Customer Reviews

Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When the Prequel Trilogy came to the movie screens, many old-time fans of the Star Wars saga undoubtedly felt somewhat dissatisfied with certain incomplete plot lines or seemingly unrelated phrases said by the main characters. I have to admit I was one of those fans.

After watching the complete trilogy and the Clone Wars animated series, and after reading several Star Wars books, I came to realize that the movies made much greater sense to the fan when their story was augmented by the stories told in the novelized screen plays.

A carefully thought over and well-written book will always put the characters in deeper perspective than any 2-hour film that is packed with action and fantastic scenes and effects.

I wholeheartedly recommend the book to every fan of the Star Wars movies, and to everybody who watched them and felt somewhat confused by some apparent holes in the plot.

All three novelizations included here are written by some of the best science-fiction writers today. These books give more detail, background, and characterization then the films ever could. While the story of the Star Wars prequel trilogy is epic in itself, a lot of people still have problems with the movies: wooden acting, horrible dialogue (ex. Anakin/Padme love scenes. You know what I'm talking about). These scenes come across so much better on paper. My view is to see the films first for all the great action, and then read the novels for some actual depth to the story.

Combined with the novelizations of the original trilogy, Star Wars is a series worthy of being seen AND read.

The film novelizations are extremely creative. EVERYTHING from the movies is found in these novels. Mind you, there are minor additions fixed into the stories; other than that, the lines from the books are expressed almost word for word in the films. If you love the movies, than you won't help but love these novels.

These three novelizations of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy are not as good as the films they are based on, I must say. The books are pretty close to the movies storyline, but some of the added scenes in the books weren't all that necessary, there are just a couple errors in a couple spots, and some of the added/altered dialog was just a bit too over the top for my tastes. All in all the three novelizations are just good, but not great, alright in other words. They're good to have in the collection, they are just not great books, thats all. Each book deserves at least a four star rating from me, hence the total four star rating here.

P.S. It is a convenient way to get all three of them in a single book like here.

The book itself was a bit larger than what I was picturing in my mind. Reminds me of that scene in The Jane Austen Book Club where the guy smacks that gigantic book with Jane Austen's entire collection in it onto the table. I would have rather had the three books in a smaller size seperately. Also, my specific copy was sent to me shrink wrapped with a crease down the back cover..a bit disappointing. Aside from that, I loved Phantom Menace (epsiode I book). Terry brooks did a great job, and for me, seemed to enhance the story line, characters, and even the growing relationship between Padme and Anakin. As for the second book, I thought it was pretty terrible. There was a lot added, that really turned me from it, and I struggled to finish reading it. The last book was okay, but I found that the battle descriptions were a bit harder to follow through that writers style.
I did end up just purchasing Phantom Menace by itself, so I don't have to drag out this gigantic book everytime I want to read it...especially when I can't see myself re-reading the other two books.

I got the book a week later after I ordered it, quicker then I expected, But Just to let you know, Its based off of the movies, I don't think these are the actual books, but they have very nice description, + more then what the movie provided.

I loved these series, i think that the prequel series are even better than the later-in-time triology. Revenge of the Sith, I think is the best book, (as it should be).
My favourite character being Count Dooku, his thoughts displayed perfectly and so humorously, all you can do is thank Matthew Stover for writing the book. I found the last conversation between Obi-wan and Anakin so sad, since it's the last conversation they really have,on the light-side and as friends. I believe it is the Jedi Concils fault for his fall to the dark side, sending Anakin to spy on Palpantine, and not treating him as part of the Jedi Council, when he really should be one. I think i would have acted the same as Anakin had it been me.
Altogether an exciting and legendary series, if not my favourite books forever.

Excellent! exactly what i wanted. great service loved the product! the product was in the condition as listed which i appreciates

Well, if you like the Star Wars movies, it would be the only reason you would read the books - so obviously this review is addressed to fellow Star Wars Fans. And further, I can only imagine you would want to read the books to get something out of them that is not in the movies. So my conclusion is that - yes, this is a fun book, but it is the third book in this prequel trilogy, "Revenge of the Sith" (by Matthew Stover) which goes into the most explanation of the story and Star Wars world behind the movie. The third book explains in much more detail how Anakin Skywalker is seduced to the dark side of the Force. The first two books in this trilogy are pretty much the same - dialogue and all - as the movies. So if you love Star Wars - go ahead, buy this book. Just be aware that it is only the third story in it, "Revenge of the Sith" (Matthew Stover) that has any new ideas or back story in it. If you can find that book separately, go ahead and buy it instead.

This omnibus weighs in at 1008 pages (about the same length of "The Lord of the Rings!") & covers the events of the Star Wars "prequel" trilogy.

The Phantom Menace (Terry Brooks 1999): Brooks serves up a fun, juvenile adventure story with all of the color & incident of the film and lots of added scenes. Lucas had the idea that the whole novel would be told from Anakin's point of view (an idea that might have helped the film, actually) which is interesting. There are several whole chapters covering material not in the film. In fact, this novel contains the very first mention of Darth Bane! An enjoyable read if you loved the movie.

Attack of the Clones (R.A. Salvatore 2002): Another fantasy writer was brought in for AOTC, but not one of Terry Brooks' stature. Don't get me wrong, Brooks is also a hack but he's pulled it together to create some solid mainstream fantasy novels (Sword of Shannara, Wishsong of Shannara, Magic Kingdom For Sale). Salvatore mostly cranks out licensed fiction based in the Dungeons & Dragons world. His take on AOTC includes detailed descriptions of fights & battles, which is fitting, but he fails to attain the breezy readability of Brooks' TPM novelization. In fact, Salvatore recreates the tinny quality that drags the film down. However, it is a perfectly acceptable novelization, probably above average for this sort of thing, and written by someone who really knows his way around licensed fiction. There are several chapters worth of non-movie material; but apart from Padme's homelife, it's not very compelling material.

Revenge of the Sith (Matt Stover 2005): Not only the best of the novelizations, but one of the best examples of Star Wars fiction. Stover captures both the off-the-wall humor of the films and their grandiose epic scale. He writes in a breathless, run-on style, completely unlike his own epic "Cain" series, letting you inside the character's heads. Stover also strives to tie up dangling continuity issues from the first two films and to merge his novelization with the greater world of "SW EU" (Expanded Universe, the novels, comics, games etc.) which is a lot of fun. He even drops a few nods to Alan Dean Foster's 1976 novelization of the original "Star Wars." There aren't many added scenes and there is one glaring omission: Yoda's campaign on the Wookiee planet Kashyyk, a huge disappointment for me, I would like to have read more about that world, especially after glimpsing it onscreen in the movie. Highly recommended.

This volume would make a great gift for a young person who loves Star Wars but hasn't discovered the joys of reading yet.