Listen free for 30 days

  • Shadow Hunter

  • Star Wars Legends (Darth Maul)
  • Written by: Michael Reaves
  • Narrated by: Sam Witwer
  • Length: 10 hrs
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (94 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Shadow Hunter cover art

Shadow Hunter

Written by: Michael Reaves
Narrated by: Sam Witwer
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $43.86

Buy Now for $43.86

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For the infamous, power-hungry Sith, beholden to the dark side, the time has come to rise again.

“Full of lightsaber battles, the Jedi philosophy, and lots of new life-forms.”—Chicago Sun-Times

After years of waiting in the shadows, Darth Sidious is taking the first step in his master plan to bring the Republic to its knees. Key to his scheme are the Neimoidians of the Trade Federation. Then one of his Neimoidian contacts disappears, and Sidious does not need his Force-honed instincts to suspect betrayal. He orders his apprentice, Darth Maul, to hunt the traitor down. 

But he is too late. The secret has already passed into the hands of information broker Lorn Pavan, which places him right at the top of Darth Maul’s hit list. Then, in the labyrinthine alleyways and sewers of Coruscant, capital city of the Republic, Lorn crosses paths with Darsha Assant, a Jedi Padawan on a mission to earn her Knighthood. 

Now the future of the Republic depends on Darsha and Lorn. 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?

©2011 Michael Reaves (P)2022 Random House Audio

What the critics say

“Reaves writes with a creative flair, allowing readers to experience an almost cinematic sensation as they move through the story. The language is colorful, the action scenes are dynamic, and the dialogue is realistic.... Shadow Hunter is a very good Star Wars novel that reads as easily as a comic book.... Reaves does an excellent job.”—Winston-Salem Journal

What listeners say about Shadow Hunter

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    75
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    77
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • ZS
  • 2023-02-16

Excellent production

there was an older version of this that was essentially unusable as an audio book, this more recent production has transformed it and I was happy to see it was consistent with the darth plagueisis books story line as well

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What a Performance!

This was a great story, and perhaps an even greater performance by Sam Witwer! Shadow Hunter told a story that can stand on its own two feet, as well as serve as a prelude to Star Wars episode I. I loved the new characters added such as Lorn Pavan and Darsha Assant, and it was amazing to hear Darth Maul voiced by the actor who voices him in the Clone Wars. I think Sam Witwer should narrate more Star wars books - specifically the Force Unleashed novelizations.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Pretty dumb

Way too many characters. what should have been a very condensed story about Darth Maul hunting someone half of it is about irrelevant characters who will obviously die and aren't interesting. Half the time I feel like I'm listening to a completely different book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Book!

This book is pretty amazing and the performance is one of the best! My one and only major or minor issue depending on how you feel about it is Sam Witwer’s pronunciation of Twi'lek (Twhy-like), it kinda really bothered me. But besides that i would and will listen to this book a lot more times. It’s pretty great!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My fav, fav, fav Star Wars story

I had read this book two or three times before. It is without a doubt my favorite Star Wars novel.

A very brief word on Star Wars. There are the Star Wars sequels and then there is all of the other Star Wars content. Re: the sequels (Rey et al), I pretend didn’t happen. They’re terrible stories that have ruined Star Wars for the generation of fans who made Star Wars. The Mandalorian and Ashoka are doing their best to save this once-incredible and deeply loved franchise.
There, I said it and I feel better. I now can continue with my review.

Shadow Hunter is my favorite SW expanded universe novel for several reasons:
- It tells a tight and exciting story and feels and reads (and sounds) like Star Wars. This novel has terrific characters, the right amount of scoundrel, droids, humor, and lightsabers.
- It is hugely atmospheric. In your mind’s eye, it feels like you’re on Coruscant delving into the lower levels.
- The story builds out the expanded universe without impacting SW canon and most importantly, adds flesh to the bones of characters in the movies that are untreated. Before any of the Clone Wars, the author gave you a wonderful insight into the mind and motivations of Darth Maul.

A quick word about the production and narration of the Shadow Hunter. They’re both amazing! The book gets the full treatment. Lightsabers hum, blasters blast, and Williams’ beloved scores are used to great effect. The narrator, Sam Witwer is an actor/voice actor from the SW family. Among other voices, he’s the man who gives voice to Maul in the Clone Wars and the Han Solo standalone movie. His voice acting is superb in every way. When you put the production and narration together, when you close your eyes, it feels like you’re at the movies. It’s that well done.

One quibble with the Reaves. He likes to use big words when other more common words would do. For example, “vespertine shadows.” Really, “vespertine?!”. Needless to say, when I first read the book years ago, I had to look up several words. Most people just roll over such language when reading/listening, but because I had read so many SW books and this is the only book where I felt my grad degree vocabulary was hugely inadequate, I thought I’d mention it.

That gripe aside, if you’re SW fan, you will love, love, love this story. Five stars all around from me. Enjoy!


Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Can we have more Sam Witwer please!?

The narration was amazing! Sam Witwer is the man!
He is bang on with all the character voices and he does such a good job of conveying the intensity of the story. More Sam please!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tense and Personal

Fantastic! Witwer does not only bring Maul to life but he also- to my surprise- does a fantastic Qui-Gon, Yoda, and Mace impression. His Obi-Wan voice leaves more to be desired but it would be foolish to expect him to perfect James Arnold Taylor's work. I have been on an endeavor of searching for Star Wars novels focused on espionage, political and biblical thrillers and horror and I can confidently say Shadow Hunter delivers on all those aspects. Reaves and Witwer beautifully convey a crime-ridden, space-mafia-controlled Coruscant underbelly where our protagonist; including Maul, have to constantly look over their shoulders while being pursued and pursuing each other. This perfectly fills in the gap from the Plagueis novel where Sidious sends Maul on missions to test his worth and throughout the story you have to root for Maul as well as against him. This reminded me of the Obi-Wan Kenobi show where we are focused on Leia, Obi-Wan, NEDB, and Tala while Vader is pursuing Kenobi, only, in this case, we consistently follow Maul as he desperately pursues his prey and- just like Vader- is desperately trying not to fail Sidious.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Witwer voices Maul!

Loved everything about this, VA of Sam Witwer is reason enough to buy this imo

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, great narrator(obviously)

It was a great listen, especially after just finishing plagueis. Recalling psrts of this book briefly mentioned in that book. Tying the story together. Sam Witwer was amazing as Mail of course but I was also impressed with his other character voices. He does an amazing Qui gon jinn. 10/10. A little biased as Maul isy favorite character

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Review of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

Loved it! This story has always been a favorite of mine. The experience is greatly enhanced by the creepy atmosphere given by Sam Witwer's narration. You can tell that he was giving his all and loving it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!