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crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
4.0
"It was this that the Alliance was fighting to preserve: furry creatures in mammoth forests"
Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Lando Calrissian have a daring plan to rescue Han Solo, who is in the clutches of the evil Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. Near Endor's moon, the Emperor builds an even bigger, more forboding Death Star: one that could destroy the Rebel Alliance once and for all.
NOTE: Based on novel and audiobook.
I Liked:
I rate novelizations on two primary criteria A) how the book is written and B) what new aspects are shown in the book. My complaint from the last two classic Star Wars novelizations was how little new, insightful material there was.
Return of the Jedi remedies that in many ways. Despite its quick pace and action sequences, the book has a startling amount of "behind the scenes"--some of the first clues for fans about the prequels. These occur mostly when Obi-Wan and Luke are discussing his father. Here, we learn that A) Anakin didn't realize Luke and Leia's mom was pregnant, B) Owen was Obi-Wan's brother (Man, Owen was mean to call Obi-Wan a "crazy, old fool"!), C) that Jabba the Hutt was a Jedi killer, and D) that Gamorreans hate droids (didn't know that one before!). (But, see below.)
But the highlight is the in-depth character insight. The two main characters we see are Luke and (surprisinigly) Vader. Luke contemplates the Emperor and Vader's destructions on numerous occasions. In the elevator, he considers overthrowing his father and taking Vader's place at the Emperor's side. In the presence of the Emperor, a lot more insight into his character is given, his struggles, and his temptations along with the knowledge that the Emperor feared Luke would turn against him. We even get to learn that the Emperor knew Yoda! And, kudos to Kahn for giving the very first Vader POV, one that gets deep into his mind (and is a nice parallel to Revenge of the Sith written by Stover). Vader here fears his son will kill him, is enraged at his son's resistance to the Dark Side, and reminisces on his long dead wife. It's touching and a nice sense of closure.
The characters are again, well written. Luke makes a nice change from farm boy to Jedi. His insight into his temptation is by far the best described in the classic trilogy. Leia has "de-iced" without becoming a damsel in distress, and Han's edges have smoothed over just a wee bit.
I Didn't Like:
Unfortunately, most of the coolest "behind the scenes" of the novelization (specifically about the prequels) have been retconned. As we know from Revenge of the Sith, Anakin knew Padme was pregnant (though, surprisingly, neither knew she was pregnant with twins). Padme didn't hand Luke to Obi-Wan and take Leia to Bail. Owen is Anakin's step-brother, not Obi-Wan's brother. Jabba the Hutt has never been shown in the prequels to be a Jedi Killer (though, that would make that Clone Wars movie interesting!). This isn't exactly a fault of the novelization, but it is too bad that the continuity doesn't line up.
While there is more extra information, particularly at the end when Luke is facing off with Vader and the Emperor, most of the story is strictly a retelling of the movie, slightly dressed up. I wish a few deleted scenes or more character insights had appeared.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Little to none.
Oolah the dancing girl, and Leia later on. Han becomes jealous of Luke and Leia.
Luke and his friends make an explosive escape from Jabba the Hutt. Several major characters die.
Overall:
Of all the classic trilogy novelizations, this is by far the best. It gives good insights into Luke, nice tidbits about the prequels (unfortunately, most of these don't even apply to continuity anymore), and a good telling of the story. It's not much different than the movie, but it still is worth reading at least once, particularly for Star Wars fans. 3.5 rounded generously to 4 stars.
Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Lando Calrissian have a daring plan to rescue Han Solo, who is in the clutches of the evil Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. Near Endor's moon, the Emperor builds an even bigger, more forboding Death Star: one that could destroy the Rebel Alliance once and for all.
NOTE: Based on novel and audiobook.
I Liked:
I rate novelizations on two primary criteria A) how the book is written and B) what new aspects are shown in the book. My complaint from the last two classic Star Wars novelizations was how little new, insightful material there was.
Return of the Jedi remedies that in many ways. Despite its quick pace and action sequences, the book has a startling amount of "behind the scenes"--some of the first clues for fans about the prequels. These occur mostly when Obi-Wan and Luke are discussing his father. Here, we learn that A) Anakin didn't realize Luke and Leia's mom was pregnant, B) Owen was Obi-Wan's brother (Man, Owen was mean to call Obi-Wan a "crazy, old fool"!), C) that Jabba the Hutt was a Jedi killer, and D) that Gamorreans hate droids (didn't know that one before!). (But, see below.)
But the highlight is the in-depth character insight. The two main characters we see are Luke and (surprisinigly) Vader. Luke contemplates the Emperor and Vader's destructions on numerous occasions. In the elevator, he considers overthrowing his father and taking Vader's place at the Emperor's side. In the presence of the Emperor, a lot more insight into his character is given, his struggles, and his temptations along with the knowledge that the Emperor feared Luke would turn against him. We even get to learn that the Emperor knew Yoda! And, kudos to Kahn for giving the very first Vader POV, one that gets deep into his mind (and is a nice parallel to Revenge of the Sith written by Stover). Vader here fears his son will kill him, is enraged at his son's resistance to the Dark Side, and reminisces on his long dead wife. It's touching and a nice sense of closure.
The characters are again, well written. Luke makes a nice change from farm boy to Jedi. His insight into his temptation is by far the best described in the classic trilogy. Leia has "de-iced" without becoming a damsel in distress, and Han's edges have smoothed over just a wee bit.
I Didn't Like:
Unfortunately, most of the coolest "behind the scenes" of the novelization (specifically about the prequels) have been retconned. As we know from Revenge of the Sith, Anakin knew Padme was pregnant (though, surprisingly, neither knew she was pregnant with twins). Padme didn't hand Luke to Obi-Wan and take Leia to Bail. Owen is Anakin's step-brother, not Obi-Wan's brother. Jabba the Hutt has never been shown in the prequels to be a Jedi Killer (though, that would make that Clone Wars movie interesting!). This isn't exactly a fault of the novelization, but it is too bad that the continuity doesn't line up.
While there is more extra information, particularly at the end when Luke is facing off with Vader and the Emperor, most of the story is strictly a retelling of the movie, slightly dressed up. I wish a few deleted scenes or more character insights had appeared.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Little to none.
Oolah the dancing girl, and Leia later on. Han becomes jealous of Luke and Leia.
Luke and his friends make an explosive escape from Jabba the Hutt. Several major characters die.
Overall:
Of all the classic trilogy novelizations, this is by far the best. It gives good insights into Luke, nice tidbits about the prequels (unfortunately, most of these don't even apply to continuity anymore), and a good telling of the story. It's not much different than the movie, but it still is worth reading at least once, particularly for Star Wars fans. 3.5 rounded generously to 4 stars.
alexinho10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
goobdiddy's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh. I remember loving this book as a kid (I was 10 or so when it came out), but it is pretty lame from my 40-something perspective! Very clunky storytelling, which added almost nothing to what was found in the movie. I want the book to have more depth than the movie, and this just didn't deliver... I'm on an ill-advised quest to read all of the SW books, and I'm really hoping they get better (I seem to remember the Timothy Zahn series that takes place after Jedi to be pretty good, hopefully that is still true...)
rogue_leader'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shawn_annets's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sevskywalker's review against another edition
2.0
Return of the Jedi was my least favorite movie of the original trilogy, while there are some very good moments and some of my favorite too, they were overshadowed by bad things. But I have come to love it over time, but this novelization puts every bad thing on a high pedestal and also I just cannot stand the Ewoks. If you think watching them was bad, reading of them and about them was a lot worse.
Finally, even though some good moments shine through, sadly they cannot overshadow the bad things. But I heard the prequel novelizations are a lot better. Now, that the novelizations are over I can finally dive into the extended universe books and hope that they fare better than this.
Finally, even though some good moments shine through, sadly they cannot overshadow the bad things. But I heard the prequel novelizations are a lot better. Now, that the novelizations are over I can finally dive into the extended universe books and hope that they fare better than this.
bosquedemel's review against another edition
4.0
Well written and added depth to the movie. Loved in particular the passages from Vader's point of view where you can see what he's feeling or thinking and Leia's moments of using the Force.
goodverbsonly's review against another edition
2.0
This is Leia instinctively using the Force rights though.
And Han - he goes through GROWTH in this book love that for him.
HELLO, i have finished the ot novelizations and none of them are well written but at least this one takes some time with Anakin’s death where he thinks about how beautiful he was in his 20’s.
this is certainly the strongest, and also it’s the SHORTEST, which presents a glaring problem: instead of spending any time to flesh out the battles, they’re just transcriptions of the script. also, vader really just switches out of nowhere huh???
also who approved the droid and chewbacca dialogue i do not like it
And Han - he goes through GROWTH in this book love that for him.
HELLO, i have finished the ot novelizations and none of them are well written but at least this one takes some time with Anakin’s death where he thinks about how beautiful he was in his 20’s.
this is certainly the strongest, and also it’s the SHORTEST, which presents a glaring problem: instead of spending any time to flesh out the battles, they’re just transcriptions of the script. also, vader really just switches out of nowhere huh???
also who approved the droid and chewbacca dialogue i do not like it