Jedi Twilight

This is a novel in which not much actually happens. It's all set up and little plot, a red herring here and an aborted fight there, getting you to the point where, at the end of the book, the characters are all in place--and the book ends, and you need to go get part 2.

Call me crazy, but good stories shouldn't do that.

It doesn't really work as noir, it doesn't work as a mood piece, and it certainly doesn't work as narrative. In short, this book doesn't work. Skip it unless you're a hard-core Star Wars "Expanded Universe" fan and you plan to read all three. I'm not, and I won't.

I was excited by this book. How could I not be? A noir private eye story set on Coruscant? Unfortunately, what the front cover and the back cover text promised was not quite what was delivered. There was no detective story at all, just a hunt for a missing droid. And even that was carried out half-heartedly-- a lot of the time, the characters seemed to be wandering around aimlessly. But fortunately the characters are able to carry the book just fine-- there's a welcome return of a number of characters from Reaves's previous books (Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and Clone Wars: MedStar), especially I-5YQ, and new character Jax Pavan is decent enough, too. Laranth Tarak, on the other hand, has an excellent introduction as a sparring show more partner/female counterpart for Jax... but after her first scene, she just stands there and shoots things. Reaves captures the seedy underbelly of Coruscant very well, though. It's a decent book, and I look forward to the next two in the trilogy, but Reaves could stand to kick it up a notch or two. show less

“Jedi Twilight” by Michael Reaves had its good points and its bad points, averaging out to a fairly average novel.

Centered around newly knighted Jedi, Pavan Jax, and set on the lower levels of the city-planet Coruscant shortly after the fall of the Jedi and beginning of the Empire, the plot mainly revolved around Jax trying to survive with new Sith Lord, Darth Vader, attempting to find him and capture him alive. Unfortunately we don’t get any explanation for why, unlike other Jedi that Darth Vader wants to kill, he wants Jax alive.

It’s not clear exactly when it takes place. Near the beginning we’re told it’s very soon after the rise of the Empire, but then in later narration it seems like some of the characters have been show more living with the Empire for quite a bit longer.

Jax is joined by another Jedi, Laranth whose a member of the Gray Paladins, Jedi who use the force less and rely on blasters and hand-to-hand combat instead of lightsabers. They meet up with Nick Rostu, a grand army officer with very minor force abilities, the pair of reporters, Den and I-5, a droid with unusual capabilities and personality. Near the end they also run into two high ranking members of the Black Sun criminal organization to battle feral droids.

I had a little trouble following things when switching points of view in the middle of chapters, which often left me confused until I reread the characters’ names a few paragraphs before. Some of the action was good, some was just over too quickly. I didn’t feel like Laranth really got a whole lot of action to work with.

I’ve read other Reaves fantasy novels back in the 80’s when I was a teenager and was particularly fond of “The Shattered World”. When I’m in the mood for more Star Wars, though, I quite likely will look for another Michael Reaves, or even the sequel to this one. show less

I liked the book as a whole, the characters are well defined and likable. The story is interesting and I also liked how they used characters that have been in past novels. I have no complaints about anything in particular though I did have a little trouble getting into the story at first. Other than that I enjoyed the book very much.

When I came across the Coruscant night series I wasn't sure whether I would like it or not. Just by the blurb and reviews I had read I was a bit sceptical. In all honesty, the part of the Star Wars timeline I'm not a huge fan of, mainly because there hasn't been a bulk worth of well known novels that have characterised the era.

I was left however, pleasantly surprised. The characters are interesting and not too 'far fetched', and I particularly liked the introduction of "I-Five" as well as what he adds to the novel. Michael Reaves uses good cross-referencing with some not so well known characters that helps drive the story along too. The problem I had with this book is that it didn't make me want to really get into it at all. I didn't show more find myself needing to get my book 'fix' as I have from previous novels that I've read. I think perhaps the lack of real excitement made it a bit of a drag but nevertheless, I have started the second novel in the series and I'm starting to get a bit more emotionally involved with the characters.

I would say that this will tickle your fancy if you're a fan of the whole 'lone Jedi surviving' thing, and if you are happy to follow a character relatively unheard of and new. However, if you're looking for a ton of names you've seen pop up in multiple novels etc then maybe look at either the Clone Wars or New Republic era. show less

A interesting revival of many of the "lesser" (but interesting) characters from many star wars novels. From the cast of the Medstar set to the Shadows of the Empire series. If it were a movie it would have the caption of "with guest appearances by Darth Vader". This made for quite a fun adventure through the Courscant underworld just after the infamous Order 66 was given.

It took me a little while to "get into" this book, primarily because all the characters were new. But I really enjoyed the storyline and it was somewhat hopeful to realize that some Jedi survived the purges - at least to begin with. I'm looking forward to the next installment.