hstapp's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite in the series though technically this book stands outside the Coruscant nights series for some reason. Perhaps because so little of it happens on Coruscant.
As a book it's fine there's some cool stuff going on, it wasn't ever really boring, but I never found it very exciting either. Just kind of mid range.
As a book it's fine there's some cool stuff going on, it wasn't ever really boring, but I never found it very exciting either. Just kind of mid range.
dgignac's review against another edition
4.0
I find it hard to give a book review when I’ve seen the movie first, as they begin to intertwine for me. However, this book does expand upon what is seen in the movie, which is always exciting for Star Wars fans.
nymeria1090's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
solid finale, appreciate that Jax finally went through a lot of character growth, and the look into weird Force stuff was interesting
rogue_leader's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
S
Last year I had a bit of a Star Wars binge where I read one every other book that I was reading for a few months. Since SW was such a huge part of my childhood it was nice familiar feeling. I could hear the sound effects, the music. I think that is why SW books are popular in prison and the military for people away from home.
One of my favorite SW novels came as a total surprise. That was Reeves first SW novel Darth Maul Shadow Hunter. When I saw it on the shelf I wasn’t going to read it, but a friend said it was surprisingly good. Not only was it good, I thought it was a fantastic SW that while titled after The villain Darth Maul was much more than that. Yes Darth Maul is a major force, but the novel is more of noir tale of the universe’s capital city than anything. The novel introduces several new characters which were the highlight of that novel, but the action and pacing were also very well done.
I became a Reeves fan and mostly he has proven me correct that he belongs along side Matthew Stover, and James L…. as the best authors working in the expanded universe. This is the third novel that he has teamed up with Fantasy writer Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff. It’s a good partnership, the novels maintain the pace and action.
This novel follows the adventures of Jax Pavin whose droid I-five was introduced back in the Darth Maul along with Jax’s father. These are my two favorite EU characters and it was the main reason I wanted to read this novel. Taking place during the dark days of the rebellion and involves the after math of a terrible defeat for the rebels. Darth Vader has captured one of Pavin’s best friends and a leader in the rebellion. Jax decides he has to rescue his friend or risk a planned assassination on the Emperor.
I am a sucker for anything Jedi and Sith related and this story takes a neat angle on force spirituality. Pavan has to explore his feelings believing he is the last jedi, survivor of Order 66. He has to confront his feelings toward Darth Vader(being one of the few who knows the truth).
You have to be a star wars nerd, to read an expanded universe novel. This book is a great one but it builds off of Darth Maul Shadow Hunter and the Coruscant Nights Trilogy. So start there if you are a fan of Jedis.
Last year I had a bit of a Star Wars binge where I read one every other book that I was reading for a few months. Since SW was such a huge part of my childhood it was nice familiar feeling. I could hear the sound effects, the music. I think that is why SW books are popular in prison and the military for people away from home.
One of my favorite SW novels came as a total surprise. That was Reeves first SW novel Darth Maul Shadow Hunter. When I saw it on the shelf I wasn’t going to read it, but a friend said it was surprisingly good. Not only was it good, I thought it was a fantastic SW that while titled after The villain Darth Maul was much more than that. Yes Darth Maul is a major force, but the novel is more of noir tale of the universe’s capital city than anything. The novel introduces several new characters which were the highlight of that novel, but the action and pacing were also very well done.
I became a Reeves fan and mostly he has proven me correct that he belongs along side Matthew Stover, and James L…. as the best authors working in the expanded universe. This is the third novel that he has teamed up with Fantasy writer Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff. It’s a good partnership, the novels maintain the pace and action.
This novel follows the adventures of Jax Pavin whose droid I-five was introduced back in the Darth Maul along with Jax’s father. These are my two favorite EU characters and it was the main reason I wanted to read this novel. Taking place during the dark days of the rebellion and involves the after math of a terrible defeat for the rebels. Darth Vader has captured one of Pavin’s best friends and a leader in the rebellion. Jax decides he has to rescue his friend or risk a planned assassination on the Emperor.
I am a sucker for anything Jedi and Sith related and this story takes a neat angle on force spirituality. Pavan has to explore his feelings believing he is the last jedi, survivor of Order 66. He has to confront his feelings toward Darth Vader(being one of the few who knows the truth).
You have to be a star wars nerd, to read an expanded universe novel. This book is a great one but it builds off of Darth Maul Shadow Hunter and the Coruscant Nights Trilogy. So start there if you are a fan of Jedis.
pressimistic's review against another edition
2.0
The Coruscant Nights books are the epitome of the expanded universe mediocrity: not as great as Timothy Zahn, not as terrible as Barbara Hambly. Despite Reaves' above-average use of the EU lore, his books are akin to Troy Denning's novels in terms of mediocrity and utter forgetability. Reaves consistently throws out character development and relationships in order to prioritize uninteresting, but fast-moving, plots. The reader gets SOME of Jax Pavan's emotional turmoil in this final book, however, it is rather easily resolved, and his emotions do not seem to affect his crew. In general, that is my biggest problem with the series. While the plots are uninteresting to me, I can see that they might hold some value for other readers. The lack of actual relationships between characters that have interacted and survived with each other over the course of FOUR BOOKS is the most irritating aspect of the series. A meaningless plot revolving around taking down the Emperor and Darth Vader (of which the outcome is obvious) would be far more compelling if there were more connections between the characters.
You're better off watching the Last Jedi movie.
You're better off watching the Last Jedi movie.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review against another edition
4.0
First up, this is not the novelisation of that terrible Disney film that came out that mistakenly put ‘Star Wars’ on the title and stole the title of this book. Interestingly, Disney Luke’s Force projection in the film is a direct rip-off of the Force projection in this book. This is an actual Star Wars book based in the actual Star Wars universe. Now that’s out of the way, on to the review…
This is a follow-up book to the Coruscant Nights trilogy of books that follow Jedi Jax Pavan and the sentient droid I-Five that originally belonged to his father in Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. In this one, the Coruscant-based resistance known as Whiplash is feeling the pressure and it is decided to evacuate their leader off-world to a safer location. Unfortunately, Darth Vader is waiting and kidnaps the leader leaving Jax and his friends for dead. Now Jax must do what he can to mount a rescue.
I do very much enjoy the character of I-Five and this is his sixth appearance in the books. Jax is a lot more unbalanced in this one, dealing with loss and exploring a Sith holocron, which made him a much more interesting character. There was one scene in particular when he discovers that sentient blood is required to open it and a new acquaintance of his suddenly turns up and I really thought he might do something drastic.
The story itself is okay, if a little meandering. For all the urgency in mounting the rescue, there’s an awful lot of preamble and ‘side missions’ that must be done first. Interspersed amongst all this is the ongoing operations of Whiplash without their leader which, though compelling, ultimately don’t really amount to much.
There is no great battle or encounter but the rescue attempt at the end is pretty good. The story does get a little lost with the time manipulation sub-sub plot which felt a bit unnecessary.
Infinitely better than the ‘film’ of the same name.
This is a follow-up book to the Coruscant Nights trilogy of books that follow Jedi Jax Pavan and the sentient droid I-Five that originally belonged to his father in Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. In this one, the Coruscant-based resistance known as Whiplash is feeling the pressure and it is decided to evacuate their leader off-world to a safer location. Unfortunately, Darth Vader is waiting and kidnaps the leader leaving Jax and his friends for dead. Now Jax must do what he can to mount a rescue.
I do very much enjoy the character of I-Five and this is his sixth appearance in the books. Jax is a lot more unbalanced in this one, dealing with loss and exploring a Sith holocron, which made him a much more interesting character. There was one scene in particular when he discovers that sentient blood is required to open it and a new acquaintance of his suddenly turns up and I really thought he might do something drastic.
The story itself is okay, if a little meandering. For all the urgency in mounting the rescue, there’s an awful lot of preamble and ‘side missions’ that must be done first. Interspersed amongst all this is the ongoing operations of Whiplash without their leader which, though compelling, ultimately don’t really amount to much.
There is no great battle or encounter but the rescue attempt at the end is pretty good. The story does get a little lost with the time manipulation sub-sub plot which felt a bit unnecessary.
Infinitely better than the ‘film’ of the same name.
fbone's review against another edition
3.0
Evidently this was part of a series but it works as a stand alone story in the Star Wars universe. This was my first SW title that occurs before Episode 4 and knowing what happens later in the timeline sadly eliminates some of the surprise. The first 200 pages were slow but it does pick up after that. The author did dwell on the flawed, tortured characters a lot (common in later novels) but not too much to be unpleasant. The ending was as expected but satisfying.
phantasmaboo's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
verkisto's review against another edition
2.0
It's weird returning to an adult Star Wars book after having read so many juvenile books previously. It makes the differences between the two literature stand out, since the simplified storytelling of the juvenile books makes for such quick, easy reads. Plus, the shorter lengths of the juvenile books meant there weren't many subplots; with The Last Jedi, they're more prominent.
Reaves returns to his usual cast of characters with The Last Jedi, bringing back Jax Pavan, I-5YQ, and Den Dhur, all of whom featured in the Coruscant Nights series. In fact, it follows the events of Patterns of Force so much that I'm surprised it's not a part of that series. In this book, Thi Xon Yimmon, Jedi Knight and leader of the Whiplash rebellion group, is kidnapped by Darth Vader, and Jax goes on a long journey to get him back. Jax also loses Laranth in the same confrontation where Yimmon is kidnapped, so he's entertaining dark thoughts, and is tempted by the dark side, especially since he has a Sith holocron in his possession. Jax struggles to balance the Force within himself, and for most of the novel, he's doing his own thing, without any input from I-5 or Den.
Part of what made Reaves' other Expanded Universe novels interesting was his use of these central characters, building on and developing their characters from one story to the next. From I-5's sardonic quips to Den's pessimistic outlook, with Jax trying to manage the entire group despite all of that, the characters were engaging and served as the anchor for the stories. By dividing them in this book, Reaves removes the key to his story, and it's a lot less interesting for it. Jax travels from place to place trying to locate and rescue Yimmon, and sometimes I-5 and Den are with him, and sometimes they aren't. In fact, for as much as I-5 and Den actually serve a purpose in the book, they may as well not even have been featured at all.
For as lengthy as this book is (460 pages), not much happens. There's a lot of traveling, a lot of backtracking, and a lot of angst-ridden introspection that carries the story, and frankly it's pretty boring. Under different circumstances, it might not have bothered me much, but after reading the cleaner, more direct juvenile books, The Last Jedi wasn't the right book to ease me back in to reading the adult books. I've been toying with shifting my attention to the new canon books and reading those to stay on top of the new movies, and this might be a good time to make that shift. I've made my way through and beyond the prequel trilogies, and the next book I have to read is from the older wave of EU novels. I believe my next read in this project will be Catalyst.
Reaves returns to his usual cast of characters with The Last Jedi, bringing back Jax Pavan, I-5YQ, and Den Dhur, all of whom featured in the Coruscant Nights series. In fact, it follows the events of Patterns of Force so much that I'm surprised it's not a part of that series. In this book, Thi Xon Yimmon, Jedi Knight and leader of the Whiplash rebellion group, is kidnapped by Darth Vader, and Jax goes on a long journey to get him back. Jax also loses Laranth in the same confrontation where Yimmon is kidnapped, so he's entertaining dark thoughts, and is tempted by the dark side, especially since he has a Sith holocron in his possession. Jax struggles to balance the Force within himself, and for most of the novel, he's doing his own thing, without any input from I-5 or Den.
Part of what made Reaves' other Expanded Universe novels interesting was his use of these central characters, building on and developing their characters from one story to the next. From I-5's sardonic quips to Den's pessimistic outlook, with Jax trying to manage the entire group despite all of that, the characters were engaging and served as the anchor for the stories. By dividing them in this book, Reaves removes the key to his story, and it's a lot less interesting for it. Jax travels from place to place trying to locate and rescue Yimmon, and sometimes I-5 and Den are with him, and sometimes they aren't. In fact, for as much as I-5 and Den actually serve a purpose in the book, they may as well not even have been featured at all.
For as lengthy as this book is (460 pages), not much happens. There's a lot of traveling, a lot of backtracking, and a lot of angst-ridden introspection that carries the story, and frankly it's pretty boring. Under different circumstances, it might not have bothered me much, but after reading the cleaner, more direct juvenile books, The Last Jedi wasn't the right book to ease me back in to reading the adult books. I've been toying with shifting my attention to the new canon books and reading those to stay on top of the new movies, and this might be a good time to make that shift. I've made my way through and beyond the prequel trilogies, and the next book I have to read is from the older wave of EU novels. I believe my next read in this project will be Catalyst.