ktonalderaan's reviews
116 reviews

The Edge of Balance, Vol. 2 by Shima Shinya, Daniel José Older

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

This was a nice continuation of the previous one. The stakes are high, and you can really feel that from both the writing and the art styles. I don't find this story to be particularly important for the overall story of THR, but it's a solid addition, nonetheless.

The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition by Rae Carson

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 This is a great novelization. I don’t think it’s any secret that TROS is my least favorite SW story, but Carson did excellent work with the story she was given. I love when movie novelizations add new perspectives, give additional information, and provide a look into the thoughts of a familiar character during a familiar scene. This book excelled at that. It made my comfort level with some of the happenings of TROS better, too, so that’s a win! 

The Last Jedi by Jason Fry

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This novelization was amazing. It added so much to the movie in the best ways possible. New insights into characters, deeper looks into important scenes, added explanations. I loved the way this was written. Bravo.

The Edge of Balance Vol. 1 by Justina Ireland, Shima Shinya

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was a different take on THR! The characters are not too incredibly memorable, but the story does serve the overall story of THR. 

The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The highlight of this novelization for me was getting the extra Poe scenes (and not because I'm so in love with Poe!!) since these were the biggest additions to the story of TFA. It's a solid novelization; it's just not groundbreaking in any way. It didn't add much insight or other points of view like some of the other novelizations do. It's very accurate to the movie though.

Return of the Jedi: Star Wars: Episode VI by James Kahn

adventurous emotional medium-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? No

3.0

This was much like the other two where not much was added by having a novelization of the film. However, there were some very interesting extended scenes that currently conflict with canon, and those were actually the highlight of the book for me. Very average novelization.

Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut

adventurous hopeful medium-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? No

3.0

This was a very average novelization. Again, I don't feel like this novelization added much in the way of new information, character insight, or depth to the familiar scenes. It just appears to have been written exactly as was seen on screen. This is one of my favorite Star Wars stories though, so it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures, Vol. 2 by Daniel José Older

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

These were okay. Nothing too special. There were a lot more slow moments than were in volume 1. Some of the scenes highlighted didn't seem too especially important to the overall story of THR. Again, the art was gorgeous.

Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures (2021), Vol. 1 by Daniel José Older

adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was a fun read! I really love Zeen and Lula, so these are great for me! They're not too complex, and it is interesting to see a new side of Marchion Ro. The imagery in this collection is absolutely beautiful, too. 

A New Hope: Star Wars: Episode IV by George Lucas

adventurous hopeful slow-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

2.5

The pacing in this novelization is odd, but I think that has to do with the way the overall story is set up. This book pretty much matches the movie verbatim, so I appreciated the consistency. It's an okay novelization. It doesn't add much to the movie, and we don't get very many new POVs or a look at a character's inner thoughts much. Something that I found myself really enjoying was getting to witness R2-D2's and C-3PO's perspective during a few events.