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| Jedi Twilight (Star Wars: Coruscant Nights I) | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Reaves
Publisher: Del Rey
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $4.03
You Save: $3.96 (50%)
New (35) Used (12) from $3.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 7002
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0345477502
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345477507
ASIN: 0345477502
Publication Date: July 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
With the dark ascension of the Empire, and the Jedi Knights virtually wiped out, one Jedi who escaped the massacre is slated for a date with destiny–and a confrontation with Darth Vader.
Jax Pavan is one of the few Jedi Knights who miraculously survived the slaughter that followed Palpatine’s ruthless Order 66. Now, deep in Coruscant’s Blackpit Slums, Jax ekes out a living as a private investigator, trying to help people in need while concealing his Jedi identity and staying one step ahead of the killers out for Jedi blood. And they’re not the only ones in search of the elusive Jax. Hard-boiled reporter Den Dhur and his buddy, the highly unorthodox droid I-5YQ, have shocking news to bring Jax–about the father he never knew.
But when Jax learns that his old Jedi Master has been killed, leaving behind the request that Jax finish a mission critical to the resistance, Jax has no choice but to emerge from hiding–and risk detection by Darth Vader–to fulfill his Master’s dying wish.
Don’t miss the continuing adventures in the Coruscant Nights series, coming this Fall!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
A Delightfull Return to the Gritty Streets of the Star Wars Universe July 1, 2008
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
I went into this book knowing that I was going to like it because of the characters. I'd been very eager to know the adventures of Lorn Pavan's son, greatcoat-wearing Jedi Knight Jax Pavan, and the further adventures of reporter Den Dhur, snarky droid 1-5, and especially Nick Rostu (originally of Matthew Stover's SW: Shatterpoint, he is one of the main characters here and quite faithful to the original). However, knowing that I was going to like it was not the same as being confidant that I would be able to praise its literary worth.
So I was pleasantly surprised when the prose proved to be deft and dense, sprinkled with Reaves' characterisic vocabulary words ("ecumenopolis", "reliquary"), most of which didn't appear in my Elementary Edition Webster's. Reaves' writing can be either flippant and funny or serious and musing. Sometimes I laughed (or at least sort of snorted) out loud. There were also quite a few sections which boardered on the existential, and some interestingly metafictional passages about humans as the diminant species of the SW galaxy.
There are none of Death Star's half-memorable characters here (although there is another Twi'lek girl, a scarred Jedi of an obscure sect, who at the half-mark could do with some more characterization and screen time in general). The plot moves fast in a similar manner as in Death Maul: Shadowhunter.
It's not perfect: there are some long pasasges without action and some irritating Star Wars-y substitutes for metaphors (ex. "carried like a sack of potatoes" becomes "carried like a pack of Zelosian Moorfruits"), which, in excess, can be too vague, I mean, I know a lot about Star Wars, but I don't know what some of these things they're referencing are. One character, Laranth, got less screen time than she needed to be fully realized, not even contributing to a discussion where everyone else pipes up. I begin to fear that she is the requisite Twi'lek woman of the book.
I already think that this one will deserve an immediate reread, for the thought-provoking parts and for the joyous reunions with Nick and 1-5. It is a book that wonderfully captures the feel of Star Wars, and makes me feel really comfortable in that universe again and to long for it like I haven't since Legacy of the Force came out.
It is an almost needless caveat to say that I loved that Jedi Twlight came out in paperback, so that it was relatively non-bank-breaking for me to buy it. Good on ya, Lucasbooks. You're dead set on parting us fans from our money, but you're giving us some vaping good reading material in return.
Adventurous romp set in the early Dark Times August 1, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
The aptly-named Jedi Twilight, the first book of the Coruscant Nights trilogy by Michael Reaves, is an adventurous, fast-paced romp of a tale that skillfully weaves in many characters and story elements of the larger Expanded Universe. The setting is the largely untapped Dark Times, the eighteen years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The Jedi have been decimated by the infamous Order 66, Emperor Palpatine is consolidating his grasp on the galaxy and building his new Empire, and Darth Vader is growing comfortable in his position at his master's side.
Reaves brings a very intriguing cast of characters to this story. Referencing his own earlier works, the main character is Jax Pavan, son of Lorn Pavan who had the limelight in Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. Happily, Lorn's sarcastic and self-aware droid sidekick I-5YQ returns, bringing along his closest friend, Sullustan reporter Den Dhur. Den was first featured in another Reaves work, the Medstar duology, as was rising Black Sun vigo Kaird, also returning here. More surprisingly, Reaves also grabs Prince Xizor of Steve Perry's Shadows of the Empire fame and tosses in Nick Rostu from the superb Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover. It's definitely an interesting brew of characters.
The storyline primarily focuses on weaving relationships between these disparate people, using a chase for a missing protocol droid named 10-4TO as its focal point. Reaves deftly depicts the grittiness and peril of the less desirable reaches of Coruscant, creating a vaguely film noir atmosphere with what really is a detective story at its core. The inclusion of Prince Xizor and the insights into his ascension up Black Sun's ladder are particularly compelling reading. The sections featuring Vader are brief, and some of his dialogue doesn't seem quite right tonally. Arguably, since this is so early into Anakin's career as Vader, he may indeed have spoken differently from the familiar dialogue we heard in the Original Trilogy. His actions, however, are very much in keeping with his characterization from the films.
Events weave into a gripping climax set in Coruscant's downtrodden Factory District. There is an illuminating foreshadowing of Xizor's humaniform creation Guri in his hidden facility, and Reaves brings an extremely entertaining new concept to the Star Wars universe in the form of feral droids. These regressed droids are the result of programming gone haywire and act as a thematic counterpoint to the heightened self-awareness of I-5.
Jedi Twilight is a fun, entertaining kickoff to a promising trilogy. Reaves does a good job with managing an unusual cast and setting up future books while simultaneously creating a reasonably self-contained story. The book doesn't end with a particular cliffhanger, but through its strong character focus it creates excitement for the second volume in the series, Street of Shadows.
 Sometimes Painful, Sometimes Pathetic, Occasionally Palatable July 6, 2008
6 out of 14 found this review helpful
Reaves's style can occasionally be beautiful, but more often than not, it's about as clumsy as a bantha trying to dance ballet, cliche as that is, and stuffed to the gills with more choppy clauses than good sentences-much like this sentence. It's not hard to write like that, but it can be very, very annoying to read after a short while.
Should you read this book? Sure, if you like spinoffs of spinoffs of spinoffs. Seriously, I just couldn't get into the characters. Even Vader, that great icon of evil, seemed wooden. Jax, more often than not, came off as a stuck up little snot who dashes about from one near death situation to another. The plot seemed convoluted and, at times, conveniently contrived. The vocabulary, too, seemed consciously high, as if to say, "hey, I have a dictionary and I know how to use it."
Some Possible Mistakes
(Please note that the following section contains direct quotes from the book, and therefore, may contain minor spoilers. Continue reading at your own risk.)
pg 20 "We're going in," Nick said, pulling his blaster and stepping quickly through. .... Pg 23-24 "Take `em!" Nick shouted as he leapt forward, drawing his blaster and the troopers' fire.
pg 31 There was little air traf-fic under fifty stories in this sector, so the view was relatively unimpeded.
Pg 226 I-five's response time was just as fast: he had both arms level from the elbows and his hands doubled into fists, save for extended index fingers, like a Naboo child playing kaadu-and-aliens. (Why kaadu? Starwars.com defines kaadu as "swift-footed scaly-skinned wingless avians with strong legs and smooth bodies.")
Pg 270 The device [sic] was designed to recognize his DNA; a slight squeeze of the material between thumb and forefinger would be all that was necessary. ... Nick fingered the section of fabric lightly. 285-286 He hadn't activated the beacon that would summon Vader yet.
Pg 285 The droid wouldn't do anything unless told, he figured, and the bird man was an unknown quantity-although, given that he was cuffed and gagged, probably not much of a threat. .... Pg 322 "Hey," the avian said. "What about me?"
A solid outing July 10, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Jedi Twilight is a solid addition to the Star Wars series. While the writing style is not my cup of tea I cannot deny it is a well crafted book. Michael Reaves is very good at describing the setting but after the slums of Coruscant have been described so many times we get the hint. As a personal preference I don't like books where most of the story happens in characters heads. There is more internal monologue in this novel than fits my taste. It seems most of the conflict is internal; in fact, one character is so internally conflicted he loses touch with the Force. However I can see where this psychological based writing would appeal to some. While this would only be a 3 star book for me I think it is definitely worth any fan's time and a 5 star read if you enjoy spending a lot of time in the characters' heads.
 One of the greatest Star Wars novels Ever! July 9, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I got this book thinking that I was picking up another boring unreadable prequel novel. I was very wrong. This one of the greatest Star Wars novels ever written, and I have read quite a few. A good thing is you have a reasonable amount of main characters (unlike the Legacy of the Force books that had WAY too many characters and had to wait 60 pages to read about the interesring ones). The book hardly gets boring and their are many surprises. The only problem is that i'm only 14 so the many big words had me reading the dictionary every 15 minutes. Other than that tiny problem I loved this book and will get the next 2 in the trilogy as soon as they come in.
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