Star Wars: Darth Maul - Shadow Hunter - Hardcover

Reaves, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0712684174 ISBN 13: 9780712684170

Publisher: Century, 2001

Synopsis

The Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, is meeting with the Neimoidian Viceroy and his seconds-in-command. But where there are three Neimoidians, there should be a fourth. Angry and suspicious that his secrets are being blabbed, Sidious sends out his apprentice, Darth Maul, to find and kill all concerned.

About this title

Review:

Here's another Star Wars spin-off novel, a brisk and extremely uncomplicated action-adventure romp set on planet Coruscant immediately before the events of The Phantom Menace. After a few setting-up exercises, it's essentially a prolonged chase sequence whose implacable pursuer is Darth Maul--the almost absurdly villainous-looking Sith Lord with the biggest light sabre and worst make-up job in the entire saga to date.

The plot? Insidiously evil Darth Sidious is poised to launch the Naboo trade blockade featured in The Phantom Menace. But one of his alien henchmen has sneaked away to betray this scheme, and must die. So must the traitor's contacts, small-time crook Lorn Pavan and his uppity droid I-Five. Likewise Darsha Assant, the female Jedi Knight apprentice who gets entangled with Pavan through either mind-boggling coincidence or the mysterious ways of the Force.

Michael Reaves makes a reasonably slick job of all this nonsense, and is not afraid of clichés. "I've got a bad feeling about this", people say. "Too many questions, and not enough answers". Meanwhile in the Jedi council, Yoda makes characteristic remarks: "A good choice he would be ... No accident this was". Yoda's style to imitate, shooting fish in a barrel is.

Unfortunately, the well-known storyline of The Phantom Menace defuses suspense in Shadow Hunter. That trade blockade has to happen despite the good folks' doomed heroics, and horrible Darth Maul (already far more powerful and deadly than the puny opposition he faces here) is fated to win through. For dedicated fans only. --David Langford

Book Description:

Shortly before the events of THE PHANTOM MENACE, one man and his Jedi companion could destroy all of Darth Sidious' plans to blockade the planet Naboo. Only Darth Maul can stop them.

About this edition

• Publisher: Century
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0712684174
• ISBN 13: 9780712684170
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352