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Star Wars: Coruscant Nights #1
Jedi Twilight
With the dark ascension of the Empire, and the Jedi Knights virtually wiped out, one Jedi who escaped the massacre is slated for a date with destiny-and a confrontation with Darth Vader.
Jax Pavan is one of the few Jedi Knights who miraculously survived the slaughter that followed Palpatine's ruthless Order 66. Now, deep in Coruscant's Blackpit Slums, Jax ekes out a living as a private investigator, trying to help people in need while concealing his Jedi identity and staying one step ahead of the killers out for Jedi blood. And they're not the only ones in search of the elusive Jax. Hard-boiled reporter Den Dhur and his buddy, the highly unorthodox droid I-5YQ, have shocking news to bring Jax-about the father he never knew.
But when Jax learns that his old Jedi Master has been killed, leaving behind the request that Jax finish a mission critical to the resistance, Jax has no choice but to emerge from hiding-and risk detection by Darth Vader-to fulfill his Master's dying wish.
Don't miss the continuing adventures in the Coruscant Nights series, coming this Fall!
Jax Pavan is one of the few Jedi Knights who miraculously survived the slaughter that followed Palpatine's ruthless Order 66. Now, deep in Coruscant's Blackpit Slums, Jax ekes out a living as a private investigator, trying to help people in need while concealing his Jedi identity and staying one step ahead of the killers out for Jedi blood. And they're not the only ones in search of the elusive Jax. Hard-boiled reporter Den Dhur and his buddy, the highly unorthodox droid I-5YQ, have shocking news to bring Jax-about the father he never knew.
But when Jax learns that his old Jedi Master has been killed, leaving behind the request that Jax finish a mission critical to the resistance, Jax has no choice but to emerge from hiding-and risk detection by Darth Vader-to fulfill his Master's dying wish.
Don't miss the continuing adventures in the Coruscant Nights series, coming this Fall!
343 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2006
About the author
Michael Reaves
108 books195 followersMichael Reaves is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and screenwriter whose many credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twilight Zone, Batman: The Animated Series, and Gargoyles. His novels include the New York Times bestseller STAR WARS: Darth Maul- Shadowhunter and STAR WARS: Death Star. He and Neil Gaiman cowrote Interworld. Reaves has also written short fiction, comic books, and background dialogue for a Megadeth video. He lives in California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
June 18, 2022
An interesting blend of space opera and noir.
July 23, 2010
"Even without the Force, you are still a Jedi"
Don't confuse this book with the other "Twilight" book! In this new edition to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Jax Pavan, former Jedi Knight, is scumming around in the Coruscant underbelly, trying to keep out of the limelight and Darth Vader's target sites. But when his former master, Even Piell, asks him for one last mission, how can he say no?
I Liked:
I opened this book with some trepidation. The last two Michael Reaves books I read (Death Star (Star Wars) and Batman: Fear Itself) didn't impress me. In fact, I rated both two stars. I was so sure that Reaves had lost his touch, that the magic of Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul) was gone.
Boy was I wrong!
Michael Reaves brings back his amazing characters from Darth Maul, the Medstar Duology and more. We get to learn more about I-Five and ponder sentience. Are droids slaves...or are they property? Can a droid attain sentience? We see what happened to Den Dhur, reporter of the Medstar Duology. The Sullustan friend of I-Five makes some of the snappiest remarks, he is impossible to hate. Then we have Jax Pavan, Lorn Pavan's Jedi son. He has pretty much lived a bounty hunter-ish life in the underworld of Coruscant. You see him struggle with living alone, without the Jedi and then without the Force. Nick Rostu of Shatterpoint (Star Wars: Clone Wars) fame is back. I feel for him, his struggle with his limited Force ability and his desire to save his home. Also starring is Kaird, a Nediji (think bird-man), who is a part of Black Sun just to get to his own homeworld. Of those listed (there are a few others, but I found them more periphery), my favorites are Nick and Kaird. I really grew attached to Nick, felt his struggles and understood his past. Kaird, I loved how he wasn't your typical, "I want to be a big shot for the power" kind of guy. Nope, all he wanted was to go home.
So a bunch of great characters don't mean a whole hill of beans. You can have a bunch and still have a lousy story (*ahem* Death Star). Not so here. The story is fantastic! There are just enough weaves, twists and turns (I figured out the end, but still, it was pretty darn interesting!) to keep you on your seat! And how Reaves puts all the characters together at the end...well, let's just say that THAT is how Death Star's ending should have been written.
And the ending! Wowee, talk about a ride! You will want to read the last 100 pages in one sitting. Trust me, I did! I didn't want to be torn away, not at that ending!
I Did Not Like:
I really have to pick here to get negatives.
Jedi deflect lasers but to shoot lasers out of the sky with blaster bolts? Uh huh, sure. Light is neither particle nor wave, so firing a light into a light does nothing, sorry.
The middle is kinda slow and almost padded. I can't even quite remember what happens in it! Fortunately, you don't seem to notice it when you are reading, only when you get to the end do you think, "Man, that section--whatever it was about--that was slow!"
I got a little tired of some of the repetition, namely about how Xizor was oh, so good at fighting (he was, and he proves it, I just get tired of all the characters saying it).
Also, the book is almost marketed as a PI/investigator type book. Uh, not so much.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Invented Star Wars fare.
About as sexual as you get is perhaps Twi'Lek slaves. Very tame.
Violence is surprisingly light. There are some firefights, some people are injured (cuts, scrapes, one person almost dies), and an intense battle between our fighters and feral droids, but on the whole, not many get really messed up.
Overall:
Brilliant work, Michael Reaves! Thank you for proving me wrong and showing me that you really haven't forgotten the art of a brilliant novel. If the other two in the trilogy are anywhere near as good as this, sign me up! Oh, and start writing some more. Five stars, no questions.
Don't confuse this book with the other "Twilight" book! In this new edition to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Jax Pavan, former Jedi Knight, is scumming around in the Coruscant underbelly, trying to keep out of the limelight and Darth Vader's target sites. But when his former master, Even Piell, asks him for one last mission, how can he say no?
I Liked:
I opened this book with some trepidation. The last two Michael Reaves books I read (Death Star (Star Wars) and Batman: Fear Itself) didn't impress me. In fact, I rated both two stars. I was so sure that Reaves had lost his touch, that the magic of Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul) was gone.
Boy was I wrong!
Michael Reaves brings back his amazing characters from Darth Maul, the Medstar Duology and more. We get to learn more about I-Five and ponder sentience. Are droids slaves...or are they property? Can a droid attain sentience? We see what happened to Den Dhur, reporter of the Medstar Duology. The Sullustan friend of I-Five makes some of the snappiest remarks, he is impossible to hate. Then we have Jax Pavan, Lorn Pavan's Jedi son. He has pretty much lived a bounty hunter-ish life in the underworld of Coruscant. You see him struggle with living alone, without the Jedi and then without the Force. Nick Rostu of Shatterpoint (Star Wars: Clone Wars) fame is back. I feel for him, his struggle with his limited Force ability and his desire to save his home. Also starring is Kaird, a Nediji (think bird-man), who is a part of Black Sun just to get to his own homeworld. Of those listed (there are a few others, but I found them more periphery), my favorites are Nick and Kaird. I really grew attached to Nick, felt his struggles and understood his past. Kaird, I loved how he wasn't your typical, "I want to be a big shot for the power" kind of guy. Nope, all he wanted was to go home.
So a bunch of great characters don't mean a whole hill of beans. You can have a bunch and still have a lousy story (*ahem* Death Star). Not so here. The story is fantastic! There are just enough weaves, twists and turns (I figured out the end, but still, it was pretty darn interesting!) to keep you on your seat! And how Reaves puts all the characters together at the end...well, let's just say that THAT is how Death Star's ending should have been written.
And the ending! Wowee, talk about a ride! You will want to read the last 100 pages in one sitting. Trust me, I did! I didn't want to be torn away, not at that ending!
I Did Not Like:
I really have to pick here to get negatives.
Jedi deflect lasers but to shoot lasers out of the sky with blaster bolts? Uh huh, sure. Light is neither particle nor wave, so firing a light into a light does nothing, sorry.
The middle is kinda slow and almost padded. I can't even quite remember what happens in it! Fortunately, you don't seem to notice it when you are reading, only when you get to the end do you think, "Man, that section--whatever it was about--that was slow!"
I got a little tired of some of the repetition, namely about how Xizor was oh, so good at fighting (he was, and he proves it, I just get tired of all the characters saying it).
Also, the book is almost marketed as a PI/investigator type book. Uh, not so much.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Invented Star Wars fare.
About as sexual as you get is perhaps Twi'Lek slaves. Very tame.
Violence is surprisingly light. There are some firefights, some people are injured (cuts, scrapes, one person almost dies), and an intense battle between our fighters and feral droids, but on the whole, not many get really messed up.
Overall:
Brilliant work, Michael Reaves! Thank you for proving me wrong and showing me that you really haven't forgotten the art of a brilliant novel. If the other two in the trilogy are anywhere near as good as this, sign me up! Oh, and start writing some more. Five stars, no questions.
February 10, 2020
I always liked the idea that some Jedi other than Obi-Wan and Yoda escaped the purge led by Palpatine and Vader, and this book explores that idea. Jax Pavan is a Jedi knight living in the shadows of Coruscant in the early days of the empire. We also meet Laranth Tarak, a "Grey Paladin", a type of rogue Jedi who uses blasters instead of a lightsaber. I liked both of them and wanted to know more about them. Especially Jax, who is having problems accessing the Force under pressure because he's been suppressing his Force connection for fear of Vader detecting him. And Vader does want Jax brought in alive, for some unknown reason probably having to do with the fact that Jax and Anakin Skywalker were friends as Padawans.
Jax is joined by I-Five, a protocol droid with funkier programming than Threepio, and I-Five's friend, Den, a Sullustan reporter. And then there's Nick Rostu, of the fantastic Shatterpoint, thrown into the mix as a Republic officer/limited Force user-turned rebel.
However, there are some other point of view characters and side plots that I didn't really care all that much about. Vader's neurotic employee and an assassin trying to get out of Black Sun were not particularly interesting to me. Having read books set later in the timeline, I knew the Prince Xizor subplot wasn't going very far.
Jax is joined by I-Five, a protocol droid with funkier programming than Threepio, and I-Five's friend, Den, a Sullustan reporter. And then there's Nick Rostu, of the fantastic Shatterpoint, thrown into the mix as a Republic officer/limited Force user-turned rebel.
However, there are some other point of view characters and side plots that I didn't really care all that much about. Vader's neurotic employee and an assassin trying to get out of Black Sun were not particularly interesting to me. Having read books set later in the timeline, I knew the Prince Xizor subplot wasn't going very far.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2015
Somewhen between "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith" and "Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope" is the setting for the Star Wars novel "Jedi Twilight" by Michael Reaves, the first in his Coruscant Nights series. It's a fun action/adventure that pits a Sam Spade-like private detective within the Star Wars universe. The result is fun sci-fi noir that reminds readers of the pulp influences that helped inspire and infuse the world(s) that George Lucas created.
Reaves clearly grew up reading lots of paperback writers. His collection was obviously replete with just as many by authors like Mickey Spillane and Ross McDonald as it was with Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.
In "Jedi Twilight", former Jedi Knight Jax Pavan is forced to go into hiding after Emperor Palpatine's Order 66, what is commonly referred to in the Star Wars universe as "The Purge". By order of the Emperor, all Jedis were branded as enemies of the state and were to be killed on sight. A few Jedis, scattered throughout the galaxy, survived the massacre. Unfortunately, they are now the Galaxy's most wanted. The Emperor's second-in-command, Darth Vader, has taken it upon himself to seek and destroy any remaining Jedi.
Pavan now moonlights as a private investigator, helping those in the lower levels of Coruscant, the "slums" beneath the great towers of the rich and powerful. When an old Republic Army buddy, Nick Rostu, shows up with news that Pavan's former Jedi Master, Even Piell, is dead, Pavan finds himself on a mission to finish what Piell started. Unfortunately, he's not completely sure what the mission is. He knows it has something to do with a missing droid, rumored to have belonged to an ancient Sith Lord. Strangely enough, someone else wants the droid just as badly: Darth Vader himself.
Along the way, Pavan picks up a rag-tag team: Den Dhur, a down-and-out reporter looking for his next big story; I-5YQ, a droid who possesses the uncanny ability to feel emotions and an accompanying smart-ass attitude; and Laranth Tarak, a female Jedi who also survived the Purge, who is tough as nails but also has a secret crush on Pavan.
The plot is relatively lame, but Reaves has fun creating some likable characters. While the novel, at times, feels more like an episode of "Futurama", with its humorous repartee between the characters, than it does its most obvious source of inspiration, "The Maltese Falcon", it is still an entertaining addition to the Expanded Universe. There are two more books in the series.
Reaves clearly grew up reading lots of paperback writers. His collection was obviously replete with just as many by authors like Mickey Spillane and Ross McDonald as it was with Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.
In "Jedi Twilight", former Jedi Knight Jax Pavan is forced to go into hiding after Emperor Palpatine's Order 66, what is commonly referred to in the Star Wars universe as "The Purge". By order of the Emperor, all Jedis were branded as enemies of the state and were to be killed on sight. A few Jedis, scattered throughout the galaxy, survived the massacre. Unfortunately, they are now the Galaxy's most wanted. The Emperor's second-in-command, Darth Vader, has taken it upon himself to seek and destroy any remaining Jedi.
Pavan now moonlights as a private investigator, helping those in the lower levels of Coruscant, the "slums" beneath the great towers of the rich and powerful. When an old Republic Army buddy, Nick Rostu, shows up with news that Pavan's former Jedi Master, Even Piell, is dead, Pavan finds himself on a mission to finish what Piell started. Unfortunately, he's not completely sure what the mission is. He knows it has something to do with a missing droid, rumored to have belonged to an ancient Sith Lord. Strangely enough, someone else wants the droid just as badly: Darth Vader himself.
Along the way, Pavan picks up a rag-tag team: Den Dhur, a down-and-out reporter looking for his next big story; I-5YQ, a droid who possesses the uncanny ability to feel emotions and an accompanying smart-ass attitude; and Laranth Tarak, a female Jedi who also survived the Purge, who is tough as nails but also has a secret crush on Pavan.
The plot is relatively lame, but Reaves has fun creating some likable characters. While the novel, at times, feels more like an episode of "Futurama", with its humorous repartee between the characters, than it does its most obvious source of inspiration, "The Maltese Falcon", it is still an entertaining addition to the Expanded Universe. There are two more books in the series.
July 3, 2008
I expected a lot more from this book. The idea, a Jedi-turned-P.I. after escaping the Purges and finding work in the slimey underbelly of Coruscant's lower levels, sounds great--a nice treat and reprieve from the same ol' same ol' Jedis always doing awesome stuff and saving an oblivious galaxy we always get.
Not only did the blurb on the back cover deceive me, the cover art did as well. It's completely noir-influenced. What else was I supposed to expect except Raymond Chandler and Star Wars all into one?
Instead, I find out Jax Pavan (the P.I. protagonist) isn't even a P.I. . Did the editor even read the book? He's a bounty hunter. The two are completely different things. Not only is he a bounty hunter (who we never get to see in action), but he's being hunted by every other character mentioned in the book, all of whom have extremely famous over lords, masters, bosses, rivals, cousins, fathers, hairstylists, etc...I think you get the picture.
The secret of Jax's sudden tantalizing allure is this: his Jedi Master Even Piell has unexpectedly, but plot-wise, thankfully, died with an unfinished mission under his belt that he absolutely must get Jax to complete. So when Nick Rostu appears (also escaping the Purges--it's more common than you think) with a gnarly new scar on his cheek to save the day with his band of underworld ruffians, who better to pass the message along to than him? Now, it's up to Jax to find the stolen Death Star information to help the Rebellion overthrow the Empire or many Bothans will have died in vain. Wait--wrong storyline. Jax must now hunt down a droid gone missing, a droid with information vital to the survival of a secret organization called Whiplash, striking out against the burgeoning Empire from the most bottom of the bottom. I think that time I got it right.
Oh, and remember Den Dhur and his C-3PO doppleganger I-5YQ from the Medstar duology? Last we left them, or, last they left us, Dhur was on his way to make sure I-5 accomplished his former master's dying wish (note to self: when I die, make sure all the slave, electronic, fleshy, or otherwise, are not left with my dirty laundry missions): to take care of his son, gasp Jax Pavan.
And just to make the pot a little sweeter, throw in Darth Vader and a random new underling, Haninum Tyk Rhinann, who has a new assignment. That's right, you guessed it: to find Jax Pavan for some "unfinished" business Vader has with him. We need to have some major bad guy after Jax's hide, otherwise it'd be boring. He has to be in absolute danger with his fate complicatedly intertwined with that of the galaxy at large for it to be Star Wars.
I forgot to mention. Xizor's in it too--some unrelated subplot with a rival Black Sun member who's vying for the same job opportunity we all know Xizor winds up with. Yeah. That's not predictable.
So with all this chasing and searching going on, Jax boots Nick off the case and runs into Laranth Tarak, another mutilated Twi'lek, albeit proud of her distinctive concavities and not ruled in the least bit by vanity. Laranth, as we learn, is part of some marginalized Jedi group called the Teepo Paladins--in particular, the Gray Paladins, a more militaristic subset of the Teepos. The Paladins use uncivilized blasters and out of a fear this preference indicated Dark Side tendencies, the group was ostracized from the Jedi Order. They espoused independence from heavy Force-reliance and in this day and age, where Jedis are hunted down by any indication of the use of the Force, it's the Grays that are now surviving marvelously. Coincidentally, it was the Grays who founded Whiplash, and with her help, Jax proceeds to the very Hutt who robbed him of his bounty when we first met him and then squealed on him, sending stormtroopers (since when did they become storm- and not clonetroopers?) to his front door with orders to kill. My, what a tiny, close-knit web we weave.
As it turns out, Vader has beef with more than Jax Pavan. Are you really surprised? Nick is captured on the pretense of murdering a "high-ranking representative of the Empire," but really since it's Rhinann who's sent the hired help, it's information Vader wants and not just Pavan himself. Everyone's hot on Jax's trail and it seems they'll do just about anything to get to him. Even if it means turning him against his friend.
In the meanwhile, the Xizor plot finally begins to make sense. Kaird (that's the guy after Xizor's in-the-pocket job) is ordered to kill Xizor who has been sent to get his hands on the information vital to the survival of the rebellion so Black Sun can win favor with the Empire. In other words, his mission: find Jax Pavan (well, really, find this mysterious droid, but I'm sure it's all related).
Now that everyone mentioned in this book that could possibly be after Jax is, I won't ruin the end. Suffice to say, you'll have to buy it (or borrow it) and read it to find out what doesn't get resolved in book one. Or make predictions. I'm not sure how hard it is to outguess Star Wars.
Reaves is also incredibly critical of humans in Jedi Twilight through Rhinann, an Elomin who takes no pains to disguise his hatred. This is all too sophisticated form what I'm used to in a Star Wars book. At least someone finally realizes the galaxy's made up of more species than just humans. Why this has never really ever been explored further is beyond me. It doesn't make sense for everything to be auto-set with humans in mind. He also uses this too heavy focus on humans to shift views of how the characters think of droids. Well familiar with R2 and 3PO, the rest of us are yawning.
Overall, the book was okay. I mean, I liked it, sure. I'll definitely be picking up the remaining two. I'm just disappointed they didn't really do a Jedi detective story completely unrelated to any major or well known characters. That would have been cool.
Not only did the blurb on the back cover deceive me, the cover art did as well. It's completely noir-influenced. What else was I supposed to expect except Raymond Chandler and Star Wars all into one?
Instead, I find out Jax Pavan (the P.I. protagonist) isn't even a P.I. . Did the editor even read the book? He's a bounty hunter. The two are completely different things. Not only is he a bounty hunter (who we never get to see in action), but he's being hunted by every other character mentioned in the book, all of whom have extremely famous over lords, masters, bosses, rivals, cousins, fathers, hairstylists, etc...I think you get the picture.
The secret of Jax's sudden tantalizing allure is this: his Jedi Master Even Piell has unexpectedly, but plot-wise, thankfully, died with an unfinished mission under his belt that he absolutely must get Jax to complete. So when Nick Rostu appears (also escaping the Purges--it's more common than you think) with a gnarly new scar on his cheek to save the day with his band of underworld ruffians, who better to pass the message along to than him? Now, it's up to Jax to find the stolen Death Star information to help the Rebellion overthrow the Empire or many Bothans will have died in vain. Wait--wrong storyline. Jax must now hunt down a droid gone missing, a droid with information vital to the survival of a secret organization called Whiplash, striking out against the burgeoning Empire from the most bottom of the bottom. I think that time I got it right.
Oh, and remember Den Dhur and his C-3PO doppleganger I-5YQ from the Medstar duology? Last we left them, or, last they left us, Dhur was on his way to make sure I-5 accomplished his former master's dying wish (note to self: when I die, make sure all the slave, electronic, fleshy, or otherwise, are not left with my dirty laundry missions): to take care of his son, gasp Jax Pavan.
And just to make the pot a little sweeter, throw in Darth Vader and a random new underling, Haninum Tyk Rhinann, who has a new assignment. That's right, you guessed it: to find Jax Pavan for some "unfinished" business Vader has with him. We need to have some major bad guy after Jax's hide, otherwise it'd be boring. He has to be in absolute danger with his fate complicatedly intertwined with that of the galaxy at large for it to be Star Wars.
I forgot to mention. Xizor's in it too--some unrelated subplot with a rival Black Sun member who's vying for the same job opportunity we all know Xizor winds up with. Yeah. That's not predictable.
So with all this chasing and searching going on, Jax boots Nick off the case and runs into Laranth Tarak, another mutilated Twi'lek, albeit proud of her distinctive concavities and not ruled in the least bit by vanity. Laranth, as we learn, is part of some marginalized Jedi group called the Teepo Paladins--in particular, the Gray Paladins, a more militaristic subset of the Teepos. The Paladins use uncivilized blasters and out of a fear this preference indicated Dark Side tendencies, the group was ostracized from the Jedi Order. They espoused independence from heavy Force-reliance and in this day and age, where Jedis are hunted down by any indication of the use of the Force, it's the Grays that are now surviving marvelously. Coincidentally, it was the Grays who founded Whiplash, and with her help, Jax proceeds to the very Hutt who robbed him of his bounty when we first met him and then squealed on him, sending stormtroopers (since when did they become storm- and not clonetroopers?) to his front door with orders to kill. My, what a tiny, close-knit web we weave.
As it turns out, Vader has beef with more than Jax Pavan. Are you really surprised? Nick is captured on the pretense of murdering a "high-ranking representative of the Empire," but really since it's Rhinann who's sent the hired help, it's information Vader wants and not just Pavan himself. Everyone's hot on Jax's trail and it seems they'll do just about anything to get to him. Even if it means turning him against his friend.
In the meanwhile, the Xizor plot finally begins to make sense. Kaird (that's the guy after Xizor's in-the-pocket job) is ordered to kill Xizor who has been sent to get his hands on the information vital to the survival of the rebellion so Black Sun can win favor with the Empire. In other words, his mission: find Jax Pavan (well, really, find this mysterious droid, but I'm sure it's all related).
Now that everyone mentioned in this book that could possibly be after Jax is, I won't ruin the end. Suffice to say, you'll have to buy it (or borrow it) and read it to find out what doesn't get resolved in book one. Or make predictions. I'm not sure how hard it is to outguess Star Wars.
Reaves is also incredibly critical of humans in Jedi Twilight through Rhinann, an Elomin who takes no pains to disguise his hatred. This is all too sophisticated form what I'm used to in a Star Wars book. At least someone finally realizes the galaxy's made up of more species than just humans. Why this has never really ever been explored further is beyond me. It doesn't make sense for everything to be auto-set with humans in mind. He also uses this too heavy focus on humans to shift views of how the characters think of droids. Well familiar with R2 and 3PO, the rest of us are yawning.
Overall, the book was okay. I mean, I liked it, sure. I'll definitely be picking up the remaining two. I'm just disappointed they didn't really do a Jedi detective story completely unrelated to any major or well known characters. That would have been cool.
January 18, 2021
A mixed bag of stuff that I love (the smoldering remains of the Jedi Order, anything with Vader), stuff that I dislike (anything with Xizor and Black Sun), and stuff towards which I'm indifferent (the film noir slums of Coruscant). It feels like the unproduced "Star Wars" series "Underworld"...which means I'm happy that it was never produced. It's well-written, it's easy to read, but it's not really my personally favourite corner of the Lucasverse.
July 12, 2024
2.5 stars
For 2024, I decided to pick up where I left off after 2022 and reread books published between 2004 and 2011—a hodgepodge of Clone Wars, inter-trilogy, and Original Trilogy stories, plus a smattering of Old Republic Sith. This shakes out to twenty-one novels and four short stories, mainly consisting of the Republic Commando series, the Darth Bane trilogy, the Coruscant Nights trilogy, five Clone Wars books written by the Karens, and four standalone novels.
This week’s focus: the first book in the Coruscant Nights trilogy, Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight by Michael Reaves
SOME HISTORY:
The first book in the Coruscant Nights trilogy, Jedi Twilight, was originally planned for 2007, so Michael Reaves finished book #1 and it was edited (but not typeset) by April 2007. However, it wasn’t published until June 2008—presumably because Michael Reaves and Steve Perry’s Death Star was already on the release schedule, and so the whole trilogy could be released in the same year.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
I have never read the Coruscant Nights trilogy before. I liked the droid I-5 in Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and the Medstar duology, but these books flew under my radar back in 2008. The Coruscant Nights book also never received official audiobook adaptations, which may have contributed to my lack of knowledge about them until fairly recently.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Jax Pavan is one of the few Jedi Knights who survived Order 66, and he has been hiding in the slums of Coruscant ever since. When his old Jedi Master is killed, Jax is tasked with completing a mission for him: tracking down a droid that has pivotal information for the burgeoning resistance on Coruscant. But Jax will encounter a number of individuals along the way as he attempts to complete this Mission including an old friend of his father, the droid I-5YQ…
THE PLOT:
The back cover blurb of Jedi Twilight is a little misleading; rather than helping people, Jax has been operating as a bounty hunter on Coruscant for the last few months. When one of his bounties goes awry—he’s not paid by Rokko the Hutt because the bounty self-terminated, and Jax uses the Force against Rokko’s bodyguards—Jax decides to get the heck out of Dodge…er, Imperial City. Unfortunately, the plot has other plans for Jax. His old Master Even Piell is killed at the beginning of the book in a confrontation with stormtroopers, but before he dies he tells Nick Rostu (last seen in Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover) that there’s a droid with vital information for the local resistance, Whiplash. Nick tracks Jax down right before he is attacked by stormtroopers, so Jax heads off in search of the vital droid. He picks up a Jedi colleague, a Twi’lek woman named Laranth Tarak who was a Jedi Paladin, and they come to an arrangement with Rokko the Hutt.
Meanwhile, Den Dhur the Sullustan journalist and I-5YQ left Dronghar at the end of Medstar II: Jedi Healer because I-5 recovered his memory, and they’re trying to track down Lorn Pavan’s son. They’re at Rokko’s HQ at the same time as Jax and Laranth, and after some shenanigans they all flee together. Jax doesn’t want anything to do with I-5, but they’re all along for the ride. They pick up Nick Rostu, who has been threatened and terrorized by Vader into becoming a double agent, and they track the droid down to Prince Xizor (originally of Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry). There’s a big kerfuffle, the droid is destroyed, the factory is facing imminent destruction—and then Vader shows up.
CHARACTERS:
Jax is the son of Lorn Pavan, the Corellian man killed at the end of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. His father initially worked for the Jedi Temple, but when Jax was taken in by the Jedi Lorn lost his job and ended up working as an information broker with the droid I-5YQ. Jax was raised in the Jedi Order, and Anakin Skywalker and he were padawans at the same time. He never felt the urge to search for his family, so when I-5 shows up claiming to have information about his father and his past, Jax is decidedly not interested. Jax isn’t particularly powerful in the Force, but he has an interesting ability that I hope Reaves elaborates on in the next two books. Jax can see ties between people and events, which reminded me a little of Mace Windu’s shatterpoint ability but less about vulnerabilities and more about sensing overall connections.
Besides struggling with his attitude (atrocious) and his role as a Jedi on the run, Jax also struggles throughout the book with his ability to touch the Force. Rather than his Force senses waning, Jax periodically is unable to access the Force at all. I thought this was an intriguing development, someone actually losing their Force ability—but no, it’s more that Jax has been actively hiding for so long that it’s harder for him to access the Force when he needs to now. (I like the idea of the former more than the latter, alas.) As the book ends, Jax decides that instead of running away he wants to stay on Coruscant and help the burgeoning resistance. Jax has some interesting traits, but he’s not my favorite protagonist—more in the Issues section.
Jax teams up with Twi’lek Jedi Laranth Tarak, a Jedi Paladin. I was more familiar with paladins in the Dungeons and Dragons sense, where they have a religious aspect to their role (they’re warriors serving some sort of divine being), so I’m not sure if “paladin” was the best choice of word for Laranth. She’s more like a Jedi who fights differently, who doesn’t use a lightsaber and is instead highly skilled with her blasters. I could understand a group of Jedi who don’t want to use any weapons, lightsabers or otherwise, and just immerse themselves in the Force, but blasters-only Jedi? Not so much. Laranth sounds more like a renegade Jedi, so it surprised me that she was based on Coruscant itself—Djinn Altis and his rogue group were much more nomadic. Laranth’s skills were interesting, though, and I felt like she embodied the role of a Jedi much more than Jax did. She seems like a good person to have by your side, even if I still have quibbles with the fact that she’s a Jedi Paladin.
There’s another Force sensitive in Jax’s group, Nick Rostu of Haruun Kal. After the events of Shatterpoint, he joined the Army of the Republic and served until the Imperial switchover, when he joined with the resistance group Whiplash. (Nick can sense things and people, but his Force ability is otherwise weak and untrained.) Vader captures Nick, threatens Nick’s people, and blackmails him into tracking down Jax Pavan. Nick is a very reluctant double agent, and he’s wounded during the fight against Xizor. I appreciated that no one blamed Nick for what happened with Vader, though, as Nick’s betrayal was pretty understandable given the circumstances!
Jax’s group run into the Sullustan journalist Den Dhur and the droid I-5YQ, who have been trying to track down Lorn Pavan’s son. Den Dhur feels a little conflicted about the situation: he wants to help his buddy I-5 achieve his quest, but he also feels a little jealous, as though his role as I-5’s best pal will be supplanted by Jax. I liked getting to check in on Den Dhur and see how this quippy guy has been faring, but he isn’t especially useful here. In the Medstar duology, Den Dhur’s job as a journalist shaped his plotline, but in Jedi Twilight Den Dhur is not working as a journalist and seems to be a liability in all these fight scenes. (He’s a writer, not a warrior.)
I-5 remains the most fascinating (to me) of the characters that Michael Reaves created. Like C-3PO and R2-D2, I-5 is a droid who seems to have achieved sentience. He’s a character in and of himself; besides his intelligence and sarcasm, he also seems to feel actual emotions. When he tracks down Jax and sees that he’s not interested in learning about his father, I-5 is obviously hurt. He’s finally achieved his quest, only for Jax to totally disregard him. I-5 also gets them out of some difficult situations, and he proves a valuable member of Jax’s unofficial team.
Jax and co. aren’t the only people looking for the bug-eyed droid; Black Sun also has an interest in tracking it down. The Underlord dispatches Prince Xizor (currently not even a vigo of Black Sun) to find the droid, and since Xizor is very ambitious he finds the droid and outmaneuvers almost everyone. Xizor felt less like an impressive opponent and more like a bored rich boy in Shadows of the Empire, so fortunately he comes across as fairly competent here.
Xizor is vying against Kaird of the Nediji, who we last saw narrowly escaping death at the end of the Medstar duology. Kaird is tasked by the current Underlord with killing Prince Xizor, since he’s obviously aiming for the top of Black Sun, but he doesn’t succeed in his task. (Besides being a skilled fighter, Xizor is also working on human replica droids, which will play a bigger role in Shadows of the Empire.) Kaird just wants to go back to his homeworld, so after getting [picked up by Jax’s group he gives them all his money and leaves. OK… Kaird, why were you even here?
Turns out, Vader was the one who started this rumor about the bug-eyed droid, and it was all a ploy to capture Jax Pavan. We can guess why, because Vader was Anakin Skywalker and Anakin was friends with Jax, but the characters have no clue about the connection. Vader is served by Haninum Tyk Rhinann, an Elomin aide, who hates humans and thinks very highly of himself but also defects to Jax’s team as soon as he gets the opportunity. When the bug-eyed droid falls into the factory and is destroyed by feral droids, Rhinann is the one who tells Jax the good news that the droid was a useless trap anyway. Hurray?
ISSUES:
My first issue with Jedi Twilight was how the entire plot just felt like excuses for Jax to acquire a crew. By the end, Jax has met Den Dhur and I-5 and Haninum Tyk Rhinann, and he’s not going to run away from Coruscant anymore—but they lose the vital droid they were searching for, and eventually find out that it had no vital information anyway. When we first learned that Even Piell died so that Jax could track down the bug-eyed droid, I thought this was very shades of A New Hope. But by the end, what was the point of them searching in the Underworld if the droid wasn’t even useful? What did Even Piell die for, if his info was worthless? Again, it felt like an excuse to get the gang together so they can have further adventures in books two and three; I expect the first book in a trilogy to contain a fair bit of setup, but I guess I didn’t expect the setup to be so overt.
I usually love all the different lore and continuity bits that Michael Reaves pulls into his books, but Reaves referenced multiple aliens here that didn’t really fit with the six-months-post-RotS timeline. Den Dhur constantly makes jokes about Noghri, but should he even know about their stealthy existence? They came from a very minor world devastated during the Clone Wars, and Darth Vader and Thrawn definitely used them as secret commandos—before Leia gained their loyalty in the Thrawn trilogy, the galaxy at large had no idea that they existed. Similarly, Nick Rostu plays a strategy game against a Yevetha in a bar, and the Yevetha tries to kill him with his dewclaw when he loses. We don’t meet the Yevetha until 10+ years after Return of the Jedi, and Leia would never have tried to negotiate with them if it was commonly known that they’re violent, blood-obsessed lunatics. These aliens shouldn’t be commonplace or common knowledge post-RotS, and every time we got a reference like this it pulled me out of the story.
But my biggest issue with Jedi Twilight was how much I didn’t like Jax Pavin. I know that protagonists change and grow, but we got 45 chapters of Jax acting like a jerk and trying to run away from his duties and only one chapter of him deciding to behave like a Jedi. Jax is rude to a lot of people, and he’s especially rude to my fave I-5. You’d expect that a Jedi Knight like Jax would be the leader, but it takes most of the book until Jax is willing to commit to that role. In the end, I just didn’t enjoy reading about a Jedi who’s rude and self-serving; thus far his dad Lorn has been vastly superior to Jax, and he better step up for books two and three or I’ll be annoyed!
IN CONCLUSION:
Jedi Twilight starts off the Coruscant Nights trilogy with a wild goose chase, but at least Jax Pavan acquires a crew during the search. I was very happy to see one of my favorite droids (I-5!) return in this book in a very emotional plotline; unfortunately, I wish that the object of his emotions was not such a blah dude. There were perhaps too many cameos from past Reaves stories—why is Kaird of the Nediji even here??—and while some elements of the Coruscant Underworld were well done (like the feral droids), I think that Michael Reaves did that SW noir vibe better in [book:Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter|413043]. In the end, Jedi Twilight was an OK start to the trilogy, but it didn’t particularly wow me.
Next up: the novelization of the Clone Wars movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars by Karen Traviss.
YouTube review: https://youtu.be/a2xxpaCw7FI
For 2024, I decided to pick up where I left off after 2022 and reread books published between 2004 and 2011—a hodgepodge of Clone Wars, inter-trilogy, and Original Trilogy stories, plus a smattering of Old Republic Sith. This shakes out to twenty-one novels and four short stories, mainly consisting of the Republic Commando series, the Darth Bane trilogy, the Coruscant Nights trilogy, five Clone Wars books written by the Karens, and four standalone novels.
This week’s focus: the first book in the Coruscant Nights trilogy, Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight by Michael Reaves
SOME HISTORY:
The first book in the Coruscant Nights trilogy, Jedi Twilight, was originally planned for 2007, so Michael Reaves finished book #1 and it was edited (but not typeset) by April 2007. However, it wasn’t published until June 2008—presumably because Michael Reaves and Steve Perry’s Death Star was already on the release schedule, and so the whole trilogy could be released in the same year.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
I have never read the Coruscant Nights trilogy before. I liked the droid I-5 in Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and the Medstar duology, but these books flew under my radar back in 2008. The Coruscant Nights book also never received official audiobook adaptations, which may have contributed to my lack of knowledge about them until fairly recently.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Jax Pavan is one of the few Jedi Knights who survived Order 66, and he has been hiding in the slums of Coruscant ever since. When his old Jedi Master is killed, Jax is tasked with completing a mission for him: tracking down a droid that has pivotal information for the burgeoning resistance on Coruscant. But Jax will encounter a number of individuals along the way as he attempts to complete this Mission including an old friend of his father, the droid I-5YQ…
THE PLOT:
The back cover blurb of Jedi Twilight is a little misleading; rather than helping people, Jax has been operating as a bounty hunter on Coruscant for the last few months. When one of his bounties goes awry—he’s not paid by Rokko the Hutt because the bounty self-terminated, and Jax uses the Force against Rokko’s bodyguards—Jax decides to get the heck out of Dodge…er, Imperial City. Unfortunately, the plot has other plans for Jax. His old Master Even Piell is killed at the beginning of the book in a confrontation with stormtroopers, but before he dies he tells Nick Rostu (last seen in Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover) that there’s a droid with vital information for the local resistance, Whiplash. Nick tracks Jax down right before he is attacked by stormtroopers, so Jax heads off in search of the vital droid. He picks up a Jedi colleague, a Twi’lek woman named Laranth Tarak who was a Jedi Paladin, and they come to an arrangement with Rokko the Hutt.
Meanwhile, Den Dhur the Sullustan journalist and I-5YQ left Dronghar at the end of Medstar II: Jedi Healer because I-5 recovered his memory, and they’re trying to track down Lorn Pavan’s son. They’re at Rokko’s HQ at the same time as Jax and Laranth, and after some shenanigans they all flee together. Jax doesn’t want anything to do with I-5, but they’re all along for the ride. They pick up Nick Rostu, who has been threatened and terrorized by Vader into becoming a double agent, and they track the droid down to Prince Xizor (originally of Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry). There’s a big kerfuffle, the droid is destroyed, the factory is facing imminent destruction—and then Vader shows up.
CHARACTERS:
Jax is the son of Lorn Pavan, the Corellian man killed at the end of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. His father initially worked for the Jedi Temple, but when Jax was taken in by the Jedi Lorn lost his job and ended up working as an information broker with the droid I-5YQ. Jax was raised in the Jedi Order, and Anakin Skywalker and he were padawans at the same time. He never felt the urge to search for his family, so when I-5 shows up claiming to have information about his father and his past, Jax is decidedly not interested. Jax isn’t particularly powerful in the Force, but he has an interesting ability that I hope Reaves elaborates on in the next two books. Jax can see ties between people and events, which reminded me a little of Mace Windu’s shatterpoint ability but less about vulnerabilities and more about sensing overall connections.
Besides struggling with his attitude (atrocious) and his role as a Jedi on the run, Jax also struggles throughout the book with his ability to touch the Force. Rather than his Force senses waning, Jax periodically is unable to access the Force at all. I thought this was an intriguing development, someone actually losing their Force ability—but no, it’s more that Jax has been actively hiding for so long that it’s harder for him to access the Force when he needs to now. (I like the idea of the former more than the latter, alas.) As the book ends, Jax decides that instead of running away he wants to stay on Coruscant and help the burgeoning resistance. Jax has some interesting traits, but he’s not my favorite protagonist—more in the Issues section.
Jax teams up with Twi’lek Jedi Laranth Tarak, a Jedi Paladin. I was more familiar with paladins in the Dungeons and Dragons sense, where they have a religious aspect to their role (they’re warriors serving some sort of divine being), so I’m not sure if “paladin” was the best choice of word for Laranth. She’s more like a Jedi who fights differently, who doesn’t use a lightsaber and is instead highly skilled with her blasters. I could understand a group of Jedi who don’t want to use any weapons, lightsabers or otherwise, and just immerse themselves in the Force, but blasters-only Jedi? Not so much. Laranth sounds more like a renegade Jedi, so it surprised me that she was based on Coruscant itself—Djinn Altis and his rogue group were much more nomadic. Laranth’s skills were interesting, though, and I felt like she embodied the role of a Jedi much more than Jax did. She seems like a good person to have by your side, even if I still have quibbles with the fact that she’s a Jedi Paladin.
There’s another Force sensitive in Jax’s group, Nick Rostu of Haruun Kal. After the events of Shatterpoint, he joined the Army of the Republic and served until the Imperial switchover, when he joined with the resistance group Whiplash. (Nick can sense things and people, but his Force ability is otherwise weak and untrained.) Vader captures Nick, threatens Nick’s people, and blackmails him into tracking down Jax Pavan. Nick is a very reluctant double agent, and he’s wounded during the fight against Xizor. I appreciated that no one blamed Nick for what happened with Vader, though, as Nick’s betrayal was pretty understandable given the circumstances!
Jax’s group run into the Sullustan journalist Den Dhur and the droid I-5YQ, who have been trying to track down Lorn Pavan’s son. Den Dhur feels a little conflicted about the situation: he wants to help his buddy I-5 achieve his quest, but he also feels a little jealous, as though his role as I-5’s best pal will be supplanted by Jax. I liked getting to check in on Den Dhur and see how this quippy guy has been faring, but he isn’t especially useful here. In the Medstar duology, Den Dhur’s job as a journalist shaped his plotline, but in Jedi Twilight Den Dhur is not working as a journalist and seems to be a liability in all these fight scenes. (He’s a writer, not a warrior.)
I-5 remains the most fascinating (to me) of the characters that Michael Reaves created. Like C-3PO and R2-D2, I-5 is a droid who seems to have achieved sentience. He’s a character in and of himself; besides his intelligence and sarcasm, he also seems to feel actual emotions. When he tracks down Jax and sees that he’s not interested in learning about his father, I-5 is obviously hurt. He’s finally achieved his quest, only for Jax to totally disregard him. I-5 also gets them out of some difficult situations, and he proves a valuable member of Jax’s unofficial team.
Jax and co. aren’t the only people looking for the bug-eyed droid; Black Sun also has an interest in tracking it down. The Underlord dispatches Prince Xizor (currently not even a vigo of Black Sun) to find the droid, and since Xizor is very ambitious he finds the droid and outmaneuvers almost everyone. Xizor felt less like an impressive opponent and more like a bored rich boy in Shadows of the Empire, so fortunately he comes across as fairly competent here.
Xizor is vying against Kaird of the Nediji, who we last saw narrowly escaping death at the end of the Medstar duology. Kaird is tasked by the current Underlord with killing Prince Xizor, since he’s obviously aiming for the top of Black Sun, but he doesn’t succeed in his task. (Besides being a skilled fighter, Xizor is also working on human replica droids, which will play a bigger role in Shadows of the Empire.) Kaird just wants to go back to his homeworld, so after getting [picked up by Jax’s group he gives them all his money and leaves. OK… Kaird, why were you even here?
Turns out, Vader was the one who started this rumor about the bug-eyed droid, and it was all a ploy to capture Jax Pavan. We can guess why, because Vader was Anakin Skywalker and Anakin was friends with Jax, but the characters have no clue about the connection. Vader is served by Haninum Tyk Rhinann, an Elomin aide, who hates humans and thinks very highly of himself but also defects to Jax’s team as soon as he gets the opportunity. When the bug-eyed droid falls into the factory and is destroyed by feral droids, Rhinann is the one who tells Jax the good news that the droid was a useless trap anyway. Hurray?
ISSUES:
My first issue with Jedi Twilight was how the entire plot just felt like excuses for Jax to acquire a crew. By the end, Jax has met Den Dhur and I-5 and Haninum Tyk Rhinann, and he’s not going to run away from Coruscant anymore—but they lose the vital droid they were searching for, and eventually find out that it had no vital information anyway. When we first learned that Even Piell died so that Jax could track down the bug-eyed droid, I thought this was very shades of A New Hope. But by the end, what was the point of them searching in the Underworld if the droid wasn’t even useful? What did Even Piell die for, if his info was worthless? Again, it felt like an excuse to get the gang together so they can have further adventures in books two and three; I expect the first book in a trilogy to contain a fair bit of setup, but I guess I didn’t expect the setup to be so overt.
I usually love all the different lore and continuity bits that Michael Reaves pulls into his books, but Reaves referenced multiple aliens here that didn’t really fit with the six-months-post-RotS timeline. Den Dhur constantly makes jokes about Noghri, but should he even know about their stealthy existence? They came from a very minor world devastated during the Clone Wars, and Darth Vader and Thrawn definitely used them as secret commandos—before Leia gained their loyalty in the Thrawn trilogy, the galaxy at large had no idea that they existed. Similarly, Nick Rostu plays a strategy game against a Yevetha in a bar, and the Yevetha tries to kill him with his dewclaw when he loses. We don’t meet the Yevetha until 10+ years after Return of the Jedi, and Leia would never have tried to negotiate with them if it was commonly known that they’re violent, blood-obsessed lunatics. These aliens shouldn’t be commonplace or common knowledge post-RotS, and every time we got a reference like this it pulled me out of the story.
But my biggest issue with Jedi Twilight was how much I didn’t like Jax Pavin. I know that protagonists change and grow, but we got 45 chapters of Jax acting like a jerk and trying to run away from his duties and only one chapter of him deciding to behave like a Jedi. Jax is rude to a lot of people, and he’s especially rude to my fave I-5. You’d expect that a Jedi Knight like Jax would be the leader, but it takes most of the book until Jax is willing to commit to that role. In the end, I just didn’t enjoy reading about a Jedi who’s rude and self-serving; thus far his dad Lorn has been vastly superior to Jax, and he better step up for books two and three or I’ll be annoyed!
IN CONCLUSION:
Jedi Twilight starts off the Coruscant Nights trilogy with a wild goose chase, but at least Jax Pavan acquires a crew during the search. I was very happy to see one of my favorite droids (I-5!) return in this book in a very emotional plotline; unfortunately, I wish that the object of his emotions was not such a blah dude. There were perhaps too many cameos from past Reaves stories—why is Kaird of the Nediji even here??—and while some elements of the Coruscant Underworld were well done (like the feral droids), I think that Michael Reaves did that SW noir vibe better in [book:Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter|413043]. In the end, Jedi Twilight was an OK start to the trilogy, but it didn’t particularly wow me.
Next up: the novelization of the Clone Wars movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars by Karen Traviss.
YouTube review: https://youtu.be/a2xxpaCw7FI
October 25, 2013
"I'm a Jedi. I'm sworn to help those in need, to uphold the Jedi Code. The Empire has decimated my Order-but they havn't won, and they won't win, as long as at least one Jedi remains."
"Even the humblest of beings contains within himself a universe of infinite diversity and wonder. Therefore, when you give aid and comfort to just one being, you are, for that moment, the deity of an entire cosmos."
This book was an action packed journey into Coruscant in the days following the destruction of the Jedi Order and the establishment of the Empire. It begins with following the paths of different various characters, whose similar paths end up crossing and eventually coming together.
This book was really enjoyable for so many different reasons. There were lots of characters which returned from other Star Wars books, my favorite being Nick Rostu who appeared in the Clone Wars novel, Shatterpoint, as well as the introduction of many new characters to love.
My favorite? The droid I-Five. He is a sentient droid who is so courageous and so loyal and so damn snarky that you just can't help but fall in love with him! He's so great. Seriously, its worth reading this book just for him. :) <3
I also love love LOVED that this book took place on Coruscant. Maybe its just me, but I have always wanted to live there. Granted, most of the book's events take place in the slums, but even so it is just a fascinating place to read and learn about, and the level of description is just incredible. Also despite the dramatic and serious events that take place, there is a level of laughter and fun that occurs also, which is a nice refresher.
I would highly recommend this book to any Star Wars fan!
"Even the humblest of beings contains within himself a universe of infinite diversity and wonder. Therefore, when you give aid and comfort to just one being, you are, for that moment, the deity of an entire cosmos."
This book was an action packed journey into Coruscant in the days following the destruction of the Jedi Order and the establishment of the Empire. It begins with following the paths of different various characters, whose similar paths end up crossing and eventually coming together.
This book was really enjoyable for so many different reasons. There were lots of characters which returned from other Star Wars books, my favorite being Nick Rostu who appeared in the Clone Wars novel, Shatterpoint, as well as the introduction of many new characters to love.
My favorite? The droid I-Five. He is a sentient droid who is so courageous and so loyal and so damn snarky that you just can't help but fall in love with him! He's so great. Seriously, its worth reading this book just for him. :) <3
I also love love LOVED that this book took place on Coruscant. Maybe its just me, but I have always wanted to live there. Granted, most of the book's events take place in the slums, but even so it is just a fascinating place to read and learn about, and the level of description is just incredible. Also despite the dramatic and serious events that take place, there is a level of laughter and fun that occurs also, which is a nice refresher.
I would highly recommend this book to any Star Wars fan!
December 13, 2008
One of the things that I've always loved about science fiction as a genre is how adaptable it is - lots of people have had a lot of success meshing sci-fi with everything from fantasy (Star Wars), to westerns (Firefly), to horror (the Alien trilogy). I kept this in mind as I read Coruscant Nights, which not only combines elements of science fiction and fantasy (as all SW stories do), but also mixes in equal parts of film noir as well. It's set shortly after the imposition of Order 66 and the film Revenge of the Sith, so that makes a lot of sense; noir is the kind of thing that thrives after wartime, when the horrors of war force the characters to deal with the darker elements of themselves).
The story revolves around a missing droid, and a former Jedi turned bounty hunter, Jax Pavan, who has to prowl the streets of the naked city to find him, in order to fulfill a promise to an old friend from the war. What complicates matters for him, though, is that both Darth Vader and the Black Sun criminal organization (as represented by a young Prince Xizor) also have their designs on the same droid, so it's a race against time to try to find the droid.
If you're a fan of this era of the Star Wars saga, definitely check this novel out, as it's a fun read and gives a slightly different perspective on things.
The story revolves around a missing droid, and a former Jedi turned bounty hunter, Jax Pavan, who has to prowl the streets of the naked city to find him, in order to fulfill a promise to an old friend from the war. What complicates matters for him, though, is that both Darth Vader and the Black Sun criminal organization (as represented by a young Prince Xizor) also have their designs on the same droid, so it's a race against time to try to find the droid.
If you're a fan of this era of the Star Wars saga, definitely check this novel out, as it's a fun read and gives a slightly different perspective on things.
March 31, 2020
I’m gonna keep this review short, sweet, and to the point.
Why Michael Reaves never got bigger in the Star Wars world, I’ll never know, but for whatever reason, it’s a shame.
The fact of the matter is that Reaves knows how to tell a damn good story. There’s no fluff or attempts at making this some deep philosophical thing. Instead it’s a gritty, tech noir Star Wars tale, set in a place is fans have never gotten enough of.
Plus, Reaves gets it. He knows fans just want a fast, fun story, and Jedi Twilight definitely delivers.
Why Michael Reaves never got bigger in the Star Wars world, I’ll never know, but for whatever reason, it’s a shame.
The fact of the matter is that Reaves knows how to tell a damn good story. There’s no fluff or attempts at making this some deep philosophical thing. Instead it’s a gritty, tech noir Star Wars tale, set in a place is fans have never gotten enough of.
Plus, Reaves gets it. He knows fans just want a fast, fun story, and Jedi Twilight definitely delivers.
November 25, 2010
3.5 actually.
A better-than-average SW expanded universe story. Enough familiar settings and characters to connect to other stories, but good writing to draw the reader into the tale.
Cover art quibble: Jax's lightsabre is blue in the story; but yellow on the cover. The yellows works better, but isn't right. (Darth's shadow in the background is cute. Poor Vader, reduced to a boogie man.)
A better-than-average SW expanded universe story. Enough familiar settings and characters to connect to other stories, but good writing to draw the reader into the tale.
Cover art quibble: Jax's lightsabre is blue in the story; but yellow on the cover. The yellows works better, but isn't right. (Darth's shadow in the background is cute. Poor Vader, reduced to a boogie man.)
September 12, 2020
Deflated. That’s the word that best describes how I feel coming off this book. I feel like I was promised a detective noir novel delving into the dark, seedy underbelly of Coruscant… and that’s not what I got at all.
I know: it’s Star Wars. They want this stuff to be enjoyable by almost all ages. But I can think of teen series way darker than this. Heck, Revenge of the Sith was way darker and more adult than this. It’s like they can’t keep the tone consistent. And sometimes it’s not even about how dark it is. Frankly I didn’t feel like there was a whole lot of flavour or exploration of the Coruscant underlevels at all. A brief mention of dubious street food, a trip around the planet for seemingly no good reason except to put the characters in the way of some droids run amok, and that’s about it. I expected more. I was looking forward to a rich depiction of the underlevel environment, populated by weird and wonderful characters and gadgetry. It wasn’t even really detective noir. Jax Pavan doesn’t really take a case from anyone – unless you count for his own sake and the dying request of his late master – and he doesn’t help anyone by pursuing it either.
Okay, so it wasn’t as dark, flavoursome, or a detective noir as I had hoped. But all that aside, did it make the grade? Erm… not really, no. Sorry, this one was just kind of a miss with me. Jax Pavan didn’t really do anything to win my empathy. I felt like I should root for him because he’s a Jedi who’s been forced into hiding by the evil Empire and he’s also the protagonist of this nominally, so he’s nominally the good guy, but I didn’t have a reason beyond that to feel for him. He doesn’t let us into his head very much or open up. Some of the other characters are the same – we never really get to know them – for example Laranth, who had a fascinating premise for her training but never really emerged as a personality. I questioned why Den Dhur was there at all, other than Reaves likes to bring back characters from his previous Star Wars books. I mean, at first, I obviously figured that his skills as a reporter would provide something vital to a case that Jax would be working on or something, some key clue or contact who could help… but that never happens. He’s just there, along for the ride, and he feels like filler or at best a comforting familiar face when, if he’s not got a purpose in the plot, he really should have been written out (relax; I mean allowed to depart, not necessarily killed off). I’ve never really liked Kaird from the Medstar duology because his plot strand seemed to contribute almost nothing to the outcome of that story, and he’s back again here. Again, interesting concept in terms of his species and motivation for wanting to rise in Black Sun, but Kaird has always come across to me as ‘thinks he’s smarter than he actually is’, and does his plot actually contribute here? I think I’ll have to dive deeper into the trilogy in order to say for sure, though on the basis of just this one book, he pretty much only exists in order to bring antagonists to the right time and place against Jax and company without them facing down the ultimate big bad Darth Vader in Book One. One character I was pleased to see again was Nick Rostu from Shatterpoint, but I was only disappointed in him and his choices. It didn’t feel like the Nick that Mace Windu left at the end of Shatterpoint. I understand he’s being placed under terrible pressure here, but the solution to his dilemma is to tell Jax; that way they can either formulate a plan to get out from under Vader’s thumb, or the decision becomes Jax’s, whether or not to turn himself in and save countless lives. It’s quite simple, really.
I did like some of the sci fi concepts the book threw around; the slowly degrading pictures of cooled superfluid, for example, although I freely admit I don’t know enough to know how plausible that is, but regardless I like when sci fi novels experiment with concepts that I haven’t seen elsewhere. And, interestingly, in the moment some of the scenes can be quite a romp. There are fight scenes, confrontation scenes, and chase scenes aplenty. The problem is they don’t stack up into a coherent plot. None of it really matters because at the end they’re all back to square zero, and the setup for a lot of these scenes feels very engineered even if the fight/chase/whatever itself is enjoyable. Maybe I could let the awkward plotting go if I felt really connected to the characters, but as I’ve discussed above, I didn’t.
I didn’t expect at all to be saying this about this book – I expected to rate it much higher – but it’s missable. It is not terrible, by any means, I just can’t justify rating it above average, and it doesn’t really contribute anything to the wider universe that I would miss.
4 out of 10
I know: it’s Star Wars. They want this stuff to be enjoyable by almost all ages. But I can think of teen series way darker than this. Heck, Revenge of the Sith was way darker and more adult than this. It’s like they can’t keep the tone consistent. And sometimes it’s not even about how dark it is. Frankly I didn’t feel like there was a whole lot of flavour or exploration of the Coruscant underlevels at all. A brief mention of dubious street food, a trip around the planet for seemingly no good reason except to put the characters in the way of some droids run amok, and that’s about it. I expected more. I was looking forward to a rich depiction of the underlevel environment, populated by weird and wonderful characters and gadgetry. It wasn’t even really detective noir. Jax Pavan doesn’t really take a case from anyone – unless you count for his own sake and the dying request of his late master – and he doesn’t help anyone by pursuing it either.
Okay, so it wasn’t as dark, flavoursome, or a detective noir as I had hoped. But all that aside, did it make the grade? Erm… not really, no. Sorry, this one was just kind of a miss with me. Jax Pavan didn’t really do anything to win my empathy. I felt like I should root for him because he’s a Jedi who’s been forced into hiding by the evil Empire and he’s also the protagonist of this nominally, so he’s nominally the good guy, but I didn’t have a reason beyond that to feel for him. He doesn’t let us into his head very much or open up. Some of the other characters are the same – we never really get to know them – for example Laranth, who had a fascinating premise for her training but never really emerged as a personality. I questioned why Den Dhur was there at all, other than Reaves likes to bring back characters from his previous Star Wars books. I mean, at first, I obviously figured that his skills as a reporter would provide something vital to a case that Jax would be working on or something, some key clue or contact who could help… but that never happens. He’s just there, along for the ride, and he feels like filler or at best a comforting familiar face when, if he’s not got a purpose in the plot, he really should have been written out (relax; I mean allowed to depart, not necessarily killed off). I’ve never really liked Kaird from the Medstar duology because his plot strand seemed to contribute almost nothing to the outcome of that story, and he’s back again here. Again, interesting concept in terms of his species and motivation for wanting to rise in Black Sun, but Kaird has always come across to me as ‘thinks he’s smarter than he actually is’, and does his plot actually contribute here? I think I’ll have to dive deeper into the trilogy in order to say for sure, though on the basis of just this one book, he pretty much only exists in order to bring antagonists to the right time and place against Jax and company without them facing down the ultimate big bad Darth Vader in Book One. One character I was pleased to see again was Nick Rostu from Shatterpoint, but I was only disappointed in him and his choices. It didn’t feel like the Nick that Mace Windu left at the end of Shatterpoint. I understand he’s being placed under terrible pressure here, but the solution to his dilemma is to tell Jax; that way they can either formulate a plan to get out from under Vader’s thumb, or the decision becomes Jax’s, whether or not to turn himself in and save countless lives. It’s quite simple, really.
I did like some of the sci fi concepts the book threw around; the slowly degrading pictures of cooled superfluid, for example, although I freely admit I don’t know enough to know how plausible that is, but regardless I like when sci fi novels experiment with concepts that I haven’t seen elsewhere. And, interestingly, in the moment some of the scenes can be quite a romp. There are fight scenes, confrontation scenes, and chase scenes aplenty. The problem is they don’t stack up into a coherent plot. None of it really matters because at the end they’re all back to square zero, and the setup for a lot of these scenes feels very engineered even if the fight/chase/whatever itself is enjoyable. Maybe I could let the awkward plotting go if I felt really connected to the characters, but as I’ve discussed above, I didn’t.
I didn’t expect at all to be saying this about this book – I expected to rate it much higher – but it’s missable. It is not terrible, by any means, I just can’t justify rating it above average, and it doesn’t really contribute anything to the wider universe that I would miss.
4 out of 10
February 7, 2022
Meet Jax Pavan
This book was the first in the Coruscant Nights series. It continues the Pavan family saga that began with Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter. That book introduced Lorn Pavan, Jax's father and the unusual droid I5YQ. The story continued in the MedStar duology, Battle Surgeons and Jedi Healer, which saw I5YQ meet up with reporter Den Dhur. They arrived on Coruscant to find Lorn's son Jax. That is where this book begins.
Jax is a bounty hunter who is given a mission by his late former master to find a droid valuable to the resistance. Along the way, he finally meets up with Den and I5YQ and is not happy about it.
There is also a power play between Black Sun Vigo wannabees Kaird and Prince Xizor. On top of this, Darth Vader is searching for Jax, as he has unfinished business with the Jedi.
I greatly enjoy Reaves books as they are character studies. I loved the twists and turns and unusual nature of Jax's female companion. It took a while for me to warm up to Jax, he was rather unlikable throughout most of the book and was rather mean to I5, who is devoted to him. Fortunately, he wised up by the end of the book. Now I'm ready to dive into book two, Street of Shadows.
This book was the first in the Coruscant Nights series. It continues the Pavan family saga that began with Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter. That book introduced Lorn Pavan, Jax's father and the unusual droid I5YQ. The story continued in the MedStar duology, Battle Surgeons and Jedi Healer, which saw I5YQ meet up with reporter Den Dhur. They arrived on Coruscant to find Lorn's son Jax. That is where this book begins.
Jax is a bounty hunter who is given a mission by his late former master to find a droid valuable to the resistance. Along the way, he finally meets up with Den and I5YQ and is not happy about it.
There is also a power play between Black Sun Vigo wannabees Kaird and Prince Xizor. On top of this, Darth Vader is searching for Jax, as he has unfinished business with the Jedi.
I greatly enjoy Reaves books as they are character studies. I loved the twists and turns and unusual nature of Jax's female companion. It took a while for me to warm up to Jax, he was rather unlikable throughout most of the book and was rather mean to I5, who is devoted to him. Fortunately, he wised up by the end of the book. Now I'm ready to dive into book two, Street of Shadows.
May 17, 2021
While I enjoyed this novel and the history behind the characters and the interplay with other memorable characters from the saga, I found that Jax was written to resemble a naive Jedi similar to how Anakin and Luke were portrayed in their early Jedi trainings. I don’t think this suited his demeanour, especially with what he was doing at the beginning of the story. That being said, the last main event redeemed it for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2018
Star Wars Legends Project #176
Background: Jedi Twilight was written by Michael Reaves. It was published in June of 2008. Reaves has written or co-written 9 Star Wars novels.
Jedi Twilight is set a few months after Order 66 (19 years before the battle of Yavin). The main characters are Jax Pavan, Nick Rostu, I-5, and Den Dhur. Prince Xizor and Darth Vader both play significant roles. The entire novel takes place on Coruscant.
Summary: After narrowly surviving the slaughter of his fellow Jedi during Order 66, Jax Pavan has gone to ground in the Coruscant underworld, picking up odd jobs as a private investigator while he searches for a way off-world. Then, his friend Nick Rostu brings him a final message from his former master Even Piell, about a droid carrying crucial intel that can't fall into Imperial hands. Naturally, both the Empire and Black Sun are hot on the trail as well. Meanwhile, Jax's father's droid partner, I-5, is searching for him in hopes of fulfilling his old friend's last request. Jax doesn't particularly want a partner, much less a droid, but he'll need all the help he can get if he wants to complete his final Jedi mission alive.
Review: Credit where credit is due, Michael Reaves has done more than probably any other Star Wars author to develop and explore the geography of Coruscant, and in that respect he continues to shine here. He also brings together a lot of fun characters that I was excited to read more about . . . Rostu, Xizor, Den Dhur, I-5 . . . it's a good list. And he introduces some fun new faces, as well.
That said, this is an incredibly disappointing execution of one of the better ideas I've ever heard for a Star Wars novel. When I hear that Jax Pavan, Jedi son of Lorn Pavan, the infamous information broker protagonist of Reaves's excellent Shadow Hunter (my review), is working as a private investigator on Coruscant during the nascent days of the Empire, where he is finally joined by I-5, paying off a reunion that has been dangled across multiple novels . . . Well, my expectations are pretty high. At the very least I'm hoping for a solid, gritty detective noir set in an untapped segment of the Star Wars timeline that is teeming with potential.
I'm not sure, though, in what reasonable sense much of anything that Jax does in this book could be classified as "private investigator" work. The droid that everyone wants is a flagrant MacGuffin, which isn't inherently a problem, except that nothing about it makes sense in terms of what it is, why it's out loose on Coruscant, and why anyone is having trouble locating it.
The larger problem is that Jax is easily the least-likable character in the novel. I feel like he is the living justification of his father's prejudice against the Jedi. He's arrogant, snotty, petty, short-sighted . . . not great qualities for a private investigator to have, either, by the way. Worse, he's a complete jackass to I-5, who is easily the best character in the novel, for absolutely no reason at all. It underscores Lorn Pavan's personal tragedy that he's such a great character and the Jedi took his son away from him and raised him to be a tool. It's truly a testament to I-5's restraint that he doesn't at any point say, "Thank the Force your father didn't live to see what you've become." Like this bit:
"Jax wasn't particularly concerned about the moral ambiguities of stealing the vehicle; Jedi rules were flexible, and could be bent in the service of the greater good. Besides, it was a pretty good bet that they were doing the owner a favor. The craft was a SoroSuub G-17 landspeeder that had seen better days, and those days hadn't been recent ones." He's like the avatar of everything his father (justifiably) hated about the Jedi.
Only slightly less annoying is Reaves' recurring habit of taking things he would like to write in a normal novel, but that would be out of place here, and thinly translating them into Star-Wars-ese, fooling no one. It feels like a crutch, like he's unable to move beyond everyday writing cliches and find a new way to say something. And there's stuff like this: "You know what it's called if a tribe of Noghri moves in there? Gentrification." What I hate about this is that it's an in-universe joke aimed at a Star Wars Expanded Universe audience to a point where it doesn't make sense in-universe.
This is an entire novel of portentous set-up with no pay-off. There are several major mysteries that are hammered on as significant again and again, and none of them come to anything. I don't mind that there are a few dangling threads left for the rest of the series to tie up, but all of them? I don't want to read a novel that isn't about anything other than being the first of a trilogy, plot TBD. I still have hope for the rest of the series, but what a disappointment.
C+
Background: Jedi Twilight was written by Michael Reaves. It was published in June of 2008. Reaves has written or co-written 9 Star Wars novels.
Jedi Twilight is set a few months after Order 66 (19 years before the battle of Yavin). The main characters are Jax Pavan, Nick Rostu, I-5, and Den Dhur. Prince Xizor and Darth Vader both play significant roles. The entire novel takes place on Coruscant.
Summary: After narrowly surviving the slaughter of his fellow Jedi during Order 66, Jax Pavan has gone to ground in the Coruscant underworld, picking up odd jobs as a private investigator while he searches for a way off-world. Then, his friend Nick Rostu brings him a final message from his former master Even Piell, about a droid carrying crucial intel that can't fall into Imperial hands. Naturally, both the Empire and Black Sun are hot on the trail as well. Meanwhile, Jax's father's droid partner, I-5, is searching for him in hopes of fulfilling his old friend's last request. Jax doesn't particularly want a partner, much less a droid, but he'll need all the help he can get if he wants to complete his final Jedi mission alive.
Review: Credit where credit is due, Michael Reaves has done more than probably any other Star Wars author to develop and explore the geography of Coruscant, and in that respect he continues to shine here. He also brings together a lot of fun characters that I was excited to read more about . . . Rostu, Xizor, Den Dhur, I-5 . . . it's a good list. And he introduces some fun new faces, as well.
That said, this is an incredibly disappointing execution of one of the better ideas I've ever heard for a Star Wars novel. When I hear that Jax Pavan, Jedi son of Lorn Pavan, the infamous information broker protagonist of Reaves's excellent Shadow Hunter (my review), is working as a private investigator on Coruscant during the nascent days of the Empire, where he is finally joined by I-5, paying off a reunion that has been dangled across multiple novels . . . Well, my expectations are pretty high. At the very least I'm hoping for a solid, gritty detective noir set in an untapped segment of the Star Wars timeline that is teeming with potential.
I'm not sure, though, in what reasonable sense much of anything that Jax does in this book could be classified as "private investigator" work. The droid that everyone wants is a flagrant MacGuffin, which isn't inherently a problem, except that nothing about it makes sense in terms of what it is, why it's out loose on Coruscant, and why anyone is having trouble locating it.
The larger problem is that Jax is easily the least-likable character in the novel. I feel like he is the living justification of his father's prejudice against the Jedi. He's arrogant, snotty, petty, short-sighted . . . not great qualities for a private investigator to have, either, by the way. Worse, he's a complete jackass to I-5, who is easily the best character in the novel, for absolutely no reason at all. It underscores Lorn Pavan's personal tragedy that he's such a great character and the Jedi took his son away from him and raised him to be a tool. It's truly a testament to I-5's restraint that he doesn't at any point say, "Thank the Force your father didn't live to see what you've become." Like this bit:
"Jax wasn't particularly concerned about the moral ambiguities of stealing the vehicle; Jedi rules were flexible, and could be bent in the service of the greater good. Besides, it was a pretty good bet that they were doing the owner a favor. The craft was a SoroSuub G-17 landspeeder that had seen better days, and those days hadn't been recent ones." He's like the avatar of everything his father (justifiably) hated about the Jedi.
Only slightly less annoying is Reaves' recurring habit of taking things he would like to write in a normal novel, but that would be out of place here, and thinly translating them into Star-Wars-ese, fooling no one. It feels like a crutch, like he's unable to move beyond everyday writing cliches and find a new way to say something. And there's stuff like this: "You know what it's called if a tribe of Noghri moves in there? Gentrification." What I hate about this is that it's an in-universe joke aimed at a Star Wars Expanded Universe audience to a point where it doesn't make sense in-universe.
This is an entire novel of portentous set-up with no pay-off. There are several major mysteries that are hammered on as significant again and again, and none of them come to anything. I don't mind that there are a few dangling threads left for the rest of the series to tie up, but all of them? I don't want to read a novel that isn't about anything other than being the first of a trilogy, plot TBD. I still have hope for the rest of the series, but what a disappointment.
C+
December 21, 2021
I never got around to reading this when it first came out. I’m glad I finally gave it a try. I didn’t love it but I’m interested in continuing the series.
June 18, 2015
My expectations going into this book were mixed. On the one hand, I had just finished the Legacy of the Force series and was looking forward to returning to the days of the Empire. I also really enjoyed Reaves's Shadow Hunter and was therefore looking forward to seeing some of the characters (and the son of Lorn Pavan) I grew to love in that story. On the other hand, however, I've found Reaves's work to be somewhat forgettable. Ultimately, Jedi Twilight fell somewhere in the middle. Spoilers follow.
The plot of the novel is an old noir sort of story featuring Jax Pavan (Jedi son of Lorn Pavan), Laranth Tarak (a female Twi'lek and member of the Gray Paladins), I-Five (a witty protocol droid), Den Dhur (cynical ex-reporter), Nick Rostu (ex-soldier who fought in the Clone Wars), Prince Xizor (Black Sun member), Kaird (another Black Sun member), Rhinnan (aide of Lord Vader), and Darth Vader. The novel's primary strength lies in its interesting characters and their interactions. Den Dhur and I-Five make an interesting duo who appear very "human" in their actions (they argue, disagree, anger one another, and forgive...neither one is perfect). Laranth proved to be a fascinating female lead (I would have liked to see more of her, though) with her unique use of weapons and deep personality. Most of the characters had believable motives and it's very easy to become entangled with each character's story. Many of the characters are from Reaves's previous works; he knows his characters very well. The characters that weren't his, however, were hit and miss with their characterization. Xizor, for example, stayed more or less true to his original portrayal (though, the constant repetition of just how good at everything he was became tiresome) and I enjoyed seeing the beginnings of Guri.
However, one of the biggest disappointments of this book was Vader. I was initially pleased to see him and, while I've read worse portrayals, he just seemed a bit off (for lack of better word). I just couldn't picture him saying any of his lines. Reaves had the right idea with his general attitude, but fell short in nailing the Dark Lord's speech patterns and tone. I expected the strong, confident, practically undefeatable Vader from the movie, but the Vader here just seemed like a bit of a knockoff.
Another downfall of Jedi Twilight is the lack of a real, enticing plot. This is very obviously the first novel in a trilogy, as it is primarily backstory centred around one (relatively weak) unifying idea. The characters are all looking for a protocol droid named 10-4TO, or Bug Eyes for short, but all have their reasons for doing so (which leads to them all colliding at the climax of the book). Jax Pavan and Laranth are fulfilling the final wish of Jax's late Master; Den and I-Five are originally looking for Jax and eventually join the Jedi on their quest; Vader claims to want the droid for information, but is ultimately searching for Jax; Nick initially carries Jax's quest to him and is later trapped into aiding Vader. These characters (as well as Xizor and Kaird, who are caught in their own conflict with each other and Black Sun) come together in the abandoned Factory District, overrun with feral droids. The droid (Bug Eyes) ends up not being terribly important, but that isn't an issue as the conflict involving it isn't really gripping or believable or begin with.
There were some things I really liked about this novel, such as the setting (Reaves portrays the underlevels of Coruscant in an interesting light, making for a captivating setting), the idea of feral droids, his portrayal of the Force (Jax, for example, sees it as threads, which occurs in the book several times), and most of the characters. Unfortunately, there was also a lot I didn't like. For example, I fail to see how the Factory District could exist on Coruscant. It's possible I missed something, but I should think that an overcrowded planet such as Coruscant would use every space possible; not allow whole districts to become abandoned and overrun with feral droids. Also (and this is a complaint about the writers in general, not just Reaves), why is it that everyone is against the Empire? I get that it wasn't the best government system to grace the Galaxy Far Far Away, but I doubt that every being in the universe hates it. Aside from that, the lack of plot and Vader's characterization also failed to meet expectations.
This is probably going to be a forgettable book. It's not horrible, by any means...it's just not really that memorable. Since this book consisted of mainly backstory, I'm hoping the next book explores the "detective" side of this trilogy and continues to develop some of intriguing characters Reaves has introduced.
This review is also posted on Amazon.com.
The plot of the novel is an old noir sort of story featuring Jax Pavan (Jedi son of Lorn Pavan), Laranth Tarak (a female Twi'lek and member of the Gray Paladins), I-Five (a witty protocol droid), Den Dhur (cynical ex-reporter), Nick Rostu (ex-soldier who fought in the Clone Wars), Prince Xizor (Black Sun member), Kaird (another Black Sun member), Rhinnan (aide of Lord Vader), and Darth Vader. The novel's primary strength lies in its interesting characters and their interactions. Den Dhur and I-Five make an interesting duo who appear very "human" in their actions (they argue, disagree, anger one another, and forgive...neither one is perfect). Laranth proved to be a fascinating female lead (I would have liked to see more of her, though) with her unique use of weapons and deep personality. Most of the characters had believable motives and it's very easy to become entangled with each character's story. Many of the characters are from Reaves's previous works; he knows his characters very well. The characters that weren't his, however, were hit and miss with their characterization. Xizor, for example, stayed more or less true to his original portrayal (though, the constant repetition of just how good at everything he was became tiresome) and I enjoyed seeing the beginnings of Guri.
However, one of the biggest disappointments of this book was Vader. I was initially pleased to see him and, while I've read worse portrayals, he just seemed a bit off (for lack of better word). I just couldn't picture him saying any of his lines. Reaves had the right idea with his general attitude, but fell short in nailing the Dark Lord's speech patterns and tone. I expected the strong, confident, practically undefeatable Vader from the movie, but the Vader here just seemed like a bit of a knockoff.
Another downfall of Jedi Twilight is the lack of a real, enticing plot. This is very obviously the first novel in a trilogy, as it is primarily backstory centred around one (relatively weak) unifying idea. The characters are all looking for a protocol droid named 10-4TO, or Bug Eyes for short, but all have their reasons for doing so (which leads to them all colliding at the climax of the book). Jax Pavan and Laranth are fulfilling the final wish of Jax's late Master; Den and I-Five are originally looking for Jax and eventually join the Jedi on their quest; Vader claims to want the droid for information, but is ultimately searching for Jax; Nick initially carries Jax's quest to him and is later trapped into aiding Vader. These characters (as well as Xizor and Kaird, who are caught in their own conflict with each other and Black Sun) come together in the abandoned Factory District, overrun with feral droids. The droid (Bug Eyes) ends up not being terribly important, but that isn't an issue as the conflict involving it isn't really gripping or believable or begin with.
There were some things I really liked about this novel, such as the setting (Reaves portrays the underlevels of Coruscant in an interesting light, making for a captivating setting), the idea of feral droids, his portrayal of the Force (Jax, for example, sees it as threads, which occurs in the book several times), and most of the characters. Unfortunately, there was also a lot I didn't like. For example, I fail to see how the Factory District could exist on Coruscant. It's possible I missed something, but I should think that an overcrowded planet such as Coruscant would use every space possible; not allow whole districts to become abandoned and overrun with feral droids. Also (and this is a complaint about the writers in general, not just Reaves), why is it that everyone is against the Empire? I get that it wasn't the best government system to grace the Galaxy Far Far Away, but I doubt that every being in the universe hates it. Aside from that, the lack of plot and Vader's characterization also failed to meet expectations.
This is probably going to be a forgettable book. It's not horrible, by any means...it's just not really that memorable. Since this book consisted of mainly backstory, I'm hoping the next book explores the "detective" side of this trilogy and continues to develop some of intriguing characters Reaves has introduced.
This review is also posted on Amazon.com.
November 1, 2010
There is nothing particularly outstanding about the first novel in the "Coruscant Nights" series. Indeed, if anything, readers might be quite annoyed at the noir angle suggested by the cover design and story summary. Hints of a hard boiled Jedi P.I. may lead some to suspect a Star Wars "Maltese Falcon", but author Michael Reaves never seems interested in turning his tale into any kind of noirish mystery. I'll give Reaves the benefit of the doubt and blame this on the marketing department.
What he instead seems intereted in delivering is a surprisingly standard Star Wars adventure, which, in the right hands, can be a lot of fun. And fortunately, Reaves is indeed up to the challenge of spinning an exciting romp through some little explored shadows of the Star Wars EU, using many of his pet characters. Coruscant is always most enjoyable when it becomes a character in the story, and not just a standard backdrop. The detailed descriptions of Imperial City (the story takes place post-Order 66) and the inclusion of characters like Prince Xizor remind me an awful lot of "Shadows of the Empire", of which I seem to have fond memories. I was even inspired to pop in the Joel McNeely score for that earlier book to help intensify the mood. [sidenote: yes, LucasFilm commissioned a soundtrack for a novel, and yes, composer Joel McNeely inexplicably knocked it out of the park]. But that's a whole other story. Back to "Jedi Twilight"...
...Nothing in a plot description would seem all that exciting or inspiring, but the success of "Jedi Twilight" lies in its execution. There are a lot of seemingly disparate threads, but Reaves treats each one with great care, teasing out believable and relatable characters and conflicting motivations for various members of the cast that converge in an extended chase/fight scene that shouldn't work but kind of does. He brushes right up against implausibility and overly coincidental happenings to keep the plot moving, but again, the characters themselves are well enough defined that you're able to go with the flow.
I feel like I'm beating a dead horse when it comes to complaining about the current "Fate of the Jedi" series. Where that series fails is in its pursuit of 'neat' ideas while ignoring plausible or logical motivations to bring about those ideas. There is no characterization because Denning, Allston, and Golden treat their characters like unchangable icons who just exist as a plot happens around them. But a few familiar mannerisms and catch-phrases do not a character make, and subsequently, the plots (both within each novel and within the series as a whole) always feels overly generic and hollow.
Reading "Coruscant Nights" is refreshing, because Reaves seems to be writing characters first. Their wishes, their desires, their conflicts cause the plot which carries you from beginning to end in a satisfying way. The plot isn't all that overly interesting, but it doesn't matter, because the characters are. I'm eager to read volume two.
What he instead seems intereted in delivering is a surprisingly standard Star Wars adventure, which, in the right hands, can be a lot of fun. And fortunately, Reaves is indeed up to the challenge of spinning an exciting romp through some little explored shadows of the Star Wars EU, using many of his pet characters. Coruscant is always most enjoyable when it becomes a character in the story, and not just a standard backdrop. The detailed descriptions of Imperial City (the story takes place post-Order 66) and the inclusion of characters like Prince Xizor remind me an awful lot of "Shadows of the Empire", of which I seem to have fond memories. I was even inspired to pop in the Joel McNeely score for that earlier book to help intensify the mood. [sidenote: yes, LucasFilm commissioned a soundtrack for a novel, and yes, composer Joel McNeely inexplicably knocked it out of the park]. But that's a whole other story. Back to "Jedi Twilight"...
...Nothing in a plot description would seem all that exciting or inspiring, but the success of "Jedi Twilight" lies in its execution. There are a lot of seemingly disparate threads, but Reaves treats each one with great care, teasing out believable and relatable characters and conflicting motivations for various members of the cast that converge in an extended chase/fight scene that shouldn't work but kind of does. He brushes right up against implausibility and overly coincidental happenings to keep the plot moving, but again, the characters themselves are well enough defined that you're able to go with the flow.
I feel like I'm beating a dead horse when it comes to complaining about the current "Fate of the Jedi" series. Where that series fails is in its pursuit of 'neat' ideas while ignoring plausible or logical motivations to bring about those ideas. There is no characterization because Denning, Allston, and Golden treat their characters like unchangable icons who just exist as a plot happens around them. But a few familiar mannerisms and catch-phrases do not a character make, and subsequently, the plots (both within each novel and within the series as a whole) always feels overly generic and hollow.
Reading "Coruscant Nights" is refreshing, because Reaves seems to be writing characters first. Their wishes, their desires, their conflicts cause the plot which carries you from beginning to end in a satisfying way. The plot isn't all that overly interesting, but it doesn't matter, because the characters are. I'm eager to read volume two.
September 11, 2015
This book is part of the Star Wars Legends universe. This takes place after Order 66 has been executed and Jax Pavan is a jedi who is in hiding. He is hiding in the lower levels of Coruscant when he receives a dying message from his master to complete a mission. There are several subplots that include characters from other novels and Darth Vader.
I liked this book but it isn't the best book set in this universe. I was impressed that I immediately got the sense of Coruscant and this universe. The author does a terrific job with the setting and all of the characters. The plot was interesting and it fits with this timeline in this universe. I believe the reason this did not receive a higher rating is that there are too many subplots even though they all tie in at the end. One plot has three characters from the Medstar duology and another has one character from the novel Shatterpoint. We also get pages devoted to a character that works for Vader and doesn't like it (who would?). There is another plot where we get an insight to Prince Xizor. With all these plots I did not form a strong connection with any of the characters.
I will continue with this series as I believe he has an interesting plot and characters that I could be invested in. The problem is there is too much in this novel but it did pique my interest.
I liked this book but it isn't the best book set in this universe. I was impressed that I immediately got the sense of Coruscant and this universe. The author does a terrific job with the setting and all of the characters. The plot was interesting and it fits with this timeline in this universe. I believe the reason this did not receive a higher rating is that there are too many subplots even though they all tie in at the end. One plot has three characters from the Medstar duology and another has one character from the novel Shatterpoint. We also get pages devoted to a character that works for Vader and doesn't like it (who would?). There is another plot where we get an insight to Prince Xizor. With all these plots I did not form a strong connection with any of the characters.
I will continue with this series as I believe he has an interesting plot and characters that I could be invested in. The problem is there is too much in this novel but it did pique my interest.
January 9, 2014
Jedi Twilight, the first book in the Coruscant Nights trilogy, takes place during the prequel era, or nineteen years before the events of Star Wars lV - A New Hope. Coruscant is a wonderfully dark locale to situate a story ("In the lowest levels, in the abyssal urban depths, of the ecumenopolis that was Coruscant, it was a rare thing indeed to see sunlight"). Following the story of reporter Den Dhur and his droid sidekick I-5YQ, Reaves' narrative here plays out in film noir style, quite suiting to the locale, and given that this tale is at its center a detective mystery, quite suits it in this manner as well. Here we read about a couple of old character favorites, but also many new ones to the Expanded Universe (EU), human, alien and droid alike. The pacing and dialogue is very well done, and the tension building towards a momentous scene in the factory district of Coruscant, ripe with feral droids, is the stuff that makes reading beyond the movies much worth it. I feel that not only is this a worthy addition to the EU (some of these books are definitely not), it also reads as a very fine science fiction novel in and of itself.
May 2, 2021
Stars: 2.5
Re-read: Depends on how the rest of the trilogy turns out.
I've probably read half of Reaves' Star Wars books, and I either really enjoy them or am constantly annoyed at some of the stupid things he does as a writer. Maul: Shadow Hunter was really good, and I really enjoyed Death Star as well. The Med-Star series was bad, and this book felt closer to those.
I like that the book is set on Coruscant, which is more interesting than some random planet. I also like, to an extent, that he incorporates characters from previous books, including books that he didn't write. I'm withholding judgement on the plot until I finish the trilogy, but so far it is so-so.
Reaves annoys me as a writer for a number of reasons:
1. He has to rip things off. He can't just come up with his own idea and create something. So when he writes a science fiction book, he just adds a science fiction angle to something that exists in our world. In this one, it was Kaird talking about his past and how he almost died when he got stung by a group of jelly-bees. They are jelly fish, but Kaird is an avian creature, so he makes the brilliant move to have them be jelly-bees. Why not just make up a new creature? It is a throwaway line from Kairds past; it's not like it needed to have a detailed description. Another example is that part of the organization they are loosely affiliated with, gets Jedi and republic officials out of Coruscant and to safety. They call it the "underground mag-lev". Xizor says the line, "One should clique closely with one's allies, but even more closely with one's adversaries." If you are going to rip off a famous line, why not just use the line? Then later, they eat a Nexufish that has to be prepared a certain way or it will kill you...just like the Fugu pufferfish in Japan. He also just had to have Den and I-5 run into C3PO and R2D2 in the past. In one of the Battle Surgeons books (which was essentially MASH but in Star Wars), he had the line, "War, what is it good for?" He also made an alien version of the golden goose story in that book too. In that series, he also had a protocol droid get its' arm ripped off by a wookie after beating it in the chess game that was on the Millennium Falcon...just like it was described in a New Hope.
2. He cannot keep a consistent grip on how powerful various people are. Instead of establishing their powers and creating circumstances that challenge them, he creates interesting circumstances and adjusts the powers of various people to fit. I-5 is probably the most overpowered character in all of Star Wars. Another example of this is Jax.
3. He develops characters that are far too powerful. I already discussed I5, but he repeatedly has characters defeating incoming lasers by shooting them out of the sky. They do this repeatedly and with ease. You read some of the actions scenes and think, "Who are these gods and why haven't they conquered the galaxy yet?" And then, two scenes later, they'll barely escape with their lives from a couple of droids or a handful of stormtroopers. He previously did this in the Medstar books with the wonder plant Bota, that was all powerful but never heard from again.
The plot had some highs and lows. Some things just didn't make sense .
I don't remember the Falleen changes skin color based on their feelings like a humanoid mood ring. Maybe they did in the past, but I sure hope this isn't something Reeves cooked up himself.
Re-read: Depends on how the rest of the trilogy turns out.
I've probably read half of Reaves' Star Wars books, and I either really enjoy them or am constantly annoyed at some of the stupid things he does as a writer. Maul: Shadow Hunter was really good, and I really enjoyed Death Star as well. The Med-Star series was bad, and this book felt closer to those.
I like that the book is set on Coruscant, which is more interesting than some random planet. I also like, to an extent, that he incorporates characters from previous books, including books that he didn't write. I'm withholding judgement on the plot until I finish the trilogy, but so far it is so-so.
Reaves annoys me as a writer for a number of reasons:
1. He has to rip things off. He can't just come up with his own idea and create something. So when he writes a science fiction book, he just adds a science fiction angle to something that exists in our world. In this one, it was Kaird talking about his past and how he almost died when he got stung by a group of jelly-bees. They are jelly fish, but Kaird is an avian creature, so he makes the brilliant move to have them be jelly-bees. Why not just make up a new creature? It is a throwaway line from Kairds past; it's not like it needed to have a detailed description. Another example is that part of the organization they are loosely affiliated with, gets Jedi and republic officials out of Coruscant and to safety. They call it the "underground mag-lev". Xizor says the line, "One should clique closely with one's allies, but even more closely with one's adversaries." If you are going to rip off a famous line, why not just use the line? Then later, they eat a Nexufish that has to be prepared a certain way or it will kill you...just like the Fugu pufferfish in Japan. He also just had to have Den and I-5 run into C3PO and R2D2 in the past. In one of the Battle Surgeons books (which was essentially MASH but in Star Wars), he had the line, "War, what is it good for?" He also made an alien version of the golden goose story in that book too. In that series, he also had a protocol droid get its' arm ripped off by a wookie after beating it in the chess game that was on the Millennium Falcon...just like it was described in a New Hope.
2. He cannot keep a consistent grip on how powerful various people are. Instead of establishing their powers and creating circumstances that challenge them, he creates interesting circumstances and adjusts the powers of various people to fit. I-5 is probably the most overpowered character in all of Star Wars. Another example of this is Jax.
3. He develops characters that are far too powerful. I already discussed I5, but he repeatedly has characters defeating incoming lasers by shooting them out of the sky. They do this repeatedly and with ease. You read some of the actions scenes and think, "Who are these gods and why haven't they conquered the galaxy yet?" And then, two scenes later, they'll barely escape with their lives from a couple of droids or a handful of stormtroopers. He previously did this in the Medstar books with the wonder plant Bota, that was all powerful but never heard from again.
The plot had some highs and lows. Some things just didn't make sense .
I don't remember the Falleen changes skin color based on their feelings like a humanoid mood ring. Maybe they did in the past, but I sure hope this isn't something Reeves cooked up himself.
August 6, 2019
This is what you'd call the Sunday afternoon Netflix of Star Wars. It's not overly complicated, not particularly deep, and just enough excitement to keep you from falling asleep.
The "sentience of droids" subplot could have toned down a lot. It's been told much better in other places, and more succinctly at that. As it is, it comes across in this book as superfluous as Hermione's S.P.E.W. movement.
The "sentience of droids" subplot could have toned down a lot. It's been told much better in other places, and more succinctly at that. As it is, it comes across in this book as superfluous as Hermione's S.P.E.W. movement.
December 5, 2014
This book lost me early when it mentioned a crystal to hone lightsabers. Plus, it was long and lots of needless information that made the book a slog. One of the worst examples was near the end when the events were shown from nearly every characters viewpoint. Tedious.
July 17, 2021
Michael Reaves recycles characters from his previous Star Wars novels, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and the MedStar duology along with a few characters from Steve Perry's books, such as Prince Xizor from Shadows of the Empire, to create a story set just after the Clone Wars.
Jax Pavan, a young Jedi who narrowly escaped Order 66, hides deep in the seamier side of Coruscant, getting work as a private investigator and hiding his Force powers. But several people are looking for Jax, including Sullustan reporter Den Dhur and his companion, sentient droid I5-YQ; they seek to fulfill a promise I5 made to Jax's dead father, Lorn Pavan. Meanwhile, Nick Rostu, who fought with Jax during the Clone Wars, carries a request for Jax, made by his former master, Even Piell, just before he died. And to top it all off, Darth Vader has also developed an interest in locating Jax. Flying under the radar becomes impossible.
I often enjoy the Star Wars books that don't focus on the main series characters from the movies. It seems that working with minor characters, or creating entirely new scenarios, away from the main action of the canon, allows the authors more freedom. Reaves and Perry have often taken good advantage of such opportunities. Coruscant Nights: Jedi Twilight doesn't quite have the vividness of Shadow Hunter, nor that book's tragic scope and scale. However, Reaves develops whole other sections of Coruscant, crafting a milieu and a vibe that can only be likened to a noir tale, with Pavan as the cynical, hard-boiled detective.
Like the MedStar books, the plot becomes a little busy at times. In addition to the quest that drives Jax forward, there are subplots with a betrayal from Rostu (under duress from Vader), and an internal power struggle at Black Sun, involving Xizor and the bird-like assassin, Kaird. However, unlike those two novels, the story here feels more focused and specific. It seems clear that Reaves will be building this trilogy to a specific climax, and that every character will have their role to play. The various plots and threads feel interrelated and purposeful, even if I would have appreciated the book giving the characters more space to breathe.
Jedi Twilight feels like a solid setup for a lot more to come. My hope is that Reaves can fulfill the storytelling promises he makes here in the two volumes that follow.
Jax Pavan, a young Jedi who narrowly escaped Order 66, hides deep in the seamier side of Coruscant, getting work as a private investigator and hiding his Force powers. But several people are looking for Jax, including Sullustan reporter Den Dhur and his companion, sentient droid I5-YQ; they seek to fulfill a promise I5 made to Jax's dead father, Lorn Pavan. Meanwhile, Nick Rostu, who fought with Jax during the Clone Wars, carries a request for Jax, made by his former master, Even Piell, just before he died. And to top it all off, Darth Vader has also developed an interest in locating Jax. Flying under the radar becomes impossible.
I often enjoy the Star Wars books that don't focus on the main series characters from the movies. It seems that working with minor characters, or creating entirely new scenarios, away from the main action of the canon, allows the authors more freedom. Reaves and Perry have often taken good advantage of such opportunities. Coruscant Nights: Jedi Twilight doesn't quite have the vividness of Shadow Hunter, nor that book's tragic scope and scale. However, Reaves develops whole other sections of Coruscant, crafting a milieu and a vibe that can only be likened to a noir tale, with Pavan as the cynical, hard-boiled detective.
Like the MedStar books, the plot becomes a little busy at times. In addition to the quest that drives Jax forward, there are subplots with a betrayal from Rostu (under duress from Vader), and an internal power struggle at Black Sun, involving Xizor and the bird-like assassin, Kaird. However, unlike those two novels, the story here feels more focused and specific. It seems clear that Reaves will be building this trilogy to a specific climax, and that every character will have their role to play. The various plots and threads feel interrelated and purposeful, even if I would have appreciated the book giving the characters more space to breathe.
Jedi Twilight feels like a solid setup for a lot more to come. My hope is that Reaves can fulfill the storytelling promises he makes here in the two volumes that follow.
May 23, 2017
Okay so this is a novel that I truly and I mean truly wanted to love. I even came back to it multiple times in the hopes that I could find some sort of redeeming factor in this novel, however I sadly could not. So this novel on the surface has everything that my Star Wars loving heart could ever desire; a story set in Coruscant's seedy underworld, a Jedi moonlighting as a private investigator, the Empire on the rise, and a murder mystery rivaling Poirot. However that story is literally only on the back cover explanation of the book because this novel has NONE of what I just described in it. In fact the only thing about the teaser that appears in the book are the characters and Coruscant. Our Jedi hero Jax Pavan isn't actually a private investigator so if you were hoping for some hard boiled Star Wars pulp you aren't gonna find it here. Jax is actually a bounty hunter who makes his living hunting people down and trying to avoid the Empire however his story and struggle isn't really all that interesting and is made worse by a character who is hardly likeable. Jax really isn't relatable so I found it hard trying to really care that the Empire was trying to kill him.
Jax Pavan tries super hard to be a tough nut bounty hunter and falls under literally every single stereotypical rogue/hard boiled archetype that we know and have seen a million times. Whilst reading this novel you can almost hear Jax talking in a raspy deep voice that conjures up images of Bruce Willis in Die Hard or Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. Now despite it's terrible plot and not too fantastic or likeable characters I must say that the world building is fantastic in this novel and is it's major redeeming feature. Coruscant's underworld is beautifully described and beautifully crafted to where you can envision rain falling on a seedy nightclub's illuminated sign or see a flashing advert for a Twi'lek dancer with a man selling death sticks cloaked underneath it. The world building is phenomenal and I truly wanted to love this book so much because of that. There are very few Star Wars novels that deal with the underworld of Coruscant or even Nar Shaddaa and it is quite disappointing that when we finally get a novel that is set in this world it is clouded and ruined with unoriginal characters and a plot that could rival Phantom Menace in it's dullness.
Jax Pavan tries super hard to be a tough nut bounty hunter and falls under literally every single stereotypical rogue/hard boiled archetype that we know and have seen a million times. Whilst reading this novel you can almost hear Jax talking in a raspy deep voice that conjures up images of Bruce Willis in Die Hard or Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. Now despite it's terrible plot and not too fantastic or likeable characters I must say that the world building is fantastic in this novel and is it's major redeeming feature. Coruscant's underworld is beautifully described and beautifully crafted to where you can envision rain falling on a seedy nightclub's illuminated sign or see a flashing advert for a Twi'lek dancer with a man selling death sticks cloaked underneath it. The world building is phenomenal and I truly wanted to love this book so much because of that. There are very few Star Wars novels that deal with the underworld of Coruscant or even Nar Shaddaa and it is quite disappointing that when we finally get a novel that is set in this world it is clouded and ruined with unoriginal characters and a plot that could rival Phantom Menace in it's dullness.
May 23, 2022
While not at good as Reeve's previous work Shadow Hunter, Jedi Twilight is still a step above his Medstar duology. The reason I compare this book to those is that this is effectively the fourth book in his own unique series, heavily connected with a few members from each cast being brought along to the next story.
However I think this book is better in concept than in practice. The main character being a surviving Jedi after order 66, exploring the depths of Courscant, a slow neo noir pace, seeing Darth Vader through his terrified lackey's eyes. These are all great concepts and they're fun to read but there's something holding it all back, and that's the characters.
The characters are decent and likeable, but they lack any real depth. Their problems like I5's self awareness, and Jax losing his connection to the force and his survivor's guilt are only really skin deep and are not dived into what so ever. In fact almost every main character, is just stoic with occasional snark. The only chargers who don't fit this are Den, the everyman, and Rhinann who's personality is "afraid of Vader" which means every paragraph through his POV is insanely repetitive.
Even Nick Rostu, a favorite of mine from Stover's Shatterpoint feels like his entire personality was drained, to the point where he could've been just a new character.
This book is recommendable to those who have read Reeve's previous work and enjoy his style, and want to see more of his characters and their journeys. He tends to give his characters too much plot armor and has a tendency to invent new factions that do not fit in the universe, and have never been, and will never be referenced outside his work. These factions are only made for convenience, and it's the little things like that hold this book back from being truly amazing, like it's concept suggests.
However I think this book is better in concept than in practice. The main character being a surviving Jedi after order 66, exploring the depths of Courscant, a slow neo noir pace, seeing Darth Vader through his terrified lackey's eyes. These are all great concepts and they're fun to read but there's something holding it all back, and that's the characters.
The characters are decent and likeable, but they lack any real depth. Their problems like I5's self awareness, and Jax losing his connection to the force and his survivor's guilt are only really skin deep and are not dived into what so ever. In fact almost every main character, is just stoic with occasional snark. The only chargers who don't fit this are Den, the everyman, and Rhinann who's personality is "afraid of Vader" which means every paragraph through his POV is insanely repetitive.
Even Nick Rostu, a favorite of mine from Stover's Shatterpoint feels like his entire personality was drained, to the point where he could've been just a new character.
This book is recommendable to those who have read Reeve's previous work and enjoy his style, and want to see more of his characters and their journeys. He tends to give his characters too much plot armor and has a tendency to invent new factions that do not fit in the universe, and have never been, and will never be referenced outside his work. These factions are only made for convenience, and it's the little things like that hold this book back from being truly amazing, like it's concept suggests.
October 27, 2023
Coruscant’s Nights I: Jedi Twilight
This book was an interesting read for sure. I haven’t read any real mystery books before or pulp fiction books for that matter. It was very much in that vain. However, I love old films like Casablanca and the Maltese Falcon (both starring Humphrey Bogart) so I figured I would enjoy this book.
This was a decent book overall and it was nice to read a book that doesn’t focus exclusively on the Skywalkers or the cast surrounding them. But it still ties into the main saga a bit, which is nice. t was also really interesting to explore more of Coruscant, particularly the lower levels as we never really saw it during the movies. I loved the vibe the book was creating and it felt very Blade Runner esque with all the neon lights, rain and seedy criminal underbelly.
It was also interesting how the rise of Darth Vader and Order 666 had on normal people and what they truly thought of those events. Jax Pavan was also an interesting character but I liked Nick Rostu more. He was basically a normal person who has a limited connection to the force and I just found that interesting. The idea of different people having different levels of Force ability was interesting. One criticism I have is the character of Laranth. I felt like you I could removed them and they wouldn’t have impacted the story at all. Seeing a sort of origin story for Prince Xizor was good as I find one of the best villains in Star Wars.
The writing style also threw me off a bit as I haven’t really ever many mystery books or pulp fiction for that matter. Besides that it was a decent book, and I look foward to the sequels.
7.5/10
This book was an interesting read for sure. I haven’t read any real mystery books before or pulp fiction books for that matter. It was very much in that vain. However, I love old films like Casablanca and the Maltese Falcon (both starring Humphrey Bogart) so I figured I would enjoy this book.
This was a decent book overall and it was nice to read a book that doesn’t focus exclusively on the Skywalkers or the cast surrounding them. But it still ties into the main saga a bit, which is nice. t was also really interesting to explore more of Coruscant, particularly the lower levels as we never really saw it during the movies. I loved the vibe the book was creating and it felt very Blade Runner esque with all the neon lights, rain and seedy criminal underbelly.
It was also interesting how the rise of Darth Vader and Order 666 had on normal people and what they truly thought of those events. Jax Pavan was also an interesting character but I liked Nick Rostu more. He was basically a normal person who has a limited connection to the force and I just found that interesting. The idea of different people having different levels of Force ability was interesting. One criticism I have is the character of Laranth. I felt like you I could removed them and they wouldn’t have impacted the story at all. Seeing a sort of origin story for Prince Xizor was good as I find one of the best villains in Star Wars.
The writing style also threw me off a bit as I haven’t really ever many mystery books or pulp fiction for that matter. Besides that it was a decent book, and I look foward to the sequels.
7.5/10
October 29, 2023
The hunt is on. A droid containing vital information in its CPU is floating around in Coruscant's lower levels and everyone seems to want a piece of that action, including Black Sun and Darth Vader himself. Enter Jedi Knight Jax Pavan, who escaped Order 66 and has been working as a PI under his own name. He's also after the droid. But there's also a bunch of people after him.
I'm beginning to suspect that Michael Reaves wouldn't have known what a proper plot was had it bitten him on the butt. Perhaps the "characters lurching around in an aimless D&D campaign" schtick might've been acceptable once (narrator: it wasn't)...but to keep on repeating it over multiple books? Ugh. No, thanks. Oh and Jax Pavan is yet another Jedi who escaped Order 66? And he was ALSO a buddy of Anakin Skywalker's? Give me Ferus instead. At least Ferus feels like a real character - somehow Jax, in an adult novel compared to Ferus' MG/YA instalments, feels like a cluster of repetitive thoughts.
The comparison between Jax and Ferus is inevitable. Heck, the 4th book to feature Jax practically nicked the title of Ferus' series (before it in turn became the title of a Disney sequel movie lol). But I digress.
Jedi Twilight is not a good book. Actually, since my patience with Reaves has run out, I'm going to say that it is awful.
I'm beginning to suspect that Michael Reaves wouldn't have known what a proper plot was had it bitten him on the butt. Perhaps the "characters lurching around in an aimless D&D campaign" schtick might've been acceptable once (narrator: it wasn't)...but to keep on repeating it over multiple books? Ugh. No, thanks. Oh and Jax Pavan is yet another Jedi who escaped Order 66? And he was ALSO a buddy of Anakin Skywalker's? Give me Ferus instead. At least Ferus feels like a real character - somehow Jax, in an adult novel compared to Ferus' MG/YA instalments, feels like a cluster of repetitive thoughts.
The comparison between Jax and Ferus is inevitable. Heck, the 4th book to feature Jax practically nicked the title of Ferus' series (before it in turn became the title of a Disney sequel movie lol). But I digress.
Jedi Twilight is not a good book. Actually, since my patience with Reaves has run out, I'm going to say that it is awful.
August 17, 2024
This film has alot going for it. It’s set Post-Order-66 which is my favourite era of Star Wars. It’s set mostly in the Lower Sections of Coruscant, which provides a very Blade-Runneresque setting for a fairly Neo-Noir story, following multiple characters doing their best to survive the Empire. I really enjoyed most of the main characters. There’s also a delightfully sassy droid which could have been an inspiration for K-2SO and was one of the greatest contributors to the humour in the story.
The thing I found frustrating about the book was just how many characters it followed. Three or four main characters were interesting enough that the rest of the story could have fleshed out their stories and felt sufficient. There were at least two more main story lines that were less interesting and added so many names to keep track of (not one of my favourite aspects to books with multiple storylines). There was also a couple of story contrivances that felt forced, especially near the end.
Despite the elements that felt like they could have been simplified, I did really enjoy getting to know the few main characters and the position the story leaves them in, so I will be curious to continue the series and find out what our protagonists get up to.
The thing I found frustrating about the book was just how many characters it followed. Three or four main characters were interesting enough that the rest of the story could have fleshed out their stories and felt sufficient. There were at least two more main story lines that were less interesting and added so many names to keep track of (not one of my favourite aspects to books with multiple storylines). There was also a couple of story contrivances that felt forced, especially near the end.
Despite the elements that felt like they could have been simplified, I did really enjoy getting to know the few main characters and the position the story leaves them in, so I will be curious to continue the series and find out what our protagonists get up to.
August 22, 2021
A very good Star Wars Expanded Universe novel. This book continues the story started in Reaves' also very good "Darth Maul Shadow Hunter". I really like how Reaves weaves the threads together from the previous book, which was set 20 years earlier than this one, basically making his own multi generational Star Wars saga. I find Reaves' writing to be perfect for the Star Wars universe. He describes things in a quick, economical way, so you can picture what is happening on the page very clearly in your mind. I have noticed other Star Wars authors that struggle with this. His dialog is good and snappy and humorous like classic Star Wars dialog. He also skillfully writes of themes that resonate with the larger Star Wars universe, while telling a smaller story. This kind of storytelling is very similar to The Mandalorian, and arguably one of the reasons why that show is such a huge success. Highly recommended for Star Wars fans. I look forward to reading more of Reaves's work in the Star Wars Expanded Universt.
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