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jtashoff's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kb_208's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very enjoyable addition to the Corusant Nights collection, though I don't know if it is actually part of it. It's the same characters and storyline. I'm a fan of Reaves' cast in these books and it makes for a well rounded and different approach to the Star Wars world. The only thing I didn't really like about this series were the inquisitors, because they kind of go against the rule of two, and this seems to be the only books in which they are mentioned. Other than that it's a good read.
elizabeth_d_simpson's review against another edition
5.0
This was the best of the four book series. It was my last to read for 2022 and it was a great way to end the year.
jaredkwheeler's review against another edition
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #195
Background: The Last Jedi was written by [a:Michael Reaves|12537|Michael Reaves|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1272842062p2/12537.jpg] and [a:Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff|247692|Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1522884251p2/247692.jpg]. It was published in February 2013. Reaves has written or co-written several Star Wars novels, including the Coruscant Nights trilogy (this is a sequel to those). Bohnhoff has co-written three novels with Reaves. This is the second. Apparently she co-wrote the last Coruscant Nights book with him, but went uncredited.
The Last Jedi is set some months after Patterns of Force, about a year after Order 66 (17 years before the battle of Yavin). The main characters are Jax Pavan, I-5, and Den Dhur. Darth Vader plays a significant role, as do several surviving characters from the Coruscant Nights trilogy. The novel takes place on Coruscant, Toprawa, Mandalore, Dathomir, and various points in outer space.
Summary: Things have gotten too hot on Coruscant for Thi Xon Yimmon, the leader of the Whiplash resistance movement, so sort-of-ex-Jedi Jax Pavan and the rest of his rebel cell are tasked with moving him to a new base on Dantooine. But when the mission ends in catastrophe, Jax and the others are left reeling, with the nascent rebellion on the brink of extinction. Every choice feels like the wrong choice, and the only alternative that's worse is no choice at all.
Review: I have no insight into the division of labor between Reaves and Bohnhoff, and I wasn't even aware that she cowrote Patterns of Force until just now, so I wasn't thinking about that as I read it. If I had to guess at Bohnhoff's influence, I'd say she improves the style over Reaves writing alone (fewer contemporary references dressed up in Star-Wars-ese), but the narrative lacks drive. There was a lot of pointless wheel-spinning in Patterns of Force compared to the first 2 novels in the trilogy, and that effect is even more apparent here since this novel is over 100 pages longer than the longest of the Coruscant Nights books.
It's definitely longer than it needs to be, though not to the extent you might expect. There is a lot going on in this story, and now that the characters are finally allowed to be somewhere other than Coruscant there's a lot more for them to do. It's also one of the few novels from this era that incorporates significant tie-ins with The Clone Wars animated series, particularly in its depictions of Mandalore and Dathomir. Some of this is good stuff, some less so, but I don't want to get too deep into spoiler territory.
I find that I have surprisingly little to say about this overall, actually. It begins by significantly raising the stakes from where they were in the trilogy, and it's a much more satisfying conclusion to the storyline of these characters than the last book was. I liked it better than any of the Coruscant Nights books. On the other hand, it was still a bit of a chore to get through, and while it introduced some interesting new characters, I didn't feel like I got to know them as well as I should have, almost like they were being held at arm's length. This was particularly true of Sacha Swiftbird. I-5's storyline in this was also weird, almost a transplant from a Star Trek story. And I'm not sure I bought the tension between Jax and the others. At the very least it wasn't well-explained.
In the end, although there's plenty to like here, it's spread too thin across too high of a page count, and I'm definitely more than ready to move on from here. It feels like Star Wars writers in this era don't know what kinds of stories to tell, particularly when they involve Jedi. That feels like a crucial mistake when dealing with the Dark Times (outside of, obviously, the excellent Dark Times series of comics). Writers keep wanting to tell stories of a nascent rebellion, but we know from the opening crawl of Star Wars that any real victory of a rebellion movement is literally almost two decades away. They're missing huge opportunities to tell stories that aren't just Jedi vs. Sith or Rebellion vs. Empire. I want to see stories about morally grey anti-heroes who operate in the underworld as the Empire tightens its grip on power. I want to see stories about ordinary people (as in non-Force users) dealing with day-to-day survival after this massive shift in galactic government. Most of all, I don't want stories whose endings I already know because they're about rebellions that are destined to fail and missions that can't possibly succeed. Your heroes want to assassinate the Emperor or try to take out Darth Vader? I already know how that ends! We all do! Find a better plot! Surprise me!
B-
Background: The Last Jedi was written by [a:Michael Reaves|12537|Michael Reaves|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1272842062p2/12537.jpg] and [a:Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff|247692|Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1522884251p2/247692.jpg]. It was published in February 2013. Reaves has written or co-written several Star Wars novels, including the Coruscant Nights trilogy (this is a sequel to those). Bohnhoff has co-written three novels with Reaves. This is the second. Apparently she co-wrote the last Coruscant Nights book with him, but went uncredited.
The Last Jedi is set some months after Patterns of Force, about a year after Order 66 (17 years before the battle of Yavin). The main characters are Jax Pavan, I-5, and Den Dhur. Darth Vader plays a significant role, as do several surviving characters from the Coruscant Nights trilogy. The novel takes place on Coruscant, Toprawa, Mandalore, Dathomir, and various points in outer space.
Summary: Things have gotten too hot on Coruscant for Thi Xon Yimmon, the leader of the Whiplash resistance movement, so sort-of-ex-Jedi Jax Pavan and the rest of his rebel cell are tasked with moving him to a new base on Dantooine. But when the mission ends in catastrophe, Jax and the others are left reeling, with the nascent rebellion on the brink of extinction. Every choice feels like the wrong choice, and the only alternative that's worse is no choice at all.
Review: I have no insight into the division of labor between Reaves and Bohnhoff, and I wasn't even aware that she cowrote Patterns of Force until just now, so I wasn't thinking about that as I read it. If I had to guess at Bohnhoff's influence, I'd say she improves the style over Reaves writing alone (fewer contemporary references dressed up in Star-Wars-ese), but the narrative lacks drive. There was a lot of pointless wheel-spinning in Patterns of Force compared to the first 2 novels in the trilogy, and that effect is even more apparent here since this novel is over 100 pages longer than the longest of the Coruscant Nights books.
It's definitely longer than it needs to be, though not to the extent you might expect. There is a lot going on in this story, and now that the characters are finally allowed to be somewhere other than Coruscant there's a lot more for them to do. It's also one of the few novels from this era that incorporates significant tie-ins with The Clone Wars animated series, particularly in its depictions of Mandalore and Dathomir. Some of this is good stuff, some less so, but I don't want to get too deep into spoiler territory.
I find that I have surprisingly little to say about this overall, actually. It begins by significantly raising the stakes from where they were in the trilogy, and it's a much more satisfying conclusion to the storyline of these characters than the last book was. I liked it better than any of the Coruscant Nights books. On the other hand, it was still a bit of a chore to get through, and while it introduced some interesting new characters, I didn't feel like I got to know them as well as I should have, almost like they were being held at arm's length. This was particularly true of Sacha Swiftbird. I-5's storyline in this was also weird, almost a transplant from a Star Trek story. And I'm not sure I bought the tension between Jax and the others. At the very least it wasn't well-explained.
In the end, although there's plenty to like here, it's spread too thin across too high of a page count, and I'm definitely more than ready to move on from here. It feels like Star Wars writers in this era don't know what kinds of stories to tell, particularly when they involve Jedi. That feels like a crucial mistake when dealing with the Dark Times (outside of, obviously, the excellent Dark Times series of comics). Writers keep wanting to tell stories of a nascent rebellion, but we know from the opening crawl of Star Wars that any real victory of a rebellion movement is literally almost two decades away. They're missing huge opportunities to tell stories that aren't just Jedi vs. Sith or Rebellion vs. Empire. I want to see stories about morally grey anti-heroes who operate in the underworld as the Empire tightens its grip on power. I want to see stories about ordinary people (as in non-Force users) dealing with day-to-day survival after this massive shift in galactic government. Most of all, I don't want stories whose endings I already know because they're about rebellions that are destined to fail and missions that can't possibly succeed. Your heroes want to assassinate the Emperor or try to take out Darth Vader? I already know how that ends! We all do! Find a better plot! Surprise me!
B-
hstapp's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite in the series though technically this book stands outside the Coruscant nights series for some reason. Perhaps because so little of it happens on Coruscant.
As a book it's fine there's some cool stuff going on, it wasn't ever really boring, but I never found it very exciting either. Just kind of mid range.
As a book it's fine there's some cool stuff going on, it wasn't ever really boring, but I never found it very exciting either. Just kind of mid range.
dgignac's review against another edition
4.0
I find it hard to give a book review when I’ve seen the movie first, as they begin to intertwine for me. However, this book does expand upon what is seen in the movie, which is always exciting for Star Wars fans.
nymeria1090's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
solid finale, appreciate that Jax finally went through a lot of character growth, and the look into weird Force stuff was interesting
rogue_leader's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
S
Last year I had a bit of a Star Wars binge where I read one every other book that I was reading for a few months. Since SW was such a huge part of my childhood it was nice familiar feeling. I could hear the sound effects, the music. I think that is why SW books are popular in prison and the military for people away from home.
One of my favorite SW novels came as a total surprise. That was Reeves first SW novel Darth Maul Shadow Hunter. When I saw it on the shelf I wasn’t going to read it, but a friend said it was surprisingly good. Not only was it good, I thought it was a fantastic SW that while titled after The villain Darth Maul was much more than that. Yes Darth Maul is a major force, but the novel is more of noir tale of the universe’s capital city than anything. The novel introduces several new characters which were the highlight of that novel, but the action and pacing were also very well done.
I became a Reeves fan and mostly he has proven me correct that he belongs along side Matthew Stover, and James L…. as the best authors working in the expanded universe. This is the third novel that he has teamed up with Fantasy writer Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff. It’s a good partnership, the novels maintain the pace and action.
This novel follows the adventures of Jax Pavin whose droid I-five was introduced back in the Darth Maul along with Jax’s father. These are my two favorite EU characters and it was the main reason I wanted to read this novel. Taking place during the dark days of the rebellion and involves the after math of a terrible defeat for the rebels. Darth Vader has captured one of Pavin’s best friends and a leader in the rebellion. Jax decides he has to rescue his friend or risk a planned assassination on the Emperor.
I am a sucker for anything Jedi and Sith related and this story takes a neat angle on force spirituality. Pavan has to explore his feelings believing he is the last jedi, survivor of Order 66. He has to confront his feelings toward Darth Vader(being one of the few who knows the truth).
You have to be a star wars nerd, to read an expanded universe novel. This book is a great one but it builds off of Darth Maul Shadow Hunter and the Coruscant Nights Trilogy. So start there if you are a fan of Jedis.
Last year I had a bit of a Star Wars binge where I read one every other book that I was reading for a few months. Since SW was such a huge part of my childhood it was nice familiar feeling. I could hear the sound effects, the music. I think that is why SW books are popular in prison and the military for people away from home.
One of my favorite SW novels came as a total surprise. That was Reeves first SW novel Darth Maul Shadow Hunter. When I saw it on the shelf I wasn’t going to read it, but a friend said it was surprisingly good. Not only was it good, I thought it was a fantastic SW that while titled after The villain Darth Maul was much more than that. Yes Darth Maul is a major force, but the novel is more of noir tale of the universe’s capital city than anything. The novel introduces several new characters which were the highlight of that novel, but the action and pacing were also very well done.
I became a Reeves fan and mostly he has proven me correct that he belongs along side Matthew Stover, and James L…. as the best authors working in the expanded universe. This is the third novel that he has teamed up with Fantasy writer Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff. It’s a good partnership, the novels maintain the pace and action.
This novel follows the adventures of Jax Pavin whose droid I-five was introduced back in the Darth Maul along with Jax’s father. These are my two favorite EU characters and it was the main reason I wanted to read this novel. Taking place during the dark days of the rebellion and involves the after math of a terrible defeat for the rebels. Darth Vader has captured one of Pavin’s best friends and a leader in the rebellion. Jax decides he has to rescue his friend or risk a planned assassination on the Emperor.
I am a sucker for anything Jedi and Sith related and this story takes a neat angle on force spirituality. Pavan has to explore his feelings believing he is the last jedi, survivor of Order 66. He has to confront his feelings toward Darth Vader(being one of the few who knows the truth).
You have to be a star wars nerd, to read an expanded universe novel. This book is a great one but it builds off of Darth Maul Shadow Hunter and the Coruscant Nights Trilogy. So start there if you are a fan of Jedis.
pressimistic's review against another edition
2.0
The Coruscant Nights books are the epitome of the expanded universe mediocrity: not as great as Timothy Zahn, not as terrible as Barbara Hambly. Despite Reaves' above-average use of the EU lore, his books are akin to Troy Denning's novels in terms of mediocrity and utter forgetability. Reaves consistently throws out character development and relationships in order to prioritize uninteresting, but fast-moving, plots. The reader gets SOME of Jax Pavan's emotional turmoil in this final book, however, it is rather easily resolved, and his emotions do not seem to affect his crew. In general, that is my biggest problem with the series. While the plots are uninteresting to me, I can see that they might hold some value for other readers. The lack of actual relationships between characters that have interacted and survived with each other over the course of FOUR BOOKS is the most irritating aspect of the series. A meaningless plot revolving around taking down the Emperor and Darth Vader (of which the outcome is obvious) would be far more compelling if there were more connections between the characters.
You're better off watching the Last Jedi movie.
You're better off watching the Last Jedi movie.