Spoiler: Republic Fair
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The writing has taken a big step up from the previous instalments, but the premise is fairly flimsy. Basically the Chancellor is throwing a giant exhibition about how great the Republic is. The Nihil object to this.
They don't know the Nihil still exist in force, but even in peacetime things like the Chancellor's teenage son wandering off with a pretty local boy seem unlikely. It feels like there'd be a dedicated guard assigned to follow him around.
There are also a bunch of floating islands that house exhibits. And, by the way, one of the exhibits involves some of the most dangerous apex predators in the galaxy. Some of them inevitably get loose.
There's a subplot about trying to get a message out to call for help through Nihil jamming, but it's also established that the whole event is broadcast live to the galaxy. If every feed suddenly cuts from the Olympics during the opening ceremony, the world is going to know something is wrong.
The Chancellor also has two giant lions that she brings everywhere as pets and bodyguards, which sounds like a diplomatic incident waiting to happen (Oops, we accidentally ate the Toydarian ambassador) but it works out.
Spoiler: Jedi and Nihil
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The Nihil attack with a giant cloud of gas that may be poisonous but in other times are just fog. While that does make sense, one of the standard novice Jedi exercises is fighting blind (I'm not just going by the movies there, in this book Bell mentions it.)
If Avar Criss is there she can pinpoint and co-ordinate everyone through the Force, but she's off fighting the Nihil so they can't co-ordinate until comm traffic comes back.
The Nihil are basically always horribly disadvantaged in battle against Jedi, but they actually do a fairly good job accommodating for this, being big, drugged up, numbers,and taking advantage of Jedi willingness to accept surrenders.
The scheming among the Nihil leaders is more engaging for me because there's back and forth, Marchion Ro tries and fails to kill one of his subordinates twice. He's not actually brilliant in a fight and he knows it, so has to do a lot of scheming and tricks.
He does, however, get hold of something called The Leveler, which goes pointedly undescribed except for that it has claws, and a camera grafted into its back. Marchion can control it with a mystery glowing rod, and it appears to be able to turn Force sensitives to dust somehow and sever their connection to the Force.
There's also a mystery machine prototype that disables energy weapons that get near it, including lightsabres. In this book an inventor tries to sell it to the Republic Senator agitating for a standing army, assuming that he is plotting against the Jedi.
Senator: Wait, so you're trying to sell me, an official that wants to strengthen Republic defences, a tool to undermine the Republic's defences? Also, that is a radioactive biohazard!
Inventor: Let me show you how it works. (Has bodyguard draw weapon)
(Senator's bodyguard draws weapon)
(Three Jedi crash through the ceiling)
Presumably, the Nihil eventually get hold of the thing.
Meanwhile, the Drengir are offhandedly mentioned to be consuming entire worlds. We follow 6-8 different protagonists, primarily Jedi as the Nihil attack the Republic Fair.
Stellan Gios is the most interesting lead, as from everyone else's perspective he is slightly disrespected even by his best friends, most people think he loves the limelight, but then we get his perspective and it turns out he more or less hates his assignment as basically the Jedi PR guy, but since it has to be done he'll do his best.
Ty Yorrick is another of those 'not a Jedi on a technicality' types, her primary distinguishing feature is that she's rude. Via a mental link she gets a glimpse of someone's ex lover, and comments on how hot they are. That's immediately unlikeable for me.
Bell Zettifer's Master is believed dead but captive by the Nihil, so he has been assigned to someone else, together with his Charhound Ember (basically Growlithe, or fire breathing dog if you don't get the reference)
Spoiler: Overall
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Writing is pretty good, but it's hard to work with this premise. The Leveller seems cheap to me, but we'll see what they do with it going forward.
Seems like there may be a little bit of tug of war between the authors, the big slogan for LOTJ was 'We are all the Republic' in this one it is 'For Light and Life'. Characterisations drift a bit, naturally enough, but
I think some of these authors are more 'the Jedi need to be fixed' than others.
