Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul, #2)

Jan 11, 2009 Ron rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ron by: Wendell Andrea

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy

Good story, well done. Having fewer ensemble cast members of the Star Wars pantheon gives the author more outcome flexibility, but knowing where the story has to end up still gives the reader too much knowledge of what has to happen to the non-canon players. (Is that a spoiler?)

The more I'm exposed to the SW universe, the more the technology baffles me. First, over the span of about five thousand years galaxie--stuffed with advanced cultures--seems to make no technology improvements--despite war...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Christopher Hivner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Darth Sidious is about to implement his plan of a trade blockade when one of his “partners” in the scheme goes missing, planning to sell the information he has to whoever will pay the most. Sidious sends his apprentice Darth Maul to find the traitor. The action takes place on Coruscant, as the Neimoidian gets set to make a deal with Lorn Pavan, a broker of all things worth money. A Jedi Padawan sent to Coruscant on a test mission, fails in her job, eventually crossing paths with Pavan and his dr...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Donovan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

A great addition to any Star Wars Fan's collection. This novel is set just before and leads in to the events of Star Wars: Phantom Menace (Episode I). It has all the action, excitement and thrills that we expect in the Star Wars universe. It's also aimed at the teenage and older generation - which is refreshing after reading a few of the SW novels that targeted children.
As you would expect from a novel that focuses on Darth Maul, there is a distinct dark tone across most of the story. But as we...more A great addition to any Star Wars Fan's collection. This novel is set just before and leads in to the events of Star Wars: Phantom Menace (Episode I). It has all the action, excitement and thrills that we expect in the Star Wars universe. It's also aimed at the teenage and older generation - which is refreshing after reading a few of the SW novels that targeted children.
As you would expect from a novel that focuses on Darth Maul, there is a distinct dark tone across most of the story. But as we have all come to learn in the Star Wars universe, there's always hope.
A great read and well paced.

Plot ***Spoilers***
After years of waiting in the shadows, Darth Sidious is taking the first step in his master plan to destroy the Jedi Order and take over the galaxy. He meets secretly with his Neimoidian contacts in the Trade Federation to finalize details in the plan to blockade the planet Naboo. But one member of the delegation is missing, and Sidious does not need his Force-honed instincts to suspect betrayal. He orders his apprentice, Darth Maul, to hunt the traitor Hath Monchar down. Maul completes this task by decapitating Monchar with his double-bladed lightsaber, but learns from Monchar that he had also recorded proof of the Sith's manipulation of the Naboo blockade on a holocron, to sell for profit. A suicidal attack by a Trade Federation-hired bounty hunter forces Maul to retreat before claiming the holocron, making an explosion which kills the bounty hunter, and by the time he returns to its hiding place, the holocron is in the possession of its intended purchaser, a Corellian con man named Lorn Pavan.
Pavan, although at first purely motivated by money and deeply resentful of the Jedi for taking his son away from him, realizes the nature of the information and seeks to take it to the Jedi Temple. Maul, for his part, is ordered by Sidious to not only retrieve the holocron, but kill Lorn, his droid partner I-Five, and anyone else who might have knowledge of the information. Meanwhile, a Jedi Padawan named Darsha Assant is faced with the Jedi Trials to finally become a full-fledged Jedi Knight by saving Oolth the Fondorian, a Black Sun member, and get some information out of him of Black Sun's destruction (which had been caused by Maul in the previous novel Darth Maul: Saboteur). Darsha saves Oolth from a gang in one of the lower levels of Coruscant, but when she and the Black Sun member zip-line toward the top of a building, Darsha and Oolth are attacked by hawk-bats. Eventually, the two go high enough where the hawk-bats force Darsha to release Oolth and he falls to his death on the lower levels.
Lorn and I-Five meet up with Yanth the Hutt, a crime lord in one of the lower levels in Coruscant, to get money out of the deal, but Maul arrives to kill Yanth by impaling one of his lightsaber blades into him and murders his bodyguards. This gives Lorn and I-Five the opportunity to escape. Jedi Master Anoon Bondara and his padawan, Darsha Assant, who are on a mission related to the Black Sun crime syndicate, find Lorn and I-Five. The two Jedi agree to escort Lorn and I-Five to the Temple, but the foursome are attacked by Maul, leading up to a battle on the top of a building. Bondara manages to nearly kill Maul at the cost of his own life, leaving Lorn, I-Five, and Darsha to work their way to the Temple from the underground caverns of Coruscant, while Bondara is killed in an explosion that also nearly kills Maul. Maul, however, is not seriously wounded, and immediately begins tracking the three again.
After escaping various dangers of Coruscant's subterranean levels, Lorn, Darsha and I-Five are once again set upon by Maul, who is intent on fulfilling his mission. Darsha, realizing that she cannot defeat Maul, draws out their duel long enough for I-Five to hastily repair a carbonite-freezing unit and seal Lorn and the droid inside it. Darsha plunges her lightsaber into a pile of volatile gas canisters, causing an explosion that Maul barely escapes and kills Darsha. Upon surveying the scene, Maul feels no trace of Lorn in the Force, not realizing that the carbonite hibernation has made his lifeforce all but undetectable.
An automatic timer frees Lorn from hibernation, and he decides to go after Maul on his own to try to retrieve the holocron. When I-Five attempts to come along, Lorn deactivates him and asks a friend to take the droid, who knows about the blockade, to the Jedi Temple. Lorn's friend, however, decides to keep I-Five for himself - after giving the droid a memory wipe. Lorn, unaware of this, uses a piece from the body of a subterranean creature to block his presence in the Force, and follows Maul to a Republic space station. Lorn sneaks up on and stuns Maul momentarily before Maul awakens and strikes out, severing Lorn's right hand and pursuing him through the station's service tubes.
Lorn barely makes it into the public area of the station where Maul cannot follow, and unwittingly gives the holocron to Senator Palpatine of Naboo, not realizing the senator's true identity is Maul's Sith Master, Darth Sidious. After a brief period of recovery, Lorn starts to leave his quarters, only to be confronted by Maul one final time. Maul by this point considers Lorn a worthy opponent and kills him quickly, then leaves, his task completed.(less)

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Sep 28, 2012 Jeff Cothern rated it 4 of 5 stars

Amazon.com Review

Here's another Star Wars spinoff 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 lightsaber and worst makeup job in the entire saga to date.

The plot? Insidiously evil Darth Sidious is poised to launch t

...more

Amazon.com Review

Here's another Star Wars spinoff 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 lightsaber and worst makeup 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, smalltime 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. Plenty of characters have wooden lines like "I've got a bad feeling about this," and "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."

Unfortunately, the well-known story line 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 out. This novel is for dedicated fans only. --David Langford

Review

"FULL OF LIGHTSABER BATTLES, THE JEDI PHILOSOPHY, AND LOTS OF NEW LIFE-FORMS."
--Chicago Sun-Times

"Reaves writes with a creative flair, allowing readers to experience an almost cinematic sensation as they move through the story. The language is colorful, the action scenes are dynamic, and the dialogue is realistic.... Shadow Hunter is a very good Star Wars novel that reads as easily as a comic book.... Reaves does an excellent job."
--Winston-Salem Journal

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Aug 18, 2011 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've always had a soft-spot for Star Wars stories not centred around The Big Three or their immediate circle of friends/family. The galaxy far, far away is such a huge, vast sandbox that the possibilities for any ordinary person to have extraordinary things happen to them are boundless.

Plus, it's always exciting to read about someone who's fate you don't know and could very well die on the next page!

Shadow Hunter is a fun read, quick to get through, and since it takes place immediately prior to...more

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Jul 23, 2010 Crystal Starr Light rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: star-wars, so-good-it-s-awesome, simply-the-best

"He can't be bought off, scared off, or thrown off the trail and he'll stop at nothing..."
Lorn Pavan hates the Jedi. So when he and his droid companion, I-Five, get access to a Sith Holocron detailing the impending Naboo blockade, the first person he goes to is a Hutt crimelord attached to the Black Sun, not the Jedi. But someone wants that Holocron back...and he will stop at nothing to get it.
NOTE: Based on audiobook and novel.

I Liked:
WOW! I am astonished at how good this novel is! I remember w...more

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Jan 19, 2010 Leeanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own

Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, by Michael Reaves

Another prequel novel to "Episode I: The Phantom Menace," this Star Wars book focuses on Darth Maul, the apprentice to Darth Sidious. Tasked by his master to find a missing Neimoidian, Maul travels to Coruscant on what first appears to be a simple mission.

Maul feels that this hunt and kill mission is beneath him - he is a Sith. He was born to fight and kill Jedi, not cowardly Neimoidians. But luckily for him, Maul soon encounters a resource...more

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Aug 07, 2011 Isis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: star-wars

The events of this book take place immediately before The Phantom Menace, and our trilogy of dark and ominous prequels that depict the tragic downfall of the Old Republic, so it’s not too surprising to see another foreboding book where evil wins out and good is thwarted. Of course, nothing truly disastrous and appalling can happen yet, as the Sith are waiting on the right moment in Sidious’ plan to reveal themselves, but as far as there can be, a dark foreboding hangs over the whole novel. It is...more The events of this book take place immediately before The Phantom Menace, and our trilogy of dark and ominous prequels that depict the tragic downfall of the Old Republic, so it’s not too surprising to see another foreboding book where evil wins out and good is thwarted. Of course, nothing truly disastrous and appalling can happen yet, as the Sith are waiting on the right moment in Sidious’ plan to reveal themselves, but as far as there can be, a dark foreboding hangs over the whole novel. It is another example of the kind of Star Wars book that starts with a number of disparate individual characters and ends up having them all run into each other and play out events as a group – Maul, Darsha, Lorn and I-Five. Unlike this book’s prequel, Cloak of Deception, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter is looser in what it is trying to be, even though we already know the conclusion must be that (view spoiler). Essentially however, it is a hunt and chase story.

The writing is competent, but the problem is that it is not outstanding. One of the main problems is that the restrictions of what must follow really hampers the scope of this book. All the characters that appear next must survive, and the Sith’s plans cannot be revealed. This limits how much drama can actually occur, and forces the author to use entirely new characters to kill off simply to inject some drama. Reaves does his best to make our characters, Lorn, I-Five and Darsha, sympathetic so the readers care about their fate. He does a good job with what he has, but it is a difficult ask. If there was more page space to explore the past and personalities of the characters, it would create more sympathy. I really would have liked to know a lot more about Darsha and Lorn as people, and how Lorn and I-Five’s partnership came about. It’s also difficult for the reader to connect deeply with the new characters, no matter how Reaves creates sympathy for them, knowing the outcome as we do. There are some moments of comedy, although they are dry witticisms rather than laugh-out-loud hilarity – the banter between Lorn and I-Five for example, and an amusing scene where Maul takes on the Coruscant police forces.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is the only real returning character here, not counting extremely brief cameos by Qui-Gon Jinn and Jedi Council members. I kind of got the feeling that his appearance served only as a familiar touchstone for readers – any other Jedi could have quite easily been assigned to the task he is given, which is to investigate the disappearance of Darsha and Anoon Bondara. The fact that he has a bit of a mutual attraction with Darsha feels entirely forced, inserted to make her more important, with a connection to an established character. One useful purpose Obi-Wan did serve was to provide a contrast to Darsha. As a Padawan, he comes across as a lot more confident, street-wise and overall more skilled than her. The book, as the title suggests, features Darth Maul heavily. I liked the exploration of his origins, his past, how he trained under Sidious as a Sith apprentice to get to the point he is at in the book, but there just isn’t enough of it, it’s really just a taster. We learn that he’s taken as a child by Sidious to be his apprentice, taught to obey without question, perform to perfection, and embrace pain as a punishment. Despite the glimpse into his past, Maul is a closed book. He thinks only of his immediate mission and the wider goal of the destruction of the Jedi Order. We don’t learn much about him as a person, his personality, his aspirations. You kind of get the sense that all of that has just been completely scrubbed out of him by Sidious. I almost began to wonder if Sidious never intended to make Maul his successor. Maul is an astounding warrior, truly, his battle prowess and skill in combat is almost faultless... but he obeys Sidious unquestioningly, he never plots against him to bring him down, he has no ambition or notions of betrayal in him, unlike other Sith. I almost wonder if Sidious intended to use Maul as his perfect warrior during this phase of the plan, then get rid of him and replace him.

5 out of 10.(less)

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Apr 29, 2012 Ploy [SU] rated it 5 of 5 stars

To start with, this is a great story, well done. With this book, Michael Reaves got on my favorite authors list. Usually having "Star Wars" on the cover of a book would make me want to read it, but this one is a true Star Wars book. Engrossing from the start, it reminded me of how I read The Hunger Games. There was everything you could possibly want in a story- action, humor, mystery, including a mild romantic attraction.

Darth Sidious, the lord of the Sith, took his first step to bring the Repub...more To start with, this is a great story, well done. With this book, Michael Reaves got on my favorite authors list. Usually having "Star Wars" on the cover of a book would make me want to read it, but this one is a true Star Wars book. Engrossing from the start, it reminded me of how I read The Hunger Games. There was everything you could possibly want in a story- action, humor, mystery, including a mild romantic attraction.

Darth Sidious, the lord of the Sith, took his first step to bring the Republic to its knees. Years of waiting in shadows did not make him oblivious to the fact that there was a traitor. His apprentice Darth Maul was sent to hunt him down and all those who came in contact with the betrayer.

The book was quick to engage readers in, and it balances emotions and actions well. It took strange turns that got me hanging and wanting more. I really liked the setting in the underworld of Coruscant. The Cthons and the Taozin they faced was really cool, and the way they handled it was even more so. I liked the continual references to the Jedi Code, which shows how much it is in Darsha. It showed me who the Jedi are in a deeper meaning as well, though I memorized the Jedi Code a long time ago. I loved the part where Hath wets himself from fear. I also loved reading about characters that will show up in other books, so there would be a background for them when I read Coruscant Nights (I already read Medstar)

For a change, there was an ordinary guy named Lorn Pavan, not somebody who is a famous person. This gives us a chance to see how a nobody fares against something extraordinary. He has the courage, which I admired, and some strings of luck that got him that way. He had a reason to hate the Jedi (unlike Traviss's characters), and then discovered at the end that they weren't only what he think they are. I'm glad he finally accepted many things in the end. his droid, I-Five was one of a kind and I liked his personality so much. Darsha, who had a shot of attraction for Pavan in the adventure, turned out to be a great Padawan and she would have been a worthy Jedi Knight. She turned out to be one of my favorite Jedi- her understanding of the Force, her personality, etc. Maul's character showed better here- with a sense of honor, unwavering loyalty for his master, and deadly skills honed since his childhood.

There were few things I didn't like, but I would only recognize it if I looked hard. Maul took a bit too long to find them for an expert Sith, and Darsha's master should have sensed her through the Force. There needs to be more of Maul.

Overall, I love the book so much and I recommend it for everyone, especially if you want to understand TPM better. Every book has its flaws, and I can hardly find one for this. I can't wait to read the next one.(less)

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Mar 25, 2012 Deanna Lack rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, star-wars, fiction

Decent. Just previous to this I'd read the much newer Darth Plagueis by James Luceno, and the last Star Wars book I'd read before that was Jedi Twilight by Michael Reeves. Both books tesselate with this one rather nicely (though this one occurs before either of them). Some of the events in Darth Plaugeis are happening concurrently, with a focus on Sidious rather than Maul. Jedi Twilight features the droid character from this book, and the son of another Lorn Pavan from this book, and takes place...more Decent. Just previous to this I'd read the much newer Darth Plagueis by James Luceno, and the last Star Wars book I'd read before that was Jedi Twilight by Michael Reeves. Both books tesselate with this one rather nicely (though this one occurs before either of them). Some of the events in Darth Plaugeis are happening concurrently, with a focus on Sidious rather than Maul. Jedi Twilight features the droid character from this book, and the son of another Lorn Pavan from this book, and takes place post-Order 66.

In Shadow Hunter, Maul is sent to assassinate a Neimoidian attempting to sell information about the impending Trade Federation blockade of Naboo. It becomes more complicated when he finds that the information has already been sold to an information broker, Lorn Pavan, who travels with a sentient droid, I-Five, whom Lorn treats as an equal. In trying to escape from Maul the pair run into a Jedi Padawan. The story revolves around the dynamic between these three characters and their attempt to escape and take the information they have to the Jedi. Maul, meanwhile, is romping dark side all around Coruscant, and the Jedi never actually know it. (This seems pretty dumb to me... I always thought that it made the Jedi seem completely incompetent that Sidious was pals with some of them all the time and they never suspected he was anything but a Senator/Chancellor, and now he's got his apprentice assassinating people with Sith lightning on their back steps...)

I had really enjoyed Luceno's Darth Plagueis, but one thing it utterly lacked was a sympathetic character, which this book has, times three. Reeves has repeated an "I hate you for reasons that have nothing to do with who you are" character dynamic that I noted in Jedi Twilight, which I found only slightly tiresome, but all in all the trio is pretty enjoyable and I really liked I-Five a great deal in both books. If he is in the second book of this Darth Maul duo I will likely read it. I find the character of Maul himself pretty bland, and didn't much enjoy the forays into his psyche, which pretty much consisted of obeying everything his master said whether he understands it or not, and wanting to kill Jedi and display his fearsome fighting prowess. If you read this book and you haven't read Darth Plagueis, I highly suggest it, because the Sidious-Maul relationship is much more interesting in the context of the overall plan of the Sith hierarchy, and while Maul thinks he is one of two throughout this book (throughout his life), in fact Plagueis is still alive at this point and Maul is more a tool than a true Sith Lord because he is not in on the machinations at all (and in fact would make an abysmal Sith Lord because he's pretty dumb and not ambitious at all -- of course I think he is pretty young at this point). Love the intrigue.

I do recommend this one for any die hard Star Wars novel or Star Wars history fan, and anyone who enjoys the Clone Wars era of the Star Wars timeline. I appreciate novels that fill in history around the movies, which this does nicely.(less)

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Jul 21, 2012 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars

Michael Reaves does a good job with "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter". I was impressed. I was wondering if I'd ever give another Star Wars book more than two stars.

Of course the problem with Darth Maul is that he is mainly visual and doesn't have much in the way of any kind of character. His hopes and dreams are rudimentary and his goal is to kill and destroy wherever his master (Darth Sidious a.k.a. the future Emperor Palaptine) sends him.

Speaking of Sidious, if you read the "Darth Plagueis" novel be...more Michael Reaves does a good job with "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter". I was impressed. I was wondering if I'd ever give another Star Wars book more than two stars.

Of course the problem with Darth Maul is that he is mainly visual and doesn't have much in the way of any kind of character. His hopes and dreams are rudimentary and his goal is to kill and destroy wherever his master (Darth Sidious a.k.a. the future Emperor Palaptine) sends him.

Speaking of Sidious, if you read the "Darth Plagueis" novel before this one, like I did, that book will totally spoil the ending of this one. If you've read both, you know what I mean.

Aside from that, Reaves does a good job with his characters, including Maul. If I'm not mistaken, this book is a sort of prologue to Reaves' "Coruscant Nights" series where "private eye Jedi" Jax Pavan tries to help the downtrodden of Coruscant while evading Darth Vader. Lorn Pavan, Jax's father, is one of our main characters in "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter". Lorn is a down on his luck information broker who happens into a matter of galactic importance.

What's that matter, you ask? One of those treacherous Neimoidians has betrayed Darth Sidious and Nute Gunray and plans to reveal the plot for the upcoming Trade Federation blockade of Naboo (the events of "The Phantom Menace" film), which sets in motion the Sith plan to destroy the Jedi.

So the main focus of the story is Maul trying to find the holocron with the blockade plan and killing all who know of the blockade. Lorn Pavan and his droid partner I-5 and a Jedi padawan named Darsha Assant all end up working together to avoid Maul and get the blockade information to the Senate or the Jedi. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi gets into the mix, briefly, towards the end.

Reaves does a good job keeping the story moving and gives us characters with more depth than Darth Maul. Maul doesn't go much deeper than "crush, kill, destroy" and his devotion to Sidious, yet the author does give us some insights into his character. And we do come to care for Lorn and Darsha and I-5 along the way as they have harrowing adventures in the underbelly of Coruscant evading Darth Maul, cannibals, and a very large and hungry predator.

As a side note, the two Darth Maul short stories (written by James Luceno) included with Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter are nowhere near as good as the book. I am always a bit shocked when authors find a way to make the Sith boring. Luceno's two tales, one about Maul as a saboteur and the other about Maul's Dathomiri past coming back to haunt him as a teenager, are both pretty dull and predictable. The sabotage story is particularly dull and uninspired.

If you're a Darth Maul fan and haven't read the Darth Plagueis book (which, as I said, TOTALLY spoils the ending of this book) you could do a lot worse than to pick up Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter.

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Jun 18, 2009 Gail rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story takes place shortly before the events of "The Phantom Menace" and somewhat briefly expands on the Darth Maul character. It actually doesn't say much we don't know: he's proficient in the ways of the Sith, is a powerful warrior, but suffers from an eventually fatal hubris. The story itself is pretty much a chase as Maul tracks people with information that much stay hidden for the sake of the years-
in-the-making Sith plans. Even though you pretty much know how it will end, I enjoyed it...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Siobhan Parker rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not the best Star Wars Expanded Universe adventure, but still pretty good nonetheless. Though Shadow Hunter is billed as a thriller, the fact that it takes place before The Phantom Menace takes away some of the suspense; however, some of the novel-only characters, such as the personified android I-Five and his best friend Lorn, as well as the strange creature known as the Taozin, were interesting to read about, as was Darth Maul's history. If you've read nearly other Star Wars novel in existence...more

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May 08, 2013 Brendan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall, I enjoyed this story even though the impact of the story wasn't that great. If you're at all familiar with the Star Wars premise you pretty much have a good idea of how this story is going to end. That makes all the drama a little less dramatic and the ending a whole lot less surprising. I walked away with a "yep", that's pretty much what I expected to happen, though it took a whole lot longer to get there than I anticipated. Reaves also had a tendency towards the verbose when all it di...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Luis Velez rated it 5 of 5 stars

The sith Darth Maul is on a bounty to kill any who have come in contact with the vital information of the blockade on planet Naboo. He finds his victims on the planet of coruscent and chases them through the depths of the planet trying to complete his mission. He must stop them before they reach the jedi council or it'll be too late and his master's plan of blockading Naboo will be ruined.He will go to any lengths to complete his mission and kill any one who gets in his way, even the mighty jedi...more

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Mar 27, 2011 William rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: star-wars

I decided to read as many Star Wars novels as I can in chronological order. This book is, really, the first, and it does a great job of kickstarting any Jedi's training. The plot was believable, the action non-stop, and Darth Maul is a kickass Sith. My only problem (and it is only a minor one) is that i can't imagine a Sith with so much ability, skill, guile, and power taking so long to deal with his prey, and almost succumbing to one of them. I mean really. Otherwise a great read to start the S...more

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Feb 03, 2010 Phillip rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my all time favorite star wars books. Its great for the non star wars fan. the book is great for such a fan because it there is not so much science fiction. The reader does not have to understand how amazing it is that she is so sassy in front of the council. its great to get into the genre. star wars books are dense and very descriptive but awesome. there is so much more to star wars then the movies. i would say that some of the books are way better. especially the new star wars...more

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Oct 17, 2012 David Agranoff rated it 5 of 5 stars

This might for real be the best Star Wars novel I have ever read. None of the major characters, no problem. This novel is perfectly paced action adventure with strong characters that set up characters for novels Reaves wrote down the line.

Star Noirs really... Reaves did such a great job they brought him back to do a trilogy of Coruscant nights noir novels set against the dark times after the fall of the empire. He also used some of these characters in the Med star Clone Wars novels I am intendi...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Michael Tildsley rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I first saw Darth Maul in Episode I, I was mesmerized and in awe. As time went on and I viewed the movie again, I became more and more disappointed. Behind the mystery is nothing but silence and a quick death.

Enter Shadow Hunter. This book made the character of Darth Maul infinitely more interesting than the film was able to do, providing motivations, back story, and a larger range of emotion than silence and blind anger. I dare say the plot of this book would have made a better movie than...more

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Dec 31, 2011 London rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I recommended this to my little brother after I read it. He read the first four chapters and told me, "This is BORING!!" I was astonished at his reaction. First off, he had only read the first four chapters, and second, he hadn't read them in succession, but that's off the topic. I was also astonished because I flew through this book while on vacation in Missouri. I'm even ashamed to say that I wouldn't even speak to my dad's side of the family I only saw once a year until I finished it (which d...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Yves rated it 4 of 5 stars

Étant donné que je suis un fan de Star Wars, j'ai décidé en 1998 de lire tous les livres de l'Univers Étendu. Maintenant que j'en ai lu beaucoup, il est temps de faire mon compte rendu et je vais essayer de la faire par ordre chronologique de la série. Ce livre se passe à l'an 33 avant Épisode IV, Un Nouvel Espace, quelques mois avant The Phantom Menace.

C'est un livre très différent de la plupart des autres de la série parce que l'histoire a comme héros un méchant (Darth Maul). C'est l'histoire...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Megan-Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: star-wars, scifi

A funny thing happened when I was reading another of the books I’m going to be reviewing here in the next couple weeks. I recognized one of the characters–-and that was only funny because I thought I’d never read this book before. Yes, that’s right . . . the Star Wars Librarian forgot she’d read a SW book. Don’t let that stunt your opinion of it, though, because Reaves is far from forgettable! As soon as I saw the characters’ names again, I instantly remembered being 16, sitting at the end of my...more

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Nov 25, 2010 Brian Geers rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 24, 2010 Marcelo rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is not a good book. The idea was to deliver a straight-forward, action adventure without plot twists and very little complication. And the author would have succeeded, if the time frame was another one.

Basically, we have Darth Maul hunting a Neimoidian that's trying to sell the information about the blockade to Naboo (the plot that opens Episode I). Meanwhile, two scoundrels, a human called Lorn Pavan and a droid, I-5YQ, are trying to make a living buying and selling information. At the sam...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Jared rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: good-sci-fi, good-action-adventure

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter was written by Michael Reaves and published in January of 2001. It was Reaves first Star Wars book, though by no means his first writing experience in the universe. Apparently he was involved in a few episodes from the Droids and Ewoks TV series. He has since collaborated with Steve Perry on three Star Wars novels (including a book on the origins of the Death Star), and has soloed sundry other things. Non-Star Wars writings include a long and varied career in television...more Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter was written by Michael Reaves and published in January of 2001. It was Reaves first Star Wars book, though by no means his first writing experience in the universe. Apparently he was involved in a few episodes from the Droids and Ewoks TV series. He has since collaborated with Steve Perry on three Star Wars novels (including a book on the origins of the Death Star), and has soloed sundry other things. Non-Star Wars writings include a long and varied career in television on such shows as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Batman: The Animated Series, as well as many novels and short stories.

The book is set during the few days before Episode I begins, and ends as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are en route to Naboo.

Connections: The only ongoing characters with a significant role in the book are Darth Maul and Obi-Wan. I didn't detect any cameos, but several other movie characters make incidental appearances (Darth Sidious, Yoda, Qui-Gon, Trade Federation leaders, etc.). Most of the cast is new and appears only here.

Four Nemoidians are in on Darth Sidious's plot to blockade Naboo, but just before the plan goes into effect, one of them drops out and runs for Coruscant. He is intent on selling the information about the impending blockade (and who is really behind it) to the highest bidder and using the proceeds to disappear into comfortable retirement. With time running out, Sidious dispatches Darth Maul to quickly and quietly plug the leak, but there are a number of factors neither of them have counted on.

Drawn inexorably into the midst of these events are Lorn Pavan, a small-time information broker who has been down on his luck ever since the Jedi ruined his life, Pavan's "business partner" I-Five, a wise-cracking, heavily-modified protocol droid, and Darsha Assant, an untried Jedi Padawan who has just completely flubbed her first important solo mission. These three unlikely companions will match wits with a Dark Lord of the Sith (and worse) deep in the treacherous, terrifying underbelly of the galaxy's capital planet.

This book is pretty great, as Star Wars books go: simple and straightforward, but full of excitement and flavor. Reaves writes very naturally in the lingo, and his vocabulary (Star Wars and non-Star Wars) is large and varied. The story is neatly woven together, and you never know what's going to happen next. There is a genuine tension because the heroes can (and probably will) die. The hair-breadth escapes feel like just that, reminiscent of an Indiana Jones-style "how in the heck can they get out of this?" stunt.

The characters, by the way, are really good. The banter between Pavan and his droid is classic, and Darsha (the amazing fallible Jedi) is a nice change from the usual flat, bland characterization others in her order receive. Speaking of flat, that's what Darth Maul is . . . but it's not Reaves fault (gee, whose fault could it be?). Nevertheless, he portrays the character very compellingly. Maul remains a credibly scary villain even though he fails several times to finish off his quarry because of the way Reaves displays the Sith's incredible arrogance. Sending Obi-Wan to follow in the wake of destruction Maul leaves behind is also a fun move.

There is another character in the book that Reaves does exceptionally well: Coruscant. Reaves really brings the planet to life for us, populating its underworld with strange life forms, street gangs, criminal organizations, tribes of mutant cannibals . . . and surrounding it all an atmosphere of deep-ghetto gloom and grime that exists just beneath the shining surface of the planet's upper-levels. This is not (thank goodness) George Lucas's Coruscant. All in all a bit shallow, but a cracking good read nonetheless.(less)

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Aug 18, 2007 Angel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Star Wars fans

Shelves: science_fiction

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 li...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is clearly not literature (just in case the cover fooled you), but I bought a big pile of these at a second hand book store, and started throwing one in my bag to read between the airplane door closing, and 10,000 feet when I'm able to turn on my Kindle. I found this one to be pretty good popcorn reading where I'm not dreading turning my Kindle off, but simple enough that I can remember where I am for the next flight when I pick it up again. Overall, a fun indulgence, and a welcome break fr...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: star-wars, science-fiction

Darth Maul is sent to stop information leaking out about a proposed trade embargo around Naboo. Meanwhile, a padawan is taking her final mission before she becomes a Jedi knight. There's also a savvy information broker and his friend robot. The new characters are well portrayed and very likeable. There are some flashbacks in Darth Mauls bit, but generally he's just obsessed with his mission. You really do root for the good guys to win. A good both with a brave ending.

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Jul 16, 2010 Victor rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 28, 2012 Dale rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'd have given this three stars had Reaves not stuck Obi Wan into the mix. There was absolutely no reason to do so whatsoever, and it was painfully contrived. Otherwise, a good effort. Given that this novel takes place before Phantom Menace and features Darth Maul there were some pretty serious restrictions on what could happen. And yet it was a fun summer read.

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Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul #2)

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