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Just finished it. I can definitely say that I enjoyed it immensely. I admit I was a bit apprehensive buying it, after getting burned by pretty much every recent Star Wars book since I got back into the EU with Shatterpoint, I was really hoping I made the right choice. I did. I will definitely be reading the next few books, although from the preview for the second, I hope it doesn't get too dragged down. I can't even begin to say how enjoyable this was.

I'm just going to post a few observations/comments of mine, in no particular order.

The Good:

-Continuity. As a big continuity guy, I really enjoy stuff like this, and this was packed with references to just about everything. We see the start of Xizor's interest in human replica droids and his acquisition of the Stinger; we learn why Palpatine originally built the Coruscant construction droids (to repair the damage from the Separatist attack on Coruscant - and a hint that they were the basis for the World Devastators?), we even get Nomi Sunrider and Arca namedrops. I also like to think that Vader's threat to Nick was the reason for the Empire destroying Haruun Kal as mentioned in the Guide to the Force. The rumor of the labor prison on Despayre was also a good nod. The reference to Den Dhur and I-5 running into R2-D2 and C-3PO had me smiling, also.

-Also, did anyone else get the feeling that the Far Ranger is supposed to be the Millennium Falcon, before it gets all dinged up and worn down?

-The feel of the book. Definitely a noir sensation to it. The search for the droid was a classic MacGuffin right out of The Maltese Falcon. All it was missing was a sultry dame.

-Den Dhur and I-5's witticisms.

-The comment on sex change operations at the front was one of the only times I can think of that alternative sexuality is raised in Star Wars.

-I really loved all the references to other science fiction works. IE, the 'Arak Dunes', Kars Kothos, the positronic brains, etc.

-The feral droid bit was interesting.

The Bad:

-The dating. At one point, it's said to be two months after Order 66, and another time, it's said to be around a year later. Also, at one point Den says that he and I-5 got on Coruscant just before the end of the Clone Wars, and another point it's implied that the Tantive IV smuggled them on after the Empire was formed.

-The stuff with the Whiplash and Gray Paladins. This isn't necessarily 'bad' per se, they were interesting concepts - they were just introduced, and things never went anywhere with them. It seemed like there was no real reason for Laranth to have been a Gray Paladin; it didn't really add anything to her character, was never really brought up again, and seemed like a way to just make her more 'uber'. The same with the Whiplash. So there's a resistance group on Coruscant formed of former Jedi and army officers...and then it basically has nothing more to do with the plot.

-I didn't like how everyone seemed to know everyone else. Jax just happened to know Anakin, Laranth, and Nick; Nick just happened to know Xizor and Even Piell; Den just happened to know Rokko. It was contrived. Also, I won't say 'Gary Stu', but having Jax show up for the first time, never mentioned before, only to have him suddenly be revealed as one of Anakin's closest friends, close enough to receive magic gifts from and to be told Anakin's secret view on Obi-Wan...That also felt unnecessary.

-I can understand and kind of accept the part with the droid being nothing but a decoy (even if it ties into one of my complaints down below) but it still didn't seem to fully click for me. Too many loose ends, I think. I would have preferred it to be something to do with the Death Star plans or Ghorman or Caamas or something along those lines, and for Xizor's failure to capture it (or doing so and Vader then snatching it from him) leading to the start of his feud with Vader.

-Jax not only knew about Sidious, he also knew that Sidious was "under the same roof" as the Jedi, and seemed to imply that he knew it was Palpatine. It's bad enough that he knew about Sidious at all (I don't recall many Jedi knowing about him) but the rest is just ridiculous.

-This is an admittedly small gripe, but I wish that the medical specialist mentioned at the end of the book that Nick is sent to turned out to be one of the MedStar characters.

The Ugly:

-Maybe I'm just dense, but was it ever explained, at all, why Vader was so fixated on Jax Pavan all of a sudden, in light of everything else we know him to be focusing on at this time? I ended the book just a few minutes ago and thinking back I can't imagine why, and this is a major plot point to be kept so vague. Was it the jewel Jax had at the end? That seems a really stupid reason.

-Several times in the book, Nick refers to himself and Kar Vastor as Balawai. Reaves obviously read Shatterpoint, so there is definitely no cause for him to have made such a big mistake like this.

Now, if it seems like I had more bad stuff than good, I didn't intend it to come out that way. I guess those just stuck on my mind more. It was a very good book and I'd recommend it, and those who know me know that it's not often I say that about Star Wars books. If you haven't read Shatterpoint, MedStar, Shadow Hunter, or Shadows of the Empire, I wouldn't worry about it, you can still understand everything perfectly well.

Oh, and Depa Billaba is not mentioned once in the book, and it's not mentioned what Kar Vastor's final fate was.

If anyone wants to know something about the book feel free to ask.