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A review by sparky_young_upstart
William Shakespeare's Tragedy of the Sith's Revenge by Ian Doescher
5.0
The thrilling conclusion to the Prequel Trilogy is made even more thrilling here. What was already textbook shakespearean tragedy is taken to new heights thanks to Doescher’s expert translations into Shakespeare’s style and verse. The effect of wordplay and rhyming is even more evident here than it was in previous entries to this trilogy, most notably in the relationship between Anakin and Padme. Their rhyming couplets start off very tight, but when Anakin goes dark and Padme is confronted with this, the scheme begins to become imperfect - which itself is a perfect way of illustrating their demise.
The fact that Shakespearean tropes are so common in the source material does mean that Doescher does not alter things as greatly as he did in the past books to accommodate the themes. In fact, it seems like he removes some of the more awkward parts of the films - namely, many of the battles Palpatine is involved in become much more serious as Palpatine is able to establish himself as a genuine threat. Characterization is also stronger thanks to the ability to hear the character’s innermost thoughts - what once seemed like sudden shifts make much more sense once we’re able to see the inner gradualness of it all.
Most notably is Doescher’s ability to slowly make the atmosphere darker and darker in accordance with the themes of the tale. An oncoming sense of dread felt by the characters hits us as well, and even though we all know exactly what lies at the end of this story we can’t help but hope that somehow things will be a bit lighter. Spoiler: they are not.
There are some aspects of this retelling that I personally disliked, but objectively I could not find any true fault in here. It’s an excellent update to the source.
The fact that Shakespearean tropes are so common in the source material does mean that Doescher does not alter things as greatly as he did in the past books to accommodate the themes. In fact, it seems like he removes some of the more awkward parts of the films - namely, many of the battles Palpatine is involved in become much more serious as Palpatine is able to establish himself as a genuine threat. Characterization is also stronger thanks to the ability to hear the character’s innermost thoughts - what once seemed like sudden shifts make much more sense once we’re able to see the inner gradualness of it all.
Most notably is Doescher’s ability to slowly make the atmosphere darker and darker in accordance with the themes of the tale. An oncoming sense of dread felt by the characters hits us as well, and even though we all know exactly what lies at the end of this story we can’t help but hope that somehow things will be a bit lighter. Spoiler: they are not.
There are some aspects of this retelling that I personally disliked, but objectively I could not find any true fault in here. It’s an excellent update to the source.