioned in previous Shadows of Starlight reviews, these stories are all set prior to George Mann’s The Eye of Darkness which I have already read. So, how did the Nihil get from where we left them after destroying Starlight Beacon to where we find them being the Stormwall?

Ghirra Starros is trying to work her smooth moves to try and convince Marchion to abandon the Nihil’s past of piracy and conquering and try a new idea: ruling. Marchion isn’t exactly too hot on the idea and seeks out two new allies that we’ve met already 150 years in the past.

The first of these is General Viess who we met in the Porter Engle focused comic series The Blade. Viess is a prolific Jedi killer judging by the hilts that she carries. We know she is still holding a grudge against Engle, and that has continued through the present day. Viess is an elite military strategist and adds a whole new dimension to the Nihil attack.

The other is Boolan. Readers of Phase 2 books Mary remember Boolan as “Little” in the Path of the Open Hand. The last time that we saw Boolan, he was a child, and Marchion Ro’s ancestors Marda and Yana Ro were convincing him not to follow through with the Mother’s orders to blow up a cave system in an attack on the Jedi.

With the final book in this series now being wrapped, I can say that Soule successfully bridged the gap, setting everything up between the phases. I personally would’ve loved this book prior to reading The Eye of Darkness, but it still works for me.