De acordo com as novelas oficiais, não há nenhuma indicação especial de que Qui-Gon deliberadamente se permitiu ser morto.
Na Junior Novelisation, é notado que Qui-Gon Jinn estava lutando tanto quanto Obi-Wan já viu. Dado o número de conflitos em que eles estiveram, podemos supor que isso é muito difícil:
The Sith Lord wasn’t wearing a helmet; it was only the light of the laser walls on the black of his tattoo. And Qui-Gon was fighting more fiercely than Obi-Wan had ever seen him fight before. Yet the feeling persisted: That should be me out there, not Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan shook his head again. Won’t these laser walls ever come down again? - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: Junior Novelisation
Na principal novelização, o narrador onisciente deixa bem claro que Qui-Gon está tentando strongmente matar Maul:
Qui-Gon pressed hard in the beginning, sensing how dangerous this man was, wanting to put an end to the combat quickly.Long hair flying out behind him, he attacked with ferocity and determination. Obi-Wan came with him, following his lead. They had fought together before, and they knew each other’s moves. Qui-Gon had trained Obi-Wan, and while the younger Jedi was not yet his equal, he believed that one day Obi-Wan would be better than he had ever been.
So they challenged the Sith Lord quickly, and just as quickly discovered that their best efforts were not good enough to achieve an early resolution. They settled into a pattern then, working as a team against their enemy, waiting for an opening. But the Sith Lord was too smart to give them one, and so the battle had gone on. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: Official Novelisation