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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
I am completely biased about that rating, i am not thinking clearly. I cannot give it a 5/5 bc it broke my heart into a million pieces. For obi wan and anakin fans out there, this ones for you honestly. He basically calls them soulmates (not in the romantic sense bro please please do not ship these two). He waxes poetry about their relationship and what they mean to each other.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I want to like this more because I'm a Star Wars fan and excited says that this is one of the best Star Wars novels, but it didn't thrill me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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:
Yes
Easily, one of the best written books I've read. The stylie Stover is using.... Flawless. The way we enter the minds of the characters, the way we see the well known story, the depth... Fantastic.
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
medium-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:
Yes
There was indeed a star war but its okay they won but also lost
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well! This was as good as its reputation said it would be, but I was glad that I knew the writing around Padmé would leave much to be desired. The lines about her ‘playing’ at being a senator because her real role is to be ‘Anakin’s wife’ and the fact that she did not interact with Leia at all irked me the most.
But overall, I did enjoy this book very much. I grew up with the prequels and I have always been an Anakin apologist, but I’ve finally realised a few things that this book really solidified.
1. Anakin restricted what could have been an infinite Empire to a mere 23 years. That’s short even by human standards!
2. Anakin’s fall was inevitable. He bears the brunt of the blame, of course. He allowed himself to be manipulated, to an extent. However, Sidious/Palpatine had been planning this for some time. With or without Anakin. The Jedi had lost their way.
3. Discussion: is the Galactic Empire the most evil entity to ever exist in the SW universe? Or was it just the evolution of the Republic. Is Sidious to blame for all of this or was it a result of corruption? This is what I intend to find out as I try to figure out what to read next. To be fair, my faith in the Republic was broken when I played a light side Jedi in SWTOR so I don’t have a strong background in SW lore beyond the movies but it was far more satisfying to play a light side Sith than a Jedi working against corruption (and the most heart-wrenching of all would’ve been a dark side Jedi…) because there was a strong sense of evil to fight against. The republic being corrupt is a far more realistic version.
4. I love Obi-Wan. Infinitely. I refuse to see him as 16 years older, I hc him as Luke’s age in ANH when he takes on Anakin as a padawan because I can. Their friendship is what makes the heart of this story, not the love story.
5. Speaking of ages, Anakin falls at the same age Luke was when he defeats the Emperor… :(
5. I will be describing my anxiety as a dragon from here on.
6. I also love Mace Windu. I see Stover’s written a book about him so perhaps I should read that next.
But overall, I did enjoy this book very much. I grew up with the prequels and I have always been an Anakin apologist, but I’ve finally realised a few things that this book really solidified.
1. Anakin restricted what could have been an infinite Empire to a mere 23 years. That’s short even by human standards!
2. Anakin’s fall was inevitable. He bears the brunt of the blame, of course. He allowed himself to be manipulated, to an extent. However, Sidious/Palpatine had been planning this for some time. With or without Anakin. The Jedi had lost their way.
3. Discussion: is the Galactic Empire the most evil entity to ever exist in the SW universe? Or was it just the evolution of the Republic. Is Sidious to blame for all of this or was it a result of corruption? This is what I intend to find out as I try to figure out what to read next. To be fair, my faith in the Republic was broken when I played a light side Jedi in SWTOR so I don’t have a strong background in SW lore beyond the movies but it was far more satisfying to play a light side Sith than a Jedi working against corruption (and the most heart-wrenching of all would’ve been a dark side Jedi…) because there was a strong sense of evil to fight against. The republic being corrupt is a far more realistic version.
4. I love Obi-Wan. Infinitely. I refuse to see him as 16 years older, I hc him as Luke’s age in ANH when he takes on Anakin as a padawan because I can. Their friendship is what makes the heart of this story, not the love story.
5. Speaking of ages, Anakin falls at the same age Luke was when he defeats the Emperor… :(
5. I will be describing my anxiety as a dragon from here on.
6. I also love Mace Windu. I see Stover’s written a book about him so perhaps I should read that next.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Worth the price of admission just for expanded sections of Obi-Wan and Grievous trying to out serve each other.
In all seriousness, I’m a fiend for Star Wars and RotS is my comfort movie which I’ve seen probably 150+ times in my life. I cannot understate how much more dimension the novelization gives to even pretty minor characters. It truly takes the source material and amplifies it to actually form a more finessed work compared to the movie (which ran out of budget half-way through and was rushed during editing), while also still respecting the original themes and direction of the film. Additionally, the dialogue (while still camp af) is far more natural and feels nuanced and more subtle while still being super Star Wars, notably, Padme’s “So love has blinded you?” was omitted.
Additionally, the medium makes everything so much more believable. One of the criticisms of the film is how out of the blue Anakin’s fall is (spoiler for a 20 year old film). Actually having insight into the inner conflict with fleshed out thoughts as opposed to Hayden Christensen’s facial expressions actually makes the turn more believable, more emotionally taxing, and really gets across the enormity of the events.
Couldn’t recommend more. Probably looking at this with a little too much nostalgia, but hey, these are just my thoughts.
In all seriousness, I’m a fiend for Star Wars and RotS is my comfort movie which I’ve seen probably 150+ times in my life. I cannot understate how much more dimension the novelization gives to even pretty minor characters. It truly takes the source material and amplifies it to actually form a more finessed work compared to the movie (which ran out of budget half-way through and was rushed during editing), while also still respecting the original themes and direction of the film. Additionally, the dialogue (while still camp af) is far more natural and feels nuanced and more subtle while still being super Star Wars, notably, Padme’s “So love has blinded you?” was omitted.
Additionally, the medium makes everything so much more believable. One of the criticisms of the film is how out of the blue Anakin’s fall is (spoiler for a 20 year old film). Actually having insight into the inner conflict with fleshed out thoughts as opposed to Hayden Christensen’s facial expressions actually makes the turn more believable, more emotionally taxing, and really gets across the enormity of the events.
Couldn’t recommend more. Probably looking at this with a little too much nostalgia, but hey, these are just my thoughts.