Reviews

Following the now-infamous Disney acquisition of Star Wars (which saw the abolition of the old Expanded Universe), I'm actually no-longer sure where this sits in the hierarchy of canon: is this 'Legends' (i.e pre acquisition) material, or is it stil canon?

This is set between the events of 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith' - actually leading directly into that movie, with Anakin and Obi-Wan jetting off back to Coruscant - and, in many ways, seeks to bolster the reputation of one of the missed opportunities from that movie: that of General Grievious (not his face on the cover ...).

I'm also not sure where it sits alongside the Genndy Tartakovsy animation which also seeked to do exactly that, though the latter portion of the novel does seem to describesome of the actions shown in that animation (the surprise attack on Coruscant, and the capturing of Senator Palpatine) in prose form.

This is also the first of the so-called 'Dark Lord' trilogy (comprising of this, [b:Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith|35458|Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388228249s/35458.jpg|476816] and [b:The Rise of Darth Vader|359848|The Rise of Darth Vader (Star Wars The Dark Lord Trilogy, #3)|James Luceno|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388209667s/359848.jpg|574260]); while I have previously read - and enjoyed - the middle of those three, I now feel like reading the series in its entirity, from start to finish.

paddingtonfan13's review against another edition

Go to review page

tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

zibley3's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

stacieladams21's review against another edition

Go to review page

Great lead-up to Revenge of the Sith. Lots of Obi-Wan/Anakin and even some of one my favorite Jedi from The Clone Wars, Kit Fisto :). I’ve already read the next book in this trilogy, Revenge of the Sith (movie novelization and SO SO GOOD) so I’ll skip to the final book- Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. Highly recommend this series if you are a Clone Wars era fan!

thebookslayer's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Starwars : Labyrinth of Evil is a great story that is the exact lead up to StarWars Ep.3 as its ending is ep.3's beginning. Covering Anikans and Obiwans exploits that had them returned to Corescont. Also the Jedi counsels continued search for Darth Sedious.

berenikeasteria's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Initially I was looking forward to re-reading this book because I remembered how good it was, remembered it being evocatively dark, and scenes of Anakin grappling with an ‘inner dragon’. Now I’ve finished, I realise that what I remembered was actually from Matthew Stover’s novelisation of Revenge of the Sith. It makes sense in hindsight; Stover is well-known in the Expanded Universe for his hard-hitting, no-punches-pulled entries, including Shatterpoint and Traitor. Mea culpa – it has been a decade at least since I last did a Star Wars books marathon re-read. But I still remembered enjoying Labyrinth of Evil, and the book didn’t let me down on that front.

It may not be as stark as Stover’s immediate sequel, but Labyrinth assuredly has its chilling moments. It’s hard not to feel the icy knife of grim sobriety when confronted with the fate of the determined Intelligence agent on Darth Sidious’ tail, or discovering that Anakin, when left alone without Obi-Wan, behind his back bullies and tortures witnesses in hopes of getting the information he deems vital at any cost. This is fairly mature stuff, and, as an adult, I appreciate the exploration of such difficult situations and themes. That said, I wouldn’t call it replete with gore. It summons the moments of horror when needed, but much of Labyrinth is an adventure chase as our protagonists travel to strange alien worlds in hopes of unravelling the mystery. Your mileage may vary of course – I have a pretty strong stomach and this seems pretty light to me, but others may find a different experience.

It’s that heart that really makes and dominates this story. Our Sith are not shown to have everything sewn up and in the bag – one mistake brings the Jedi in this book breathing down Sidious’ neck and you feel the tension is real and the outcome still changeable and resting on a knife’s edge. That’s a very nice thing to have when most of us reading this book already know what happens and these stories could so easily have been lazy and predictable with nothing deviating from the master plan laid out by the Sith. The story actually has stakes. But it isn’t made easy for the good guys either. Obi-Wan and Anakin have to follow a lengthy trail of minor hints and clues, all in hopes that it will lead to some substantive information, and facing resistance at every step. This ends up with them going on what is mainly a rollicking adventure across five different worlds; with interludes on Coruscant with Bail Organa reminding us of the grave risks when the fate of a galaxy is on the line. I suppose I can say that I wish more time had been spent on those worlds – but then, I openly admit that I love the books that deep dive alien worlds and locations, considering this sort of stuff to be the guest stars of any sci fi novel. That’s a minor wishlist criticism from me though, and a very personal one, based on what I prefer and enjoy.

The story feels well-plotted out, certainly, and definitely dovetails very smoothly with the opening of Revenge of the Sith, where we’re thrown right into the middle of the action and perhaps left to wonder a little bit exactly how we ended up with a battle above Coruscant, when the Republic were supposedly winning the war, and how such a high profile and well-guarded figure as the Chancellor could have been captured. Labyrinth answers all those questions. It also draws from and makes references to plenty of the other Clone Wars novels, making this feel like a coherent, joined up world. The downside to this is that there are frequent mentions of some of the not-so-good entries that I’d rather forget and cut from my personal canon.

When it comes to the rating I give this book, a caveat is in order. Labyrinth is not among the best the Expanded Universe has to offer. It wouldn’t make my top ten. But I do think it is a decent entry, decent enough to keep not cut, and I feel reasonably well disposed towards it because it is one of the few Clone Wars era novels that I consider satisfactory. I’ve found, during this re-read, that I didn’t enjoy quite a lot of them. Some were completely out of step with the universe and characters they purported to portray, some were just utterly boring, some were just mediocre. Luceno here at least creates a world that is recognisable to Star Wars fans, giving Anakin and Obi-Wan a plausible relationship instead of one that is hopelessly out of character. Throw in a decently constructed plot on top of that and some good tension, and yes, this is good enough to make my cut, even if there are better books out there. It’s set it up well, and now I’m looking forward to Stover’s novelisation of Revenge of the Sith.

7 out of 10

anthonybanthony's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.5

Rating: B+

More...