Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

Darth Maul is the merciless apprentice of evil and one of the legendary Sith. He is a twisted member of an order given over to the dark side of the Force. Darth Maul is the champion of the nefarious Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. Darth Maul is a legend sprung to life from the nightmares of history, about to be unleashed in an all-new tale of intrigue and mystery, set just before the events of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.

Darth Sidious has been waiting in the shadows for years, and is now taking the first step in his master plan to bring the Republic to its knees. He meets secretly with his Neimoidian contacts in the Trade Federation to plan the blockade of the planet Naboo. However, one member of the delegation is missing, and Sidious suspects betrayal with his Force-honed instincts. He orders his apprentice, Darth Maul, to hunt the traitor down.

Lorn Pavan, an information broker, is on Coruscant, the capital city of the Republic. The Neimoidian moves quickly to sell what he knows to the highest bidder. For Lorn Pavan, the deal is too good to pass up, and he grabs it. He is unaware that he has now earned a place on Darth Maul's hit list, right behind the Neimoidian defector himself.

Darsha Assant, a young Jedi Padawan, stands on the verge of ascension to Jedi Knighthood. A single mission will be her test, but a greater test awaits her. In the labyrinthine alleyways and sewers of Coruscant's own dark side, she will cross paths with Lorn, who is fleeing from the Sith stalker. Lorn carries with him crucial information that must reach the Jedi Council at all costs.

Darsha and Lorn hold the future of the Republic in their hands. But how can an untried Jedi and an ordinary man, stranger to the powerful ways of the Force, hope to triumph over one of the deadliest killers in the galaxy?

Nute Gunray discovers the disappearance of his second-in-command, Hath Monchar, the Deputy Viceroy of the Trade Federation, aboard the Trade Federation freighter Saak'ak. At that moment, Darth Sidious contacts Gunray, making intervention impossible. The Dark Lord of the Sith questions Gunray regarding the missing Neimoidian. Gunray lies and tells Sidious that Monchar is sick, but the Sith Lord sees through the deception. After the conversation ends, he dispatches his apprentice, Darth Maul, to find the missing Deputy Viceroy.

Meanwhile, Jedi Padawan Darsha Assant is preparing for her final mission before becoming a Jedi Knight. She is tasked with going to the Crimson Corridor in the Zi-Kree Sector of Coruscant. Her mission is to retrieve a former Black Sun employee named Oolth the Fondorian, who is willing to exchange information about the recent reorganization in the upper echelons of the criminal syndicate for protection from the Jedi Order. Upon locating Oolth, their transport is attacked by thugs, preventing their escape. Darsha defeats the attackers, but they are forced to use a zip-line to reach the Jedi Temple on top of a building. During their ascent, hawk-bats attack, causing Oolth to fall to his death just as Darsha reaches the top of the building. Aware of her failure, she conceals Oolth's death from the Jedi Council, confiding only in her Master, Anoon Bondara. Bondara agrees to keep Oolth's death a secret until they can confirm it by finding his body. They return to the Crimson Corridor and, despite not finding Oolth's body, they conclude that he is dead, assuming scavengers have already taken his corpse.

Darth Maul locates Hath Monchar and learns that the Neimoidian sold a Sith holocron to Lorn Pavan and his protocol droid partner, I-5YQ. This holocron contains information about Darth Sidious's plans to destroy the Jedi Order and seize control of the Republic. Maul executes Monchar for his betrayal by decapitating him with his lightsaber, and then sets out to find Pavan and I-Five to prevent them from revealing the holocron's contents to the Jedi Order.

Darsha and Bondara encounter Pavan and I-Five while returning to the Jedi Temple, just as Darth Maul is pursuing them. Bondara confronts Maul, allowing Darsha, Lorn, and I-Five to escape. Master Bondara sacrifices himself by detonating Maul's speeder with his lightsaber, giving Darsha, Lorn, and I-Five time to escape.

After a long chase through the depths of Coruscant, battling Cthons, a Taozin, and other dangers, the group is once again found by Darth Maul. Assant engages Maul in combat while I-Five freezes Pavan in carbonite to protect him. Following a large explosion initiated by Darsha, resulting in her death, Darth Maul senses no life in the warehouse and believes all his targets are dead. He returns to his master to report his success.

Pavan is thawed out and begins hunting Maul. He manages to ambush Maul using a taozin nodule, but is tricked into giving the Sith Holocron to Senator Palpatine, who is secretly Darth Sidious. Palpatine claims he will give the Holocron to the Council and sends Pavan to a hospital. Pavan has his arm cut off by the Sith Lord just as he is taking the Holocron.

In the end, Maul confronts Pavan privately in the hospital, and decides to grant him a quick death for his worthy challenge. Pavan's last thoughts are of his son Jax. Maul leaves, mission accomplished.

According to The Essential Reader's Companion, a reference book from 2012, the events of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter occur in 32 BBY. This places it after the novel Cloak of Deception (2001) and before the Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace novelization (1999).

• ISBN 9780345435392 ; January 30 , 2001; Del Rey ; US hardcover [1]
• ISBN 9780345435415 ; November 27 , 2001; Del Rey; US paperback [2]
• ISBN 9780307795694 ; June 28 , 2011 ; Del Rey; US eBook [3]
• ISBN 9780593497050 ; August 2 , 2022 ; Del Rey; US paperback, The Essential Legends Collection edition [4]