Path of Deceit
- Downloads：4409
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-11-22 07:19:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tessa Gratton
- ISBN：B0BFT5FR8V
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Scott Douse
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Great start to Phase 2！
Ashley
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This book felt a little slow to me for the first half， but it picked up and left me wanting more。
Patricia
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Last month， the first co-written novel of The High Republic released。 Sure， this entire project lives off collaboration， but an entire Young Adult story written by two authors？ That seems like both a daring and a refreshing choice。In Path of Deceit， High Republic-creator Justina Ireland and newbie Tessa Gratton take us back to the past to tell the story of a young Padawan， Kevmo Zink， and a true believer of a questionable Force cult， Marda Ro， whose attraction to each other grows as their views Last month， the first co-written novel of The High Republic released。 Sure， this entire project lives off collaboration， but an entire Young Adult story written by two authors？ That seems like both a daring and a refreshing choice。In Path of Deceit， High Republic-creator Justina Ireland and newbie Tessa Gratton take us back to the past to tell the story of a young Padawan， Kevmo Zink， and a true believer of a questionable Force cult， Marda Ro， whose attraction to each other grows as their views clash when the Jedi go to investigate the theft of a Force artifact。 And as you might have guessed， chaos unfolds … Out with the new， in with the old？Phase 2 of The High Republic turns things upside down。 First， we got to know that we are jumping back in time， and not just a few years， but a whopping 150！ Secondly， this time around， a YA novel is kicking off the story instead of releasing a month later than the adult book。 That makes for a few different challenges: creating a world that feels familiar yet different， getting us to overcome our attachments to Phase 1 characters and fall in love with new ones， and telling a story that is big enough to get the ball rolling while staying true to the YA age group。 None of this is easy to pull off， and still， Ireland and Gratton have managed to succeed in writing a novel that accomplishes all of it。Your focus determines your realityPath of Deceit is a novel that is extremely focused， which is a welcome change from the ensemble-style stories from the adult books。 The cast isn’t small， but us readers get to experience the story through three main characters。 All of these characters differ vastly， creating a unique tone for each of their POVs – and offering the reader a lot to think about， as none of the protagonists are inherently right or wrong。 Each of them believes in something different: Marda follows the beliefs of the Path， Kevmo stays true to the teachings of the Jedi and Yana simply doesn’t care at all。 This doesn’t just make for a lot of conflict between the protagonists， it also challenges the reader to question their own views。 What effects can the use of the Force have？ Can you leave family behind to escape a toxic environment？ The incredible thing about this is that somehow， you root for all of these three characters at the same time。 Speaking of characters， it should not go without mention that this novel once again features great queer representation through Yana and Kor （a sapphic couple）， a non-binary side character as well as the gender-defying species of the Kessarines。 Tell me liesOne of my favorite aspects about Path of Deceit is how true to the story the title is。 Not only are we being introduced to a Force cult befittingly called the “Path”， but Ireland and Gratton also mastered the art of deception within this story。 The way the Path of the Open Hand operates is scarily true to real-life cults。 It was， in fact， so accurate that I had to wonder if the authors have had their own experiences with groups like these。 Regardless of whether that is the case or if they just really did their research， the depiction of being caught in a religious institution – whether you are aware of its extremism or not – was spot on。 Still， the deception and lies taking place in this book go beyond just confusing the characters。 While seemingly every member of the Path is being deceived by the Mother， it is especially Marda who gets lulled further and further into the group’s clutches。 It is frustrating to read， but isn’t that also exactly what makes a story great？ To feel with and for the main character， to want to shake them， to root for them， to be overrun with emotions as you continue reading。 Path of Deceit manages to do just that … and in the process， it also deceives the reader into feeling a false sense of security and into believing that it is heroes we are following。 This book makes us forget we are reading about the ancestors of Marchion Ro， ruthless Evereni， murderous creatures … until it doesn’t。 The ending of this novel left me shaking and wanting more， in the best way possible。The value of rereadingI am usually not a re-reader of stories， so the question of whether I would read a book again always helps me tell a great one from a truly amazing one。 Path of Deceit is the latter – it is a story that is fantastic the first time around， but also one that will reward you when you go back to it。 Not only does it foreshadow events of Phase 1 （which takes place later in time but was released before， which ultimately makes this … aftershadowing？）， it also uses a great deal of foreshadowing within the novel itself。 It was only upon my second read that certain passages made much more sense to me and revealed hints I’d not noticed before。 Not perfect， but close enoughBut no book is perfect， and even Path of Deceit has its flaws。 Although I loved the focus of the story， both when it came to protagonists and places， certain side characters fell a bit flat for me。 I had a hard time grasping Zallah Macri， Kevmo’s master， for example， and initially， I struggled connecting with the characters。 However， I don’t think this is the writers’ fault， I think it is my own for being overly careful getting attached to new characters I know will likely not make it out of this Phase alive。 And to be fair， some choices on who lives or dies made me downright angry， which in turn is a testament to the authors’ writing – somehow getting me to root for these characters within just a few chapters after all。 All in all， Path of Deceit is a wonderfully written story with multifaceted characters and important topics that challenge the reader to explore the grey scales of ethics and philosophy。 Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton have succeeded in opening a new Phase of The High Republic， delivering a story that is just as relevant as any adult book may be。 The focused storytelling， which is cohesive throughout the entire book， making it impossible to tell this story was written by two authors instead of just one， helps the reader build a true connection to the characters while deceiving you along with them。 And even though I was left with the urge to scream into a pillow as I closed the book， I would read it all over again。 。。。more
Jeffrey Herr
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I didn't think it would be possible to top "Into the Dark" as my favorite in the series so far， but this one has done it。 Taking place 150 years before the previous phase was a hold move but it all begins to make sense what they're doing very quickly。 They introduce the "Path of the Open Hand" which is a sneakily malicious Force Cult and it's maybe one of the best and most realistic seeming portraits of a cult I've read。 All the characters and their motivations make sense and are entirely believ I didn't think it would be possible to top "Into the Dark" as my favorite in the series so far， but this one has done it。 Taking place 150 years before the previous phase was a hold move but it all begins to make sense what they're doing very quickly。 They introduce the "Path of the Open Hand" which is a sneakily malicious Force Cult and it's maybe one of the best and most realistic seeming portraits of a cult I've read。 All the characters and their motivations make sense and are entirely believable。 It ends on a bit of a harrowing note and I'm very excited to see how they are able to further tie in future books to the first phase。 。。。more
Gregory Mystery
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Probably the best high republic book yet！I loved the pace and scope of the story。 For those who thought phase one had too many characters， they will like this story。Very keen to see where this goes。
Lee
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Going back in time with this phase of the series was interesting。 I feel like the beginnings of some pieces are slowly slotting into place。 The interactions between two different Force cults were intriguing！ Still， I can't say I was completely hooked until the last few chapters。 Going back in time with this phase of the series was interesting。 I feel like the beginnings of some pieces are slowly slotting into place。 The interactions between two different Force cults were intriguing！ Still， I can't say I was completely hooked until the last few chapters。 。。。more
Jordan Meuse
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A bit slow， very different than phase 1。 This book is not about the jedi。 But the way it connects is insane！！
Elizabeth Duvall
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i don’t think i’m ever going to stop thinking about this book！！！ what a perfect prequel to phase 1， and an amazing way to begin phase 2！！ wow this book was awesome the tension， the reveal of the plot， the connections to future events it’s just too good。 yet another 5 star project from star wars the high republic！！
Lisa
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This Young Adult books kicks off High Republic phase 2。 I think in the past they usually published the adult book first， so I wasn’t sure how it would go starting with the YA book， but Justina Ireland has been a pretty capable writer in the past （and I don’t really know anything about Tessa Gratton， the co-writer）。 The only really YA-feeling thing in this book is a crush with some warm fuzzy hand-holding and stuff。 Other than that， it’s actually a pretty hefty plot—it involves somewhat lengthy c This Young Adult books kicks off High Republic phase 2。 I think in the past they usually published the adult book first， so I wasn’t sure how it would go starting with the YA book， but Justina Ireland has been a pretty capable writer in the past （and I don’t really know anything about Tessa Gratton， the co-writer）。 The only really YA-feeling thing in this book is a crush with some warm fuzzy hand-holding and stuff。 Other than that， it’s actually a pretty hefty plot—it involves somewhat lengthy conflict between two different views of the Force that it doesn’t resolve neatly at all （the Path view that sees any “use” of the Force as an abuse that will cause someone to get harmed somewhere else， and the Jedi view that sees the Force as something that can be accessed for both good and evil）; it explores the idea of cults and leaders of cults and true believers and trying to leave them; it does a much better job than phase 1 did of giving a sense of what it’s like to be Evereni trying to get along in the universe， which the phase 1 books didn’t explore about Marchion Ro at all， but this one explores with some of what will presumably be his ancestors （since they’re also Evereni with the last name Ro）; it has a calculating villain in the Mother who feels like she’ll be able to go the distance of a few books at least; and we finally get some of the mystery around the Leveler explained。 This book doesn’t shy away from death either， or from making you love a character only to kill that character off。 The ending made some interesting choices too。[major spoilers]One thing I wasn’t sure about though was， if the Leveler was such a huge shock in the phase 1 books that happen 150 years later…why was it a surprise then？？ The effects of the creature are already seen here， and presumably reported back to the Jedi archives， if they existed then。 It’s such an unusual phenomenon that， even if the person who discovered the aftereffects didn’t know what caused it， surely it would have started a hunt for the cause and been at least somewhat infamous？ It makes what happens on Starlight Beacon later seem like it shouldn’t have been such a surprise。 That’s my main quibble with the plot of this book。 Otherwise， I thought it had some pretty great characters with varied motivations and conflicts， and a plot that was interesting and significant。One other minor thing: after reading the whole book， I still don’t know who the center character on the cover is。 I do know who the right and left characters are， so I guess that’s a better rate of good physical description in this book than the phase 1 books had， but I feel like I should always easily know the names of *all* the cover characters after reading the book。 。。。more
MacKenzie
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That’s some serious emotional damage
Curtis Brunet
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So exciting to be back in the High Republic era。
David Beer
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Amazing！！ So so good， what a good start to Phase 2 of the High Republic books， they did not start gently though。 I was a little concerned that the plots and revelations of Phase 1 would just be put on hold but I think we will get more information and clarity on what’s going on from its history， very clever and well written。
Zoraida
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🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
Joshua Rollins
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Path of Deceit is a fantastic introduction to The High Republic phase 2。 All the characters are loveable。 There is a force artifact collector know as the Mother。 She liberates the artifacts from those that would use them for evil。 When a few Jedi cross the Mothers path， things aren’t quite what they seem and something needs to be done about it。
Unseen Library
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Rating of 4。5。The second phase of The High Republic begins with an absolute banger as the team of Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland introduce Star Wars fans to a bold new young adult novel that ends up being epic in all the right ways with Path of Deceit。It is a time of exploration and discovery in the galaxy as the Republic enters an age of expansion。 Under the guidance of the Jedi， teams have been sent into the furthest corners of the Outer Rim， seeking out new planets， civilisations， and peop Rating of 4。5。The second phase of The High Republic begins with an absolute banger as the team of Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland introduce Star Wars fans to a bold new young adult novel that ends up being epic in all the right ways with Path of Deceit。It is a time of exploration and discovery in the galaxy as the Republic enters an age of expansion。 Under the guidance of the Jedi， teams have been sent into the furthest corners of the Outer Rim， seeking out new planets， civilisations， and people to add to the delicate tapestry of life， diplomacy and trade that forms the basis for the Republic。 However， not all the discoveries being made are good， and many dangers lurk out in the far reaches of space。Of these dangers， the most benign appear to be a small Force cult on the remote planet of Dalna。 Known as the Path of the Open Hand， this group believe that the Force should be free， and that no one should have the power to use and abuse it， including the Jedi。 Led by the charismatic Mother， the Path of the Open Hand is small， but features a fervent congregation of believers， including a hopeful young woman， Marda Ro。Marda Ro always dreams of leaving Dalna to preach the message of the Path throughout the galaxy。 However， protected by her free-spirited cousin Yana Ro and held back by the Mother， Marda appears destined to remain always on Dalna。 That is until two Jedi， Jedi Knight Zallah Macri and her Padawan Kevmo Zink， arrive on Dalna， investigating the theft of several Force artifacts from surrounding systems。 Believing that the thefts are related to the Path， the two Jedi begin to investigate the group， and Marda and the young Kevmo soon form a tight bond as their connection grows。 However， not everything is as it seems on Dalna， and soon the Mother reveals a dark secret that will reverberate throughout the galaxy for centuries to come。To see the full review， click on the link below:https://unseenlibrary。com/2022/11/13/。。。For other exciting reviews and content， check out my blog at:https://unseenlibrary。com/ 。。。more
Patrycja Sadlik
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Starting Phase II strong
Katie
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Well， this book did something no book in Phase One did: intrigue me enough with a couple of characters and their development to actually want to see what happens to them next。
Kristopher Wagner
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Unexpected love story， intrigue， and mystery。。。 I would give it 5* but I just find Marta's behavior unbelievable 🤷♂️ It reads like only one author worked on it， which is a good thing！ Unexpected love story， intrigue， and mystery。。。 I would give it 5* but I just find Marta's behavior unbelievable 🤷♂️ It reads like only one author worked on it， which is a good thing！ 。。。more
Kayla Wendt
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What a way to kick off phase 2！
Geovanni Botticella
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An excellent read with a dark turn that feels more mature than previous YA Star Wars novels。 While the beginning tends to drag on with an overuse of adjectives， the ending makes up for it， propelling this phase of The High Republic into a fascinating direction。I also appreciate the unique direction the story took especially when it comes to interpretations of the force。
Scott Hansen
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While the ending of Phase 1 of The High Republic left me wanting more with the characters I grew to love， a few chapters into this book I found new characters to fall in love with。 The story itself is fairly contained， which gives it room to focus primarily on the new characters。 And do they ever shine。 The decision to make this a small scale story as opposed to the big sweeping drama that the adult novels of Phase 1 were， was the right choice。I was a little skeptical with Justina Ireland as one While the ending of Phase 1 of The High Republic left me wanting more with the characters I grew to love， a few chapters into this book I found new characters to fall in love with。 The story itself is fairly contained， which gives it room to focus primarily on the new characters。 And do they ever shine。 The decision to make this a small scale story as opposed to the big sweeping drama that the adult novels of Phase 1 were， was the right choice。I was a little skeptical with Justina Ireland as one of the writers of this novel。 Out of the Shadows was my least favorite novel of phase 1 （still enjoyable but just not as good）。 But whether it was writing new characters or teaming up with Gratton， this novel delivers and leaves me incredibly hopeful for the future of phase 2。 。。。more
Sarah
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the high republic is out here high republic'n and i for one am grateful， despite the pain the high republic is out here high republic'n and i for one am grateful， despite the pain 。。。more
Ethan
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Low key didn’t expect this thriller to turn around。 Kinda salty about some of the plot twists but definitely want to keep reading。 Really interesting to see a side of the Old Republic in the new canon。
Brad DeMaagd
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Marking the first book in the new Prequel （100 years） before the events dictated in the first arc of the High Republic books。 I found this tale an interesting look at the different interpretations of the Force by the Jedi & The Path of Light。 The finale was darker than I had expected and certainly left more questions on what is to come。
Will Plunkett
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Some unexpected parts （past the halfway mark）; one of the best character development books in the High Republic so far， especially considering many of them were new characters; and pretty good scenery descriptions， too。
Evie
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im so emotionally drained but its also one of， if not the best book ive ever read。 i sobbed for a good 30 minutes because of this book
Frank Decasse
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I'll start this review off by mentioning that I've never written a review for a book before， and have been a Star Wars fan for a long time。 Also， though I've read almost all of the new canon books so far， I haven't read anything in the High Republic other than the first few chapters into Light of the Jedi--which I've tried to read twice now and still haven't finished。All that said， I'm really glad I picked this book up。This is probably my favorite of all the Star Wars books I've read in a long t I'll start this review off by mentioning that I've never written a review for a book before， and have been a Star Wars fan for a long time。 Also， though I've read almost all of the new canon books so far， I haven't read anything in the High Republic other than the first few chapters into Light of the Jedi--which I've tried to read twice now and still haven't finished。All that said， I'm really glad I picked this book up。This is probably my favorite of all the Star Wars books I've read in a long time。 Force cults， dark side artifacts， questioning the nature of the force and the jedi's view regarding the 'correct' relationship one should have with it， shakespearean style tragic romance--shit， this book has got it all。 The second half of the book left me with a sense of dread that kept building until the very end--an ending that left me absolutely stunned。 I mean， what the fuck。 Some horror movie shit at the end there， can't believe this is a YA book。 In my personal experience this was a great introduction to the High Republic Era， as I believe it takes place 150 years or so before Light of the Jedi。 Fuck， I finished this one and know with certainty I will definitely be reading the rest of the High Republic books now at some point--they've got me hooked。 Probably afterwards I'll come back to this book to catch all the references to Phase 1 I missed reading it just now。 。。。more
Nate Balcom
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The first story set in Phase 2 of the High Republic， Path of Deceit sets up this new era of Star Wars perfectly。 A time of exploration on the frontier of the galaxy and a cult of Force worshipers that could have bigger influences on things。 Great new characters in old （Phase 1） settings。 My mind was blown with the concepts of The Force explored in this book， and I personally think it's the best looking cover from any High Republic title so far （from either Phase）。 The newest Phase 2 book just ar The first story set in Phase 2 of the High Republic， Path of Deceit sets up this new era of Star Wars perfectly。 A time of exploration on the frontier of the galaxy and a cult of Force worshipers that could have bigger influences on things。 Great new characters in old （Phase 1） settings。 My mind was blown with the concepts of The Force explored in this book， and I personally think it's the best looking cover from any High Republic title so far （from either Phase）。 The newest Phase 2 book just arrived yesterday and I'm ready to dig into Quest for the Hidden City with more adventures in The High Republic。 。。。more
ShadowsOfWonder
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The High Republic has been one of my reading highlights in 2021 and after half a year， I was excited to finally get some new content。Phase 2 takes us back another 150 years and presents a （nearly） completely new set of characters。It took me a while to get used to the new characters and setting of Phase 1 and I was hesitant to accept the idea of getting used to something new again so close after finally getting used to Phase 1。I shouldn't have worried though。 The book being a YA novel meant that The High Republic has been one of my reading highlights in 2021 and after half a year， I was excited to finally get some new content。Phase 2 takes us back another 150 years and presents a （nearly） completely new set of characters。It took me a while to get used to the new characters and setting of Phase 1 and I was hesitant to accept the idea of getting used to something new again so close after finally getting used to Phase 1。I shouldn't have worried though。 The book being a YA novel meant that everything happened on a smaller scale with less characters。This， as well as many references to Phase 1， made it easy for me to get into this book。One of the most obvious references without spoiling anything would have to be the Ro cousins who are obviously ancestors to our favorite Nihil leader。There were some other small callbacks to Phase 1， like the planet Dalna， that made the book feel familiar yet new。Attentive readers also might've noticed that the Path of the Open Hand was actually mentioned in The Rising Storm a few times。There are also some other small references that I noticed， but I think I'm gonna do an extra post about that。The characters overall were great。 I really enjoyed the Master-Padawan duo and they immediately became new favorite characters for me。Marda & Yana Ro were completely different from what I expected after meeting some members of the Ro family in Phase 1， but I think their characters fit the story well and I can definitely see how Marchion is eventually the end result。Especially Marda， who was very peaceful and innocent， was very unexpected & interesting。Before the books release， there were many theories about who the Mother was。 And while we don't get to know much about her， I really liked how her character was handled。 Her story is set up to be so much bigger than what we saw in Path of Deceit， so I'm glad there's some mystery to her for the future。The overall story was interesting and easy to follow。 I like how the book takes its time to develop the story。 At the beginning， I never would've suspected where the story might go。 After reading a summary of Mission to Disaster again， I had a theory of what would happen， and I was delighted to be completely wrong。 There's still so much to discover about Dalna， the Path and the Ro cousins now！I was also very positively surprised by how this book didn't shy away from questioning the whole Jedi Order。 This might've even been my favorite thing about this book。The ending was shocking and something I definitely didn't except at the beginning。 It definitely elevated this book to a whole other level。The writing felt very cohesive， which was my biggest concern after finding out this book was co-written by two authors。 I think it even improved。 The Justina Ireland books I've read so far all had the same problem for me and I'm glad that this wasn't the case here。I have absolutely NOTHING to criticize about this book。Still， I didn't feel quite right to give this book five stars。 Idk why， it's just a feeling I can't get over。 Four stars it is then， which is still a very high rating I think。🤷♀️P。S。 this might be my favorite THR cover yet！ I'm loving the dark blue aesthetic！😍 。。。more
Kyle
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