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Star Wars Novelizations #3
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Possibly the most anticipated Star Wars movie of all time, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith at last tells the tale of how the young Jedi Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, the most feared villain in the galaxy. Our novel includes material not in the movie, based on discussions with George Lucas himself.
Based on the screenplay of the movie, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the novel brings the epic full circle, revealing at last just how the young Jedi, Anakin Skywalker, became the most evil villain in the galaxy, Darth Vader, and father to Luke and Leia. When the novel opens, the Clone Wars are still in full cry, and numerous Jedi have already been lost. Anakin is struggling with his dual life: Jedi Knight and husband (in secret) to Padme Amidala. The time is drawing near for the machiavellian Darth Sidious--the Sith Lord determined to wrest control of the galaxy from the Republic--to draw tight the noose he has been creating around Anakin Skywalker...and create a new Sith Lord with unmatched dark-side Force powers...
452 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2005
1850 people are currently reading
16507 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Woodring Stover
51 books1,002 followersMatthew Woodring Stover is an American fantasy and science fiction author. He is perhaps best known for his Star Wars novels -- Traitor, Shatterpoint, Revenge of the Sith and Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor. He has also published several pieces of original work, such as Heroes Die, which Stover described as 'a piece of violent entertainment that is a meditation on violent entertainment'. Stover's work often emphasises moral ambiguity, psychological verisimilitude and bursts of intense violence.
Stover is deeply interested in various forms of martial arts, having trained in the Degerberg Blend, a concept that utilises the thought behind Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do as its foundation.
Stover is deeply interested in various forms of martial arts, having trained in the Degerberg Blend, a concept that utilises the thought behind Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do as its foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,398 reviews
June 4, 2018
Lord Vader… rise!
Once again, fellow readers in the Force, if you have been reading my reviews about Star Wars film novelizations, you already know that I’ll do several spoilers in this review (which is quite the opposite to my regular kind of reviews, but with Star Wars movie novelizations is quite hard not to fall into spoilers in the reviews while I am writing them. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
YOUNGLINGS
Revenge of the Sith is the darkest moment of Star Wars movies, since it’s when Anakin Skywalker finally meets his fate in the balance of the Force.
It’s kinda funny that good ol’ Georgie thought that using the word “younglings” would make a milder impact on people instead of saying plainly “kids” or “children”, when Anakin does the unspeakble act againts the youngest students in the Jedi Temple.
Also, I think that The Force is quite permissive, about who enters into it,...
...since in Episode VI, you can watch Anakin as a ghost along with his pals, so it seems that you can massacre entire Tusken Raiders’ town (men, women and children) and killing “younglings” at the Jedi Temple, for not saying all the Jedi that he must kill at the following Jedi purge, etc… and still you can become one with the Force…
…yes, he repented from his sins before Luke, but hey, he did A LOT of VERY BAD things, so The Force should have some kind of purgatory I think, since it seems that got away with you evil deeds in life is kinda too easy and you still becoming one with The Force.
SO WHAT’S DIFFERENT HERE ANYWAY?
Movie versus book, you can find here…
…that Palpatine reveals himself openly to the readers since the beginning of the book, instead that the movies, that if you hadn’t read the expanded universe old novels, it wasn’t clear that Darth Sidious and Chancellor Palpatine were one and the same. Moreover, during the novel, Palpatine goes into deeper details of his master plan to defeat the Jedi Order.
…Dooku was fooled thinking that he will be part of a ruling triumvirate along with Anakin and Palpatine, and oddly, Dooku isn’t that powerful in comparison to Anakin, since in canonical novels and animated TV episodes, it was evident that no alone Jedi could be able to beat Dooku in a duel.
…also quite ood, General Grievious didn’t have the cough, result after his battle against Mace Windu.
…but the prize to the oddest in the book is that all scenes in Kashyyyk (the Wookie homeworld) aren’t developed!!!
…while you can feel it something about it in the movie, on the book it’s quite clear that Anakin is jealous of Obi-Wan and fearing that his master would be having a secret affair with Padme.
…the Jedis that go with Mace Windu to arrest Palpatine, do a kinda better battle, instead than in the movie were they’re beaten too easily.
…on the book is quite disturbing to read how much Anakin enjoys to kill Separatist Leaders once he turned to the Dark Side.
…you have clear access to the thoughts of Darth Vader once inside the protective armor, in his bitter process of truly becoming someone totally different than Anakin.
Once again, fellow readers in the Force, if you have been reading my reviews about Star Wars film novelizations, you already know that I’ll do several spoilers in this review (which is quite the opposite to my regular kind of reviews, but with Star Wars movie novelizations is quite hard not to fall into spoilers in the reviews while I am writing them. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
YOUNGLINGS
Revenge of the Sith is the darkest moment of Star Wars movies, since it’s when Anakin Skywalker finally meets his fate in the balance of the Force.
It’s kinda funny that good ol’ Georgie thought that using the word “younglings” would make a milder impact on people instead of saying plainly “kids” or “children”, when Anakin does the unspeakble act againts the youngest students in the Jedi Temple.
Also, I think that The Force is quite permissive, about who enters into it,...
...since in Episode VI, you can watch Anakin as a ghost along with his pals, so it seems that you can massacre entire Tusken Raiders’ town (men, women and children) and killing “younglings” at the Jedi Temple, for not saying all the Jedi that he must kill at the following Jedi purge, etc… and still you can become one with the Force…
…yes, he repented from his sins before Luke, but hey, he did A LOT of VERY BAD things, so The Force should have some kind of purgatory I think, since it seems that got away with you evil deeds in life is kinda too easy and you still becoming one with The Force.
SO WHAT’S DIFFERENT HERE ANYWAY?
Movie versus book, you can find here…
…that Palpatine reveals himself openly to the readers since the beginning of the book, instead that the movies, that if you hadn’t read the expanded universe old novels, it wasn’t clear that Darth Sidious and Chancellor Palpatine were one and the same. Moreover, during the novel, Palpatine goes into deeper details of his master plan to defeat the Jedi Order.
…Dooku was fooled thinking that he will be part of a ruling triumvirate along with Anakin and Palpatine, and oddly, Dooku isn’t that powerful in comparison to Anakin, since in canonical novels and animated TV episodes, it was evident that no alone Jedi could be able to beat Dooku in a duel.
…also quite ood, General Grievious didn’t have the cough, result after his battle against Mace Windu.
…but the prize to the oddest in the book is that all scenes in Kashyyyk (the Wookie homeworld) aren’t developed!!!
…while you can feel it something about it in the movie, on the book it’s quite clear that Anakin is jealous of Obi-Wan and fearing that his master would be having a secret affair with Padme.
…the Jedis that go with Mace Windu to arrest Palpatine, do a kinda better battle, instead than in the movie were they’re beaten too easily.
…on the book is quite disturbing to read how much Anakin enjoys to kill Separatist Leaders once he turned to the Dark Side.
…you have clear access to the thoughts of Darth Vader once inside the protective armor, in his bitter process of truly becoming someone totally different than Anakin.
November 6, 2011
Matthew Stover is a greater talent than Charles Dickens, Henry James and Proust all rolled into one. Ok, perhaps not. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith may not be *quite* as good as A Tale of Two Cities but it surely takes some kind of genius to take a Lucas prequel screenplay and turn it into a 5-star worthy novel; Lucas' movie, Revenge of the Sith is, afterall a laughable mockery of what originally made Star Wars so great. It's easy to write-off a terrible movie as badly written when one sees the finished result when in fact that problem lies elsewhere. Lucas' characterisations are wooden, badly acted, spout terrible dialogue and jump around horribly overproduced CGI sets. Perhaps these things led me to be overtly hung up on the implausibility of the central focus of the script, Anakin's hasty switch to the dark side, a seemingly irrational decision to turn his back on the Jedi Order and become evil through the hope of saving his one true love.
These problems still exist within Stover's novel, of course, but I felt much more inclined to overlook them since – unlike when I watched Lucas' movie – I was enjoying myself reading it so much. In place of Lucas' lamentably sloppy direction we have a quality author at the top of his game who is able to paint the picture of a convincing and entertaining sci-fi opera with ridiculous ease. Within the first hundred pages, an extended sequence in which Anakin and Obi-Wan rescue Palpatine, kill Dooku and battle with General Grievous I felt completely immersed in the Star Wars universe in a way I hadn't since watching the original trilogy as a child. The writing isn't always dense, deep or lyrically beautiful but it is slick and made for the perfect space opera, shifting effortlessly between thoughtful scene setting, entertaining battle scenes to fully fleshed out character bios and convincing and credible emotions when its needed. Whereas, for instance, most novelization writers would simply detail the opening scenes of the movie, throwing in the occasional emotional phrase and internalised thought to break up the monotony and make the character seem real, Stover really switches it up and makes the screenplay his own by creating his own narrative structures, focusing on character more than event and making every single segment feel important to the bigger picture. When Anakin kills Dooku in the movie, Palpatine snarls and Anakin he simply kills Dooku (Lucas cuts away, of course, de-emphasizing the moment); it's just another run-of-the-mill action scene. When Anakin kills Dooku in the novel, there's drama and content. It feels hard fought, emotional and staggeringly important.
More importantly Stover understands the Star Wars universe better than Lucas himself does nowadays. Whereas Lucas thinks that Star Wars is primarily about entertaining children, Stover gears his material firmly towards older teenagers, making it feel lived in and dangerous rather than childish. Also, whereas Lucas plays Anakin's transition from good to bad as a personal melodramatic tragedy, Stover treats it as pure crazed insanity. It's still unbelievable and over the top, of course, but Stover has belief and conviction in his material and he has the weight of his novel behind him to such an extent that I was twitching nervously as Anakin runs around slicing people to bits, feeling that this was genuinely quite an awful thing to have happened. I cared that Palpatine brought down the Republic, I cared that Padme died and I cared for the eventual fate of baby Luke and Leia.
Why did I care? Because this novel is just such a lot of goddamn fun. Whilst there are a lot of ideas about light, dark, the force, Shatterpoints and copious amounts of other Jedi nonsense included within, it doesn't expect you to buy it as a deep and meaningful Shakespearian tragedy, but as the light hearted exciting epic that Star Wars was always meant to be. This is the Star Wars prequel that we'd all been waiting for, for years. This is the prequel that Lucas failed to deliver. This is a right good laugh and a highly recommended read. No, it really isn't Shakespeare, sorry but it deserves every one of its five stars regardless.
These problems still exist within Stover's novel, of course, but I felt much more inclined to overlook them since – unlike when I watched Lucas' movie – I was enjoying myself reading it so much. In place of Lucas' lamentably sloppy direction we have a quality author at the top of his game who is able to paint the picture of a convincing and entertaining sci-fi opera with ridiculous ease. Within the first hundred pages, an extended sequence in which Anakin and Obi-Wan rescue Palpatine, kill Dooku and battle with General Grievous I felt completely immersed in the Star Wars universe in a way I hadn't since watching the original trilogy as a child. The writing isn't always dense, deep or lyrically beautiful but it is slick and made for the perfect space opera, shifting effortlessly between thoughtful scene setting, entertaining battle scenes to fully fleshed out character bios and convincing and credible emotions when its needed. Whereas, for instance, most novelization writers would simply detail the opening scenes of the movie, throwing in the occasional emotional phrase and internalised thought to break up the monotony and make the character seem real, Stover really switches it up and makes the screenplay his own by creating his own narrative structures, focusing on character more than event and making every single segment feel important to the bigger picture. When Anakin kills Dooku in the movie, Palpatine snarls and Anakin he simply kills Dooku (Lucas cuts away, of course, de-emphasizing the moment); it's just another run-of-the-mill action scene. When Anakin kills Dooku in the novel, there's drama and content. It feels hard fought, emotional and staggeringly important.
More importantly Stover understands the Star Wars universe better than Lucas himself does nowadays. Whereas Lucas thinks that Star Wars is primarily about entertaining children, Stover gears his material firmly towards older teenagers, making it feel lived in and dangerous rather than childish. Also, whereas Lucas plays Anakin's transition from good to bad as a personal melodramatic tragedy, Stover treats it as pure crazed insanity. It's still unbelievable and over the top, of course, but Stover has belief and conviction in his material and he has the weight of his novel behind him to such an extent that I was twitching nervously as Anakin runs around slicing people to bits, feeling that this was genuinely quite an awful thing to have happened. I cared that Palpatine brought down the Republic, I cared that Padme died and I cared for the eventual fate of baby Luke and Leia.
Why did I care? Because this novel is just such a lot of goddamn fun. Whilst there are a lot of ideas about light, dark, the force, Shatterpoints and copious amounts of other Jedi nonsense included within, it doesn't expect you to buy it as a deep and meaningful Shakespearian tragedy, but as the light hearted exciting epic that Star Wars was always meant to be. This is the Star Wars prequel that we'd all been waiting for, for years. This is the prequel that Lucas failed to deliver. This is a right good laugh and a highly recommended read. No, it really isn't Shakespeare, sorry but it deserves every one of its five stars regardless.
November 2, 2023
All things die, Anakin Skywalker. Even stars burn out …
This contains spoilers so don’t attack me.
Of all the possible favourite characters to choose in the Star Wars franchise, Anakin Skywalker was probably the worst.
My obsession with corruption arcs seems to have eliminated my sense of self preservation. Because I’ve been obsessed with him since I was 10, and it’s caused me nothing but pain since then.
I’ve been thinking.
Mostly about the tragedy that is Anakin Skywalker’s life. He’s a disaster.
He definitely could have used a hug, and maybe some extensive therapy. Real therapy. Not this “meditation” nonsense the Jedi have going on.
Seriously, this man really needed therapy.
And a nap, GOD someone get this man a nap, and A SNACK.
Let’s address the problem that is the Jedi Council.
They’re literally the most unhelpful group of...beings I’ve ever witnessed. Aside from Obi-Wan, that is. We stan Obi-Wan in this household.
Anyways we do not stan the Jedi council in this household. Since it is partially their fault that Anakin turned evil. They are the reason for a whole bunch of Anakin's insecurities. The insecurities and fears that Palpatine amplified.
They suck.
The moral of the story is that the council sucks.
The overall beliefs of the Jedi are ridiculously flawed.
And all this was avoidable.
I could write you an essay about how the Jedi's way of living is completely unhealthy, and about what they should have done to fix it.
But I'll spare everyone that tangent because no one cares so much about that except for me.
So here I am obsessing over tragic backstories and evil empires.
Right?
Only obsessing over Anakin because his story is so intriguing to me. It always has been. That's why I read this.
I liked that the book made Anakin's fall to the dark side more believable. The movie made it seem rushed. Which is the benefit of books. It's much harder to convey what a character is thinking in a movie, since you can't literally read their thoughts. But the book communicated his thoughts, which made the turn seem more reasonable.
One of the reason I love books so much is that being able to see the character's thoughts allows for so much development, and for a deeper understanding on behalf of the reader.
What makes this book interesting is the way it shows all the pressures Anakin is facing. Everyone around him is using him and those uses are all conflicting, he’s manipulated, treated with distrust, and under a ton of pressure.
The movie moves so fast that it’s easy to overlook all that—the years of palpatine’s manipulations, the Jedi Council’s fear, his fear for Padme—and boil the whole thing down to an overreaction that exists just to get from point A to point B.
But with the book, you get to see all the manipulation, what Palpatine is saying doesn’t just start seeming harmless, it seems RIGHT, it’s clear how Anakin would become completely convinced that the Jedi had a plot to take over, and would end up choosing Palpatine’s side because Palpatine has framed things so well that after all the stress and manipulation, it doesn’t even seem entirely wrong.
There’s just a lot more context, and I understand that level of detail can’t necessarily be contained in a movie, which is why I love books so much.
It just does a really good job at illustrating Anakin’s swirling emotions and his anger and confusion towards everything. And that illustration creates a better reasoned descent into darkness than the movie can. That’s why I appreciate it so much.
I just.
I could talk about this all day
The complexity of the situation and all the factors playing into the turn are so horribly intriguing to me, I need to talk insanely about it and let the story consume me I can’t stop thinking about it. And then in the end he has that sort of moment of realization but by then he’s screwed, he’s trapped and he’s lost everything bro it’s crazy-
Maybe it’s the jarring lack of happy ending that gets me so obsessed but god this is my favourite Star Wars.
Anakin is a chaotic disaster and I think that’s very relatable. If I were him I’d probably turn evil too (anger issues) I just maybe wouldn’t take it so far 😐
The writing was good.
I hate Palpatine.
Anakin Skywalker could kill me with a lightsaber and I would thank him.
I love Star Wars.
5/5 thanks for the pain and suffering 😀
This contains spoilers so don’t attack me.
Of all the possible favourite characters to choose in the Star Wars franchise, Anakin Skywalker was probably the worst.
My obsession with corruption arcs seems to have eliminated my sense of self preservation. Because I’ve been obsessed with him since I was 10, and it’s caused me nothing but pain since then.
I’ve been thinking.
Mostly about the tragedy that is Anakin Skywalker’s life. He’s a disaster.
He definitely could have used a hug, and maybe some extensive therapy. Real therapy. Not this “meditation” nonsense the Jedi have going on.
Seriously, this man really needed therapy.
And a nap, GOD someone get this man a nap, and A SNACK.
Let’s address the problem that is the Jedi Council.
They’re literally the most unhelpful group of...beings I’ve ever witnessed. Aside from Obi-Wan, that is. We stan Obi-Wan in this household.
Anyways we do not stan the Jedi council in this household. Since it is partially their fault that Anakin turned evil. They are the reason for a whole bunch of Anakin's insecurities. The insecurities and fears that Palpatine amplified.
They suck.
The moral of the story is that the council sucks.
The overall beliefs of the Jedi are ridiculously flawed.
And all this was avoidable.
I could write you an essay about how the Jedi's way of living is completely unhealthy, and about what they should have done to fix it.
But I'll spare everyone that tangent because no one cares so much about that except for me.
So here I am obsessing over tragic backstories and evil empires.
Right?
Only obsessing over Anakin because his story is so intriguing to me. It always has been. That's why I read this.
I liked that the book made Anakin's fall to the dark side more believable. The movie made it seem rushed. Which is the benefit of books. It's much harder to convey what a character is thinking in a movie, since you can't literally read their thoughts. But the book communicated his thoughts, which made the turn seem more reasonable.
One of the reason I love books so much is that being able to see the character's thoughts allows for so much development, and for a deeper understanding on behalf of the reader.
What makes this book interesting is the way it shows all the pressures Anakin is facing. Everyone around him is using him and those uses are all conflicting, he’s manipulated, treated with distrust, and under a ton of pressure.
The movie moves so fast that it’s easy to overlook all that—the years of palpatine’s manipulations, the Jedi Council’s fear, his fear for Padme—and boil the whole thing down to an overreaction that exists just to get from point A to point B.
But with the book, you get to see all the manipulation, what Palpatine is saying doesn’t just start seeming harmless, it seems RIGHT, it’s clear how Anakin would become completely convinced that the Jedi had a plot to take over, and would end up choosing Palpatine’s side because Palpatine has framed things so well that after all the stress and manipulation, it doesn’t even seem entirely wrong.
There’s just a lot more context, and I understand that level of detail can’t necessarily be contained in a movie, which is why I love books so much.
It just does a really good job at illustrating Anakin’s swirling emotions and his anger and confusion towards everything. And that illustration creates a better reasoned descent into darkness than the movie can. That’s why I appreciate it so much.
I just.
I could talk about this all day
The complexity of the situation and all the factors playing into the turn are so horribly intriguing to me, I need to talk insanely about it and let the story consume me I can’t stop thinking about it. And then in the end he has that sort of moment of realization but by then he’s screwed, he’s trapped and he’s lost everything bro it’s crazy-
Maybe it’s the jarring lack of happy ending that gets me so obsessed but god this is my favourite Star Wars.
Anakin is a chaotic disaster and I think that’s very relatable. If I were him I’d probably turn evil too (anger issues) I just maybe wouldn’t take it so far 😐
The writing was good.
I hate Palpatine.
Anakin Skywalker could kill me with a lightsaber and I would thank him.
I love Star Wars.
5/5 thanks for the pain and suffering 😀
February 7, 2025
This was awesome, although Anakin does not come off well in it - who knew Darth Vader could be such a selfish jerk.
March 22, 2017
I've always enjoyed the Prequels. I find them intelligent and complex films despite their shortcomings, and I don't think people who hate on them understand that complexity.
Anyway. Maybe this novel will help, even though it's only the last one of the trilogy. It's stunning and phenomenal and amazing in every way possible.
The writing style. Most other Star Wars novels I've attempted reading sound like cheesy, badly-written fanfiction. But Stover's prose is indescribable. It's rich and beautiful, but not pretentious, overwhelming the story. If nothing else, the prose is the reason this book is a delight to read. I didn't keep a a careful eye all the time, but a couple times it felt like Stover slightly shifts the writing style when the POV shifts, which I found masterfully done.
The development of the characters. As much as I love watching films, they do have their limitations when it comes to developing characters. The novel takes the reader deep into the emotions and struggles and effects of their past of many of the more minor characters, and the complexity is beautiful. I love the character of Mace Windu, his struggles, his inner connection with the dark. However overall, Obi-Wan will always be my favorite. He's always been my favorite character of the Prequels, and this novel just continued forming and shaping what I knew of him. The novel offers a deep insight into his struggles and fears and makes him so much more compelling and relatable.
The themes. If not anything else, this. You have your main themes in the film, but the novel digs deeper into them and others which are not explicit in the film. For example, the bondage of legalism, how the Jedi Order was largely at fault for what happened because they were blinded by their own irrelevant rules. I don't want to spoil anything, but the book explores that deeper than the film does, which is fantastic.
It might just have been me, but I did feel like the beginning was too drawn-out and elaborated, while the ending was rather rushed. For a climax it didn't have the length it should have. Also there were one or two scenes that could have used a better POV. (There was one scene which was very heavily emotional for the other characters, but it was written from Threepio's perspective. It felt like lazy writing.)
Otherwise, this novel is perfect and there's so much more to it I didn't talk about. Even if you haven't seen the Star Wars films, read this. It's a phenomenal book on its own.
Anyway. Maybe this novel will help, even though it's only the last one of the trilogy. It's stunning and phenomenal and amazing in every way possible.
The writing style. Most other Star Wars novels I've attempted reading sound like cheesy, badly-written fanfiction. But Stover's prose is indescribable. It's rich and beautiful, but not pretentious, overwhelming the story. If nothing else, the prose is the reason this book is a delight to read. I didn't keep a a careful eye all the time, but a couple times it felt like Stover slightly shifts the writing style when the POV shifts, which I found masterfully done.
The development of the characters. As much as I love watching films, they do have their limitations when it comes to developing characters. The novel takes the reader deep into the emotions and struggles and effects of their past of many of the more minor characters, and the complexity is beautiful. I love the character of Mace Windu, his struggles, his inner connection with the dark. However overall, Obi-Wan will always be my favorite. He's always been my favorite character of the Prequels, and this novel just continued forming and shaping what I knew of him. The novel offers a deep insight into his struggles and fears and makes him so much more compelling and relatable.
The themes. If not anything else, this. You have your main themes in the film, but the novel digs deeper into them and others which are not explicit in the film. For example, the bondage of legalism, how the Jedi Order was largely at fault for what happened because they were blinded by their own irrelevant rules. I don't want to spoil anything, but the book explores that deeper than the film does, which is fantastic.
It might just have been me, but I did feel like the beginning was too drawn-out and elaborated, while the ending was rather rushed. For a climax it didn't have the length it should have. Also there were one or two scenes that could have used a better POV. (There was one scene which was very heavily emotional for the other characters, but it was written from Threepio's perspective. It felt like lazy writing.)
Otherwise, this novel is perfect and there's so much more to it I didn't talk about. Even if you haven't seen the Star Wars films, read this. It's a phenomenal book on its own.
August 6, 2021
ONE FILM NOVELIZATION TO RULE THEM ALL...
(OK, wrong fictional universe, but you get the idea...)
This should be required reading for all Star Wars fans who claim the Prequels "ruined" the franchise.
If the key role of a film novelization is to deepen the characters and tell the same story from a series of compelling, subtly different points of view this novel succeeds at every turn. It is indeed a gem and, although no longer considered "canon", cleaves close enough to the film (which, of course, still is canon) to make little difference.
If you haven't read this yet because you "already saw the movie", don't hesitate now. Just
(OK, wrong fictional universe, but you get the idea...)
This should be required reading for all Star Wars fans who claim the Prequels "ruined" the franchise.
If the key role of a film novelization is to deepen the characters and tell the same story from a series of compelling, subtly different points of view this novel succeeds at every turn. It is indeed a gem and, although no longer considered "canon", cleaves close enough to the film (which, of course, still is canon) to make little difference.
If you haven't read this yet because you "already saw the movie", don't hesitate now. Just
February 17, 2025
Revenge of the Sith will always hold a special place in my heart, and for two reasons: First off, it was the first Star Wars movie I ever saw uncut on the big screen. I didn't get into the franchise until well after The Phantom Menace finished its theatrical run--yes, the original trilogy was way before my time--and, when I saw Attack of the Clones on an IMAX screen, it wasn't the entire film; so much so, I remember two guys walking out of the theater in front of me, and one said, "So...how much did they cut out?" Second off, it was around the time Revenge of the Sith came out that I was introduced to the Expanded Universe thanks to a local garage sale...which ended up renewing my love of reading. In early elementary school, I read quite a bit...but, from fourth grade through most of high school, I rarely had my face in a book if it wasn't required, choosing Nintendo, Disney Channel, or CCM in favor of any sort of literature...including the Bible, I'm sorry to say. When I first read I, Jedi after purchasing it at that yard sale, I realized that I had been missing out on a whole world of great entertainment that didn't come on a disc, cassette tape, or cartridge, nor via Cox Cable.
So, that may make me biased, but, I had fun with this novelization of the last--and, arguably, the best--of the Star Wars prequels. While I appreciate the extra details given, I did find Stover's tangents to be a little off-putting; it was like somebody pausing a movie to give their thoughts on what's going on onscreen. Still, it was great for what it was.
So, that may make me biased, but, I had fun with this novelization of the last--and, arguably, the best--of the Star Wars prequels. While I appreciate the extra details given, I did find Stover's tangents to be a little off-putting; it was like somebody pausing a movie to give their thoughts on what's going on onscreen. Still, it was great for what it was.
December 8, 2018
hello
this book has broken me
that is all for now
this book has broken me
that is all for now
May 30, 2020
The year is 2020. As the world burns, I decide that you only live once, and award a full five stars to a (*checks notes*) film novelisation good gravy.
It's SO GOOD, people.
In my recent rewatch of the Star Wars canon I saw ROTS for the second time ever and, despite the story's faults, fell resoundingly in love. I had for years heard excellent things about the Stover novelisation, so thought I'd give it a whirl.
I often find that a flawed book, when remade into a film, improves on its previous iteration. The same element is at work here: the flawed film, in this case, has given birth to a magnificently crafted novel. Stover doesn't hew too closely to the original script, instead retelling the story in his own words and for the most part with his own dialogue. The result, much as I love the film, is by far the more even and brilliant artwork. Here, Stover truly embraces the idiosyncratic strengths of the novel form to flesh out the story. Runtime isn't an issue, so he restores the subplot deleted from the film in which Padme joins with other Senators in laying the groundwork for the rebellion. But by far the most brilliant thing Stover does with the format of the novel is dig deep into the characters' interiority, fleshing out the story world, the Force, the characters' motivations and backstory, and above all their feelings.
I recently realised that the reason I love Star Wars and have rarely found another space opera comparable, is that it's a medieval knightly romance in space. It has all the tropes of that genre: Jedi for knights, Padawans for squires, the Force for the Holy Grail, cool spaceships for cool horses, lightsabres for swords, the endlessly diverse reaches of space for the endlessly mysterious forest through which it seems you never take the same path twice. Both are fundamentally aristocratic artforms, peopled with knights and princesses who face monsters and journey on quests. Stover's novelisation takes it a little bit further. If you've read medieval and renaissance epics, one of the delights of this genre is the factor of retelling. The thing is, almost all the characters are people we've seen before in other artforms, and yet there's a ceremonious pleasure in reintroducing these familiar characters (Lancelot, Charlemagne, Obi-Wan Kenobi) afresh for a new retelling. You know who the character is. You don't need to be told. But you are there simply for the pleasure of hearing it all said in a new way. Stover does this, pausing the jam-packed action of the book repeatedly simply for the pleasure of introducing these characters all over again. Look, he says, I know which genre I am in. This is knightly epic. We have ceremonies to observe.
It's so gorgeously written, all the way to the final line. I knew the final line. I've seen it quoted everywhere, I just didn't know it was from this book, and in context with the rest of the story it came as a powerful, tear-jerking bit of catharsis. So, how legendary is this novelisation? Well, I'm not particularly active in the Star Wars fandom, but beyond the final line, whole passages of this thing were somehow known to me via osmosis. Stover's writing is absolutely unique and instantly recognisable - iconic in a way that few original stories are, much less a film tie-in novel. The last time I had this experience was that time I read Milton, rather late, and could never get more than a few lines along without bumping into some famous quotation.
This is a truly great novel in its own right, one which has already been going strong for fifteen years and will no doubt continue much longer. If you like Star Wars at all, or even if you just love tragic epic fantasy with a slightly pulpy edge and villains making hilarious puns while slaughtering people, I can't recommend this book highly enough.
It's SO GOOD, people.
In my recent rewatch of the Star Wars canon I saw ROTS for the second time ever and, despite the story's faults, fell resoundingly in love. I had for years heard excellent things about the Stover novelisation, so thought I'd give it a whirl.
I often find that a flawed book, when remade into a film, improves on its previous iteration. The same element is at work here: the flawed film, in this case, has given birth to a magnificently crafted novel. Stover doesn't hew too closely to the original script, instead retelling the story in his own words and for the most part with his own dialogue. The result, much as I love the film, is by far the more even and brilliant artwork. Here, Stover truly embraces the idiosyncratic strengths of the novel form to flesh out the story. Runtime isn't an issue, so he restores the subplot deleted from the film in which Padme joins with other Senators in laying the groundwork for the rebellion. But by far the most brilliant thing Stover does with the format of the novel is dig deep into the characters' interiority, fleshing out the story world, the Force, the characters' motivations and backstory, and above all their feelings.
I recently realised that the reason I love Star Wars and have rarely found another space opera comparable, is that it's a medieval knightly romance in space. It has all the tropes of that genre: Jedi for knights, Padawans for squires, the Force for the Holy Grail, cool spaceships for cool horses, lightsabres for swords, the endlessly diverse reaches of space for the endlessly mysterious forest through which it seems you never take the same path twice. Both are fundamentally aristocratic artforms, peopled with knights and princesses who face monsters and journey on quests. Stover's novelisation takes it a little bit further. If you've read medieval and renaissance epics, one of the delights of this genre is the factor of retelling. The thing is, almost all the characters are people we've seen before in other artforms, and yet there's a ceremonious pleasure in reintroducing these familiar characters (Lancelot, Charlemagne, Obi-Wan Kenobi) afresh for a new retelling. You know who the character is. You don't need to be told. But you are there simply for the pleasure of hearing it all said in a new way. Stover does this, pausing the jam-packed action of the book repeatedly simply for the pleasure of introducing these characters all over again. Look, he says, I know which genre I am in. This is knightly epic. We have ceremonies to observe.
It's so gorgeously written, all the way to the final line. I knew the final line. I've seen it quoted everywhere, I just didn't know it was from this book, and in context with the rest of the story it came as a powerful, tear-jerking bit of catharsis. So, how legendary is this novelisation? Well, I'm not particularly active in the Star Wars fandom, but beyond the final line, whole passages of this thing were somehow known to me via osmosis. Stover's writing is absolutely unique and instantly recognisable - iconic in a way that few original stories are, much less a film tie-in novel. The last time I had this experience was that time I read Milton, rather late, and could never get more than a few lines along without bumping into some famous quotation.
This is a truly great novel in its own right, one which has already been going strong for fifteen years and will no doubt continue much longer. If you like Star Wars at all, or even if you just love tragic epic fantasy with a slightly pulpy edge and villains making hilarious puns while slaughtering people, I can't recommend this book highly enough.
July 22, 2025
"The dark is generous and it is patient and it always wins – but in the heart of its strength lies its weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back.
Love is more than a candle.
Love can ignite the stars."
What is there to say? This is the single best Star Wars book to ever exist. It perfectly bridges the prequels and the originals. It took a great movie and made it an absolute masterpiece of a book.
It's truly so tragic, especially if Anakin is your favorite like for me, and there's so many points he can turn back. It's frustrating every single time I've read this. If he just told Obi-Wan before he left, everything would've been mostly fine.
In the movie everything feels a bit cramped since there's so much story to get through, but this book fixes that issue, and it also solves the major issues of Anakin's turn feeling rushed and Palpatine wrecking three Jedi Masters in seconds actually rewarding and earned moments. Especially since we're in Anakin's mind and we know that he's been running on zero sleep for most likely a few weeks. Of course he was insane by that point.
This book is made even better if you read the Darth Bane trilogy > Darth Plagueis > Revenge of the Sith. You can toss in Rise of Darth Vader and the Kenobi novels too for good measure, but that's always my preferred way to read the Sith story.
10/5 book.
Love is more than a candle.
Love can ignite the stars."
What is there to say? This is the single best Star Wars book to ever exist. It perfectly bridges the prequels and the originals. It took a great movie and made it an absolute masterpiece of a book.
It's truly so tragic, especially if Anakin is your favorite like for me, and there's so many points he can turn back. It's frustrating every single time I've read this. If he just told Obi-Wan before he left, everything would've been mostly fine.
In the movie everything feels a bit cramped since there's so much story to get through, but this book fixes that issue, and it also solves the major issues of Anakin's turn feeling rushed and Palpatine wrecking three Jedi Masters in seconds actually rewarding and earned moments. Especially since we're in Anakin's mind and we know that he's been running on zero sleep for most likely a few weeks. Of course he was insane by that point.
This book is made even better if you read the Darth Bane trilogy > Darth Plagueis > Revenge of the Sith. You can toss in Rise of Darth Vader and the Kenobi novels too for good measure, but that's always my preferred way to read the Sith story.
10/5 book.
June 14, 2024
4.0 Stars
Star Wars Reading Guide https://youtu.be/k8WtQMRgCjA
Normally, I steer clear of novelizations, but this one was so well praised that I had to check it out. Full disclosure… I loved the prequel trilogy, despite its giant flaws. So I was happy to find that this novel fleshed out the third movie, expanding scenes and providing more understanding and motivations behind the characters' actions. The author also has writing chops and it clearly showed in his prose. I'd definitely reread this one.
Star Wars Reading Guide https://youtu.be/k8WtQMRgCjA
Normally, I steer clear of novelizations, but this one was so well praised that I had to check it out. Full disclosure… I loved the prequel trilogy, despite its giant flaws. So I was happy to find that this novel fleshed out the third movie, expanding scenes and providing more understanding and motivations behind the characters' actions. The author also has writing chops and it clearly showed in his prose. I'd definitely reread this one.
November 22, 2011
This story is interesting in that George Lucas didn't really give Stover a lot to work with. From the movies, Lucas gave us a vague sense that Anakin was a cool person who was really friendly with Obi-Wan, and that he was supposedly the best Jedi and blah blah blah. Plus, he makes the fall of Anakin Skywalker just about the lamest one ever. Going by that alone, there really is not that much of a story.
Stover, however, is fantastic in his novelization of Revenge of the Sith. He manages to take slightly boring and even unlikable characters, and vapid and forced plot-line and even really bad dialog and produce something absolutely amazing. Stover's prose in this story is absolutely beautiful--his juxtaposition of second and third person and his mix of viewpoint and perspective make this story wonderful. We are put, quite literally, into the hearts and minds of main characters. We rise in their triumphs, fall with their defeats, and are left devastated in the wake of their destruction. This book is predictable--I mean, we all know how the story ends. And yet, even as it winds to its close, even as we grow ever closer to the birth of Darth Vader (who is a favorite of mine), I found myself wishing there was a way to salvage the man who was Anakin Skywalker.
Stover is brilliant in his handling of the characters. The relationships and bonds he builds between them is powerful, believable and completely compelling. The relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan is beautiful. Obi-Wan manages to simultaneously be a best friend, a father, a brother, a comrade in arms, a master, and a teacher, but Stover's execution is flawless. It is completely believable, this interconnection and dynamic, a natural product of the path they have been on for so long. You can feel the ties between the two men, the absolute love and trust they have. But you can also see the cracks, the little pin pricks of uncertainty, of mistrust, of fear and even anger and resentment. And those imperfect pieces are what really makes the relationship so real. Because no relationship is perfect, and no two people can be that close and not have those little issues that only make them stronger. But they also make it possible to break.
Where Stover truly triumphs, however, is in the fall of Anakin. He moves the story along at a rapid and acceptable pace, but he still manages to completely build a character who is beautiful in his devastation. Anakin is a volatile person, and everything he feels, he feels strongly. With Anakin, love is overwhelming, all consuming, and it severely tests the limits of his carefully created control. His love for his wife almost borders on obsessive, but it is tempered by her reaction to him and their obvious bond. His complete devotion to Obi-Wan and Palpatine make him vulnerable and fragile, and all of these relationships are what increase his potential to fall. He is a study of contradictions, a warrior whose bravery and skills are known throughout the galaxy, but he lives in fear, a constant, never abating sense of terror that he can never save them all, that he can not stop the inevitable loss of those he loves. His mother's death gnaws at him, as do the deaths of friends and soldiers throughout the war. The unrelenting pressure, the desperate need to be a savior and too keep everyone safe--all of this builds to explain why he falls, and how quickly he does.
Stover is a beautiful writer, and though I've read the book many times, I still get goosebumps, I still cry, and I am still left in awe of what he has created. This remains one of the most brilliant works I have ever read, and continues to be an inspiration to me in terms of writing and authorship. I am gushing now, so I'll end this before it gets to be too much. But never has a book earned the five stars than this one.
Stover, however, is fantastic in his novelization of Revenge of the Sith. He manages to take slightly boring and even unlikable characters, and vapid and forced plot-line and even really bad dialog and produce something absolutely amazing. Stover's prose in this story is absolutely beautiful--his juxtaposition of second and third person and his mix of viewpoint and perspective make this story wonderful. We are put, quite literally, into the hearts and minds of main characters. We rise in their triumphs, fall with their defeats, and are left devastated in the wake of their destruction. This book is predictable--I mean, we all know how the story ends. And yet, even as it winds to its close, even as we grow ever closer to the birth of Darth Vader (who is a favorite of mine), I found myself wishing there was a way to salvage the man who was Anakin Skywalker.
Stover is brilliant in his handling of the characters. The relationships and bonds he builds between them is powerful, believable and completely compelling. The relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan is beautiful. Obi-Wan manages to simultaneously be a best friend, a father, a brother, a comrade in arms, a master, and a teacher, but Stover's execution is flawless. It is completely believable, this interconnection and dynamic, a natural product of the path they have been on for so long. You can feel the ties between the two men, the absolute love and trust they have. But you can also see the cracks, the little pin pricks of uncertainty, of mistrust, of fear and even anger and resentment. And those imperfect pieces are what really makes the relationship so real. Because no relationship is perfect, and no two people can be that close and not have those little issues that only make them stronger. But they also make it possible to break.
Where Stover truly triumphs, however, is in the fall of Anakin. He moves the story along at a rapid and acceptable pace, but he still manages to completely build a character who is beautiful in his devastation. Anakin is a volatile person, and everything he feels, he feels strongly. With Anakin, love is overwhelming, all consuming, and it severely tests the limits of his carefully created control. His love for his wife almost borders on obsessive, but it is tempered by her reaction to him and their obvious bond. His complete devotion to Obi-Wan and Palpatine make him vulnerable and fragile, and all of these relationships are what increase his potential to fall. He is a study of contradictions, a warrior whose bravery and skills are known throughout the galaxy, but he lives in fear, a constant, never abating sense of terror that he can never save them all, that he can not stop the inevitable loss of those he loves. His mother's death gnaws at him, as do the deaths of friends and soldiers throughout the war. The unrelenting pressure, the desperate need to be a savior and too keep everyone safe--all of this builds to explain why he falls, and how quickly he does.
Stover is a beautiful writer, and though I've read the book many times, I still get goosebumps, I still cry, and I am still left in awe of what he has created. This remains one of the most brilliant works I have ever read, and continues to be an inspiration to me in terms of writing and authorship. I am gushing now, so I'll end this before it gets to be too much. But never has a book earned the five stars than this one.
Want to read
May 31, 2023yes, i have been watching edits of hayden christensen as anakin skywalker pathologically for the last few days. no, i have never seen star wars. i am just a hoe for any corruption arc, even more so if a forbidden love is concerned 😩😩😩
March 3, 2023
It’s really true what Carly Simon said: Nobody does it better. While she might have been referring to James Bond, I think one wouldn’t be wrong to apply this line to Matthew Stover writing Star Wars because no one does it quite like him.
The novelisation of George Lucas’ sixth Star Wars film, the film that changed my life as it introduced me to the Star Wars universe, is EVERYTHING. And that means a lot coming from someone who loves the Prequels very dearly.
It’s the final days of the Clone Wars, and the Republic is a mess. Chancellor Palpatine is unrelenting in his subtle power games to gain more control over the Senate and politically outmanoeuvre the Jedi. Most Senators are more interested in their own gain than in ending the war that has cost millions of lives across the galaxy. And in-between all this chaos and desperation, there is Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Two Jedi, former Master & Padawan, who are closer than friends, closer than brothers and yet each battling with their own demons. For Anakin, those demons manifest in the dreams in which he sees his beloved wife Padmé dying. Everywhere, the Jedi can feel the growing power of the dark side of the Force, and it is clear that the end of everything is nigh.
Matthew Stover has a gift, and that gift is understanding Star Wars like no other SW author did before him. The truth is that Stover knows how to see through the superficial layers of space battles and ships and guns and lightsabers that, to many people, seem to constitute all that Star Wars is. Instead, he recognises and acknowledges the heart and soul of this saga and uses that knowledge to create the most emotionally devastating and beautiful space opera you have ever heard or seen.
Stover takes what Lucas made and improves it tenfold. It is astounding how a single paragraph, a single sentence of his, can make you fall in love with a character all over again. Especially his “This is…” passages show that he genuinely understands these characters.
In those “This is…” paragraphs, the heart of the novel is compressed. The full spectrum of this story’s human emotion and tragedy is amplified when shown through the eyes of each of its characters. When their unique experiences, their hopes, fears, and dreams become the pivotal axis around which rotates the fate of the universe. There are few things more enthralling than being laid bare the entirety of who a character is. He gives his readers an incredible number of details on what makes Mace Windu Mace Windu and why it is that Yoda had lost his fight against Darth Sidious before he was even born.
Stover immerses himself deep in Star Wars lore, so throwaway mentions of things like Krath war droids, Jedi like K’Kruhk, Jmmaar, and outer worlds such as Hypori, Tovarskl only serve to make this vast universe more complete. The devil is in the details, and boy; Stover understands how important details are for the full picture.
Furthermore, instead of just expanding the film version, Stover decided on changing critical elements in the telling of this story, the most distinctive and important of them being that he lets his readers know exactly who Darth Sidious is. Right from the beginning on, we know who the man behind the title is, and having to witness how the Jedi are all led astray by him, how they are all trying to find the Sith Lord when he’s parading around right under their noses was like a constant emotional gut punch. You want to scream and shout the truth at them, but the tragedy is that you’re just a reader, and they are ink on paper, and you just can’t make them hear you.
But all of these gems of narrative, all of the thoughtful details and incredible space battle scenes and lightsaber duels, only come alive thanks to Stover’s beautiful, almost indescribable prose. It’s dramatic and opulent when it needs to be and soft and alluring and dangerous, too. Every word is chosen with care, and every sentence is masterfully crafted to emphasise just the right amount of tragedy or joy.
This book, more than any other Star Wars book, will make you care so much about its characters that every time you read it, you’ll hope for a different outcome. It will make you care so much; you’ll most likely cry (I know I did the first time I read it) over the sadness and tragedy of it all.
This book is everything it needs to be, there’s not a single sentence out of place, no way to improve it, and it’s the jewel in the crown of Star Wars’ written works.
The novelisation of George Lucas’ sixth Star Wars film, the film that changed my life as it introduced me to the Star Wars universe, is EVERYTHING. And that means a lot coming from someone who loves the Prequels very dearly.
It’s the final days of the Clone Wars, and the Republic is a mess. Chancellor Palpatine is unrelenting in his subtle power games to gain more control over the Senate and politically outmanoeuvre the Jedi. Most Senators are more interested in their own gain than in ending the war that has cost millions of lives across the galaxy. And in-between all this chaos and desperation, there is Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Two Jedi, former Master & Padawan, who are closer than friends, closer than brothers and yet each battling with their own demons. For Anakin, those demons manifest in the dreams in which he sees his beloved wife Padmé dying. Everywhere, the Jedi can feel the growing power of the dark side of the Force, and it is clear that the end of everything is nigh.
Matthew Stover has a gift, and that gift is understanding Star Wars like no other SW author did before him. The truth is that Stover knows how to see through the superficial layers of space battles and ships and guns and lightsabers that, to many people, seem to constitute all that Star Wars is. Instead, he recognises and acknowledges the heart and soul of this saga and uses that knowledge to create the most emotionally devastating and beautiful space opera you have ever heard or seen.
Stover takes what Lucas made and improves it tenfold. It is astounding how a single paragraph, a single sentence of his, can make you fall in love with a character all over again. Especially his “This is…” passages show that he genuinely understands these characters.
“This is Obi-Wan Kenobi:
A phenomenal pilot who doesn’t like to fly. A devastating warrior who’d rather not fight. A negotiator without peer who frankly prefers to sit alone in a quiet cave and meditate.
Jedi Master. General in the Grand Army of the Republic. Member of the Jedi Council. And yet, inside, he feels like he’s none of these things.
Inside, he still feels like a Padawan.
It is a truism of the Jedi Order that a Jedi Knight’s education truly begins only when he becomes a Master: that everything important about being a Master is learned from one’s student. Obi-Wan feels the truth of this every day.”
In those “This is…” paragraphs, the heart of the novel is compressed. The full spectrum of this story’s human emotion and tragedy is amplified when shown through the eyes of each of its characters. When their unique experiences, their hopes, fears, and dreams become the pivotal axis around which rotates the fate of the universe. There are few things more enthralling than being laid bare the entirety of who a character is. He gives his readers an incredible number of details on what makes Mace Windu Mace Windu and why it is that Yoda had lost his fight against Darth Sidious before he was even born.
Stover immerses himself deep in Star Wars lore, so throwaway mentions of things like Krath war droids, Jedi like K’Kruhk, Jmmaar, and outer worlds such as Hypori, Tovarskl only serve to make this vast universe more complete. The devil is in the details, and boy; Stover understands how important details are for the full picture.
Furthermore, instead of just expanding the film version, Stover decided on changing critical elements in the telling of this story, the most distinctive and important of them being that he lets his readers know exactly who Darth Sidious is. Right from the beginning on, we know who the man behind the title is, and having to witness how the Jedi are all led astray by him, how they are all trying to find the Sith Lord when he’s parading around right under their noses was like a constant emotional gut punch. You want to scream and shout the truth at them, but the tragedy is that you’re just a reader, and they are ink on paper, and you just can’t make them hear you.
But all of these gems of narrative, all of the thoughtful details and incredible space battle scenes and lightsaber duels, only come alive thanks to Stover’s beautiful, almost indescribable prose. It’s dramatic and opulent when it needs to be and soft and alluring and dangerous, too. Every word is chosen with care, and every sentence is masterfully crafted to emphasise just the right amount of tragedy or joy.
This book, more than any other Star Wars book, will make you care so much about its characters that every time you read it, you’ll hope for a different outcome. It will make you care so much; you’ll most likely cry (I know I did the first time I read it) over the sadness and tragedy of it all.
This book is everything it needs to be, there’s not a single sentence out of place, no way to improve it, and it’s the jewel in the crown of Star Wars’ written works.
February 24, 2025
It was really interesting to see how little needs to be changed to make a story work so much better. A scene added here, and a conversation slightly changed there, and suddenly all 3 of Anakin's main 3 relationships (friendship with Palpatine, friendship with Obi Wan, romance with Padme) felt much stronger. Also the forces pulling between those 3 relationships also felt much stronger, and generally made the culmination of Anakin's arc feel more believable.
That being said, why did Stover feel the need to change the line "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause."
8.3/10
That being said, why did Stover feel the need to change the line "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause."
8.3/10
April 1, 2016
Padme deserved better.
February 9, 2022
yo i'm crying
May 29, 2020
Recently I've come to the opinion that Revenge of the Sith would be the best Star Wars film were it not written and directed by George Lucas. Given to a filmmaker/s with more talent, we could have had a much better film which is the turning point of the whole franchise.
This is a very good novelisation of the film. It goes a lot more into things which are only touched on briefly in the film (while at the same time cutting stuff out, like the lightsaber fights aren't as good but they're more visual scenes anyway).
RotS is the best prequel film, but this book shows how it could have been so much better. Granted there's stuff you can't get into in film because of running and time and it's harder to show what a character is feeling on film (especially if they're played by Hyden Christian).
This is a very good novelisation of the film. It goes a lot more into things which are only touched on briefly in the film (while at the same time cutting stuff out, like the lightsaber fights aren't as good but they're more visual scenes anyway).
RotS is the best prequel film, but this book shows how it could have been so much better. Granted there's stuff you can't get into in film because of running and time and it's harder to show what a character is feeling on film (especially if they're played by Hyden Christian).
March 4, 2009
A Greek tragedy, that's what it is...or is supposed to be.
Stover managed to expand the cinematic story of Episode Three into something richer and deeper than the movie. With only minor plot expansions, he takes us into the thoughts, motives and emotions of the players.
We despair as we witness doom's inexorable approach. But, like Pandora's Box, after all the evils escaped into the world--galaxy, the last spirit out was hope.
So be it.
(fade to theme music.)
Stover managed to expand the cinematic story of Episode Three into something richer and deeper than the movie. With only minor plot expansions, he takes us into the thoughts, motives and emotions of the players.
We despair as we witness doom's inexorable approach. But, like Pandora's Box, after all the evils escaped into the world--galaxy, the last spirit out was hope.
So be it.
(fade to theme music.)
January 4, 2023
“In the end, you cannot touch the shadow.
In the end, you do not even want to.
In the end, the shadow is all you have left.
Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself -
And within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.
This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker.
Forever.”
I am an empty shell of the person I once was.
what a way to start the year, eh?
In the end, you do not even want to.
In the end, the shadow is all you have left.
Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself -
And within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.
This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker.
Forever.”
I am an empty shell of the person I once was.
what a way to start the year, eh?
August 22, 2021
i reread this for self care, but i am worse mentally and in a lot of pain. 5 stars.
June 29, 2024
GOOD SHIT! I am a long time star wars prequel apologist, and this was a fantastic novelization that added a lot of depth. I really liked how it dove into characters that were deeply underdeveloped in the films, like Count Dooku and General Grievous. I loved seeing the heroes and villains in a more complex light. It’s a captivating corruption arc with genuinely impressive writing. I have some criticisms; my biggest being that the Anakin/Padme romance is overwrought and unbelievable, which is unfortunate because Anakin's downfall hinges on that relationship, but that’s less the fault of this book and more the fault of the script. Also I wish they didn’t directly translate Artoo’s dialog, that just felt wrong! But mostly I had a fantastic time with this one. I love Obi-wan Kenobi with my whole heart, and Anakin's melodramatic descent into evil is very fun. Even though I already knew everything that happened, the ending had me gagged! Highly recommended for Star Wars fans.
March 13, 2023
This is a strong contender for the best Star Wars novel I've read. Stover takes this tragic tale and makes it infinitely stronger than what was put on screen. New scenes, addition and deletion of some lines of dialogue, and a STRONG focus on character made this a tremendous achievement. And it also features some chapters using a second person narrative that's amongst the best I've read. (I'm serious!). Home run of a book. 5/5
Want to read
May 19, 2025streets are saying this is the best novelization of Star Wars
May 31, 2025
Why’d you do me like that Matthew
[More review] Before Twitter killed good bots, I followed the ROTS NOVELIZATION BOT, which posted lines from this book every day. That was a sublime experience. Each day, an infusion of true art that buoyed the spirit even as it crushed. For a long time I was content with this. Like Moby-Dick (I am reading Moby-Dick), the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover is wonderful out of context. It has sentences that will shoot you to the moon. For a long time, Bot was all I needed. That bot was murdered by the Ownership; only good things die in this world.
Eventually I have come across a mass market of the whole book, because the trilogy omnibus already living in my house was too much a burden on my hand and mind. A mass market, however, is a beautiful thing. It feels like something you're allowed to pummel and crunch, something that you can throw in a bag as you are hurtled through daily life. Together! Together! We are friends, the small disposable paperback and I. We occupy a sympathetic placement in the order of the universe.
I am most happy to announce that reading the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover in its entirety was also a sublime experience, marred almost exclusively by MS's desperate efforts to bridge reason and canon for the parts of RotS that don't make sense. I see your frenzied scuffling, Matthew! I see your efforts! Padme still sort of sucks in this part of the trilogy, may George never be forgiven, but at least you gave her politics to do between standing in windows pining and fluttering.
Anakin's transformation has an arc! Anakin has a chest-dragon THAT WAS ALWAYS HIMSELF (devastating blow near the end). Obi-Wan is such a pure VESSEL OF THE FORCE that it feels basically erotic. Matthew loves Mace Windu and references his own book, Shatterpoint, dozens of times. He adores Mace Windu. He's like Karen Traviss with Boba Fett if it was endearing. The lizard thing that Obi-Wan rides at Utapau is more fleshed out than most of the Jedi Council. Bless her bravery! Bless her scales!
How many times must I underline a line about the collapse of a republic going "i feel sick. i feel sick right now. i am positively nauseous." ??? How often must I weep on the bus? How does a book of the movie, a movie I have seen dozens of times, feel like a new thing? Sometimes people write Star Wars books and they are terrible. This is especially true regarding anything by Kevin J. Anderson. However, sometimes the heart at the center of a star wars novel is SO TENDER. Tears drip down Obi-Wan's face (immediate five stars). Dave Filoni retconned Order 66 so hard he snapped in two because he liked the clones too much. There is no excuse for having a character named Shu Mai.
Exquisite work. Would read again. Heavy annotation is permitted in the used mass market paperback.
Also: very funny that most of Matthew Stover's author biography is just an explanation of the martial art he does.
[More review] Before Twitter killed good bots, I followed the ROTS NOVELIZATION BOT, which posted lines from this book every day. That was a sublime experience. Each day, an infusion of true art that buoyed the spirit even as it crushed. For a long time I was content with this. Like Moby-Dick (I am reading Moby-Dick), the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover is wonderful out of context. It has sentences that will shoot you to the moon. For a long time, Bot was all I needed. That bot was murdered by the Ownership; only good things die in this world.
Eventually I have come across a mass market of the whole book, because the trilogy omnibus already living in my house was too much a burden on my hand and mind. A mass market, however, is a beautiful thing. It feels like something you're allowed to pummel and crunch, something that you can throw in a bag as you are hurtled through daily life. Together! Together! We are friends, the small disposable paperback and I. We occupy a sympathetic placement in the order of the universe.
I am most happy to announce that reading the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover in its entirety was also a sublime experience, marred almost exclusively by MS's desperate efforts to bridge reason and canon for the parts of RotS that don't make sense. I see your frenzied scuffling, Matthew! I see your efforts! Padme still sort of sucks in this part of the trilogy, may George never be forgiven, but at least you gave her politics to do between standing in windows pining and fluttering.
Anakin's transformation has an arc! Anakin has a chest-dragon THAT WAS ALWAYS HIMSELF (devastating blow near the end). Obi-Wan is such a pure VESSEL OF THE FORCE that it feels basically erotic. Matthew loves Mace Windu and references his own book, Shatterpoint, dozens of times. He adores Mace Windu. He's like Karen Traviss with Boba Fett if it was endearing. The lizard thing that Obi-Wan rides at Utapau is more fleshed out than most of the Jedi Council. Bless her bravery! Bless her scales!
How many times must I underline a line about the collapse of a republic going "i feel sick. i feel sick right now. i am positively nauseous." ??? How often must I weep on the bus? How does a book of the movie, a movie I have seen dozens of times, feel like a new thing? Sometimes people write Star Wars books and they are terrible. This is especially true regarding anything by Kevin J. Anderson. However, sometimes the heart at the center of a star wars novel is SO TENDER. Tears drip down Obi-Wan's face (immediate five stars). Dave Filoni retconned Order 66 so hard he snapped in two because he liked the clones too much. There is no excuse for having a character named Shu Mai.
Exquisite work. Would read again. Heavy annotation is permitted in the used mass market paperback.
Also: very funny that most of Matthew Stover's author biography is just an explanation of the martial art he does.
January 20, 2016
So, I liked this book so much that I thought I'd ask some of the characters for their thoughts.
Contains spoilers
Matthew Stover: The perfect biographer of my rise to the top job. Forget about those previous two books; paltry attempts to display my magnificence. You really get a sense in this one of just how much effort I went to. Really quite a lot. You know, one war down, the Jedi dispensed with... A bit more epic detail than in my movie, and a great deal more word craft. Of course, now I've got a bit more plastic surgery needed, though not sure I'll bother. Anyway, couldn't be more pleased. Must get going... places to oppress, evil to inflict...
- The Emperor
Much better than the other prequel novelizations, this book is. Not a bit crap, was it.
- Yoda
I FIND STOVER'S LACK OF FAITH IN ME DISTURBING. AT THE END I WAS AN EMOTIONAL WRECK, AND IT LEFT ME IN PIECES. SERIOUSLY.
- Darth Vader
Well, it painted me in a very nice light, so of course I'm grateful for that. A most engaging book. I couldn't possibly neglect to mention that it actually adds something over the movie, whereas instead of reading the previous two books you may as well just sit down in front of the movies with a blue liqueur in hand. And a death stick or two, perhaps. You'd save time! So this had that over the others. Still, not a bit happy with the outcome. He was my brother!
- Obi Wan Kenobi
Frankly, I didn't understand a word of it. Oh dear, what was that, my little friend...? Oh, yes. R2D2 wants me to pass on his remarks that none of it was his fault. The idiot. I'm sure it was.
- C3PO
The book was so enthralling that I forgot myself and left my head in one of the earlier chapters. How clumsy of me.
- Count Dooku
Meesa annoyed meesa hardly had any time in deesa book!
- You-know-who. He who must not be named, THE DARK ONE
Luke and Leia declined to comment owing to their crippling condition of being newborns.
Contains spoilers
Matthew Stover: The perfect biographer of my rise to the top job. Forget about those previous two books; paltry attempts to display my magnificence. You really get a sense in this one of just how much effort I went to. Really quite a lot. You know, one war down, the Jedi dispensed with... A bit more epic detail than in my movie, and a great deal more word craft. Of course, now I've got a bit more plastic surgery needed, though not sure I'll bother. Anyway, couldn't be more pleased. Must get going... places to oppress, evil to inflict...
- The Emperor
Much better than the other prequel novelizations, this book is. Not a bit crap, was it.
- Yoda
I FIND STOVER'S LACK OF FAITH IN ME DISTURBING. AT THE END I WAS AN EMOTIONAL WRECK, AND IT LEFT ME IN PIECES. SERIOUSLY.
- Darth Vader
Well, it painted me in a very nice light, so of course I'm grateful for that. A most engaging book. I couldn't possibly neglect to mention that it actually adds something over the movie, whereas instead of reading the previous two books you may as well just sit down in front of the movies with a blue liqueur in hand. And a death stick or two, perhaps. You'd save time! So this had that over the others. Still, not a bit happy with the outcome. He was my brother!
- Obi Wan Kenobi
Frankly, I didn't understand a word of it. Oh dear, what was that, my little friend...? Oh, yes. R2D2 wants me to pass on his remarks that none of it was his fault. The idiot. I'm sure it was.
- C3PO
The book was so enthralling that I forgot myself and left my head in one of the earlier chapters. How clumsy of me.
- Count Dooku
Meesa annoyed meesa hardly had any time in deesa book!
- You-know-who. He who must not be named, THE DARK ONE
Luke and Leia declined to comment owing to their crippling condition of being newborns.
October 16, 2021
This book was an utter masterpiece. I went in really hoping that it could make me at least like the story of Revenge of the Sith even if I never change my mind on the movie. Stover gave me everything I was hoping for and more. There's lots of character development, particularly of characters who get glossed over in the movie. Seeing into Anakin's head made it a lot easier for me to buy his turn to the dark side too.
The Revenge of the Sith novelization felt like fanfiction in all of the best ways. Every time there was a chance to punch the reader in the feels, Stover went for it. Even knowing how the story was going to play out, the book created this palpable tension that kept me both wanting to read and scared of how much reading on was going to hurt.
I'd be curious to see how much of the added details in this book align with the description of this era in Clone Wars. I was pleasantly surprised to find the two very tonally similar -- as I love Clone Wars -- and it seems like a lot of the areas Stover chose to explore more than the film are ideas we see in other, now-canon works.
My slice of Star Wars Twitter has been gushing about the Revenge of the Sith novelization for ages and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. I'd recommend this for both fans of the prequel movies as well as those like me who want to love those movies but just can't quite get there.
The Revenge of the Sith novelization felt like fanfiction in all of the best ways. Every time there was a chance to punch the reader in the feels, Stover went for it. Even knowing how the story was going to play out, the book created this palpable tension that kept me both wanting to read and scared of how much reading on was going to hurt.
"Anakin turned, and found within Obi-Wan's eyes a depth of feeling he had only rarely glimpsed in all their years together; and the pure uncomplicated love that rose up within him then felt like a promise from the Force itself."
I'd be curious to see how much of the added details in this book align with the description of this era in Clone Wars. I was pleasantly surprised to find the two very tonally similar -- as I love Clone Wars -- and it seems like a lot of the areas Stover chose to explore more than the film are ideas we see in other, now-canon works.
My slice of Star Wars Twitter has been gushing about the Revenge of the Sith novelization for ages and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. I'd recommend this for both fans of the prequel movies as well as those like me who want to love those movies but just can't quite get there.
November 20, 2018
This book, to me, is THE definitive prequel media.
Novelizations are sometimes just "The Movie: Deluxe Edition," parroting everything from the movie without adding much else. This is not one of those novelizations. I can't even stress enough how much this book takes Episode III from a good but flawed movie to THE BEST POSSIBLE VERSION of itself. There are whole entire extra scenes, background for everything that seemed odd, jarring, or like a plot hole from the movie, and dialogue that I would give my eyeteeth to have seen onscreen.
Overall, Stover's novelization sews the disjointed pieces of Episode III together into a devastating crescendo befitting a space opera's tragic climax. If this book could have been reflected on the screen, "Revenge of the Sith" would make it into a lot more people's list of top 3 Star Wars movies. Please read it.
All things die, Anakin Skywalker. Even stars burn out.
11/19/2018 Edit: I am destroyed. This has got to be like my fourth time reading this, and yet I almost couldn't make it through I was so stressed. I'm a different person now than I was when I started this re-read.
It's not even that this book is a phenomenal adaptation of the Revenge of the Sith movie. Honestly, the Revenge of the Sith movie is a laughably poor adaptation of this book.
Novelizations are sometimes just "The Movie: Deluxe Edition," parroting everything from the movie without adding much else. This is not one of those novelizations. I can't even stress enough how much this book takes Episode III from a good but flawed movie to THE BEST POSSIBLE VERSION of itself. There are whole entire extra scenes, background for everything that seemed odd, jarring, or like a plot hole from the movie, and dialogue that I would give my eyeteeth to have seen onscreen.
Overall, Stover's novelization sews the disjointed pieces of Episode III together into a devastating crescendo befitting a space opera's tragic climax. If this book could have been reflected on the screen, "Revenge of the Sith" would make it into a lot more people's list of top 3 Star Wars movies. Please read it.
All things die, Anakin Skywalker. Even stars burn out.
11/19/2018 Edit: I am destroyed. This has got to be like my fourth time reading this, and yet I almost couldn't make it through I was so stressed. I'm a different person now than I was when I started this re-read.
It's not even that this book is a phenomenal adaptation of the Revenge of the Sith movie. Honestly, the Revenge of the Sith movie is a laughably poor adaptation of this book.
Read
January 16, 2022I’m not surprised that this is my favorite Star Wars novelization so far. The film is still way better, but it provides a greater depth of character to Anakin's fall to the dark side. I love how it was more of a slow burn (pun intended) into crisis mode. Some of the intimate thoughts Anakin had were so intriguing and quite depressing. I just wish I could give this boy some proper therapy.
Also, anytime Anakin and Palpatine would have their special convos I couldn't help but feel like, "Gee, Palpatine sort of knows what he's talking about." The novel makes Palpatine much more manipulative and sneaky with his philosophies about the dark side and the hypocrisy of the Jedi. He made a lot more sense in novel form than in his verbal film dialogue.
I also liked that the novel actually explains what happened to Padme as she was just lying on the ground completely passed out. It was so wholesome to see C3P0 and R2-D2 try and drag her to the ship.
In conclusion...Order 66 = sad boi hours.
Also, anytime Anakin and Palpatine would have their special convos I couldn't help but feel like, "Gee, Palpatine sort of knows what he's talking about." The novel makes Palpatine much more manipulative and sneaky with his philosophies about the dark side and the hypocrisy of the Jedi. He made a lot more sense in novel form than in his verbal film dialogue.
I also liked that the novel actually explains what happened to Padme as she was just lying on the ground completely passed out. It was so wholesome to see C3P0 and R2-D2 try and drag her to the ship.
In conclusion...Order 66 = sad boi hours.
July 5, 2020
Wow, what an emotional journey.
The Revenge of the Sith novelisation is basically the movie, but better. It covers the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker splendidly. It's far more emotional, descriptive, and funny. The dialogue is fantastically written, far better than any of the SW films (this includes the original trilogy). Would recommend giving this a read if you're an avid Star Wars fan and a lover of the Revenge of the Sith film. It'll be well worth your while.
The Revenge of the Sith novelisation is basically the movie, but better. It covers the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker splendidly. It's far more emotional, descriptive, and funny. The dialogue is fantastically written, far better than any of the SW films (this includes the original trilogy). Would recommend giving this a read if you're an avid Star Wars fan and a lover of the Revenge of the Sith film. It'll be well worth your while.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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