Star Wars: The Rising Storm (The High Republic)

Jan 28, 2026 1:39 PM

Author:Cavan Scott

THE NEW YORK TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

The heroes of the High Republic era return to face a shattered peace and a fearsome foe, following the dramatic events of Light of the Jedi.

In the wake of the Great Hyperspace Disaster and the heroism of the Jedi, the Republic continues to grow, bringing more worlds together under a single unified banner. Under the leadership of Chancellor Lina Soh, the spirit of unity extends throughout the galaxy, with the Jedi and the newly established Starlight Beacon station at the vanguard.

In celebration, the chancellor plans The Republic Fair, a showcase of the possibilities and the peace of the expanding Republic-a peace the Jedi hope to foster. Stellan Gios, Bell Zettifar, Elzar Mann, and others join the event as ambassadors of harmony. But as the eyes of the galaxy turn toward the Fair, so too does the fury of the Nihil. Their leader, Marchion Ro, is intent on destroying this unity. His storm descends on the pageantry and celebration, sowing chaos and exacting revenge.

As the Jedi struggle to curb the carnage of the rampaging Nihil, they come face-to-face with the true fear their enemy plans to unleash across the galaxy-the kind of fear from which even the Force cannot shield them.

Reviews

This gorgeous book has everything! Mysteries, misunderstandings, arguments, reconciliations, kindness, love and lots of PENGUINS!

—— Clare Pooley, author of The Authenticity Project

Just what the doctor ordered . . . Funny, wise, touching. I loved it.

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So beautifully written by a born storyteller.

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So many readers are set to fall in love with this charming story.

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Call of the Penguins sparkles with wit, courage and kindness. This is a heart-warming journey into the highs and lows of human nature. I loved it!

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A wonderful story, full of twists and turns. Outstanding.

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This year's Eleanor Oliphant . . . Funny, bittersweet and wholly original.

—— Daily Express (on Away with the Penguins)

A glorious, life-affirming story. I read it in a day.

—— Clare Mackintosh (on Away with the Penguins)

A touching, uplifting tale.

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A gorgeous read full of hope, with a cast of characters who will delight!

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The perfect pick-me-up for right now, a warm-hearted, humorous and emotional read.

—— Phaedra Patrick, author of The Library of Lost and Found

Nolan's writing gleams with dark precision . . . What Acts of Desperation illuminates best is the chasm, sadly still enormous, between feminist politics and personal predicaments of love, sex and romance.

—— Los Angeles Times

Megan Nolan is a huge literary talent, and her first novel is a love story like no other.

—— Karl Ove Knausgaard

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—— Pandora Sykes

Remarkable . . . a stunning meditation on the ways in which society moulds female desire . . . Lyrical and raw, Acts of Desperation is a vital intervention into the genre.

—— The Skinny

Nolan's ability to illustrate the rawest thoughts, neurosis and murky emotions is unrivalled. It's a read that will get inside your core.

—— Face

One of the most anticipated books of the year . . . Lives up to the hype.

—— AnOther Magazine *The Literary Fiction to Look Out for in 2021*

A darkly rich and heady exploration of hunger and unraveling, Acts of Desperation is unashamed and honest. It questions the truest way to inhabit a body and shows us the horror and the beauty in learning to be alone.

—— Jessica Andrews

A gripping story of romance gone wrong . . . It delves deep into the subtle psychology behind the temptation to return to something you know is not right for you.

—— Hannah Hillyer , Stellar

Is Acts of Desperation the next Normal People? An 'exhilarating' debut from a young Irish author . . . interrogates what it means to be a woman addicted to love.

—— Harriet Johnston , Daily Mail

[A] gripping debut novel... The writing is fearless and gut punching... Love, pain and pleasure are so closely entwined that it's almost impossible to extrapolate which one is feeding the other.

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A stunning book.

—— Sarah Carson , i

Nolan's narrator rips and picks at the threads and scabs of desire, hedonism and self-worth... in this searing first novel, Nolan is holding up a fantastically intense mirror to her protagonist and letting us make up our own mind about whether or not we will look away.

—— Tara Joshi , Quietus

There are flashes of brilliance throughout, reminiscent of John Berger.

—— Stephanie Sy-Quia , Times Literary Supplement

Acts of Desperation creates an immersive experience of toxic romance through a suffocating and addictive narrative.

—— New Statesman

Painful, sharp and absorbing.

—— Susie Mesure , i

A reflection on compulsion, addiction and what it's like to exist as a young woman in a world that is hostile to you. Read the first page and you won't be able to stop.

—— Irish Times

Nolan...stakes out thrilling new territory in an intense, unflinching novel that is always intelligent and utterly unafraid of ugliness.

—— Claire Lowdon , Spectator, *Books of the Year*

A devastating stripping back of the gendered and politicised conditions that shape desire, a revelation of the unnerving ways we are made vulnerable to others in unequal systems. Its crisp, knowing prose is unparalleled, its anger remarkable.

—— Anahit Behrooz , Skinny, *Books of the Year*

Nolan's intelligent, elegant first novel, a gripping portrait of love turned toxic.

—— Daily Telegraph

The star feature of Nolan's narration is her ability to cut through received ideas about women, relationships and even rape. Her headlong, fearless prose, feels like salt wind on cracked lips. You wince and you thrill.

—— Claire Lowdon , Sunday Times

A raw read of vulnerability, desperation, and most definitely a new voice in fiction

—— Chloe Brown , Cosmopolitan

A thrilling read...if you want a visceral, honest, unputdownable summer read then this is it. You'll devour it in a day.

—— Stylist, *Summer Reads of 2022*

A very elegant novel, with coercive control at the core. She has such a strong voice and not a sentence is extraneous

—— Emma Frost, author of BUSY BEING FREE , i

I read this in one go... I found it raw, honest, brutal and real.

—— Lykke Li , Observer

Written with acerbic style and wit, this is an intoxicatingly good look at romantic obsession, delusion and desire.

—— i

Beautifully written…and the short chapters keep things moving at an addictively fast pace. Most importantly, it’s shamelessly real

—— Crack

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