Liz Jacka's Reviews > Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy

It was interesting to read this volume, as it is a continuous story written by three separate authors.

The Phantom Menace: 2 Stars
I was not particularly impressed with this book, which felt like reading a slightly expanded version of the script. Brooks excelled at describing action sequences (which one could just as easily enjoy by watching the film), but included little additional insight into the characters. Jar Jar Binks was equally annoying in the book as the movie, making The Phantom Menace my least favorite book as it is my least favorite film. Only two things make this book worth reading (or the movie worth watching, for that matter): 1) the wonderful relationship between Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and 2) the establishment of the beginning of the story line as we meet Anakin Skywalker and witness Palpatine moving his pawns upon the chessboard of the Republic during the initial stages of the foundation of his empire.

Attack of the Clones: 5 Stars
I enjoyed this book significantly more. Salvatore incorporated much more detail about what the characters were thinking and feeling amidst all the political and personal turmoil, as well as describing the action sequences wonderfully. I find him to be a perfectly balanced writer, including just the right amount of detail to give me the insight I am looking for without encumbering the reader with wordy descriptions.

Revenge of the Sith: 4 Stars
This was a different read altogether and my first experience with Stover. He delves VERY deeply into what the characters are thinking and feeling at any given moment, going as far as to interrupt action sequences to describe in great detail what is going on the mind of any given character. While this insight was interesting and proved that he truly understands these characters in great depth, I found it to be distracting and excessive. Such deviations interrupt the overall flow of the scene at hand and encumber the reader in overly-wordy descriptions that manage to surpass even Tolkien's heavy writing style. While I enjoyed certain aspects of getting to know the characters in such depth, overall I though his style was rather cumbersome to read.

The volume overall: 4 Stars
If you are looking for additional insight into Lucas' iconic Star Wars characters and/or want to understand Palpatine's malevolent plan as he brilliantly (if also evilly) brings his empire to power, this is a good read.