Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This novel got to me in a way that I didn't think a novel could; let alone a Star Wars novel; let alone a Star Wars novel based on one of the movies;let alone a Star Wars novel based on one of the PREQUEL movies.
The sole reason I purchased this book was on account of Matthew Stover's name being attached to it. I had recently jumped back into Star Wars novels thanks to his book, SHATTERPOINT. Up until then, as I've mentioned before, I had only perceived the Star Wars line of books to be marketable pieces of fanfiction (no thanks to previous experiences). But thanks to Stover, I came to believe in Star Wars again. He showed that there can be some ruthlessness in that realm, and that there is some room in the Expanded Universe for deep, philosophical musings about the ever-present clash between light and dark.
I found that book just shy of a five-star rating because of a few gratuitous action scenes and some hang-ups I had with character development and pacing.
His novelization of REVENGE OF THE SITH, however, not only came to fully deserve a five-star rating, but also developed to become one of the best, if not THE best, novels I've ever read. Again, I realize how silly that might sound: that a novelization of a Star Wars movie could accomplish such a thing. But I couldn't be more sure of it, because this novel is more than a mere interpretation of a screenplay, it serves the core-story to an extent that if I had read this book before seeing Episode III for the first time, I probably would have felt cheated by the amount of content that had all but disappeared in translation.
I don't think I have to recap the story as, essentially, the main story-arc remains the same as the movie. But as I said, it expands on this to an insane degree. Characters, like Count Dooku, who really only seemed evil for the sake of evil, now have motive, fears, ambition. Every turn of emotion and every betrayal seems more devastating because of this exposition. Even Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who we've followed through three movies, seem almost alien as we completely rediscover who they are, what motivates them, and exactly how close they were to each other. The pair actually feel as though they're brothers-in-arms here, not the squabbling pair they came off as on film.
Some scenes are extended and pack more of a punch. One particular addition that I was mesmerized by came just before Palpatine reveals his true identity as Darth Sidious, where he tells a troubled Anakin that he can give him anything he wants in the galaxy. Anakin playfully begins naming off anything from an expensive speeder to an entire star system, and Palpatine, without hesitation, grants all of these things purely to prove a point. Scenes like this worked so well on paper that I haven't the foggiest why they didn't make an appearance in the movie.
And, yes, I would certainly say this book is better than the movie it's based upon. It goes so far as to transcend the Star Wars canon itself, providing such entrancing moral dilemmas and philosophical thoughts that, at some points, these thoughts leap off the page and make you wonder their context within our own universe: the frail divide between good and evil, relativity, and giving in to tradition.
Again, this is a Star Wars book.
I must also mention the writing, because Stover has a natural gift for making the reader feel what his characters are feeling. He tells this story from many points of view so that this vast story is properly covered, and he tells it all with the exuberance of a narrator of a tragic play. He allows you to see through the eyes of the characters, and takes you aside to really point out key moments in their lives. And when the end comes, and Darth Vader dons his trademark armor for the first time, there is no "Hey, look, it's Darth Vader!" moment, there's only the pity and sadness for a boy that you've come to know and care for who had flown too close to the sun. And he sums it all up perfectly in a way where you come to understand Vader so much more intensely:
"This is what it's like to be Anakin Skywalker, forever."
I must fiercely recommend this to any Star Wars or Stover fan. The way this book reads, it's as if you've missed out on half of the movie--the good parts--and you will come to know some of your favorite characters in a way that you didn't think possible. [SPOILER]: Mace Windu's death will actually shock you! Yeah! And if you've read SHATTERPOINT, it will most certainly sadden you.
I have two more Stover/Star Wars novels left to go. Here's hoping he doesn't stray too far from that universe, because it's in desperate need of him. May the Force be with us all.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Star Wars: The Dark Lord Trilogy: Labyrinth of Evil Revenge of the Sith Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Star Wars (Random House Paperback))
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