Darth Maul Shadow Hunter
After years of waiting in the shadows, Darth Sidious is taking the first step in his master plan to bring the Republic to its knees. Key to his scheme are the Neimoidians of the Trade Federation. Then one of his Neimoidian contacts disappears, and Sidious does not need his Force-honed instincts to suspect betrayal. He orders his apprentice, Darth Maul, to hunt the traitor down.
But he is too late. The secret has already passed into the hands of information broker Lorn Pavan, which places him right at the top of Darth Maul’s hit list. Then, in the labyrinthine alleyways and sewers of Coruscant, capital city of the Republic, Lorn crosses paths with Darsha Assant, a Jedi Padawan on a mission to earn her Knighthood.
Now the future of the Republic depends on Darsha and Lorn. But how can an untried Jedi and an ordinary man, stranger to the powerful ways of the Force, hope to triumph over one of the deadliest killers in the galaxy?
Author: Michael Reaves
Cover artist: ToK
Release Date: August 2 2022
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780593497050
What’s it’s about?
Set shortly before The Phantom Menace, Shadow Hunter starts when Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray realises his second in command has disappeared with vital information on Darth Sidious’ nefarious plan to blockade Naboo. Taking matters into his own hands Sidious despatches his secret apprentice, the loaded gun that is Darth Maul, to hunt down the Neimoidian and stop the information reaching the hands of the Jedi. Jedi padawan Darsha Assant and the roguish information broker Lorn Pavan, through an unfortunate series of events, find themselves in the thick of the conflict and hunted through the dangerous labyrinth of Coruscants seedy lower levels by an unstoppable force of violence and hatred.
Should I read this book?
Yes! This book is an essential chapter in Maul’s history and seeing him at the height of his Sith apprenticeship is a twisted joy. If you’re a fan of the prequels then you’ll be happy to hear this goes a long way in setting up a lot from The Phantom Menace. It shows you the dynamic between master and apprentice and gives you brief insights into Maul’s origins (the full story would come later in Darth Plagueis). It’s also incredibly action packed and fast paced. Once it gets going it never really slows down and the trio of protagonists in this story, Darsha, Lorn and his droid I-5, not only have to face being relentlessly hunted by Maul but also have to tackle a multitude of enemies from jumped-up street gangs to the monsters of legend that only dwell in the deepest and darkest depths.
What did you like?
I’m a huge fan of street-level stories and this scratched that itch in an immensely satisfying way. Shadow Hunter is almost entirely set in the underbelly of Coruscant over the course of roughly 48 hours, so you really feel like you’re being whipped along on the adventure. I say adventure but really it’s a horror show, with Maul’s hunt at times feeling like Star Wars‘ answer to The Terminator. Our heroes are constantly trying to keep one step ahead of their demonic pursuer and you really start to feel their hopelessness at their seemingly inescapable fate.
The characters are particularly strong. Lorn is possibly a typical Star Wars scoundrel but there’s unique depths to his character that I won’t go too far into. It’s enough to lodge the character firmly in your memory though, especially in his relationship with droid, the show-stealer I-5. Their relationship reminds me of Cassian and K-2SO from Rogue One with both droids being more sentient and independent than others. Similarly it’s hard to not be endeared to Jedi Padawan Darsha Assant as she struggles with the woefully escalating situation at such a transitional period in her life as a Jedi.
The red menace of a title character is also characterised well from the dual perspectives he’s presented in. From Mauls perspective, his journey is a dark mirror to Darsha. He too is at a tipping point in his training and his burning desire to prove himself is palpable. This is a Maul still fiercely loyal to his master but burning with hot rage and impatience at his clandestine role so far in the grand Sith plan. He is every bit the Maul we met in The Phantom Menace, just a little more vocal, which is definitely a good thing. From the perspective of the protagonists Maul is simply terrifying and my earlier point of the similarities with The Terminator and the relentlessness of it’s pursuit of it’s prey cannot be overstated enough.
What did you not like?
It’s a minor complaint and definitely not the worst offender of this trope but it isn’t necessary to add a romantic attraction between the lead male and female characters. It never derailed the story, but it also didn’t add anything of value either. Lorn and Darsha were already fully rounded characters with clear motivations. Like I said though, it was minor and excusable.
I’d also reconsider reading this book if you’re a fan of happy endings. I won’t say what happens, but it’s quite a downer.
What’s next?
This book makes frequent references to an incident between Maul and the Black Sun crime syndicate. It’s not necessary for this story but if you’d like a fuller understanding of Maul at the this point then it’s worth checking out the comic mini-series Darth Maul. It was originally published by Dark Horse but is collected in Marvel’s Rise of the Sith collections and the more recent Omnibus. These collections are all set during this same period and I’d definitely recommend them.
Shadow Hunter also runs concurrently with the second half of Darth Plagueis and actually crosses over at one point. If you’re one of the eight Star Wars book fans yet to read Luceno’s masterwork then I can’t recommend it enough. It was also recently re-released as part of the Essential Legends Collection.
Aside from Maul, author Michael Reaves returned to the underbelly of Coruscant in the Coruscant Nights trilogy and it’s sequel Shadow Games. You may even meet a few familiar faces…
Anything else to add?
The unabridged audio release of Shadow Hunter is narrated by Sam Witwer, the supremely talented actor that voiced Maul in The Clone Wars/Rebels and played Starkiller in the The Force Unleashed video games. It’s a landmark performance and I’d say the definitive version of this story.
Fans of Rogue One might want to check this out. While its a completely different story, there’s a few scenes that just had to be an inspiration on the 2016 movie. It really seems to draw from this book in a lot of ways and I think it’s all the better for it.
- Reaves, Michael (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 336 Pages - 08/02/2022 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
