Cloak of Deception or Shadow Hunter? Unofficial debate.

Which of the two was the better lead-in to Ep. I?

I'm about half way. I loved both. Cloak of Deception was awesome. I loved Cohl and the focus on Qui-Gon and the Senate. The action was well written and we saw some of the Jedi Council in action. It had a great plot and kept you on your toes.

On the other hand. Shadow Hunter had more action. Maul was a great character and we got some insight on him. I loved Reaves writing style esp. the way he wrote scenes from several POVs. It gave you a great look at how each chararacter reacted to things. And I5-YQ. Why could 3PO be more like him? It was really funny when he talked back to Pavan. Esp the mating rituals comment.

Last thing. Could we avoid Medstar spoilers? I know it was written by Reaves, but it has only been out a week and many still haven't read it.

 

To summarize

Cloak of Deception is an introduction to Darth Sideous and the methodry of the Jedi to resolving disputes. In my opinion it's very much the "adult" lead in (despite the bad language of DM:SH)

Shadow hunter, while awesome intro to Darth Maul gives largely no idea of what exactly the politics involved and at stake are here.

 

For me it be Shadow Hunter because it had more action and it showed more of Darth Maul not to mention Lorn Pavan and I5. However Cloak of Deception was a very good book too.

 

In my opinion. CoD is the better lead-in. Not only to the politics and machinations of the Ep. 1 time-frame, but also the smaller touches, such as Jorus C'Baoth, Vergere, and Tarkin. CoD goes a long way in establishing alot of things in the GFFA.

 

Which is a better book? Not sure, probably SH. Which is a better lead-in? Certainly CoD. It dealt with the events which lead to Ep 1, in all facets; SH dealt with one facet, which wasn't very important. (It just means the Jedi arrive 2 or 3 days later, when some random trader stops and calls Coruscant.)

 

SH and CoD lead-in quite differently, so I'd rather say both, since they come together with TPM to form a more complete picture than any of them alone.

 

They're the only two PT books so far that I enjoyed reading. I'll read CoD again before I read LoE next February.

CoD was the better lead in novel though.

 

I don't have time for a detailed explanation, but . . .

Cloak of Deception: masterful, mature, a whopping of a finale you never saw coming. Intricately worded political dialogue, the Judicial Lancet we later saw in CW1: No End in Sight, action, cameos.

Shadow Hunter was longer than it should have been, because scenes were repeated by different characters. Very little of Maul was revealed, other than the odd snippet. Oh great: another protocol droid. And if Maul had to win in the end, well, it was the "way" he could have done it. Surprise the reader with a last-minute twist that just made him avert losing to passive Assant.

 

To see if this debate thread can have debate.

Writing scenes from multiple perspectives. Good or bad?

I liked it as I said above. Did you?

 

Maul was interacting with Monchar, shadowed by Linn. He engages Linn, is forced to seek cover from the wrist rocket she fired. Next scene shows Linn's pov, same events.

Before that, they were taking turns for Linn and Maul to walk around the city. Otehr times, the Cthons and underdepths of the city, same scenes from Pavan's and Assant's pov.

It's all repet-et-et-itive.

 

I liked both books but I thought Cloak of Deception was the better lead in. However I liked in Shadow Hunter how it showed multiple points of view.

 

COD is the best prequel novel so far, and SH is quite enjoyable. These two books actually made me appreciate TPM better.

 

Cloak of Deception is, without a doubt, the better lead in, and I still marvel about that wicked twist at the end. However I absolutley adore DMSH for it's characters. It's one of those books where you want to scream at them and try and stop them. "What are you doing Darsha! Go to the temple! Don't turn the speeder around!"

 

Cloak of Deception is, without a doubt, the better lead in, and I still marvel about that wicked twist at the end. However I absolutley adore DMSH for it's characters. It's one of those books where you want to scream at them and try and stop them. "What are you doing Darsha! Go to the temple! Don't turn the speeder around!"

My thoughts exactly. both are superb novels. CoD is a little bit better, though.

 

I liked both, but I think CoD is a better novel.