Showing posts with label darth maul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label darth maul. Show all posts

3/30/2012

Star Wars: Darth Maul Review

Star Wars: Darth Maul
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`Darth Maul,' just to set the record straight, takes place several months before Michael Reaves' novel `Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter,' and shortly after James Luceno's eBook `Darth Maul: Saboteur.' While this comic is extremely impressive visually and fun to look at, in terms of plot and story it's severely lacking. There is a minimum of dialogue; the focus is on Darth Maul's killing ability.
The plot is basic: Darth Sidious sends his apprentice Darth Maul on a mission to destroy the leadership and organization of vast, galaxy-spanning criminal syndicate Black Sun, in order to minimize the possibility of any interference with his plans. Darth Maul, of course, being one to never disappoint or fail his master, embarks on his quest in his new Sith Infiltrator full of the goodies we saw in Episode I.
Even more so than most of Jan Duursema's work, this is an extremely visually impressive comic. There are plenty of imposing images of Maul standing there looking impressive and frightening, and more fight scenes than in any other Star Wars comic I believe. We get to see Maul go on killfests against tons of beings, as well as one on one fights with several others, including a Dathomiri Nightsister (one of the kind we saw in `Infinity's End,' not the breed from `Courtship of Princess Leia'). Unfortunately, although this book is great fun the first few times around, it loses re-readability because there is no real plot, and very little expository dialogue. In addition, by the time the end comes around, the constant "Maul against many" fights are beginning to get quite boring and predictable. To be fair, there were a few interesting scenes about the Sithly nature of the Force and how it compares to other Force users such as Jedi and Nightsisters, and there's a cool scene involving a telepath, but other than that it's just a bloodbath. In addition, there are several tie-ins to the other Darth Maul products - we see Oolth, who will later show up in the Michael Reaves novel, and are introduced to Hath Monchar, who we see in both of the other Darth Maul books. However, there is also one extremely unnecessary scene in this book which really doesn't fit the mood and detracted from my reading pleasure - a couple of pages with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan that have nothing to do with the story. I don't see why they were thrown in there, but it wasn't at all helpful to the "plot."
Overall, this is a very well drawn comic with minimal plot. If you are a "Mauloholic," a Star Wars fan, or just like a good fight, this comic is for you, but if you don't read it, you're not really missing anything.

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In hiding for generations, the evil Sith have waited for the precise moment to reveal themselves and take vengeance upon the Jedi Order. But in the final days before the Trade Federation blockade of the planet Naboo sets into motion the Sith plan for the overthrow of the Republic, the scheming Sith Lord Darth Sidious becomes concerned about the potential interference by the criminal syndicate Black Sun, a vast and powerful organization feared throughout the galaxy. Sidious cannot allow anything or anyone to hinder his purpose, and so he unleashes his merciless apprentice, the death-dealing destroyer, Darth Maul, to eradicate his adversaries -- as only a master of the dark side can! Star Wars: Darth Maul is the first-ever graphic-novel adventure of the ultimate Sith enforcer, an explosive tale of intrigue, mystery, and blistering action. Collecting the action-packed four-issue comic series.

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1/07/2012

Street of Shadows (Star Wars: Coruscant Nights II) Review

Street of Shadows (Star Wars: Coruscant Nights II)
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I probably should have given up on this series after the first one, but there was just enough with Darth Vader to keep me hooked. However, the second book in the Corsucant Nights series was just as average as the first one.
Again, scenes with Darth Vader keep my interest, as well as the appearances by Jedi hunter Aurra Sing. So much more could have been done with Sing over the years, but she's remained largely in the background until now. Sing is hunting Jax Pavan, the main character, and Vader is being hunted himself, this time by Padme's love-struck protector, Captain Typho.
Once again, the author attempts to impress us with his large vocabulary, and his story moves very slowly in places. Most Star Wars novels I find myself staying up late at night, eager to read the next chapter. So far, these two novels have helped put me to sleep at night.
Now I've given both books in this series three stars, which means they're not completely unreadable. I love the Star Wars universe outside the movies, but this series hasn't done much to flesh out the Star Wars universe after the prequel trilogy. Hopefully the final novel will have a payoff worthy of one more star.

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With the Jedi all but wiped out in the grim aftermath of Order 66, the Empire's power seems unchecked. But one lone Knight continues to fight the good fight–against all odds and when all else fails.Deep in the bowels of Coruscant, Jedi Jax Pavan ekes out a living as a private investigator, a go-to, can-do guy for the downtrodden. Now a mysterious Zeltron knockout named Deejah approaches Jax with a case that needs to be cracked: to find out who killed her artist lover Volette, brutally murdered hours after his triumphant unveiling of a dazzling new light sculpture with obvious links to lightsaber pyrotechnics.Finding Volette's killer won't be easy–too many secrets, too many suspects, and all kinds of motives. But with the droid I-5YQ's help, and ex-reporter Den Dhur's excellent snooping skills, the investigation is soon operating like a well-oiled machine.Unfortunately, there's a far more efficient machine hunting Jax. It's a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as the clock starts ticking toward the final explosive showdown . . . to see who strikes first and who will die first.

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12/31/2011

Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul) Review

Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul)
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I found Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter to be an interesting, exciting and fun change of pace from the more run-of-the-mill Star Wars novels. It obviously takes place in the Prequel Era, and covers the events immediately before the start of The Phantom Menace. Basically the plot is that a Neimoidian with news of the Naboo blockade tries to sell the information on Coruscant, so Darth Maul is sent to hunt the guy down and kill him, as well as anyone he has told about the blockade.
Michael Reaves is by no stretch of the imagination a fantastic author; his writing style and mechanics just weren't that great. However, this minor lapse is more than made up for by all the great elements to this book. Reaves introduces several new and interesting characters, which is a boon since because they aren't "main" characters, there are no assurances that they will survive, and the suspense is therefore much greater than in most of the Star Wars stories.
The author also explores a lot of hitherto underexplained and -explored elements of the Star Wars universe. For example, the fighting style known as tëras käsi has been referenced and mentioned a lot in previous novels, but here for the first time we see what it really is. Also, we get more insight into the Sith culture -- why they want "revenge" on the Jedi, why Darth Maul in particular is so obssessed with killing Jedi, and things that make the Sith's motivations in the films much more clear. The book goes more into the actual role of the Jedi in the galaxy, and how much influence they have, and it explores some of the problems with Jedi policy. Also, though Reaves is a newcomer to the Star Wars universe, there are enough small references to other works to please fans especially.
In terms of action, of which there is certainly plenty to be found here, the author had a lot of fun. New and innovative ways of killing and dying in the Star Wars universe, cool weapons and capabilities. And instead of giving us a blow-by-blow breakdown of lightsaber duels, Reaves instead opts to go more into the mindset of the fighters, how the Force helps and influences their actions and decisions, which gives us a unique view in that regard. In fact, for a novel more oriented towards adventure, I think that this book has an outstanding amount of introspection and thought regarding the ways, the use, and the limits of the Force, and the differences between the Light Side and the Dark Side.
There were really only a few small downfalls in terms of plot. First of all, the Obi-Wan subplot was really unnecessary. It didn't really go anywhere, and it didn't really establish anything new about the character anyway. Also, in this book it seems that Holocrons are also able to be used as simple recording devices -- I had thought from previous sources that they were something different. And finally, there was really no reason to introduce the "Crimson Corridor." There are already plenty of bad places that we know about on Coruscant, an easy example being the Southern Underground, without the author having to create an even new, even worse section than we've seen before.
Overall, however, this was a great effort. A quick, fun, and entertaining romp through the bowels of Coruscant, filled with fun and enjoyable characters that I for one would like to see more of in the future. Good job Michael Reaves!

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10/11/2011

Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace Review

Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace
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Only "Trials and Tribbleations" has put me into the story in a better style. Second best in a bunch of books that tend to be overblown and often lose me in yards of useless exposition.
Terry Brooks does a wonderful job describing the characters and their situations. He creeps into the heads of the characters and helps bring them to life further in the way only an author can. Qui-Gon Jinn is especially vibrant.
There are some inconsistancies. The end battles and swordfighting in the book is somewhat different, I think, from the movie's version; it includes many lines of dialogue cut from the movie (not that I'm complaining); Jar Jar seems more competent; and Brooks seems to be very vague on Queen Amidala's clothing. None of these significantly detract from enjoyment of this novel. Read it if you've seen the movie! You will not be disappointed.

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