Lockdown: Star Wars Legends (Maul)

Despite no longer being canon, this story is particularly fun for fans of Darth Maul. Lots of action and good exploration of the nature of the Dark Side, Schreiber wrote after Maul's return in the Clone Wars and so adds character development that helps to explain his character based on that end result.

Inconsistent with other bits of story, this tale of Darth Maul could be any black ops book but would have been a better chapter or maybe a short story. There's an inherent problem when your main character is a villain. While Star Wars has oft celebrated the "bad guys" and Darth Maul's unceremonious introduction and death in Ep I makes you wonder if he really was a bad ass after all, this book seeks to give him some legend in the world of hand to hand combat. Pitting him against various creatures from the universe, the only way to keep him the protagonist is to make everyone around him even worse than he is. There is no showdown between Maul and some villain worse than he is. Just criminals and scum and since you know he won't die, there's no real mystery. If you've read other Star Wars books, the outcome is predictable. A few inconsistencies with what appears to be cannon but the book is otherwise unremarkable. If you must read them all you can get through this quickly but there are no truly memorable new characters to come from this story.

Fight after fight, each one unsuccessfully trying to top the next. Too many flat characters doing too many things that don't really help the story. There are several plot points that build but go absolutely nowhere. What was with the worm? Seriously, what did that have to do with ANYTHING?
By the end, Maul is running around with some kid he rescued for no reason. The cover of the book should be a picture of him carrying a box around with the kid. That would be more accurate.
Then the book doesn't really end - more like it begins the next book, which promises to be even worse - a love story for Maul? Weeee!
Drinking game for this book: Drink every time someone unexpected shows up in a scene.

Star Wars: Darth Maul - Lockdown is written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Joe Schreiber.

This novel is the sixteenth event on the Legends novel timeline. The tale takes place during the Rise of the Empire Era. It takes place 33 years before A New Hope.

SUMMARY: Darth Sidious sends his apprentice Darth Maul, to the prison colony, Cog Hive Seven. In this facility, prisoners are forced to fight each other, largely for gambling purposes. Maul is to seek out an individual known as Iram Radique, a dangerous and mysterious arms dealer, who somehow manages to run his crime ring behind bars.

Maul is given a false identity, a mercenary called Jagganath. He is to find this secretive individual, who no one really knows, and secure a nuclear device to place in the hands of a terrorist organization. The only other order Maul has from Darth Sidious, is to not use the force whatsoever.

Can Maul conquer the enemies placed before him? Will he find Radique? Will he get the weapon? Will he manage without the force? Darth Maul has quite the burden to bear.

CHARACTERS: While there are a ton of characters in this book, I'm only going to talk about one.

Darth Maul: He's ferocious yet controlled. He's a superior warrior and tested to the limit, he pretty much doesn't have one. He is forbidden to use the force and he does a great job without it. I can't imagine what damage he could do if he was allowed to use it. He’s focused and confident.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book is dark and gritty. Like I said about Maul, he's ferocious and controlled, which is what I hoped he would be. I liked the surprise appearance of Sidious and a certain someone who I won't mention. Joe Schreiber brings in some gory moments, which is expected in a Schreiber book, he does it so well. The book could be categorized as a horror/thriller.

Honestly, I thought the book was kind of boring. It drags a bit and was a little repetitive. Even though the book felt really long and never ending, I was left irritated with the climax and abrupt ending. I think this story could have wrapped up a little better.

The concept of Cog Hive Seven was pretty neat though. Pitting the prisoners against each other in a gladiatorial fashion was cool.

So, do I recommend that you read Star Wars: Darth Maul - Lockdownt? Well, if you are someone who wants to explore Darth Maul as a character, yes. If you could care less about Darth Maul, no.

RATING: I will give this book a C. It was somewhat repetitive and felt like it took forever to get through.

Due to some negative reviews I’d read about this book, it was far down my list of Star Wars books to read. I finally picked up a copy and behold! I was incredibly surprised that a book so different from the usual gaunt in the galaxy far, far away would be so enjoyable. Additionally, I don’t do horror, whether it’s in books or movies (not that Lockdown is necessarily horror… But it’s certainly much more grim than a hero’s journey about a farm boy, princess, wizard, pirate, and a space bear with a crossbow). When it was all said and done, I found Maul: Lockdown to be well-worth the time and money!

If you’re going to make a solo adventure about Darth Maul, it might as well be set in a gladiatorial space prison with a Yuuzahn Vong, a Wampa, a consciousness-sucking death worm, cannibalistic prison gangs, and even a dark-Jedi crime lord. It’s the Darth Maul story I never knew I wanted. Thrown into the mix are occasional appearances from Palpatine, Plagueis, and Jabba – and they steal the show. Schreiber’s writing was so descriptive in a dark way, I feel like he unlocked a part of my imagination that should probably be imprisoned with Maul and his counterparts.

I recommend Maul: Lockdown to those who like Star Wars and also like horror. If you don’t like the darker corners of literature, maybe it’ll be a good horizon-expanding read around Halloween. It’s also a good follow-up to the villain-centric novels like Darth Plagueis and Darth Bane. I think the only Star Wars book you need to have read before opening Lockdown is Darth Plagueis.

This review is based on an Advance Uncorrected Proof provided by the the store Vine program.

Star Wars Maul:Lockdown is set prior to The Phantom Menace and shortly follows Star Wars:Darth Plagueis. As the title implies, this novel centers around fan favorite Darth Maul,a nod it doesn't disappoint.

Although this follows Darth Plageuis, I don't feel you need to have read it to understand and enjoy Maul:Lockdown.

Darth Maul is sent on a mission to a unique prison space station in order to find and do a deal with a hide arms dealer. Darth Sidious is testing Maul, and moving forward his plan to overtake the galaxy.

The book is non-stop action, and constantly makes you cheer and hope that Maul will successfully complete his mission. There are a few other well developed characters which you love or hate.

Then end is filled with twists and turns, and unexpected Sith treachery.

This book is recommended reading for any Star Wars fan. It gives more insight into Maul, but even more into the evil that is Darth Sidious. That said, I don't think you need to be a Star Wars fan to love this book. There is little about the force, light sabers, or other Star Wars trappings, so anyone with a love for Sci Fi or thrillers should be able to enjoy this book.

I can't wait for Joe Schreiber's next addition to the Star Wars expanded universe.

Joe Schreiber tends to write the darker type of Star Wars novel, and this one is no exception. "Maul: Lockdown" is a violent book, with exploding heads, creatures that devour men whole, and a truly epic body count. This is by no means a bad thing, just to point out that this isn't the kind of SW book to put in front of your child. Everybody's favorite Zabrak Sith apprentice goes undercover in prison, with the ostensible mission of putting a nuclear weapon in the wrong hands. Without spoiling the plot, there are enough cage fights, behind the scenes shenanigans, double-crosses, and appearances from the Star Wars characters we know and love sprinkled throughout the book to make it a very quick and entertaining read (or listen).

I may be taking a hiatus from the Expanded Universe for a while, as the most recent Stars Wars books add very little to the overall storyline. Being the second book focused on Darth Maul as the central character, "Lockdown" has the potential to attract an audience. However, much of the audience might find themselves bored with the story. "Lockdown" went too long, and added too little to the Maul character.

Darth Maul is sent undercover as a prisoner to find a weapons dealer. He is challenged to not reveal his force powers as part of his mission, even though inmates are made to fight each other in seemingly random battles to the death. Maul wins his battles with ease, while not being overly distracted in searching for the desired inmate. There are subplots that make Maul a sympathetic character and plenty of misdirection only for the sake of misdirection. It is very apparent that Maul will not find his target until the end of the book. The only real question is what Maul will do with him.

To be honest, I had difficulty finishing the book. The Maul character deserves better than to be locked up in Survivor: Prison Edition. But then again, Maul's movie fate was left much to desire in terms of character development as well.

This is the sequel to Darth Plagueis by James Lucino, and while you do not need to read that book first (and this is the better of the two) some of the events in that book resonate into this one (and it was a great book in its own right).

This book does not take itself seriously. The first sentence is "What!"

We get lovely little passages like:

Maul gazed back at it.
And then the rage came.
And the rage was good.

One of the great strengths books have over movies is the ability to get behind a character's eyes. To see his thoughts, his analysis, his motivations. We get that here most certainly. Maul is a complex, engaging anti-hero.

From page 4:

Blood.
Jet Black
The sight of it gave Maul no satisfaction, only the vaguely annoying realization that it never should have taken him this long to turn the battle to his advantage. Still, ending his opponent's life quickly would restore a certain necessary balance to the encounter -- if not honor, at least, vindication.

One of the great strengths movies have over books is the ability to clearly depict multiple, simultaneous events. Joe Schreiber handles that with a skill rarely seen. The world is meticulously painted, but the action does not stop. For example:

The hanger around him was already full of smoke and the sheared-metal stench of spent blaster rounds. The remaining guards and loading personnel were taking cover on both sides of him, but the hanger had been cleared to accommodate the incoming prisoners and supplies and there was nothing to hide behind. He thought if he could get to the turbolift, he might stand a chance of ---
Bang!

This book is filled with graphic violence. Fair warning. The characters are so much fun, and the plot is so fast paced, I started it before going to bed and didn't look up until sunrise. It was an amazing thrill ride.

I read Darth Plagueis first and then Maul lockdown immediately after. Palgueis was OK and filled out a lot of the back story leading up to episode 1. It covered a 20 plus year time period so the stories with-in were shorter and never lasted more then a chapter. about half way through it became more about Palpatine then Palgueis, which was fine and worked for the book. As the book led up to episode 1 and both Plaguies and Palpatine were more business man and politician respectively, the book was short on action. I read it over the course of a few days and although good and informative, it wasn't a barn burner. Like Episode 1, trade disputes, etc....figured heavily into it.

Maul lockdown moved at a much more rapid pace. Maul had been mentioned and seen in Palgueis and I was interested to see if he would be more developed here in that same way. Were Plagueis and Sidious were intellectuals, Maul was not and they looked down on him, with Sidious at the same time being a bit defensive of him around Plaguies. I found the same to be true in this book. There was some interactions involving Plagueis and Palpatine in the book that fit into the time frame of Darth Palgueis and the story arc of Maul Lockdown actually played into a plot that occurs near the end of Plagueis.

This is a single story told over the span of about a week or so. It is full of fighting and action. Much of it is over the top gore. There are several characters that are interesting and the book moves ahead well and never bogged down for me. Maul is a fighter and not a thinker. I am OK with that. This book is like the summer action movie in that it didn't stop moving and ramped up the action as it went.By the end it is throwing a lot at you at one time, kind of a smorgasbord of Star Wars characters. I liked it and wasn't looking anything else in it. It surprised me in that I actually liked it a bit more than Plagueis.

This review is courtesy of topoftheheapreviews(dot)com

Is a prison enough to hold the likes of the powerful Sith known as Darth Maul? Joe Schreiber attempts to answer that question in Star Wars: Lockdown!

Darth Maul is a character that has captivated audiences, but however didn’t get the screen time nor the necessary attention in the movies to really build up who he is, and how dangerous he can be. Thankfully the extended universe has attempted to answer these questions in novel form.

In Lockdown, Darth Maul gets sent into a prison that has been deemed inescapable in order to find and acquire an item that someone, deemed almost a myth, holds in his possession.

The entire story takes place in one location. Star Wars readers hoping to find planet hopping, epic space battles, and fantastic lightsaber duels, and use of the force may be shocked to find out that there really isn’t anything of the sort here. It’s quite a stark contrast to most of the Star Wars novels with the exception of a handful of books. That’s not to say there isn’t any use of the above, but it doesn’t play as much into the story.

What you do have here, is a well written, tight, locked room mystery type of story, with a Star Wars twist on it. Joe Schreiber does well here. As in all of his thriller and suspense and horror, he pulls you along with quick action, and fast, frantic pacing. You really get the sense that time is of the essence.

The use of the prison as a corrupt entity to make money off the fighting of the inmates creates a good catalyst to really figure out a bit more about Darth Maul. He has to overcome obstacle after obstacle, all without letting on that he is a force user and a Sith. You almost see him break, which is kind of nice. Visiting inside the mind of this force user, and viewing his feelings of failure, and his thoughts in the face of certain death, creates a bit of sympathy for this Zabrak, whom you know is actually evil at heart.

The characters are painted well, and the emphasis on each is pressed upon you at exactly right right moment.

The Bottom Line: No force, no lightsabers, no planet hopping, no star battles, and yet, this as the name Star Wars on it. That’s the beauty of this universe, and the beauty of Joe Schreiber’s writing. It’s a great book, and you could easily take the Star Wars out of it and make it something else. People that don’t have a lot of Star Wars knowledge, or would pass it up because it’s a Star Wars book in general, should stop and give this one a look. Yes, it has fantastical aliens, and you’ll find names like Darth Sidious, and Darth Maul, but those are all secondary elements. The winner here is the story. Star Wars or not, it’s just a great piece of fiction.

For all the criticism Lucas receives for the prequel movies, the reality is, while acting and dialogue were questionable, the structure of the story and the characters he introduced have gone on to be just as intriguing as the original trilogy. One character, in particular, Darth Maul, was heavily under-utilized and has gone on to be a tremendous successful character in "Clone Wars" and the now-Legends banner Extended Universe. "Maul: Lockdown" is one of the best Star Wars books I've ever read, written by horror-writer Joe Schreiber, who has taken two other turns as a Star Wars scribe with his zombie-centric "Red Harvest" and "Death Troopers." A sequel to James Luceno's "Darth Plagueis," the story of Palpatine/Sideous' eventual betrayal of Plagueis is further explored when Sideous sends his apprentice, Darth Maul,to infiltrate a prison in order to reveal the presence of weapons dealer, Iram Radique, purchase a nuclear device from him and provide it to the cult, the Bando Gora, in order to eventually kill Plagueis. The story is superbly constructed, hard to put down and gives great depth to the Maul character. The mission itself is immensely complex, risky and fascinating. As Disney decides to construct one-off movies of major Star Wars characters, this book would be a very interesting one to adapt

It starts suddenly, violently and stays full of action. There are no good guys and a fairly simple plot but the details and scenes are built well, with lots of great action sequences that are easy to visualize.

I enjoyed Red Harvest quite a bit, and enjoyed this even more. It's a fast, easy read because the pacing never lets up. It's pretty different from a lot of the things written in the Star Wars universe, but so was Red Harvest. Mr Schreiber does it well, staying true to the extensive canon while doing something completely different within it.

Without going into too much detail, this is the Dark side. Changing point of view from Maul to Darth Sidious and the politics of his dealing with another Sith lord are interesting. Maul, who doesn't really have anything in his personality for redeeming features is shown as being very intelligent and absolutely cold. Even so, you are cheering for him in his fights in a prison that makes a profit from "matching" prisoners to fight each other. The guards, the wardens, the prisoners are all scum. Corruption and evil are everywhere. Maul, just by not being petty and small, is the best predator in pool of them.

I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it maybe too violent for a lot of readers. I am seriously considering getting the audio version for my dad, he would enjoy it too.

Who doesn't think Darth Maul is a cool character? I certainly do. I've liked him since the questionable Phantom Menace, and I've like him even more since he really started showing up in the Clone Wars Animated Series. So it was with a bit of reservation that I went into Maul-Lockdown.

I didn't know much about Joe Schreiber going in, so I wasn't quite ready for all of the graphic depiction of violence in the novel. It's not nearly as "star wars" as I expected, but it's an appropriate bit of darkness for a character who's job it is to be violent and hateful.

At it's heart, this novel is a action-slasher movie, with a ton of fast paced action revolving around a fairly simply plot (Maul has to find a dude in a prison), but Maul is a decently rounded character (which I think comes from, in part, his really solid characterization in Clone Wars that informs his background) but we don't ever really 'learn' anything about him. But that's okay, because as an action book, this one is pretty good.

As I said before, the violence surprised me a little bit, not having read any of Schreiber's stuff before, but I really enjoyed Maul - Lockdown.

Darth Maul is my favorite Star Wars character and I have read, seen, and collected almost all things Darth Maul but this book is one of the best. Lockdown is very gripping, has an excellent story, and is full of action. In fact its probably one of the most action packed Star Wars novels I have read to date. If you are a Maul fan I would highly recommend picking this one up, especially the audiobook. Star Wars audiobooks are always the best because they feature John Williams music as well as Star Wars sound effects. Its the closest you can get to watching a Star Wars movie without actually watching it.

If you like Darth Maul or this book I would also highly recommend Darth Maul Shadow Hunter. It is my favorite Star Wars book of all-time. Star Wars: Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter (Star Wars - Legends)

The story is very engaging. From the beginning, not knowing all of what is going on, the story gradually unfolds into an interesting plot. The only thing I'm a bit confused is the character of Darth Plagues. He is in the story, but I thought that this book takes place after the book "Darth Plagues". If you haven't read Darth Plagues, I recommend it, but he shouldn't be in this story.

Overall, this book is very well written. I don't like to spoil the story in my reviews, but the fights that take place in here, especially with Maul are very cool. I wish that these were made into movies!!!

Great job in the story and the writing. Very cool!! I look forward to more of these books.

Disappointing. I've read Schreiber's 'Red Harvest', and the same complaint I had with that novel is the same complaint is have with this one. Schreiber seems like a decent enough writer, but its almost like he comes up with a story of his own, and then tries to cram it into a star wars novel. This would make a great prison break story, but not necessarily a good starwars one. Schreiber seems to have little to no reverence for the awe and mystery of the force. In fact there's no sign of the force at all until the very last few chapters. When you're dealing with a character like Maul and specifically the dark side, it's what the fans crave, and yet we're left disappointed.

I also had issues with how Maul was being portrayed. At times he was spot on with the resilience and ferocity of the character. At other times, I found dead myself shaking my head at the dialogue given to him. Some of it was way out of character for an apprentice of the Sith. This is a character that had maybe said 16 words in the entire movie and everyone thought he was a badass. Now he's given lines for circumstances where he really didn't need any. And some of the phrases just seemed completely out of character.

The ending was also a bit of a let down. Maul succeeds as we knew he would, but to what end? The reader is left hanging with that question. I'm not sure if the author was trying to set this up for author sequel or not, but frankly I don't have any desire to read it if there is one. Plenty of other good starwars novels of there on my bucket list I'd rather read.

Oh, was this awful. Just wretched. Ordinarily I would've just pitched this after the first few chapters, but sometimes you just gotta watch the train crash.

The problem with making villains the protagonists of novels is that you're supposed to identify with the protagonist. He (or she) is the window through which you are experiencing the universe. When that character is a horn-crowned Sith Lord with no personality and no emotional range outside of unconvincing rage, that becomes a bit of a liability.

When said Sith Lord is placed upon a ridiculous deep space prison ship with ridiculous physics, ridiculous regular deathmatches, and a ridiculous nigh-omniscient arms dealer, it's just too much to take.

But what I really take issue with in this novel is that the author apparently has no idea how a sports book works, making the whole gambling-on-deathmatches part of the novel beyond ridiculous. (Prepare ship for ludicrous speed!)

There's also a giant, blind, psychic worm that eats everyone. On a spaceship.

Joe Schreiber actually did okay with Death Troopers and somewhat less so with Red Harvest. He did not acquit himself well with Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown.

Avoid like a starving wampa.

Maul: Lockdown lives up to its description as a cross between films such as Gladiator and Escape From New York. Taking a break from horror novels, author Joe Schreiber puts the iconic character Darth Maul in a hi-tech prison where the inmates are pitted against each other in brutal death matches. Meanwhile the galaxy makes a fortune off the prison with high stakes gambling. Yet this lucrative gladiatorial space station has a secret, and Darth Maul has been sent in to find out whether there is any truth to the legend of Iram Radique. For fans of the film The Usual Suspects, you’ll definitely get a Kaiser Sose vibe from the story.

The central viewpoint character for Maul: Lockdown is of course Darth Maul. Readers will get to see Maul compete in some extremely violent gladiatorial contests that push his skills to the limit. But beyond that, the book also dives into Maul’s head. There are some really nice explorations of how Maul views his master, his place in the galaxy, his role as a Sith, and some insights into just how he looks at others and himself. This is perhaps one of the deepest looks inside the character we’ve ever gotten in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Nevertheless, Maul is not the only character fans will be treated to.

In addition to Maul, the book lives up to its promise of tying in to the critically acclaimed novel by James Luceno, Darth Plagueis. As such, both Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidiuos show up in this book several times as an ongoing sublot. Maul’s mission in the prison is part of one of Sidious’ schemes. Furthermore, Plagueis is suspicious of what’s going on and plays his own game of cat and mouse to keep tabs on Maul’s mission. Thus, while Maul is battling for his life in an inescapable prison, Sidious and Plagueis are waging their own high stakes match for control of the galaxy. Either way, Maul becomes their pawn and his success or failure will determine who wins.

The Sidious and Plagueis subplot really enriches the context of the story in Maul: Lockdown. There is plenty of good action scenes and drama as Maul fights one adversary after another. However, the grander scheme that’s at work adds an intellectual thread to the book. While reading it, I was constantly trying to figure out how the events in this story fit into Darth Plagueis. As more and more of the schemes were revealed, and as the tides turned one way and another, I was keeping a mental score with how this affected the storylines in the other novel. In the end, Maul: Lockdown really is a nice companion piece to Darth Plagueis. It’s very much a different type of novel, with Lockdown being more action oriented and exciting, and Plagueis being more complex and thought provoking. In Plagueis, we really didn’t get to see very much of Maul, but Lockdown manages to remedy that.

Outside of its tie-ins to Darth Plagueis, Maul: Lockdown ties into a lot of other EU material as well. Quite surprisingly, one of the most significant tie-ins was to the Star Wars: Bounty Hunter video game. Unfortunately this was not a game I was able to play, so I missed out on the nods. But after reading the book, I was compelled to find out more about a certain character: Korami Vosa. Korami Vosa played a key part in the Star Wars: Bounty Hunter game, and for all intents and purposes, was a precursor to Asajj Ventress. Both were trained by Dooku, both were female, and both used two curved handled lightsabers. In fact, the lightsabers Ventress uses are Vosa’s. But the tie-ins don’t stop there as mentions of Trezza and the Orsis Academy are also made and link to the recent Darth Maul short story “Restraint” written by James Luceno for the re-release of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter.

It’s worth noting that none of those additional EU elements and Plagueis subplots detract from the core of the story. At it’s heart, it really is a combination of three films: Gladiator, Escape From New York, and The Usual Suspects. Maul is sent to this high tech prison on a special mission. It’s a prison that is nearly impossible to escape from, and one where the inmates are allowed unprecedented free reign. Once Maul completes his mission, he has to accomplish the nearly impossible: escape. To further complicate matters, he has a bomb surgically implanted in his heart. All of this is very much a tribute to Escape From New York, a film where Snake Plissken is sent to the island of Manhattan which has been turned into a giant prison for the country’s criminals. There are no guards inside the “prison” so the inmates do as they please, but they can’t escape. Like Maul, Plissken has a special mission and has to escape on his own, and like Maul, he has bomb surgically implanted in his chest.

The Gladiator and The Usual Suspects stories kick in more subtly. The inmates in the prison are forced to fight each other in death matches, much like gladiators. As they win matches, they earn acclaim. The Usual Suspects kicks in with Iram Radique. Maul’s mission is to find a mythical weapons dealer who goes by that name. Yet no one knows whether that person really exists. It’s rumored that he is nothing more than a ghost, a boogey man whose name is whispered to frighten others. You see, no one has ever met Iram Radique and lived to tell about it, assuming he exists at all. This angle of the story mimics the mystique created by Kaiser Sose in The Usual Suspects, a mythical character no one has ever met and lived to tell of. For Maul, it also creates a very difficult problem. He cannot leave the prison until he finds this Iram Radique…a person who might not even exist.

Through all of this, Joe Schreiber composes a rather entertaining story. There’s the exciting, action driven storyline as Maul hurdles one obstacle after another in the high tech prison on his search for Iram Radigue. Plagueis and Sidious create an additional layer of intrigue with their machinations for control of the galaxy. Various elements of the EU are drawn in to add to the richness of the story, helping to make it feel bigger and more connected, while adding additional layers of interest. And with all of that going on, the story is never dull. It’s an action packed ride that spins one entertaining chapter after another. The multiple layers of story keeps readers guessing what will happen next and just who will live and who will die. While it’s not as deep a novel as James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis, it certainly adds to the character of Darth Maul while matching Plagueis‘ complexity with sheer fun. I give it a five out of five.

I like Schreiber in some ways, but knowing this from his earlier Death Troopers book, I was kind of afraid of it. Darth Maul has always seemed interesting in a lot of ways, and to find a book on him seemed great. The book itself was an easy read, with me able to power through it in a few settings, and that was kind of nice. I wish it would have had more Star Warsese to it but that is just a personal opinion, but other than that it was engaging and interesting. I'd say the people heavier into S.W. might not take issue to a few things, but I also figure they're the most likely to buy it anyhow. For the casual fan, it was pretty good.

Star Wars: Maul Lockdown is a wonderful adventure. Darth Maul, do to his limited screen time in the Phantom Menace, carries pure mystique to lovers of the STAR WARS franchise. Maul, in this long awaited book, really shows intense character development, which readers are dying to digest. Readers will definitely be taken off guard while reading this book, but in a good way. This is a refreshing story. The themes that drive this work are some of my favorites: agents of the Dark Side working behind the scenes to destroy the Jedi, insight into the Force and how it interacts with Force users, the STAR WARS criminal underworld and societal structure, as well as the unthinkable fighting skill of an apprentice who is ultimately being trained by one of the most powerful Dark Lords of the Sith.

The author provides us with some of the back story for the short lived character from Episode I : The Phantom Menace. We get teh opportunity to get a little more character development and understand the nature of Maul.

While I have no vesting in the character, being a fan of the Episode IV-VI time frame, I found the story engaging and well told. The author keeps much of the Space Opera feel, and fun of the original stories. If you are a fan of the dark side or just want a little more insight into the characters we have met in the movies, this is an entertaining glimpse of the mental workings of Maul.
P-)

Ok the premise of Darth Maul going undercover in a prison is a bit ridiculous. But somehow Joel Schreiber manages to make it work. I think a big part of it is the character of Maul. He fits in so seamlessly into that type of environment that it makes it feel so natural despite having a plot resembling Face Off more than a typical Star Wars novel. In contrast to some of the other new SW novels which I thought were rather lackluster, I found myself constantly wanting to read one more chapter and not being able to put it down. That to me is the mark of an entertaining book and I certainly found it worthy of 5 stars.

Again, this is my husband's review:
*It's extremely violent with a good amount of blood shed. The best descriptions within the novel are the fights.
*Maul is a well described character with more dimension than is in another books or the movie
*The plot line itself is weak, but made up for because of the quick action
*There are several loose ends which seems to be something that happens within these books a lot

Lockdown was a fantastic novel! the short chapter length really drew the reader in and the detail with every scene was exquisite! Some people might think it is a little gory but if you have read his other novels, this one is no different. You can tell that Schreiber worked with Luceno to have it mesh with Darth Plagueis. Overall, a great read and i would definitely read it again back to back with Plagueis.

If graphic violence disturbs you, this is a book to skip. It's a trip into the dark side, and is exciting enough to entertain all Star Wars fans. The action is crisply undolded in short chapters. The depiction of prison life and death permeates the book with graphically described pit fights. It's a darker than usual Star Wars novel and not the most skillfully told, but it is good dark fun and worth reading.

Was not really pleased with this Star Wars book. Joe's other Star Wars books are some of my favorite books in the SW universe. This one was disappointing. Joe makes Maul into a smarter character than has been suggested in canon. He is more of an animal, and hunter, and here is is thrust into a highly confusing plot and all of a sudden is a smart sleuth. All while not being able to use the force (directed by Sidious), and no lightsaber at first. Joe Schreiber is great at setting creative scenes and characters, but this one (for me) was not up to snuff. Last minute characters, hanging story elements, and confusing timeline did not make this one more than a blip on the Star Wars expanded universe. i hope joe returns to zombie or horror novels.

I just finished reading an up-beat Star Wars novel focusing on Han Solo, so I was hoping for the same with this book. Unfortunately instead of an upbeat theme, it has a negative/violent theme. This is not what I was expecting and not something I would recommend for the younger generation. But if you are into violence, you may like this book.

A relatively simple plot, Darth Maul goes to prison to find an arms dealer hiding there, get complicated midway through. There are a lot of loose ends to wrap up at the end. The tightness of the prison constrains the Star Wars universe here and it just comes out OK.

Essential read if you want to learn more about Darth Maul. Strong plot and many twists and turns. It is quite a bit gory and there is a lot of violence, seeing as though the author's background is steeped with horror titles. This book is very well crafted, is enthralling and leaves you wondering who will survive.

Warning: Darth Maul wasn't a particularly favorite character for me, so I didn't really expect a lot. Instead, I got a horror book with enough plot thrown it. Okay, I'm sure that will turn enough people off. The plot falls apart and it's apparent that the only reason the story is there is to get Maul into the prison. Sigh.

I purchased this book in the hope of recapturing some of that sense of wonder that the original trilogy instilled in me. The prequels had left me a bit underwhelmed, but I found Maul to be a fascinating character. Joe Schreiber's Maul: Lockdown well and truly had me hooked with its gritty prison noire escapades. It got me excited about Star Wars again, and that had been something I'd waited 30 years for!