#maul:lockdown

[originalcharactermaker]

Cog Hive 7

-my art

[chikuwashika]

住人の皆さんとロックダウンごっこに興じるモール卿

[tortuerex]

My honest, humble, and not-objective-at-all opinion about MAUL : LOCKDOWN

MAUL : LOCKDOWN by Joe Schreiber, published in 2014 (Legends)

Real quick plot summary : Darth Maul is sent by Darth Sidious on a secret mission in the high security prison called Cog Hive Seven where each day, two prisonners have to fight to death.

Why start my reviews by this book ? Because it's one of my personal favorite.

One of the thing I like so much in this book is the duality in Maul's character.

He's hugely powerful, fight creatures twice his side (without use of the Force), he's highly intelligent and manages to escape a certain death, but still the autor manages to show us his weaknesses. He's sometimes hesitant, try to do his best but has no clue if it's the right thing to do, he's afraid of failure but can be overconfident too.

And for that matter, we can learn that a lot of the respect he has for Sidious is fueled by fear, fear of failing and fear of retaliation if he fails.

And, oh damn, the blood shed in this book ! If I remember correctly this was my first Star Wars novel so I didn't knew exactly what to expect. The first pages are so gory and it goes on during the whole book. I knew the clean side of Star Wars, with guns going all « pew pew » and lightsabber cutting people without a single drop of blood. The first chapter of Lockdown describes Maul gutting a alien alive with his bare hands and boy that was rad and I wasn't prepared for that.

So, yeah, Maul is a big plus when it comes to that book but he's not the only one. The other characters are pretty cool too, the other inmates, the wardens... I would have loved to learn more about them. No characters is rushed, all their motives are very clear and their stories are credible.

The atmosphere in Cog Hive Seven is really well writen too, oppresive, shady, you can almost smell the blood, sweat and rust of the prison.

And damn the Syrox was disgusting. Every apparition of the beast is nightmare-fueling.

The gambling system between the prisonners is a awesome idea and adds up to the surrounding violence of the place, violence orchestrated by the runners of the prison.

Another thing that is really good in this book, and that's something really hard to do when you write licensed books, it's the suspense. Let things be clear : the story is happening before The Phantom Menace, I know my Star Wars history line, so I know Maul isn't going to die.

But still, in this book, you'll quake for him. You know he's going to get out of this mess, but you don't know how. You don't know how much he will suffer. And you have no clue what's going to happen to the other characters. The author manages to get us hooked on the plot even knowing the main character can't die.

The humour is a plus too. Don't get me wrong, that's not a comedy book. But Maul can be really sassy even if that's not what he intended, and there's a lot of situation comedy or delisiously sarcastic dialogues between characters. Believe me, if that's your kind of humour, you'll often have a smile on your face while devoring the pages.

And the last page, the final sentences... I'm trying not to spoil the whole book, but we feel Maul is dying for something else, another life, but he's so afraid of Sidious and of what can happen to him if he fails his master, that he don't even dare dreaming of it. Kinda sad to be honest.

So, if I had to resume, what would be my opinion on Maul : Lockdown ?

PRO :

- Maul. Maul described as a « normal living being », with fears, doubts (and a lot of anger of course), and not only as a killing machine (I'm looking at you Maul:Shadow Hunter, we'll talk about you later)

- The atmosphere

- The gore (if you're into it) and the dark humour

CON :

- One very personal con : the non-canonical anymore Star Wars characters. I don't know much about Star Wars legends and I have a lot to learn about it, so the intervention of Komari Vosa of the Bando Gora left me a little lost. And I'm know very little about Darth Plagueis in Legends so it may have prevented me from fully appreciating the moments these characters were there.

TO CONCLUDE :

I would say it's a must have if you're a Maul fan, aren't scared of ultraviolence and mutilation, and don't mind reading not-canon books. (And for what I know of Legend vs Canon stories, this book might as well be canon if you cut off the scenes with Plagueis).

The power of this novel resides in strong characterization, an effective atmosphere and a suspense that will leave you begging for more.

I hope you like this first review, don't hesitate to tell me what you think of it, what was your opinion on the book or if I made you want to discover it, and tell me if I made any mistake or if my review need some additions ! I haven't read the book since a few months so I might forget some important things.

Sorry if it was a bit messy, every feedback is welcome !

Huge, huge thanks to the amazing @maulieber for giving me the motivation to start my own tumblr :)

[kristsune]

Maul: Lockdown. A book review

I apparently am making this a series for SW books. This one is by John Schreiber. So, first off, a warning. This is a book about Darth Maul. There is large amounts of violence and death in this book. 

Ok. So. I in general I quite liked this book. I love Maul and his precious violent rage filled heart. I’m pretty sure this takes place before Episode one, buT it is a Legends book and therefore not entirely canon.

Maul is sent on a mission by Sidious to find an arms dealer who has holed himself in a prison. Hidden behind so many different screens and hidaways and false fronts to to point that this dealer is practically a myth. The fun part about this prison? It pits prisoners against each other in matches to the death for gambling purposes. Even though I’m sure you have all guessed, Maul kicks 8 kinds of ass. It’s pretty glorious tbh. Why wouldn’t the prisoners revolt you ask?  Welp all the prisoners have detonators implanted in their hearts so if they misbehave too badly *sets charge* *instant death* Loads of fun.

I don’t have too many quotes from this, but let me tell you, there were some excellent chapter titles. A few favorites include: Hot Mess, From the Land of the Ice and Snow, In My Time of Dying, (yes the author is obviously a Zepplin fan), Hot Box, What the Fever Said, The Whole Thing Runs on Blood, and Killing Box. Also, all the descriptions of Maul tapping into his rage is just marvelous. Really loved it.

My favorite quote by far is Maul being a sassy little shit (Sadiki’s quote paraphrased): “I’d like to make you a propsition” Sadiki’s voice purred. Maul glared at the speaker. “Kill yourself and save the universe the trouble?”

Bless him. XD