Review: Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown

     Joe Schreiber's previous Star Wars novels were hit and miss for us. While we loved his 2009 novel Death Troopers, thanks to its unique spin on combining horror within the Star Wars universe, the same cannot be said for Red Harvest, which we simply found to be a little too over the top for our tastes.

     However, Mr. Schreiber has once again redeemed himself in our eyes with Maul: Lockdown. Released at the end of January, this novel is different in tone when compared to his previous works. Set before the events of The Phantom Menace, Lockdown takes place in  Cog Hive Seven, a prison where inmates are pitted against each other in bloody gladiatorial matches. Darth Maul is sent to this prison to uncover the identity of the mysterious  Iram Radique and conduct a business deal on behalf of Darth Sidious.

     Without giving too much of the story away, as is our custom, we found Lockdown contained many of the elements present in Schreiber's first two Star Wars novels, but was much more grounded in reality - for a fictional universe, that is. Lockdown is still as graphic, brutal and gory as readers would expect, but these details add to the setting and feel of the novel and don't feel all that out of place or unnecessary in all honesty.

     Withinthe pages of his latest Star Wars novel, Mr. Schreiber really let's the reader take a look into the mind of Darth Maul, a character who has seen a resurgence in popularity since his appearance in the much loved Clone Wars television series. While, on the outside, he may appear to be nothing more then the brainwashed, damaged tool of Darth Sidious, within, we get a better understanding of what makes this character who he is. What makes him tick. At one point, he even starts to question where he fits in to the Sith's grand plan for the galaxy. On top of this, Maul's situation becomes even more dire as he has been barred from using the Force, so as not to give away his true nature. This humanizes the character somewhat more and allows the reader to see, again, what exactly makes up the character we're following with each turn of the page.

     Maul: Lockdown, as with Joe Schreiber's previous Star Wars novels, is fast-paced and wastes no time dropping the reader right into the thick of things. It ends rather abruptly and features a story that is actually told through the eyes of several different characters.

     While this is a solid story fans are sure to love, it does have some small flaws. Again, without giving too much away, somethings are ignored and a certain minor plot point near the end of the story really didn't seem to add anything overall. Also, to call this book the Follow-up to Darth Plaugeis seems somewhat incorrect. Yes, it takes place during the timeframe of the Plaugeis story, but due to the way certain things connect, we'd say it would more appropriately be a tie-in, not a follow-up.

     But, that is just us. 

     Lockdown is the superior story of the two, with Plaugeis being slower and more complex then the Darth Maul story, which is much more about the action and overall brute force.

     Still, in the end, Maul: Lockdown is a winner for us. It's fun, fast and brutal with Mr. Schreiber's writing style perfectly weaving a tale of one of the most fearsome Sith to ever be introduced into George Lucas' galaxy. The characters and settings work and Darth Maul, thanks to the situation he is thrust into, becomes a much more humanized, believable character over the course of the novel's 330-pages.  

     We recommend this one 110%! a Follow-up to Plaugeis it is not, but that doesn't mean it's not an awesome story regardless!


Special thanks to Random House publicist Greg Kubie for sending us a copy  for this review! Until next time, Infinite Earths fans! Please Like our Facebook page...

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