A review by justthatstarwarsbookgirl
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy by Jason Fry

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

Okay, so this review will be a little differently organized than my normal book reviews but this one is the best I can do for this book, sort of sorted into things I enjoyed in the book/didn’t enjoy and/or Pros and Cons of the book as well as Interesting Tidbits, Noticeable or Notable Items or Facts. Nothing’s in any particular order, just as I could think of it as it occurred to me after I finished my read, maybe in relation to how much it bothered me in my memory or how soon after I read it in the book where it occurred: 

Most of these are Cons:  
  • Bo Katan’s parting line “Maul must want you dead” excluding the “really” which made the line so funny in the first place. I feel like potentially because Hondo’s sentences with their wording were so accurate in the beginning of the book that the author (Jason Fry) might’ve just gotten lazy near the ending of the book with completing the quotes so accurately every time with every word. 
  • Satine’s last words completely being changed. That REALLY got me messed up. Instead of telling Obi-Wan she loved him she told him some garbage jargon about “always remaining true to your beliefs and yourself”. Like Obi-Wan didn’t need her help by stating that in the show, he remained true to his Jedi beliefs without being told to by her, which I believe shows that he’s stronger in the Show rather than this Adaption because he didn’t need somebody to tell him to stay true to his beliefs, he just did. 
  • The confusion of the Mandalorian history as described by Pre Viszla, as far as I know most of that history not commonly being known/perhaps being mainly Legends novels/comics and material (such as even a die-hard fan like me currently didn’t know the details YET (due to not reading many Legends books yet) of The Mandalorian Crusades being allied with the Sith or that the Mandalorian-Jedi War being the one that decimated the planet to vast expanses of desert throughout its bombing campaign. I had to physically look up a timeline online and some extra details to comprehend those facts and explanation in this book.) I also didn’t know that Mandalore still had some forests on its surface. By the time period of “Star Wars: Rebels” they make it seem like they have absolutely nothing but the desert. Perhaps it’s true by that time in the timeline that the forests are gone as well. 
  • The fact that they never explained or even stated that Bo Katan is Satine’s sister, only hinted that those two specifically had a past was also very bothersome. 
  • The ending of the book being so abrupt feeling and unresolved in my opinion. 

Most of these are Pros/Neutrals/Interesting Facts or Notices: 
  • The explanation about Anakin and the Ship / aka The Twilight being space worthy behind the scenes was great. Anakin tried to tell him, but he was in such a hurry to rescue Satine because he was so worried that he left before listening.  
  • There was a decent inclusion of the explanation of the behind-the-scenes Episodes of Savage’s creation, the finding and transportation of Maul and the healing and new mechanical legs of of Maul from Mother Talzin included in the book, which was actually pretty crucial to the storyline. I thought the summary was mediocre at best. 
  • The interesting idea of Adi Gallia being the one to find out about Naboo’s Invasion and being a close friend of Qui-Gon’s overall, and her death mainly hurting Obi-Wan because of that. 
  • I like that they included Bo-Katan’s Helmet’s Visor design description, the name and inclusion of her army of “Nite Owls” (her hand-selected warriors) and finally WHERE they get the name “Nite Owls” from and the look and details of the Visor on their helmets, a species of bird that resides in the planet’s forests on the surface and sing/call out into the Night. 
  • I liked and enjoyed the inclusion of Korkie Kryze, described as a teenager but almost  a young man now rather than being only a teenager in Season 2’s Episode ARC. 
  • I enjoyed that they included the Mandalorian’s hair colors usually being red or blond for some reason, such as Korkie’s being a combination of reddish-blond and Bo’s as red with her traditional gray headband, as seen in The Mandalorian Disney+ Show throughout as well worn by her, and Satine’s as styled formally/fancy and blonde. I found it funny how Bo thought and mentioned through her thoughts that it was convenient as they tried to rescue her that they at least put her/dressed her in her jail cell in one of her sensible fancy outfits (pants and a shirt rather than a dress) and not a super elaborate ruler’s/Duchess’s outfit like she usually wears in the other Episodes she stars in in other Seasons of the Series, such as Season 2. 
  • I personally believe that Korkie Kryze is Bo-Katan and Pre Viszla’s son and that’s why she was so upset when he died, because they were more than lieutenant and leader, I got that vibe from watching it and it would make sense for Korkie under the title of Satine’s “Nephew” as well as his red (Bo-Katan) and blond (Pre Viszla) hair, and that she sent him to be raised as a Diplomat under Satine/possibly hid him from Viszla so he’d have a better life under her, although I know many fans believe Korkie isn’t really Satine’s “Nephew” and is truly her and Obi-Wan’s child.
  • The inclusion of the name of Maul’s combined army of Hutt Mercenaries, Black Sun Criminals, Pyke Spicers, and Death Watch Mandalorians as being the “Shadow Collective”. It coincides and makes very good sense with the chapter book/Adaption Collection’s title “Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy” and I also never knew the exact name they called themselves as his army so it was nice to learn. 
  • The super interesting mention of Siri Tachi although she isn’t canon anymore. Also the fact that Siri Tachi sort of complicates the romance between Satine and Obi-Wan as Siri was another love-interest of Obi-Wan’s in the Jude Watson Chapter Books as far as I know. 
  • Loving all the mentions of Satine and Bo Katan’s father and Satine’s growing up on Coruscant for Diplomatic Schooling and Education compared to Bo’s Upbringing, including the details of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s original mission to protect her and transport her back to Mandalore from her Coruscant diplomat schooling because she was her “Clan’s/People’s Last Hope” as the book states. I especially love the inclusion of these details and the mention of Satine and Bo’s father due to the new Mandalorian Disney+ Series, in which Bo-Katan briefly mentions her father to Grogu in Season 3 during his training. It’s also interesting that all these years later it appears Bo is actually her Clan’s/People’s “Last Hope” as the last of her line and the true rulers of Mandalore. 
  • I found it interesting that Satine states something along the lines of “maybe someday if Mandalore finds peace again somebody will remember the name of Duchess Satine Kryze” and later on in the animated TV Series “Rebels” Sabine Wren nicknames her weapon for the Empire (which turns Mandalorian armor against its wearers and destroys them) “The Duchess” after Satine Kryze (Bo-Katan picked up on the hint), as far as I know that’s the only way I’ve ever heard her name remembered and that’s certainly not the way she’d want to be remembered as killing her own people and aiding the Empire. 
  • Every part with Hondo, his character and every repeated line being so accurate as well as his pirates and their greedy characteristics but :( they didn’t get no treasure 
  • The explanation of how Maul and Savage escaped in the Pod but weren’t discovered, because Maul set the ship on a strict course and then hopped in an escape pod although he was injured on his mechanical leg. 
  • The brief mention of a character described to look exactly like the original Kenner Star Wars “Blue Snaggletooth” 3.75 inch action figure due to his Alien species being Snivvian and “blue jumpsuit”. 
  • The mention of so much Legends material and lore, including Maul’s Legends training and extremely cruel childhood/upbringing and smaller missions before Naboo under Darth Sidious as described in other Scholastic books I’ve also read such as “The Wrath of Darth Maul”. It makes me want to reread that book in particular so I know the details of those missions and those characters and their familiar names from those smaller missions that I’d forgotten. 
  • The inclusion of Mustafar as a Falleen/Black Sun base and the mention of Sidious’s old base there (that was used with the Force-Sensitive children in another Clone Wars ARC) 
  • The fact that the book was split into four consecutive and simple parts/pieces and categories making it easier to read as a whole book/Episode ARC Adaption Summary. But I didn’t like how short some of each parts were sort of. 

Overall, this book was fairly enjoyable, at the same time slightly irksome. I believe I had more fun playing with the fact that my book was a paperback copy and the crisp pages than reading the actual story itself half of the time (as weird as it sounds). The first three parts were great, exactly as described and the same exact plotline/storyline and details as the Episodes themselves, but in the fourth part the author (Jason Fry) totally took free reign and changed quite a few (I’d almost say a ton) of lines and quotes that I found pretty important in my opinion and should’ve stayed the same. That kind of ruined the entire whole book for me in the fourth and final part, ruining the complete other three parts of the novel. It’s sad to see it go like that so that I only have to give it a 2 star review but I guess that’s how it’ll have to be rated for me. The changing of those quotes bothered me THAT much. I’m sorry Jason Fry, but that to me was a huge mistake, however I love all of your other Star Wars works I’ve read so far!! You’re a Star Wars writing Legend in my personal opinion!! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings