A special treat for you patient viewers. Two books came int he mail last
week and I spent my time reading them to review. This is the other.
On January 28 2014, horror author Joe Schreiber published Maul: Lockdown. In this, Maul must overcome gangs of prisoners to track down one arms dealer before Jabba the Hutt or Komari Vosa of the Bando Gora get their hands on him. The events of this book take place after Cloak of Deception by James Luceno and before Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves. Synopsis: It's kill or be killed in the space penitentiary that houses the galaxy's worst criminals, where convicts face off in gladiatorial combat while an underworld gambling empire reaps the profits of the illicit blood sport. But the newest contender in this savage arena, as demonic to behold as he is deadly to challenge, is fighting for more than just survival. His do-or-die mission, for the dark masters he serves, is to capture the ultimate weapon: an object capable of obliterating the Jedi and conquering the galaxy. Sith Lords Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious are determined to possess the prize. And one of the power-hungry duo has his own treacherous plans for it. But first, their fearsome apprentice must take on a bloodthirsty prison warden, a cannibal gang, cutthroat crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and an unspeakable alien horror. No one else could brave such a gauntlet of death and live. But no one else is the dreaded dark-side disciple known as Darth Maul.
The novel opens with Maul surviving a fight against an unknown alien with a living staff. He recalls how he arrived; then he goes about his business of tracking down Iram Radique, a local hidden arms dealer found inside Cog Hive Seven--the prison. As he does so (without use of the Force), a number of things happen: the first is that a mysterious Twi'lek calling himself Zero offers loose advice to Maul; Maul takes down the top two gangs; and an old man and his son offer help.
Maul does fight his way through opponent after opponent, even killing some of Radique's people, much to the ire of the Galactic Gaming Commission. The warden, Sadiki Blirr, brushes off many threats to her by insinuating that Maul--otherwise known as Jaganath--must be killed because he's become a problem. Meanwhile, Hego Damask has sent in a field analyst named Vesto Slipher, who also starts working with Radique in odd ways.
During all this, Darth Sidious oversees Maul's work via hologram communication, but Darth Plagueis informs Sidious through a couple of face-to-face meetings that he's aware of what Maul's doing because of Slipher. But Sidious doubts that Plagueis really knows why Maul was sent there: to acquire a bomb for the Outer Rim for their upcoming war to rip the Republic apart. Sadiki's brother, Dakarai, is often absent mostly when she needs his moral support.
She also learns that Jabba Desilijic Tiure has taken an interest and she kills his hired mercenaries which angers Jabba. Maul eventually learns that Zero is Radique--who is also Dakarai in disguise. Maul receives orders to kill Radique and leave no witnesses--which he does under cover of Jabba and his thugs coming to take over Cog Hive Seven. Jabba's takeover is harassed by Komari Vosa of the Bando Gora who wants Radique's head.
Maul wants to hand over the weapon or Komair, but Komari goes into a blind fury believing it to be a trap, and attempts to kill Maul, but Maul bests her. She accepts the weapon and helps him escape from the prison. Hego Damask informs Palpatine that Cog Hive Seven is no more than a debris field somewhere in the Outer Rim, and all went well according to their plans. Komari, Eogan--the boy--and Maul have stolen one of Jabba's ships and fled before the destruction (so did Jabba, but we know that already).
All in all, a well-thought-out book that still keeps the suspense Schreiber is known for, as wells acknowledging the EU continuity and Darth Plagueis. This serves to show that any author can use continuity well and still tell a damn good story, and that continuity doesn't have to be tossed out because some people can't handle a unified series.
On January 28 2014, horror author Joe Schreiber published Maul: Lockdown. In this, Maul must overcome gangs of prisoners to track down one arms dealer before Jabba the Hutt or Komari Vosa of the Bando Gora get their hands on him. The events of this book take place after Cloak of Deception by James Luceno and before Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves. Synopsis: It's kill or be killed in the space penitentiary that houses the galaxy's worst criminals, where convicts face off in gladiatorial combat while an underworld gambling empire reaps the profits of the illicit blood sport. But the newest contender in this savage arena, as demonic to behold as he is deadly to challenge, is fighting for more than just survival. His do-or-die mission, for the dark masters he serves, is to capture the ultimate weapon: an object capable of obliterating the Jedi and conquering the galaxy. Sith Lords Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious are determined to possess the prize. And one of the power-hungry duo has his own treacherous plans for it. But first, their fearsome apprentice must take on a bloodthirsty prison warden, a cannibal gang, cutthroat crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and an unspeakable alien horror. No one else could brave such a gauntlet of death and live. But no one else is the dreaded dark-side disciple known as Darth Maul.
The novel opens with Maul surviving a fight against an unknown alien with a living staff. He recalls how he arrived; then he goes about his business of tracking down Iram Radique, a local hidden arms dealer found inside Cog Hive Seven--the prison. As he does so (without use of the Force), a number of things happen: the first is that a mysterious Twi'lek calling himself Zero offers loose advice to Maul; Maul takes down the top two gangs; and an old man and his son offer help.
Maul does fight his way through opponent after opponent, even killing some of Radique's people, much to the ire of the Galactic Gaming Commission. The warden, Sadiki Blirr, brushes off many threats to her by insinuating that Maul--otherwise known as Jaganath--must be killed because he's become a problem. Meanwhile, Hego Damask has sent in a field analyst named Vesto Slipher, who also starts working with Radique in odd ways.
During all this, Darth Sidious oversees Maul's work via hologram communication, but Darth Plagueis informs Sidious through a couple of face-to-face meetings that he's aware of what Maul's doing because of Slipher. But Sidious doubts that Plagueis really knows why Maul was sent there: to acquire a bomb for the Outer Rim for their upcoming war to rip the Republic apart. Sadiki's brother, Dakarai, is often absent mostly when she needs his moral support.
She also learns that Jabba Desilijic Tiure has taken an interest and she kills his hired mercenaries which angers Jabba. Maul eventually learns that Zero is Radique--who is also Dakarai in disguise. Maul receives orders to kill Radique and leave no witnesses--which he does under cover of Jabba and his thugs coming to take over Cog Hive Seven. Jabba's takeover is harassed by Komari Vosa of the Bando Gora who wants Radique's head.
Maul wants to hand over the weapon or Komair, but Komari goes into a blind fury believing it to be a trap, and attempts to kill Maul, but Maul bests her. She accepts the weapon and helps him escape from the prison. Hego Damask informs Palpatine that Cog Hive Seven is no more than a debris field somewhere in the Outer Rim, and all went well according to their plans. Komari, Eogan--the boy--and Maul have stolen one of Jabba's ships and fled before the destruction (so did Jabba, but we know that already).
All in all, a well-thought-out book that still keeps the suspense Schreiber is known for, as wells acknowledging the EU continuity and Darth Plagueis. This serves to show that any author can use continuity well and still tell a damn good story, and that continuity doesn't have to be tossed out because some people can't handle a unified series.
