u/Niccon_Art_Guy

I listen to Audiobooks a lot since I have ADHD and I find it hard to absorb information withouts actually *hearing* it.

I remember listening to “The Approaching Storm” as one of the many Audiobooks I have on my Audible Account, and I recalled not really liking it too much. But after listening to both “The Living Force” and “The Crystal Crown” on Audible (Great experiences, both of those), I realized that the only Audiobook version of “The Approaching Storm” on the service (and seemingly the entire internet) is the “Abridged” version. That’s what I listened to.

Of course, there’s no way to know what is cut in “Abridged” versions of books, but I was curious. So today I took it upon myself to read through the entire book, while listening to the version on Audiobook to see what I missed out on. And I’ve come to tell you; PLEASE, if you want to actually enjoy this book: do NOT go with the Audiobook version on Audible.

Past the first chapter there’s rarely even a single page that doesn’t have a few sentences, or entire paragraphs, removed. There’s entire pages missing. At least a half a dozen times there’s anywhere from five to SIXTEEN entire pages of story in a row missing from the Audiobook version. There’s entire plot lines or plot points that are just wholesale REMOVED from that version.

Beyond that, there’s also some genuinely really good characters interactions, moments of introspection, and even some jokes, that are just missing in the Audiobook version. As someone who loves the medium of Audiobooks as a way to tell stories, please take it from me: read the book version!

I’ll start by saying that I think, on the whole, this book is pretty great. I think the action, the fight scenes, the chase sequences, and Maul in particular are all standouts in this book. They really make you feel like Maul is a monster from an 80’s or 90’s slasher movie in this. He’s always stalking you, always just one step behind you and nothing and no one can put him down: at least not for long. In that regards this book does its job amazingly.

This book really does leave me with a sour taste in my mouth for one big reason, however. The Romance between the male and female lead genuinely feels incredibly forced and unearned.

It’s repeated a few times in the book, but the main male and female leads of the story know each other for maybe *A* day, at most? And by their second or third scene together the book is always sending off signals that they’re falling in love with each other. Now in most books that’d be alright, if a bit rushed: but it beggars belief when the characters falling for each other are a Jedi (Where romantic love is forbidden), and a guy who the book takes great lengths to explain viscerally HATES the Jedi and everything they stand for. Also, I’m not a prude by any means, but it also doesn’t help that the book points out how the girl in the situation is like half the guy’s age. But that fact combined with the conflict states above really makes this romance fall flat for me.

But that’s not a huge knock against the book or anything. I still had a great time with it. I’d say out of the Star Wars books I have read, it’s definitely in the top 3

It’s a good book so far, and I enjoy how fast paced and action packed the story is. But something Maul reminisces on in Chapter 19 took me by surprise so much I just laughed.

Maul claims that “before his voice had begun to lower”, he and Darth Sidious “infiltrated” the halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant by pretending to be tourists interested in the Jedi.

And that’s just so??? The idea of Sheev Palpatine wearing sunglasses and an “I ❤️ JEDI” T-Shirt, and bringing along this black and red demon child to the temple and just being LET IN is so hilarious to me.

These Candle holders in the walls have a spike through them to affix wax candles to, so they remain upright.

The Yetis obviously don’t have any wax candles, so they just stabbed entire logs onto the spikes to create makeshift candles instead. I think that’s a neat detail!

I'll start off by saying that this isn't my favorite Star Wars Book, but I've read a few and that's not a knock against the book by any means.

The plot of the book is very fluff-y, and feels to me akin to a several episode mini-arc of something like Rebels or Clones Wars. More a device used to show off character interactions and show some growth. And to that end, I think this book does well! I already liked the Jedi cast introduced in The Acolyte, but the majority of them get very little time to shine, but this book gives characters like Jekki and Yord the focus and I think they lead the book well.

Both Jekki and Yord are very flavorful characters and their dynamic reminds me a lot of early series Anakin and Ahsoka, which is a good thing, at least to me. Their constantly nettling each other but still showing clear and obvious care and affection for one another reminds me of some of my favorite sibling characters in fiction. I also just LOVE Master Sol, in both this book and the show. He is the picture of a perfectly serene, caring, gentle, and understanding Jedi Master, and you can tell he tries his utmost to be that way because of that horrible thing he did in the past. Love a character haunted by their past and trying to make up for it every day.

The new characters and setting in the book are interesting enough, and the book asks some interesting questions about the Jedi and their role in the Galaxy, and if it is right to force your own view of morality on others when you come from a totally different culture. (I might not totally agree with all the messaging there, but it was interesting all the same. And NO, I'm not talking about the non-binary character or the trans character. They were fine, grow up.)

My critique of the book can mostly be summed up by saying that the story is pure filler, but the good kind of filler. The kind that's decent popcorn fun and has some cool/cute character moments sprinkled throughout. The stakes are next to non-existent throughout most of the book, and when we do introduce a real danger at the 11th hour it's solved a bit too fast for my liking. I give the book a 7.5/10

I'm in the middle of reading the Crystal Crown by Tessa Gratton and I feel like these two have so much in common. (I.E being so desperate to prove themselves and ascend the ranks way too fast.)