Star Wars: Master of Evil
By now, a huge number of novels based on the ”Star Wars” universe have been published, with many of those excised from any sort of canon after Disney bought Lucasfilm. However, a new canon has been built, with a difference - unlike the previous “expanded universe,” where books had a kind of limbo presence where they rarely if ever stood in the same canon as the films, this new canon is absolutely in league with the movies. and the latest of these is Adam Christopher’s novel “Master of Evil.”
As any keen fan of George Lucas’ universe will recognise, “Master of Evil” is a book about Darth Vader, or at least it appears to be (the title is taken from a line said by Ben Kenobi in the original “Star Wars”). The cover features a fearsome painting of Vader as a kind of spectre, but I’d say this is kind of misleading marketing. It’s taken from the book, but the strange thing is that Vader isn’t the main protagonist.
“Master of Evil” opens with a prologue featuring Count Dooku and his battle droids as they excavate a kind of Force temple from a distant planet on the orders of Darth Sidious. Dooku transports it to an experimental ship that can change shape to accommodate its cargo, and then we flash forward to not long after the events of “Revenge of the Sith,” where we meet Halland Goth, the commander of the Emperor’s Royal Guard, the crimson-robed guys everyone remembers from “Return of the Jedi.” Goth is summoned by an ISB agent who gives him an unofficial assignment from the Emperor: trail Darth Vader on his latest mission and report back.
Goth is the real protagonist of the book, and is immediately set up as a character who has very exacting standards of loyalty, but tends to skirt the legality of things. For example, his faithful droid TC-99, a protocol droid Goth modified to accept cartridges fearing the matrices of other droids with different skills. This means ”Nines” can take on the role of a slicer or a commando droid, although the kicker is that some are so strong that they threaten to take over his personality completely.
Goth is also desperate to get into COMPNOR, a clandestine group dedicated to defending the new Imperial regime by any means necessary. The ISB agent he meets is a member (she has a special ring) and he sees this mission as his way in. He’s also dying of a crippling disease that means he’s also interested in Vader, specifically the technology of the suit that keeps the dark lord alive.
Vader’s mission is to find a temple and a resurrectionist shaman, which is the same one from the planet Dooku visits in the beginning, and there’s a power there that Vader wants, as well as the shaman. This is where Vader’s desire to bring people back to life comes in, specifically Padme, who of course died in “Revenge of the Sith.” Complicating things further are the wife and daughter of the shaman, the former of which is dead set on killing Vader in revenge for the shaman’s death.
“Master of Evil” is an entertaining and solid piece of work that would probably be better served if it had a different title and cover. The character of Goth is compelling, and it’s nice to peer into the world of the mysterious Royal Guards, even if it’s very brief. I liked TC-99, and while the cartridges seemed convenient at times, the concept of his being taken over by other personalities helped. That said, it feels like a robot cliche, and reminded me of Data and Lore in the last series of “Star Trek: Picard.”
I love the idea of places in the galaxy that have the Force but aren’t Jedi or Sith, so the temple plot was very interesting. I liked the subplot with the wife and daughter okay, and it was cool to see Vader interacting with people in other ways than bisecting them with his lightsaber. It was also neat to see clone troopers show up, with the 501st assigned to Vader’s mission.
And onto Vader himself. This is Vader just after he was born so he’s still reckoning with his powers and his emotions. It’s interesting that Vader is instantly plotting against the Emperor, which ties into the bigger themes of the book about loyalty, and to whom his real dedication lies.
The book delves into Vader’s psyche and his obsession with Padme, as well as his feelings of hate and need for power and how they drive him. I enjoyed these and they were what I was really here for - I guess I was expecting a deeper dive. Vader comes across as a real monster of a figure, and he’s written well, as are the other characters.
Christopher’s prose is quickly evocative and pacy - I finished the book in two days. I enjoyed it a lot more than his previous book from a galaxy far, far away - 2022’s “Shadow of the Sith“ - and it felt more roundly satisfying.
”Master of Evil” is fascinating at times because it shows us Darth Vader through different eyes; as a Jedi, a leader, a servant, and a monster. I wish it went deeper into his psyche and spent less time with some of the other characters, but that’s probably a failing of mine. Overall a solid book that’s worth a read, although not one of the best in the saga.
