Gabriel

The characterisation of Anakin Skywalker in the Revenge of the Sith novelisation written by Matthew Stover is the absolute peak of character writing in the Star Wars franchise, and the ultimate depiction of the character, showing the incredible understanding of the character and care of presenting him correctly from Stover's prose. He clearly understands the character on a level much deeper than most media that portrays him, even good media where the character is written superbly.

“You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved her, when you could have gone away with her, when you could have been thinking about her, you were thinking about yourself...”

Anakin is a selfish, selfish man, and is clearly portrayed as a man who walks the dark path from the beginning of the story, his fall is inevitable because it is the result of his own actions, his own greed. His love for Padme is what makes him fail, but his love is not a selfless, unconditional love, it is a selfish love, it is about what Padme does for him, what she makes him feel, it is not as simple as him caring for her. Because whilst he does, ultimately, it is all about him.

The motivations and events that lead to Anakin's turn are clearer, more defined and expanded upon in this book than the movie, and adds to the claim that this novel doesn't simply feel like an adaptation, it almost feels like the movie is the adaptation, and this is the full story.

Anakin's obsession with mastery, with the rank of Master, are not just his pride or ego, whilst that absolutely plays a part, he is truly furious because with the rank of Master, he can access information he believes will help him save Padme from his visions.

But he is still human, and the remains of his empathy and love are still clear on display, and whilst he is a very evil, self-centered man, I think the reason this story strikes such a chord with me is the personal attachment I feel to him here, because I can relate.

There's a moment when we really get into the mind of Anakin Skywalker, as he approaches and searches for Padme after defeating Dooku, and see how deep the roots of his insecurities lie.

“She wasn't here. Why wasn't she here?
Something must have happened.
He knew, deep in his guts, that something had happened to her.”

“Had something changed? For her?
In how she felt?”

Padme's nerves, her life being changed by her pregnancy, immediately spawns an immense suspicion in Anakin. Almost instantly, he jumps to conclusions, before settling on the one that serves him best, that there is someone else. That she is with another man. He is an incredibly insecure man, but this is written so superbly because I know what it is like to be Anakin here, I know what it is like to be a very pathetic, incredibly suspicious, self-conscious man, who allows his anger to get the better of him, who acts like Anakin does here, borderline emotionally abusive to a partner.

Not getting edgy, I was quite young, but I was similar with a partner, and years later I realised what I was, and it has shown great growth in myself, but it still disgusts me and saddens me to realise how I acted, and it makes me understand greater how different things could have gone for Anakin if he had the right help, the time to grow, how amazing a Jedi he could've become, how these flaws could've been tempered, like they did for me.

But not Anakin Skywalker.

The deep dive into his psyche is phenomenal, and shows the talent of Stover to be able to truly get into the minds of people of all different types, whether it's Vergere, Jacen Solo, Ganner Rhysode, Anakin Skywalker, or even Obi-Wan Kenobi, he truly gets people on a deeper level than most authors.

“Anakin and Obi-Wan would never fight each other.
They couldn't.
They're a team. They're the team.
And both of them are sure they always will be.”

The way Matthew Stover wrote the brotherly duo of Anakin and Obi-Wan was also shockingly good, they are a dazzling display of heroes who are worshipped throughout the galaxy, the most famous Jedi, possibly, in history.

“Two is enough because the adults are wrong, and their younglings are right. Though this is the end of the age of heroes, it has saved its best for last.”

They are the dynamic duo, they are the perfect team, and they save the day again, but watch as this relationship is deconstructed, their highs, their lows, their strong as steel best attributes, and the tension and flaws between them.

While Anakin is groomed by the omniscient Sidious, Obi-Wan's actions and words are twisted by his devious friend, and like he will also manage with Padme, his brother becomes his enemy.

Palpatine's manipulations are at their best here, he is a cruel and clever man, he seemingly knows all, using his knowledge of everyone's actions and even thoughts to slowly convert Anakin, and to gain his trust and obedience until eventually... it is too late.

The metaphor of a dragon for Anakin's fear was just spectacular, the dragon grows and gnashes its claws, it tugs at Anakin's heart, until by the end, Vader clamps down on it and kills it. Only to realise, yet again, when it is too late, that there was no dragon, only Anakin Skywalker.

The dragon remains, and he has failed.

Palpatine manages to come across as a loving uncle to Anakin, and you totally buy why Anakin loves and trusts him, beyond them telling you so. Sidious manages to frame everything that happens to and around him back to his own means, and used it to seduce Anakin very slowly and very cleverly.

“The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.”

Obi-Wan is just... godly here. One of the most talented Jedi Masters of his time, he is wise, loving, and caring in a way most Jedi of this era aren't, he's a talented swordsman, and a brother to his former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker.

The truth is, Obi-Wan loves Anakin.

There's an extremely emotional moment where, concerned about his friend, Obi-Wan goes to Padme to inquire about his worries, seek help, and encourage Padme to assist.

“‘You love him, too, don't you?'
When he didn't answer, she turned to look. He stood motionless, frowning, in the middle of the expanse of buff carpeting.
‘You do. You love him.'
He lowered his head. He looked very alone.
‘Please do what you can to help him,' he said, and left.”

Despite his mastery of the Force, and what it means to be a republic-era Jedi, he has an attachment to Anakin, and not only does it cloud his vision of the darkness in his brother, it hinders him from accepting it, acknowledging it, and doing anything about it.

He hid and accepted his friend's flaws, he trusted him to do the right thing, and in the end, he failed...

“And here, and now, despite it all...
Obi-Wan still loved him.”


After their climactic duel, Obi-Wan leaves Anakin to burn. He notes that to put Anakin out of his misery would be the right thing to do, but he isn't feeling merciful. And whilst he thinks about it, it is too late, Sidious arrives, and he flees.

Hoping, but ultimately failing, to save Padme, Obi-Wan resigns himself to watching over Luke. Finally, he smiles, remarking that he cannot think of a better way to spend his life, than watching over Anakin's son. He declares that he wants to be an eccentric old uncle, and to keep him out of danger too dark for him to handle on his own.

Whilst the novel doesn't reach the pinnacle of Star Wars books just quite for me, and is definitely outmatched by the greats like Path of Destruction, The Last Command, Vision of the Future, the entire New Jedi Order series, it's a beautiful novel that just adds more to my favourite film in the franchise.

And whilst I may give this novel a lower rating than the movie, I do believe it improves upon it, adding depth and realism to Anakin's turn, and adding so much to the film it's almost its own thing, in fact, I'd argue it is.

But when I rate these books, I compare them to the previous books I've read, and it just doesn't quite compare to my all-timers.

It is, absolutely, a masterpiece in its own regard, and I think that to any fan of the movie, the prequels, or even the franchise in and of itself, this is an exceptional read, if not a gateway into the wider Legends universe.

Artistic, literary, Matthew Stover treats the film like a fine art, making you feel like you're reading Lord of the Rings, or some beloved literature ancient and old. He makes it feel biblical, like a myth.

‘Mythology' has never been a better adjective for a Star Wars book, than the Revenge of the Sith novelisation, written by Matthew Stover.

9/10

A surprisingly filler entry with some exceptional action, and very important plots to set up, but the book goes about it in a way that makes it a still entertaining read, but a bit of a slog.

To enjoy this trilogy and the later books, I've got an idea so I can try to enjoy aspects I might not before as a fan of the previous series; I'm seriously going to pretend it is an alternate universe.

There is some characterisation (Jacen) that just doesn't align with the last series at all, and some changes (the Force philosophy) that go to show these books don't understand the complexity of the last series or its themes or ideologies.

So I'm just gonna pretend it's a different thing. An alternate universe. I want to have fun reading these. I will still critique many things but this way I can hopefully enjoy Jacen, and I think I have when viewing him as a little bit of a different character.

Firstly, Jacen is brutal in this book. The motivation being the safety of his daughter is quite effective, but I do think it's a little bit unoriginal as it just screams Anakin Skywalker trying to protect Padme and his unborn children. It still works as well as it did with the prequels, but is a little unoriginal.

Also, a vision of the future being his motive? Again, not only is it similar to Anakin, Jacen has first hand experience on believing his visions. Remember when he had a vision of saving the Vong slaves in Dark Tide and it almost got him enslaved and he had to be saved by Luke? That was a valuable lesson for him, and part of his arc, to learn to live in the moment AND be mindful of the future, but not to let it consume him. You could argue it's a flaw he never entirely conquered, and in that regard, sure. I do just think it's too little of a motive for the way he's acting.

And the way he's acting? Viewing him as an alternate take, I love how horrible he is! Giving Ta'a Chume a brain haemorrhage! Provoking the Chiss and arguing to kill Raynar. I like to imagine lots has happened since we have last seen him, and he's becoming quite a brutal person. I do enjoy, though, that Luke listens to him and lets him explain his reasons rather than just discounting everything he says because he doesn't entirely agree.

Leia gets to shine quite a bit in this book now she's finally a Jedi in formal training, but her best part was when she got to duel Alema. Alema is over-confident and shocked at how good Leia is, and Leia almost kills her before someone else ruins it.

I love how good Leia is already, I imagine she has similar potential to her brother, and I continue to enjoy Saba as her Master. I also appreciate that Denning hasn't forgotten Saba's heritage and still has her doing things and acting more like people of her culture, when some writers kinda just ignore that and treat her as a human, forgetting she's an alien species.

I really enjoy Leia's confidence as a Jedi already, considering her seeming insecurity about her ability for so many years due to her inability to practise, she's sure of herself and her skills now and it leads to many great moments, such as her saying to Alema, “I think I need to teach you some manners.”

Luke and Han have a really boring story in this novel sadly. They do get some major moments, but almost every scene of theirs is them talking, being captured, or talking while captured. When they finally do escape and get some action, it's towards the end of the novel.

Luke makes a makeshift lightsaber, and I like the idea he can make spares if he has to give up his own one, but he does little with it. Han gets to use Mara's for a bit, but barely.

I think the big fight with Lomi Plo is long overdue, and doesn't happen in this book, but he does have a small fight with her, where she's invisible and extremely powerful. I'm praying Luke gets to kick her ass in the next book.

Overall, it was another good entry that makes up for the mistakes of the last book by sidetracking Jaina and Zekk, and focusing less on the uncomfortable aspects of the Killiks.

I still do not care for them at all, however. They are boring and have zero personality or anything too interesting about them by design.

I couldn't care less what happens to the Killiks. In fact, I wouldn't mind (for the sake of story) if they were just wiped out and no longer a problem by the end of the next book. I'm tired of hearing about them.

The conflict in the Jedi and with the Galactic Alliance was sorted out in the New Jedi Order. Bringing back the political conflict is unoriginal, and nothing interesting is being done with it other than to create more conflict for the sake of tension rather than anything actually good being done with the idea.

Never trust a politician is something that I agree with, but I am a little saddened with Cal Omas' complete 180 in characterisation. You could argue he is getting stressed with everything going on, and furthermore (which I do think is true), that you cannot trust a politician, they only do what is best for them. But I feel like the Jedi would've sensed that in the last series. We only got the impression from Luke that he is a decent guy, and him changing like this is a little uninspired.

A solid book but nothing in it will impress anyone, except for maybe Luke seeing Anakin storm the Jedi Temple during Revenge of the Sith and killing the younglings.

7/10

This was actually a recent read for me, and yeah, I really enjoyed this one. I love the tone of the VNAs when done by someone talented like Terrance Dicks, even if some other authors truly mess it all up!

A good middle entry to the trilogy that gives a great insight into Luke's academy. I love Gantoris, Streen, and Kyp in this book especially. There is a moment with Kyp towards the end that seriously shocked and upset me (in a well-written way!)

Unlike many other Doctor Who novels I read in school, I quite clearly remember this one, title, cover, and aspects of the plot, and I remember it being absolutely fantastic.