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alliebookworm's review
5.0
Excellent read, just as fun and insightful as its predecessors. This one features more monologue asides that give you some real insight into these characters - it made me think of the final duel in a much deeper way for Darth Vader's sake. There is so much left unsaid in the movies that Doescher really brings to light in a beautiful and still really fun way.
birdkeeperklink's review
4.0
A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. This one had a little less humor in it, but it was still enjoyable in a different way--the Shakespearean monologues were fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the Emperor's gleeful soliloquy on how much he enjoys being evil and how much he doesn't care about anyone. Recommend the trilogy to everyone who loves Star Wars and Shakespeare--now, on to the prequel versions to see if they're as good!
lisa_mc's review
4.0
As with the previous books in this series, "The Jedi Doth Return" retells a Star Wars movie in the style of William Shakespeare: the characters speak largely in iambic pentameter, asides and soliloquies give the reader a window into the characters’ feelings, and a chorus fills in the unseen action. The plot follows the movie, and the lines more or less mirror the original dialogue, with a Shakespearean flavor: Yoda speaks in haiku, the Ewoks chirp in pidgin-English rhymes, the rancor sings, and Salacious Crumb plays the Fool.
The original movie’s big set pieces -- the speeder bike chase, the Endor forest battle and the Rebel fleet vs. the Death Star -- by necessity take place mostly offstage in the book, hinted at by a few snippets of dialogue or described by the chorus. While these scenes were exciting on screen, the stage version does not suffer from the lack of them, since it focuses more on the human (and non-human, as the case may be) drama of the saga. And, honestly, trimming down the Ewoks’ presence was an improvement.
The true conflict of the movie -- the struggle between Luke Skywalker and the Emperor for the soul of Darth Vader (and, oh yeah, the fate of the whole galaxy) -- is only enhanced by a Shakespearean presentation. Swap the lightsabers for swords and it’s a perfect fit.
What’s been fun about this series is not only seeing classic lines rendered in Elizabethan English (“Fie, ’tis a trap!”) but also hearing characters who have no lines in the movies speak. R2-D2 gets asides in all three books, Darth Vader shows a more conflicted mind through his soliloquies, and even the rancor keeper, whose “pet” is a carnivorous monster, expresses his grief at the death of his beloved companion in a page-long lament.
Whether the enjoyment from these books speaks to the timeliness of Shakespeare or the timelessness of Star Wars, or perhaps both, is for the reader to decide, but fans of both will enjoy them, indeed.
The original movie’s big set pieces -- the speeder bike chase, the Endor forest battle and the Rebel fleet vs. the Death Star -- by necessity take place mostly offstage in the book, hinted at by a few snippets of dialogue or described by the chorus. While these scenes were exciting on screen, the stage version does not suffer from the lack of them, since it focuses more on the human (and non-human, as the case may be) drama of the saga. And, honestly, trimming down the Ewoks’ presence was an improvement.
The true conflict of the movie -- the struggle between Luke Skywalker and the Emperor for the soul of Darth Vader (and, oh yeah, the fate of the whole galaxy) -- is only enhanced by a Shakespearean presentation. Swap the lightsabers for swords and it’s a perfect fit.
What’s been fun about this series is not only seeing classic lines rendered in Elizabethan English (“Fie, ’tis a trap!”) but also hearing characters who have no lines in the movies speak. R2-D2 gets asides in all three books, Darth Vader shows a more conflicted mind through his soliloquies, and even the rancor keeper, whose “pet” is a carnivorous monster, expresses his grief at the death of his beloved companion in a page-long lament.
Whether the enjoyment from these books speaks to the timeliness of Shakespeare or the timelessness of Star Wars, or perhaps both, is for the reader to decide, but fans of both will enjoy them, indeed.
jrw3xd's review
5.0
Ironically, the weakest of the original film trilogy made for the best of the Shakespeare trilogy. This is Doescher's best one yet.
kennabrooke's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
josiahdegraaf's review
4.0
I don't know that I have additional thoughts to what I shared about the previous two books in this series. But it was certainly an entertaining read, and I continued to appreciate the ways in which Doescher used soliloquies to add some additional depth to the characters of the original film.
Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).
Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).