Rating: 
Summary: Mythology Wriitten by Hack Journalists
Review: Am I the only who thinks that novels such as this and others in the Star Wars franchise tend to miss the point? Star Wars is mythology, pure and simple, and when you try to tell a myth in the language of newspapers and everyday language, the magic is destroyed. The dark counsels of Darth Maul, and the heroics of goodly Obi-Wan (he of the trailing brown robe and long twiggy braid), are simply not suitable topics to be dealt with in everyday speech. Something a bit more Tolkienien is required, such as:Look! Now let us pass through the Golden Broadview Gate, pass over The Sea of Restless Waves, Upon The Bridge made of hallowed bone, Dragon's wing, and silver-polished stone, Back to the netherlands of long, long Ago; back to the lands of ancestors Old; back to the dancing-grounds Of the Ancient Jedi Knights. Upon which path of song shall I embark? Toward which distant island shore shall I Strive to stretch my monumental reach? Whither will these fresh winds bear me, bursting Forth in seething surf On this Pale blue Sylvan tongue? Since time allows -- for 'tis a long lay Full of laughter both and tragedy, The course that I shall set shall be The hateful venom spat by the Black-robed scarlet Sith, Lords of darkest Spirit-Lamps, Upon all our brightest, most resplendent Stars. This shall be the complete Compass of my lay -- lay sung clear And loud and Forceful true, As pristine depths of Crystal Lake at Dawn, On the surviving moon of Alderaan -- Alderaan, With her Grassy Plains. -- May 12, 2001
Rating: 
Summary: The Prequel had a prequel
Review: Surprisingly good. The story was truely interesting. It is told prior to the events in the Phantom Menace. It all revolves around Darth Sidous making sure that the Jedi don't find out about his plan to invade Naboo. One of the nemodians (sp?) is looking to sell the information about the invasion and Darth Sidous sends Darth Maul on a mission to recover the nemodian and the information at all costs. This story moves along at good pace and keeps your attention.
Rating: 
Summary: Darth Maul Shadow Hunter
Review: I really loved this book. This is the first book I have read that allows you to read into the mind of one of the most dangerous killers of that era: Darth Maul. As far as I know this book along w/Darth Maul:Saboteur is as close as you're going to get into knowing what a Sith Lord does and thinks. With that I have to give respect to Michael Reeves for giving us the insight without taking away the secrective ways of the Sith. I recommend this book to all Star Wars readers. Before reading this book I advise everyone to check out Darth Maul:Saboteur. This book takes place Before Shadow Hunter. Darth Maul :Saboteur is only available on e-book, where you can on Amazon.com for a good price. Saboteur is not a lengthy book but a very good reading, I also recommend this to everyone
Rating:
Summary: A pretty decent setup for Episode One
Review: The beginning of Darth Maul - Shadow Hunter is similar to the beginning of the film The Phantom Menace. Darth Sidious talking to the Trade Federation types. One is missing, and it's believed that he's attempting to sell information of the embargo that we know happens in Phantom Menace. So, Sidious puts his apprentice Darth Maul on the case. Our not so friendly Sith, learns that his intended prey isn't the only one who has the information he has been sent to contain, and then spends the rest of the novel hunting down the other individuals who are aware of the impending embargo. This being in the person of Lorn Pavan and his droid I-Five. During their course of running, they come across a Jedi Padawan named Darsha Assant who attempts to help get them to the Jedi Temple. Pavan goes the course of hating the Jedi (read the book to learn why) to caring for Darsha. As for what happens, other than the information obviously not reaching the proper people, and the Jedi not stopping Maul you'll have to find out for yourself by reading the book. There is also a brief introduction of Obi-Wan Kenobi as nowhere near a central character in the book, but more as the conclusionary set-up for Phantom Menace. Personally, the way this book was written..I felt it was a bit superior to Phantom Menace at least in storyline, but I believe that was because I felt there was more general action in Shadow Hunter than Phantom Menace, and it was insightful to learn a great deal more about Darth Maul, and some of what made him tick.
Rating:
Summary: Well written but ill concieved.
Review: First of all, Shadow Hunter is a very well written book. The characters were all well thought out, and they each had unique personalities. They all made decisions that made sense, and they all managed to get the reader to care about, and understand, them. Unfortunately, Shadow Hunter's premise detracts from its over effectiveness as a novel. First of all, the idea of having Obi-Wan enter in his own cameo was poor, because Obi-Wan could NOT kill-or even see-Darth Maul. I am left wondering why the author chose to enter him into the novel. In addition, the constraints of having to work so closely in line with the Phantom Menace and its plot force the author to make more concessions in Shadow Hunter's own plot. For instance, the ending managed to seem dissappointing in large part because I was expecting a surprise finish. Instead it appeared to be an almost completely generic bit that left me feeling cheated. Indeed, the four star rating I gave it might have been a bit high, but I will give the author the benefit of the doubt in this case due to the ambitious premise of the book. Otherwise, it may have fallen to a three. Make no mistake, Shadow Hunter is a very good book. However, I would not recommend it for people who need good plots in order to understand a book. For those people, I would instead point out the Heir to the Empire series. For people who like strong characters, this might be the right book to choose. A must read for Darth Maul fans, it nonetheless falls short of the average fan's expectations.
Rating: 
Summary: Actually, not bad ....
Review: With the Star Wars books released in the past year and a half being mostly disappointing, my expectations for this story were pretty low. Surprisingly, they were met ... and even exceeded to some degree. Most serious Darth Maul fans are going to be disappointed with this story, however. The book doesn't focus on him as much as one would think. It's actually one long chase involving a renegade Neimoidian (the aliens from Phantom Menace), a bounty hunter, a Padawan learner trying to pass her test to become a full-fledged Jedi and a cynical information broker along with his protocol droid companion. Other than the fact that Darth Maul is completely loyal to his Master Darth Sidious, we learn nothing more about him, his past, his origin, etc ... There were plenty of things to nitpick about the book like scenes that seemed slightly out of sequence and far too many Tatooine references but it's main problem is that it is a side/filler story not really weighty enough to justify a hardcover price. People holding out for the softcover version to come out in another 9 months or so are making a wise decision. I can see why the book ended the way it did ... but I didn't really care for what actually happened in the final chapters.
Rating:
Summary: A great book with an interesting perspective
Review: I thought this book was a great addition to the saga of Star Wars novels. It allows the readers to get a closer look at the mysterious evil sith, Darth Maul. This book also helps to explain the events that lead up to Episode One. In the beginning, Darth Maul is sent by his master, Darth Sideous to kill a member of the trade federation who decided to sell the information about the planned trade federation blocade of Naboo. After reading this book, I got a better sense of who Darth Maul was. I definitely reccomend this book to anyone who wants to find out what Darth Maul is like. In case any of the people who write these great Star Wars novels read this review, I would like to read a book that centers on Admiral Ackbar and his rise to power.
Rating:
Summary: Forced, not The Force...
Review: Reaves, though talented in other endeavors, yields to the lowest common denominator in this effort. However, the criticisms made that the story was predictable based on our knowledge of Episode I seems unfair. Prequels can serve a fan in a number of ways, and also offer many surprises in spite of our supposed knowledge... Firstly, let me say that the character development wasn't too bad, and that the ending chapters served to close this story, and bring us nicely into the Phantom Menace. With that said, I found the writing to be incredibly forced. A lot of the descriptions were pathetic attempts to cater to the fans of the genre. Like a kid who over uses a thesaurus, Reaves seemingly had the Star Wars Encyclopedia by his side at all times. If he needed to add description, he just picked out a creature and used it. Grant it, we may know some of these creatures because we saw them on Hoth in Episode V, but not everyone in the universe is going to know them all... Also, Reaves wrote more by formula and equation, instead of from the heart. I must admit, that if I received his paycheck to pound out a quick story, I would have done the same, though I still would want a quality work to be associated with my name. The character who is rebellious with a sidekick has been done repeatedly in the movies and other books. Let's try something new next time. The book, for what it's worth, was entertaining, but the writing will never be confused with Kafka, London, or Twain...
Rating: 
Summary: The Darkside Has Corrupted This One...
Review: I tried to keep an open mind when LucasBooks released Shadow Hunter, starring whirlwind of death Darth Maul. I had just read Dark Horse Comic's awful Maul miniseries and I thought the character was best left to what he did in the movies. Unfortunately, this novel is not much better than the comics. And worse, it requires you to lower your I.Q. just to finish it. Not that it is completely hopeless. The two heroes are quite compelling, but you know they are going to die, so why root for them? Some of the situations are energetic, and at least the cover is nice. But unfortunately, Maul himself is the biggest problem. He is a fighting machine, nothing more, a henchman and a lackey. He did not deserve a novel to himself, and no amount of double-bladed saber action will change that. Having Maul use is saber is a bad idea, anyway. Wouldn't the Jedi Council discover the Sith if one of their numbers is slashing people up left right and center? Let alone all evidence points to the first Jedi Maul encountered being Qui-Gon Jinn. The other problem is Sideous, the cleaver Senator Palpatine. Or rather, the not so cleaver Palpatine in this story, as his plans lack the brilliant edge they did in Episode I, and the only reason they work is because everyone else in this novel is portayed as complete idiots (especially the one-note trade federation.) The Old Republic, the Jedi, and the readers deserve better than this.
Rating:
Summary: I sens a great disturbance in the Force. . .
Review: After reading through 300-plus pages of what passes for prequel literature these days, all I can say is I'm glad I waited to borrow Shadow Hunder from the library instead of handing over good money for it. It wasn't as bad as Rogue Planet, but it wasn't much better either. The worst thing about this book was its potential to be better. It's a waste of some potentially good characters in a nonexistent plot that builds up to a predictable conclusion. Reaves is a good writer and has obviously put some effort into his book, but it lacks inspiration. Much of the book seemed forced, as though the author had been told to write a book the same way you would ask hire someone to pain your house or mow the lawn. Reaves tries admirably to fill this void, but much of the book is just that: filler. Reaves tries to stuff everything, Obi Wan, the Jedi Council, the Trade Federation and colorful bounty hunters into his book, but the result is a lot of artificial plot devices, cliches and side-storys that go nowhere and don't contribute. You can't make an epic novel out of a prolonged chase scene. And now I have no choice to mention the title character, Darth Maul: the biggest dissapointment of '99. There's nothing of value in the scenes dealing with him, Darth Sidious or the Trade Federation. The Shadow Hunter himself is a joke with the face of a demented clown and the personality of the Terminator (no, wait, Schwarzenegger had more lines, better lines, and was actually scarey now and then). Shadow Hunter merely reinforces Darth Maul as more caricature than character, he's not fit to dry-clean Vader's cape. I give it 3 stars, for effort on the part of the author, some good cover art, and a few good scenes with Darsha, Lorn and I-Five that almost save the story. Star Wars fans expect and deserve more than average, though. Reaves should have been given time to develope Shadow Hunter. As it stands now, the Force ain't with you.
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