Maul: Lockdown

Darth Sidious sends his apprentice Darth Maul undercover as a prisoner who committed murderer to the space penitentiary Cog Hive Seven. His mission, is to find an arms dealer and make a deal for a nuclear bomb. Cog Hive Seven is no ordinary prison. The inmates are pitted against each other in fights to the death, which can be viewed from anywhere in the galaxy, and people can place bets on the fights. Maul must discover the identity of his contact while fighting for his life in the random bouts, and he has been instructed not to use the force. He cannot give away he is a Sith Lord.

I won a copy of this book from the Goodread's First Reads Program*. This was very exciting for me, because I am an avid Star Wars fan. The Star Wars universe is one I enjoy revisiting, and the stories about the Sith are often some of the better ones. I did not enjoy this book as much as I typically do a Star Wars book. It seemed like a generic science fiction story that had characters and names from Star Wars. Some of the words and goals seemed more consistent with our world than the Star Wars universe. I did not feel like I had entered the world of Star Wars.

I had hoped to learn more about Darth Maul while I read this book, and that sadly did not happen. The story was very much about what was happening in the moment, and did not really develop Maul's character. Maul's non-force skills were impressive, but I was left wondering why I was reading about a character who is driven by rage and his force ability, if he was not going to use them at all?

The book went on much longer than it needed to. The end of the book was much more interesting than over half the book. A story should engage the reader long before this one did. Overall, I would recommend reading a different Star Wars book.

*The Goodreads First Reads program does not require winners to give a review. Winners are encouraged to review the book, as the authors and publishers offering the books for free are trying to get the public interested in their book. If a review is given, it is not stipulated that it should be positive or negative, only an honest review. Winning this book does not change the nature of my review, it merely provides me with early access to this book.