
Published: May 6, 2025
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Author: Justina Ireland
Timeline: 160 BBY
Hardback: RRP – £22.00, $30.00; 304 pages; ISBN – 978-0-593-87443-1
eBook: RRP – £10.99, $14.99; 282 pages; ISBN – 978-0-593-87444-8
Audiobook: RRP – £10.99, $14.99; Narrated by Jessica Almasy; 550 minutes; ISBN – 978-0-593-94494-3
Exclusives: Limited (1000 copies) and Signed Edition available from Goldsboro Books; Limited (500 copies) and Signed Edition available from Inkstone Books
The synopsis;
Decades before Star Wars: The Acolyte, Vernestra Rwoh must rediscover her place within the Jedi Order.
Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh has spent years exploring the Outer Rim as a Wayseeker, answering to no authority but the Force itself. When the Jedi Council orders her to return to Coruscant, Vernestra ignores the summons, feeling that her priority is the beings she’s already serving.
So the Council dispatches Jedi Knight Indara to track down Vernestra to deliver the urgent message that a Republic senator has formally requested Jedi assistance, asking for Vernestra’s aid by name. Intrigued, Vernestra quickly finds herself pulled back into Coruscant’s complicated world of Republic politics and underworld crime.
The two could not be more different: Vernestra, a Jedi Master who has known conflict and loss during her decades in the Order, and Indara, a young Knight just coming into her own as a Jedi in a galaxy at peace. Trust is slow to develop as they clash over their views on serving the Jedi Order, the galaxy, and the Force.
But they must work together to decipher the connection between the senator and a trail of dangerous weapons threatening to wreak havoc on the Republic. As the two delve further into their investigation, the lines between Jedi and Republic business blur, and Vernestra must rediscover what it means to serve for Light and Life.
The review;
The cover is simple and clean with Jedi Master, and Wakseeker, Vernestra Rwoh, and Jedi Master Indara portrayed at the ready with their lightsaber’s in hand on a dark background.
Okay, let me start with the following two statements; I was not a huge fan of The Acolyte, and while I enjoyed Phase I of The High Republic, I got a bit lost and overwhelmed by the volume and frequency of new content that we were exposed to for Phases II and III. So, a book based on a TV series that wasn’t my favourite and on characters from The High Republic era, surely this book wasn’t going to be for me at all. Confession over, and I must admit, this book took me completely by surprise!
Set after The High Republic era, Venestra Rwoh has been exploring the outer rim as a Jedi Wayseeker. Led by the calling of the Force alone, she has helped and guided denizens of this region with their own issues and conflicts. But, Rwoh has gone native and despite being requested by name by a Senator to assist with an investigation, the calls from the Jedi Temple in Coruscant for her to return have been ignored. Jedi Master Indara is dispatched by the Jedi Council to seek out Rwoh and bring her back to the temple.
Forming an unlikely alliance, they then venture back into the galaxy to pursue their investigation into possible links of corruption within the Senate and a weapon that can nullify the lightsaber of a Jedi. During their missions, Rwoh and Indara, slowly peel back the shrouds of mystery each one of them holds around their own histories and the two Jedi become closer as their skills complement each other’s. This results in a planet hopping journey throughout the galaxy following the breadcrumbs of clues to seek out the source of this thought to be lost weapon.
Vernestra Rwoh is an intriguing character. Justina Ireland has been the architect of her story since to start of The High Republic era. She is complex, a Jedi Master, but a bit of a loner and loose cannon at times. Her Force visions when travelling in hyperspace are clear indicators of how different Jedi channel their own abilities.
Indara on the other hand is a Jedi that has suffered a crushing blows to her confidence in her recent past. Rwoh at first does not seem to be the Jedi that will guide Indara back to the potential Jedi she could be. But somehow, they bond over time and Indara flourishes once more.
The concept of the nullifier technology being back out in the galaxy was a good way to introduce this weapon to those who may have yet to dabble in The High Republic. There is some excellent work from Ireland especially around how the story moves from planet to planet in an almost cat and mouse search to solve their investigation.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. Would I have enjoyed The Acolyte more if this book had been released prior to its release. Well, I must say, yes, to that. Does it answer a raft of questions about The Acolyte, no, but it did give me more of an insight into some of the lead characters and help my understanding of their positions with each other and the Jedi Council.
I think it may be the right time to go back and give Phase II of The High Republic another chance.
Availability;
Star Wars: The Acolyte – Wayseeker by Justina Ireland was published on May 6, 2025 by Random House Worlds. It is available in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats, from high street and online retailers, including Amazon UK and Amazon US.
The post Book Review: The Acolyte: Wayseeker by Justina Ireland appeared first on Jedi News.

