alexdg1's Full Review: Terry Brooks, R. A. Salvatore, Matthew Woodring St...
It's hard to believe that over 10 years have passed since Del Rey and Lucas Books released the hardcover edition of Terry Brooks' novelization of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, perhaps the most anticipated - and perhaps least popular - of writer-director George Lucas' space-fantasy saga set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."
That book, which Del Rey sold with four differrent dust jackets, sold very well, becoming a New York Times' Bestseller during its first week in stores and staying on the list for several weeks even after many fans railed against the movie on which it was based.
Over the next six years, Del Rey and Lucas Books would follow up Brooks' novelization with those by R.A. Salvatore (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones)and Matthew Stover (Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith).
Oddly enough, even though Del Rey has issued omnibus editions of the Classic Trilogy since 1983, the publisher most associated with Star Wars novels waited for the 30th Anniversary (2007) to release a similar Prequels Trilogy volume.
Whether this was a business decision or a reflection of the Prequels' less-popular status in the eyes of fans, I am not sure. Nevertheless, on May 1, 2007, Del Rey finally got around to publishing the Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy omnibus edition, which contains the following novels:
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace:
Released about a month before the movie, Brooks' novelization of Lucas' screenplay gave fans more than a sneak peek at the story of the Prequel Triliogy which told the dovetailing narratives of how a former slave named Anakin Skywalker became a Jedi hero and how Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.
Working from a draft of The Phantom Menace's screenplay which was later pared down and Lucas' original story, Brooks expanded the story outward a bit and added four chapters of pre-movie material showing a bit of Anakin's life on Tatooine before the arrival of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padme Naberrie to his owner's junk shop in Mos Espa.
Of course, Brooks also includes the story elements - good and bad - that we saw in the film, including the meeting between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jar Jar Binks, the whole messy political scene of a corrupt Senate ripe for the plucking by the evil Sith, the blockade of Naboo by the greedy Trade Federation, and the inner workings of the Jedi Council.
The fact that the novel did sell well even though the movie was - unfairly, I think - bashed for not being Star Wars enough is a credit to Brooks, who is best known for his Sword of Shannara fantasy, and his ability to craft a story around a screenplay.
The book is reasonably well-written and adds a modicum of depth to Lucas' characters and story. It's in this novel that I learned how many Jedi Knights there were at the time (10,000) and the origins of the modern Sith Order, and it's here, too, that Anakin's gift of seeing his future is best revealed.
The only weak point I can complain about is that this novel introduced the feminine diminutive "Annie" for Anakin; when the diminutive is said in the films, the DVD subtitles show it as "Ani." Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones:
R.A. Salvatore, author of several New Jedi Order novels (including the series' first entry, Vector Prime) became the first Star Wars author to write a film's novelization when he was assigned to adapt Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
Released in hardcover a few weeks before the film's release, Salvatore's novelization of the screenplay by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales not only tells the story contained in the final film, but also adds three chapters of backstory establishing Anakin's emotional turmoil and Padme Amidala's inner struggle to find balance between her official duties as Senior Senator from Naboo and her growing awareness of a need for a more personal life.
Set 10 years after Anakin Skywalker's departure from Tatooine with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the novel begins with a prologue in which Anakin has a nightmare. It begins with images of something the young Jedi Padawan longs for...the presence of family and friends...and especially the company of his mother, who he has not seen in a decade. But the dream -- or is it a Force-vision? -- quickly turns ghastly when his mother's image turns into a garish crystaline figure and shatters. When he wakes up, sweaty and out of breath, he's forced to focus on his current assignment with his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is to settle a dispute on the planet Ansion (which is described in full in Alan Dean Foster's The Approaching Storm, a prequel to Episode II).
Anxious and unsettled, Anakin wants to complete this mission quickly so he can go back to Coruscant and seek guidance, but not from his Master or any of the Masters at the Jedi Temple...but from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.
Meanwhile, Anakin's mother Shmi is now no longer Watto's slave and happily married to moisture farmer Cliegg Lars. Although she is now free and loves both her husband and stepson Owen, she misses Anakin and wonders if he did, at last, become a Jedi. The chapter describing her new life on the Lars homestead sets up both the relationship between Owen and his girlfriend Beru Whitesun (who, of course, will be Shmi's grandson Luke's guardians in the future). Salvatore's expository chapter gives both depth and context to the later scenes involving Shmi and Anakin.
After another brief chapter of backstory, from Chapter Four on Attack of the Clones focuses on the events at the heart of the film.
Ten years have passed since Senator Palpatine's election to the Supreme Chancellorship, but despite his promises to reduce corruption and restore confidence in the Republic, things have become worse. The Trade Federation and various other special-interest groups have joined a secessionist movement that has enticed several thousand systems to leave the Republic.
Led by the charismatic Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master, this movement is gathering more momentum with each passing day, and Palpatine's negotiations are going nowhere. As the secessionists grow stronger and bolder, hawks in the Senate are pushing for the Military Creation Act, which will, for the first time since the founding of the Republic, set up a centralized army to assist the limited numbers of Jedi Knights. However, moderates such as Bail Organa of Alderaan and Padme Amidala of Naboo believe that such a move will result in open civil war.
When Amidala rushes back to Coruscant to vote against the Military Creation Act, her official starship is destroyed by an unknown assailant and her decoy Corde is killed. Alarmed by this incident (or so it seems), Palpatine urges the young senator to accept tighter security. When Amidala tries to object, Palpatine insists that she be guarded and suggests to the Jedi Council that she be placed under the protection of the Jedi...and he knows exactly who to assign:
"Perhaps someone you may be familar with...an old friend...like Master Kenobi."
For Obi-Wan Kenobi, the unexpected assignment is simply limited to the protection of the Senator. For Anakin, however, it becomes the catalyst for both renewing his relationship with the woman he loves and to yet again defy his Jedi Master. They openly argue, bringing to the fore the restlessness and impetuousness of the young Padawan.
Then a second attempt is made on Amidala's life, and both Jedi Master and apprentice head off in desperate pursuit of the deadly bounty hunter Zam Wessel...a chase that will only be the first phase of a long and perilous search for clues that will reveal who is behind the attempts on Amidala's life. Attack of the Clones is a return to the classic Star Wars format, with its exotic locations (the cloners' watery world of Kamino, the hostile desert environment of Tatooine, the factory planet of Geonosis with its huge termite-mounds, and the dizzying cityscape of Coruscant), chases, spaceship fights, romance, and, of course, a climactic lightsaber duel. Attack of the Clones features both familiar characters from The Phantom Menace, including a reduced yet crucial (if rather unexpected) role for Jar Jar Binks, and such new characters as Count Dooku, Cliegg Lars, and the fearsome bounty hunter Jango Fett, whose genetic material is being used to make the clones that will become the Grand Army of the Republic. Boba Fett, the equally ruthless bounty hunter seen in the Classic Star Wars trilogy, is introduced in Episode II as Jango's only unaltered clone.
The novel format has the advantage that expository material can be inserted without the constrains of "running time." Readers can for instance, learn why Palpatine manages to serve despite having passed his term limit in office, or "meet" Padme's family in a sequence that was written and filmed but deleted from the final film.
Salvatore has the advantage of having written Star Wars material before, and his skillful melding of backstory, use of deleted scenes, and great story-telling abilities make this adaptation work.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith:
More faithful to the structure if not the whole screenplay by George Lucas, Matthew Stover's Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith concludes the Prequel Trilogy with a novelization that's more into the personalities and the emotions of the characters than the standard-issue space battles and lightsaber duels that we come to expect in Star Wars movies.
Yes, it follows Lucas' screenplay thematically and gives readers the plot of Revenge of the Sith without adding four chapters' worth of backstory. From the fierce battle above Coruscant that leads to Chancellor Palpatine's "rescue" from Gen. Grievous to Anakin Skywalker's long-expected transition from Jedi hero to the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader, Stover covers the basic story points of the final movie - I'm not counting 2008's Star Wars: The Clone Wars as one of the Episodes - of the Star Wars saga with nicely done characterizations and in-depth explorations of everyone's motivations and emotions.
Though Stover was clearly working from a screenplay which was being constantly revised, he does an excellent job at tying up the various plot strings left dangling by both Brooks and Salvatore while making the novel his own. He injects subtle references to the earler novels - and keeps the awful "Annie" diminutive - but he also outdoes Lucas himself by fleshing out the "seduction" sequence where Palpatine reveals his Sith persona and finally snares Anakin into his web of deception and betrayal.
The only weak point I can find is that when you have three different writers telling different Episodes of a single storyline, their distinctive styles can often be distracting. Salvatore's style tends to be similar to Brooks' so the first two novels seem more linked in tone; Stover tends to emphasize moods, insights, and motives over action, even though his fight scenes are exciting and well-done.
For the first time in one stunning volume, here is the complete, epic story arc: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Ex...More at HotBookSale
For the first time in one stunning volume, here is the complete, epic story arc: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Ex...More at HotBookSale
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