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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Esta novela no hace parte del canon general de Star wars, (según Disney) la leí porque la encontré en una librería en un estante de libros en ingles usados, por ende realmente no esperaba mucho ni buscaba demasiado, solo una lectura simple en este idioma y realmente no fue mucho más lo que encontré.
Si deseas una experiencia y propia y sin sesgos DEJA DE LEER AQUÍ
De inicio a fin, la novela realmente nunca despego para mi, llena de momentos que buscaban generar tensión o intriga, esta nunca llego a fascinarme demasiado, puesto que los sucesos de esta acontecen, exactamente antes de (la desastrosa) amenaza fantasma, así que el final solo nos espera como un ´portazo en la cara, por esto nunca pude sentir algo por los personajes, diferentes a Maul. Aunque bien intencionados, estos realmente solo sirven a un propósito y es generar un campo de juegos para el temible sith quien fuera maltratado y menos preciado en la ya mencionada película, generando que sus historias se sientan menos apreciables y sé pierdan en todo lo demás-
Las decisiones de Reaves, como la utilización de un narrador extraño y una falta de personaje principal (como cierta película de 1999), no ayudad para mucho más a los personajes, puesto que la historia nunca logra generar una cohesión en su narrativa, el cambio de perspectiva tan pronunciado nos permitía ver a cada personaje como un jugador pero a la vez no dejaba que nadie ocupara el centro de atención más que el mismo Maul por ser a quien esperábamos ver, así Darsha, Lorn y los demas eran herramientas contextuales que servían a los propositos del escritor más que seres a los cuales quisieramos seguir
En lo que a historia y "lore" se refiere el libro, vale la pena con unas cuantas menciones importantes a criaturas y lugares del universo de Star Wars, pero como ya no sé si son canon vayan con cuidado, por lo demás busquen un comic de Maul que sea Canon y guarden su fervor para otro objeto de la saga.
Si deseas una experiencia y propia y sin sesgos DEJA DE LEER AQUÍ
De inicio a fin, la novela realmente nunca despego para mi, llena de momentos que buscaban generar tensión o intriga, esta nunca llego a fascinarme demasiado, puesto que los sucesos de esta acontecen, exactamente antes de (la desastrosa) amenaza fantasma, así que el final solo nos espera como un ´portazo en la cara, por esto nunca pude sentir algo por los personajes, diferentes a Maul. Aunque bien intencionados, estos realmente solo sirven a un propósito y es generar un campo de juegos para el temible sith quien fuera maltratado y menos preciado en la ya mencionada película, generando que sus historias se sientan menos apreciables y sé pierdan en todo lo demás-
Las decisiones de Reaves, como la utilización de un narrador extraño y una falta de personaje principal (como cierta película de 1999), no ayudad para mucho más a los personajes, puesto que la historia nunca logra generar una cohesión en su narrativa, el cambio de perspectiva tan pronunciado nos permitía ver a cada personaje como un jugador pero a la vez no dejaba que nadie ocupara el centro de atención más que el mismo Maul por ser a quien esperábamos ver, así Darsha, Lorn y los demas eran herramientas contextuales que servían a los propositos del escritor más que seres a los cuales quisieramos seguir
En lo que a historia y "lore" se refiere el libro, vale la pena con unas cuantas menciones importantes a criaturas y lugares del universo de Star Wars, pero como ya no sé si son canon vayan con cuidado, por lo demás busquen un comic de Maul que sea Canon y guarden su fervor para otro objeto de la saga.
About halfway through this novel, I remembered I had read something else by Reaves. He was the co-author with Neil Gaiman on InterWorld, an ultimately disappointing and notably non-Gaiman story that read like it was more Reaves working from a Gaiman idea than a true collaboration. I didn't remember because of the style or anything like that, though; I just realized it out of the blue.
Shadow Hunter feels somewhat similar to InterWorld, since it, too, uses an idea that someone else developed. To Reaves' credit, he writes an original story, and avoids making it about existing characters, but with the Star Wars universe there, a lot of the work was already complete. The same is true for all the other writers who wrote stories set in the universe, so it's unfair to hold him alone to that standard, but somehow Shadow Hunters feels like it doesn't reach the same level those other writers reached. Part of it is that story simply doesn't feel significant.
Shadow Hunters is ostensibly about Maul chasing down a Neimoidian who could reveal Palpatine's plans to bring down the Galactic Senate, but really the story is about Lorn Pavan, an information broker who stumbles across the plans, his Droid partner I-5YQ, and Darsha Assant, a Padawan who becomes involved with the both of them as Maul tracks them down for the information they have. Throughout the novels, Maul has felt like a cardboard cutout of a character, which fits, since that's how he felt in The Phantom Menace, too. What attention he does get in his books seems to be devoted to how skilled he is, how devoted he is to Palpatine, and how strong he is in the Force, but he doesn't make for a compelling character around which to build a full story. Luckily for us, Reaves brings in the additional characters to have enough of a frame for Maul to do his thing, but the story is ultimately weak in terms of the overall universe of Star Wars. Even in Deceived, which was a more personal story instead of a galaxy-spanning story of intrigue, the background of the story added to the context of the universe. It seems like Reaves started with a "What If?" experiment -- what would happen if Palpatine's plans to block Naboo were to be revealed too soon? -- but then it devolved into an adventure story that ignored the larger implications of that experiment. It's not bad, as far as adventure stories go, but it doesn't feel appropriately Star Wars enough, despite being a supposed showcase for Maul.
Another strike against the story is that we know how it has to end. This is a prequel novel to The Phantom Menace, so we know Maul has to survive the story in order to be available to do his part in that story, making whatever tension there would normally be in the story irrelevant. It's interesting to see how the other characters respond to Maul, but knowing that Maul's goal is to eliminate all the people who know of the plan, and that Maul will survive the story, means that there's only one possible outcome for the story. That outcome makes the entire novel feel somewhat pointless.
Shadow Hunters feels like a YA novel. Any of the books I've read so far in the series would be appropriate for any age reader (well, maybe not the two Joe Schreiber books...), but this was the first one I read that felt like it was written for a younger audience. Aside from the younger characters and their getting caught up with juvenile concerns -- Obi-Wan and Lorn both acknowledge their attraction to Darsha -- there's something about Reaves' narrative that feels like it's for younger readers. It isn't pandering, but it does lack some subtlety, which reminds me of YA fiction.
Reaves brings in the Jedi, as the story is set on Coruscant, but he does so without any real subtlety. He establishes the character of Darsha well enough, but when it comes time to bring in the Jedi Council, he gives us Qui-Gon, Yoda, and Mace Windu, though without any introduction or explanation. He also uses Obi-Wan as a secondary character, but still doesn't develop him enough for him to feel fully realized. The characters are well known enough that it isn't necessary to go into a lot of background, and he captured Mace Windu's voice fairly well (though, oddly, his attempt at Yoda's dialogue felt clumsy), but it bothered me that he expected us to fill in the characterization for these characters instead of truly creating them for his story. Since they only feature in just a few pages, they feel superfluous, like Reaves is reminding us that yes, he's actually writing a Star Wars novel.
The novel ends with two short stories "Saboteur" and "Restraint", both written by James Luceno, and both take place before not just this book, but also Lockdown, the preceding book. The chronology is weird, but I stuck with reading these in the proper chronological order.
"Restraint" isn't particularly noteworthy, save for the fact that it is intended to further explain some history behind Maul and Asajj Ventress, as their origins were altered in the animated series The Clone Wars. In the story, Maul is being trained at an off-planet location, but he's not allowed to use his Force powers in his training. During this training, women from Dathomir, Maul's home planet, come to reclaim him for their society. Not being familiar with The Clone Wars, I don't understand the full implications of the story, and it winds up feeling very pedestrian. I will say that Luceno captures Maul's impetuous, arrogant character fairly well.
"Saboteur" is actually a better story. Maybe I'm getting used to Luceno's style, but I thought he did a good job of keeping the story interesting. That being said, a Sith stealthily recording conversations and pitting two corporations against each other is about as "Star Wars" as a cat video. Apart from Sidious using the rivalry as a means to further the Trade Federation's grip on trade, it didn't have much to do with the larger Star Wars story at all.
Honestly, Shadow Hunters isn't a bad book, but it doesn't fit in with the other books I've read in the Expanded Universe. It feels too much like it was written to feed the demand for Maul, and not enough like Reaves had a good story he wanted to tell in the universe. If he had eliminated Maul entirely from the story and written the book as a standalone story focusing on his main characters and marketed it for the YA crowd, I would have gone easier on the book, but for all that build-up, the story ends up lacking.
Shadow Hunter feels somewhat similar to InterWorld, since it, too, uses an idea that someone else developed. To Reaves' credit, he writes an original story, and avoids making it about existing characters, but with the Star Wars universe there, a lot of the work was already complete. The same is true for all the other writers who wrote stories set in the universe, so it's unfair to hold him alone to that standard, but somehow Shadow Hunters feels like it doesn't reach the same level those other writers reached. Part of it is that story simply doesn't feel significant.
Shadow Hunters is ostensibly about Maul chasing down a Neimoidian who could reveal Palpatine's plans to bring down the Galactic Senate, but really the story is about Lorn Pavan, an information broker who stumbles across the plans, his Droid partner I-5YQ, and Darsha Assant, a Padawan who becomes involved with the both of them as Maul tracks them down for the information they have. Throughout the novels, Maul has felt like a cardboard cutout of a character, which fits, since that's how he felt in The Phantom Menace, too. What attention he does get in his books seems to be devoted to how skilled he is, how devoted he is to Palpatine, and how strong he is in the Force, but he doesn't make for a compelling character around which to build a full story. Luckily for us, Reaves brings in the additional characters to have enough of a frame for Maul to do his thing, but the story is ultimately weak in terms of the overall universe of Star Wars. Even in Deceived, which was a more personal story instead of a galaxy-spanning story of intrigue, the background of the story added to the context of the universe. It seems like Reaves started with a "What If?" experiment -- what would happen if Palpatine's plans to block Naboo were to be revealed too soon? -- but then it devolved into an adventure story that ignored the larger implications of that experiment. It's not bad, as far as adventure stories go, but it doesn't feel appropriately Star Wars enough, despite being a supposed showcase for Maul.
Another strike against the story is that we know how it has to end. This is a prequel novel to The Phantom Menace, so we know Maul has to survive the story in order to be available to do his part in that story, making whatever tension there would normally be in the story irrelevant. It's interesting to see how the other characters respond to Maul, but knowing that Maul's goal is to eliminate all the people who know of the plan, and that Maul will survive the story, means that there's only one possible outcome for the story. That outcome makes the entire novel feel somewhat pointless.
Shadow Hunters feels like a YA novel. Any of the books I've read so far in the series would be appropriate for any age reader (well, maybe not the two Joe Schreiber books...), but this was the first one I read that felt like it was written for a younger audience. Aside from the younger characters and their getting caught up with juvenile concerns -- Obi-Wan and Lorn both acknowledge their attraction to Darsha -- there's something about Reaves' narrative that feels like it's for younger readers. It isn't pandering, but it does lack some subtlety, which reminds me of YA fiction.
Reaves brings in the Jedi, as the story is set on Coruscant, but he does so without any real subtlety. He establishes the character of Darsha well enough, but when it comes time to bring in the Jedi Council, he gives us Qui-Gon, Yoda, and Mace Windu, though without any introduction or explanation. He also uses Obi-Wan as a secondary character, but still doesn't develop him enough for him to feel fully realized. The characters are well known enough that it isn't necessary to go into a lot of background, and he captured Mace Windu's voice fairly well (though, oddly, his attempt at Yoda's dialogue felt clumsy), but it bothered me that he expected us to fill in the characterization for these characters instead of truly creating them for his story. Since they only feature in just a few pages, they feel superfluous, like Reaves is reminding us that yes, he's actually writing a Star Wars novel.
The novel ends with two short stories "Saboteur" and "Restraint", both written by James Luceno, and both take place before not just this book, but also Lockdown, the preceding book. The chronology is weird, but I stuck with reading these in the proper chronological order.
"Restraint" isn't particularly noteworthy, save for the fact that it is intended to further explain some history behind Maul and Asajj Ventress, as their origins were altered in the animated series The Clone Wars. In the story, Maul is being trained at an off-planet location, but he's not allowed to use his Force powers in his training. During this training, women from Dathomir, Maul's home planet, come to reclaim him for their society. Not being familiar with The Clone Wars, I don't understand the full implications of the story, and it winds up feeling very pedestrian. I will say that Luceno captures Maul's impetuous, arrogant character fairly well.
"Saboteur" is actually a better story. Maybe I'm getting used to Luceno's style, but I thought he did a good job of keeping the story interesting. That being said, a Sith stealthily recording conversations and pitting two corporations against each other is about as "Star Wars" as a cat video. Apart from Sidious using the rivalry as a means to further the Trade Federation's grip on trade, it didn't have much to do with the larger Star Wars story at all.
Honestly, Shadow Hunters isn't a bad book, but it doesn't fit in with the other books I've read in the Expanded Universe. It feels too much like it was written to feed the demand for Maul, and not enough like Reaves had a good story he wanted to tell in the universe. If he had eliminated Maul entirely from the story and written the book as a standalone story focusing on his main characters and marketed it for the YA crowd, I would have gone easier on the book, but for all that build-up, the story ends up lacking.
This is an interesting book that looks at the life of Darth Maul pre-TPM. After reading it I concluded that Darth Maul was not an actual Sith Lord but rather an Emperor's Hand.
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.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a full length novel and two short stories all following Darth Maul in my edition, I will be reviewing each one individually.
Darth Maul Shadow Hunter-4 stars
I knew how this was going to end, yet I still felt surprise and hope at each twist. I loved all the characters and dynamics they shared. Amazing Episode 1 prequel novel, loved seeing some Episode 1 characters present. Dasha and Pavan I feel inlove with, while I-Fivr ending was heart breaking.
Darth Maul:Saboteur-2 stars
Came off as fairly boring, with no where near enough Maul or action. I see the ground work layed for Episode 1, but didn't add enough to be worth while.
Restraint-4 stats
A similar scene was in The Wrath of Darth Maul, which I read fist, and while there was significant overlap this offered insight not available in the other story. Those subtle diffrence made a similar story still interesting and enjoyable
Darth Maul Shadow Hunter-4 stars
I knew how this was going to end, yet I still felt surprise and hope at each twist. I loved all the characters and dynamics they shared. Amazing Episode 1 prequel novel, loved seeing some Episode 1 characters present. Dasha and Pavan I feel inlove with, while I-Fivr ending was heart breaking.
Darth Maul:Saboteur-2 stars
Came off as fairly boring, with no where near enough Maul or action. I see the ground work layed for Episode 1, but didn't add enough to be worth while.
Restraint-4 stats
A similar scene was in The Wrath of Darth Maul, which I read fist, and while there was significant overlap this offered insight not available in the other story. Those subtle diffrence made a similar story still interesting and enjoyable
I really, really enjoyed this. I mean, can't we all just agree that Darth Maul is one of the best siths the galaxy has ever seen? What a wonderful way to get a little insight to the mysterious character, would definitely recommend!
This was a thrilling book to read. I felt like I was playing a survival horror game, and being chased by Nemesis/Pyramid Head/Etc.
I enjoyed the book. Gives a good back ground of Darth Maul. I like books that have interconnecting story lines, and this is a connection between two of the movies, whether is was intentional or not. Which I think it was.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes