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Was it his partner, the gorgeous Dejah Duare. I understand that second novels/movies/whatever are a challenge, but this one seemed particularly "saggy".Dialouge/Sexual Situations/Violence:Star Wars invented language if anything.Dejah is, of course, a gorgeous, beautiful, sexually appealing woman. While I didn't much like his character, Typho was interesting to see (and to see what happened to him). And he does an okay job with it (more later).What really stood out to me, however, was the further depth given to Laranth's character. No one says what happens to Nick Rostu.
Well done.Also, gotta give Reaves a hand for writing two characters not seen much in Star Wars novels: Captain Typho and Aurra Sing. Or someone else. She really gets fleshed out, from being stoic action girl, to a woman who is beginning to develop feelings for Jax.feelings that, unfortunately for her, aren't reciprocated (which makes me want to slap Jax silly.). There are a few lightsaber battles, chase scenes.nothing that great overall.Overall:It's really hard to rate this book for me. Ves Volette, a Caamasi artist, has been murdered.
This is mentioned frequently. The mystery was very so-so and not very interesting at all (though who did it makes a nod at the mystery genre cliches and got me laughing). Jax was still an annoying character whom I wanted to throw across the room. I love how Reaves didn't overwrite her feelings, how he kept it subtle and delicate.
and his twist (his unrequited love for Padme) brought some definition to his character. I certainly don't consider this a terrible book; I adored the subtle changes to Laranth and some discussion of droids and their "sentience". "You're being hunted by the best, Jax"After reading the first one, I realized I had no choice but to read number two.Jax Pavan, LaranthTarak, Den Dhur, and I-Five are back and this time they have a murder to solve. The pacing I felt was rather plodding. People just seem to float for pages on end, not really doing anything that seems all that important and just saying the same things over and over (Typho's quest for vengeance, how Aurra will bring in Jax, finding the murderer of Ves, etc). Also, some of the denizens of Coruscant's underworld could be interpreted as sexual.Ves Volette is murdered and while it isn't gory, he still does die. Not only do you get the mystery wrapped up, but let's also throw in a righteous battle between our heroes and Aurra Sing.I Didn't Like:I just didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one. But there were other parts, such as the weak mystery, that really make me second guess my rating.
And can they solve the crime before Aurra Sing finds and kills Jax.I Liked:This time around, Michael Reaves wrote his novel as a mystery, which is sort of the marketing for this series of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. So, after much contemplation, I think it's fair to rate it 4.5 stars rounded down to 4.Brought to you by:*C.S. Aurra Sing was well done, a cold-blooded killer, yet also half-crazed.Lastly, Reaves knows how to finish off his novels with a bang. I didn't like Dejah Duare, the perfect, sexy Zeltron female (who is, of course, always wearing nice, sexy clothes that make the guys eyes pop out) introduced in the book (gag me already). I didn't hate it, but I felt that it lacked something, that final quality that could have made it a sure thing for me. Light*
What is interesting is that Reaves decided to include the destruction of the Caamasi home world, as it is a Caamasi artist that's murdered. There are a couple of new characters, too, including the Zeltron Dejah Duare (whose name is spelled "Deejah" on the back of the book, for whatever reason) and Typho, one of Padme's late security officers. He eventually figures out that Darth Vader must have killed Padme and sets off to, in turn, exterminate the Dark Lord. I greatly enjoyed the addition of Aurra Sing to the story and greatly enjoyed reading her parts of the book. Darth Vader returns as the main villain, aided by the Jedi hunter Aurra Sing. I found Typho to be a pretty boring character who seemed to know a little too much about every species he encountered.
Jax, Laranth, Den, I-Five, and Dejah all receive a good amount of character growth and the relationships between them continue to evolve (especially between Jax and Laranth). For me, that's the fun of mysteries: following the clues and finding the culprit along with the characters. I think everyone can guess how that turns out: badly. The detective aspect I was waiting for in the first book finally appears in Street of Shadows, but it's a lot weaker than I'd hoped. Most of the characters from the previous novel star in this one. All in all, this book was better than the first one. The main plot just couldn't hold my attention and, perhaps it was just me, but there's no way I would have linked the murderer to the crime before it was revealed. What remains to be the shining beacon (much like in the last book) is the characterization of most of the characters.
Unfortunately, a lot of his portions of the book are spent with him trying to figure out just who killed Padme, which the audience already knows and therefore isn't particularly awed or surprised at the outcome. Ultimately, I was disappointed with this book's predecessor (Jedi Twilight) and hoped Street of Shadows would hold more of the "hard boiled detective" feel this series is advertised as. Oddly enough, though, there's no mention of Nick Rostu. Meanwhile, Vader still wants to find Jax Pavan and has acquired the skills of Aurra Sing, a hardcore Jedi hunter, to help him in his task.
While Vader seemed a little more in character than the previous book, something about him still didn't feel quite right. In fact, the detective side of it was almost boring. Jax and friends set out with the victim's longtime friend, Dejah Duare, to solve the murder mystery. The characters continue to be a joy to read about and Reaves's writing can be engaging at times.
This could have been a very exciting plot.but it wasn't. Jax Pavan, Laranth Tarak, I-Five, and Den Dhur return as our heroes. Typho, one of the late Padme's security officers, is set on finding Padme's killer and getting revenge for her death. Spoilers follow. Again, Reaves thrives at giving personality and character to his own creations, but (again, like with the last book), he falls short at portraying the already established character of Vader. I usually finish Star Wars novels in a week or so, often staying up late to finish them; it took me a few weeks to get through this one.
However, the novel ultimately struck me as being boring and didn't really do anything to develop the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Typho didn't really do much for the story, in my opinion, and will most likely fade into Star Wars oblivion. In some ways, this book was better than the previous one, but on the whole, it was about the same: just average. Aurra Sing was also well done and filled the role of villain quite well. I'm hoping that Reaves will nail the characterization by the last book. There's a third, slightly less important, plot running alongside the previous two.
I'd like to hope the third installment ends up tying everything together and ending with a bang, but I'm not getting too hopeful. Considering this is a middle novel, I don't think it'll surprise anyone that Jax manages to evade Vader's clutches yet again. Considering he played a rather large role in Jedi Twilight, I was hoping to at least discover what had become of him, but I guess everyone has forgotten about him. To begin with, it actually had a plot and explored the detective side of Coruscant the trilogy advertises, albeit not as well or thoroughly as I'd have liked. That fun couldn't be found here. She's a great villain: cool, calculating, tough, dominating, and always on top of her game (or, almost always, as she is seemingly defeated at the end of the book).
Regardless, with the exception of Typho and Vader, Reaves's characterization was the highlight of this novel. 3 Stars
If you're B plot is "oh my goodness Anakin Skywalker is still alive" doesn't it lose all meaning. If this book were just a straight up detective story it would fine unfortunately for it this is a detective story set in the Star Wars universe hence it suffers from the same flaws of all of every entry in prequel fiction. It does not matter that you create characters that people could really like given half a chance and you have a well enough written A plot. It also doesn't matter how good of a writer you are because in the end you are still the poor sucker that got roped into revealing to us another "lost tale" such entries are ultimately useless Why do these authors keep spoon feeding prequel stories and expecting us to be surprised when we have already seen the ultimate resolution.
Having survived the purge, Jedi Jax Pavan now dwells in the underbelly of Coruscant assisting a fledgling resistance known as the Whiplash. Sure, there is a bit of mystery, but it's not really the main focus. Although it's not as good as the previous volume, it is enjoyable. As Jax sets out to find the killer, other seekers enter the picture. While the storyline isn't exactly riveting, it does keep you reading and sets the stage for a final showdown between Jax and Vader in the next book. Bounty hunter Aurra Sing has been commissioned to locate the renegade Jedi and a grieving Captain Typho has set out to avenge the murder of Padme Amidala.Street of Shadows is the second instalment in the Coruscant Nights trilogy. A beautiful woman asks him to help her and her artist partner escape the planet, but before they can, the artist is murdered. That's not to say the book is bad.
The book is billed as a detective story which sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its back-cover blub. Michael Reaves writes with precision (he uses words I occasionally have to look up in the dictionary) and humour (this book contains what has got to be one of the funniest lines in the Expanded Universe). 3.5 stars.
This book was really weak compared to the first one. There was almost no action in this one at all. There was more sitting around and talking than anything; BORING.
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