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moonprismbooks's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
When I decided to read the novelization for TCW movie, I did not expect it to make me emotional, but here we are…
A fantastic novelized version of the movie! I really enjoyed my time reading this. It felt very much of an “in the moment” read like an actual battle. You were going from one part of the action to another with a turn of the page or on the next paragraph. It kept my mind in the reading zone for it well!
I really loved how the author gave us more of an insight into the thoughts of all the characters. Anakin was thinking to himself about why couldn’t the Jedi buy Shmi out of slavery had me so sad. Seeing Rex’s POV about the Jedi, Anakin, his fellow clones, etc. was so interesting. It made me like his character even more! Also really liked diving into Ventress and her thoughts of why she hates the Jedi.
I highly recommend this one!
A fantastic novelized version of the movie! I really enjoyed my time reading this. It felt very much of an “in the moment” read like an actual battle. You were going from one part of the action to another with a turn of the page or on the next paragraph. It kept my mind in the reading zone for it well!
I really loved how the author gave us more of an insight into the thoughts of all the characters. Anakin was thinking to himself about why couldn’t the Jedi buy Shmi out of slavery had me so sad. Seeing Rex’s POV about the Jedi, Anakin, his fellow clones, etc. was so interesting. It made me like his character even more! Also really liked diving into Ventress and her thoughts of why she hates the Jedi.
I highly recommend this one!
lizziesmoon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
xakyr's review
3.0
I had hoped to finish the book when I started it on July 7th, but it didn't grab my interest right away, so I set it aside and read a few other books instead. This is essentially the novelization of the animated movie prequel to The Clone Wars series. Since I've watched that numerous times with my son, I was already familiar with the plot and most of the characters. What this gave me was a more in depth look at that story. I learned quite a few things about the Hutts that I hadn't known before, as well as the thought processes of some of the characters. For example, I was able to crawl into Palpatine's head a bit and get an idea of what he was thinking while working with the Jedi. Boy, did that ever make him more evil in my opinion! We also get a closer look at the Clones themselves and what makes each of them unique among so much similarity. All in all, once it got going it was an interesting story to read.
lefthandedmatt's review against another edition
4.0
This is something peculiar - a film novelisation that reads like an original novel. Traviss has done something very special here. The Clone Wars film is a very silly and ultimately unenjoyable movie unless you're 8 years old, full of juvenile dialogue and cartoonish characters. This novel tells the exact same plot but in a completely re-imagined way, making it an interesting and exciting story more agreeable to adults and older children.
One of Traviss's main strengths here is giving a lot more depth to the characters involved in the story, getting inside their heads and giving each of them a clearly defined, and interesting, sense of purpose. Numerous references are made to previous tales from the expanded universe of books and comics.
I decided to read this book before I watched the film, and it was quite a shock to see the differences. The book makes for a far superior piece of storytelling, whereas the film is bland and often quite dull, even amidst the explosive action because you just don't care about the characters involved who are reduced to stereotype cardboard cutouts. Understanding Captain Rex and Ahsoka through the book, I found myself very invested in the tale.
Traviss's writing style flows very nicely, often allowing things to move quickly. This is the first book of hers I've read, although I know she has other Star Wars novels. My first impressions are that she is very good with dialogue and for getting inside characters heads in a natural way which doesn't interrupt the story, but the writing of action sequences could get muddled and confusing. There's also an overuse of italics for emphasis which began to grate.
One of Traviss's main strengths here is giving a lot more depth to the characters involved in the story, getting inside their heads and giving each of them a clearly defined, and interesting, sense of purpose. Numerous references are made to previous tales from the expanded universe of books and comics.
I decided to read this book before I watched the film, and it was quite a shock to see the differences. The book makes for a far superior piece of storytelling, whereas the film is bland and often quite dull, even amidst the explosive action because you just don't care about the characters involved who are reduced to stereotype cardboard cutouts. Understanding Captain Rex and Ahsoka through the book, I found myself very invested in the tale.
Traviss's writing style flows very nicely, often allowing things to move quickly. This is the first book of hers I've read, although I know she has other Star Wars novels. My first impressions are that she is very good with dialogue and for getting inside characters heads in a natural way which doesn't interrupt the story, but the writing of action sequences could get muddled and confusing. There's also an overuse of italics for emphasis which began to grate.
lindseythelibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Did you watch the 2008 Clone Wars movie? Well, this is basically a fleshed-out version of that. The audio was really enhanced by the sound effects and music which was great. I also liked the insight into Anakin's thoughts and felt like this book actually added more substance to the movie.
verkisto's review against another edition
3.0
I recently watched The Clone Wars, the animated movie that falls between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. It's universally reviled, and for good reason: It's a pretty terrible movie. It has wooden characters, poor animation, annoying character traits, and a baby Hutt named "Stinky". I watched the movie after watching all of the Cartoon Network The Clone Wars shorts, and wondered why Lucasfilm didn't just take those two collections and make one movie out of them.
This book is the novelization of the movie, and to say I went into it with trepidation is an understatement. The only saving grace for me was that Karen Traviss wrote it, and I've enjoyed her books in the EU most of all. I was pleased to find that Traviss avoided much of what made the movie so terrible. She gives Anakin and Ahsoka more depth, along with Rex, the commander of the clones. The latter isn't surprising, really; Traviss has made it clear that she has more interest in the clones than the Jedi, and while the story isn't about the clones, she does bring that sentiment to bear as much as she can with the novel. It works well.
Traviss' other books also have an anti-Jedi sentiment to them, which she also brings into the story. It works surprisingly well, given that Anakin's struggle between the Light and Dark Side of the Force makes him a prime candidate for talking about how much he dislikes the council. It also doesn't hurt that she revisits the theme of clones being seen as more like droids than people, and that the generals who view them as people first get the most respect from the clone troopers.
The story is about the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's son by Count Dooku in an attempt to frame the Jedi for it. The two factions are working against each other, each trying to make sure that Rotta makes it back to Jabba by their hands, not just to prove their reliability over the other group, but also to secure the hyperlanes to the Outer Rim that are controlled by Jabba.
In the movie, about one-third to one-half of the story is about the assault on the temple where the Huttlet is being kept; in the novel, it takes up about 80% of the entire story. I'm not surprised (Traviss likes her war stories), but it made the rest of the story feel rushed and insignificant. In fact, as I was reaching the end of that part of the story, I found myself thinking, Shouldn't there be another hundred pages after this? How are there only twenty?
In addition, Traviss chooses to interpret Anakin differently than he is in the movies. He still has his doubts about the council and is still an impassioned, impulsive character at times, but first and foremost he's a respected general to the clone troopers he commands. There's nothing in the canon to suggest he wouldn't be, but there's a disconnect because that kind of behavior suggests a stronger dedication to the Light Side than the Dark Side. Maybe that's my own interpretation of Anakin interfering with hers, but I feel like Anakin should be -- and has been -- portrayed as someone more prone to his passions and self-interests more than he is for others, and Traviss' interpretation is at odds with it.
On the other hand, this is one of the few books in the EU I've read so far that doesn't try to pretend like Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Sidious are two different people. In fact, she goes a step further and gives the reader a glimpse into Sidious' thoughts as he's playing the role of Palpatine. Even in Darth Plagueis, which was mostly about Sidious' rise to power, the author kept those two personalities separate, though he didn't try to be sly about their being the same person.
The book is a good read because it's written by Traviss, but it doesn't overcome how plain the underlying story is. I have to give the author credit for going deeper than the movie, and for giving the story a heftier theme (though even a light theme would have been heftier than the one in the movie). I can't help but wonder, though, what a novelization of the Cartoon Network shorts would have been like.
This book is the novelization of the movie, and to say I went into it with trepidation is an understatement. The only saving grace for me was that Karen Traviss wrote it, and I've enjoyed her books in the EU most of all. I was pleased to find that Traviss avoided much of what made the movie so terrible. She gives Anakin and Ahsoka more depth, along with Rex, the commander of the clones. The latter isn't surprising, really; Traviss has made it clear that she has more interest in the clones than the Jedi, and while the story isn't about the clones, she does bring that sentiment to bear as much as she can with the novel. It works well.
Traviss' other books also have an anti-Jedi sentiment to them, which she also brings into the story. It works surprisingly well, given that Anakin's struggle between the Light and Dark Side of the Force makes him a prime candidate for talking about how much he dislikes the council. It also doesn't hurt that she revisits the theme of clones being seen as more like droids than people, and that the generals who view them as people first get the most respect from the clone troopers.
The story is about the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's son by Count Dooku in an attempt to frame the Jedi for it. The two factions are working against each other, each trying to make sure that Rotta makes it back to Jabba by their hands, not just to prove their reliability over the other group, but also to secure the hyperlanes to the Outer Rim that are controlled by Jabba.
In the movie, about one-third to one-half of the story is about the assault on the temple where the Huttlet is being kept; in the novel, it takes up about 80% of the entire story. I'm not surprised (Traviss likes her war stories), but it made the rest of the story feel rushed and insignificant. In fact, as I was reaching the end of that part of the story, I found myself thinking, Shouldn't there be another hundred pages after this? How are there only twenty?
In addition, Traviss chooses to interpret Anakin differently than he is in the movies. He still has his doubts about the council and is still an impassioned, impulsive character at times, but first and foremost he's a respected general to the clone troopers he commands. There's nothing in the canon to suggest he wouldn't be, but there's a disconnect because that kind of behavior suggests a stronger dedication to the Light Side than the Dark Side. Maybe that's my own interpretation of Anakin interfering with hers, but I feel like Anakin should be -- and has been -- portrayed as someone more prone to his passions and self-interests more than he is for others, and Traviss' interpretation is at odds with it.
On the other hand, this is one of the few books in the EU I've read so far that doesn't try to pretend like Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Sidious are two different people. In fact, she goes a step further and gives the reader a glimpse into Sidious' thoughts as he's playing the role of Palpatine. Even in Darth Plagueis, which was mostly about Sidious' rise to power, the author kept those two personalities separate, though he didn't try to be sly about their being the same person.
The book is a good read because it's written by Traviss, but it doesn't overcome how plain the underlying story is. I have to give the author credit for going deeper than the movie, and for giving the story a heftier theme (though even a light theme would have been heftier than the one in the movie). I can't help but wonder, though, what a novelization of the Cartoon Network shorts would have been like.
jay_mack9712's review
5.0
I adored this book ! It gave so much life to all the characters. Their witty banter and comments was everything a Star Wars fan needed and would love. I do love how it gave insight to Rec and the clones training as well as to Anakin's thoughts and underlying issues and trauma related to his experience in Attack of the Clones. It just gives so much more understanding to him as a character with his path to the dark side. I also enjoyed how they involved Anakin and Padme's relationship and how they would attempt to communicate with each other throughout the war.
Am I going to go buy this book just so I can reread it ? 100% Im going too! Just so much love for it !
Am I going to go buy this book just so I can reread it ? 100% Im going too! Just so much love for it !
laurine_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
vendea's review
4.0
I'm not sure how to rate this book because I have seen the arc that tells the same story in the Clone Wars animated series. Both of them are very good. I assume that this fleshed out more details, but it's been so long since I watched that part of The Clone Wars that I don't remember. Anyway, this is worth a read if only for the interactions between Rex, Ahsoka, Anakin, and Ventress. Everything Rex says in this book is brilliant and quotable.
mypantsaretight's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0