Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Unabridged) (Audio Download)

by Matthew Stover (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The turning point for the entire Star Wars saga is at hand. . . .

As combat escalates across the galaxy, the stage is set for an explosive endgame: Obi-Wan undertakes a perilous mission to destroy the dreaded Separatist military leader, General Grievous. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine continues to strip away constitutional liberties in the name of security while influencing public opinion to turn against the Jedi. And a conflicted Anakin fears that his secret love, Senator Padmé Amidala, will die. Tormented by unspeakable visions, Anakin edges closer to the brink of a galaxy-shaping decision. It remains only for Darth Sidious to strike the final staggering blow against the Republic–and to ordain a fearsome new Sith Lord: Darth Vader.

Based on the screenplay of the final film in George Lucas’s epic saga, bestselling Star Wars author Matthew Stover’s novel crackles with action, captures the iconic characters in all their complexity, and brings a space opera masterpiece full circle in stunning style. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author
Matthew Stover is the New York Times bestselling author of five previous novels, including Star Wars: Shatterpoint; Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Traitor; Heroes Die; and The Blade of Tyshalle. He is an expert in several martial arts. Stover lives outside Chicago. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Download
• Publisher: audible.com
• ASIN: B000F7CC04
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• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, August 28, 2006

By	Ron Sullivan (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm only going to mention a couple of things. Both the novel and the film have been out long enough that I don't see any real reason to go back over a synopsis of the story.

Once freed of a film's running time Stover could really take his time fleshing out issues that the movie was forced to speed through. For example, he made it clear as day why tension had mounted between the Jedi and Palpatine, and the current political climate on Courasant.

The relationship between Anakin and Palpatine is explored much more then in the movie. In the scene when Palpatine revealed himself to Anakin, Palpatine's emphasis on his right to live and his prediction that the Jedi would kill him on the spot for his religious beliefs, I found, much more effective then in the film. From what I recall, the film focused more on trying to save Amadala from her predicted demise.

I thought that the effect Anakin's visions were having on him were much better explained then in the movie. The novel, basically, had Anakin terrified to rest and exhausted from sleep depravation. This worked in that when the climatic battle between Windu and Palpatine came to a head, Anakin (who, at that point, was nothing short of delerious from exhustion) obviously wasn't thinking clearly.

I loved the way that the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan developed. It was very well illustrated that Anakin was always using Obi-Wan as his emotional anchor and when removed of that, just how easily he could be manipulated by someone Anakin saw as never having lied to him.

The only thing that I wound up dinging the novel for was the Wookies role and Yoda's escape. It's virtually missing, as if someone just accidentally edited it out. It was really bizarre that it was just ... not there.

Outstanding book though, as much as I liked the film, the book is significantly better.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding novelization, January 11, 2006

By	B. Newby "spikescreed" (any town, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Mass Market Paperback)

It has been a very long time since I have read a work of fiction that so captivated me as this novel did. Yes, I was enthralled with the movie but I am seriously considering writing this as another "the book was better than the movie" review.
The author doesn't just rewrite Lucas' script into a prose format, he takes it and molds it into an entirely new and distinguished story, one of epic proportions and scope. The characters are deepened by internal musings. Entire emotional arcs are added to several characters, most of all Anakin, whose reflections on a dead star do more for the character than any amount of CGI enhancements. The dialogue is expanded and embellished. The subplots that were removed from the film (the origins of the Rebel Alliance, for example) are found here, fully restored.
What keeps this from being a 5-star flawless book is the way it ends. What amounts to about 20 minutes of screen time is summed up (seemingly in haste) in about 30 pages, which isn't nearly enough to cover the emotional content of the Mustafar battle. Granted, this is a flaw of any book, in that it is very difficult to portray action sequences with the same resonance as they project when you see them.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of outstanding writing. This novel transcends its Sci-Fi genre, truly making itself out to be the epic it should be.

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Outstanding, March 26, 2007

By	Marianne T. Evans "Marmo" (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Mass Market Paperback)

I devoured this book while on vacation. Not only is Stover's style appealing and fast paced, but he is utterly true to the movie's characters, both old and new. He beautifully illustrates the fact that Anakin's descent to the dark side is far more complicated than simply a bad guy doing bad things for bad reasons...the layers to his persona are drawn out beautifully by the author, and follow with perfect syncronicity the plot/mood/characterization of the movie (Hayden Christensen's portrayal of this multi-layered character, by the way, was simply incredible). Loved the movie, loved the book, and unhesitatingly recommend it (and beyond Star Wars realm, I'm not much of a sci-fi reader...). ENJOY!