This is one of the best Star Wars novels out there--and for how hit-or-miss the EU can be (yes, "can"--I refuse to call it "Legends" and consider it "dead"), there are some really good books within it by which to make such a comparison.
Stover adds layers and shading to the story of Revenge of the Sith, expanding on characters' emotions and motives where the film did not--likely due to time constraints. His writing might not be everyone's cup of tea: some have called it "flowery"; I'd call it "lyrical" or "poetic". He has a flair for similes and metaphors and weaves something almost like a horror story while utilizing grandiose descriptions and phrases that are syntactically pleasing. He prodigiously uses third-person omniscient perspective, delving into pretty much everyone's head at one point or another, to greater or lesser success.
The book isn't without flaws. He does reference the EU quite a bit, which might be difficult if one hasn't delved too deeply into it or doesn't care for it. Occasionally his descriptions of lightsabers are unappealing at best--"a bar of light," for example. His attempts at humor or extraneous details are at times ill-placed:
Example 1: Obi-Wan's coming 'round while rescuing Palpatine; being slung across Anakin's shoulders, he wakes up to a view of Anakin's rear and slowly realizes what he's looking at. This is different from the film, and seemed an unnecessary change--if only because it takes place during an otherwise tense "action sequence". Even as an attempt at humor, I think it would have felt out-of-place almost anywhere.
Example 2: Anakin senses that Obi-Wan's been in Padme's apartment, and also smells that some kind of broth or tea has been served. Stover takes this moment to add that Obi-Wan's severely allergic to said broth / tea and that his finding this out the hard way almost caused a diplomatic incident. The issue with this scene is that Stover, at the same time, is trying to flesh out what's implied in the movie--that Anakin (in his hyper-possessive / paranoid state) suspects his wife is having an affair with his former Master. As with the "butt" scene, this jars the reader out of the emotional suspense that the preceding paragraphs have built.
This having been said, these details aren't always amiss; some do indeed add to the story--or tug at the heart. Mace Windu's explaining to Obi-Wan why he's the perfect choice to fight Grievous, or Obi-Wan's having an inward-spiraling breakdown when he realizes that Anakin's gone to the Dark Side (going so far as to wish he'd died on Naboo with his Master, Qui-Gon)--before Yoda snaps him out of it. As for Anakin's inner "dragon", I simply took it to mean "Krayt dragon"--or something similar. It's an overused metaphor, which does grate on the nerves, but . . . at least Stover's trying to illustrate the idea that there are two parts to Anakin--and one of them is something he's not sure he can control (and, indeed, over which he does lose control as the novel progresses). These details may or may not resonate with readers; for myself, I found them immensely impactful.
One further point of critique is that the book ends too quickly. If you thought the ending to the film was rushed, the book is worse. I wanted Obi-Wan's reaction to hearing about Qui-Gon's "return"--especially since Stover had hitherto done an excellent job of basically doing a psychological study of his character. I wanted a little more world-building when it came to getting everyone set up for A New Hope. But these matters are concluded in a series of short paragraphs, no more . . . and given how much lovingly painstaking detail went into the rest of the book, I felt a little bit let down. It almost felt as if the publishers said to Stover, "You must end the book within X number of words" . . . and he didn't save enough to do the end justice.
But all-in-all--this is one of my favorite Star Wars novels, despite its flaws. I think said flaws are at times miscues on the author's part, and at times simply a matter of reader's preference in terms of writing style, etc. Of course the book won't be exactly like the movie, no more than a film adaptation can be exactly like the book. But in my mind, Stover did a pretty darn good job.
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Reviews with images
Wow
This. Book... wow. I highly recommend it to ANY Star Wars fan. It gives so much depth to all of the characters and so much more insight on Padmé and Anakin’s relationship. I love how it lets us in on how and why Count Dooku was the way he was. I love how it’s shows us how much Anakin really adored the Emperor. It made me love ROTS movie even more than I already did. (It’s my favorite Star Wars movie). I’m only half way through but I can tell it’s just going to get better and better and it’s only going to make the end of the book that much harder (emotionally) to read lol
Top reviews from other countries
Sara Andrade
Probablemente cambió mi vida para siempre
Reviewed in Mexico on September 2, 2022
Sara Andrade
Reviewed in Mexico on September 2, 2022
Para empezar: la libertad creativa, la voz absoluta del autor. Nunca he agradecido tanto el estilo de un autor en un libro de este tipo. Sobre todo porque sus inclusiones son geniales. Inicia diciendo, advirtiendo al lector: "This story happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It is already over. Nothing can be done to change it". Wow. La tragedia, la atemporalidad, la contextualización. El poema sobre la oscuridad: "The dark is generous. The dark is patience". Increíble. Terrible. Lo amo. Y cuando, en el primer capítulo dice: "A pair of starfighters. Jedi starfighters. Only two. Two is enough". ¡El pathos! ¡El peso! Quiero besarle el cerebro a Stover. Es poético y preciso. Con tres palabras "two is enough", te dice todo lo que necesitas saber sobre Anakin y Obi-Wan.
Ahora: la caracterización de nuestros protagonistas. El Obi-Wan de Stover es increíble. Un ser de absoluta luz, un receptáculo perfecto para el poder de la Fuerza, noble y puro y precioso. Sus diálogos, su conexión con la Fuerza, su compromiso por Anakin... ¡Y Anakin! El dragón que vive en su corazón, sus miedos, sus pesares, la gravedad de sus sentimientos, por Padmé, por su maestro, por si mismo. Mace Windu es perfecto. Yoda es perfecto. Palpatine es lo peor que me ha pasado en la vida y Stover lo caracteriza perfectamente. ¡La pobre de Padmé! (Y ni hablar de que pudo haber sido un excelente personaje y le tocó la mala fortuna de ser la madre/amante muerta de los protagonistas...) Incluso los diálogos de C3PO y R2-D2 son perfectos.
Toda mi copia de Kindle está subrayada y anotada. Cada página me decía algo importante, algo clave para entender el terrible desenlace de la vida de estos personajes. Sus motivaciones, los deseos de su corazón. Y descritos de una forma tan preciosa y clara y, honestamente, citable. Siento que mi cerebro no va a poder superar esa parte de: "There is not other Jedi I would rather have at my side right now. No other man". Literal tengo tatuado en mi cortex frental la parte que dice: "This was not Sith against Jedi. This was not light against dark or good against evil; it had nothing to do with duty or philosophy, religion or morals. It was Anakin against Obi-Wan. Personally. Just the two of them and the damage they had done to each other". En mi tumba necesito esta cita grabada en la piedra: "The man he faced was everything Obi-Wan had devoted his life to destroying: Murderer. Traitor. Fallen Jedi. Lord of the Sith. And here, and now, despite it all... Obi-Wan still loved him"
¡Vamos! ¿Quién escribe eso para una novelización? Solamente Matthew GODring Stover. Grité, lloré, me levanté de mi asiento, desesperada. Este libro es una experiencia, realmente.
En fin.
Este libro es el equivalente a, no sé, El Quijote de la Mancha del mundo novelístico de Star Wars. Stover es como el Shakespeare del canon de este mundo. Incluso otros autores han comenzado a referenciarlo, posicionándolo al centro de este canon. Dioses. Podría decir que es uno de mis libros favoritos, pero no quiero pecar de ñoña, así que nada más les dejo esta reseña inflamada en Amazon.
10/10, recomiendo altamente.
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Blackacnologia
This is the 4-hour cut of the movie we need
Reviewed in Germany on February 7, 2024