Rating: 
Summary: Short but sweet
Review: This book was well worth the light price tag. In my opinion James Luceno does a fabulous job setting up The Phantom Menace. The story reveals important insight into the Sith's hidden rebirth and their involvement in the trade blockade that starts the prequel trilogy. A quick and captivatiing read!
Rating: 
Summary: For die hard fans
Review: This is a readable short story which holds the distinction of being, in Star Wars universe chronological terms and excluding the comic books, the very first piece of Star Wars literature. This makes it a must read if you are a die hard Star Wars fan, but if you are not, $$$ are not worth the effort of download. ( I am a fan, by the way. )
The story sets the stage for the movie series by presenting the beginnings of the relationship between Darth Sidious and the Trade Federation which become central in Episodes I and II, answering some important questions and generally beefing up the back story. The story is not really a Darth Maul story in the sense that there is the barest minimum of character development. At 85 pages, the story can easily be read in one sitting and is more a narrative of events occasionally given from Darth Mauls perspective.
James Luceno does an acceptable job in setting up the overall Star Wars atmosphere. However, the characters are very stereotypical, requiring the reader to fill in the blanks from their own knowlege of the Star Wars universe.
...particularly weak on action prose. ...
Rating:
Summary: For die hard fans
Review: This is a readable short story which holds the distinction of being, in Star Wars universe chronological terms and excluding the comic books, the very first piece of Star Wars literature. This makes it a must read if you are a die hard Star Wars fan, but if you are not, $$$ are not worth the effort of download. ( I am a fan, by the way. )
The story sets the stage for the movie series by presenting the beginnings of the relationship between Darth Sidious and the Trade Federation which become central in Episodes I and II, answering some important questions and generally beefing up the back story. The story is not really a Darth Maul story in the sense that there is the barest minimum of character development. At 85 pages, the story can easily be read in one sitting and is more a narrative of events occasionally given from Darth Mauls perspective.
James Luceno does an acceptable job in setting up the overall Star Wars atmosphere. However, the characters are very stereotypical, requiring the reader to fill in the blanks from their own knowlege of the Star Wars universe.
...particularly weak on action prose. ...
Rating:
Summary: Short but entertaining.
Review: This is a short story about one of Darth Maul's first missions, at least without being guided by Darth Sidious. In general, you really do not "get into" the character of Darth Maul all that much in this story. Given its short length, there was not a lot of time for great characterization. Also, some of Darth Maul's actions seem a little odd in the normal context of Jedi activities. For example, when he "twirls" himself rapidly enough to bury himself in a snow bank. However, other scenes of Darth Maul in action are pretty cool and indicative of what a Jedi could probably do. (Then again, who am I to say what a Jedi can and cannot do. I just think you have to be careful with "super-power beings" because you run the risk of making their actions seem almost comical rather than scary or awe-inspiring.)Although very short (probably necessary right now for digital books), I liked the story and, if nothing else, it did fill in some of the pre-Phantom Menace storyline to see the machinations of Darth Sidious as he begins his plans for galactic subjugation. This story in style and plotting was, to me, somewhat like the "Jedi Apprentice" series - which is by no means a bad thing. This is probably not a necessary buy for you unless you are a die-hard Star Wars fan that must own everything about it - or if you are someone who just likes to have as many gaps filled in as possible. I fall into that latter category and, in that context, I could recommend Saboteur. Having said that, however, there is really nothing galaxy-shattering that you learn about the Star Wars universe, per se.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but simple backstory.
Review: This is the first SW book I have read and it was pretty enjoyable, giving some backstory to The Phantom Menace. The story is pretty simplistic and the use of foreshadow is way too overt, but hey it's Star Wars, not Shakespeare. I recommend this for fans of Darth Maul who thought his scant lines in TPM were not enough. I also recommend this for SW fanatics who want to begin to understand the opening crawl of TPM. One downside to the e-book format is you better be sure you download the book to the machine you want to read on. There is no way to transfer it to, say, a laptop once you have it on your desktop.
Rating:
Summary: Hard To Find Fault With This Novella
Review: This is the first, "electronic book", I have ever read. This particular work by James Luceno is only available in an electronic format, and even as there are no rights to copy, print, lend, give, or reproduce the book, having the work restricted to my hard drive is certainly reasonable with a price of $1.79. I read the tale using the Adobe reader, which allows for a reasonable amount of adjustment to the appearance. The font cannot be changed, however the reader can view two pages on the screen to remain consistent with the look of a traditional book, or limit the screen to one page and greatly enlarge the font. It takes a bit of time to adjust to sustained reading on a CRT screen. I would imagine an LCD flat screen with the lack of scanning, "flicker", might make long reads more enjoyable. James Luceno is an accomplished member of the group of writers who lend their skills to the Star Wars epic. With this novella the concentration is on Darth Maul and his initial solo mission for Darth Sideous. In addition to a great deal of detail that expands events prior to The Phantom Menace, the reader also learns the source of a material that has played a role in virtually every Star Wars tale. The Trade Federation also is part of this story, as well as the infamous Tarkin that will one day stand on the Deathstar's bridge. This book is all text with the exception of the cover art. As with all issues dealing with pushing information through a variety of wires, text is probably appropriate at this point. As broadband access becomes the rule rather than the exception, graphics and animated clips, as well as anything else they can be imagined will make these, "E-Books", an amazing reading experience. For now, unless it is the only way to gain access to a story, or you are traveling and wish to carry a small library without the weight, this electronic format is enticing for what it may one day become, rather than what it presently is.
Rating:
Summary: Nice interlude between books
Review: This short story about Darth Maul is interesting in that it provides some insight as to how Darth Sidious' plan takes form. Not too much action nor does it provide much insight into Darth Maul, but hey, it's only a couple of dollars and does provide some new facts for the entire story line. If you aren't really into minute details within the Star Wars Universe, you can live without, but again, its a nice, short read.
Rating: 
Summary: Short and Sweet
Review: This was the first e-book that I bought, and I didn't know what to expect from this only e-book release. But the story really caught me, and once I got started, I couldn't finish until it was over. But, as with James Luceno's other Star Wars books, there are plenty of "big words." I had to use the built-in dictionary on an average of at least 1-2 times on each page. That was really annoying. But the story was great and honestly, it was better than Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, to which this is a prequel. And at this price, it is well worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy the paper back!
Review: You shoudld buy the paper back version of Darth Maul, it has the e-book in it.
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