By George & Josh Bate
After nearly 50 years of Darth Vader captivating and haunting audiences across six films, multiple television shows, books, comic books, video games, and more, one could assume that filmmakers and authors have exhaustively covered the life and times of Star Wars’ most iconic character by this point. Countering this assumption with the first Darth Vader-centric novel in 10 years is author Adam Christopher, whose latest work Star Wars: Master of Evil sheds newfound light on the dark Lord of the Sith’s tormented psyche.
Master of Evil takes place shortly after the events of Revenge of the Sith and in the midst of Charles Soule‘s Darth Vader comic series for Marvel Comics. After securing the lightsaber of Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a, Vader journeys to Mustafar to bleed the kyber crystal and forge his red lightsaber. The ritual gives Vader a glimpse into the untapped potential of the Force and provides hope that he can resurrect his beloved Padme. As Palpatine commissions Vader on a mission to investigate rumors of a Force-wielding shaman capable of raising the dead, Colonel Halland Goth, the head of Palpatine’s Royal Guard, is tasked by the ISB to spy on Vader during this mission and report back to Palpatine.
Author Adam Christopher follows his work on Shadow of the Sith, the Luke and Lando tale that bridges the original and sequel trilogies and ranks among the very best Star Wars novels of all time, with another impressively written literary adventure. With two Star Wars novels under his belt, Christopher has quickly ascended to be one of our favorite Star Wars authors working today. The writing of the New Zealand-born author unfolds so seamlessly, easily, and even poetically at times. Christopher writes in a manner that gives his work a cinematic scope and scale, making you feel like you’re watching a thought-provoking movie vividly unfolding in your head. There are seldom, if ever, moments in which Christopher’s writing becomes convoluted or it becomes unclear how the plot is developing, such is the crispness and intentionality of his authorship. He possesses an uncanny ability to know exactly when to dive deep into details, explanations, and exposition and, conversely, when to let his novel flow without being bogged down by unnecessarily descriptive language. Christopher also introduces all sorts of new concepts into Star Wars canon which we found fascinating, including hyperspace anchoring, transferring droids’ consciousness, and a ship that can change its internal architecture.
Christopher employs his range of writing skills to craft a Star Wars novel that subverts expectations in regards to its narrative focus. With Darth Vader’s unmistaken helmet gracing the cover and the publisher’s summary previewing Vader’s hunt “for the secrets of life and death,” many readers will, understandably so, approach Master of Evil as a novel focusing on and told from the perspective of Vader. But the book doesn’t unfold so simply. In an unexpected move, Christopher pushes Vader more to periphery of his story in favor of the novel’s true protagonist – Colonel Halland Goth. With the exception of a handful of chapters told from Vader’s perspective, the vast majority of the novel follows Goth, whose personal and professional motivations position him in close proximity to the Sith Lord. The relatively few chapters that are told from Vader’s perspective largely focus on hallucinogenic visions as Vader reckons with his inner turmoil, bereavement, and pursuit of abilities some would consider to be unnatural. This isn’t to deter fans from reading Master of Evil, but, rather, much like the recently published Star Wars: The Last Order, to encourage prospective readers to adjust their expectations prior to starting the novel.
Despite Goth serving as the story’s focal point, Master of Evil makes extensive use of Darth Vader. Through the eyes of Goth and various other characters, Vader is described as an intimidating, elusive figure. It’s the early days of the Galactic Empire and no one, other than the Emperor himself, really has a firm grasp on what role Vader occupies and who he really is. This is not the first time we’ve seen Vader depicted at a distance like this, with characters in awe of his presence and threat, but Christopher’s writing restores the horror and terror Vader evokes that is often absent, or at least subdued, in other stories.
Master of Evil also offers novel insights into Darth Vader’s motivations that retrospectively enhance the original trilogy. Without delving too deeply into spoiler territory, the story defines, perhaps more clearly than ever, just why Vader remains loyal to Palpatine and the Empire despite Padme’s tragic death at the end of Revenge of the Sith. For many, this has always felt like a bit of a weak point in Vader’s characterization, something Christopher seems to be aware of in depicting the character’s tormented psyche here. The revelations may not be groundbreaking or all that surprising, but they certainly add nuance to our understanding of Vader’s enduring commitment to the dark side.
A core component of Vader’s enduring loyalty to Palpatine is the “promise” that his master will one day teach him a way to bring his deceased wife back to life. But Vader isn’t the only character fascinated with cheating death. Our lead Halland Goth finds himself in a precarious situation in which he has been diagnosed with a terminal and painful illness, which creates an interesting parallel between his journey and Vader’s. Having a protagonist quickly encroaching on death’s doorstep imbues Master of Evil with urgency and stakes, and also quickly fosters empathy for and investment in Goth from the reader. Given his illness and extremely close proximity to Palpatine, Goth is a unique and compelling lead, one who doesn’t necessarily follow the traditional redemptive arc seen numerous times in previous Star Wars stories. It’s through Goth’s relationship with his trusted droid TC-99 (aka Nines) that Master of Evil finds its emotional core, so much so that the desire to speed through chapters dedicated to other characters emerges just so we can rejoin Goth and Nines. Few Star Wars novels across Legends and current canon have actually made us tear up, but Master of Evil certainly did by the end due to Christopher’s strong character work with Goth and Nines.
Despite effectively hitting the emotional beats, however, Master of Evil goes somewhat awry in its final act. A number of new characters (one of which is a fan-favorite and surprise inclusion in the novel) are introduced later on and begin to play disproportionately large roles, at the detriment of focusing on Goth and Vader. The story seems to be pulled in too many directions with too many characters in this third act, although the strong writing and high stakes ensure investment in the novel never declines. The ultimate conclusion, meanwhile, resolves the main theme of resurrection/cheating death rather underwhelmingly and fails to live up to the intrigue surrounding this theme that Christopher so effectively builds throughout the novel.
That being said, the prominence raising the dead plays in Master of Evil creates unexpected thematic unity across various recent Star Wars stories. Twenty years ago, Revenge of the Sith introduced the idea of cheating death in the opera conversation between Anakin and Palpatine. Six years ago, The Rise of Skywalker resurrected Palpatine without much of an explanation, something subsequent stories like The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian have started to ameliorate. And, of course, just a few weeks ago, news of a canceled Ben Solo movie emerged, which would have seen the fan-favorite character played by Kylo Ren brought back from the dead. Collectively, this theme/plot point has quietly popped up all across Star Wars recently and, when zooming out and looking at the series from a more overarching standpoint, gives Master of Evil added importance and connection to other stories. It’s so interesting that, two decades after George Lucas brought up the idea of resurrection, Star Wars is finally following on Anakin and Padme’s discussion more wholeheartedly.
VERDICT:
Adam Christopher follows Shadow of the Sith – one of the best Star Wars novels of all time – with another impressively written literary adventure. Crafted with seamless and cinematic writing from Christopher, Master of Evil subverts expectations in pushing Vader more to the periphery in favor of a new protagonist, Colonel Halland Goth of the Imperial Royal Guard. The story that ensues largely flows from Goth’s perspective, with only a handful of chapters told from Vader’s viewpoint, something that readers should keep in mind order to adjust expectations ahead of reading. Despite this pivot in perspective, Master of Evil makes extensive use of Darth Vader, restoring the horror and terror of the Sith Lord, and offers novel insights into his tormented psyche. In particular, the book retrospectively enhances the original trilogy in explaining, more clearly than ever, just why Vader remains so loyal to Palpatine and the Empire after Padme’s death. The theme of resurrection and raising the dead plays a significant role in the novel, both through Vader and through Goth, the latter of whom struggles with a terminal illness that fosters interests in cheating death that parallel Vader’s. Through Goth and his droid TC-99, the novel finds its emotional heart (and even made us cry, a rare feat for a novel), although the final act goes awry by introducing too many new characters and unsatisfactorily resolving the main theme of resurrection. That being said, the prominence raising the dead plays in Master of Evil creates unexpected thematic unity across various recent Star Wars stories, connecting to the likes of The Rise of Skywalker, The Bad Batch, The Mandalorian, and, most of all, Revenge of the Sith in finally examining the ability to cheat death (something George Lucas introduced 20 years ago in that infamous opera scene) more wholeheartedly.
Star Wars: Master of Evil is available November 11, 2025 wherever books are sold
