Star Wars: Master of Evil Book Review (Spoiler-Free)

Master of Evil follows Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire months after the Jedi Purge. Palpatine trusts a Commander with one of the most dangerous tasks in the galaxy.

The article contains no spoilers from this book’s story. The book releases in text and audio format on November 11. We received an early copy for review.

This book isn’t illustrated; the images are just for reference.

Capturing Darth Vader’s essence

Master of Evil is a mixture of many elements. You have Palpatine and his eternal schemes, people from a strange and apparently primitive planet, ancient technology sought out by many, remnants from both sides of the Clone Wars, and the dark side of the Force. An odd combination, but it gets more interesting as you progress through the story.

There are many loyal Imperials involved, though all of them belong to a different branch, meaning that they have their own agendas. It’s always interesting how they work “against each other” while still having a common goal.

Moff Gideon and the Shadow Council from S3 of The Mandalorian

The story takes place in the same year that the Galactic Republic ceased to exist. There’s no Rebel Alliance or anyone who can defy the Galactic Empire. Just like in Tales of the Empire or The Bad Batch, the Empire does as it pleases without anyone to object.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a small planet or a giant corporation; everyone bends the knee to the Empire, especially when it’s Darth Vader giving the orders.

It’s important to point out that while the title and cover are obviously referring to Vader, he isn’t the character with the most appearances in the book. That spot goes to the Commander of the Royal Guard and his loyal droid. Emperor Palpatine himself has chosen him for a very special and dangerous job.

At first, he looks like most high-ranking Imperial officers: a devoted follower of Palpatine with a boring personality who proved his worth during the Clone Wars and earned a promotion when the Empire was created.

In reality, he’s a more complex man with his own secrets, yet he is fully devoted to the Empire and incorruptible. His character changes very slowly with each chapter that goes by.

In a sense, he’s very similar to Syril Karn from Andor. The man truly believes that the Empire wants to bring order and justice; that’s why he’s so committed to it. It’s funny that he reminds me of Syril because I could swear that the ISB Supervisor who recruits him is based on Dedra Meero.

There are a few more characters who join the story later. The only thing they have in common is that their purposes are directly or indirectly related to Darth Vader.

Adam Christopher did a great job at capturing Vader’s unpredictable essence. There wasn’t a single time when I could predict Vader’s action with confidence. Sometimes, he was cruel, while at other times he showed mercy.

I believe that the reason behind this is that Padmé is still very present in Vader’s mind. His humanity hasn’t been completely buried by hate and pain, but it’s very close to reaching that point.

Even if Vader wasn’t present at all times, when he appeared, every scene and sequence revolved around him. He could be completely silent and still project all that power, which is exactly how Darth Vader must be written.

A close-up shot of Darth Vader from Star Wars Episode IV

I understand that working with a character like Vader must be incredibly hard because you have to do justice to his essence, but I still wanted to have more of the Sith Lord.

Something’s missing

As I mentioned before, there are many elements that are mixed in this novel. However, they never blend completely. Like oil and water, they are “together” but not mixed. That was a bit disappointing because it had a great start and many possibilities popped up in my head, but in the end, nothing more came out of it.

I have a few criticisms. The first one is that some things become irrelevant. The best example of this is how someone figures out an important truth about Darth Vader, and that is never mentioned again. It’s odd that such a thing is discarded so easily when, in other stories, people have been killed for learning this intel.

Last but not least is the fact that the climax was very underwhelming. The story, while slow, never gets boring. Everything is building up at a slow but consistent pace, so I expected to have a very explosive moment, but that never happened.

Don’t get me wrong, there are good moments full of tension, action, and suspense, but nothing that makes me say “This is the best moment of the book”. In my opinion, it’s related to what I mentioned about many elements not being fully blended together.

While I liked the plot and all the characters involved, a part of me is sad that it ended too abruptly and without giving many explanations.

Listening to the audiobook

Attempting to recreate James Earl Jones’ iconic work as Darth Vader’s voice is a tremendous task. I was very curious about how Marc Thompson would do, but I’m happy to say that he did a good job. His Palpatine impression is also spot on.

Thompson tends to exaggerate in scenes that don’t require it. This is not an issue for me because I enjoy hearing someone who’s dedicated to his art, but it’s still important that I mention it for those who might find it annoying.

For other audiobooks, narrators have to do the voices of all characters; as a result, there are some funny or even awkward results, but that didn’t happen here. Two female characters who many fans love appear very briefly, but their voices are performed by a female voice. It’s not the biggest deal, but it helps to keep the immersion.

The sound effects were great as always. The music chosen for it was ok, a few scenes would have benefited more with more intense tracks, but that’s just me nitpicking. Overall, it was a fun experience.

Final Thoughts

Master of Evil is a good story, especially if you like Darth Vader and the Empire. It reveals a bit more of how the Empire was organized a few months after its creation. The characters are well-defined and relatable.

It was great to see Vader face something that wasn’t rebels or other Imperials for once. His essence as the Emperor’s relentless enforcer is captured perfectly. Even if he wasn’t the main focus most of the time, this made his important moments more entertaining.

However, it’s unlikely that this story will change how you see Darth Vader. There’s a side of him that is explored in Master of Evil, but some comics do the same in a better way.

This entire review as well as the summary in the review card below are all based on our own opinions as fans of the franchise. We would love it if you shared your thoughts.

Full Title:

Master of Evil