Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

I just don't care about Darth Maul and all his ridiculous "I'm so powerful no one can stand before me I always finish my mission" bullshit. The fact that Darsha and Maul had basically the exact same thoughts about mission failure was so annoying. Especially since neither of them would shut up about it. Darsha's constant "I'm gonna get sent to the agricorps if I fail this one mission" whining was enough to drive me batty. Obi-Wan's presence in this book at all was totally inexplicable and pointless. There just were no good decisions made here at all.

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter was the first book that I read in the Star Wars extended universe, and it's probably due to this book that my blog is currently rather full of star wars book reviews. It's not my favourite book in the Star Wars franchise, but it is one that I will always enjoy reading - and have indeed read several times.

It's a really easy to read book - there is nothing particularly complex about it, the only thing that might require Expanded Universe knowledge is that "the Black Sun" is the name of a criminal organisation - but even that isn't really necessary. If you've only seen the Star Wars films, you can enjoy this book.

Essentially it tells us more about the mystery that is Darth Maul. But in a way that kind of doesn't show more really tell us much at all. But while I loved Darth Maul in this book, the thing that I really enjoyed about this book was the two characters introduced in it - Darsha Assant and Lorn Pavan. The first a Jedi, the second a kind of lowlife. Reaves writes both of them really well - and the changing relationship between them even better.

I also enjoyed learning more about the Jedi. This was the first book in which I read the Jedi Code, and we learn more about how jedi are taught - as well as what they would sacrifice to protect others. It's quite an uplifting book, if somewhat tragic, and a really nice entry into the extended universe.

A lot of Star Wars books are enjoyed mainly by fans of the Extended Universe. This one is one that I believe can be enjoyed by anyone, and easily read. As I said at the beginning of the review - it's not the best book in the world. But it's one that opens the door to many others (There are over a hundred books in the Star Wars franchise). It's a great book - and an excellent first Star Wars books. show less

As Darth Sidious prepares to unfold his plans that will lead, eventually, to galactic domination, a treacherous Neimoidian threatens to derail those plans before they can get started. So Sidious unleashes his apprentice, Darth Maul, onto the traitor's trail with orders to obliterate both the Neimoidian and anyone with whom he comes into contact. This includes Lorn Pavan, a downlevel Coruscant hustler who used to work for the Jedi, his droid colleague, and Jedi Padawan Darsha Assant. The three team up in an effort to evade Darth Maul and get the information about Sidious's plans to the Jedi.

Given that this book leads into the events of The Phantom Menace, the final outcome is assured. The story is pretty entertaining, though, amounting show more essentially to one long chase scene with plenty of action and a couple of side stories thrown in (Pavan's animosity toward the Jedi; Obi-Wan Kenobi skirting around the edges and nearly learning of Darth Maul's existence). Darth Maul in the film had a lot of promise as a villain that obviously wasn't realized, but ample evidence of his badassery can be found here.

Now, all that being said...this was my second reading of this novel, and I found as I went through it that I had only the vaguest recollection of reading it the first time around. As entertaining as it is, it's eminently forgettable, with no particularly memorable characters or events. I felt like Pavan and Assant were a hollow attempt at recreating the dynamic between Han and Leia in the original trilogy and some of the better novels. But I suppose the real point of this book is for Darth Maul to chop off some heads, and I can't give it any less than an A+ in that regard. show less

A better read than some Star Wars novels, but not anything I'd call a must read. I was interested in reading on just to figure out how the book's central conflict could be resolved without conflicting with what we know from the movies. The plot was well-done and it moved quickly without too much sacrifice of character development.

This was very good. Maul’s character felt true and his story felt real for the events at the timeline. I liked the introduction of new characters and getting their pieces of the story as well as the few bits of characters from episode 1.

I should say that I usually do not read a lot of Star Wars novels that take place close to the events in the movies. It is because I feel I know how things will end down the road, so how the characters got there does not really interest me. There are some exceptions, and if they are stories of very different characters (not the usual cast), I may pick them up out of curiosity (for example, the MedStar duology, which I have on my bookshelf here). Anyhow, I picked this one up at my local public library, again, out of curiosity. We'll see how it turns out once I get to it.

Overall, not the greatest Star Wars novel, but it was ok. If nothing else, it was a quick read. It does set up into the events of Star Wars:Episode One. So, those who show more have seen the movie know Darth Maul's eventual fate, but the novel adds some depth to the character that is not found in the film, so in that regard, it makes for good reading. The pace is pretty good. The ending was ok; then again, given how events eventually turn out, it sort of has to end the way it does, but it does add a bit of a small twist to keep it interesting. Essentially, it is a book to borrow and read. I borrowed it from my local public library. Fans will definitely appreciate it. Casual readers may find it just ok. show less

I really liked this book. It moved along pretty well and was fun. It ended right where episode I begins, so that was fun making some connections. Darth Maul is pretty cool and it introduced some likeable characters.