Back in the day, anytime I mentioned my love for the Coruscant Nights series, inevitably, somebody brought up the fact that certain well known Star Wars commentators shit all over these books.
That always stuns me for a few seconds, then I realize those guys are clearly jackasses.
But it has been a while since I read the initial trilogy that this book is a sequel to (it also caps off the series)…could those dippy jackasses possibly have a point???
I say we dive in and find out!
You know the drill, gang, this is your official ***SPOILER ALERT***
Set after Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi Order, we find Jax Pavan as he’s transporting the head of a Rebel cell called Whiplash off of Coruscant (renamed Imperial Center by the recently risen Empire) when Vader attacks their ship and kidnaps the leader, killing one of Jax’s best allies in the process.
That kicks off a story of espionage and backstabbing that leads to Pavan starting down a road no Jedi wants to be caught on, much to the chagrin of his 2 remaining companions, former Journalist Den Dhur & near sentient protocol droid I-5YQ.
The ability certain authors had to create a series all their own within the Star Wars novel line that was wonderfully distinct in a multitude of ways is definitely one of the things that helped me grow to love Star Wars as much as I do, and Reaves is one of the best on that front.
Almost every SW novel he wrote, whether he wrote them with Steve Perry or Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff or not, built upon the work he had done in the previous.
And with this series specifically he told a tale that I’m pretty sure most SW fans have always wanted, but had never really been covered until this series, of a Jedi on the run after the fall.
There’s a great uncertainty in the story that feels like a mix of a pulpy spy novel, a dash of noir detective, and just a pinch of political thriller.
In a way, it feels like Reaves & his Co-Author Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff took the best parts of The Clone Wars cartoon and strained them through the time period to produce a novel that is rock solid and ready to play with the best toys.
One of the saddest things for me about the death of the EU is that novels like this and John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi were taking great care to incorporate the changes and influence of The Clone Wars.
There are a few nods to the new canon that was introduced in that show as well as the long established novel canon, though neither is mentioned in intrusive ways that bog you down and make you feel like you need to stop reading and go watch 100 episodes or read 19 other books to understand.
All of that care, and yet they were lost in the EU purge nonetheless.
Anytime I start nearing the end of a book I love, it almost always brings about a wave of sadness.
Mix in the fact that not only is this the final book in the Coruscant Nights series, it was Michael Reaves’s last Star Wars novel and the penultimate novel of his career.
For those wondering, this dude was an incredible writer whose work included Batman: The Animated Series, the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon, Gargoyles, Tiny Toon Adventures, 8 other Star Wars novels, and so much more, before he was forced to retire due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Jax Pavan, Den Dhur, and I-5YQ are all among my favorite Star Wars characters because they are incredibly well thought out, have distinctive voices, and tremendously interesting histories and potential futures.
It’s a damn shame that we’ll most likely never see them again, but I’m glad they’re still out there.
For a bit more about this novel and it’s continued influence to this day, check out my recent post about the similarities between this book (and series) and the story of the Jedi: Fallen Order video game HERE!
Let us know what you think of this review in the comments below or share this post on Twitter with the Hashtag #TNBBookReview.
Special thanks to @ACFerrell1976 for her continued editorial assistance.
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