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b.andherbooks's Reviews > Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Star Wars: Novelizations #6)
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by
Man, this was not so good for me. I am way to close to the original trilogy films and I could not get over the stilted language and the lack of character development. I'm assuming the ROTJ script got handed to Kahn and he had to write a novel based off of movie he had not even seen? I hope so, because otherwise, woof.
I've read so many EXCELLENT Expanded Universe novels and this did not even come close. Perhaps if I had read this as a kid in 1983 with no other knowledge I would have been OK, because this was a HUGE bestseller in 1983. Huge.
When I read a novelization of a movie, I'm hoping for further insight into the minds of the characters, what they are thinking during moments of action, etc. In this one, the only moments I enjoyed were at the end, when Luke and Vader came to an understanding and we got to see a bit more of what was going through Luke's head during their confrontation. Oddly, Lando Calrissian was the other character I got a little more insight into, which I thought was an odd choice, but ok overall.
The Han/Leia romance was so off. For example:
"Han and Leia turned to each other full of feeling. All they'd struggled for, all they'd dreamed of-gone now...Han had never known love, so enamored of himself was he; Leia had never known love, so wrapped up in social upheaval was she..."
And,
"Han and Leia looked at each other, fixed their gazes deep in each other's eyes, swam there in the wells of their souls for a suspended, eternal moment, during which all was felt, understood, touched, shared."
Where's the charming banter?! Nope. Just too busy staring at each other.
Also, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT do this:
"'Ahrck grah rahr hrowrowhr," Chewbacca agreed.
or
"'Beed doop beep deep,' said Artoo."
Don't do it.
Read for the "year I was born" square on my work Book Bingo Challenge!
I've read so many EXCELLENT Expanded Universe novels and this did not even come close. Perhaps if I had read this as a kid in 1983 with no other knowledge I would have been OK, because this was a HUGE bestseller in 1983. Huge.
When I read a novelization of a movie, I'm hoping for further insight into the minds of the characters, what they are thinking during moments of action, etc. In this one, the only moments I enjoyed were at the end, when Luke and Vader came to an understanding and we got to see a bit more of what was going through Luke's head during their confrontation. Oddly, Lando Calrissian was the other character I got a little more insight into, which I thought was an odd choice, but ok overall.
The Han/Leia romance was so off. For example:
"Han and Leia turned to each other full of feeling. All they'd struggled for, all they'd dreamed of-gone now...Han had never known love, so enamored of himself was he; Leia had never known love, so wrapped up in social upheaval was she..."
And,
"Han and Leia looked at each other, fixed their gazes deep in each other's eyes, swam there in the wells of their souls for a suspended, eternal moment, during which all was felt, understood, touched, shared."
Where's the charming banter?! Nope. Just too busy staring at each other.
Also, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT do this:
"'Ahrck grah rahr hrowrowhr," Chewbacca agreed.
or
"'Beed doop beep deep,' said Artoo."
Don't do it.
Read for the "year I was born" square on my work Book Bingo Challenge!
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Reading Progress
August 26, 2015
–
Started Reading
August 26, 2015
– Shelved
August 26, 2015
– Shelved as:
2015-mpl-bingo
August 26, 2015
– Shelved as:
published-1983
August 28, 2015
–
Finished Reading
When I read the novelization of the film Serenity I got the same feeling--that the writer was working with the script for a movie he hadn't seen. The characters from the TV show felt like themselves, but the character of Mr. Universe, which was new for the movie, was WAY off from David Krumholtz's portrayal of him. That must be how they do novelizations, so as to maximize the publicity wave generated by the movie.